Hello everyone, you may know as Frmercury from the WoW Priest forums where you've probably seen my sticky Shadow Raiding: the Primer, 3.3 Edition, or read one of my many posts as Woaden.
Today I'm discussing Hit pieces in ICC.
I'm sure that most of you have been venturing into Icecrown Citadel at this point, many of you making it far into the new wings. I'm sure you've noticed along the way the surprising lack of Hit gear. This is in stark contrast to Trial of the (Grand) Crusader and Ulduar where Hit gear was relatively abundant. Now it is prudent when planning our desired upgrades in Icecrown to pay special attention to which Hit pieces we will be going for.
Below is a list with the relevant math on Hit as it relates the Pseudo Power of the BiS (obtainable) vs BiS Hit (obtainable) using Izolight's PP values and BiS list found here.
Neck:
Blood Queen's Crimson Choker
vs
Amulet of the Silent Eulogy
234.24-197.78=36.45
52/36.45=
1.43 Ratio for 52 Hit
Back:
Jaina's Radiance
vs
Cloak of Displacement
254.54-187.96=66.58
49/66.58
.74 Ratio for 49 Hit
Wrist:
Death Surgeon's Sleeves
vs
The Lady's Brittle Bracers
210.1-188.38=21.72
45/21.72
2.07 Ratio for 45 Hit
Belt:
Crushing Coldwraith Belt
vs
Belt of the Biting Cold
317.18-236.34=80.84
58/80.84
.72 Ratio for 58 Hit
Boots:
Plague Scientist's Boots
vs
Boots of the Icy Floe
and
Deathfrost Boots
317.18-255.3=61.88
60/61.88
.97 Ratio for 60 Hit
317.18-251.7=65.48
64/65.48
.98 Ratio for 64 Hit
Ring:
Ring of Rapid Ascent
vs
Valanar's Other Signet Ring
231.74-202.8=28.94
38/28.94
1.31 Ratio for 38 Hit
Main Hand:
Frozen Bonespike
vs
Blade of Tarasque
835.39-785.16=50.23
51/50.23
1.02 Ratio for 51 Hit
Off Hand:
Shadow Silk Spindle
vs
Chalice of Benedictus
225.58-168.88=56.7
43/56.7
.76 Ratio for 43 Hit
Wand:
Corpse-Impaling Spike
vs
Petrified Ivy Sprig
127.74-86.32=41.42
29/41.42
.70 Ratio for 29 Hit
The higher the ratio, the better the the amount of PP per Hit gained.
As you can see there a few standouts that easily make the list. Lets start by taking the Hit assumed to be pieces commonly accepted as BiS that include the T10 264 Gloves and the Exalted rep ring from the Ashen Verdict.
+72 Hit on Gloves
+51 Hit on Ring
------------------
+123 Hit
That would mean that we need another 140 to 166 to be hit capped with and without Heroic Presence respectively.
Wrist:
The Lady's Brittle Bracers
2.07 Ratio for 45 Hit
95 to 121 more needed
Neck:
Amulet of the Silent Eulogy
1.43 Ratio for 52 Hit
43 to 69 more needed
Those were relatively easy. That leaves us with 43 to 69 more Hit that we need from gear. Valanar's Other Signet Ring seems like an obvious choice for the next best ratio available, but that would leave us under Hit capped even with Heroic Presence. Since 50% of Shadow Priests don't have the luxury of a Blueberry, the next best option becomes:
Feet:
Deathfrost Boots
.98 Ratio for 64 Hit
This will put you at 10.83% Hit, .17 off cap, over with a Draenei. This is the highest setup that can Hit Cap you with Draenei or come the closest without.
Here is a Wowhead profile of the set: http://www.wowhead.com/?profile=20730929
Which Sims to: 11104 DPS
This is the highest Simmed DPS: http://www.wowhead.com/?profile=19501640
Which Sims to 11140 DPS
Seeing how close the DPS values for both sets are, and considering the break in DPS rotation that being under Hit capped would lead to: the potential loss of ~30 DPS for the added convenience of Hit cap is more than worth it.
One final note: in my set the difference between a normal rotation and one without MB is less than 50 DPS. It is very likely that with one or two Hard Mode upgrades MB in our rotation will be a DPS loss. More information on this can be found Here.