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SiteBoot Camp Basics: The Five Second Rule
Earlier this morning when I logged in during the middle of a drug-induced haze, I was quickly drawn into a discussion in the Feathermoon US Alliance Trade Channel. A priestly neophyte — one who had recently stepped foot into the Outland for the first time — was asking for sage advice about his newly leveled class. His question?
What allows a priest to regenerate mana while casting?
The answer, of course, was a healthy combination of MP5 found on gear and consumables as well as the third tier Discipline talent Meditation. As I’ve mentioned in the past, Meditation allows for passive mana regeneration while casting and relies heavily on the 2.4 changes to a Spirit-based mana regeneration system. It was a wonderful change from some of the non-World of Warcraft banter that sometimes plagues the Trade Channel.
An issue arose, however, concerning the mechanics of the Five Second Rule. Someone claimed that MP5 favored mana regeneration during combat, which isn’t quite exactly true. The true mechanics of the Five Second Rule rely on regeneration during casting, which isn’t quite the same as being in combat. And, in my somewhat impaired state, it was something that resulted in a thirty minute ordeal in which I discussed the finer points of World of Warcraft’s enigmatic Five Second Rule.
Let’s discuss that rule this evening so that the Internet may enjoy my delirious ramblings as well!
The Five Second Rule
The Five Second Rule governs how mana regeneration occurs within the game. Mana regeneration has two distinct conditions:
- Mana regeneration while not casting, and
- Mana regeneration while casting.
All classes that have a mana bar follow this rule, irregardless of whether or not the abilities and talents that they use are called spells. Mana regeneration while not casting is often referred to as Spirit-based mana regeneration, since it currently relies heavily on the Spirit stat as of Patch 2.4. In general, mana does not regenerate while casting unless using a passive mana regeneration talent such as the mage’s Arcane Meditation, the druid’s Intensity, and the priest’s Meditation. Each of these third tier talents allows up to 30% of Spirit-based mana regeneration while casting. Without those talents, caster classes rely on active mana regeneration abilities like Aspect of the Viper or Life Tap, and the MP5 found on gear and consumables to regen mana while casting.
The argument occurred this morning because my fellow Feathermooner was claiming that mana regeneration was dependent on whether or not the caster was in combat. This is incorrect. This is a fallacy. This is just plain wrong. This is something that drives me bonkers every time I hear it.
As you can see in the above picture in which my perky priestess’s mana regeneration is depicted, we have both mana regeneration while not casting and mana regeneration while casting. You see, the Five Second Rule1 comes into play the moment that someone casts a spell; at this point, the caster enters the Five Second Rule, aptly named because during the five second period following when a single point of mana is used he is considered to be in a casting state. The caster remains in this state for an entire five seconds, after which he exits the Five Second Rule2. However, if he casts another spell within that five second period, he reenters the Five Second Rule and the timer starts again.
The crux of our discussion this morning lay in what defined the casting period. One individual consistently claimed that a casting state in the same as being in combat. However, a character can be in combat and be Out of Five Second Rule just as easily as he can be out of combat and be in the Five Second Rule. Let’s consider two scenarios:
- First, a caster in a group is fighting a boss. During that period of time, he stops casting for a period of thirty seconds, maybe because he wanted to regenerate some mana, because his kids snagged his attention, or because his cat caught on fire.3 After five seconds — and for the entire period of time that continues following until he spends a single point of mana — he exits the Five Second Rule and benefits from his Spirit-based non-casting mana regeneration.
- Second, a benevolent caster stumbles across a neophyte player while in one of the towns. The two engage in a short conversation4 and then decide to part ways. Before the caster leaves, he tosses a quick buff on the lower leveled character. Even though the two are not in combat, the caster has entered the Five Second Rule and now is suffering from the diminished casting mana regeneration.
These scenarios — which can be easily reproduced in-game — demonstrate the difference between being in combat and being in the Five Second Rule. The confusion arises, I think, in part due to the fact that health regeneration is reliant on being in combat5 and the fact that many classes are casting for the entire duration of the time that they’re in combat. As such, they see little need to distinguish between the two.
As a priestaphiliac and someone who delights in nitpicking with little details like that, I recognize that it’s just semantics, but it’s still something that irks me to no end. And as someone who has played predominately caster classes since the game was first released, I’m always shocked when experienced players get a little bit confused by this very simple concept. As such, I consider it one of my goals in game to help people better understand the Five Second Rule!
