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I was reading a thread recently that claimed that higher pure spell damage was superior to spell haste in fights where you have to move due to greater DoT ticks while you are unable to cast. I have actually found spell haste to be extremely beneficial in movement based fights. As I thought further I realized that there are many hidden benefits of haste that people might not realize right away. Here you will find a list of BT and Hyjal bosses and how spell haste can function within that encounter.
Mount Hyjal
Rage Winterchill
Here we can see how mind blast frequency can be increased if you have to move immediatly after a MB cast due to death and decay. With 5/5 imp MB and 199 spell haste your MB comes off cooldown 0.67s sooner than someone with 4/5 imp MB. This can mean the difference between having to cast MF or simply waiting to recast MB. Either way, there is a very real potential for a DPS gain is there.
There is also the matter of spell pushback. Rage occasionally frost novas the raid which will push back any active spell. With spell haste the likelihood of facing a full 1s pushback is much lower, especially since there is a much smaller window when your 1.5s casts can be reduced back to zero.
Anetheron
On Anetheron casting faster aids in the general spell pushback concerns, but it also allows for greater mobility when refreshing DoTs. My guild tends to tank the adds quite a ways away from the boss, but I like to keep DoTs active on both targets. Having VT at 1.33s lets me begin to move a fraction of a second earlier when DoTing and switching targets.
Kaz'rogal
After we got over the hump on this boss it has become one of my favorites. The only problem is that our MT tends to take a lap from the gate, to Thrall to the Tauren warriors that takes about a minute. Having spell haste allows me to be mobile sooner after a successful cast, like on Anetheron, as well as land more successful casts on a target running out of range.
Azgalor
As many may know, I do enjoy my spell haste build, but this is one fight where it doesn't show a significant benefit due to the mechanics of the fight. A pure damage set has a chance to do more damage in this fight due to the frequent silences. On our last attempt I was silence 15 times, which destroyed my DPS. If you have a pure damage set this would be one fight to put it on so you can milk more damage from your DoTs.
Archimonde
This is another example that is very similar to Azgalor. Between air burst, fear and doomfire you can be out of range for significant periods of time. There is a possibility that you could get lucky and have the option to rail on him, but more often than not you will find yourself 100 yards away. This would be one other instance to stack pure shadow damage if possible.
Black Temple
High Warlord Naj'entus
Naj'entus has some of the highest amounts of spell pushback, so haste helps reduce the impact of this slightly, but other than that it is tank and spank. His shield absorbs damage when it goes up, but you can still apply debuffs. I like to use my VE as an additional timer for his shield since they are both on a one minute timer. Another thing you can do is reapply DoTs and VE when his shield is up so you have more time to actively DPS with your MF/MB rotation.
Supremus
On many occassions I have put up over 1200 DPS even with all of the movement in this event. The tank and spank nature of phase one is part of the reason, but the ability to cast while on the move is another. When Supremus is running away, your casts end sooner so you can move sooner. If he is chasing you then you can still cast and move with higher confidence.
Shade of Akama
Using spell haste on this encounter largely depends on what role you are performing. If you are on DoT duty on the middle adds then you should stack damage and use your BT trinket. If you are on the side spawns then you can stack haste. When the shade actually spawns I feel that haste sees a huge benefit due to the quick nature of the fight. Having a more active spell rotation should increase your MB frequency and allow you to sneak in a little more DPS in the small window where he is alive.
Teron Gorefiend
Gorefiend is an excellent test of pure DPS since it is a tank and spank for the most part. The potential for spell pushback is high, so an increased casting rate helps with this.
Gurtogg Bloodboil
Most priest find themselves threat capped on Bloodboil, but a benefit of haste is still there. If I do find myself riding the tank's threat I can remove MB from the rotation while still doing increased MF damage from haste. In the event you get fel rage you have a higher chance for a successful cast, which will subsequently get you more VE healing as well. The healing modifier is calculated on top of the damage modifier, so you are essentially double dipping with VE.
Reliquary of Souls
In phase two of this encounter every single DoT tick or direct damage effect causes you to take damage and spell pushback. This is really horrible for shadow priests, but spell haste allows you to be a little more effective by avoiding the pushback.
Mother Shahraz
Not much to say here. Spell haste gear has to largely be switch out for shadow res and spell hit.
Illidari Council
This is another fight with heavy movement and occasional pushback from attacks. In very rare occasions you might find yourself separated from the MT and out of MF range. In these instances you will be glad you can recast MB ASAP.
Illidan Stormrage
As many priests can do, I find myself almost alway #1 on the Illidan DPS meters. Some ways I accomplish this are with a very active rotation in phase 1, multi-DoTing in phase 2, and refreshing DoTs before demon phase. Especially in phase 2, the active casting rotation means I have more windows between casts to refresh DoTs on both Flames of Azzinoth.
I know some of these may seem a little redundant, but each have their own intricacies. In the vast majority of encounters you do see benefits to spell haste on various levels. The increasing presence of spell pushback and movement based encounters allows spell haste to shine in numerous ways.
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