05 February 2009

Switching to Balance: Stacking Hit

Last time out I posted about key Balance stats, and in particular hit rating. If you've read that, you know why Hit is important.

Suppose you're a resto druid who's decided to switch to Balance. Maybe you've got Naxx on farm now, so you need fewer healers. Or maybe patch 3.1 has arrived and you want Balance as a second spec. Either way, your Resto gear in general will do pretty well for Balance. The exception is Hit Rating. You'll want to stack up some hit to do good DPS as a Moonkin.

To stack up some hit, take a look at your weakest current gear pieces. Try to replace those with some easy-to-find gear with hit rating on it. There's quite a bit out there that you can get rather quickly.

Balance gear: pieces with Hit Rating and Spellpower
Purchasable, quest reward, or 5-man drops; 187 <= iLvl <= 200

SlotNameSource
Cost
Hit Rating
HeadHat of Wintry DoomCrafted~300g44
HeadTitan-forged Leather Helm of DominanceWintergrasp MoH4044
NeckNecklace of TaldaramDrop - OK (H) 43
NeckChain of Latent EnergiesAH - BoE drop (Naxx)~3000g34
NeckHateful Gladiator's Pendant of AscendancyPvP - honor3800034
NeckEncircling Burnished Gold ChainsEoH2525
BackHateful Gladiator's Cloak of AscendancyPvP - honor3800034
BackDark Solider CapeRep: Revered - Ebon Blade 29
BackCape of Seething SteamDrop - HoL (N) 29
BackShroud of AkaliQuest - Gundrak (N) 24
ChestEbonweave RobeCrafted~1500g68
ChestWater-Drenched RobeDrop - VH (H) 62
ChestRobes of LightningQuest - HoL 55
HandsEbonweave GlovesCrafted~750g51
HandsLava Burn GlovesQuest - VH (N) 36
WaistGirdle of BaneDrop - UP (H) 48
WaistBelt of Unified SoulsDrop - CoS (H) 42
WaistSash of the Wizened WyrmRep: Honored - Wyrmrest 40
WaistPlush Sash of GuzbahEoH4033
WaistFlowing Sash of OrderDrop - HoL (H) 31
FeetTitan-forged Boots of DominanceWintergrasp MoH1536
FingerRing of Northern TearsCrafted~300g31
FingerVoodoo SignetQuest - Gundrak 24
1H WepFlameheart Spell ScalpelRep: Revered - Kirin Tor 34
2H WepGrand Staff of JordanStone Keepers Shard32568
2H WepChilly SlobberknockerQuest - ZD 50
OffhandTelestra's JournalDrop - Nexus (H) 39
OffhandWard of the Violet CitadelEoH2538
Note: The [Deadly Gladiator's Focus Staff] also has hit, but it's a fairly difficult arena item (1930 rating required). Wowhead also lists Hateful and Savage versions of the Focus Staff, but I can't find any other reference that they exist in-game.

Don't be afraid to lose some Spellpower or other stats in favor of hit. A spell that misses does 0 damage regardless of how much SP you're stacking. And how much Hit will you need? Check out the WoWWiki article for a full breakdown. Assuming you have 2/2 points in Balance of Power and no other buffs:
  • Heroics: 53 Hit (0 with IFF up)
  • Raids: 342 Hit (263 with IFF up)
For raids in particular, it's unlikely that you'll have no other buffs, so 342 is probably more hit rating than you'll need in most situations.

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