- Author: Nevermore
- Date: October 18, 2023
- Updated: January 8, 2024
- Expansion: WotLK Classic
Equipment will be the main source of your character’s power, contributing the biggest bulk of your stats. It is therefore very important that you choose the correct equipment for each slot — commonly referred to as “best in slot” equipment – in order to maximize your power.
It is important to remember that Best in Slot lists are not one size fits all, that just isn’t how the game works. The best set for a guild that kills a boss in 70 seconds will be different from the list for a guild that kills a boss in 120 seconds. An Alliance player and a Horde player will have different priorities and buffs. Your mileage will vary always.
This guide is divided into two sections. The first section is three basic lists, providing you full sets for a fresh level 80 pre-raid, a level 80 preparing for their first foray into Icecrown Citadel, and an example of ideal gear to aspire to from Icecrown Citadel & The Ruby Sanctum. The second section provides more alternatives for each slot, giving an example of gear progression between these three areas of gearing.
Heroic++, otherwise known as Defense Protocol Beta drops gear from 10-man Ulduar and Naxxramas. Heroic+, otherwise known as Defense Protocol Alpha, drops gear from 10-man Naxxramas, as well as regular Heroic gear. Future Phases are likely to add further Heroic difficulties.
Note: This list may change over time with patches or new information. This list is an educated guess based on information available at the time of writing.
Best-in-Slot
Progressive Best-in Slot
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer | |
Heroic Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your head slot. Supposedly, with the new release of Heroic Plus Dungeons, we will get access to items such as Heroes’ Cryptstalker Headpiece. This would be the best item you can acquire as a fresh 80.
On a more realistic note, you will either want to start with Truesight Ice Blinders, which are reserved only for Engineers, or start a progressive upgrade of your head slot with items such as King Dred’s Helm and Plunderer’s Helmet from Heroic Dungeons. Given the fact that you will have an item of around 187 item level from quests in Northrend as your starting point, either of those two will be amazing an amazing DPS boost.
Given raw DPS output, either Helm of the Vast Legions or Arc-Scorched Helmet are fantastic choices before your first Naxxramas 25, with the latter choice being superior. Given our talents, you will not have to worry about Hit Rating, however, you may want to choose your items carefully and from time to time favor items such as Helm of the Vast Legions which has Hit Rating as a secondary stat to hit your caps.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Naxxramas – Four Horseman | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Since the 4-item set bonus for T7 is not a big deal for Marksmanship Hunters, the best item for the Pre-Raid phase is the Blue Aspect Helm. Its high critical strike chance combined with high haste rating and high raw stats grant it the best performance.
The next in line is Valorous Cryptstalker Headpiece, as it has similar stats with Blue Aspect Helm, albeit it presents itself as an inferior version.
If none of the previous choices can be attained, you can choose either Helm of the Grave or Hyaline Helm of the Sniper. Hyaline Helm of the Sniper is a much better choice if you somehow lack Hit Rating while the Helm of the Grave is a far better choice for DPS output.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot is Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Headpiece which provides you with extremely high raw stats and the tier-set item bonus. This item is particularly strong due to the high armor penetration and the 600 Attack Power proc that it grants access to once the 4 pieces of the set are equipped.
Boundless Gaze is the next available choice as it also provides high stats, although it lacks Armor Penetration, it makes up for it with a high Critical Strike Chance. The issue with Boundless Gaze is the Hit Rating it offers, generally speaking, it would be a better choice if our build would severely lack Hit Rating. However, it goes beyond the soft Hit Rating cap already without the item present.
Helm of the Furnace Master is a very solid choice, especially for the beginning when the tier set items are highly contested and Boundless Gaze is out of reach.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
The first item level 258 tier piece you should be aiming for is the head, it gives the best overall damage gain compared to its 2nd BiS relative to the other tier parts. Next is the 245 tier piece, as it still offers the same set bonuses.
Boundless Gaze is good, and gives a lot of stats, if you have been clearing Ulduar on 25 man you probably already have this item in your possession going into Phase 3, the problem with this item is that it has a lot of hit rating, and so do many items in TOC/TOGC which will make you struggle to keep your hit rating balanced. Dragonstalker’s Helm has the same stats as the item level 245 tier, but lacks a set bonus, it’s a very easy and strong pick up early on though.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Xevozz | |
The Culling of Stratholme – Chrono-Lord Epoch |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your necklace slot. There are two possible paths for this slot once you reach level 80, you can either go through the classic path and journey through dungeons and acquire progressive updates such as Necklace of the Chrono-Lord and Necklace of Arcane Spheres to gain important stats such as Critical Strike Chance or Haste Rating. Or you can acquire Titanium Impact Choker and use it until you can get access to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons to get your hands on items such as Pendant of the Outcast Hero or Gem of Imprisoned Vassals.
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals will be a strong item that you can confidently use even in the Pre-Raid phase where you start raiding the 25 versions of the Phase 1 raids.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity | |
The Eye of Eternity – Judgement at the Eye of Eternity | |
Naxxramas – Sapphiron | |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Naturally, the most potent option will remain the Favor of the Dragon Queen. As an alternative and inferior version, you can use Pendant of the Dragonsworn if you did not yet cross paths with Malygos in The Eye of Eternity 25-man. The Armor Penetration with the high critical strike chance will grant the best DPS output for those two items.
If you did not manage to fight Malygos, Icy Blast Amulet will be your next best bet. You will want to gain items that grant a combination of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating or Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration.
Lastly, you can use either Gem of Imprisoned Vassals or Fool’s Trial as an initial choice.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity |
Pendulum of Infinity will be the best item for this slot, however, it will be highly contested. While it does not grant Armor Penetration, it provides high raw stats and a Critical Strike Chance to supplement the Armor Penetration loss.
With the coming of the new Phase 2 items, Seed of Budding Carnage‘s DPS output greatly increases, making the item a lot stronger than Nymph Heart Charm or our beloved Favor of the Dragon Queen.
Nonetheless, the Favor of the Dragon Queen completely trumps Nymph Heart Charm in DPS output, making it a great initial choice. Nymph Heart Charm will be a better choice if you somehow lack Hit Rating and you choose to not sacrifice any gem or enchantment.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
ulduar – general-vezax | |
Charge of the Eredar is your best in slot, but it’s only a single digit increase better than Pendulum of Infinity DPS wise which almost all melee players want. Pendulum of Infinity can easily last you through Phase 3, but you may need the Armor Penetration from Collar of Unending Torment.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic The Nexus – Grand Magus Telestra | |
(Heroic) The Culling of Stratholme – Meathook | |
Knights of the Ebon Blade – Revered | |
Halls of Stone – Halls of Stone (Quest) |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your shoulders slot. For your early shoulders slot, you will have 3 main paths. You can either start with dungeons and follow a progressive path from Normal Dungeons reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, attain a powerful BoE item that may sell for a high amount of gold, or simply start gaining a reputation with the Knight of the Ebon Blade and gather gold in the meantime.
We have listed the items that you can gain through the progressive dungeon path, however, the most powerful item that you can gain is Spaulders of Egotism. Depending on your realm’s Auction House economy, you may want to skip the dungeon path altogether or ignore the BoE item completely.
As far as stats go, you will want items with either Armor Penetration, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating. Either combination of those will work wonders for your shoulders slot.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Loatheb, Gluth | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Thaddius | |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious | |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will the former BiS of Phase 1, the Valorous Cryptstalker Spaulders. Just like the previous item slots, the combination of Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating will provide the DPS output.
In terms of raw DPS output, the next best thing will be the Upstanding Spaulders, granting you a similar DPS output. If you do not manage to get your hands on either of those two items, you can choose items such as Shoulderpads of Secret Arts or Pauldrons of the Abandoned which grant a decent DPS output for the beginning of Ulduar.
Spaulders of Egotism still remain a perfectly valid choice if you do not wish to raid Naxxramas anymore.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best item for this slot if you choose to access the 4-item set bonus will be Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Spaulders. The item itself grants poor secondary stats, however, the 600 Attack Power bonus that you can gain by wearing the complete set will be much more powerful than the raw stats granted by a single item.
The Mantle of Fiery Vengeance will be your second-best choice for this slot, especially due to its high Armor Penetration Rating and Critical Strike Chance. In terms of raw power, it is superior to the Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Spaulders tier 8 item.
Shoulderpads of the Monolith are an alright alternative if you consider the beginning of the gearing process, as Haste is not a powerful stat unless its piled up.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic++ |
Either tiers are the obvious choice here, supplying you with enough hit.
If you have too much hit and don’t lose a tier set bonus you may want to consider one of the other alternatives, these alternatives are all very close in terms of strength, so you can use whichever is the easiest pick up for you.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Erekem | |
Halls of Stone – Maiden of Grief |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your cloak slot. The best choice will be defined by the Shawl of the Shattered Giant. However, even if the item is a BoE and can be easily bought, it requires someone to clear Ulduar first, meaning that it will become the best option for a Fresh 80 only after a week or two of Phase 2 passes.
Alternatively, you can choose to buy the Ice Striker’s Cloak and maintain it until you manage to get in a Naxxramas 25.
As a new option that comes with the new Phase 2, you may choose to progress normally through Normal and Heroic Dungeons, reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons that will grant you strong items such as the Cloak of Mastery or the Cloak of Darkening from the former Naxxramas 10. The best option until the Shawl of the Shattered Giant gets released on the Auction House will be the Cloak of Mastery, granting you the highest DPS output.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot is Drape of the Faceless General especially due to its high Armor Penetration and general high stats. The high Critical Strike Chance combined with the high Armor Penetration rating are stats that you will want to prioritize on the majority of your items.
Drape of Icy Intent is the second-best choice due to its high stats, even if it does not provide Critical Strike Chance or Armor Penetration. This is because of the high raw value of the stats themselves, even if they are not the most optimal.
As alternatives, Drape of the Lithe and Shawl of the Shattered Giant are very valid options, however, they don’t provide high a high DPS boost.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (10) | |
ulduar – general-vezax | |
Sylvanas’ Cunning is going to be the obvious best pick, and quite possibly will last you through the whole expansion with its high item level, needless to say every melee armor penetration user is gonna want this cloak, and you cannot die on Heroic difficulty to have a chance of getting it to drop, so it’s fairly difficult to acquire.
Luckily the 10 man version Cloak of Serrated Blades has the same stat make up and will have less people competing for it. Drape of the Faceless General is still very good and should be relatively easy to acquire, but is quite a bit weaker than the top 2. Cloak of the Untamed Predator lacks in Armor Penetration but has a lot of Agility.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Knights of the Ebon Blade – Exalted | |
Drak’tharon Keep – Zone Drop BoE | |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your chest slot. The easiest way to prepare for Heroic Dungeons or the new Heroic Plus Dungeons will be to acquire either Razorstrike Breastplate or Aviary Guardsman’s Hauberk as both grant you decent stats. You can also attempt to farm the Knights of the Ebon Blade reputation in order to gain Darkheart Chestguard, which will grant you high offensive stats if you do not manage to form a group for the new Heroic Plus Dungeons.
The best item that you will be able to acquire as a fresh 80 will be the Tunic of the Lost Pack, offering you a decent initial Hit Rating and high Critical Strike Chance besides its high raw stats.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Noth the Plaguebringer, Gluth | |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Four Horsemen, Gluth | |
Naxxramas – Grobbulus |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Tunic of Masked Suffering, as it grants you extraordinarily high stats, a high critical strike chance, and a high haste rating.
From a DPS output perspective, you have 3 main alternatives, each of them being gradually stronger than the previous one. Sadly, none of the 3 options grant you a perfect combination of secondary stats, making them inadequate for long periods of time. The second-best choice after the Tunic of Masked Suffering will be the Chestguard of Flagrant Prowess due to its high raw stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot by far is Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Tunic. Not only that it grants you access to the tier set bonus but it also massively boosts your overall stats. The increased Critical Strike Chance will also be a huge boost to your overall damage.
The next best option is Embrace of the Gladiator, even if it does not provide you access to the tier-set bonus. The item provides you with sockets, a high Critical Strike Chance, and quite a high Haste Rating.
The last viable alternative is Chestguard of Insidious Intent. While this item provides a high Armor Penetration Rating, in the setup that we have provided as BiS, it does not perform quite well. The item itself can be quite an extraordinary choice if you don’t have access to any of the other items.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
For your absolute bis you’re going to want the 258 Tier Chest, however if you have too much hit using Cuirass of Cruel Intent instead is a solid option, assuming you maintain the 4 set bonus.
Vest of Shifting Shadows is a bit better than Crusader’s Dragonscale Breastplate, but the latter is by far the easiest item to get on the list. Embrace of the Gladiator is a decent carry over item from the last tier but that’s about it, even with its lower item level the rest beats it with better itemisation.
For your absolute bis you’re going to want Cuirass of Cruel Intent, however if you can use the hit Tier 9 is a solid option, assuming you use the 4 piece bonus. Vest of Shifting Shadows is a bit better than Crusader’s Dragonscale Breastplate, but the latter is by far the easiest item to get on the list.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Halls of Lightning – Loken (Heroic) | |
Heroic+ | |
The Wyrmrest Temple – Exalted |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your bracer slot. There are two main ways for gaining a strong pair of gloves as a fresh 80 Hunter. You may choose to pick the normal dungeon route, reaching strong items such as the Bands of Anxiety which grant you a much-needed high critical strike chance and Hit Rating from the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. Another choice would be to buy Armguard of the Tower Archer directly from the Auction House, as it can be bought by veteran raiders with 60 Emblem of Valor and sold. While Armguard of the Tower Archer has weaker offensive stats than Bands of Anxiety, its accessibility makes it stronger.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. By far the best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Bracers of the Smothering Inferno. The only issue with the item is that it will require someone to clear Ulduar in order for the item to be placed in the Auction House.
The best option from Phase 1 is Slime Stream Bands. It provides a perfect combination of high raw stats, critical strike chance, and hit rating. Sinner’s Bindings and Arachnoid Gold Band are both perfectly valid options, offering similar DPS output.
Lastly, you can use Armguard of the Tower Archer, granting you the weakest DPS output that remains a decent choice, especially if you are lacking Hit Rating.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer |
Frost-bound Chain Bracers are the best item for this slot, even if they do not grant any Armor Penetration. The high Critical Strike Chance will do wonders for your overall damage.
While Fluxing Energy Coils provide Armor Penetration, they are weaker compared to bound Chain Bracers) from a pure stat point of view, resulting in less DPS. They are quite a strong option if you can’t manage to get your hands on Frost-bound Chain Bracers).
Surprisingly Solar Bindings are actually the weakest choice when it comes to this slot. This is due to the useless “Expertise Rating” combined with the Haste Rating.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Faction Champions (25) | |
The Heroic version of Bracers of the Silent Massacre is the best by far, no argument here. Armbands of Dark Determination are second best but are Leather and will therefore be more contested. If you’re unlucky with bracers, you can craft Crusader’s Dragonscale Bracers as a last option to catch up.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Cyanigosa | |
(Heroic) Gundrak – Gal’darah |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your gloves slot. Since there are no viable BoE items for this slot, you will want to choose the traditional dungeon path and journey through Heroic and Heroic Plus Dungeons. Your first two choices are Grips of the Beast God and Handgrips of the Savage Emissary. You will want to keep Grips of the Beast God until you manage to acquire plenty of Hit Rating items.
With the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, we will supposedly be able to gain tier items such as Heroes’ Cryptstalker Handguards which will grant you a good start for Naxxramas 25 or The Eye of Eternity 25.
Lastly, the best item you can acquire as a fresh 80 is Rusted-Link Spiked Gauntlets, providing you with a decent Hit Rating, good Critical Strike Chance, high stats, and gem sockets.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Patchwerk | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Sapphiron |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. There is no surprise that the best item for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Frosted Adroit Handguards. This item grants you high raw stats, a high Hit Rating, and Critical Strike Chance.
As valid alternatives from a DPS output perspective, you can choose either Gloves of Calculated Risk or Valorous Cryptstalker Handguards. The first option will be stronger than the second mainly due to the secondary stat combination that it offers. As simulations go, Hit Rating/Critical Strike Chance performs better than raw Haste/Armor Penetration in our specific build.
Lastly, you can use the Gloves of Fast Reactions, however, their DPS output is a lot lower compared to the other options due to lesser stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Gloves of the Steady Hand will be the best option for this slot because of its high raw stats and the big buff that it has received with the new Phase 2 item upgrades.
It is closely followed up by Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Handguards, which grants powerful stats and access to your set bonus. You may want to choose this option only if you are using some offset item for your leg slot.
Gloves of the Stonereaper and Gloves of the Endless Dark are both decent alternatives for the beginning of the gearing process, however, Gloves of the Endless Dark are weaker than Gloves of the Stonereaper because they lack Armor Penetration, giving Haste Rating instead.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (10) | |
Gloves are pretty straight forward, best are heroic tier gloves from Anub by a large stretch, after that is a toss up between Windrunner’s Handguards of Triumph and Sunreaver Assassin’s Gloves, depending on your Armor Penetration.
Gloves of the Dark Exile are not the necessarily 5th best gloves in the game but they are very easy to acquire and have an amazing stat setup.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron | |
Gundrak – Thrash |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your waist slot. The first thing I would mention is that the list possesses craftable items that will only be available after Ulduar has been cleared. Belt of Dragons is by far the best possible choice that you can opt for, granting you high raw stats, critical strike chance, and haste rating. As a close alternative, Death-warmed Belt will grant you similar stats and DPS output. However, both options will not be available until Ulduar is cleared!
As a more reliable choice for a fresh 80 for the beginning weeks of Ulduar, Spectral Rider’s Girdle will grant you the best possible DPS output, followed up closely by the Blistered Belt of Decay. Since Phase 2 brings several changes to the expansion, you will be able to acquire those two items from the new Heroic Plus Dungeons.
Another okay alternative would be to gather Emblems of Heroism and buy Vereesa’s Silver Chain Belt, as it has quite decent stats paired up with a gem socket.
However, if you do not possess gold from your leveling journey, you will want to first acquire either Sovereign’s Belt or Belt of Tasseled Lanterns from normal dungeons. Belt of Tasseled Lanterns can also be bought from the Auction House depending on your realm’s economy.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Just like in the Fresh 80 section, Belt of Dragons and Death-warmed Belt will be your best options. However, you will only be able to acquire them once someone clears Ulduar for the patterns and places them in the Auction House.
If we talk about the best choice before someone clears Ulduar, Depraved Linked Belt will remain the best possible option as it was in Phase 1 as well. the combination of high raw stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating really makes the item shine in terms of DPS output.
All other options are similar in stats, with the exception of different secondary stat combinations such as Hit Rating/Armor Penetration versus Critical Strike Chance/Haste. The next best alternative in terms of DPS output will be Torn Web Wrapping, granting u similar damage.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Thorim | |
Heroic++ | |
28 – Emblem of Conquest | |
Belt of the Betrayed is by far the strongest choice, especially due to the high Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration rating that it offers. The second-best choice is Relic Hunter’s Cord offering similar stats. However, it is far better suited for builds that lack Hit Rating.
Both Belt of Dragons and Belt of the Ardent Marksman are solid choices for the beginning which are easy to acquire. Especially the Belt of Dragons since it can be crafted. As far as their performance goes, they are both extremely close.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Thorim | |
Both versions of the new mail belt are the best pieces, these are what you should aim for.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshapper | |
(Heroic) The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider | |
(Heroic) Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your legs slot. You can either directly buy a BoE item such as Giantmaim Legguards removing many of your initial issues. Or you can choose a progressive path and go through normal and heroic dungeons, acquiring items such as Ravenous Leggings of the Furbolg and Azure Ringmail Leggings which grant you great initial stats.
The new Heroic Plus Dungeons grant interesting choices as far as new items go. Supposedly, we will be able to get Heroes’ Cryptstalker Legguards, which will grant us a perfect start for us as Marksmanship Hunters.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Thaddius, Gluth | |
Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best possible choice from a pure DPS output perspective will be Valorous Cryptstalker Legguards, granting you a high mix of baseline stats, Haste Rating, and Armor Penetration. While Haste Rating is a decent stat on Hunters, you will want to seek items that grant Critical Strike over Haste if possible.
As far as alternatives go, each of the listed alternatives is progressively stronger than its previous counterpart. Items such as Leggings of Failed Escape and Leggings of the Honored are perfect if you lack Hit Rating while also granting you a decent DPS output. Items such as Leggings of Colossal Strides and Leggings of Fleeting Moments can be quite strong in builds that have plenty of Hit Rating, making them a better choice.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Ulduar – Yogg-Saron | |
Ulduar – Razorscale | |
39 – Emblem of Conquest | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
Legguards of Cunning Deception are the most powerful choice due to their high Armor Penetration and Critical Strike Chance values. They are especially strong since they also grant you raw high stats and sockets.
Saronite Mesh Legguards and Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Legguards are both extremely solid options, both being very close in stats and power. However, Saronite Mesh Legguards are strong due to their Armor Penetration Rating while Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Legguards are strong due to their item set bonus.
The Leggings of the Tireless Sentry are a very solid and easy-to-acquire choice for this slot. You can directly grab them with 39 Emblems of Conquest. The Darkcore Leggings are the weakest option, however, they can be very useful at the beginning of the gearing process.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
ulduar – yogg-saron | |
ulduar – razorscale |
Tier 9 is your Best-in-Slot, but you can use Leggings of the Lurking Threat as an offpiece if you lack hit rating.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Lavanthor | |
(Heroic) Halls of Lightning – Volkhan |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your feet slot. Sadly, there is no good option that you can buy as a BoE, not at the beginning of Phase 2 at least. As a fresh 80, you will want to progressively upgrade your boots through normal and heroic dungeons, reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. The items linked before are good examples of the best progressive path you can achieve.
From a pure DPS output perspective, Boots of the Worshiper grant you the best possible damage, offering a great mix of high raw stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating. The other options are simply inferior options, offering you the same type of secondary stats. Initially, you will want to grab items from quests and normal dungeons, reaching to items such as Slag Footguards and Twin-Headed Boots as your first ideal options.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Noth the Plaguebringer | |
Naxxramas – Anub’Rekhan | |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best possible choice for this slot will be Footpads of Silence, even for BiS! The only problem with this item is that it will not be available in the first weeks of Phase 2, as it requires someone to clear Ulduar first and gain the pattern.
Besides Footpads of Silence, a much more realistic item for the first weeks of Phase 2 will be Boots of the Renewed Flight. This item grants you a perfect combination of high stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Armor Penetration.
As possible alternatives, you got several items ranging from Crippled Treads, Pack-Ice Striders, Dawnwalkers, and Boots of Captain Ellis. Each of them grants a solid set of stats, however, all of them are inferior to the Boots of the Renewed Flight. There are two main differences between those items and the Boots of the Renewed Flight. First of all, some of them can be acquired through Emblem of Valor while others are strictly raid drops. This makes the items acquired from emblems infinitely easier to acquire, removing the grinding process. Secondly, each item grants a different set of secondary stats, each of them being better in different situations. From a DPS output perspective, we have placed those items in a progressive order, from lowest to highest performance, however, some items perform better in situations where you either lack Hit Rating or need more Critical Strike Chance.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
With the Phase 2 update, the best item for the “Boots” slot, will be the Greaves of Swift Vengeance. They do bring powerful socket space and vital stats such as Critical Strike Chance and Hit Rating, however, they lack Armor Penetration.
Boots of Living Scale will be the second-best choice for this slot, especially due to its sockets and high overall stats.
The other 3 alternatives are very close, each of them providing you with similar stats and overall DPS. You can consider them viable choices until you can get your hands on either Greaves of Swift Vengeance or Boots of Living Scale.
Since Boots of Living Scale are a craftable item, you may choose to save up your gold and directly acquire them.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
ulduar – The Iron Assembly | |
Heroic++ | |
Both boots from Ulduar are about equal in strength, they differ slightly. If you can fit in the hit rating any of the top 4 boots will be a good item to use, if you cannot fit in hit you should consider Warsong Poacher’s Greaves.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Dalaran – Harold Winston | |
Heroic+ | |
Azjol-Nerub – Anub’ar Warrior |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ring slots. Depending on how much gold you want to spend, you can gain two accessible rings that will be perfect before reaching a 25-man raid. You can acquire Titanium Impact Band as a solid initial ring, and also gain Band of the Kirin Tor if you really have the gold to afford it. However, with the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, you will want to acquire Surge Needle Ring as fast as possible as it will be the best choice for Pre-Raid as well.
From a DPS output perspective, Sealing Ring of Grobbulus will be a very viable alternative as it grants you a perfect combination of Haste Rating and Critical Strike Chance. However, it will be inferior to Surge Needle Ring.
As an initial choice, you can buy Stained-Glass Shard Ring from the Auction House. This will prove to be a great investment as you will struggle with Hit Rating initially.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Zone Drop (Multiple Bosses) | |
Heroic+ | |
Dalaran – Harold Winston |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Surge Needle Ring and Strong-Handed Ring will be the best options for the Pre-Raid phase, just like in Phase 1.
Greatring of Collision offers similar DPS, however, Strong-Handed Ring simply provides a better DPS output.
Alternatively, you can get Ring of Invincibility before you manage to get one of the first mentioned items. It offers a great combination of critical strike chance and haste rating, however, it simply is weaker compared to the first options.
Inscribed Band of the Kirin Tor is a great alternative if you have plenty of gold to spend or if you simply don’t wish to go hunting for specific items.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Heroic: All is Well That Ends Well | |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Ignis the Furnace Master | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
The best options that you can gain for your Ring Slots are Loop of the Agile and Brann’s Signet Ring. With the new Phase 2 items, Loop of the Agile receives a huge buff which severely enhances your overall DPS output.
As the next-best alternative, Band of Lights also comes with higher stats and offers quite a similar damage output. Brann’s Sealing Ring takes a big hit to its stats, making it far less effective than it used to be. Cindershard Ring is the perfect alternative until you can get your hands on both Brann’s Signet Rings. However, they do provide less DPS.
As another alternative, you can use Metallic Loop of the Sufferer, however, it grants inferior stats, having a focus on Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
ulduar – algalon-the-observer 10 | |
Heroic++ | |
Band of Callous Aggression is a small upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless and will be part of your best in slot, together with Brann’s Signet Ring which will cross over from Ulduar.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
(Heroic) The Nexus – Keristrasza | |
(Heroic) Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred | |
(Heroic) Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your trinket slots. By far, the best choices for Phase 1 will be Mirror of Truth and Darkmoon Card: Greatness, meaning that you will want to have them at the beginning of Phase 2 as well. While you can straight up buy Darkmoon Card: Greatness from the Auction House, Mirror of Truth will take a while to acquire.
Until you can manage to acquire Mirror of Truth or gather the gold to get Darkmoon Card: Greatness, you can gather items such as Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood and Incisor Fragment or Meteorite Whetstone from Heroic Dungeons. You may however encounter heavy competition, especially if there are other fresh 80 characters.
Any of the last 3 trinkets are quite viable, however, you will want to swap them as fast as possible with your main 2 choices for a real DPS boost.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Naxxramas – Zone Drop (Multiple Bosses) | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Just like in the previous section, Darkmoon Card: Greatness and Mirror of Truth maintain their spot as the main two DPS trinkets you will want to acquire before Ulduar releases. Darkmoon Card: Greatness is such a strong trinket that you will find yourself using it even when completing your BiS build, maintaining a strong position until the third phase of the expansion.
Alternatively, you can use Grim Toll instead of Mirror of Truth, however, its low proc rate makes it an inferior choice. The trinket works better on builds that severely lack Hit Rating as it grants a ridiculous amount of Hit Rating.
Lastly, Fury of the Five Flights is an alright choice compared to the other options, however, it is by far inferior compared to the other choices.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer |
Trinkets are the most important items for a DPS. In the second phase of the expansion, for a Marksman Hunter, Mjolnir Runestone and Darkmoon Card: Greatness will be your best options. Mjolnir Runestone is especially powerful due to the static Critical Strike Chance that it offers and the Armor Penetration proc it offers. However, for your second trinket, the choice is especially tied between Darkmoon Card: Greatness and Dark Matter, both granting you a very solid DPS increase. Depending on the proc sync with Mjolnir Runestone, Darkmoon Card: Greatness may prove to be more powerful than Dark Matter based on simulations.
As a fine alternative, Comet’s Trail will grant you a solid DPS boost, however, Haste is an inferior stat to Critical Strike Chance or Attack Power.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Dark Matter is very good together with Mjolnir Runestone , they compliment each other with their proc duration and proc-rate but either version of Death’s Choice will still beat it out. Comet’s Trail is better used on other classes, only picking this up if no one else wants it.
Darkmoon Card: Greatness is slightly worse than Comet’s Trail – but due to how much easier it is to get I’ve ranked it higher, as almost every melee will still be chasing comet.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Cyanigosa | |
(Heroic) Halls of Lightning – Loken |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your weapon slot. The best way to gain a good weapon for this slot is to progress through dungeons, ranging from Normal Dungeons up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. You have many possible options, however, your initial options will not provide you with any extraordinary stats. You will want to gain a high amount of Agility and Critical Strike Chance in the beginning.
All the items listed above were evaluated based on their raw DPS output, meaning that you will want to treat them as progressive upgrades. You will gain the best DPS output by using the Wraith Spear. Luckily for us, you can acquire it quite easily with the addition of Heroic Plus Dungeons.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Heroic++ | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Grobbulus |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for this slot will remain Journey’s End, especially due to its Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stat combination. In terms of raw DPS output, Betrayer of Humanity comes close to it, however, it is heavily contested.
Another quite iconic alternative will be Black Ice. This is a better choice if your build lacks Hit Rating, even if the DPS output is lower. Additionally, you can use either The Undeath Carrier, Cryptfiend’s Bite, or Origin of Nightmares as they prove to be decent choices in case the first-mentioned items are out of your reach. The Undeath Carrier is quite an extraordinary choice due to its very high stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observerer | |
Ulduar – The Iron Assembly | |
Ulduar – Yogg-Saron | |
Heroic++ |
The second phase is dominated by Lotrafen, Spear of the Damned, occupying the first spot as the BiS for this slot. The next two items that are very close in performance are Dreambinder and Stormrune Edge, however, Dreambinder offers a bit more possibilities due to its sockets.
Since those items are quite highly sought after, you may want to acquire either Dark Edge of Depravity or Journey’s End until you manage to get your hands on them. Dark Edge of Depravity is far better than Journey’s End, however, Journey’s End is from the previous raid tier.
There is another viable alternative in case you can not get your hands on any of those items. You can attempt to gain Hoperender, a weapon that will provide you with solid starting DPS.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
With Hit as abundant as it is in Phase 3, the Glaives reign supreme. If you can somehow use the hit then Fleshrender will be your 2nd best option, but will still fall behind the glaive.
Twin’s Pact is weaker because it has haste instead of crit, and we value crit a lot more. it’s just a slightly higher item level version of Dreambinder.
That there are some tempting one-handers with decent itemisation, but they lack the stats that two-handers often have, so I would not actively seek them out. If they happen to drop and no one needs them feel free to pick them up until you can get one of the items above.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
(Heroic) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) The Culling of Stratholme – Mal’ganis |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ranged slot. There are two main options for your ranged weapon, you can either directly buy Nesingwary 4000 from the Auction House and wait until you can get an upgrade from a 25-man raid or you can follow the traditional dungeon path and acquire progressive upgrades.
With the addition of Heroic Plus Dungeons, you have the option to acquire the Accursed Bow of the Elite, however, Drake-Mounted Crossbow will remain the best option from a DPS output perspective. Its stats are so strong that you may want to maintain it until you acquire Nerubian Conquerer or Envoy of Mortality.
Lastly, Pierce’s Pistol is a great initial choice if you do not wish to acquire Nesingwary 4000, as it grants you a perfect initial combination of Hit Rating and Critical Strike Chance.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Envoy of Mortality will remain your best option for the Pre-Raid phase, granting you the highest DPS output due to its ridiculously high stats.
You have other two potent alternatives for this slot, namely Nerubian Conquerer and Arrowsong, with the former option being superior to the latter in terms of DPS output. Sadly, we do not have any other viable option for the Pre-Raid phase, meaning that you will most definitely want to acquire Envoy of Mortality as fast as possible.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Kologarn | |
Ulduar – Auriaya | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad |
By far the best item you can get for your ranged slot is Skyforge Crossbow! However, it can be quite tough to gain as it is highly sought after. The next and immediate best performer will be Magnetized Projectile Emitter. While Skyforge Crossbow does not offer you any Armor Penetration, it’s raw high damage provides the best possible DPS output.
Alternatively, until you manage to gain either of those two items you can use Siren’s Cry and Giant’s Bane as they are close to each other in performance.
Envoy of Mortality will still provide you with solid DPS until you manage to get your hands on an upgrade.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic++ |
Ranged weapons are interesting, especially if you are a Troll or Dwarf.The best in slot weapon is 
BRK-1000, this being BiS is very beneficial to Dwarves as they get 1% extra crit when using guns. This makes Talonstrike less attractive for them, however for any other race they are very close together in terms of DPS. Another option you have is Skyforge Crossbow that can carry over from Ulduar, and once again if you are a Dwarf both The Diplomat and Magnetized Projectile Emitter will grant you that 1% crit bonus.
Trolls also benefit from this 1% crit racial bonus with Frenzystrike Longbow, but this will not make the item better than the alternatives listed.
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer | |
Heroic Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your head slot. Supposedly, with the new release of Heroic Plus Dungeons, we will get access to items such as Heroes’ Cryptstalker Headpiece. This would be the best item you can acquire as a fresh 80.
On a more realistic note, you will either want to start with Truesight Ice Blinders, which are reserved only for Engineers, or start a progressive upgrade of your head slot with items such as King Dred’s Helm and Plunderer’s Helmet from Heroic Dungeons. Given the fact that you will have an item of around 187 item level from quests in Northrend as your starting point, either of those two will be amazing an amazing DPS boost.
Given raw DPS output, either Helm of the Vast Legions or Arc-Scorched Helmet are fantastic choices before your first Naxxramas 25, with the latter choice being superior. Given our talents, you will not have to worry about Hit Rating, however, you may want to choose your items carefully and from time to time favor items such as Helm of the Vast Legions which has Hit Rating as a secondary stat to hit your caps.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Naxxramas – Four Horseman | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Since the 4-item set bonus for T7 is not a big deal for Marksmanship Hunters, the best item for the Pre-Raid phase is the Blue Aspect Helm. Its high critical strike chance combined with high haste rating and high raw stats grant it the best performance.
The next in line is Valorous Cryptstalker Headpiece, as it has similar stats with Blue Aspect Helm, albeit it presents itself as an inferior version.
If none of the previous choices can be attained, you can choose either Helm of the Grave or Hyaline Helm of the Sniper. Hyaline Helm of the Sniper is a much better choice if you somehow lack Hit Rating while the Helm of the Grave is a far better choice for DPS output.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot is Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Headpiece which provides you with extremely high raw stats and the tier-set item bonus. This item is particularly strong due to the high armor penetration and the 600 Attack Power proc that it grants access to once the 4 pieces of the set are equipped.
Boundless Gaze is the next available choice as it also provides high stats, although it lacks Armor Penetration, it makes up for it with a high Critical Strike Chance. The issue with Boundless Gaze is the Hit Rating it offers, generally speaking, it would be a better choice if our build would severely lack Hit Rating. However, it goes beyond the soft Hit Rating cap already without the item present.
Helm of the Furnace Master is a very solid choice, especially for the beginning when the tier set items are highly contested and Boundless Gaze is out of reach.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Faction Champions (10) |
The first item level 258 tier piece you should be aiming for is the head, it gives the best overall damage gain compared to its 2nd BiS relative to the other tier parts. Next is the 245 tier piece, as it still offers the same set bonuses.
Boundless Gaze is good, and gives a lot of stats, if you have been clearing Ulduar on 25 man you probably already have this item in your possession going into Phase 3, the problem with this item is that it has a lot of hit rating, and so do many items in TOC/TOGC which will make you struggle to keep your hit rating balanced. Dragonstalker’s Helm has the same stats as the item level 245 tier, but lacks a set bonus, it’s a very easy and strong pick up early on though.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Heroic Snowserpent Mail Helm | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lord Marrowgar |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Rotface |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Xevozz | |
The Culling of Stratholme – Chrono-Lord Epoch |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your necklace slot. There are two possible paths for this slot once you reach level 80, you can either go through the classic path and journey through dungeons and acquire progressive updates such as Necklace of the Chrono-Lord and Necklace of Arcane Spheres to gain important stats such as Critical Strike Chance or Haste Rating. Or you can acquire Titanium Impact Choker and use it until you can get access to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons to get your hands on items such as Pendant of the Outcast Hero or Gem of Imprisoned Vassals.
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals will be a strong item that you can confidently use even in the Pre-Raid phase where you start raiding the 25 versions of the Phase 1 raids.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity | |
The Eye of Eternity – Judgement at the Eye of Eternity | |
Naxxramas – Sapphiron | |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Naturally, the most potent option will remain the Favor of the Dragon Queen. As an alternative and inferior version, you can use Pendant of the Dragonsworn if you did not yet cross paths with Malygos in The Eye of Eternity 25-man. The Armor Penetration with the high critical strike chance will grant the best DPS output for those two items.
If you did not manage to fight Malygos, Icy Blast Amulet will be your next best bet. You will want to gain items that grant a combination of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating or Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration.
Lastly, you can use either Gem of Imprisoned Vassals or Fool’s Trial as an initial choice.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity |
Pendulum of Infinity will be the best item for this slot, however, it will be highly contested. While it does not grant Armor Penetration, it provides high raw stats and a Critical Strike Chance to supplement the Armor Penetration loss.
With the coming of the new Phase 2 items, Seed of Budding Carnage‘s DPS output greatly increases, making the item a lot stronger than Nymph Heart Charm or our beloved Favor of the Dragon Queen.
Nonetheless, the Favor of the Dragon Queen completely trumps Nymph Heart Charm in DPS output, making it a great initial choice. Nymph Heart Charm will be a better choice if you somehow lack Hit Rating and you choose to not sacrifice any gem or enchantment.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
ulduar – general-vezax | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Charge of the Eredar is your best in slot, but it’s only a single digit increase better than Pendulum of Infinity DPS wise which almost all melee players want. Pendulum of Infinity can easily last you through Phase 3, but you may need the Armor Penetration from Collar of Unending Torment.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Sindragosa’s Cruel Claw | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Sindragosa |
Heroic Rimetooth Pendant | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Sindragosa |
Icecrown Citadel Trash | |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Sindragosa | |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Sindragosa | |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic The Nexus – Grand Magus Telestra | |
(Heroic) The Culling of Stratholme – Meathook | |
Knights of the Ebon Blade – Revered | |
Halls of Stone – Halls of Stone (Quest) |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your shoulders slot. For your early shoulders slot, you will have 3 main paths. You can either start with dungeons and follow a progressive path from Normal Dungeons reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, attain a powerful BoE item that may sell for a high amount of gold, or simply start gaining a reputation with the Knight of the Ebon Blade and gather gold in the meantime.
We have listed the items that you can gain through the progressive dungeon path, however, the most powerful item that you can gain is Spaulders of Egotism. Depending on your realm’s Auction House economy, you may want to skip the dungeon path altogether or ignore the BoE item completely.
As far as stats go, you will want items with either Armor Penetration, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating. Either combination of those will work wonders for your shoulders slot.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Loatheb, Gluth | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Thaddius | |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious | |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will the former BiS of Phase 1, the Valorous Cryptstalker Spaulders. Just like the previous item slots, the combination of Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating will provide the DPS output.
In terms of raw DPS output, the next best thing will be the Upstanding Spaulders, granting you a similar DPS output. If you do not manage to get your hands on either of those two items, you can choose items such as Shoulderpads of Secret Arts or Pauldrons of the Abandoned which grant a decent DPS output for the beginning of Ulduar.
Spaulders of Egotism still remain a perfectly valid choice if you do not wish to raid Naxxramas anymore.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best item for this slot if you choose to access the 4-item set bonus will be Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Spaulders. The item itself grants poor secondary stats, however, the 600 Attack Power bonus that you can gain by wearing the complete set will be much more powerful than the raw stats granted by a single item.
The Mantle of Fiery Vengeance will be your second-best choice for this slot, especially due to its high Armor Penetration Rating and Critical Strike Chance. In terms of raw power, it is superior to the Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Spaulders tier 8 item.
Shoulderpads of the Monolith are an alright alternative if you consider the beginning of the gearing process, as Haste is not a powerful stat unless its piled up.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic++ |
Either tiers are the obvious choice here, supplying you with enough hit.
If you have too much hit and don’t lose a tier set bonus you may want to consider one of the other alternatives, these alternatives are all very close in terms of strength, so you can use whichever is the easiest pick up for you.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Heroic Dual-Bladed Pauldrons | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Rotface |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Erekem | |
Halls of Stone – Maiden of Grief |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your cloak slot. The best choice will be defined by the Shawl of the Shattered Giant. However, even if the item is a BoE and can be easily bought, it requires someone to clear Ulduar first, meaning that it will become the best option for a Fresh 80 only after a week or two of Phase 2 passes.
Alternatively, you can choose to buy the Ice Striker’s Cloak and maintain it until you manage to get in a Naxxramas 25.
As a new option that comes with the new Phase 2, you may choose to progress normally through Normal and Heroic Dungeons, reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons that will grant you strong items such as the Cloak of Mastery or the Cloak of Darkening from the former Naxxramas 10. The best option until the Shawl of the Shattered Giant gets released on the Auction House will be the Cloak of Mastery, granting you the highest DPS output.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot is Drape of the Faceless General especially due to its high Armor Penetration and general high stats. The high Critical Strike Chance combined with the high Armor Penetration rating are stats that you will want to prioritize on the majority of your items.
Drape of Icy Intent is the second-best choice due to its high stats, even if it does not provide Critical Strike Chance or Armor Penetration. This is because of the high raw value of the stats themselves, even if they are not the most optimal.
As alternatives, Drape of the Lithe and Shawl of the Shattered Giant are very valid options, however, they don’t provide high a high DPS boost.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (10) | |
ulduar – general-vezax |
Sylvanas’ Cunning is going to be the obvious best pick, and quite possibly will last you through the whole expansion with its high item level, needless to say every melee armor penetration user is gonna want this cloak, and you cannot die on Heroic difficulty to have a chance of getting it to drop, so it’s fairly difficult to acquire.
Luckily the 10 man version Cloak of Serrated Blades has the same stat make up and will have less people competing for it. Drape of the Faceless General is still very good and should be relatively easy to acquire, but is quite a bit weaker than the top 2. Cloak of the Untamed Predator lacks in Armor Penetration but has a lot of Agility.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic Shadowvault Slayer’s Cloak | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Gunship |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (10) | |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Knights of the Ebon Blade – Exalted | |
Drak’tharon Keep – Zone Drop BoE | |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your chest slot. The easiest way to prepare for Heroic Dungeons or the new Heroic Plus Dungeons will be to acquire either Razorstrike Breastplate or Aviary Guardsman’s Hauberk as both grant you decent stats. You can also attempt to farm the Knights of the Ebon Blade reputation in order to gain Darkheart Chestguard, which will grant you high offensive stats if you do not manage to form a group for the new Heroic Plus Dungeons.
The best item that you will be able to acquire as a fresh 80 will be the Tunic of the Lost Pack, offering you a decent initial Hit Rating and high Critical Strike Chance besides its high raw stats.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Noth the Plaguebringer, Gluth | |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Four Horsemen, Gluth | |
Naxxramas – Grobbulus |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Tunic of Masked Suffering, as it grants you extraordinarily high stats, a high critical strike chance, and a high haste rating.
From a DPS output perspective, you have 3 main alternatives, each of them being gradually stronger than the previous one. Sadly, none of the 3 options grant you a perfect combination of secondary stats, making them inadequate for long periods of time. The second-best choice after the Tunic of Masked Suffering will be the Chestguard of Flagrant Prowess due to its high raw stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot by far is Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Tunic. Not only that it grants you access to the tier set bonus but it also massively boosts your overall stats. The increased Critical Strike Chance will also be a huge boost to your overall damage.
The next best option is Embrace of the Gladiator, even if it does not provide you access to the tier-set bonus. The item provides you with sockets, a high Critical Strike Chance, and quite a high Haste Rating.
The last viable alternative is Chestguard of Insidious Intent. While this item provides a high Armor Penetration Rating, in the setup that we have provided as BiS, it does not perform quite well. The item itself can be quite an extraordinary choice if you don’t have access to any of the other items.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
For your absolute bis you’re going to want the 258 Tier Chest, however if you have too much hit using Cuirass of Cruel Intent instead is a solid option, assuming you maintain the 4 set bonus.
Vest of Shifting Shadows is a bit better than Crusader’s Dragonscale Breastplate, but the latter is by far the easiest item to get on the list. Embrace of the Gladiator is a decent carry over item from the last tier but that’s about it, even with its lower item level the rest beats it with better itemisation.
For your absolute bis you’re going to want Cuirass of Cruel Intent, however if you can use the hit Tier 9 is a solid option, assuming you use the 4 piece bonus. Vest of Shifting Shadows is a bit better than Crusader’s Dragonscale Breastplate, but the latter is by far the easiest item to get on the list.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Heroic Carapace of Forgotten Kings | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Festergut |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Halls of Lightning – Loken (Heroic) | |
Heroic+ | |
The Wyrmrest Temple – Exalted |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your bracer slot. There are two main ways for gaining a strong pair of gloves as a fresh 80 Hunter. You may choose to pick the normal dungeon route, reaching strong items such as the Bands of Anxiety which grant you a much-needed high critical strike chance and Hit Rating from the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. Another choice would be to buy Armguard of the Tower Archer directly from the Auction House, as it can be bought by veteran raiders with 60 Emblem of Valor and sold. While Armguard of the Tower Archer has weaker offensive stats than Bands of Anxiety, its accessibility makes it stronger.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. By far the best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Bracers of the Smothering Inferno. The only issue with the item is that it will require someone to clear Ulduar in order for the item to be placed in the Auction House.
The best option from Phase 1 is Slime Stream Bands. It provides a perfect combination of high raw stats, critical strike chance, and hit rating. Sinner’s Bindings and Arachnoid Gold Band are both perfectly valid options, offering similar DPS output.
Lastly, you can use Armguard of the Tower Archer, granting you the weakest DPS output that remains a decent choice, especially if you are lacking Hit Rating.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer |
Frost-bound Chain Bracers are the best item for this slot, even if they do not grant any Armor Penetration. The high Critical Strike Chance will do wonders for your overall damage.
While Fluxing Energy Coils provide Armor Penetration, they are weaker compared to bound Chain Bracers) from a pure stat point of view, resulting in less DPS. They are quite a strong option if you can’t manage to get your hands on Frost-bound Chain Bracers).
Surprisingly Solar Bindings are actually the weakest choice when it comes to this slot. This is due to the useless “Expertise Rating” combined with the Haste Rating.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Faction Champions (25) | |
The Heroic version of Bracers of the Silent Massacre is the best by far, no argument here. Armbands of Dark Determination are second best but are Leather and will therefore be more contested. If you’re unlucky with bracers, you can craft Crusader’s Dragonscale Bracers as a last option to catch up.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Scourge Hunter’s Vambraces | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Gunship |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang | |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Gunship | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
Heroic Icecrown Rampart Bracers | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Gunship |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Cyanigosa | |
(Heroic) Gundrak – Gal’darah |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your gloves slot. Since there are no viable BoE items for this slot, you will want to choose the traditional dungeon path and journey through Heroic and Heroic Plus Dungeons. Your first two choices are Grips of the Beast God and Handgrips of the Savage Emissary. You will want to keep Grips of the Beast God until you manage to acquire plenty of Hit Rating items.
With the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, we will supposedly be able to gain tier items such as Heroes’ Cryptstalker Handguards which will grant you a good start for Naxxramas 25 or The Eye of Eternity 25.
Lastly, the best item you can acquire as a fresh 80 is Rusted-Link Spiked Gauntlets, providing you with a decent Hit Rating, good Critical Strike Chance, high stats, and gem sockets.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Patchwerk | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Sapphiron |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. There is no surprise that the best item for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Frosted Adroit Handguards. This item grants you high raw stats, a high Hit Rating, and Critical Strike Chance.
As valid alternatives from a DPS output perspective, you can choose either Gloves of Calculated Risk or Valorous Cryptstalker Handguards. The first option will be stronger than the second mainly due to the secondary stat combination that it offers. As simulations go, Hit Rating/Critical Strike Chance performs better than raw Haste/Armor Penetration in our specific build.
Lastly, you can use the Gloves of Fast Reactions, however, their DPS output is a lot lower compared to the other options due to lesser stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Gloves of the Steady Hand will be the best option for this slot because of its high raw stats and the big buff that it has received with the new Phase 2 item upgrades.
It is closely followed up by Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Handguards, which grants powerful stats and access to your set bonus. You may want to choose this option only if you are using some offset item for your leg slot.
Gloves of the Stonereaper and Gloves of the Endless Dark are both decent alternatives for the beginning of the gearing process, however, Gloves of the Endless Dark are weaker than Gloves of the Stonereaper because they lack Armor Penetration, giving Haste Rating instead.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (10) | |
Gloves are pretty straight forward, best are heroic tier gloves from Anub by a large stretch, after that is a toss up between Windrunner’s Handguards of Triumph and Sunreaver Assassin’s Gloves, depending on your Armor Penetration.
Gloves of the Dark Exile are not the necessarily 5th best gloves in the game but they are very easy to acquire and have an amazing stat setup.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Heroic Scourge Stranglers | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron | |
Gundrak – Thrash |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your waist slot. The first thing I would mention is that the list possesses craftable items that will only be available after Ulduar has been cleared. Belt of Dragons is by far the best possible choice that you can opt for, granting you high raw stats, critical strike chance, and haste rating. As a close alternative, Death-warmed Belt will grant you similar stats and DPS output. However, both options will not be available until Ulduar is cleared!
As a more reliable choice for a fresh 80 for the beginning weeks of Ulduar, Spectral Rider’s Girdle will grant you the best possible DPS output, followed up closely by the Blistered Belt of Decay. Since Phase 2 brings several changes to the expansion, you will be able to acquire those two items from the new Heroic Plus Dungeons.
Another okay alternative would be to gather Emblems of Heroism and buy Vereesa’s Silver Chain Belt, as it has quite decent stats paired up with a gem socket.
However, if you do not possess gold from your leveling journey, you will want to first acquire either Sovereign’s Belt or Belt of Tasseled Lanterns from normal dungeons. Belt of Tasseled Lanterns can also be bought from the Auction House depending on your realm’s economy.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Just like in the Fresh 80 section, Belt of Dragons and Death-warmed Belt will be your best options. However, you will only be able to acquire them once someone clears Ulduar for the patterns and places them in the Auction House.
If we talk about the best choice before someone clears Ulduar, Depraved Linked Belt will remain the best possible option as it was in Phase 1 as well. the combination of high raw stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating really makes the item shine in terms of DPS output.
All other options are similar in stats, with the exception of different secondary stat combinations such as Hit Rating/Armor Penetration versus Critical Strike Chance/Haste. The next best alternative in terms of DPS output will be Torn Web Wrapping, granting u similar damage.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Thorim | |
Heroic++ | |
28 – Emblem of Conquest | |
Belt of the Betrayed is by far the strongest choice, especially due to the high Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration rating that it offers. The second-best choice is Relic Hunter’s Cord offering similar stats. However, it is far better suited for builds that lack Hit Rating.
Both Belt of Dragons and Belt of the Ardent Marksman are solid choices for the beginning which are easy to acquire. Especially the Belt of Dragons since it can be crafted. As far as their performance goes, they are both extremely close.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
Both versions of the new mail belt are the best pieces, these are what you should aim for.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Nerub’ar Stalker’s Cord | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Festergut |
Heroic Astrylian’s Sutured Cinch | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Professor Putricide |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Festergut | |
Heroic Linked Scourge Vertebrae | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Lord Marrowgar |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshapper | |
(Heroic) The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider | |
(Heroic) Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your legs slot. You can either directly buy a BoE item such as Giantmaim Legguards removing many of your initial issues. Or you can choose a progressive path and go through normal and heroic dungeons, acquiring items such as Ravenous Leggings of the Furbolg and Azure Ringmail Leggings which grant you great initial stats.
The new Heroic Plus Dungeons grant interesting choices as far as new items go. Supposedly, we will be able to get Heroes’ Cryptstalker Legguards, which will grant us a perfect start for us as Marksmanship Hunters.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Thaddius, Gluth | |
Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best possible choice from a pure DPS output perspective will be Valorous Cryptstalker Legguards, granting you a high mix of baseline stats, Haste Rating, and Armor Penetration. While Haste Rating is a decent stat on Hunters, you will want to seek items that grant Critical Strike over Haste if possible.
As far as alternatives go, each of the listed alternatives is progressively stronger than its previous counterpart. Items such as Leggings of Failed Escape and Leggings of the Honored are perfect if you lack Hit Rating while also granting you a decent DPS output. Items such as Leggings of Colossal Strides and Leggings of Fleeting Moments can be quite strong in builds that have plenty of Hit Rating, making them a better choice.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Ulduar – Yogg-Saron | |
Ulduar – Razorscale | |
39 – Emblem of Conquest | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
Legguards of Cunning Deception are the most powerful choice due to their high Armor Penetration and Critical Strike Chance values. They are especially strong since they also grant you raw high stats and sockets.
Saronite Mesh Legguards and Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Legguards are both extremely solid options, both being very close in stats and power. However, Saronite Mesh Legguards are strong due to their Armor Penetration Rating while Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Legguards are strong due to their item set bonus.
The Leggings of the Tireless Sentry are a very solid and easy-to-acquire choice for this slot. You can directly grab them with 39 Emblems of Conquest. The Darkcore Leggings are the weakest option, however, they can be very useful at the beginning of the gearing process.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
ulduar – yogg-saron | |
Tier 9 is your Best-in-Slot, but you can use Leggings of the Lurking Threat as an offpiece if you lack hit rating.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Leggings of Northern Lights | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Lady Deathwhisper | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Lavanthor | |
(Heroic) Halls of Lightning – Volkhan |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your feet slot. Sadly, there is no good option that you can buy as a BoE, not at the beginning of Phase 2 at least. As a fresh 80, you will want to progressively upgrade your boots through normal and heroic dungeons, reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. The items linked before are good examples of the best progressive path you can achieve.
From a pure DPS output perspective, Boots of the Worshiper grant you the best possible damage, offering a great mix of high raw stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating. The other options are simply inferior options, offering you the same type of secondary stats. Initially, you will want to grab items from quests and normal dungeons, reaching to items such as Slag Footguards and Twin-Headed Boots as your first ideal options.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Noth the Plaguebringer | |
Naxxramas – Anub’Rekhan | |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best possible choice for this slot will be Footpads of Silence, even for BiS! The only problem with this item is that it will not be available in the first weeks of Phase 2, as it requires someone to clear Ulduar first and gain the pattern.
Besides Footpads of Silence, a much more realistic item for the first weeks of Phase 2 will be Boots of the Renewed Flight. This item grants you a perfect combination of high stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Armor Penetration.
As possible alternatives, you got several items ranging from Crippled Treads, Pack-Ice Striders, Dawnwalkers, and Boots of Captain Ellis. Each of them grants a solid set of stats, however, all of them are inferior to the Boots of the Renewed Flight. There are two main differences between those items and the Boots of the Renewed Flight. First of all, some of them can be acquired through Emblem of Valor while others are strictly raid drops. This makes the items acquired from emblems infinitely easier to acquire, removing the grinding process. Secondly, each item grants a different set of secondary stats, each of them being better in different situations. From a DPS output perspective, we have placed those items in a progressive order, from lowest to highest performance, however, some items perform better in situations where you either lack Hit Rating or need more Critical Strike Chance.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
With the Phase 2 update, the best item for the “Boots” slot, will be the Greaves of Swift Vengeance. They do bring powerful socket space and vital stats such as Critical Strike Chance and Hit Rating, however, they lack Armor Penetration.
Boots of Living Scale will be the second-best choice for this slot, especially due to its sockets and high overall stats.
The other 3 alternatives are very close, each of them providing you with similar stats and overall DPS. You can consider them viable choices until you can get your hands on either Greaves of Swift Vengeance or Boots of Living Scale.
Since Boots of Living Scale are a craftable item, you may choose to save up your gold and directly acquire them.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
ulduar – The Iron Assembly | |
Both boots from Ulduar are about equal in strength, they differ slightly. If you can fit in the hit rating any of the top 4 boots will be a good item to use, if you cannot fit in hit you should consider Warsong Poacher’s Greaves.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Frostbitten Fur Boots | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lord Marrowgar |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Festergut | |
Heroic Treads of the Wasteland | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Blood Prince Council |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Dalaran – Harold Winston | |
Heroic+ | |
Azjol-Nerub – Anub’ar Warrior |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ring slots. Depending on how much gold you want to spend, you can gain two accessible rings that will be perfect before reaching a 25-man raid. You can acquire Titanium Impact Band as a solid initial ring, and also gain Band of the Kirin Tor if you really have the gold to afford it. However, with the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, you will want to acquire Surge Needle Ring as fast as possible as it will be the best choice for Pre-Raid as well.
From a DPS output perspective, Sealing Ring of Grobbulus will be a very viable alternative as it grants you a perfect combination of Haste Rating and Critical Strike Chance. However, it will be inferior to Surge Needle Ring.
As an initial choice, you can buy Stained-Glass Shard Ring from the Auction House. This will prove to be a great investment as you will struggle with Hit Rating initially.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Zone Drop (Multiple Bosses) | |
Heroic+ | |
Dalaran – Harold Winston |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Surge Needle Ring and Strong-Handed Ring will be the best options for the Pre-Raid phase, just like in Phase 1.
Greatring of Collision offers similar DPS, however, Strong-Handed Ring simply provides a better DPS output.
Alternatively, you can get Ring of Invincibility before you manage to get one of the first mentioned items. It offers a great combination of critical strike chance and haste rating, however, it simply is weaker compared to the first options.
Inscribed Band of the Kirin Tor is a great alternative if you have plenty of gold to spend or if you simply don’t wish to go hunting for specific items.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Heroic: All is Well That Ends Well | |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Ignis the Furnace Master | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
The best options that you can gain for your Ring Slots are Loop of the Agile and Brann’s Signet Ring. With the new Phase 2 items, Loop of the Agile receives a huge buff which severely enhances your overall DPS output.
As the next-best alternative, Band of Lights also comes with higher stats and offers quite a similar damage output. Brann’s Sealing Ring takes a big hit to its stats, making it far less effective than it used to be. Cindershard Ring is the perfect alternative until you can get your hands on both Brann’s Signet Rings. However, they do provide less DPS.
As another alternative, you can use Metallic Loop of the Sufferer, however, it grants inferior stats, having a focus on Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
Heroic++ | |
ulduar – algalon-the-observer 10 | |
Band of Callous Aggression is a small upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless and will be part of your best in slot, together with Brann’s Signet Ring which will cross over from Ulduar.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
The Ashen Verdict – Exalted | |
Heroic Frostbrood Sapphire Ring | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Valithria Dreamwalker |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Valithria Dreamwalker | |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang | |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
(Heroic) The Nexus – Keristrasza | |
(Heroic) Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred | |
(Heroic) Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your trinket slots. By far, the best choices for Phase 1 will be Mirror of Truth and Darkmoon Card: Greatness, meaning that you will want to have them at the beginning of Phase 2 as well. While you can straight up buy Darkmoon Card: Greatness from the Auction House, Mirror of Truth will take a while to acquire.
Until you can manage to acquire Mirror of Truth or gather the gold to get Darkmoon Card: Greatness, you can gather items such as Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood and Incisor Fragment or Meteorite Whetstone from Heroic Dungeons. You may however encounter heavy competition, especially if there are other fresh 80 characters.
Any of the last 3 trinkets are quite viable, however, you will want to swap them as fast as possible with your main 2 choices for a real DPS boost.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Naxxramas – Zone Drop (Multiple Bosses) | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Just like in the previous section, Darkmoon Card: Greatness and Mirror of Truth maintain their spot as the main two DPS trinkets you will want to acquire before Ulduar releases. Darkmoon Card: Greatness is such a strong trinket that you will find yourself using it even when completing your BiS build, maintaining a strong position until the third phase of the expansion.
Alternatively, you can use Grim Toll instead of Mirror of Truth, however, its low proc rate makes it an inferior choice. The trinket works better on builds that severely lack Hit Rating as it grants a ridiculous amount of Hit Rating.
Lastly, Fury of the Five Flights is an alright choice compared to the other options, however, it is by far inferior compared to the other choices.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer |
Trinkets are the most important items for a DPS. In the second phase of the expansion, for a Marksman Hunter, Mjolnir Runestone and Darkmoon Card: Greatness will be your best options. Mjolnir Runestone is especially powerful due to the static Critical Strike Chance that it offers and the Armor Penetration proc it offers. However, for your second trinket, the choice is especially tied between Darkmoon Card: Greatness and Dark Matter, both granting you a very solid DPS increase. Depending on the proc sync with Mjolnir Runestone, Darkmoon Card: Greatness may prove to be more powerful than Dark Matter based on simulations.
As a fine alternative, Comet’s Trail will grant you a solid DPS boost, however, Haste is an inferior stat to Critical Strike Chance or Attack Power.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic The Forge of Souls – Devourer of Souls | |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Dark Matter is very good together with Mjolnir Runestone , they compliment each other with their proc duration and proc-rate but either version of Death’s Choice will still beat it out. Comet’s Trail is better used on other classes, only picking this up if no one else wants it.
Darkmoon Card: Greatness is slightly worse than Comet’s Trail – but due to how much easier it is to get I’ve ranked it higher, as almost every melee will still be chasing comet.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Deathbringer’s Will | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Deathbringer Saurfang | |
Heroic Whispering Fanged Skull | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Lady Deathwhisper | |
Heroic++ |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Cyanigosa | |
(Heroic) Halls of Lightning – Loken |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your weapon slot. The best way to gain a good weapon for this slot is to progress through dungeons, ranging from Normal Dungeons up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. You have many possible options, however, your initial options will not provide you with any extraordinary stats. You will want to gain a high amount of Agility and Critical Strike Chance in the beginning.
All the items listed above were evaluated based on their raw DPS output, meaning that you will want to treat them as progressive upgrades. You will gain the best DPS output by using the Wraith Spear. Luckily for us, you can acquire it quite easily with the addition of Heroic Plus Dungeons.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Heroic++ | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Grobbulus |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for this slot will remain Journey’s End, especially due to its Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stat combination. In terms of raw DPS output, Betrayer of Humanity comes close to it, however, it is heavily contested.
Another quite iconic alternative will be Black Ice. This is a better choice if your build lacks Hit Rating, even if the DPS output is lower. Additionally, you can use either The Undeath Carrier, Cryptfiend’s Bite, or Origin of Nightmares as they prove to be decent choices in case the first-mentioned items are out of your reach. The Undeath Carrier is quite an extraordinary choice due to its very high stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observerer | |
Ulduar – The Iron Assembly | |
Ulduar – Yogg-Saron | |
Heroic++ |
The second phase is dominated by Lotrafen, Spear of the Damned, occupying the first spot as the BiS for this slot. The next two items that are very close in performance are Dreambinder and Stormrune Edge, however, Dreambinder offers a bit more possibilities due to its sockets.
Since those items are quite highly sought after, you may want to acquire either Dark Edge of Depravity or Journey’s End until you manage to get your hands on them. Dark Edge of Depravity is far better than Journey’s End, however, Journey’s End is from the previous raid tier.
There is another viable alternative in case you can not get your hands on any of those items. You can attempt to gain Hoperender, a weapon that will provide you with solid starting DPS.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
With Hit as abundant as it is in Phase 3, the Glaives reign supreme. If you can somehow use the hit then Fleshrender will be your 2nd best option, but will still fall behind the glaive.
Twin’s Pact is weaker because it has haste instead of crit, and we value crit a lot more. it’s just a slightly higher item level version of Dreambinder.
That there are some tempting one-handers with decent itemisation, but they lack the stats that two-handers often have, so I would not actively seek them out. If they happen to drop and no one needs them feel free to pick them up until you can get one of the items above.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic The Lich King | |
Heroic Tainted Twig of Nordrassil | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic The Lich King |
Heroic Hersir’s Greatspear | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Blood Prince Council |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – The Lich King | |
Heroic Bloodfall | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Blood-Queen Lana’thel |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
(Heroic) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) The Culling of Stratholme – Mal’ganis |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ranged slot. There are two main options for your ranged weapon, you can either directly buy Nesingwary 4000 from the Auction House and wait until you can get an upgrade from a 25-man raid or you can follow the traditional dungeon path and acquire progressive upgrades.
With the addition of Heroic Plus Dungeons, you have the option to acquire the Accursed Bow of the Elite, however, Drake-Mounted Crossbow will remain the best option from a DPS output perspective. Its stats are so strong that you may want to maintain it until you acquire Nerubian Conquerer or Envoy of Mortality.
Lastly, Pierce’s Pistol is a great initial choice if you do not wish to acquire Nesingwary 4000, as it grants you a perfect initial combination of Hit Rating and Critical Strike Chance.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Envoy of Mortality will remain your best option for the Pre-Raid phase, granting you the highest DPS output due to its ridiculously high stats.
You have other two potent alternatives for this slot, namely Nerubian Conquerer and Arrowsong, with the former option being superior to the latter in terms of DPS output. Sadly, we do not have any other viable option for the Pre-Raid phase, meaning that you will most definitely want to acquire Envoy of Mortality as fast as possible.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Kologarn | |
Ulduar – Auriaya | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad |
By far the best item you can get for your ranged slot is Skyforge Crossbow! However, it can be quite tough to gain as it is highly sought after. The next and immediate best performer will be Magnetized Projectile Emitter. While Skyforge Crossbow does not offer you any Armor Penetration, it’s raw high damage provides the best possible DPS output.
Alternatively, until you manage to gain either of those two items you can use Siren’s Cry and Giant’s Bane as they are close to each other in performance.
Envoy of Mortality will still provide you with solid DPS until you manage to get your hands on an upgrade.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic++ |
Ranged weapons are interesting, especially if you are a Troll or Dwarf.The best in slot weapon is BRK-1000, this being BiS is very beneficial to Dwarves as they get 1% extra crit when using guns. This makes Talonstrike less attractive for them, however for any other race they are very close together in terms of DPS. Another option you have is Skyforge Crossbow that can carry over from Ulduar, and once again if you are a Dwarf both The Diplomat and Magnetized Projectile Emitter will grant you that 1% crit bonus.
Trolls also benefit from this 1% crit racial bonus with Frenzystrike Longbow, but this will not make the item better than the alternatives listed.
Phase 4 Best-in-Slot
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic The Lich King | |
Heroic Zod’s Repeating Longbow | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Heroic Windrunner’s Heartseeker | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic The Lich King |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – The Lich King | |
Heroic Njorndar Bone Bow | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Lady Deathwhisper |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer | |
Heroic Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your head slot. Supposedly, with the new release of Heroic Plus Dungeons, we will get access to items such as Heroes’ Cryptstalker Headpiece. This would be the best item you can acquire as a fresh 80.
On a more realistic note, you will either want to start with Truesight Ice Blinders, which are reserved only for Engineers, or start a progressive upgrade of your head slot with items such as King Dred’s Helm and Plunderer’s Helmet from Heroic Dungeons. Given the fact that you will have an item of around 187 item level from quests in Northrend as your starting point, either of those two will be amazing an amazing DPS boost.
Given raw DPS output, either Helm of the Vast Legions or Arc-Scorched Helmet are fantastic choices before your first Naxxramas 25, with the latter choice being superior. Given our talents, you will not have to worry about Hit Rating, however, you may want to choose your items carefully and from time to time favor items such as Helm of the Vast Legions which has Hit Rating as a secondary stat to hit your caps.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Naxxramas – Four Horseman | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Since the 4-item set bonus for T7 is not a big deal for Marksmanship Hunters, the best item for the Pre-Raid phase is the Blue Aspect Helm. Its high critical strike chance combined with high haste rating and high raw stats grant it the best performance.
The next in line is Valorous Cryptstalker Headpiece, as it has similar stats with Blue Aspect Helm, albeit it presents itself as an inferior version.
If none of the previous choices can be attained, you can choose either Helm of the Grave or Hyaline Helm of the Sniper. Hyaline Helm of the Sniper is a much better choice if you somehow lack Hit Rating while the Helm of the Grave is a far better choice for DPS output.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot is Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Headpiece which provides you with extremely high raw stats and the tier-set item bonus. This item is particularly strong due to the high armor penetration and the 600 Attack Power proc that it grants access to once the 4 pieces of the set are equipped.
Boundless Gaze is the next available choice as it also provides high stats, although it lacks Armor Penetration, it makes up for it with a high Critical Strike Chance. The issue with Boundless Gaze is the Hit Rating it offers, generally speaking, it would be a better choice if our build would severely lack Hit Rating. However, it goes beyond the soft Hit Rating cap already without the item present.
Helm of the Furnace Master is a very solid choice, especially for the beginning when the tier set items are highly contested and Boundless Gaze is out of reach.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Faction Champions (10) |
The first item level 258 tier piece you should be aiming for is the head, it gives the best overall damage gain compared to its 2nd BiS relative to the other tier parts. Next is the 245 tier piece, as it still offers the same set bonuses.
Boundless Gaze is good, and gives a lot of stats, if you have been clearing Ulduar on 25 man you probably already have this item in your possession going into Phase 3, the problem with this item is that it has a lot of hit rating, and so do many items in TOC/TOGC which will make you struggle to keep your hit rating balanced. Dragonstalker’s Helm has the same stats as the item level 245 tier, but lacks a set bonus, it’s a very easy and strong pick up early on though.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Heroic Snowserpent Mail Helm | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lord Marrowgar |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Rotface |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Xevozz | |
The Culling of Stratholme – Chrono-Lord Epoch |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your necklace slot. There are two possible paths for this slot once you reach level 80, you can either go through the classic path and journey through dungeons and acquire progressive updates such as Necklace of the Chrono-Lord and Necklace of Arcane Spheres to gain important stats such as Critical Strike Chance or Haste Rating. Or you can acquire Titanium Impact Choker and use it until you can get access to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons to get your hands on items such as Pendant of the Outcast Hero or Gem of Imprisoned Vassals.
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals will be a strong item that you can confidently use even in the Pre-Raid phase where you start raiding the 25 versions of the Phase 1 raids.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity | |
The Eye of Eternity – Judgement at the Eye of Eternity | |
Naxxramas – Sapphiron | |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Multiple Bosses |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Naturally, the most potent option will remain the Favor of the Dragon Queen. As an alternative and inferior version, you can use Pendant of the Dragonsworn if you did not yet cross paths with Malygos in The Eye of Eternity 25-man. The Armor Penetration with the high critical strike chance will grant the best DPS output for those two items.
If you did not manage to fight Malygos, Icy Blast Amulet will be your next best bet. You will want to gain items that grant a combination of Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating or Critical Strike Chance/Armor Penetration.
Lastly, you can use either Gem of Imprisoned Vassals or Fool’s Trial as an initial choice.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
The Eye of Eternity – Heroic Judgement at the Eye of Eternity |
Pendulum of Infinity will be the best item for this slot, however, it will be highly contested. While it does not grant Armor Penetration, it provides high raw stats and a Critical Strike Chance to supplement the Armor Penetration loss.
With the coming of the new Phase 2 items, Seed of Budding Carnage‘s DPS output greatly increases, making the item a lot stronger than Nymph Heart Charm or our beloved Favor of the Dragon Queen.
Nonetheless, the Favor of the Dragon Queen completely trumps Nymph Heart Charm in DPS output, making it a great initial choice. Nymph Heart Charm will be a better choice if you somehow lack Hit Rating and you choose to not sacrifice any gem or enchantment.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
ulduar – general-vezax | |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Charge of the Eredar is your best in slot, but it’s only a single digit increase better than Pendulum of Infinity DPS wise which almost all melee players want. Pendulum of Infinity can easily last you through Phase 3, but you may need the Armor Penetration from Collar of Unending Torment.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Sindragosa’s Cruel Claw | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Sindragosa |
Heroic Rimetooth Pendant | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Sindragosa |
Icecrown Citadel Trash | |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Sindragosa | |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Sindragosa | |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic The Nexus – Grand Magus Telestra | |
(Heroic) The Culling of Stratholme – Meathook | |
Knights of the Ebon Blade – Revered | |
Halls of Stone – Halls of Stone (Quest) |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your shoulders slot. For your early shoulders slot, you will have 3 main paths. You can either start with dungeons and follow a progressive path from Normal Dungeons reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, attain a powerful BoE item that may sell for a high amount of gold, or simply start gaining a reputation with the Knight of the Ebon Blade and gather gold in the meantime.
We have listed the items that you can gain through the progressive dungeon path, however, the most powerful item that you can gain is Spaulders of Egotism. Depending on your realm’s Auction House economy, you may want to skip the dungeon path altogether or ignore the BoE item completely.
As far as stats go, you will want items with either Armor Penetration, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating. Either combination of those will work wonders for your shoulders slot.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Loatheb, Gluth | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Thaddius | |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious | |
Naxxramas – Instructor Razuvious |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will the former BiS of Phase 1, the Valorous Cryptstalker Spaulders. Just like the previous item slots, the combination of Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating will provide the DPS output.
In terms of raw DPS output, the next best thing will be the Upstanding Spaulders, granting you a similar DPS output. If you do not manage to get your hands on either of those two items, you can choose items such as Shoulderpads of Secret Arts or Pauldrons of the Abandoned which grant a decent DPS output for the beginning of Ulduar.
Spaulders of Egotism still remain a perfectly valid choice if you do not wish to raid Naxxramas anymore.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best item for this slot if you choose to access the 4-item set bonus will be Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Spaulders. The item itself grants poor secondary stats, however, the 600 Attack Power bonus that you can gain by wearing the complete set will be much more powerful than the raw stats granted by a single item.
The Mantle of Fiery Vengeance will be your second-best choice for this slot, especially due to its high Armor Penetration Rating and Critical Strike Chance. In terms of raw power, it is superior to the Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Spaulders tier 8 item.
Shoulderpads of the Monolith are an alright alternative if you consider the beginning of the gearing process, as Haste is not a powerful stat unless its piled up.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic++ |
Either tiers are the obvious choice here, supplying you with enough hit.
If you have too much hit and don’t lose a tier set bonus you may want to consider one of the other alternatives, these alternatives are all very close in terms of strength, so you can use whichever is the easiest pick up for you.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Heroic Dual-Bladed Pauldrons | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Rotface |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Erekem | |
Halls of Stone – Maiden of Grief |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your cloak slot. The best choice will be defined by the Shawl of the Shattered Giant. However, even if the item is a BoE and can be easily bought, it requires someone to clear Ulduar first, meaning that it will become the best option for a Fresh 80 only after a week or two of Phase 2 passes.
Alternatively, you can choose to buy the Ice Striker’s Cloak and maintain it until you manage to get in a Naxxramas 25.
As a new option that comes with the new Phase 2, you may choose to progress normally through Normal and Heroic Dungeons, reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons that will grant you strong items such as the Cloak of Mastery or the Cloak of Darkening from the former Naxxramas 10. The best option until the Shawl of the Shattered Giant gets released on the Auction House will be the Cloak of Mastery, granting you the highest DPS output.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot is Drape of the Faceless General especially due to its high Armor Penetration and general high stats. The high Critical Strike Chance combined with the high Armor Penetration rating are stats that you will want to prioritize on the majority of your items.
Drape of Icy Intent is the second-best choice due to its high stats, even if it does not provide Critical Strike Chance or Armor Penetration. This is because of the high raw value of the stats themselves, even if they are not the most optimal.
As alternatives, Drape of the Lithe and Shawl of the Shattered Giant are very valid options, however, they don’t provide high a high DPS boost.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (10) | |
ulduar – general-vezax |
Sylvanas’ Cunning is going to be the obvious best pick, and quite possibly will last you through the whole expansion with its high item level, needless to say every melee armor penetration user is gonna want this cloak, and you cannot die on Heroic difficulty to have a chance of getting it to drop, so it’s fairly difficult to acquire.
Luckily the 10 man version Cloak of Serrated Blades has the same stat make up and will have less people competing for it. Drape of the Faceless General is still very good and should be relatively easy to acquire, but is quite a bit weaker than the top 2. Cloak of the Untamed Predator lacks in Armor Penetration but has a lot of Agility.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic Shadowvault Slayer’s Cloak | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Gunship |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (10) |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Knights of the Ebon Blade – Exalted | |
Drak’tharon Keep – Zone Drop BoE | |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your chest slot. The easiest way to prepare for Heroic Dungeons or the new Heroic Plus Dungeons will be to acquire either Razorstrike Breastplate or Aviary Guardsman’s Hauberk as both grant you decent stats. You can also attempt to farm the Knights of the Ebon Blade reputation in order to gain Darkheart Chestguard, which will grant you high offensive stats if you do not manage to form a group for the new Heroic Plus Dungeons.
The best item that you will be able to acquire as a fresh 80 will be the Tunic of the Lost Pack, offering you a decent initial Hit Rating and high Critical Strike Chance besides its high raw stats.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Noth the Plaguebringer, Gluth | |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Four Horsemen, Gluth | |
Naxxramas – Grobbulus |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Tunic of Masked Suffering, as it grants you extraordinarily high stats, a high critical strike chance, and a high haste rating.
From a DPS output perspective, you have 3 main alternatives, each of them being gradually stronger than the previous one. Sadly, none of the 3 options grant you a perfect combination of secondary stats, making them inadequate for long periods of time. The second-best choice after the Tunic of Masked Suffering will be the Chestguard of Flagrant Prowess due to its high raw stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
The best option for this slot by far is Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Tunic. Not only that it grants you access to the tier set bonus but it also massively boosts your overall stats. The increased Critical Strike Chance will also be a huge boost to your overall damage.
The next best option is Embrace of the Gladiator, even if it does not provide you access to the tier-set bonus. The item provides you with sockets, a high Critical Strike Chance, and quite a high Haste Rating.
The last viable alternative is Chestguard of Insidious Intent. While this item provides a high Armor Penetration Rating, in the setup that we have provided as BiS, it does not perform quite well. The item itself can be quite an extraordinary choice if you don’t have access to any of the other items.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
For your absolute bis you’re going to want the 258 Tier Chest, however if you have too much hit using Cuirass of Cruel Intent instead is a solid option, assuming you maintain the 4 set bonus.
Vest of Shifting Shadows is a bit better than Crusader’s Dragonscale Breastplate, but the latter is by far the easiest item to get on the list. Embrace of the Gladiator is a decent carry over item from the last tier but that’s about it, even with its lower item level the rest beats it with better itemisation.
For your absolute bis you’re going to want Cuirass of Cruel Intent, however if you can use the hit Tier 9 is a solid option, assuming you use the 4 piece bonus. Vest of Shifting Shadows is a bit better than Crusader’s Dragonscale Breastplate, but the latter is by far the easiest item to get on the list.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece | |
Heroic Carapace of Forgotten Kings | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Festergut |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Halls of Lightning – Loken (Heroic) | |
Heroic+ | |
The Wyrmrest Temple – Exalted |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your bracer slot. There are two main ways for gaining a strong pair of gloves as a fresh 80 Hunter. You may choose to pick the normal dungeon route, reaching strong items such as the Bands of Anxiety which grant you a much-needed high critical strike chance and Hit Rating from the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. Another choice would be to buy Armguard of the Tower Archer directly from the Auction House, as it can be bought by veteran raiders with 60 Emblem of Valor and sold. While Armguard of the Tower Archer has weaker offensive stats than Bands of Anxiety, its accessibility makes it stronger.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. By far the best choice for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Bracers of the Smothering Inferno. The only issue with the item is that it will require someone to clear Ulduar in order for the item to be placed in the Auction House.
The best option from Phase 1 is Slime Stream Bands. It provides a perfect combination of high raw stats, critical strike chance, and hit rating. Sinner’s Bindings and Arachnoid Gold Band are both perfectly valid options, offering similar DPS output.
Lastly, you can use Armguard of the Tower Archer, granting you the weakest DPS output that remains a decent choice, especially if you are lacking Hit Rating.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer |
Frost-bound Chain Bracers are the best item for this slot, even if they do not grant any Armor Penetration. The high Critical Strike Chance will do wonders for your overall damage.
While Fluxing Energy Coils provide Armor Penetration, they are weaker compared to bound Chain Bracers) from a pure stat point of view, resulting in less DPS. They are quite a strong option if you can’t manage to get your hands on Frost-bound Chain Bracers).
Surprisingly Solar Bindings are actually the weakest choice when it comes to this slot. This is due to the useless “Expertise Rating” combined with the Haste Rating.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Faction Champions (25) | |
The Heroic version of Bracers of the Silent Massacre is the best by far, no argument here. Armbands of Dark Determination are second best but are Leather and will therefore be more contested. If you’re unlucky with bracers, you can craft Crusader’s Dragonscale Bracers as a last option to catch up.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Umbrage Armbands | The Ruby Sanctum (25) – Heroic Halion |
Heroic Scourge Hunter’s Vambraces | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Gunship |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang | |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Gunship | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
Heroic Icecrown Rampart Bracers | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Gunship |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Cyanigosa | |
(Heroic) Gundrak – Gal’darah |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your gloves slot. Since there are no viable BoE items for this slot, you will want to choose the traditional dungeon path and journey through Heroic and Heroic Plus Dungeons. Your first two choices are Grips of the Beast God and Handgrips of the Savage Emissary. You will want to keep Grips of the Beast God until you manage to acquire plenty of Hit Rating items.
With the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, we will supposedly be able to gain tier items such as Heroes’ Cryptstalker Handguards which will grant you a good start for Naxxramas 25 or The Eye of Eternity 25.
Lastly, the best item you can acquire as a fresh 80 is Rusted-Link Spiked Gauntlets, providing you with a decent Hit Rating, good Critical Strike Chance, high stats, and gem sockets.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Patchwerk | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Sapphiron |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. There is no surprise that the best item for the Pre-Raid phase will be the Frosted Adroit Handguards. This item grants you high raw stats, a high Hit Rating, and Critical Strike Chance.
As valid alternatives from a DPS output perspective, you can choose either Gloves of Calculated Risk or Valorous Cryptstalker Handguards. The first option will be stronger than the second mainly due to the secondary stat combination that it offers. As simulations go, Hit Rating/Critical Strike Chance performs better than raw Haste/Armor Penetration in our specific build.
Lastly, you can use the Gloves of Fast Reactions, however, their DPS output is a lot lower compared to the other options due to lesser stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Gloves of the Steady Hand will be the best option for this slot because of its high raw stats and the big buff that it has received with the new Phase 2 item upgrades.
It is closely followed up by Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Handguards, which grants powerful stats and access to your set bonus. You may want to choose this option only if you are using some offset item for your leg slot.
Gloves of the Stonereaper and Gloves of the Endless Dark are both decent alternatives for the beginning of the gearing process, however, Gloves of the Endless Dark are weaker than Gloves of the Stonereaper because they lack Armor Penetration, giving Haste Rating instead.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
Ulduar – XT-002 Deconstructor | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (10) | |
Gloves are pretty straight forward, best are heroic tier gloves from Anub by a large stretch, after that is a toss up between Windrunner’s Handguards of Triumph and Sunreaver Assassin’s Gloves, depending on your Armor Penetration.
Gloves of the Dark Exile are not the necessarily 5th best gloves in the game but they are very easy to acquire and have an amazing stat setup.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Heroic Scourge Stranglers | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron | |
Gundrak – Thrash |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your waist slot. The first thing I would mention is that the list possesses craftable items that will only be available after Ulduar has been cleared. Belt of Dragons is by far the best possible choice that you can opt for, granting you high raw stats, critical strike chance, and haste rating. As a close alternative, Death-warmed Belt will grant you similar stats and DPS output. However, both options will not be available until Ulduar is cleared!
As a more reliable choice for a fresh 80 for the beginning weeks of Ulduar, Spectral Rider’s Girdle will grant you the best possible DPS output, followed up closely by the Blistered Belt of Decay. Since Phase 2 brings several changes to the expansion, you will be able to acquire those two items from the new Heroic Plus Dungeons.
Another okay alternative would be to gather Emblems of Heroism and buy Vereesa’s Silver Chain Belt, as it has quite decent stats paired up with a gem socket.
However, if you do not possess gold from your leveling journey, you will want to first acquire either Sovereign’s Belt or Belt of Tasseled Lanterns from normal dungeons. Belt of Tasseled Lanterns can also be bought from the Auction House depending on your realm’s economy.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Just like in the Fresh 80 section, Belt of Dragons and Death-warmed Belt will be your best options. However, you will only be able to acquire them once someone clears Ulduar for the patterns and places them in the Auction House.
If we talk about the best choice before someone clears Ulduar, Depraved Linked Belt will remain the best possible option as it was in Phase 1 as well. the combination of high raw stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating really makes the item shine in terms of DPS output.
All other options are similar in stats, with the exception of different secondary stat combinations such as Hit Rating/Armor Penetration versus Critical Strike Chance/Haste. The next best alternative in terms of DPS output will be Torn Web Wrapping, granting u similar damage.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Thorim | |
Heroic++ | |
28 – Emblem of Conquest | |
Belt of the Betrayed is by far the strongest choice, especially due to the high Critical Strike Chance and Armor Penetration rating that it offers. The second-best choice is Relic Hunter’s Cord offering similar stats. However, it is far better suited for builds that lack Hit Rating.
Both Belt of Dragons and Belt of the Ardent Marksman are solid choices for the beginning which are easy to acquire. Especially the Belt of Dragons since it can be crafted. As far as their performance goes, they are both extremely close.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
Both versions of the new mail belt are the best pieces, these are what you should aim for.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Nerub’ar Stalker’s Cord | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Festergut |
Heroic Astrylian’s Sutured Cinch | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Professor Putricide |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Festergut | |
Heroic Linked Scourge Vertebrae | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Lord Marrowgar |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Halls of Stone – Sjonnir the Ironshapper | |
(Heroic) The Oculus – Varos Cloudstrider | |
(Heroic) Utgarde Pinnacle – Gortok Palehoof |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your legs slot. You can either directly buy a BoE item such as Giantmaim Legguards removing many of your initial issues. Or you can choose a progressive path and go through normal and heroic dungeons, acquiring items such as Ravenous Leggings of the Furbolg and Azure Ringmail Leggings which grant you great initial stats.
The new Heroic Plus Dungeons grant interesting choices as far as new items go. Supposedly, we will be able to get Heroes’ Cryptstalker Legguards, which will grant us a perfect start for us as Marksmanship Hunters.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Thaddius, Gluth | |
Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Gothik the Harvester |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best possible choice from a pure DPS output perspective will be Valorous Cryptstalker Legguards, granting you a high mix of baseline stats, Haste Rating, and Armor Penetration. While Haste Rating is a decent stat on Hunters, you will want to seek items that grant Critical Strike over Haste if possible.
As far as alternatives go, each of the listed alternatives is progressively stronger than its previous counterpart. Items such as Leggings of Failed Escape and Leggings of the Honored are perfect if you lack Hit Rating while also granting you a decent DPS output. Items such as Leggings of Colossal Strides and Leggings of Fleeting Moments can be quite strong in builds that have plenty of Hit Rating, making them a better choice.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Freya | |
Ulduar – Yogg-Saron | |
Ulduar – Razorscale | |
39 – Emblem of Conquest | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
Legguards of Cunning Deception are the most powerful choice due to their high Armor Penetration and Critical Strike Chance values. They are especially strong since they also grant you raw high stats and sockets.
Saronite Mesh Legguards and Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Legguards are both extremely solid options, both being very close in stats and power. However, Saronite Mesh Legguards are strong due to their Armor Penetration Rating while Conqueror’s Scourgestalker Legguards are strong due to their item set bonus.
The Leggings of the Tireless Sentry are a very solid and easy-to-acquire choice for this slot. You can directly grab them with 39 Emblems of Conquest. The Darkcore Leggings are the weakest option, however, they can be very useful at the beginning of the gearing process.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
ulduar – yogg-saron | |
Tier 9 is your Best-in-Slot, but you can use Leggings of the Lurking Threat as an offpiece if you lack hit rating.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Leggings of Northern Lights | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Lady Deathwhisper | |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 264 Piece | |
Protector’s Mark of Sanctification & 251 Piece |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Lavanthor | |
(Heroic) Halls of Lightning – Volkhan |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your feet slot. Sadly, there is no good option that you can buy as a BoE, not at the beginning of Phase 2 at least. As a fresh 80, you will want to progressively upgrade your boots through normal and heroic dungeons, reaching up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. The items linked before are good examples of the best progressive path you can achieve.
From a pure DPS output perspective, Boots of the Worshiper grant you the best possible damage, offering a great mix of high raw stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Haste Rating. The other options are simply inferior options, offering you the same type of secondary stats. Initially, you will want to grab items from quests and normal dungeons, reaching to items such as Slag Footguards and Twin-Headed Boots as your first ideal options.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
The Eye of Eternity – Malygos | |
Naxxramas – Noth the Plaguebringer | |
Naxxramas – Anub’Rekhan | |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best possible choice for this slot will be Footpads of Silence, even for BiS! The only problem with this item is that it will not be available in the first weeks of Phase 2, as it requires someone to clear Ulduar first and gain the pattern.
Besides Footpads of Silence, a much more realistic item for the first weeks of Phase 2 will be Boots of the Renewed Flight. This item grants you a perfect combination of high stats, Critical Strike Chance, and Armor Penetration.
As possible alternatives, you got several items ranging from Crippled Treads, Pack-Ice Striders, Dawnwalkers, and Boots of Captain Ellis. Each of them grants a solid set of stats, however, all of them are inferior to the Boots of the Renewed Flight. There are two main differences between those items and the Boots of the Renewed Flight. First of all, some of them can be acquired through Emblem of Valor while others are strictly raid drops. This makes the items acquired from emblems infinitely easier to acquire, removing the grinding process. Secondly, each item grants a different set of secondary stats, each of them being better in different situations. From a DPS output perspective, we have placed those items in a progressive order, from lowest to highest performance, however, some items perform better in situations where you either lack Hit Rating or need more Critical Strike Chance.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
With the Phase 2 update, the best item for the “Boots” slot, will be the Greaves of Swift Vengeance. They do bring powerful socket space and vital stats such as Critical Strike Chance and Hit Rating, however, they lack Armor Penetration.
Boots of Living Scale will be the second-best choice for this slot, especially due to its sockets and high overall stats.
The other 3 alternatives are very close, each of them providing you with similar stats and overall DPS. You can consider them viable choices until you can get your hands on either Greaves of Swift Vengeance or Boots of Living Scale.
Since Boots of Living Scale are a craftable item, you may choose to save up your gold and directly acquire them.
Phase 3 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
ulduar – The Iron Assembly | |
Both boots from Ulduar are about equal in strength, they differ slightly. If you can fit in the hit rating any of the top 4 boots will be a good item to use, if you cannot fit in hit you should consider Warsong Poacher’s Greaves.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Returning Footfalls | The Ruby Sanctum (25) – Heroic Halion |
Heroic Frostbitten Fur Boots | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lord Marrowgar |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Festergut | |
Heroic Treads of the Wasteland | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Blood Prince Council |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Dalaran – Harold Winston | |
Heroic+ | |
Azjol-Nerub – Anub’ar Warrior |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ring slots. Depending on how much gold you want to spend, you can gain two accessible rings that will be perfect before reaching a 25-man raid. You can acquire Titanium Impact Band as a solid initial ring, and also gain Band of the Kirin Tor if you really have the gold to afford it. However, with the new Heroic Plus Dungeons, you will want to acquire Surge Needle Ring as fast as possible as it will be the best choice for Pre-Raid as well.
From a DPS output perspective, Sealing Ring of Grobbulus will be a very viable alternative as it grants you a perfect combination of Haste Rating and Critical Strike Chance. However, it will be inferior to Surge Needle Ring.
As an initial choice, you can buy Stained-Glass Shard Ring from the Auction House. This will prove to be a great investment as you will struggle with Hit Rating initially.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Naxxramas – Zone Drop (Multiple Bosses) | |
Heroic+ | |
Dalaran – Harold Winston |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Surge Needle Ring and Strong-Handed Ring will be the best options for the Pre-Raid phase, just like in Phase 1.
Greatring of Collision offers similar DPS, however, Strong-Handed Ring simply provides a better DPS output.
Alternatively, you can get Ring of Invincibility before you manage to get one of the first mentioned items. It offers a great combination of critical strike chance and haste rating, however, it simply is weaker compared to the first options.
Inscribed Band of the Kirin Tor is a great alternative if you have plenty of gold to spend or if you simply don’t wish to go hunting for specific items.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Heroic: All is Well That Ends Well | |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Ignis the Furnace Master | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
The best options that you can gain for your Ring Slots are Loop of the Agile and Brann’s Signet Ring. With the new Phase 2 items, Loop of the Agile receives a huge buff which severely enhances your overall DPS output.
As the next-best alternative, Band of Lights also comes with higher stats and offers quite a similar damage output. Brann’s Sealing Ring takes a big hit to its stats, making it far less effective than it used to be. Cindershard Ring is the perfect alternative until you can get your hands on both Brann’s Signet Rings. However, they do provide less DPS.
As another alternative, you can use Metallic Loop of the Sufferer, however, it grants inferior stats, having a focus on Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Heroic Faction Champions (25) | |
Heroic++ | |
ulduar – algalon-the-observer 10 | |
Band of Callous Aggression is a small upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless and will be part of your best in slot, together with Brann’s Signet Ring which will cross over from Ulduar.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Signet of Twilight | The Ruby Sanctum (25) – Heroic Halion |
Heroic Frostbrood Sapphire Ring | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Valithria Dreamwalker |
The Ashen Verdict – Exalted | |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Valithria Dreamwalker | |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang | |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
(Heroic) The Nexus – Keristrasza | |
(Heroic) Drak’Tharon Keep – King Dred | |
(Heroic) Utgarde Pinnacle – King Ymiron |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your trinket slots. By far, the best choices for Phase 1 will be Mirror of Truth and Darkmoon Card: Greatness, meaning that you will want to have them at the beginning of Phase 2 as well. While you can straight up buy Darkmoon Card: Greatness from the Auction House, Mirror of Truth will take a while to acquire.
Until you can manage to acquire Mirror of Truth or gather the gold to get Darkmoon Card: Greatness, you can gather items such as Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood and Incisor Fragment or Meteorite Whetstone from Heroic Dungeons. You may however encounter heavy competition, especially if there are other fresh 80 characters.
Any of the last 3 trinkets are quite viable, however, you will want to swap them as fast as possible with your main 2 choices for a real DPS boost.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Naxxramas – Zone Drop (Multiple Bosses) | |
The Obsidian Sanctum – Sartharion |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Just like in the previous section, Darkmoon Card: Greatness and Mirror of Truth maintain their spot as the main two DPS trinkets you will want to acquire before Ulduar releases. Darkmoon Card: Greatness is such a strong trinket that you will find yourself using it even when completing your BiS build, maintaining a strong position until the third phase of the expansion.
Alternatively, you can use Grim Toll instead of Mirror of Truth, however, its low proc rate makes it an inferior choice. The trinket works better on builds that severely lack Hit Rating as it grants a ridiculous amount of Hit Rating.
Lastly, Fury of the Five Flights is an alright choice compared to the other options, however, it is by far inferior compared to the other choices.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer |
Trinkets are the most important items for a DPS. In the second phase of the expansion, for a Marksman Hunter, Mjolnir Runestone and Darkmoon Card: Greatness will be your best options. Mjolnir Runestone is especially powerful due to the static Critical Strike Chance that it offers and the Armor Penetration proc it offers. However, for your second trinket, the choice is especially tied between Darkmoon Card: Greatness and Dark Matter, both granting you a very solid DPS increase. Depending on the proc sync with Mjolnir Runestone, Darkmoon Card: Greatness may prove to be more powerful than Dark Matter based on simulations.
As a fine alternative, Comet’s Trail will grant you a solid DPS boost, however, Haste is an inferior stat to Critical Strike Chance or Attack Power.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic++ | |
Heroic The Forge of Souls – Devourer of Souls | |
Darkmoon Faire – Darkmoon Nobles Deck | |
Dark Matter is very good together with Mjolnir Runestone , they compliment each other with their proc duration and proc-rate but either version of Death’s Choice will still beat it out. Comet’s Trail is better used on other classes, only picking this up if no one else wants it.
Darkmoon Card: Greatness is slightly worse than Comet’s Trail – but due to how much easier it is to get I’ve ranked it higher, as almost every melee will still be chasing comet.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Heroic Sharpened Twilight Scale | The Ruby Sanctum (25) – Heroic Halion |
Heroic Deathbringer’s Will | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Deathbringer Saurfang |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Deathbringer Saurfang | |
Heroic Whispering Fanged Skull | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Icecrown Citadel (10) – Lady Deathwhisper | |
Heroic++ |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) Violet Hold – Cyanigosa | |
(Heroic) Halls of Lightning – Loken |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your weapon slot. The best way to gain a good weapon for this slot is to progress through dungeons, ranging from Normal Dungeons up to the new Heroic Plus Dungeons. You have many possible options, however, your initial options will not provide you with any extraordinary stats. You will want to gain a high amount of Agility and Critical Strike Chance in the beginning.
All the items listed above were evaluated based on their raw DPS output, meaning that you will want to treat them as progressive upgrades. You will gain the best DPS output by using the Wraith Spear. Luckily for us, you can acquire it quite easily with the addition of Heroic Plus Dungeons.
Pre-Ulduar
Item | Source |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad | |
Heroic++ | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Heigan the Unclean | |
Naxxramas – Grobbulus |
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. The best choice for this slot will remain Journey’s End, especially due to its Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stat combination. In terms of raw DPS output, Betrayer of Humanity comes close to it, however, it is heavily contested.
Another quite iconic alternative will be Black Ice. This is a better choice if your build lacks Hit Rating, even if the DPS output is lower. Additionally, you can use either The Undeath Carrier, Cryptfiend’s Bite, or Origin of Nightmares as they prove to be decent choices in case the first-mentioned items are out of your reach. The Undeath Carrier is quite an extraordinary choice due to its very high stats.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – General Vezax | |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observerer | |
Ulduar – The Iron Assembly | |
Ulduar – Yogg-Saron | |
Heroic++ |
The second phase is dominated by Lotrafen, Spear of the Damned, occupying the first spot as the BiS for this slot. The next two items that are very close in performance are Dreambinder and Stormrune Edge, however, Dreambinder offers a bit more possibilities due to its sockets.
Since those items are quite highly sought after, you may want to acquire either Dark Edge of Depravity or Journey’s End until you manage to get your hands on them. Dark Edge of Depravity is far better than Journey’s End, however, Journey’s End is from the previous raid tier.
There is another viable alternative in case you can not get your hands on any of those items. You can attempt to gain Hoperender, a weapon that will provide you with solid starting DPS.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Ulduar – General Vezax |
With Hit as abundant as it is in Phase 3, the Glaives reign supreme. If you can somehow use the hit then Fleshrender will be your 2nd best option, but will still fall behind the glaive.
Twin’s Pact is weaker because it has haste instead of crit, and we value crit a lot more. it’s just a slightly higher item level version of Dreambinder.
That there are some tempting one-handers with decent itemisation, but they lack the stats that two-handers often have, so I would not actively seek them out. If they happen to drop and no one needs them feel free to pick them up until you can get one of the items above.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic The Lich King | |
Heroic Tainted Twig of Nordrassil | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic The Lich King |
Heroic Hersir’s Greatspear | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Blood Prince Council |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – The Lich King | |
Heroic Bloodfall | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Blood-Queen Lana’thel |
Fresh 80
Item | Source |
(Heroic) Utgarde Keep – Ingvar the Plunderer | |
Heroic+ | |
(Heroic) The Culling of Stratholme – Mal’ganis |
As a fresh level 80, you have several choices for your ranged slot. There are two main options for your ranged weapon, you can either directly buy Nesingwary 4000 from the Auction House and wait until you can get an upgrade from a 25-man raid or you can follow the traditional dungeon path and acquire progressive upgrades.
With the addition of Heroic Plus Dungeons, you have the option to acquire the Accursed Bow of the Elite, however, Drake-Mounted Crossbow will remain the best option from a DPS output perspective. Its stats are so strong that you may want to maintain it until you acquire Nerubian Conquerer or Envoy of Mortality.
Lastly, Pierce’s Pistol is a great initial choice if you do not wish to acquire Nesingwary 4000, as it grants you a perfect initial combination of Hit Rating and Critical Strike Chance.
Pre-Ulduar
Your Pre-Raid options will often be defined by the BiS items from the previous raid tiers, and any other new dungeons that arrive with the new phase. Envoy of Mortality will remain your best option for the Pre-Raid phase, granting you the highest DPS output due to its ridiculously high stats.
You have other two potent alternatives for this slot, namely Nerubian Conquerer and Arrowsong, with the former option being superior to the latter in terms of DPS output. Sadly, we do not have any other viable option for the Pre-Raid phase, meaning that you will most definitely want to acquire Envoy of Mortality as fast as possible.
Phase 2 Best-in-Slot
Item | Source |
Ulduar – Algalon the Observer | |
Heroic++ | |
Ulduar – Kologarn | |
Ulduar – Auriaya | |
Naxxramas – Kel’Thuzad |
By far the best item you can get for your ranged slot is Skyforge Crossbow! However, it can be quite tough to gain as it is highly sought after. The next and immediate best performer will be Magnetized Projectile Emitter. While Skyforge Crossbow does not offer you any Armor Penetration, it’s raw high damage provides the best possible DPS output.
Alternatively, until you manage to gain either of those two items you can use Siren’s Cry and Giant’s Bane as they are close to each other in performance.
Envoy of Mortality will still provide you with solid DPS until you manage to get your hands on an upgrade.
Pre-Raid
Item | Source |
trial-of-the-grand-crusader Tribute (25) | |
Heroic++ |
Ranged weapons are interesting, especially if you are a Troll or Dwarf.The best in slot weapon is BRK-1000, this being BiS is very beneficial to Dwarves as they get 1% extra crit when using guns. This makes Talonstrike less attractive for them, however for any other race they are very close together in terms of DPS. Another option you have is Skyforge Crossbow that can carry over from Ulduar, and once again if you are a Dwarf both The Diplomat and Magnetized Projectile Emitter will grant you that 1% crit bonus.
Trolls also benefit from this 1% crit racial bonus with Frenzystrike Longbow, but this will not make the item better than the alternatives listed.
Phase 5 Best-in-Slot
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic The Lich King | |
Heroic Zod’s Repeating Longbow | Icecrown Citadel (25) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Heroic Windrunner’s Heartseeker | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic The Lich King |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – The Lich King | |
Heroic Njorndar Bone Bow | Icecrown Citadel (10) – Heroic Lady Deathwhisper |
Icecrown Citadel (25) – Lady Deathwhisper |
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This is a better pre bis option for ranged weapon
This is a better P1 bis item for ranged weapon, we dont use Tier set due to bad itemization – Grim Toll is extremely bad to use early until you are able to get softcap Darkmooncard Greatness is BiS and often remains BiS until Phase 3 though costly. looking for drops FoTFF
is still far better to use though would not recommend it, it’s rather weak for its item level.
Black Ice is named as the most reasonable option, but that would have to be Journey’s End only contested by feral druids and other hunters, and not far off of Betrayer statwise
Surge Needle BiS too, as we’ve established, crit > haste by quite a bit
Hey man, thanks for your comment! You’re right, some of these slipped by, we’ve updated the guide  😄 
Hi, the [Nesingwary 4000] its not good for bis option? he’s better than Drake-Mounted Crossbow.
Nesing lacks some primary stats that hunters want, which doesn’t get filled by the extra socket bonus unless you are a Dwarf
Nunca foi e nunca será biss, espero que atualizem, pois oq estava antes, era tudo certinho.
Why do you take the dragon’s belt? This is a leathercraft recipe that only drops in Ulduar. And as far as I know Ulduar is not accessible in Phase1. Or did I miss something there?
Thank you very much for pointing this out! I am sorry for that, I actually meant to add another item there! You are entirely right, that recipe is from Ulduar!
Hello, will you write BiS-list for T8, etc?..
Hey, yes we will, but we’ll be waiting until simulation tools are out so we can ensure our information is accurate. Stay tuned for them!
With tier gear being available at the heroism vendor why is that not in the pre-raid bis listings
Hey there Ravenshire! The idea behind it was that the “Pre-Raid” section should only include BoEs and Dungeon items. If you manage to gather enough emblems to acquire tier gear before actually joining a raid, you should totally go for it!
You won’t have enough conquest emblems to get the tiers before entering the raid at week 1, unless Blizzard decides to do some whacky things
Quick addition: It is worth it to hold onto your 2PC Tier 9 for a decently long while, together with T10 2PC, you can snapshot the T10 proc into serpent sting by reapplying it and having it do increase damage aslong as you keep refreshing it with chimera.
It is not P4 bis though, getting full ilvl 277 T10 is still better but I figured I should mention it regardless. best pieces for T10 are Head and Chest, Shoulders are good too, Pants and Gloves are weaker (this is all assuming you have access to ilvl 258 Tier 9)
When reapplying serpent sting on the T10 proc it may be beneficial to pop a Wild Magic Potion over a speed potion as well, as the crit also carries over. but this is very fight dependent. (Stuff like Blood Queen,Rotface,Festergut etc come to mind)
Why not have “Needle-Encrusted Scorpion” in Phase 2/3?