Fast or dangerous

This past week was a good one in terms of me getting phat lewt in WOW.  The first big change was the patch that changed my legendary belt's (Chain of Thrayn) ability from worthless to amazing - 10% increased damage and a buff to healing.  The ability was so amazing that just four days after they changed it Blizzard decided they had to nerf it to 5% bonus damage instead.  In any case 5% is a hell of a lot better than nothing, which is what I had before.

The second thing that happened is that I got a new legendary, the cloak called Whisper of the Nathrezim.  It also offers bonus damage, probably about 4% worth.  Between the belt and the cloak there is no choice - the belt is the best.  The question becomes which second legendary do I wear?  I can pick my new cloak for 4% more damage, or keep my other option, which is Aggramar's Stride, which gives me about 24% movement speed.

Now if you compare damage and movement speed at the same % you always take damage.  50% more movement is quite useful, 50% more damage makes you the best character in the game no matter what.  However, in my current case I have the option of 24% movement or 4% damage.  Six to one is starting to look pretty damn saucy.  Movement speed always translates to more damage to some degree, since in every fight you have time moving between places and being faster gets you on target more quickly.  However, for 24% movement speed to grant 4% more damage, you would have to be moving towards your target about 15% of the fight.  There are some fights where that is going to be true.  Even if it isn't though, 24% movement speed lets you get away from stuff much more easily.  It will help significantly in placing debuffs, avoiding ground damage, and otherwise getting mechanics done right.

There are some fights though where being mobile isn't particularly relevant, and the damage is going to be better.

Six times more movement really does fit in the zone of being unsure though.  I know for certain that I take movement speed at ten to one - especially the 30% movement speed over 3% damage done is a fantastic deal.  I know for sure I take damage at two to one, because 20% speed just isn't as powerful as 10% damage.  Six to one is well into the cloudy zone for me, where I can't tell which I take.

I guess I will set up two gearsets and two talent sets and swap between them as necessary for movement or output fights.  More finicky that way, but worth it.  I am impressed that Blizzard has given me such pause to think - the dps legendary items were always the best ones before, but now I am genuinely intrigued by comparing utility to dps and thinking about what I want.