Gear on my Mind

Gear on my Mind

I woke up this morning, hoping to see the server still up before they take it down for the 2.3 patch. No joy, upgrade is already in progress. So now what? Update my blog. Ok, got all my back articles and comments posted.

How bout I read up on some gear. I'm getting to the point where my gear is a drop less throw away, or at least the length of time I keep a given piece of gear is getting steadily longer. That tells me that I might enjoy doing some research and actively seeking out some upgrades, rather than the very unguided quest gear and occasional "whatever i can find on the AH" upgrades.

Kaliban's Hunter loot list is where I go for this.

My first reaction is a happy one, as I notice that I actually have a couple of items off of the list. Yay me. And one is actually a boss drop, and not just solo'able quest rewards. Yay me, again.

Ok, so the "yay me's" are sarcastic, as I really view my current gear setup as poor. And my ability to get a boss to drop hunter loot is poor, and my ability to win a roll on the rare occasion I've seen a boss drop hunter loot is even worse.



I read a blog entry somewhere else (sorry whoever you are, I don't remember who wrote the original article) recommending that you choose 3 pieces of gear and focus on upgrades to those. I really like that idea, as the whole concept of gear upgrading feels overwhelming to me. By limiting the focus to a few item slots at a time, it'll really help me (A) accomplish the upgrades, and (B) enjoy the process.

And since this is my first time trying to actively pursue upgrades, I'm going to choose 1 item slot only.

A wise approach would be to examine my gear, identify a slot where my currently equipped item is severly lacking and out of date.

Choosing a different less wise approach, I just followed my nose through the list, got distracted reading dungeon boss take-down strategies, and then my eyes fell on the melee weapon slot.

This is definitely a poor choice to start with, because I actually already have an item that's on the list.

But, whatever. I think I have my plan.

I see the [Skyforged Great Axe]. I like the [Skyforged Great Axe].

I have the [Survivalist's Pike]. I like the axe for the upgrades to attack power and crit rating. However, I'm a little disappointed at the drop in stamina, most specifically because of the benefit stamina has for my pet.

But you know the real reason I like it? Its craftable by a blacksmith, and I know where to get the materials.

Plain and simple. So tonight, after I get stabilized post-2.3 upgrade, I'm going to go farm Adamantite and Motes of Air. And then on to finding a Blacksmith with the required plans. I think my guild has some high level blacksmiths, so I'll start there. If not, then I'll try the trade channel. Never did that, so maybe fun. Maybe not, but if I get my axe, it'll really be cool.

I'm still on the fence regarding enchants. All along, I only got enchants on BoE items while levelling up enchanting on my alt to 225. Pretty much silly enchants, all vendor available, and nothing higher than 225, and nothing specifically hunter-targeted.

So if I get my new axe, I think I'll invest in a longer-term enchant on a 2H weapon. I only have a rough idea of what's out there, so I'll have to dig a drop more to learn about that.