Affliction Warlocks - Hit rating guide!

Hello my fellow warlocks! Many an article have been written about our awesome class, but so few are actually worth reading these days. Cluttered with math, Role playing lore that most players don't care about, or unresearhed opinions of which there are no backing facts or real testing to support.

This is where I plan to be different. I am a full time warlock with a regular raiding schedule, who reads all I can about the class..and trys anything and everything to make myself the best as I can be.

That being said (long winded intro..I know and appologize)..let us get to an important and sadly overlooked basic:

The Warlock Hit Cap

(and why its so important)

So what is hit and why should it be the top of your priority list?

To put it simply...hit is basically the stat that determined how many of your spells actually land. Affliction walrocks (from my personal experiences) should always follow the following rule:

Hit -> Spell Power -> Haste -> Spirit (Fel Armor)-> Crit -> Int

Wait..what? Do you mean that theres a chance my spells can miss?

You betcha! And we are incredibly reliant on avoiding just that. We are after all a pure DPS class and we do no good if we're not hitting our mark with every single cast.

Sound easy? Its not. It has a limit..or "cap"...which in itself is situational.

Typically, a level 80 warlocks hit cap is 17%, or 446 (rounded up). This is the "won't miss" chance against a typical heroic mob. Unbuffed, that is.

Wow..that was easy!

No..we're not done yet.

It is true that maxing out your hit should be your #1 prority for an affliction warlock, but usually hit gear has the sacrifice of spell power, crit chance, or crit. So what do we do to maximize our DPS in raids? The answer...Adjust.

In a typical 25 man naxx run, the bosses will have a debuff on them of about 3%, meaning you can cap your hit at 14% or 368 (again..rounded up).

Alliance player? GOOD NEWS! Add a Draenei to the mix and you get an extra 1% hit chance, lowering your cap to 13% or 342 (rounded up yet again).

Having alternate gear sets depending on your situation and group makeup is just part of being a raiding warlock. We are DPS powerhouses if used correctly, and every little bit of spell power counts, so if you can sacrifice some of that hit gear for spell..and still be capped...then you are already making a huge difference.

Another thing to remember is we have talents that also boost hit. Supression (3% at max) being the big one. Some argue that only dedicating 2 points into this as opposted to 3 is just fine, personally I feel its better to be safe than sorry.

Of course there are other things you can do...such as hit food, elixers etc...but I find that it's not hard to get a good 2 or 3 different gear sets (each one with minor differences..not COMPLETLY different sets) for various situations.

And just to proove that I do in fact practice what I preach, here is my current armory listing...

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Baelgun&n=Danizaur

yes I am below hit cap..but thats because I raid. I have alternate gear for other situations.

It's a lot simpler than it all sounds, trust me. I am ALWAYS open for comments and suggestions that may add to or alter what I've learned, and will gladly make sure to share with others via this article whenever possible, so feel free to drop me a line at any time with your opinions.