I can't seem to do the math on this: would it be worthwhile to trade an item with Mana Preservation IV for one that has Flowing Thought III?

I've already looked into augs, gear, etc., to replace the MP IV, and that's not doable, so will the benefit of FT3 compensate?

At first thoughts i would think no, the saving on MP4 is 10% on every spell you cast. That will add up to more than the 3 mana per tic you get back with FT3.

Considering that you are near (maybe at) the point where the Mana Pres IV is negated by spell level you may want to look into it if you need the FT.

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

It's always nice to get input from peers. :)

At first thoughts i would think no, the saving on MP4 is 10% on every spell you cast. That will add up to more than the 3 mana per tic you get back with FT3.

Actually MP4 is an average of 5.5% on every cast. It saves a random amount between 1% and 10%. So, depending on how much mana regen you have available to you normally, you will have to make the decision from there.

Mathematically, you could view MP as either a 5.5% increase in your mana regen rate (same number of casts take less mana, therefore less time to regen) or a 5.5% increase in your mana pool which allows more casts for "burning" down a mob. So, it is going to be equally useful for long-term "endurance" runs or short term "burst" runs since it can be viewed either way (pseudo-mana-regen or increased mana pool).

If we assume that the FT3 was a 5.5% increase in your total mana regen, then we could see that the MP4 was a better deal because over the short term the FT has too little time to make an impact to create the "illusion" of an increased mana pool they way that MP4 can. Over long-period (endurance) runs, the FT is approximately equivalent to MP.

So, you just need to calculate how much of a percentage increase that FT3 gives you in overall mana regen. Be sure to factor in the buffs and configuration (mount or no mount) that you will most likely have. At level 65, you have 12 mana/tic in self-buffs available..and being perma-kei'd is as easy as popping into POK every couple of hours. So, that's 26mana/tic from buffs. Add your standing regen and meditation rate (if mounted), other mana regen buffs, and other FT items that you will still have regardless of your decision between the two mentioned items. After adding all that up...is an additional FT3 more or less than a 5.5% increase? If it's much more, then go with the FT3 item. If it's less or about the same, then MP4 is likely your best choice.

You need to take into consideration the most likely casting scenarios from above...if you tend to single-kite and therefore deplete mana as quickly as possible, then MP4 will do more for each individual kite than FT3 will....then you can switch to the FT3 after the kite to med up to full quicker :)

That was probably more confusing than helpful..but hopefully it makes a *little* bit of sense.

Edit: I just realized Allegreta was level 68. So, my above arguments are valid if you are casting mostly level 65-and-below spells. Otherwise, the FT would be more useful. If you were choosing between FT and MP5...then all of my previous arguments when then be valid for spells up to 70.