Mechanics and Recommended Minimum Statistics
Raiding Minimum lvl 80 char Vs. 83 mob
Hit percentage 8% total This is the minimum and the maximum you will ever need in a raid setting.
Note that the talent Focused Aim in the Marksman tree is not counted in with the hit rating from your character sheet. For example a hit rating of 142 on character sheet equates to 4.33% with 3 pts in to Focused Aim that total is 7.33% of the 8% needed to effectively cap your hit rating.
Crit roughly 28-30%
For starting point, anything beyond that is bonus and will increase your overall output, but these numbers should yield the bare minimum opportunity for any proc based abilities to maintain moderate up time such as Expose Weakness, Thrill of the Hunt, Hunting Party, Go for the Throat, Cobra Strikes (Ferocious Inspiration as part of Cobra Strikes)
Ripped the basics for stat conversions from WowWiki
| Level 70 Hunter | Level 80 Hunter |
|---|---|
| 1 Agility = 1 Attack Power | 1 Agility = 1 Attack Power |
| 14 Ranged Attack Power = 1 DPS | 14 Ranged Attack Power = 1 DPS |
| 1 Agility = 0.5 Critical Strike Rating | 1 Agility = 0.552 Critical Strike Rating |
| 22.08 Critical Strike Rating = +1% Critical | 45.91 Critical Strike Rating = +1% Critical |
| 40 Agility = +1% Critical Hit | 83.33 Agility = +1% Critical Hit |
| 1 Agility = 2 Armor | 1 Agility = 2 Armor |
| 1 Strength = 1 Melee Attack Power | 1 Strength = 1 Melee Attack Power |
| 1 Stamina = 10 Health | 1 Stamina = 10 Health |
| 1 Intellect = 15 Mana | 1 Intellect = 15 Mana |
| Hit Rating needed for +1% Hit = 15.77 | Hit Rating needed for +1% Hit = 32.79 |
| Haste Rating needed for +1% Haste = 15.77 | Haste Rating needed for +1% Haste = 32.79 |
Please note that although 14 RAP gives a damage bonus equivalent to 1 DPS, the actual damage bonus per attack depends on weapon speed.
Also note that although 14 agility = 14 AP which causes a 1 DPS increase, agility will also provide an extra critical strike bonus which must be considered. Roughly one can say that for DPS, 1 agility ~ 1 attack power + 0.552 crit rating.
Expertise, added in 2.3, has no effect on ranged weapons, but does contribute to the pets melee ability.
While the hunter is an easy class to play at a superficial level, it can be a highly challenging class to play well. People will consistently tell you that damage is the only reason for a hunter's existence; in raids, and possibly in soloing that might be true, but in five man instances and battleground pvp in particular, it isn't. You can use traps as a form of crowd control, and you need to monitor your pet to ensure that it does not cause problems .
Pet Stat Conversion
Pets Gain:
- 22% of hunter AP
- 45% of hunter Stamina
- 40% of hunter resistances
- 45% of hunter armor
- 12.85% of hunter AP as spell damage
- 100% of the hunter expertise rating
- 100% of hunter hit rating
- The conversion for hit and expertise from hunter to pet drops fractions. Thus if you have +5.99% hit your pet gets only 5%. Focused Aim talent does also benefit the pet.