Mana and life sustain

A build that can cast its best spell three times and then stands empty isn't a good build. The mana balance tells you whether a spell cycle can keep going, and life recovery whether you can.

Mana Regen

The calculator counts mana regeneration as

So with no Mana Regen at all you get 5 mana per second, and every +5 Mana Regen on your items adds 1 mana per second. Mana from ability tree nodes and a raid mana buff you entered are added on top.

Spell cycles

A spell cycle is written with the digits 1-4 for your spells and M for a main attack, for example 3M3M or 1 3 M M. Casting a spell takes three clicks; at the default of 9 clicks per second that is a third of a second per spell. A main attack takes as long as your weapon's attack speed allows. The cycle's mana balance is what you regenerate and steal during one pass, minus what its spells cost, per second.

Mana Steal

Mana Steal only works on main attack hits. The stat is per three seconds of attacking, so each hit gives

A cycle with no M in it gets nothing from Mana Steal, however much the items have. That's also why Mana Steal is worth more on builds that weave main attacks between spells.

A worked example

Cycle 3 M M M with a 35-mana spell, a normal-speed weapon (2.05 hits per second), 10 Mana Regen and 15 Mana Steal:

• Time for one pass: 3 clicks ÷ 9 + 3 hits ÷ 2.05 = 1.80 s
• Cost: 35 mana ÷ 1.80 s = 19.5 mana/s
• Regeneration: (10 + 25) ÷ 5 = 7 mana/s
• Mana Steal: 1.67 hits/s × 15 ÷ 3 ÷ 2.05 = 4.1 mana/s
• Balance: 7 + 4.1 - 19.5 = -8.4 mana/s - this cycle slowly drains you.

To make it sustainable you would need more Mana Regen or Mana Steal, cheaper spells from the tree, mana-giving abilities - or a slower cycle.

The mana balance range

On the recommender the mana balance is a range. The default, 0 to +1 mana per second, means "fully sustainable without wasting stats on surplus". Lower the minimum when a short burst is fine and you rest between fights (the "Burst" preset allows -8 mana/s), or use the "Raid buffs" preset when your team provides mana. ✦ Suggest mana drain at the bottom of the left panel shows how much damage each extra point of allowed drain buys.

Life recovery

Life works the same way:

Health Regen ticks every four seconds; Life Steal, like Mana Steal, only comes from main attack hits in your cycle. What that healing is worth depends on your damage reduction, so the site also shows it as effective health gained per second (HP per second × EHP ÷ HP). Builds such as the Shaman Acolyte, whose spells cost health, need this range more than anyone.

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