Spirit Tap misconceptions

The priest talent Spirit Tap is one of the best talents for soloing. After you land a killing blow on a mob you get a buff for 15 seconds that doubles your spirit and allows 50% of your mana regeneration to continue while casting. The effect only procs if the killed mob or player would have given you experience or honor, but that usually is the case anyway.

A common recommendation among priests is to wand the mob for the last few seconds before the killing blow, so that you are out of the 5-second-rule for the full duration of the Spirit Tap buff. I used to blindly follow that advise to maximise the amount of mana that I regenerate, but luckily some priests pointed out that this is a misconception.

It sounds surprising at first, but being in or out of the 5-second rule (FSR) when Spirit Tap procs has no influence on the extra mana regenerated from it!

Without taking into account other talents Spirit Tap gives the following:

If you are out of the FSR while Spirit Tap is running then you get the full 100% mana regeneration rate at double your normal spirit. Instead of 100% regeneration you will get 200%. So Spirit Tap gives you extra mana equivalent to 15 seconds at 100% mana regeneration.

If you keep casting instead and stay inside the FSR for the proc then you get 50% mana regeneration at double your spirit. Instead of 0% regeneration you will have 100%. In this case Spirit Tap gives you extra mana equivalent to 15 seconds at 100% mana regeneration.

So being in or out of the FSR for Spirit Tap makes no difference for mana regeneration. Spirit tap adds a flat 100% extra on top of your usual mana regeneration. Please note that time spent out of the FSR is still a good thing. You just don't have to worry about Spirit Tap with regard to it. Take a regeneration break whenever you need and don't be a slave to Spirit Tap.

Taking into account talents like 'Improved Divine Spirit', 'Spiritual Guidance', and 'Meditation' makes casting while Spirit Tap is running actually better than wanding. Improved Divine Spirit and Spiritual Guidance benefit from the doubled spirit and give you extra +damage/healing. If you keep casting then you can use this benefit, but if you are wanding instead you are wasting the +damage. Meditation also benefits from the extra spirit, but only while you are *in* the FSR.