Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade?

Flapalapagus · July 05, 2008, 08:12 PM

I have no idea which sword is better.
Archmage's Guile
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34667#sold-by

Or

Continuum Blade
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29185#comments

Some people in my guild say Guile is and Canadianpimp's gear guide says Guile is better too. But I just don't see how, especially when I'm an affliction lock and I have very low hit rating AND I need the extra stamina for my arena team buddies.

Malevevely · July 05, 2008, 09:22 PM

20>8 guile has more +damage too, for pvp I would go with a pvp weapon as it will be superior to all. Hit is the best scaling pve stat however the difference between 20 crit and 8 hit is a no brainer almost 3 times the rating of a lesser stat is still worth the swap.

Devicus · July 06, 2008, 03:42 PM

Actually no.

Crit adds about 50% to the damage of a shadowbolt. Which is 40% of an afflock's damage. So that's .2% per % crit. ISB raises these numbers. However you then note 1% hit adds MORE than 1% damage especially if you're further from hit cap, and it costs half as many points.

So the trade off probably sits at over 5 points of crit to a full affliction lock who's sub hit cap.

However 8 spell damage and 20 crit versus 8 hit is a much tougher question.

The the higher his spell damage the % damage increase it adds ironically. His spell is low.

Anyway, the crit is worth perhaps 4 hit at the most, so it's 8 spell versus 4 hit really. At this point I'd say "spell damage" but there's not a lot in it. You can get either right now. However what i'd do next is get revered scryers and get the blood gem if I were you.

Kneeo · July 06, 2008, 03:45 PM

Just do BGs for the Mercs dagger. it's easy enough.

Amsiroth · July 06, 2008, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kneeo

Just do BGs for the Mercs dagger. it's easy enough.

Agreed. Get whichever of the above you can the easiest, but PvP until you get the S2 Blade. There really is no reason not to have it.

Malevevely · July 06, 2008, 05:15 PM

For a good aff lock its actually 55ish% for shadow bolts but other then that what you said is pretty much right on I was simply pointing out there is enough of a discrepancy that the guile is vastly superior to the continuum blade.

Devicus · July 07, 2008, 02:34 PM

For a full UA lock, I doubt it very much. Especially given that most fights are mobile, which cuts shadowbolt time. A *bad* afflock might hit 55% if they aren't refreshing DoTS, but I'm assuming curse of doom, as given the heroic badge gear, you won't be passing kara by far before destro viability looms.

Anyway, I think "vastly" is a vast overstatement. he can get both, he's got the rep. So get guile, but the difference is pretty minimal. Vast is the difference between the HH/thrallmar exalted blade and guile, or even say, the nathrezim mindblade and guile. The difference is infact tiny and if he only had one revered, he'd be better of just getting it and being done with it IMO.

Malevevely · July 07, 2008, 05:33 PM

Motive - WWS

This is clearly not a 'bad' lock and this rotation includes SiLi which is generally considered a dropped spell on threat sensitive fights which allow for even more % damage to come from shadowbolts. 55% is not a high number and with minimal latency a good lock should be pushing this while maintaining dot uptime. As for vastly it is a substatial difference between the guile and the continuum blade in terms of pure pve stats hit is a good pve stat however especially for an affliction lock with suppression talents it is not worth sacrificing 9 damage and 20 crit for a mere 8 points of hit.

Devicus · July 08, 2008, 01:40 AM

He's good, but he had Sili up more than corruption or UA, so while he was good, that was far from perfect, assuming they don't wait more than 10 seconds for the tank, he lost more than 30 seconds of DoT uptime on UA and corruption which are his hardest hitting DoTs. His SiLi being up more than that means whether he knows it or not, he was prioritising wrong. Also, he wasn't throwing damage curses in, he was on utility, so I'm very glad I covered my arse in my last post. He's the token utility lock though, not a damage maxer. His damage is superb, but he's there to boost everyone elses not bring the average up himself.

The thing about affliction is that it is REALLY hard to be perfect, sort of theoretically doable but no one will actually regularly do perfect affliction runs. That's why destro often provides better figures when it shouldn't.

July 05, 2008, 08:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Flapalapagus Member Character Info Nazevroth 70 Human Warlock Sisters of Elune US RP Profile: Blizzard Armory	Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? I have no idea which sword is better. Archmage's Guile http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34667#sold-by Or Continuum Blade http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29185#comments Some people in my guild say Guile is and Canadianpimp's gear guide says Guile is better too. But I just don't see how, especially when I'm an affliction lock and I have very low hit rating AND I need the extra stamina for my arena team buddies.

July 05, 2008, 09:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
Malevevely Member Character Info Malevevely 70 Undead Warlock KJ US PvP	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? 20>8 guile has more +damage too, for pvp I would go with a pvp weapon as it will be superior to all. Hit is the best scaling pve stat however the difference between 20 crit and 8 hit is a no brainer almost 3 times the rating of a lesser stat is still worth the swap.

July 06, 2008, 03:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
Devicus Member Character Info Devicus 70 Gnome Warlock thunderhorn Euro PvE Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? Actually no. Crit adds about 50% to the damage of a shadowbolt. Which is 40% of an afflock's damage. So that's .2% per % crit. ISB raises these numbers. However you then note 1% hit adds MORE than 1% damage especially if you're further from hit cap, and it costs half as many points. So the trade off probably sits at over 5 points of crit to a full affliction lock who's sub hit cap. However 8 spell damage and 20 crit versus 8 hit is a much tougher question. The the higher his spell damage the % damage increase it adds ironically. His spell is low. Anyway, the crit is worth perhaps 4 hit at the most, so it's 8 spell versus 4 hit really. At this point I'd say "spell damage" but there's not a lot in it. You can get either right now. However what i'd do next is get revered scryers and get the blood gem if I were you.

July 06, 2008, 03:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
Kneeo Lurker Character Info Clezzy 70 Undead Warlock Akama US PvP Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 0/21/40	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? Just do BGs for the Mercs dagger. it's easy enough.

July 06, 2008, 05:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
Malevevely Member Character Info Malevevely 70 Undead Warlock KJ US PvP	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? For a good aff lock its actually 55ish% for shadow bolts but other then that what you said is pretty much right on I was simply pointing out there is enough of a discrepancy that the guile is vastly superior to the continuum blade.

July 07, 2008, 02:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
Devicus Member Character Info Devicus 70 Gnome Warlock thunderhorn Euro PvE Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? For a full UA lock, I doubt it very much. Especially given that most fights are mobile, which cuts shadowbolt time. A bad afflock might hit 55% if they aren't refreshing DoTS, but I'm assuming curse of doom, as given the heroic badge gear, you won't be passing kara by far before destro viability looms. Anyway, I think "vastly" is a vast overstatement. he can get both, he's got the rep. So get guile, but the difference is pretty minimal. Vast is the difference between the HH/thrallmar exalted blade and guile, or even say, the nathrezim mindblade and guile. The difference is infact tiny and if he only had one revered, he'd be better of just getting it and being done with it IMO.

July 07, 2008, 05:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
Malevevely Member Character Info Malevevely 70 Undead Warlock KJ US PvP	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? Motive - WWS This is clearly not a 'bad' lock and this rotation includes SiLi which is generally considered a dropped spell on threat sensitive fights which allow for even more % damage to come from shadowbolts. 55% is not a high number and with minimal latency a good lock should be pushing this while maintaining dot uptime. As for vastly it is a substatial difference between the guile and the continuum blade in terms of pure pve stats hit is a good pve stat however especially for an affliction lock with suppression talents it is not worth sacrificing 9 damage and 20 crit for a mere 8 points of hit.

July 08, 2008, 01:40 AM	#9 (permalink)
Devicus Member Character Info Devicus 70 Gnome Warlock thunderhorn Euro PvE Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Archmage's Guile vs Continuum Blade? He's good, but he had Sili up more than corruption or UA, so while he was good, that was far from perfect, assuming they don't wait more than 10 seconds for the tank, he lost more than 30 seconds of DoT uptime on UA and corruption which are his hardest hitting DoTs. His SiLi being up more than that means whether he knows it or not, he was prioritising wrong. Also, he wasn't throwing damage curses in, he was on utility, so I'm very glad I covered my arse in my last post. He's the token utility lock though, not a damage maxer. His damage is superb, but he's there to boost everyone elses not bring the average up himself. The thing about affliction is that it is REALLY hard to be perfect, sort of theoretically doable but no one will actually regularly do perfect affliction runs. That's why destro often provides better figures when it shouldn't.