The notion that every item is suitable for Hunters has persisted as a joke throughout World of Warcraft's history. While often exaggerated, you may have experienced losing valuable items like Ashkandi to a Hunter in the past.

However, in the Season of Discovery, this joke holds more truth than ever before. The emergence of Melee Hunters has shifted the perception, as nearly every weapon and strength item is now coveted by Hunters. Additionally, a new build, currently demonstrating the highest simulated PPS among all ranged specializations, is the Spell Power Hunter.

In this guide, we'll delve into why this build is effective, which talents and gear to prioritize, how to optimize your spellcasting, and when it's appropriate to consider adopting this approach. To pursue this build, ensuring a substantial reserve of SoD Gold is essential for your investment.

Why It Works?

The concept of Spell Power Hunter is not a recent development and was not exclusive to the Season of Discovery. During the Classic era, it was a tactic employed by Hunters when they perceived their guild mates and Warlocks to be enjoying too much success.

In the toolkit of Hunters, there are 3 abilities that benefit from spell power scaling:

Firstly, Arcane Shot possesses a base spell power scaling of 43.5%, meaning each point of spell power contributes 0.435 damage. Moreover, Arcane Shot boasts a crit scaling of 200%, resulting in significantly amplified damage with a critical hit, especially when augmented by the Immortal Shots talent.

The second ability influenced by spell power is Serpent Sting. Its 1:1 spell power coefficient means that each increment of spell power contributes directly to the spell's damage output. It's essential to note that this scaling applies to the entire duration of the damage over time effect, rather than individual ticks. While Serpent Sting's damage can be enhanced beyond the standard spell power scaling, we'll delve into those strategies later.

Lastly, Volley, despite its limited utility, features a spell power scaling of 33%. Although considered suboptimal in most situations, in scenarios with a high volume of enemies, such as the packs before Crowd Pummeler, Volley may prove to be a viable option, particularly with significant spell power investment.

However, with the Season of Discovery, a fourth spell has emerged that benefits from spell power: Chimaera Shot. While the ability itself does not directly scale with spell power, its secondary effect, which adds damage based on Serpent Sting, does. Following recent buffs, Chimaera Shot now instantly deals 120% weapon damage and 48% of your Serpent Sting damage while also resetting the duration of Serpent Sting.

This particular detail holds more significance than one might realize. Not only does it spare you from using a global cooldown to reapply Serpent Sting constantly, but it also enables you to maintain the damage boost from your initial Serpent Sting throughout the entire encounter. This allows you to coordinate with your guild's Priest to receive Power Infusion for a 20% damage increase at the start of the fight, then equip Void-Touched Leather Gauntlets from Phase 1 for an additional 10% damage boost before applying Serpent Sting. Subsequently, you can preserve the augmented damage from this initial Serpent Sting for the duration of the battle.

In isolation, spell power still falls short of agility in terms of overall value. However, several factors contribute to its exceptional performance. With the majority of bosses in Gnomeregan possessing increased armor values, all the aforementioned abilities excel at piercing through armor.

Additionally, the accessibility of a 20% increase in nature damage through Balance Druids and Enhanced Shamans, along with the benefits derived from the Epic Fist Weapon, greatly enhance the effectiveness of Spell Power Hunters.

Build Guide

Regarding the build guide, we'll adopt a setup closely resembling the prevalent Marksmanship build with a few minor adjustments.

It's advisable to select Lone Wolf for the chest, Chimera Shot for gloves, Expose Weakness for the belt, Sniper Training for the legs, and Trap Launcher for the feet.

The efficacy of this build heavily relies on your ability to utilize Lone Wolf. While it remains feasible if you're the designated provider of Aspect of the Lion, you'll fare better with a full attack power build. Hence, ensure to arrange any necessary bribes to guarantee another party member brings that buff.

In terms of our talent selection, we opt for a specific setup. We prioritize five out of five Efficiency and five out of five Lethal Shots. Aimed Shot is also essential in our build, as even utilizing one pre-cast before the pull provides superior value compared to other options. Additionally, we allocate four out of five points to Improved Arcane Shot, five out of five to Mortal Shots, two out of five to Improved Serpent Sting, three out of three to Barrage, and five out of five to Ranged Weapon Specialization, along with Trueshot Aura.

You might question why we only invest two out of five points into Improved Serpent Sting, considering its significant role in our scaling. It's not due to the talent's inferiority, but rather because the remaining talents in the tree offer substantial benefits.

Gear Guide

In terms of gearing, here's a comprehensive overview of our recommended choices and enchantments worth considering.

Upon initial observation, you'll notice that we still incorporate several non-spell power items into our setup. For most items, the spell power alternatives offer comparable performance, with the exception of the helmet and shoulders. Therefore, if you're inclined to irk your guild's casters without compromising too much DPS, feel free to proceed.

We prioritize obtaining the 3 sets, consisting of the Irradiated Robe, Irradiated Boots, and Irradiated Trousers. Despite some pieces actively reducing our agility, this set proves superior to other options.

Our trinket selections include the Miniaturized Combustion Chamber and Invoker's Void Pearl. If you possess the attack power version, be prepared to invest in switching to the spell power version.

Additionally, we incorporate a few Phase 1 items such as the Dagger of Willing Sacrifice and the Void-Touched Leather Gauntlets obtained through leatherworking, leveraging their initial snapshot capability. Once these gloves are on cooldown, we transition to Machinist's Gloves for encounters involving mechanical bosses.

It's imperative to secure the Glimmering Gizmoblade, which remains best in slot regardless of the specialization you're playing.

As for our off-pieces, we prioritize options that enhance spell power (such as the Volatile Concoction Belt) and improve hit chance (like the Ornate Dark Iron Bangles).

Rotation

In terms of our rotation, we initiate by activating our leatherworking gloves followed by pre-casting Aimed Shot, while ensuring we receive Power Infusion from the Priest.

Subsequently, we activate Serpent Sting, Chimaera Shot, Multi-Shot, and Immolation Trap (if not deployed before the encounter), followed by Arcane Shot.

From this point forward, our focus lies in prioritizing Chimaera Shot over Multi-Shot and Arcane Shot, while maintaining Immolation Trap continuously. Emphasizing the importance of consistently utilizing Chimaera Shot cannot be overstated, and it should never be allowed to remain off cooldown.

Additionally, strategic positioning planning is essential to maximize our uptime on Sniper Training.

When To Use it?

When should you utilize this build?

Primarily, this build proves effective whenever another party member provides Aspect of the Lion. However, if you intend to acquire spell power gear, it's crucial to communicate this beforehand, as not all participants may possess the same level of game knowledge.

Currently, spell power significantly outperforms attack power for Hunters, making it the preferred choice whenever Lone Wolf is in play.

Consumables

As for consumables, we adhere to our standard selection, including Lesser Wizard Oil on both weapons, Lesser Arcane Elixir, Elixir of Agility, and Sagefish Delight for our food buff.

For those seeking additional optimization, consider abandoning any non-leatherworking professions in favor of enchanting to acquire the sigil buff. This enhancement greatly enhances Hunter performance, resulting in a notable 21 DPS increase.

In conclusion, Spell Power Hunter transcends mere meme status, and unless there are alterations to Chimaera Shot, its prominence in the game appears to be enduring.

During the Phase 2 of WoW Season of Discovery, we've encountered a significant amount of experimentation in enhancing our damage potential. As fights become increasingly brief, 2 specific builds have surfaced as optimal choices for the Ranged Hunter. 

Despite the ongoing challenge of falling behind other DPS classes, like the Melee Hunter, it's crucial to recognize that competitive damage remains attainable. By utilizing Aspect of the Lion and Trueshot Aura for Marksmanship, hunters ensure their relevance within the group dynamics. 

Consequently, let's delve into methods for maximizing damage output as a Ranged Hunter in SoD Phase 2.

Beast Mastery Build 

Let's begin by discussing the prevalent build found at the top of the rankings, which is likely to yield the highest damage output. However, I believe this particular spec may not be the most suitable choice for the majority of raid compositions - the Beast Mastery build. 

This build invests 41 points into Beast Mastery. For those who may have rushed to comment, claiming that only three out of five Frenzy points are necessary to maintain the buff, it's worth noting that there are no viable alternatives in the Beast Mastery tree for raid scenarios. Therefore, maxing out Frenzy will potentially allow for a quicker acquisition of the buff at the beginning of combat.

On the chest, Heart of the Lion is preferred if you're the sole Hunter in the group. Otherwise, Master Marksman tends to provide higher average damage. 

Chimaera Shot is favored on gloves for its armor-piercing capabilities, facilitating increased crits with ranged attacks and ensuring better uptime on Exposed Weakness. So if you have enough SoD Gold, be sure to buy one!

Sniper Training is selected for legs, while Trap Launcher is chosen for feet. With this setup, your pet is anticipated to contribute around 30% of your total damage. 

In combat, prioritize Chimaera Shot, followed by Multi-Shot, Immolation Trap, and Arcane Shot. Yes, we've returned to incorporating Arcane Shot into the rotation, a decision we'll delve into further in the subsequent sections of this guide.

Also Read: 4 AFK Gold Making Methods You Can't Miss In WOW Classic SOD Phase 2

Marksmanship Build

The alternative build, which I advocate for most raid groups, is the Deep Marksmanship build. 

In terms of our runes, we adhere to the same setup as the Beast Mastery build. However, the Master Marksman rune proves more beneficial in this configuration due to the Mortal Shots talent, which grants a 30% bonus to your critical hits. Therefore, it's advisable to switch to this rune if there is a second Hunter in your group utilizing Aspect of the Lion.

Now, why opt for MM if it seemingly yields less damage compared to BM? 

Firstly, MM doesn't inherently deliver inferior damage. The prevalence of BM Hunters at the top of the logs can be attributed to the fact that MM scales more favorably with gear, which many players have yet to acquire. 

Additionally, MM currently dominates several top-ranking positions for Ranged Hunters across various boss encounters. Furthermore, Trueshot Aura significantly enhances raid performance, with 50 attack power translating to an approximate 20 DPS increase for each affected member. Considering the buff extends to four individuals, BM would need to generate an additional 80 DPS to break even. However, upon scrutinizing the logs, the discrepancy between the top-ranked BM and MM isn't significant enough to justify the 80 DPS loss for the raid.

The only plausible exception arises in compositions featuring five melee characters, where your presence in the melee group may not be advantageous. Nonetheless, such scenarios are exceedingly rare during this phase.

How To Enhance DPS Potential For Both Specifications?

To enhance DPS potential for both specifications, there are several strategies we can employ. 

It's essential to equip 2 one-handed weapons, namely Vanquisher's Sword and the Sentinel's Blade, and enchant both with Dismantle. This enchantment procures from ranged attacks, offering significant value. Additionally, wielding 2 weapons allows us to apply 2 Lesser Wizard Oils, granting 32 spell power. Alongside Lesser Wizard Oil, we should utilize Lesser Arcane Elixir for an extra 14 spell power. The cumulative effect of these enhancements, along with world buffs, adds considerable damage to Serpent Sting and boosts the effectiveness of Chimaera Shot and Arcane Shot.

Certain builds in the Season of Discovery utilize full spell power sets, capable of achieving impressive parses in specific fights. While currently less effective than attack power builds, they're intriguing to monitor. It's imperative to maintain an Elixir of Agility consistently, and for most encounters, activating a Sagefish Delight will benefit our DPS.

Regarding rune selection, there's little variation to discuss on a 5x5 basis. An exception arises in the Menagerie encounter, where Explosive Shot excels. Stacking all 3 mobs amplifies damage output and triggers Exposed Weakness with frequent crits. While Serpent Spread is a potential alternative, its utility is limited unless constant movement is required.

To optimize performance, access to a Boomkin or Enhanced Shaman, along with someone wielding the Epic Fist weapon, is advantageous. These debuffs enhance our abilities and enable us to utilize a Wind Serpent with Rank 3 Lightning Breath, outperforming other pets on mechanical bosses.

In terms of raid composition, grouping with individuals capable of maximizing damage output is paramount. Shorter kill times correlate with higher DPS. Additionally, it's beneficial to have a Priest for Homunculi, a Druid for Mark of the Wild, and a Paladin for Blessing of Wisdom and Blessing of Might. Meeting these criteria, success hinges on skill refinement and gear acquisition.

The Heart of Fire commands a substantial price on the Auction House in SoD Phase 2, typically ranging from 15 to 25 Gear Score at present, and sometimes even higher. It's possible to acquire Heart of Fires through farming, as certain mobs include it in their drop tables.

However, I don't believe it's wise to dedicate yourself exclusively to this endeavor. Allow me to elaborate on my reasoning. My analysis pertains to Phase 2, and I anticipate a significant decrease in price during Phase 3.

What Factors Contribute To The Elevated Price Of The Heart Of Fire?

To begin with, why does the Heart of Fire, categorized as a white common item, command such a high price?

Its significance lies in its necessity, or rather, the requirement for two of them, in tailoring to produce Cindercloth Robes. These robes boast the highest fire spell power for a chest slot, making them optimal gear for Fire Mages, Warlocks focusing on DPS, or even tanks.

Initially, Heart of Fires flooded the Auction House during the early stages of Phase 2, likely due to drops from Fire Elementals in the Alterac Mountains. However, subsequent modifications to their drop tables led to a reduction in availability. Consequently, only a few have been spotted on the Auction House since then.

Strategies For Obtaining Heart Of Fire In SoD Phase 2

How can you obtain one or more of Heart of Fires in WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2?

1. Simply By Eliminating Fire Elementals

However, at level 40, there are limited Fire Elementals that you can effectively defeat. Some of the least challenging Fire Elementals are found in Searing Gorge, typically ranging from level 45 to 48.

Personally, I attempted to defeat them, but found it to be quite challenging. I managed to defeat only one, and encountered significant resistance. Perhaps teaming up or utilizing a hunter's skills could make the task more manageable. Nonetheless, this approach didn't seem particularly efficient.

Despite this, Fire Elementals offer a better drop chance, approximately 3% per kill, compared to the alternative method I'm about to suggest.

2. Challenge Ambassador Infernus

I favor Angor Fortress in Badlands, primarily due to the presence of Ambassador Infernus, a level 42 Elite Fire Elemental with 6,000 HP.

Although the drop rate for the Heart of Fire is less than optimal, approximately 1.1% per kill according to Wowhead, Ambassador Infernus stands out as the only named mob in the area. Despite this, his spawn rate for a named quest mob is relatively decent, ranging from 2 to 5 minutes. He can be found deep within Angor Fortress, guarded by three Stone Golems and a group of Shadowforge Dwarves.

When facing Ambassador Infernus, it's important to note a couple of strategies. He has the ability to cast Searing Flames, which imposes a 9-second silence. However, this can be mitigated by utilizing Line of Sight tactics.

Additionally, Shadowforge Chanters have the ability to cast a sleep spell, which may pose a challenge for pet classes or those engaging in group combat. Nevertheless, while solo farming in this area may not be straightforward, it's certainly achievable once you establish a rhythm of eliminating spawning packs and encountering Ambassador Infernus periodically.

3. More Ways To Maximize Profits In Heart Of Fire Farming

Additionally, there are other quests, Rogue Lockboxes, and individuals farming the Shadowforge Dwarves, which may lead to potential PvP encounters.

However, in my experience, these encounters have generally been manageable. When considering the spawn rate and drop chance, you can expect to achieve approximately 12 to 25 kills per hour, with a drop occurring every 4 to 6 hours. While this may seem relatively low, luck can play a significant role, potentially resulting in obtaining multiple drops within an hour and making the endeavor profitable. Nevertheless, success hinges on chance, and outcomes can vary.

It's worth noting that farming the dwarves and golems in the area is also necessary, as they drop various items, including gray vendor trash and level 40 greens, which can fetch a good price on the auction house.

Additionally, selling raw silver, cloth, and other sellable materials can contribute to earning WoW SoD Gold. Determining a precise gold-per-hour value for this farm is challenging due to its reliance on RNG, resembling the process of farming other mobs but with the added chance of obtaining valuable Heart of Fire drops.

While I can't provide exact figures on the daily sales of Hearts of Fire, it's evident that there's demand for top-tier Spell Power gear, indicating viable markets for these items.

In conclusion, I suggest trying your luck with this farming method in Season of Discovery Phase 2, but it's essential not to invest excessive time as RNG outcomes can be unpredictable.

This guide aims to demonstrate my strategies for excelling in the WoW Classic Season of Discovery Phase 2 Gnomeregan raid as a Destruction Warlock. 

Talents

You'll be putting all 31 of your points in Destruction but skipping out on Conflagrate for the extra point in damage.

• Cataclysm (5 points)
• Bane (5 points)
• Improved Firebolt (2 points)
• Devastation (5 points)
• Shadowburn (1 point)
• Destructive Reach (2 points)
• Improved Immolate (5 points)
• Ruin (1 point)
• Emberstorm (5 points)

Runes

Here are the runes I recommend you use in this build:

• Incinerate
• Chaos Bolt
• Shadow and Flame
• Demonic Knowledge
• Lake of Fire

For your chest rune, I suggest using Lake of Fire for encounters lasting approximately one minute or less with minimal movement.

In Gnomeregan, I employ Lake of Fire primarily on the initial 4 bosses. However, for battles requiring more healing support, I opt for Master Channeler. This is particularly beneficial in encounters with significant movement.

Note that Lake of Fire loses effectiveness if enemies move beyond its range. Alternatively, in situations where additional healing assistance isn't necessary, Demonic Tactics can be utilized. This allows for maintaining the standard rotation without relying on Lake of Fire, while still remaining effective during movement.

Gear

If you have enough WoW SoD Gold, upgrade these stats on your gear:

• 5% Hit
• Spell Power
• Crit
• Intelligence
• Stamina

I highly recommend opting for the Warlock trinket instead of the Fire Ring obtained from Stranglethorn Vale. This choice provides a greater overall increase in spell power.

Professions

I suggest selecting Tailoring to obtain the Epic helmet, which offers spell power bonuses, and Engineering for the hit and crit bonuses on the Belt. 

Alternatively, if you prefer the spell power buff provided by Alchemy or Enchanting, you can replace Engineering with either of these options.

Also Read: How To Level Up Rogue Quickly In WOW Classic SOD Phase 2? - Rogue Leveling Guide

Rotation

In the single target rotation, begin by initiating with Incinerate, followed by Curse of Elements and one tick of Rain of Fire. Activate any power-ups from your helmet, belt, or trinket if available, then cast Chaos Bolt. Proceed with casting Immolate and fill the rotation with Incinerate spam.

For multi-target engagements, commence with Incinerate, followed by one tick of Rain of Fire and then Hellfire. This strategy is particularly effective against groups of six or more enemies.

Warlocks possess a unique specialization for dealing with four to five targets. The top-performing logs from Menagerie currently utilize Shadow Bolt Volley with Everlasting Affliction. In this specialization, apply Curse of Elements and Corruption to all targets, then focus on spamming Shadow Bolt Volley to refresh Corruptions.

Should you encounter four to five targets and prefer not to respec, consider this rotation for battles like Menagerie: Apply Curse of Elements to each target, cast Incinerate once, apply Immolate to each target, and then utilize Chaos Bolt on cooldown.

As for pets, it's recommended to utilize the Imp for all encounters.

Macros & WeakAuras

As a beginner strategy, consider incorporating the "/pet attack" macro into specific abilities to automate your pet's actions and reduce the need for micromanagement.

In terms of WeakAuras usage, I suggest monitoring the buffs and debuffs on your target to ensure continuous application of your damage-over-time effects. Focus particularly on maintaining 100% uptime on Incinerate, Lake of Fire, Immolate, and Curse of Elements.

PvP

For PvP engagements, I suggest adhering to the current meta by utilizing Master Channeler and Demonic Grace.

Your primary focus should be on maintaining Drain Life and continuously casting Searing Pain until your target is defeated.

In the current PvP landscape, casting spells with long cast times is generally not advisable. Cloth-wearing characters like Warlocks become immediate targets for melee opponents. In certain scenarios, such as during the Stranglethorn Vale event while in Metamorphosis, I've observed that adversaries often overlook me, granting me the opportunity to accumulate a significant number of Bloods.

That's all for the Level 40 Warlock guide.