IF vs. RoP in Simulationcraft

[Circled]

Hi fellow Mages!

Long time lurker, first post here. I've been playing more casually for the last two expansions and I recently swapped back to my Mage. Having realized Rune of Power is still a thing, I've concluded that Rune of Power does not feel fun to use. I've been playing around with Simulationcraft and Raidbots, and I've come to notice that (with my gear?) Incanter's Flow sims REALLY close (<2% difference).

This seems odd considering everyone saying RoP is "hands down the best DPS talent on that row". What gives? Is Simcraft accurate in this particular comparison?

[Kofetek]

Well you said it; 2% increase in DPS. It's not the gift of god that some people consider it to be, but still better for the 2%.

I think it's considered to snyergize well with the current tier set, and that combination makes it good for DPS check situations.
On high movement fights (e.g. mythic dogs), I'd argue that IF is better since you simply lose out on the RoP too much.

Lastly, I'd say it's an acquired taste - not fun to use at first, but after a while becomes second nature. Apart from getting used to the effect radius, you also quickly figure out when not to use it in every particular fight.

[Makz]

You have taken the first part, to do the simulations. The next step is to evaluate yourself as a player - can you properly execute rune of power? Because if you take it for that 2% extra dps and fail to execute it correctly, you wont net any dps over IF. Do this on a per-boss basis - some fights are simply not realistic to use ROP on, some fights its more important to have that crazy spikey dmg fire has and do OK overall.

And finally - dont forget its not just about RoP, its about the bracer proc. You want that bracer proc in the rune, so try it and see how well you can pull it off properly. I would suggest to do some M+ - they are excellent in pushing your skills to the limit in utilizing ROP/Bracer procs as there are a ton of diverse mechanics to practice.