TBC Ret - Understanding seal twisting (by Bucovsky)
Seal Twisting
Seal Twisting is Retribution Paladin strategy used to benefit from more than just 1 seal at a time. It is based on clever usage of the delay which occurs between an auto-attack hit and an actual damage dealt by Seal of Command (about 0.5 sec). Seal Twisting is fairly easy to reproduce if you understand the theory but it requires good timing and reflex to use in an actual fight.
Some useful terms:
SoC - Seal of Command
SoB - Seal of Blood
SoJ - Seal of Justice
JoC - Judgement of Command (The effect of Judgement after consuming Seal of Command)
Proc - Triggering of an effect
How to use it?
You have to swap between at least 2 seals, but the starting one must be Seal of Command. You can benefit from Seal Twisting only if your SoC procs, white hits which don't proc the effect will just make you waste some of your mana. SoC's effect triggers 0.5 sec after your white hit and you have to be quick enough to use a different seal in that short time period. If you do it correctly SoC's damage will proc the effect of the second seal of your choice.
>Use Seal of Command
>Auto-attack your target
>Melee swing occurs, white damage is dealt, Seal of Command procs (the timer starts, you have 0,5 sec to change seal)
>Use Seal of Blood/Seal of Justice (or Seal macro, explained later in the topic)
>0.5 sec passes, you benefit from both Seals (You just seal twisted!)
How to notice whether my seal will proc or not?
It is quite easy to control your procs and avoid wasting mana/global cooldown. However, the more tense the situation is the harder it becomes to predict SoC's triggering.
When you use SoC and start attacking your enemy with auto-attack you can witness 2 situations:
1. Normal speed attack animation, no special sounds, no special visual effects. (SoC will not trigger)
2. You can see much faster attacking animation, a special sound effect can be heard, a special visual effect appears your target. (SoC will trigger, additional damage will be dealt)
You can basically try your luck and swap your seal immediately after seeing the swing animation or try to predict SoC's proc and make sure you benefit from Seal Twisting. This is how SoC's visual effect looks:
Image
You can additionally use macros to improve the efficiency of your Seal Twisting by consuming the SoC with Judgement right before it is replaced by the second seal, restoring some of the seal's mana cost and adding more damage. Example macros:
#showtooltip Seal of Command(Rank 6)
/equip Libram of Avengement
/use Judgement
/use Seal of Command(Rank 6)
#showtooltip Seal of Blood(Rank 1)
/equip Libram of Avengement
/use Judgement
/use Seal of Blood(Rank 1)
#showtooltip Seal of Justice(Rank 2)
/equip Libram of Avengement
/use Judgement
/use Seal of Justice(Rank 2)
Blood Elves are the most lucky ones when it comes to Seal Twisting because of the Seal of Blood which is available only to them. The combination of SoC + SoB creates an opportunity to do some high burst damage.
Attacks done in this 0.5 sec combo (with using Seal + Judgement macro):
1x White Attack
1x Seal of Command proc
2x Seal of Blood procs
1x Judgement of Command effect
You can use Libram of Divine Judgement which is probably better for paladins who don't have Seal of Blood but I recommend to use Libram of Avengement if you Seal Twist using SoC + SoB combination since it guarantees that you will gain a buff no matter what your current Seal was.
Alliance-only Seal of Vengeance doesn't seem to work with Seal Twisting making Hordes benefit more from this strategy. However, Alliance Paladins can combine SoC with SoJ to get some additional stuns and interrupts.
Attacks done in this 0.5 sec combo (with using Seal + Judgement macro):
1x White Attack
1x Seal of Command proc
1x Seal of Justice stun effect
1x Judgement of Command effect
Important notes
-SoC cannot proc off Crusader strike, while SoB can
-Windfury Totem effect significantly empowers your Seal Twisting
-SoC has a chance to proc (using slow weapons makes your SoC more likely to trigger)
-SoB has 100% chance to deal damage when you attack your enemy with auto-attack or crusader strike, but it consumes some of your HP and deals 2x lower damage than SoC.
