WoW Forever Hunter BiS

A level 60 Hunter in WoW Forever has five weeks between launch on November 4 and the first raids on December 9, and the gear you collect in that window is your pre-raid best-in-slot (BiS) list. Forever changed the math behind it. Hit and critical strike chance sit on gear as flat percentages, one Hit stat covers shots, melee and spells, Careful Aim turns Intellect into Attack Power for Marksmanship, and several famous Hunter items, from Rhok'delar, Longbow of the Ancient Keepers to Core Marksman Rifle, now depend on Molten Core, which is not part of the December raids.

The big guide sites still show empty tables or "work in progress" where their Forever Hunter lists should be. ConquestCapped built this list instead by checking the Forever data of every item on November 13 and keeping only pieces with a source you can reach before December 9. Below you will find the list at a glance, the stat priority behind it, every slot with its alternatives, ranged weapons, ammo and quivers, how Beast Mastery, Marksmanship and Survival differ, the Beaststalker and Beastmaster sets, crafted and reputation items, PvP options, what we know about raid gear and the enchants and consumables to finish your set.

WoW Forever Hunter BiS at a Glance

Hunters wear mail, but Forever adds no armor specialization bonus, so a leather piece with better stats is simply better. That is why the list mixes the two. It is built for a ranged Beast Mastery or Marksmanship Hunter shooting a raid boss, and the section on spec differences covers what Marksmanship and Survival swap in.

Every item in the main column has a source in the Forever data, and together they reach 9.1% Hit Chance from gear alone. The ranged weapon decides more of your damage than any other slot, so the rifle and the melee weapon you carry for its stats are listed here too:

The hit adds up from Mask of the Unforgiven (2%), Beastslayer's Trident (1.6%), the two rings, Marksman's Girdle, Windreaver Greaves, the battleground legs (1% each) and Deep Jungle Rifle (0.5%). That is enough for a raid boss without a single talent point. If your build takes Surefooted for 3% Hit, or you play a Dwarf with 1% from Artisan's Precision, you can swap one or two hit pieces for the Agility options in the slot tables below.

Many Hunters reach 60 before they reach Exalted with any battleground faction. Until then, the Devilsaur Leggings and Devilsaur Gauntlets pair fills hands and legs together and adds 2% Hit as a set, and both pieces bind on equip.

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Hunter Stat Priority in WoW Forever

A Hunter's damage starts with the ranged weapon. Auto Shot, Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot all build on its damage, so a few points of weapon damage per second outweigh most stat lines on armor. Agility comes next among stats: one point gives 2 ranged Attack Power and a little critical strike chance, and Wowhead's current numbers put 1% crit at 53 Agility. Plain Attack Power on gear, the kind written as "+X Attack Power", counts for your shots as well as your melee. Forever also merged melee, ranged and spell hit into one Hit Chance, so the Hit on a melee weapon or a ring helps your shots exactly as much as Hit on a bow.

The priority for a ranged Hunter on a raid boss looks like this:

1. Ranged weapon damage per second. A better bow or gun beats almost any armor upgrade.
2. Hit Chance up to 8%. Missed shots deal nothing, and Aimed Shot and Sniper Shot miss as often as Auto Shot.
3. Agility. It is the best stat per point, because it feeds both Attack Power and crit.
4. Critical strike chance, then Attack Power. Two points of Attack Power are worth a little less than one Agility, because Agility also adds crit.
5. Intellect for Marksmanship with Careful Aim, which turns 100% of your Intellect into Attack Power. For other Hunters, Intellect is only mana.

Guides disagree on the hit target. The character panel shows 8% for melee and ranged attacks against a raid boss, while Wowhead's Marksmanship page suggests 9% until someone confirms it on a level 63 boss. Expertise does nothing for your shots, because ranged attacks cannot be dodged or parried, but your pet benefits from your Expertise, and Survival's melee attacks do too.

Our WoW Forever hit cap guide explains every cap and which talents and racials add Hit Chance. For what each stat does in Forever, including Expertise and the talents that convert Intellect, read our WoW Forever stats and itemization guide.

Pre-Raid BiS by Slot

Each table below lists the best pre-raid item for the slot, then the next options in the order we would take them. Bind on Equip (BoE) items can be bought from other players, so check the Auction House before you farm a crafted piece yourself.

Head, Neck, Shoulders and Back

The upper half of the set leans on hit and crit rather than raw Agility. Two of the strongest options here need weeks of reputation, so the dungeon pieces below are what most Hunters wear on December 9:

The Darkspear Islands quartermasters, Bryanna Embreeze for the Alliance and Creeg Bothunk for the Horde, also sell Theramore Pauldrons and Darkspear Pauldrons, a leather version of the same shoulders with identical stats. Outlaw's Collar would rival the mask with 21 Agility and 1.5% crit, but nobody has found Pattern: Outlaw's Collar yet, so it is no plan before the raids.

Chest, Wrist and Hands

The middle of the set is where the Tier 0.5 chain pays off. The chest also has a strong new mail piece from a rare elite and a crafted leather tunic whose pattern has no known source yet:

Furbolg Rib Protector is a new Forever drop that Wowhead's data shows on every kill of the rare elite Sabella No-Eyes, which makes it the easiest strong chest for a Hunter who has not started the Tier 0.5 chain. Dawn Armor has the best chest stats in the data, 37 Agility, 1% Hit and 1% crit, but Pattern: Dawn Armor has no recorded source, so keep an eye on the Auction House rather than planning around it.

Waist, Legs and Feet

The lower half is mostly dungeon drops with flat Hit, plus the battleground legs, which are the single biggest armor upgrade a Hunter can buy before the raids:

Plaguehound Leggings is the quiet star of this table. It drops from ordinary trash in Stratholme and binds on equip, so you can often buy it for less than a day of battlegrounds would cost you, and it carries almost the same stats as the Exalted legs.

Rings and Trinkets

Jewelry is thin for Hunters before the raids. The best rings come from Alterac Valley and the goblin vendor Pix Xizzix in Booty Bay, and most good trinkets are either a flat bonus or an on-use effect:

The new Watchers signets, such as Warden's Signet of Ferocity with 1% Hit and 34 Attack Power, would compete for a ring slot, but their reputation has no known way to earn it yet. Hand of Justice still drops in Blackrock Depths, but its extra attacks only trigger on melee hits, so it is a Survival trinket, not a ranged one.

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Ranged Weapons

The ranged weapon matters more for a Hunter than any other slot, and it is also where Forever hits Hunters hardest. Two of the strongest Classic options are out of reach before the raids: the schematic for Core Marksman Rifle drops only in Molten Core, and Rhok'delar, Longbow of the Ancient Keepers starts with Ancient Petrified Leaf from Majordomo Executus in the same raid. Neither is part of the December 9 lineup. These are the ranged weapons you can actually get:

The gap between these weapons is small, so take whichever drops first and upgrade later. Slower weapons put more damage into each Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot, which is why Deep Jungle Rifle edges out the faster bows at almost the same damage per second. Stoneshatter makes up for its slightly lower damage with 1% Hit, so pick it if your list is short on hit.

Bow vs Gun vs Crossbow

The weapon type no longer matters in Forever. The racial weapon specializations are gone, so a Dwarf gains nothing extra from a gun and a Troll nothing extra from a bow. Choose the weapon by its damage and stats, then buy the matching ammo: bows and crossbows fire arrows, guns fire bullets. Remember to level your skill in a new weapon type before a raid, because weapon skill still lowers your chance to hit and to crit until it is maxed.

Melee Weapon for Stats

A Beast Mastery or Marksmanship Hunter rarely swings in melee, so the melee slot is a stat stick: everything on it except the weapon damage counts for your shots. Beastslayer's Trident is the best one you can reach before the raids, with 26 Agility and 1.6% Hit. It is a choice reward from Mapping the Way Forward for the Alliance or The Dark Crystal for the Horde in The Shaper's Terrace. Blacksmiths can also make Legionite Glaive with 16 Agility, 54 Attack Power and 1% Hit, but it binds on pickup, so only a Hunter blacksmith can use it. Barbarous Blade from King Gordok in Dire Maul, with 50 Attack Power and 1% crit, is the fallback if you need neither Hit nor a quest.

Ammo and Quivers

Ammo is still in Forever, and it adds damage to every shot. The best pre-raid ammo drops in stacks from dungeon bosses, and the best quivers come from Alterac Valley:

• Bullets: Miniature Cannon Balls from Cannon Master Willey in Stratholme add 20.5 damage per second, and crafted Thorium Shells add 17.5.
• Arrows: Doomshot from Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin in Lower Blackrock Spire adds 20, and crafted Thorium Headed Arrow adds 17.5.
• Quivers: Harpy Hide Quiver or Gnoll Skin Bandolier at Revered with Stormpike Guard or Frostwolf Clan give 15% ranged attack speed. Ribbly's Quiver from Ribbly Screwspigot in Blackrock Depths gives 14%.

The Forever patch notes list two new Engineering ammo types, Swiftstrike Shot and Swiftfeather Arrow, that unlock with the raids and are no longer Bind on Pickup. Until then, farm the boss ammo on every Stratholme and Lower Blackrock Spire run.

Differences by Spec

All three specs share most of the armor list, because they all shoot for most of their damage and want the same Agility, Hit and crit. The differences come from a few new talents that change what a stat is worth.

Beast Mastery Hunter BiS

Beast Mastery uses the list above as it stands. Your pet uses the higher of your melee or ranged crit chance and benefits from your Expertise, and Focused Fire adds damage while it is active, so crit pieces help twice. That makes Blackhand's Breadth and the crit shoulders slightly better for Beast Mastery than for the other specs.

Marksmanship Hunter BiS

Careful Aim at 5/5 turns every point of Intellect into one Attack Power, so Intellect is worth about half an Agility for a Marksmanship Hunter. That moves a few pieces up:

• Ranger's Belt with 24 Agility and 14 Intellect beats Marksman's Girdle once you have Hit to spare.
• Beastmaster's Cap and Beastmaster's Tunic gain value from their Intellect.
• Black Dragonscale Helm from Leatherworking has 21 Agility, 38 Intellect and 1% crit, the best Marksmanship helm in the data, but its pattern has no recorded source yet.

A Marksmanship Hunter who plays without a pet through Lone Wolf loses nothing from pet stats, and Trueshot Aura now buffs the whole raid, so one Marksmanship Hunter is welcome in every group.

Survival Hunter BiS

Survival still deals most of its damage at range, so it starts from the same list. The new melee talents change the melee slot. Predator's Edge adds 50% off-hand weapon damage, and Mongoose Bite procs more often with the new Survival talents, so a Survival Hunter who fights in melee wants real weapon damage there, not a stat stick. Nobody has tested yet whether a two-hander or two one-handers wins. The strongest options are:

• Two-handers: Barbarous Blade (53.9 damage per second, 50 Attack Power, 1% crit), Beastslayer's Trident for its Agility and Hit, or Treant's Bane (59.4 damage per second, 2% crit) from the Gordok Tribute chest in Dire Maul.
• Dual wield: Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge and Dal'Rend's Tribal Guardian from Warchief Rend Blackhand in Upper Blackrock Spire, which form a set together.
• Trinkets: Hand of Justice for extra melee attacks and Adaptive Combat Assistant for 1.1% Expertise.

Melee auto attacks with two weapons need far more Hit than shots, roughly 27% to 29% against a raid boss, so a dual-wielding Survival Hunter should still stop at 8% to 9% and let the extra white misses go. Surefooted sits in the Survival tree and gives 3% Hit, which frees up gear slots for Agility.

Hunter Dungeon Sets in WoW Forever

Forever keeps both classic Hunter dungeon sets. Neither makes the main list as a full set, but single pieces fill gaps while you wait for better drops.

Beaststalker Armor is the Tier 0 set from Blackrock Spire, Scholomance and Stratholme. Beaststalker's Cap drops from Darkmaster Gandling, Beaststalker's Tunic from General Drakkisath, Beaststalker's Pants from Baron Rivendare and Beaststalker's Boots from Nerub'enkan. Its bonuses in the Forever data are:

• 2 pieces: +8 to all resistances.
• 3 pieces: +30 Attack Power.
• 4 pieces: an 8% chance when struck to remove a root effect.
• 5 pieces: auto attacks have a 5% chance to restore 200 Mana.
• 6 pieces: 8 Mana every 5 seconds.

The upgraded Tier 0.5 set, Beastmaster Armor, comes from a long questline that ends with Lord Valthalak in Upper Blackrock Spire. Its pieces are a clear step up: Beastmaster's Tunic and Beastmaster's Cap both appear in the slot tables above, and the set gives a 4% chance on ranged attacks to restore 200 Mana at four pieces, 40 Attack Power at six and 200 armor at eight. Our WoW Forever dungeon sets guide lists every piece and the steps of the upgrade chain.

Crafted and Reputation Items

Crafted gear and reputation rewards fill the slots where dungeon drops fall short. Here is where each piece on this list comes from and what it takes:

• Leatherworking: Devilsaur Leggings and Devilsaur Gauntlets, a two-piece set with 2% Hit, both Bind on Equip.
• Warsong Gulch: Sentinel's Chain Leggings for the Alliance and Outrider's Chain Leggings for the Horde at Exalted, Forest Stalker's Bracers for both factions, and the Revered bows Outrunner's Bow and Outrider's Bow.
• Darkspear Islands: Theramore Epaulets from Bryanna Embreeze for the Alliance or Darkspear Epaulets from Creeg Bothunk for the Horde at Exalted, plus the leather gloves Theramore Gloves and Raider Gloves.
• Alterac Valley: Don Julio's Band at Exalted and the 15% quivers at Revered with Stormpike Guard or Frostwolf Clan.
• Arathi Basin: Cloak of the Honor Guard or Deathguard's Cloak at Exalted, and the crit belts Highlander's Chain Girdle or Defiler's Chain Girdle at Honored.
• Pix Xizzix in Booty Bay: Cutthroat's Signet for 75, Ranger's Belt for 100 and Weakness Analyzer for 125 Tarnished Undermine Real.

You can hold at most 165 Tarnished Undermine Real, so buy Cutthroat's Signet first and save for the next item afterwards. Blizzard described the currency as similar to Emblems of Justice and meant to reward repeated dungeon runs. Our Darkspear Islands battleground guide explains how its new reputation works.

PvP Gear as a Pre-Raid Alternative

From level 55 you can buy rare PvP armor with Honor and Marks of Honor, with no rank required, and upgrade it to epic later with an Emboldened Seal at Ranks 8 to 13. The chain pieces carry Agility and Stamina, so they are a steady fallback for any slot where your dungeon luck runs out. The Rank 14 ranged weapons, such as Premier High Warlord's Recurve and Premier Grand Marshal's Bullseye, reach about 36.9 damage per second, the highest of any ranged weapon a Hunter can get before the raids, but Rank 14 is a long road and no plan for the next five weeks.

Every slot, mark and seal price is in our WoW Forever PvP gear costs guide.

Raid BiS: Onyxia, Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps

The first raids open on December 9: Onyxia's Lair for 40 players, the 20-player Hyjal Summit and the 10-player Barrow Deeps. Forever hides an item's stats until it drops for someone on your realm, and the new raids open without a dungeon journal, so no honest raid BiS list exists yet. What the game data does show is the Hunter tier set and how to craft part of it.

Wildstalker Armor is the one tier set for all three Hunter specs, with six pieces at item level 65 and bonuses at two to five pieces:

• 2 pieces: 1% attack and casting speed.
• 3 pieces: 3 seconds off the cooldown of Frost Trap and Freezing Trap.
• 4 pieces: 36 Attack Power against Beasts.
• 5 pieces: 1 second off the cooldown of Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot.

Leatherworkers can craft four of the six pieces: Wildstalker's Spaulders, Wildstalker's Gauntlets, Wildstalker's Legguards and Wildstalker's Greaves. They bind on equip, but each craft needs Malleable Essence of Nature, which comes only from disenchanting items from Hyjal Summit and the Barrow Deeps, and a Hunter can wear only one crafted tier piece until the Guardians of Hyjal reputation unlocks a second.

Onyxia also brings back Onyxia Tooth Pendant, one of the rewards for her head, with 7 Agility, 1% Hit and 1% crit. It replaces Mark of Fordring for most Hunters. We will add the raid drops to this guide once their stats are known. For the full set, the crafting costs and the vendors, see our WoW Forever Hunter tier set guide.

Enchants and Consumables for Hunters

Enchant the pieces you plan to keep, which usually means the weapons, chest and the slots that take a battleground reward. Forever adds necklace and new bracer enchants, and the ranged weapon takes a scope instead of an enchant. These are the best options a Hunter can get before the raids:

Biznicks 247x128 Accurascope would add 3% Hit to your bow or gun, but its schematic drops only in Molten Core, like the rifle. Where every enchanting formula drops is in our best enchants in WoW Forever guide.

For consumables, Elixir of the Mongoose adds 25 Agility and 2% crit, and Elixir of Greater Agility adds 25 Agility if you cannot afford the Mongoose. Grilled Squid now gives 1% crit as its food buff in Forever. Major Frenzy Potion is a new potion with 80 Attack Power for level 55 and up, and Major Mana Potion keeps your Mana up on long fights, which matters more for Hunters now that Summon Hawk costs Mana too.

Tips for Gearing a Hunter Before the Raids

The list above tells you what to wear. These tips come from how Forever's item changes affect Hunters in practice:

• Do not buy Fiery Cores and Lava Cores for Core Marksman Rifle. Pix Xizzix sells both for Tarnished Undermine Real, but the schematic itself drops only in Molten Core.
• Count the Hit on your melee weapon. Beastslayer's Trident gives 1.6% Hit to your shots, more than most armor pieces.
• Run The Shaper's Terrace early. Deep Jungle Rifle, Dinofrill Casque and the quests for Beastslayer's Trident are all in one dungeon.
• Buy Plaguehound Leggings instead of farming it. It drops from trash, binds on equip and is often cheap on the Auction House.
• Stop at the cap. Once you reach 8% to 9% Hit, every extra hit piece is wasted, so swap it for Agility.
• Agree on loot before the run. Mask of the Unforgiven, Plaguehound Leggings and the Devilsaur pieces are leather that Rogues, Druids and Warriors want as well.

Talents decide how much each stat is worth, so check our WoW Forever Hunter talents guide before you spend points, and our best Hunter race in WoW Forever guide explains what the Dwarf, Night Elf, Orc and Troll racials add.

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More Guides for a Raid-Ready Hunter

Gear is one part of preparing a Hunter for December 9. These guides cover the class overview, the tier set, how gear progresses from dungeons to raids, what each stat does and the enchants to finish your set.

WoW Forever Hunter BiS FAQ

These are the questions players ask most about Hunter gear before the first raids.