Stat Priorities
Stat Priorities
Overall stat ranking:
Single Target
Crit > Mastery >= Vers > Haste
AoE
Mastery > Crit > Vers > Haste
Crit and mastery are two very good stats in Dragonflight. Vers is just vers; it works. Haste is terrible; it has few interactions with our kit, and playing Thistle Tea removes any need for energy through haste.
Stat Outline
Agility: Increases attack power and damage.
Critical Strike: Chance to do double damage and apply Find Weakness when you Crit with Backstab and Shuriken Storm. While taking the Seal Fate talent, you also gain 1 combo point per builder that crits.
Mastery: Increases the damage of all your finishers.
Haste: Increases energy generation, bleed tick rate, and attack speed. We run a bunch of energy talents, so it is rarely an issue which is why Haste is typically quite bad for us.
Versatility: Simple flat bonus to damage done and reduction to damage taken.
The best way to calculate stat priorities for your character is to "sim" your character
Find out how to simRaces
Horde:
Tauren/Blood elf
The reason why these two races are the best for subtlety is down to a common theme; crit. Tauren gives 2% crit damage which synergizes with our want to stack a lot of crit, Blood elf gives 1% crit flat which is also just a very good stat for the spec.
Alliance:
Dwarf/Void elf
Similar reasoning applies to the Alliance races. Dwarf also increases crit damage by 2% and Void elf has synergy with our shadow damage amplification kit (the passive proc is increased by 31% if you choose all the shadow amp talents).
Enchants
Sophic Devotion for both mainhand and offhand weapons in ST. Frozen Devotion for AoE.
Waking Stats on Chest Armor
Devotion of Critical Strike or Devotion of Mastery on rings
Reinforced Armor Kit on Leg Armor
Gems
The gems you use dictate which secondary stat proc you get from the Elemental Lariat, so make sure to sim all kinds of gem combinations if you have the Lariat.
- Primary stat + crit (Inscribed Illimited Diamond)
- Crit + mastery (Sensei’s Alexstraszite) = Lariat procs mastery
- Mastery + crit (Sensei’s Neltharite) = Lariat procs crit
Consumables
Food
Grand Banquet of the Kalu’ak (or Fated Fortune Cookie) is our food of choice.
Phial
ST: Phial of Tepid Versatility
AoE: Phial of Tepid Versatility
I have not included any of the Agility phials because they have downsides that we cannot easily overcome, such as standing still all the time or spreading 10 yards from other players. As a melee, this is not very feasible and ultimately unrealistic unless you’re the only melee in the group/raid and constantly aware of your positioning.
Potion
Elemental Potion of Ultimate Power
Sharpening stone/Runes
Healthpots