7.2 PTR Changes

7.2 is looking to shake up the core of how Mistweaver plays. Final numbers aren’t known, as we're in a cycle of PTR builds being released weekly, and some of the key components to the playstyle switch are not yet implemented for testing. A post (or maybe even a video) will be released closer to 7.2’s launch on everything that needs to be done to get character progression going again, but for now, let’s look at some of the Mistweaver specific changes either hinted at or datamined.

New Traits

New artifact traits to [SHEILUN] are being added! After unlocking quests on the Broken Shore, you receive a quest from Khadgar to find some Legion plans on the Broken Shore. Killing mobs while going about the new quests will eventually net you the item, allowing you to do another set of quests that ultimately empowers [SHEILUN], allowing one more rank to be put into all 3/3 traits, as well as offering more traits available to spend Artifact Power in.

If you have any points in [MISTWEAVING] above 1, all of the Artifact Power put into it will be refunded for you to use on the new traits.

• [MISTS OF THE BROKEN TEMPLE] - This is the first new trait available, and meant to make it so that losing all of the power gained from [MISTWEAVING] before 7.2 isn’t entirely lost, whether it was from the direct healing bonus, or from just the raw number of traits [SHEILUN] had, which increases Damage Done and Stamina.
• [TENDRILS OF REVIVAL] - Lowers the cooldown of [REVIVAL] by 10 seconds per trait, with no diminishing returns the more ranks this trait has put into it. My personal favorite of the bunch, as, when combined with [PETRICHOR LAGNIAPPE], [REVIVAL] will have a very short cooldown, allowing consistently higher healing. I have my [PETRICHOR LAGNIAPPE] spreadsheet updated to include [TENDRILS OF REVIVAL].
• [EFFUSIVE MISTS] - For every [EFFUSE] cast, [SHEILUN’S GIFT] gains one stack. This, combined with the next trait and the tier 20 bonuses, offer one of the largest gameplay shifts Mistweaver has seen. But that will have its own dedicated section down below.
• [WHISPERS OF SHAOHAO] - As of right now, it's a toss up on how this trait functions, but it'll heal for 200% SP. Whether it heals based on orbs or from our active mist spells ([ENVELOPING MIST], [RENEWING MIST], and maybe [SOOTHING MIST]). Using [SHEILUN’S GIFT] a lot due to [EFFUSIVE MISTS] and the Tier 20 bonuses will result in a lot of free passive healing to the group, which is exactly what’s needed for the new proposed playstyle.
• [CONCORDANCE OF THE LEGIONFALL] - The new paragon trait for when you cap off [WHISPERS OF SHAOHAO] as well as putting another rank into all of the 3/3 traits. Intellect proc 1.37 times a minute that scales per rank put into it.

Tier 20 Set Bonuses

While it’s been said that Tomb of Sargeras won’t be launching on the same day as 7.2 goes live, it’s still important to look at what (in the current build) we should anticipate. Please note that these are subject to change as the PTR cycle continues.

• [TIER 20 2 PIECE BONUS] - Causes all healing spell casts to have a 10% chance to proc Surge of Mists, a buff that causes you’re next [ENVELOPING MIST] cast to be 75% cheaper, or cost only 1.5% (16,500) mana, cheaper than [EFFUSE]. At that low of a mana cost, [LIFECYCLES] receives a major boon because [ENVELOPING MIST] isn’t cast enough currently because of its high mana cost and high overheal. With this tier bonus, though, overhealing won’t matter since it’ll be cheap as dirt.
• [TIER 20 4 PIECE BONUS] - Consuming Surge of Mists resets [THUNDER FOCUS TEA]. This makes [RISING THUNDER] obsolete, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Testing needs to be done to see if the [MASTERY: GUST OF MISTS] or [SOOTHING MIST] procs count to Surge of Mists’s proc chance, or how [CHI BURST] interacts with it, since each time it heals it counts as a cast. When they’re released to the PTR, testing will be done and plotted for optimal usage.

Proposed Playstyle Change

In a culmination of all these additions, a new playstyle can emerge:

• [EFFUSE] and [SHEILUN’S GIFT] filler. This is to proc [TIER 20 2 PIECE BONUS] as quickly and efficiently as possible for [THUNDER FOCUS TEA] resets. This means [SOOTHING MIST] will be dropped altogether from healing output.
• [LIFECYCLES] will be the go to talent, purely for reducing [VIVIFY] mana costs, as [ENVELOPING MIST] will already be cheaper than an [EFFUSE].
• [ENVELOPING MIST] will be used more for proccing [TIER 20 4 PIECE BONUS] than for actual healing, leading to high overheal, but one of the most mana efficient spells in the game.
• [WHISPERS OF SHAOHAO] can potentially do a lot of passive group healing.
• Grabbing an [AMALGAM’S SEVENTH SPINE] will be very beneficial to this playstyle.
• [FOCUSED THUNDER] may see some use due to this playstyle being very efficient with mana.
• It’d be possible to split usage of [THUNDER FOCUS TEA] on [RENEWING MIST] and [VIVIFY]. [RENEWING MIST] for more [UPLIFTING TRANCE] procs, which make [VIVIFY] really efficient, and using it on [VIVIFY] purely for longevity purposes.
• How [ESSENCE FONT] fits into this playstyle will remain to be seen.
• Having a more Haste heavy set could be viable, in order to cast [SHEILUN’S GIFT] and [ENVELOPING MIST] faster.

Again, this is a POSSIBLE playstyle change. Numbers will tell how viable this would be.

Tangentially related, I'll be part of Binkenstein's Math Jam on Feb 24 at 7 pm PST (time zone conversion here), streaming my work on 7.2 math, fiddling with spreadsheets, and all the fun stuff that goes into these posts.