Understanding Mastery Rating in Patch 4.0.1
With all of the new changes to talent trees and Mastery which has a Mastery Rating stat in Patch 4.0.1 Blizzard made it easier to spec for any situation.
One of the new stat changes brought in to get ready for Cataclysm is Mastery Rating, a stat that can be found on the higher level gear. Each class gets three different Mastery options, based on the spec that you go with.
Mastery rating helps increase the benefit of Mastery, a new talent specialization that can be learned from a trainer once you hit level 80.
Check out these spells for Mages:
- Arcane Mages earn the spell Mana Adept. This spell increases their damage based on the amount of unspent mana they have – the more mana the more damage – up to 12% and then for each Mastery point the damage increases by 1.5%.
- Fire Mages earn the spell Flashburn. This spell increases the damage of periodic fire spells, starting at a 20% increase and going up 2.5% for each Mastery point.
- Frost Mages earn the spell Frostburn. This spell increases damage against frozen targets, starting at a 20% increase and going up 2.5% for each point of Mastery.
While these spells will make your character more powerful in their chosen specialization it’s only one aspect of gameplay.
Remember that it is important to choose your character’s spec based on your playing style preferences, not necessarily the Mastery spell that will become available to you.
Reforging: What It Is and How It Can Help Your Character
Another advantageous introduction in Patch 4.0.1 was Reforging.
A new skill that allows players to trade part of one stat on their gear for another that they find more useful, with some restrictions.
This can only be done on gear with an item level of 200 or more.
Instead, the goal of Reforging is to make more gear usable by more classes, reducing the need for disenchanting or vendoring of unwanted items.
Reforging will cost your character the same amount as it would to vendor an item. When done, you can exchange 40% of the stat you don’t want for one that you do. Only certain stats can be reforged, and the skill is not intended for use on every item.
Stats you can change and those you can’t
Any piece of gear that has Reforgable stats on it can be reforged, including armor, weapons, and trinkets. However, only a select list of stats can be reforged and you can only reforge one stat at a time. You can reforge the following stats:
- Critical Strike Rating
- Dodge Rating
- Expertise Rating
- Haste Rating
- Hit Rating
- Mastery Rating
- Parry Rating
- Spirit
You cannot reforge these stats:
- Agility
- Attack Power
- Intellect
- Resilience
- Stamina
- Strength
This means that there still may be some argument as to whether or not a piece of gear will be useful for your character instead of someone else, but hopefully more gear will be useable by more players.
Reforging is easy to do, however you should take care when making your decisions. Knowing how the various stats affect your character. While it may be tempting to take on new stats just to try them out, using up too many of your points for a new stat may not prove beneficial.
Understanding how the stats work and where the caps are will make your character stronger and more fun to play. Consider researching the best stats for your character and spec before you make the decision to reforge. Remember that in Mastery Mastery Rating is important.
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