Okay, so RL stuff....
I am scheduled for surgery next week. I will be spending several days in the hospital, and so there will not be any blog posts for a bit. I have one in the pipe, and I will try to get another done (about children's week pets or my second week in Naxx, or something else).
Now, back to Wow.
Part of the fun/evil of gearing up is dealing with stats. Your primary as a hunter is to hit. Unless you are at hit cap, there is no sense worrying about any other stat. After all, to hit controls whether you miss bosses or hit them, and if you're missing, all the attack power and agility in the world will not save your dps.
Now, Naxx was ridiculously good to me last week. Insanely good. I got... a bow, 3 pieces of tier 8 (shoulders, head, and pants) a shiny necklace, a rogue dagger (we didn't have any rogues or other hunters), and a quest item. Now, if you check my current armory, I don't have my shiny head and shoulders equipped. Why?
To hit. My shoulders and head piece contribute around 80 points to my to hit. As much damage as those shiny tier pieces would do, and as much as I want to replace my green helmet, I can't do it.
So, what can I do? Well, there is a nice to hit trinket from Heroic Nexus (Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood) and there are enchants. There are also a pair of shiny rings that hopefully your neighborhood jewelcrafter will be willing to make...
The Ring of Northern Tears
The Ring of Scarlet Shadows. There's also some rep gear options (I'm using the walrus people polearm) but I kinda stink at remembering to do dailies.
Now, the first ring has some spellpower on it, but it also has a socket and crit. Plus they're both crafted, the mats aren't that bad, and it's something you can very easily do as a new 80. Plus, rings are easy to switch in and out. Pick up a shiny piece of awesome that drops your to hit below cap? Switch in one of these two rings (and resocket gems if needed) and you should be good to go. Added bonus, the mats aren't that bad. On my bank toon I had 160g, and I still have about 80 after getting the mats.
Oh, and hit cap with 3/3 in Focused aim is 163.90, and for no points in Focused Aim it's 262.24. Your pet gets your to hit rounded down. My numbers come from Less QQ, more Pew-pew
Personally, I took the points in Focused Aim so I didn't have to try to get to 263. 164 is much easier to reach, but I have no idea how much dps I may have sacrificed by those 3 talent points, nor do I care. I want my dps to be good, but as long as I am good enough that I don't hurt the raid, I'm happy. After all, for me it is just a game. A fun, engrossing, and wildly entertaining game, yes, but there is a limit to how much stress I am willing to deal with for a game. Atm, if I get over 2k dps I will be insanely happy.
Showing posts with label gearing up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gearing up. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Reputation Gear for Hunters in WotLK
Basically this is a list of the shiny hunter gear available from the different factions and how to get the rep needed for it. They're listed in order of rep needed from least to greatest. I skipped the Horde factions, but a quick glance tells me there's a nice bow and a dagger. I also ignored all the patterns since this is a gear list. I have only listed mail armor, but there is some nice leather stuff out there as well.
Neutral Factions
Argent Crusade
1. Cloak of Holy Extermination-+39 Agility, +57 Stamina, +52 Attack Power, + 25 Armor Penetration
2. Zombie-Sweeper Shotgun-+14 hit rating, +18 critical strike rating, +68 Attack power, 117.6 dps
3. Polished Regimental Hauberk- +89 Agility, +69 Stamina, +68 Intellect, yellow socket (socket bonus +4 to hit), +49 hit, +104 Attack Power
Gain rep by dailies and quests in Zuldrak and Icecrown, as well as wearing their tabard in dungeons.
The Kalu'ak (they also have a pet and a really nice fishing pole available at exalted)
1. Cuttlefish Scale Breastplate-+56 Agility, +84 Stamina, +32 Intellect, +82 Attack power
2. Traditional Flensing Knife- +29 Agility, +28 Stamina, +58 Attack Power, +21 Armor Penetration
3. Whale-Stick Harpoon- +69 Agility, +103 Stamina, +40 hit, +100 Attack Power
Gain rep by quests and dailies in Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Howling Fjord. This is a nice faction to get leveling gear from.
Kirin Tor (besides the gear, all the vendors in Dalaran are Kirin Tor faction, so grinding rep with them will give you a nice discount)
1. Lightblade Rivener+29 Agility, +30 Haste, +58 Attack Power
2. Spaulders of Grounded Lightning +34 Agility, +51 Stamina, +34 Intellect, +34 critical Strike, + 34 resilience, +68 attack power
3. Boots of Twinkling Stars"+42 Agility, +49 Stamina, +41 Intellect, +58 Haste, +66 Attack power
There are quests in Borean Tundra and the Colderra, and the cooking and jewelcrafting dailies also give some rep. Other than that, it's wearing the tabard in dungeons.
Knights of the Ebon Blade
1. Unholy Persuader-+30 Agility, +46 Stamina, +29 Armor Penetration (this is probably more of a rogue weapon)
2. Runeblade of Demonstrable Power-+63 Agility, +67 critical strike rating, +33 haste rating, +168 attack power, 169.3 dps
3. Spaulders of the Black Arrow- +58 Agility, +42 Stamina, + 44 intellect, +33 critical strike, + 88 attack power
There are quests in Icecrown, and once you've unlocked the quartermaster, wear the tabard in dungeons.
The Sons of Hodir (these are the shoulder enchant guys, and I didn't list those, but it's a good reason to grind rep with them. They also have mammoth mounts.)
1. Giant Ring Belt- +40 Agility, +51 Stamina, +34 Intellect, +25 Critical Strike, + 102 Attack Power
2. Broken Stalactite +26 Agility, +28 hit, +33 critical strike, +48 attack power, 130 dps
There are quests and dailies in the Storm Peaks. No tabard for this one, sadly.
The Wyrmrest Accord (they have a red drake as well)
1. Fang of Truth-+32 agility, +29 stamina, +33 hit rating, +48 attack power
There are quests in Coldarra , Icecrown, and Dragonblight. There's also one daily in each of those zones.
Opposing Factions
Oracles
1. Toothslice Helm+34 agility, +80 stamina, +52 intellect, +34 critical strike, +138 attack power
2. the Mysterious Egg (has a chance of a drake mount or vanity pets
Frenzyheart
this faction has no hunter gear, but does have a potion thing similar to the egg.
Both factions can be found in Sholazar Basin, and there is a long quest chain before you can start either set of dailies. Be aware that if you switch allegiances after buying gear you will no longer be able to wear the gear till you regain the rep.
Alliance Only Factions
Alliance Vanguard (subfactions are Explorer's League, the Frostborn, the Silver Covenant, and the Valiance Expedition. You need to be exalted with two of them or have the equivalent rep spread out over more than 2 to be exalted with them. Not wearing a tabard in dungeons gains you rep with them.)
1. Sawed-Off Hand Cannon- +17 Agility, +27 stamina, +18 to hit, 95.8 dps
2. Vanguard's Soldier's Dagger-+27 Agility, +36 Stamina, +40 Attack Power, 106.0 dps
Neutral Factions
Argent Crusade
1. Cloak of Holy Extermination-+39 Agility, +57 Stamina, +52 Attack Power, + 25 Armor Penetration
2. Zombie-Sweeper Shotgun-+14 hit rating, +18 critical strike rating, +68 Attack power, 117.6 dps
3. Polished Regimental Hauberk- +89 Agility, +69 Stamina, +68 Intellect, yellow socket (socket bonus +4 to hit), +49 hit, +104 Attack Power
Gain rep by dailies and quests in Zuldrak and Icecrown, as well as wearing their tabard in dungeons.
The Kalu'ak (they also have a pet and a really nice fishing pole available at exalted)
1. Cuttlefish Scale Breastplate-+56 Agility, +84 Stamina, +32 Intellect, +82 Attack power
2. Traditional Flensing Knife- +29 Agility, +28 Stamina, +58 Attack Power, +21 Armor Penetration
3. Whale-Stick Harpoon- +69 Agility, +103 Stamina, +40 hit, +100 Attack Power
Gain rep by quests and dailies in Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Howling Fjord. This is a nice faction to get leveling gear from.
Kirin Tor (besides the gear, all the vendors in Dalaran are Kirin Tor faction, so grinding rep with them will give you a nice discount)
1. Lightblade Rivener+29 Agility, +30 Haste, +58 Attack Power
2. Spaulders of Grounded Lightning +34 Agility, +51 Stamina, +34 Intellect, +34 critical Strike, + 34 resilience, +68 attack power
3. Boots of Twinkling Stars"+42 Agility, +49 Stamina, +41 Intellect, +58 Haste, +66 Attack power
There are quests in Borean Tundra and the Colderra, and the cooking and jewelcrafting dailies also give some rep. Other than that, it's wearing the tabard in dungeons.
Knights of the Ebon Blade
1. Unholy Persuader-+30 Agility, +46 Stamina, +29 Armor Penetration (this is probably more of a rogue weapon)
2. Runeblade of Demonstrable Power-+63 Agility, +67 critical strike rating, +33 haste rating, +168 attack power, 169.3 dps
3. Spaulders of the Black Arrow- +58 Agility, +42 Stamina, + 44 intellect, +33 critical strike, + 88 attack power
There are quests in Icecrown, and once you've unlocked the quartermaster, wear the tabard in dungeons.
The Sons of Hodir (these are the shoulder enchant guys, and I didn't list those, but it's a good reason to grind rep with them. They also have mammoth mounts.)
1. Giant Ring Belt- +40 Agility, +51 Stamina, +34 Intellect, +25 Critical Strike, + 102 Attack Power
2. Broken Stalactite +26 Agility, +28 hit, +33 critical strike, +48 attack power, 130 dps
There are quests and dailies in the Storm Peaks. No tabard for this one, sadly.
The Wyrmrest Accord (they have a red drake as well)
1. Fang of Truth-+32 agility, +29 stamina, +33 hit rating, +48 attack power
There are quests in Coldarra , Icecrown, and Dragonblight. There's also one daily in each of those zones.
Opposing Factions
Oracles
1. Toothslice Helm+34 agility, +80 stamina, +52 intellect, +34 critical strike, +138 attack power
2. the Mysterious Egg (has a chance of a drake mount or vanity pets
Frenzyheart
this faction has no hunter gear, but does have a potion thing similar to the egg.
Both factions can be found in Sholazar Basin, and there is a long quest chain before you can start either set of dailies. Be aware that if you switch allegiances after buying gear you will no longer be able to wear the gear till you regain the rep.
Alliance Only Factions
Alliance Vanguard (subfactions are Explorer's League, the Frostborn, the Silver Covenant, and the Valiance Expedition. You need to be exalted with two of them or have the equivalent rep spread out over more than 2 to be exalted with them. Not wearing a tabard in dungeons gains you rep with them.)
1. Sawed-Off Hand Cannon- +17 Agility, +27 stamina, +18 to hit, 95.8 dps
2. Vanguard's Soldier's Dagger-+27 Agility, +36 Stamina, +40 Attack Power, 106.0 dps
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Gearing up, it's not just about shinies any more
Well, that was a fun week. RL crap mostly, and another week of it coming up. So, at this point, I am committing myself to once a week updates for a while. I'll try to do more, but between preparing for surgery, grad school prep, GRE prep, taking care of an elderly parent with a broken arm, and trying to get to 80 (only 2 lvls left!), life is kinda busy.
But this is a WoW blog, so let's talk about that.
I'm currently trying to figure out the gearing up for heroics thing. Kinda reminds me of making Magic decks (yes, I used to play Magic). You have to prioritize (getting to the hit cap) and then once you do that you get to start fiddling with the secondary stats while still making sure you keep that magic number. Okay, so maybe that's not the best analogy. Making a high-level D&D character might be a better one. In fact, that is a good one. You want to make the best character you can with limited resources, and if you do it wrong your character is not going to be very effective.
Honestly, gear has become a bit of an issue. Not because I don't have shinies (like a belt and a staff from Utgarde Pinnacle (which I ran with a guildie last week and at lvl 77 that place is mad xp)), but because I have trouble figuring out what's best for me. I picked up some pieces I thought were better, then discovered that my attack power went down when I equipped them. But then again, which is more important, attack power or raw agility? Which ups my damage more or makes it less likely I miss? And where does haste factor in? What about armor pen? And let's not forget the pet.
And then there's glyphs and enchantments and gems and okay, this is complicated. I'll figure it out, eventually, and I'll let you know when I do, but in the meantime I have some nifty resources that may be useful to anyone else approaching end game and going wtf do I do now.
The Elitist Jerks WotLK guide for hunters This lays things out in an easy to understand format, and gives you some numbers to shoot for, as well as suggesting gem and enchant choices. It even ranks talents in all three trees, which I plan to use to clean up my MM spec (and create a BM spec) once 3.1 hits.
Loot lists suggesting the best pieces for a hunter, by zone. This website also has the same lists for other classes, and it's been a nice place to get started.
Obviously there's no substitute for the armory, and this post from Less QQ, More Pewpew is very helpful on getting to the hit cap in the first place. And poke around over there, there are some other very useful posts. (and for whatever reason Blogger does not like that link. http://www.qqpewpew.com/2008/12/03/new-hunter-hit-cap/ is the address)
Me, I plan to sit down, look at the factions, and decide who I need to be grinding rep with. I've started the Oracles (thanks to an awesome warrior friend who laid down his life to help me take down that lich guy), and I'm exalted with the walrus people. But who else do I need to be grinding with? What factions haven't I even encountered yet? (With my insistence on getting the Loremaster achievement for each zone before I move on, well, I've only really done 3 zones and touched on 2 others. On the other hand, it's a great way to make cash. Over 2k gold in 2 zones plus walrus dailies. Epic flying here I come eventually!)
But this is a WoW blog, so let's talk about that.
I'm currently trying to figure out the gearing up for heroics thing. Kinda reminds me of making Magic decks (yes, I used to play Magic). You have to prioritize (getting to the hit cap) and then once you do that you get to start fiddling with the secondary stats while still making sure you keep that magic number. Okay, so maybe that's not the best analogy. Making a high-level D&D character might be a better one. In fact, that is a good one. You want to make the best character you can with limited resources, and if you do it wrong your character is not going to be very effective.
Honestly, gear has become a bit of an issue. Not because I don't have shinies (like a belt and a staff from Utgarde Pinnacle (which I ran with a guildie last week and at lvl 77 that place is mad xp)), but because I have trouble figuring out what's best for me. I picked up some pieces I thought were better, then discovered that my attack power went down when I equipped them. But then again, which is more important, attack power or raw agility? Which ups my damage more or makes it less likely I miss? And where does haste factor in? What about armor pen? And let's not forget the pet.
And then there's glyphs and enchantments and gems and okay, this is complicated. I'll figure it out, eventually, and I'll let you know when I do, but in the meantime I have some nifty resources that may be useful to anyone else approaching end game and going wtf do I do now.
The Elitist Jerks WotLK guide for hunters This lays things out in an easy to understand format, and gives you some numbers to shoot for, as well as suggesting gem and enchant choices. It even ranks talents in all three trees, which I plan to use to clean up my MM spec (and create a BM spec) once 3.1 hits.
Loot lists suggesting the best pieces for a hunter, by zone. This website also has the same lists for other classes, and it's been a nice place to get started.
Obviously there's no substitute for the armory, and this post from Less QQ, More Pewpew is very helpful on getting to the hit cap in the first place. And poke around over there, there are some other very useful posts. (and for whatever reason Blogger does not like that link. http://www.qqpewpew.com/2008/12/03/new-hunter-hit-cap/ is the address)
Me, I plan to sit down, look at the factions, and decide who I need to be grinding rep with. I've started the Oracles (thanks to an awesome warrior friend who laid down his life to help me take down that lich guy), and I'm exalted with the walrus people. But who else do I need to be grinding with? What factions haven't I even encountered yet? (With my insistence on getting the Loremaster achievement for each zone before I move on, well, I've only really done 3 zones and touched on 2 others. On the other hand, it's a great way to make cash. Over 2k gold in 2 zones plus walrus dailies. Epic flying here I come eventually!)
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