Using Gift of Mana

[Methica]

So as I've been leveling and AAing with my Ranger box I've finally decided to go ahead and get this spell line. Is there any input or tips and tricks to get the most bang for my buck out of this?

I'm currently 75 and have finished GoRM. I'm a bit curious about the tooltip though and what qualifies as a "harms someone" spell. Is this DoT and DD spells only? Or do Slow and Malo fall into this category? I've also started to prefer some lower level HoTs etc to use for my Canni regen so that I can trigger the first ranks of GoM and keep my group / box championed pretty much mana free. Are there any other tips and trick for using this spell? I can imagine that the value of this ability increases with the versatility of your role in the group. I can't say that I really had mana issues but this now allows me to pretty much slow / DoT / panther every time it goes off rather than just slow / DoT.

I love it so far, but feel like there's probably a better way to maximize the AA.

[Yesak]

I've found this AA a neat toy that helps in mana-cost reduction more than a true tool. We simply do not use the spells to trigger it often enough. I'm not sure exactly what level of spells trigger it apart from the different ranks (like 76+ spells require the highest one to trigger and 70+ ones need the 2nd level, etc.). The spells that trigger it are any type of heals (HoT or direct heal), some buffs (regen and focus-type spells but not stamina increasing buffs) and damage spells (DoTs and direct damage). This means that our main lines in group formats (debuffs, slows, buffs, panther, etc.) do not trigger it.

I use it to get a free champion cast or free panther cast when it fires. For me in group situations it goes off when I HoT someone or myself or it fires on Bite of the Brownie. However, it doesnt fire nearly enough to actually rely upon. Just something fun that overall lowers the mana spent over a give time frame. Nothing life-changing though.

[Unmei]

GoM is really handy for the -healing- shaman. If you're the primary healer in your group, you can do all sorts of expensive things with a GoM proc (Such as touch up the whole group and give yourself some canni fodder with Specter of Renewal, or sneak in a bite of the brownie for free) or it can just save you the cost of your next heal.

For a shaman in the usual slow/champion/cougar/couple of DoTs support role, it's decent, but not really exciting.

[Methica]

I guess what you guys are saying makes sense.

I can see how I might have overestimated the usefulness of this AA since my perception of it could be skewed. With a ranger tanking for the majority of my playtime I pretty much keep a HoT running on both toons. This probably gives me a false impression of what it would be like in a situation where the healing is otherwise taken care of and I instead play the buff debuff role.

Thanks for the responses.

[Vasei]

Anything that gives a live shaman a boost in efficacy over a bot is good in my book.

[Veril]

The big lack is that GoM is not fired from the panther line of spells. I've suggested that they should do a 1pt heal on the target, that way they would qualify. The mana recursion line should do the same for chanters IMO