Over the past few days JB has been re-working her gear set, moving away from her "trash mob" set (ie, a set that ignores +hit) and focusing more on her "soft hit cap" gear set for Heroics/raids, and a below cap set that still has considerable +hit for under level 80 dungeons. The reason for this is that when JB got around to reviewing her stats from the Nexus adventure with DER, she discovered something she hadn't expected. The gear set she wore was her "trash mob" set with high spell power, crit, and int for max damage dealing. There was only around +60 hit on that set, but JB didn't think she would need any more than that on the low 70s level elites. Yet her Recount log showed that she was indeed missing - not a lot of misses, but JB was not expecting to be missing at all.
A "soft hit cap" set is a raid viable set that ensures JB will consistently hit even the highest level bosses, provided there is a moonkin or shadow priest in the raid to make up the +hit difference. The soft hit cap is +289 hit for elemental shaman and with the latest changes JB's made, she is right at +289 hit.
The changes:
(1) JB achieved Honored rep with the Kirin'Tor faction, which got her access to high stamina head enchants.
(2) [Sash of Trumpted Pride] - and yes, that is spelled accurately (even though there is no such word as "trumpted"). JB bought this from the Argent Tournament vendor and used two gem slots to fill them with a total of +40 hit. JB is working to maximize the amount of +hit on single pieces of gear and minimize how many pieces of gear have +hit on them to give her flexibility on other stats.
(3) [Zom's Crackling Bulwark] - this ilevel 200 shield was so much better than what JB was currently wearing even Happy could find no excuse not to buy it. It's the first time I've ever seen it offered on the AH.
(4) [Ebonweave Gloves] - Yes, they're crafted cloth gloves, but they're also one of the very few quality +hit items JB has run across, and the price she paid was half of what they were worth. The +51 hit the gloves added allowed JB to swap out worse +hit gear in favor of other stats.
Bottom line is that out of 17 gear slots, JB now fills 11 of them with ilevel 200 gear.
JB did some quick testing of her SHC (soft hit cap) gear set on the Heroic/Raid level Dummy in Orgrimmar. Two full tests, firing on all cylinders until JB ran out of mana, showed the following:
(LB=Lightning Bolt, FS=Flame Shock, CL=Chain Lightning, LvB=Lava Burst)
Pass #1: 2050 DPS, LB- 2 misses out of 45 casts, FS- 1/11, LvB/CL no misses)
Pass #2: 2078 DPS, LB- 1/52, FS- 2/12, LvB- 1/15, CL- 1/34 (CL total overstated because it chains over to hit other nearby Dummies; number of casts is close to the LvB total of 15)
JB was averaging around 1900 DPS on the Heroic dummy before the latest changes, so there is definitely an improvement.
JB has been testing out an addon called Shock and Awe as I need a clear indicator showing JB when her Flame Shock DoT is about to expire. The DoT must be up at all times, but you don't want to waste time or mana refreshing it too soon. I was disappointed with the addon and will be looking at others.
As for her "softer" side, of course she meant the hit cap.
Ok, so she also is now looking a bit more feminine with her new Kirin Tor tabard, a robe courtesy of the fish people (who's name I forget), and her new blue shield to complement that wicked dagger. And anyone who questions the femininity of trolls - well, I'm sure JB would be happy to have you for dinner - drawn and quartered as the main course. ;-)
JB's "Softer" Side
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