Tertiary Stats: The Hidden Power
Avoidance, Leech, and Speed appear randomly on gear and provide benefits that don't show up in sims - but they're actually OP when you understand them.
Introduction
Tertiary stats appear randomly on gear and provide unique benefits that don't show up in sims but can impact your gameplay. While you can't target them specifically, understanding their value helps you to not disregard the value of them.
Tertiary stats are OP. I mean it.
Unlike primary and secondary stats, tertiary stats have much lower rating requirements but hit diminishing returns quickly. They're also the only stats that can appear on any piece of gear, making them valuable regardless of slot.
You can't farm tertiary stats directly - they appear randomly on gear. But when you get them, knowing their value helps you decide whether to keep using that piece longer than you normally would.
The Three Tertiary Stats
Avoidance: AoE Damage Reduction
- Effect: Reduces AoE damage taken by 1% per 544 rating
- Reality: This is always +1% more effective health against avoidable damage
- Value: For a player with 513,553 stamina, 1% avoidance makes that health pool effectively 518,648 against AoE mechanics
High Priority: Druids, Hunters, Priests - classes that have higher EHRPS (External Healing Required Per Second) or have positioning requirements that put them at risk.
Lower Priority: Classes with strong defensive cooldowns or natural damage reduction.
And I guess key-demons also like Avoidance a lot.
Leech: Self-Healing
- Effect: Heals you for 1% of damage and healing done per 1,020 rating
- For Healers: Extremely undervalued for HPS calculations - it's like reverse damage over time, slowly topping you back to 100%
- For DPS: Varies by spec - BM Hunters get less value since pet damage doesn't leech back, but most specs benefit significantly
High Priority: All healers benefit significantly from leech, though don't force it if DPS value is too high to pass up.
Secondary Priority: DPS specs that lack self-sustain or take consistent damage.
Speed: Movement Speed
- Effect: Increases movement speed by 1% per 170 rating
- The Sleeper: Speed is the only tertiary that hasn't been nerfed by diminishing returns as heavily
- Reality: 10% speed can be game-changing for positioning, mechanics, and overall raid performance in ways that don't show up in logs
High Priority: Casters (Warlocks, Priests, Mages) who need positioning flexibility and mechanic handling.
Also worth considering: Players assigned to specific mechanics that require movement (think Gallywix bombs or similar encounter mechanics).
Tertiary Rating Requirements (Level 80)
| Tertiary Stat | Rating for 1% | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Avoidance | 544 | Reduces AoE damage taken |
| Leech | 1,020 | Heals from damage/healing done |
| Speed | 170 | Increases movement speed |
Diminishing Returns for Tertiaries
Tertiary stats hit diminishing returns starting at 10%, unlike secondaries which start at 30%:
| Penalty | Avoidance | Leech | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| -20% | 5,440 - 8,160 | 10,200 - 15,300 | 1,700 - 2,550 |
| -40% | 8,160 - 10,880 | 15,300 - 20,400 | 2,550 - 3,400 |
| -60% | 10,880 - 26,656 | 20,400 - 49,980 | 3,400 - 8,330 |
| -100% | >26,656 | >49,980 | >8,330 |
Penalties start at 10% and ramp up quickly
Why Tertiary Stats Matter
For Survivability: Avoidance provides effective health that scales with your current stamina. The more health you have, the more valuable each percentage point becomes.
For Sustain: Leech is particularly powerful for healers and self-sufficient specs. It's not just about the raw healing - it's about reducing the need for external healing and maintaining higher average health.
For Performance: Speed affects everything from mechanic handling to positioning optimization. You will never know if it saved you or not, but at some point it will make the difference between dying and living. And most importantly, it feels good to have.
Speed is invisible in damage meters but visible in gameplay. Being 10% faster can mean the difference between reaching safety and taking avoidable damage. It's one of the most undervalued stats in the game.
Loot Distribution Strategy
When Handing Out Loot: Tertiary stats can be the tiebreaker between similar upgrades. Consider both the raw item value and the tertiary benefit for the specific player.
Priority Guidelines:
- Avoidance: Druids, Hunters, Priests > Other classes
- Leech: All healers > Self-sustain DPS > High-sustain DPS
- Speed: Casters = Mechanic-assigned players > Melee DPS
The Reality Check: Don't force tertiary distribution if the raw item upgrade is significantly better for someone else. Tertiary stats are a bonus.
Practical Considerations
Don't Force It: You can't target tertiary stats, so don't sacrifice significant item level for them. But when you have two similar pieces, the one with tertiary stats is usually better long-term.
Stacking Diminishing Returns: Unlike secondaries where you want balance, tertiary stats are rare enough that you'll rarely hit meaningful diminishing returns unless you're specifically collecting them.
- Tertiary stats appear randomly but provide unique benefits not found elsewhere
- Avoidance = effective health scaling, Leech = sustain and HPS, Speed = positioning and mechanics
- Speed is the most undervalued stat - 10% can be game-changing in ways that don't show in logs
- Don't sacrifice item level for tertiaries, but recognize their value when you get them
- Diminishing returns start at 10% but are rarely reached due to tertiary rarity