There has been considerable discussion and more than a fair share of toxicity in the community around power infusion (PI) and who should get it. While most of this is centered around priest healing specs, I have personally been in raid groups and discord communities where my PI has been requested from other players as a shadow priest. In my experience, it is normally a kind request, but I’ve had a few recent experiences where the infamous “spreadsheet” has been brought up to justify why I should give away my PI.
There are a few, but this is the one I will be using: reddit post “Rough estimate of DPS gain via Power Infusion per spec” which has a google spreadsheet linked (cannot post the link directly, but it can be quickly found with a google search) as it has been linked to me before. I will be assuming the numbers here are correct. Each sim was performed assuming PI is given at the optimal time, and lists the DPS gain for each spec. The spec that benefits the most is Demo (+845 dps) and the least is Feral (+309 dps). Usefully, at the bottom of the chart is shadow priest sims with their own PI (10834) and without (9945).
What would be the conditions in which a shadow should give away their PI? If we’re truly being team players, it would be when the total group DPS is increased. This obviously must factor in the nearly 1k loss in DPS that shadow receives from giving away their PI. Below are a few napkin calculations:
Balance[no PI] (11122) + Shadow[w/ PI] (10834) = 21956
Balance[w/ PI] (11877) + Shadow[no PI] (9945) = 21822 (–134 DPS)
Demonology[no PI] (9976) + Shadow[w/ PI] (10834) = 20810
Demonology[w/ PI] (10821) + Shadow[no PI] (9945) = 20766 (–44 DPS)
Unholy[no PI] (9998) + Shadow[w/ PI] (10834) = 20832
Unholy[w/ PI] (10676) + Shadow[no PI] (9945) = 20621 (–211 DPS)
Frost DK[no PI] (10144) + Shadow[w/ PI] (10834) = 20978
Frost DK[w/ PI] (10738) + Shadow[no PI] (9945) = 20683 (–295 DPS)
Sub[no PI] (11723) + Shadow[w/ PI] (10834) = 22557
Sub[w/ PI] (12197) + Shadow[no PI] (9945) = 22142 (–415 DPS)
Frost Mage[no PI] (11144) + Shadow[w/ PI] (10834) = 21978
Frost Mage[w/ PI] (11615) + Shadow[no PI[ (9945) = 21560 (–418 DPS)
In none of the examples above is it a group DPS gain for shadow to give away their PI. A few caveats: 1) I did not perform these sims, I am assuming they are correct; I am doing this because this is the spreadsheet that has been thrown at me to “prove” it’s better for shadow to give away their PI, when it actually does the exact opposite. 2) I am assuming these are patchwerk fights, therefore the actual gain / loss may be different in fights that are hectic add cleave, multiple targets, etc.
In short, I hope this post at least gives shadow priests a little ammunition against their raid leader or some random pug who claims it’s clear math to give away their PI. Not only does it feel bad as shadow to do so, it’s not (again, according to these sims) even a group DPS gain.
