Spell power Spell power is an attribute that increases the effect of spell s . Spell power increases the damage amount of damaging spells and the healing amount of healing spells . Prior to Patch 3 . 0 . 2 , the attribute known as spell damage would only increase the effects of damaging spells . Healing spells were only increased by the healing attribute . As of Patch 3 . 0 . 2 , spell power now affects both types of spells . Nevertheless , there are items which can increase your bonus healing independently of damage spells . Similarly , there are items which grant bonuses only to certain magic schools such as fire or nature . As of Patch 4 . 0 . 1 the ability to downrank has been removed as well as the removal of spell power from gear . Information about spell power can be found on the Character tab of the Character info window under the Spell heading . The Bonus Damage attribute represents your spell power ' s contribution to general spell damage . Hovering your mouse over this attribute will show you the specific bonus damage for individual schools of damaging magic . These are typically equal to or greater than the base Bonus Damage attribute . The Bonus Healing attribute represents your spell power ' s contribution to healing spells . As with damage schools , this attribute is typically equal to or greater than your general Bonus Damage attribute . Players often refer to this attribute as simply + damage , + dmg , or plus damage . For effects that target a specific school , it is similarly referred to by that school such as + fire . In particular , healers commonly refer to items with only a healing bonus as + healing . Your bonus damage and bonus healing from spell power do not usually apply directly to a spell . Each spell ( or each component of each spell ) which causes damage or healing has a spell power coefficient which determines how much of your bonus damage or bonus healing will be applied to the spell . The coefficient may be more or less than 100 % , depending on various spell factors . Rules for calculating the coefficient are discussed in the sections that follow . Sources of spell power . Spell power is found primarily on equippable items , but can also be increased with potions , buffs and some class talents . Items with the following item suffix es will add spell damage or healing : All spell damage and healing gains stack . The total bonus is determined by adding individual bonuses from all equipped items , all buffs , and any talents . The total amount of spell damage and healing can be tracked on the character sheet , under the " Spell " tab . " Bonus Damage " shows the total amount that applies to all schools . Mousing over " Bonus Damage " will break down the benefit by magical school , which includes items that only affect one school . " Bonus Healing " shows the amount that will be applied to healing spells . Spell coefficients . How much that spell power contributes to the effect of a spell varies from spell to spell . It is generally related to the cast time and / or the duration of the spell , and different categories of spells have different formulas for calculating their spell power . The portion of your spell power which is contributed to a particular spell is referred to as the spell power coefficient . It typically does not vary within the same spell , but the lowest and highest ranks of some spells have different casting times or durations , which can cause the coefficient to be different for those ranks . The spell power typically varies with either the spell ' s casting time , duration , or both . In general , spells with short casting times or short durations are less powerful and consume less mana than those with longer casting times and durations . The intention is for the coefficient to scale with the overall power of the spell being cast . That is , a spell which heals for 100 should receive less benefit than a spell which heals for 1000 . If they received the same benefit , it would be far more efficient to " spam " small spells to get the same amount of free bonus damage / healing as you would get for casting the larger spell . Scaling the spell power coefficient helps preserve the base mana efficiency of spells . That said , the correlation between casting time or duration and the strength of a spell is not perfect . The addition of spell power effects may change the mana efficiency of a spell significantly . When ordering the mana efficiency of your damage and healing spells , you should consider the effects of spell power , as this may change their ranking compared to if you used only the base states of your spells . There are 5 categories of spells used to calculate spell power coefficients : direct ( instant - effect ) , over time , hybrid ( has both a direct and an over time component ) , channeled , and area of effect . Some spells may belong to more than one category . For instance , channeled spells always act over time ; area of effect ( AoE ) spells may be direct spells , or may be channeled over time . In general , the order of priority is : area of effect > channeled > hybrid > [ direct | over time ] . That is , a spell which is a channeled area of effect should be calculated as an AoE spell , rather than as channeled . The coefficient can be determined by following some basic rules that are outlined in this section . It should be noted , however , that there are a number of exceptions to these rules , and that the true spell coefficient should be verified experimentally . As of Patch 3 . 0 . 2 , it is necessary to multiply the results of the standard equations by a factor of approximately 1 . 88 for all healing spells . This is a proportionality constant introduced to account for the fact that bonus healing behaved differently from bonus spell damage prior to the patch , and took on a different range of values . Direct ( instant - effect ) spells . Direct spells are spells that apply all the damage or healing at one time . That is , they have an instant duration . The amount of bonus damage or bonus healing depends on the cast time of the spell " before any talents or abilities are applied to them " . Spells with a cast time of less than 1 . 5 sec or greater than 7 . 0 sec are treated as having a cast time of 1 . 5 sec and 7 . 0 sec , respectively . Direct Damage spells : Direct Heal spells : Table of coefficients Example calculation using Rank 11 ( L80 ) of Fire Blast ( Mage ) : Examples of such spells include : Healing Touch ( Druid ) , Greater Heal ( Priest ) , Shadow Bolt ( Warlock ) Some exceptions of this rule are : Over time spells . Over time spells apply healing or damage over a period of time in tick s . The spell power coefficient depends on the duration of the over time effect . Damage spells : Healing spells : This coefficient applies to the entire duration of the spell . With a few exceptions , each tick receives an equal bonus . Therefore , the per - tick coefficient can be found by dividing the overall coefficient value by the number of ticks . Prior to patch 2 . 0 . 1 , there was a 100 % cap on over time spells longer than 15 seconds . This cap has since been removed . There is no minimum duration cap for over time spells . Table of coefficients Example calculation using Rank 15 ( L80 ) of Rejuvenation ( Druid ) : Examples of these spells include : Rejuvenation ( Druid ) , Renew ( Priest ) Some exceptions to this rule are : Hybrid spells ( Combined standard and over - time spells ) . The bonus for spells that have both a direct and an over time component is divided between these components . Currently , the equations are unknown for hybrid healing spells . Several equations have been proposed , but none of them provide correct results for all ( or most ) hybrid spells . Because there are so few hybrid healing spells , it may be the case that their coefficients are not set by equations at all , but are chosen directly by the developers . For hybrid damage spells , the equations are : Example calculation using the Rank 14 ( L80 ) Moonfire ( Druid ) spell : So the DoT portion of Moonfire ( 4 ticks ) has a coefficient of 52 . 09 % ( ~ 13 . 02 % per tick ) . The DD portion has a coefficient of 14 . 95 % . The total coefficient is 52 . 09 % + 14 . 95 % = 67 . 04 % . This agrees very closely with the empirical values of 52 % and 15 % , respectively . Examples of these spells include : Moonfire ( Druid ) Exceptions to this rule include Channeled spells . Channeled spells , like over time spells , have their benefit distributed over the entire duration of the spell . It is split evenly over each tick assuming that each tick causes the same amount of damage / healing . The duration of the spell cast time is used to calculate the total coefficient : For damage spells : For healing spells : For both : Example calculation using Rank 13 ( L79 ) of Arcane Missiles ( Mage ) : Examples of these spells include : Hurricane ( Druid ) , Arcane Missiles ( Mage ) , Hellfire ( Warlock ) . An exception to this rule is : Area of effect spells . Area of Effect spells receive only 1 / 2 of the total bonus that they would if they were single - target spells . As with a direct spell , the cast time is used to calculate the coefficient . The 1 . 5 second minimum and 7 . 0 second maximum apply to area of effect spells . Damage spells : Healing spells : Table of coefficients Example calculation using Rank 7 ( L80 ) of Circle of Healing ( Priest ) Examples of these spells include : Arcane Explosion ( Mage ) , Prayer of Healing ( Priest ) , Circle of Healing ( Priest ) In the Burning Crusade and patch 2 . 0 there is a diminishing return against multiple targets . That is , as the number of targets your spells affect increases , the less damage you will deal to them . The numbers for this mechanic aren ' t yet known . Paladin special attacks . Some paladin abilities work different ways . Here are some formulas tested in the Beta version of the Burning Crusade . Holy Shield , Retribution Aura ( paladin ) reflects damage : Only paladin aura benefit from + dmg . Seal of Righteousness , which applies Holy damage on each melee attack : One - handed weapons : Two - handed weapons : Penalty rules . Spells learned before level 20 . Many spells have multiple ranks . To avoid abuse of lower ranks to have a similar effect at a negligible mana cost , any spell learned below level 20 receives a large penalty . If such a spell has a shorter cast time than a higher rank , this is also taken in to account . This penalty can be calculated by subtracting 3 . 75 % for each level lower than 20 . Downranked spells . The ability to downrank has been removed with the release of patch 4 . 0 . 1 Downranking , the act of purposefully using a lower - rank cheaper spell , no longer has any mana benefit as of Patch 3 . 0 . Spells with additional effects . Spells with additional effects , like a slowing effect , receive a penalty for each effect . Typically the penalty is 5 % per additional effect , but can vary according to the developers ' whims . For instance , here is the calculation for Rank 7 ( L80 ) of Insect Swarm ( Druid ) , which is an over time spell with a chance - to - hit debuff : Examples of these spells include : Blast Wave ( Mage ) , Blizzard ( Mage ) , Insect Swarm ( Druid ) Spells that both damage and heal . Some spells , namely Life Drains , both damage the target and heal the caster . The bonus is split between the healing and damaging portion , roughly in proportion to the amount of healing and damage involved . That is , if a spell heals 4 points for every 1 point of damage , 1 / 5 of the spell ' s bonus will go to damage and roughly 4 / 5 will go to healing . Because bonus healing does not apply to these spells , the 1 . 88 multiplier is not used for the healing portion . Thus Drain Life ' s bonus is applied 50 % / 50 % to damage / healing , while Devouring Plague ' s bonus is split roughly 75 % / 25 % . The exact equations are unknown at this time , but a reasonably close answer can be obtained by : Examples of these spells include : Devouring Plague ( Priest ) , Holy Nova ( Priest ) , Drain Life ( Warlock )