Thundarpants
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| Hit rating for raiding - Warlock |
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Meumesmo brought up a very good point/question after I submitted my raid build guide about hit rating.
I put a recomendation that you get to at least 150+ Spell hit rating for a Destruction Warlock before serious consideration of going to the first level of Tier 4 Dungeon, Karazhan.
But I put spell damage over hit rating in priority.
The cap for hit rating is 202, and 150 seems so far away from it. But it's not so far as you might think, if you consider group makeups.
I still stand by my gear research. I have found it is impossible to get adequette hit rating from the 5 man regular and heroics to get you to 202 without losing out on too many other cirtical stats to the build. So that leaves the question: What's a Warlock to do?
Well, there are several answers to the question.
Raiding isn't just about the individual, this is where the group makes you more than what you are. We've all heard the term "Raid buffed" when folks discuss their stats. You are responsible for a certain baseline of stats, but there isn't always a need to cap out when raid buffs can push you well over caps like Spell hit rating.
Lets start with proper Elixir usage.......
I'll bet all you power hungry Destruction Locks want to use these Elixirs when raiding:
Elixir of Major Shadow Power
Use: Increases shadow spell damage by up to 55 for 1 hour.
Battle Elixir
-OR-
Adept's Elixir
Use: Increases spell damage and healing by up to 24 and spell critical strike rating by 24 for 1 hour.
Battle Elixir
Well, once you have your gear in order, those are really awesome Elixirs to run. But in early raiding, you need to make up for what you do not have. Until your hit rating gets closer to 170-180, you should really think about this Elixir instead:
Elixir of Mastery
Use: Increases all Stats by 15 for 1 hour.
Battle Elixir
This will also boost your hit rating 15 more points.....
Not to mention you still get +15 spell damage out of the deal.
Then we get to your team mates. It's not uncommon to have 2 Paladins healing, even in 10 man instances like Karazhan. If you only have one, then Blessing of Salvation is top priority, but if you have two, make sure your second blessing is KINGS! Screw Blessing of Wisdom, if you want more mana, tap it up! MP5 is for Mages, Shamans and healers!
Greater Blessing of Kings
Increases stats by 10%
If your base Hit rating is 150, then you just gained another 15. And these effects start to stack, giving you more than that if you are running Elixirs.
This gets you to a minimum of 180 +spell hit. Now 202 doesn't seem so far away.... does it!?
The introduction of Shamans to the Alliance has balanced the buffage playing field as well. And actually, Draenai give us casters even more buffage:
Mage/Priest/Shaman Draenai Aura: -12.6 spell hit rating needed
Shaman Totem of Wrath: -38 spell hit rating needed
In the right group makeup, even with +150 bonus spell hit rating, you can go well over the cap. Sure you might not have two Paladins, or there may not be a Draenai or Horde Elemental Shaman in your group every time. But I'll bet you see a lot of them. And in the 25 mans, you are almost guranteed to have 2 Paladins.
A smart raid leader is going to put the Affliction Warlocks in with the Tanks, because they actually keep a pet up....Stamina buff. But they will put the Destruction Warlocks in with the Shadow Priests and Elemental Shamans for increased DPS because the most effective Destruction spec requires sacrificing the pet for a damage buff. The faster you kill stuff, the less time they have to take a beating, and for the healers to keep healing them. Not to mention that so many boss fights have enrage timers that require that you burn them down fast.
We all know that tanks and healers take priority on gear in most raiding guilds, but raiding is about balance. Without good DPS, nothing dies, and they cannot tank it forever! Nor Heal things to death!
One important part of your raid gear setup is knowing who you run with.
Keep in mind that I also double up on gear. Everyone thinks of Druids and Warriors having multiple sets of gear. The smart Warlock also has multiple sets of gear.
I have several rings. Some have spell hit, some have crit. If I have buffage pushing my hit rating, I wear the crit gear. If not, I stack up on the hit rating gear.
I also have multiple main hand weapons for the exact same reason. Just because you've gotten one really good main hand like the Scryer's Blade of Focus:
Scryer's Blade of Focus
Main Hand - Dagger
+42 Stamina
+28 Intellect
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 247.
Doesn't mean that you should stop trying to get the Wub's from ZA:
Wub's Cursed Hexblade
Main Hand - Dagger
+21 Intellect
Equip: Improves spell hit rating by 13
Equip: Improves spell critical strike rating by 20
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 217.
Equip: Restores 6 mana per 5 sec
It's all about situational gearing to best suit your group makeup. Sure it's a little less DPS, but the increase in Crit will offset that.
Like I said at the end of my guide when we started this topic, You could write a 20 page guide on how to be a Warlock alone. But topics like this are what make for good blogging!
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| 05/28/08 09:35 |
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binarydumb
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| RE: Hit rating for raiding - Warlock |
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Awesome reading, Thundarpants! Very good points made. It certainly adds to my thought processes when looking at gear/equipment.
I'm learning more about Hit vs. Crit vs. Spell Dmg playing my mage. She finally hit 57 after being dormant for sooooo long. We finally have more healers where I can sit out on some Kara farm runs and level my alts up.
That almost makes me want to level my lock next. :D
p.s. edit: keyboards don't read minds yet :-(
***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***
  
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| 05/30/08 11:32 |
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Thundarpants
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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| RE: Hit rating for raiding - Warlock |
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| QUOTE | | p.s. edit: keyboards don't read minds yet :-( |
No, but my night terrors and convulsions very closely mimic my finger motion when I play now, so if I fall asleep at the keyboard, most people don't notice.....
I can farm Forest Ragers all night long in Skettis while I'm asleep now. And I don't even break the EULA by running a bot. It really is me playing.... sort of =D
AAAAAAAA WHAT'S THAT!?!?!? Oh, nm. Just seeing flashes of light in my peripheral vision because I haven't slept for real in three days. Thought I saw a Water Elemental.....
World of Warcraft
Don't hate Raza because she's beautiful......
Because she's not......
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| 05/30/08 15:15 |
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