Hunter Tier 9

[Adam-Savage]

I have 2 pieces left of the Tier 9 gear for Hunter but I'm debating if I should use the 2nd piece. It says my serpent sting can crit. However I don't really see the dmg from it criting at all.

[Sharilar]

Depends on what your other gear is. Generally you don't want to break T9 2-piece unless you're going straight to T10 4-piece, and even then it depends on what level your T10 pieces are... i.e. you need 1 or 2 of the 264 ilevel versions to make it worthwhile if you're using 245 ilevel T9 pieces... if it's 232 you've got a bit more leeway.

As a side note, go do ToC, and make sure you sting the worms before they burrow. Then watch the crits pop as they burrow.. that's usually when I noticed it the most. The times when you can't directly damage a boss but DoTs are still ticking.

[Ungoro]

You can also notice it after your your faction wins WG, and there are few of the opposing faction flying around most likely looking for a fight. Land on the wall and hit them with serpent sting. As they start flying away you can see the crits pop as they try to escape your attacks.

[Epicfail]

using ww.femaledwarf.com, my dps dips way too much when I get rid of my T9 2set bonus. You might not notice it, but your dps going up quite a bit from those crits. They say not to replace your T9 bonus until you at least have 2pT10 first and possibly can upgrade one of those T9 pieces with i264 stuff.

Up to you, but I will tell you that I replaced out one of my T9 pieces for an ilevel upgrade and ended up doing less dps. /shrug.

[Sarayana]

Yeah the 2t9 is pretty fantastic... I would definitely say to equip your second t9.

[Adam-Savage]

I already have one Tier 10 piece. How good would it be to combine the tier 9 and tier 10 2 piece bonus ?

[Sarayana]

I'd try to keep 2t9 combined with 2t10 until you have 4t10, unless you get really great non-set upgrades.

[Adam-Savage]

Well I already got a belt and cloak with frost. What else should I save up for ?

[Sarayana]

No idea. I don't raid, so I amass enough frost emblems to really have bothered to look at what's available. I just wish I could get my hands on that tier gear... *sigh*

[Anansi]

For a Marksman Hunter you absolutely want to keep your 2pc T9 (try for 245s if you only have 232s) and put that alongside two pieces of T10. Only move to 4pc T10 when at least two of your T10s are the Sanctified items. Otherwise it's a DPS loss.

That said, you have be be sure you are reapplying Serpent Sting at the right time. The 2T9/2T10 combo requires micromanagement to be effective. If you're just a fire-and-forget player then go with the 4 T10 without waiting for the Sanctifieds.

[Adam-Savage]

My chimera shot refreshes the sting each time I use it. It's my 2nd shot in my shot rotation. The only 232 pieces I have that could be replaced by Tier 10 or frost would be my Tier 9 head and shoulders.

[Anansi]

My chimera shot refreshes the sting each time I use it. It's my 2nd shot in my shot rotation. The only 232 pieces I have that could be replaced by Tier 10 or frost would be my Tier 9 head and shoulders.

I'd suggest running TOC25 to get a couple of Trophies and upgrade your 232 T9 Helm and Shoulders to 245. You've got the T10 Legs so look at either the Gloves (which can drop from Toravon in VOA, the regular 251s from 10 man and the Sanctified version - 264 I believe - from 25 man). Or you could get the Chest piece which is better than the Hauberk you have now.

Ideally you want to do both. And re-gem.... definitely re-gem.

[Adam-Savage]

My chimera shot refreshes the sting each time I use it. It's my 2nd shot in my shot rotation. The only 232 pieces I have that could be replaced by Tier 10 or frost would be my Tier 9 head and shoulders.

I'd suggest running TOC25 to get a couple of Trophies and upgrade your 232 T9 Helm and Shoulders to 245. You've got the T10 Legs so look at either the Gloves (which can drop from Toravon in VOA, the regular 251s from 10 man and the Sanctified version - 264 I believe - from 25 man). Or you could get the Chest piece which is better than the Hauberk you have now.

Ideally you want to do both. And re-gem.... definitely re-gem.

Re gem to what ? I only have 2 Armour pen gems the rest are agility. I was experimenting with the gems to see if I got any dps boost or loose. I was looking @ the T10 chest piece and when I compared it to the non T10 there was very little difference in overall specs and one less gem socket.

[Anansi]

Re gem to what ? I only have 2 Armour pen gems the rest are agility. I was experimenting with the gems to see if I got any dps boost or loose. I was looking @ the T10 chest piece and when I compared it to the non T10 there was very little difference in overall specs and one less gem socket.

Well, you should remove the +10 Crit +5 Mp5 gems and the +20 Crit gems. Replace them with either +20 AGI (red) or +10 AGI +10 Crit (yellow). And replace the ArPen gems with AGI. Mp5 is useless for a Hunter and Crit doesn't scale where Agility does. Basically, you get more mileage out of Agility.

The reason I suggested going for the T10 Chest over the one you have now is because you are way over Hit cap. But you could replace the Hands as well for the same reason. You are sitting at 351 Hit (nearly 11%), and you only need 263 (8%). So all that itemization on Hit is wasted and could be replaced with something better.

I have those same Hands sitting in my bank, even though they are statistically better than my T9 245s, replacing them would be a huge DPS loss given that I'd go way over Hit cap and lose the two piece T9 bonus.

[Sarayana]

He might even go as low as 234, if he knows he'll always have a draenei in his group... I'd also suggest getting the run speed enchant on the boots instead of icewalker. Run speed is apparently the enchant du jour because of the high mobility fights in ICC, and he'd loose some of that excess hit.

[Anansi]

He might even go as low as 234, if he knows he'll always have a draenei in his group... I'd also suggest getting the run speed enchant on the boots instead of icewalker. Run speed is apparently the enchant du jour because of the high mobility fights in ICC, and he'd loose some of that excess hit.

Considering he is a Draenai he's got that covered, but yes I forgot about that racial (I'm Horde, I don't know what you Alliance people do! :p).
Hunters don't need the run speed enchant, we've got that built in (Aspect Of The Cheetah). The +16 AGI enchant is best for Hunter feet.

[Sarayana]

Oh. Duh. Haha I suck, I looked at all the gear and not at the figure in the center of it... /facepalm.

I know about aspect of the cheetah, obv, and I really can't speak about how to do the ICC fights, I was just under the impression that the run speed would be best to avoid taking damage (particularly since AotC still gets you stunned... Not a big help when trying to dodge aoe, I'd say). But if +16 agil is best, I'll just shut up now.

[Anansi]

It's a valid point, the ICC fights are highly mobile and there are many situations where you need to get out of something, or get to something, as fast as you possibly can. And AotC can as you say stun you if you're taking damage.
I am hugely jealous of my wife's Warlock Engineer and her rocket boots!

The Tuskarr's Vitality enchant (minor run speed bonus +15 STA) could actually be pretty decent for a Survival Hunter given the Hunter vs Wild talent which turns 30% of STA into AP for both the Hunter and pet. You've actually got me wondering if the Cat's Swiftness enchant (minor run speed increase and +6 AGI) is the same run speed as Tuskarr's. Would lose 10 AGI but the run speed may balance that out in terms of usefulness.
Hmm.

Right now I'm short on Hit so I've got Icewalker on my boots. Once I get that Hit elsewhere I may play around with the Cat's Swiftness, see how it works.

[Sarayana]

Haha. I'm glad to help. Or rather, to puzzle people. ;P

[Adam-Savage]

Re gem to what ? I only have 2 Armour pen gems the rest are agility. I was experimenting with the gems to see if I got any dps boost or loose. I was looking @ the T10 chest piece and when I compared it to the non T10 there was very little difference in overall specs and one less gem socket.

Well, you should remove the +10 Crit +5 Mp5 gems and the +20 Crit gems. Replace them with either +20 AGI (red) or +10 AGI +10 Crit (yellow). And replace the ArPen gems with AGI. Mp5 is useless for a Hunter and Crit doesn't scale where Agility does. Basically, you get more mileage out of Agility.

The reason I suggested going for the T10 Chest over the one you have now is because you are way over Hit cap. But you could replace the Hands as well for the same reason. You are sitting at 351 Hit (nearly 11%), and you only need 263 (8%). So all that itemization on Hit is wasted and could be replaced with something better.

I have those same Hands sitting in my bank, even though they are statistically better than my T9 245s, replacing them would be a huge DPS loss given that I'd go way over Hit cap and lose the two piece T9 bonus.

The reason for the +10 crit +5 mp5 as it was the best fit for a Blue Gem Socket. This is the reason for the odd Gemming on some of my gear. I go to http://www.wow-gem.com/gems.aspx to figure out what gems would be go for what socket if I'm faced with a odd one like blue.

EDIT: Curios thought. Armor Pen is good for a mark's Hunter , so then why is using gems to boost it bad ? I know it was talked about on here but it wasn't really made clear as to why gems with it are not good to use and that agility would be better.