Scattered Shots: Hunter raid gear in tier 14
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. Frostheim of Warcraft Hunters Union and the hunter podcast uses logic and science (mixed with a few mugs of dwarven stout) to look deep into the hunter class. Mail your hunter questions to Frostheim.or ask him on Google+.
We've already discussed the hunter pre-raid gear, so now it's time to start talking epics! Which hunter drops are the absolute best for your DPS? Which are worth a pass? And which four set pieces should you collect?
Here we're going to look at all the loots that drop from raid bosses, including world bosses. I'm also going to include the epics that can be purchased with valor points -- though these are slightly lower ilvl items and never make the top of the lists, sometimes they're only slightly worse than the top tier loot. For the sake of simplicity we'll be looking at the normal difficulty version of gear.
As always, it's worth stressing that the actual DPS difference of items of the same ilvl is very small -- though they certainly add up. And, as always, the actual value of stats changes not just with your spec but also with the rest of your gear. I'll be presenting all of the top gear choices, and then making my recommendations of which is the best, taking reforging options into account.
Head slot
Most hunters are probably going to want to use the Yaungol Slayer's Headguard for their head slot; however, the Crest of the Grand Warband is better DPS and is a valid choice. Keep in mind there are five set pieces and you only need four of them, and the head slot is one of the choices to not use a set piece (first choice is gloves, but they can cost a fortune).
Neck slot
We have a lot of options for the neck slot, and the ilvl 489 items that you can purchase for valor points aren't all that far behind the raid drops, in terms of total DPS contribution. That said the top three options on this list are better, and the Hellrider's Choker is the best -- but it drops from the world boss Galleon.
Shoulder slot
You're going to want to go with the set piece, Yaungol Slayer's Spaulders.
Back slot
The Legbreaker Greatcloak is easily the best option for the back slot, not surprising since it's the only ilvl 496 option. The others are surprisingly competitive however.
Chest slot
The easy choice for the chest slot is again the set piece, the Yaungol Slayer's Tunic.
Wrist slot
The Jagged Hornet Bracers are easily the best item for the wrist slot.
Hands slot
The hands slot is the number one choice for abandoning the set piece, with the Raven Lord's Gloves being pretty awesome. They are also going to cost you a small large fortune. They are crafted by leatherworkers and one of the components is Blood Spirit, which comes from disenchanting raid items (and not Raid Finder ones).
If you don't have the cash or blackmail material to force your guild to supply you with the mats, then you'll probably want to go with the Yaungol Slayer's Gloves and use the head slot to skip the set piece.
Waist slot
The Ranger's Chain of Unending Summer is the item to go for, which is good since the Girdle of the Raging Rider comes from the world boss Galleon.
Legs slot
You will want to use the Yaungol Slayer's Legguards for the legs slot.
Feet slot
Our best option to keep our feet warm is the Monstrous Stompers. Interestingly the Wildfire Worldwalkers are actually a valid second-choice option despite being lower ilvl than the Treads of Gentle Nudges, due to the fact that the treads don't actually have a gem slot.
Ring slot
We really have three ring choices -- the top three on the list. Of them Regail's Band of the Endless and the Hereditary Saurok Loop are the top choices by a very small margin. The Hereditary Saurok Loop drops from Galleon, and if your raid doesn't do world bosses the difference between it and the Painful Thorned Ring is minimal.
Ranged weapons
The best ranged weapon by a significant margin is Taoren, the Soul Burner. At long last, a gun in the top DPS slot! Now that it no longer matters, except in spirit.
Trinkets
Bottle of Infinite Stars
Terror in the Mists
Jade Bandit Figurine
On the trinket front, the Relic of Xuen, which comes from the Darkmoon Tiger Deck remains the top DPS trinket, though it costs a pretty penny to buy (goes for 90,000 gold on my server). The best drop options are the Bottle of Infinite Stars and the Terror in the Mists.
There's a significant DPS drop after Terror down to the Jade Bandit Figurine and the Hawkmaster's Talon. These two trinkets are actually identical, though the Jade Bandit Figurine has a heroic version.
Scattered Shots is dedicated to helping you learn everything it takes to be a hunter. If you're stuck in one of the nine support classes, why not move up to the big league and play a hunter?
