Why is this talent so awkward and bad to play around? I’ve been testing this talent as Voidweaver Disc primarily for High M+ use and the rotation is so unforgiving even with Painful Punishment (4 Extra SWP seconds) that I just don’t see why I should drop Harsh Discipline (PWR Extra Penance Bolts) to take Expiation.
A normal healing rotation would look like this (M+)
Power Word: Radiance
Reapply Shadow Word: Pain
Void Wraith
Mind Blast (Expiation -6s)
Dark Reprimand
Void Blast (4 WnW)
Void Blast
Shadow Word: Death (Expiation -6s)
(Shadow Word: Pain has expired at this point)
Void Blast…
In order to make Expiation work you need to use Shadow Word: Death during your Entropic Rift window to make use of Voidheart (20% increased Atonement healing) and you need to reapply Shadow Word: Pain before or after your Power Word: Radiance. Expiation eats 12 out of 16 (20 if you have Pain and Suffering) seconds of your Shadow Word: Pain, so you have 4 or 8 seconds to use Void Wraith; Mind Blast; Dark Reprimand; Void Blasts. During your Entropic Rift window your heavily incentivized to only use Void Blast and Dark Reprimands for maximum healing, having to use Shadow Word: Death during this window screws up your GCD making you lose out on 1 potentially 2 Void Blast casts.
The end result is a rotation that has extra setup and needs to be timed almost perfectly as damage starts going out so you get value out of the Expiation healing from your Mind Blast (Expiation). Since you dropped Harsh Discipline for Expiation your next Void Blast (4WnW) is weaker, so you have to get value out of Expiation in this window in order to make up for the healing loss.
The only way you can make Expiation feel just ok is by taking Pain and Suffering (4 Extra SWP seconds) and Painful Punishment (Penance extends SWP), but in M+ in order to get those 3 points you have to drop the likes of Divine Procession (Smite extends Atonement) and Dark Indulgence (Mind Blast Mana cost reduction and 100% Power of the Dark Side) which feel almost mandatory.
This talent is unpopular even after its changes and it doesn’t seem to be going away. Nobody really talks about this talent, but I’ve tried to make it work in numerous high M+ keys and it just feels so unsatisfying to play around.
My end thoughts are Mind Blast and Shadow Word: Death eating 6 seconds each of your Shadow Word: Pain is far too much. Expiation basically requires Painful Punishment and Pain and Suffering to be borderline useable, the 2 points for Pain and Suffering feel hard to get as you have to drop what feel like “mandatory” talents. In order to get healing value out of Expiation you have to active it during your Entropic Rift window when you want to be Void Blasting instead.