Hunter Weapons: Level 20-40

I have a Hunter that I’ve been playing around with a bit just because I felt like rolling a Hunter. He might get to reach level cap, he might not, he might stick around for a while, he might get deleted; Who knows?

This Hunter, like every other character that I level, will be as powerful as I can make him at any given level without sinking a ton of resources into making him so. A big part of maximizing a DPS class is giving them the best weapons you can find that is in line with their type of power resource. For Hunters, we’re looking for Attack Power (particularly Ranged Attack Power, or RAP).

If you want to know what weapon is best for you prior to level 20, then you’re better off looking at twink blogs. I can answer the question if you really want to know since I do twink hunters, but that’s not what this post is here for.

Step 1: Determine Necessary Stats
Hunters have two primary sources of RAP, +Agility and +Attack Power. If you manage to find an item that has both, then that’s even better, but there aren’t many items in this level range that will provide that to any extent.

I’m personally leveling my hunter as Marksman to get the Careful Aim talent, which adds my Intellect to my RAP. So 15 Int = 15 RAP for my spec. If you’re not Marksman spec, then completely ignore the weapons below that I show +Int stats on as they will only help you by providing mana rather than attack power.

So for my purposes I’m going to query every item in the database that provides at least the equivalent of 10 RAP, whether it be from +Agi, +Int, or +AP. And of course, the more the better.

Step 2: Query Wowhead’s Database
There are several ways you can query the database at Wowhead as far as filters go. I decided to go with one source of RAP at a time, so I started with Weapons, Usable by Hunters, Required Level 19-40, Agility > 10, and restricted it to only melee weapons by selecting all the non-ranged ones in the list off to the right.

I then did the same changing “Agility > 10” to Intellect and then Attack Power of the same. I then went back and put two filters on it where “Agility > 4 and Intellect > 4” and used that combination also for Agility & AP and Int & AP.

After getting the lists from those I pulled up all of the Heirloom items that Hunters can use and looked at the stats for level 20, 30, and 40. I was very disappointed in how poor the Heirloom melee weapons really are for Hunters. If you’re really hurting for mana then you can use one of the staves for a while, but it’s still not a great option if you’re looking for AP.

Step 3: Analyze the Results

One Handed Dual Wielding Options
Weapon Link	RAP Bonus	Required Lv
Cruel Barb	+12 AP	19
Vanquisher’s Sword	+28 AP	32 Alliance 33 Horde

Those are the only two one-handed weapons worth mentioning as far as attack power in concerned. That being said, they’re also two of the strongest choices throughout because of the fact that they can be dual wielded. You can wield two Cruel Barbs since they are not unique, though they do have a somewhat low drop rate of only 17% from Edwin Vancleef, the final boss of the Dead Mines instance.

The Vanquisher’s Sword is sadly a quest reward so you can only get one of them. For whatever reason Alliance can get the quest that gives this sword at a level lower than the Horde can. You can’t wield two of them, but you can pair it with a Cruel Barb.

Two-Handed Options
Weapon Link	RAP Bonus	Required Lv
Haunting Blade	+28 AP	20
Reef Axe	+20 AP	22
Armor Piercer	+16 Agi	24
Loksey’s Training Stick	+40 AP	31
Windweaver Staff	+15 Int	32
Illusionary Rod	+15 Int	34
Manslayer	+38 AP	34
Grimlok’s Charge	+15 Agi, +20 AP	40
Darkmoon Executioner	+52 AP	40

Those are our options from level 20-40 which provide enough of a bonus to at least somewhat contend with the other items on the list that are close to their own level requirements. The 16 Agi on the Armor Piercer doesn’t come close to the 52 AP on the Darkmoon Executioner for instance, but there’s a 16 level difference between the two as well which is why it remained on the list.

You may see some items on there and wonder why I bothered listing both, such as the level 20 Haunting Blade which provides more AP than the level 22 Reef Axe. The reason for entries like this is most often linked to how easy the items are to get. The HB for instance is a drop off of a rare spawn, where the RA is a fairly high drop from an instance boss.

Step 4: Kicking It Up a Notch
When you want to get the best out of your gear you need to look not only at the item itself, but also the ways in which you can enhance it. For our Hunter weapons we have two primary options, with a third thrown in there if you happen to use a Marksman spec. If you are not specced into Marksman, then do not consider the Mighty Intellect enchant if you want Attack Power.

Enchant Weapon – Agility: Permanently enchant a melee weapon to increase Agility by 15.

Enchant 2H Weapon – Agility: Permanently enchant a two-handed melee weapon to increase Agility by 25.

Enchant Weapon – Mighty Intellect: Permanently enchant a melee weapon to increase Intellect by 22.

You can see from the enchant options that you can either get 25 RAP on a two-hander, or you can choose between 30 (15×2), 37 (15+22), or 44 (22×2) RAP if you go with dual wielding.

Even if you are a Marksmanship Hunter you need to weigh the differences between the enchants for yourself. While you get up to 14 more AP as well as 660 MP per enchant out of using dual-Int enchants, you get more Crit from the +Agi enchants. You can fire off a lot more of your special shots and stay out of Aspect of the Viper more often if you have the +Int enchants, but you will crit noticeably more often with the +Agi enchants. Of course, there’s noting wrong with rocking one of each enchant and getting the best of both worlds.

If you go with one of each for dual wielding, be sure to put the +Agi on your main hand weapon, just in case. Trust me.

You also have the option of using the +22 Int enchant for a two-handed weapon if you wish instead of +25 Agi. You miss out on only 3 RAP, and you gain 330 MP in exchange for the crit chance from the Agi.

Results
Now it’s time to do some math and find out what our best bet is for maximum damage.

Even if we assume that you go with the lowest of the three enchants, you’ll see that dual wielding trumps two-handed for Marksmanship Hunters, while two-handers generally win out for non-Marksmen.

Dual Wielding: +15 Agility and/or +22 Intellect Enchants
Cruel Barb (+12) x2, +15 Agi Enchant x2 = +54 AP total
Cruel Barb (+12) x2, +15 Agi Enchant plus +22 Int Enchant = +61 AP total (+330 MP)
Cruel Barb (+12) x2, +22 Int Enchant x2 = +68 AP total (+660 MP)
Vanquisher’s Sword (+28) plus Cruel Barb (+12), +15 Agi Enchant x2 = +70 AP Total
Vanquisher’s Sword (+28) w/ +15 Agi, Cruel Barb (+12) w/ +22 Int = +77 AP Total (+330 MP)
Vanquisher’s Sword (+28) plus Cruel Barb (+12), +22 Int Enchant x2 = +84 AP Total (+660 MP)

Two-handed: +25 Agility or +22 Intellect Enchants
Haunting Blade (+28), +25 Agi = +53 AP total
Haunting Blade (+28), +22 Int = +50 AP total (+330 MP)
Reef Axe (+20), +25 Agi = +45 AP total
Reef Axe (+20), +22 Int = +42 AP total (+330 MP)
Armor Piercer (+16), +25 Agi = +41 AP total
Armor Piercer (+16), +22 Int = +38 AP total (+330 MP)
Loksey’s Training Stick (+40), +25 Agi = +65 AP total
Loksey’s Training Stick (+40), +22 Int = +62 AP total (+330 MP)
Windweaver Staff (+15), +25 Agi = +40 AP total
Windweaver Staff (+15), +22 Int = +37 AP total (+330 MP)
Illusionary Rod (+15), +25 Agi = +40 AP total
Illusionary Rod (+15), +22 Int = +37 AP total (+330 MP)
Manslayer (+38), +25 Agi = +63 AP total
Manslayer (+38), +22 Int = +60 AP total (+330 MP)
Grimlock’s Charge (+35), +25 Agi = +60 AP total
Grimlock’s Charge (+35), +22 Int = +57 AP total (+330 MP)
Darkmoon Executioner (+52), +25 Agi = +77 AP total
Darkmoon Executioner (+52), +22 Int = +74 AP total (+330 MP)

You can see that dual wielding Cruel Barbs (available at level 20) with the fairly cheap +15 Agility enchant grants you one of the largest potential overall bonuses of all the items until Loksey’s Training Stick, and if you use the more expensive dual +22 Intellect enchants instead then they’re beaten only by switching one for the Vanquisher’s Sword or by upgrading to the Darkmoon Executioner.

Marksmanship Hunters
1st Place
84: Vanquisher’s Sword (+28) plus Cruel Barb (+12), with +22 Int Enchant x2

2nd Place (Tied)
77: Vanquisher’s Sword (+28) w/ +15 Agi, Cruel Barb (+12) w/ +22 Int = +77 AP Total (+330 MP)
Darkmoon Executioner (+52), +25 Agi

3rd Place
74: Darkmoon Executioner (+52), +22 Int

Non-Marksmanship Hunters (or Hunters without Careful Aim)
1st Place
77: Darkmoon Executioner (+52), with +25 Agility Enchant

2nd Place
70: Vanquisher’s Sword (+28) plus Cruel Barb (+12), with +15 Agility Enchant x2

3rd Place
65: Loksey’s Training Stick (+40), with +25 Agility Enchant

Putting It All Into Action
Now that we know where we stand on overall bonuses, lets take a look at what weapons we should use while we’re leveling since not all of these options are open to us.

Marksmanship Hunters

Level 20:
Cheap: Cruel Barb x2, +15 Agility Enchant x2 (+54 AP)
Intermediate: Cruel Barb with +15 Agility Enchant, Cruel Barb with +22 Intellect Enchant (+61 AP)
Expensive: Cruel Barb x2, +22 Intellect Enchant x2 (+68 AP)

Level 32 Alliance or 33 Horde
Cheap: Cruel Barb with +15 Agility Enchant, and Vanquisher’s Sword with +15 Agility Enchant (+70 AP)
Intermediate: Vanquisher’s Sword with +15 Agility Enchant, Cruel Barb with +22 Intellect Enchant (+77 AP)
Expensive: Vanquisher’s Sword and Cruel Barb, with +22 Intellect Enchant x2 (+84 AP)

Level 40:
Cheap: Darkmoon Executioner with +25 Agility Enchant (+77 AP)
Intermediate: Vanquisher’s Sword with +15 Agility Enchant, Cruel Barb with +22 Intellect Enchant (+77 AP)
Expensive: Vanquisher’s Sword and Cruel Barb, with +22 Intellect Enchant x2 (+84 AP)

Non-Marksmanship Hunters

Level 20:
Cheap: Cruel Barb x2, +15 Agility Enchant x2 (+54 AP)

Level 30-33
Cheap: Loksey’s Training Stick with +25 Agility Enchant (+65 AP)
Expensive: Cruel Barb with +15 Agility Enchant, and Vanquisher’s Sword with +15 Agility Enchant (+70 AP)

Level 40:
Cheap/Expensive: Cruel Barb with +15 Agility Enchant, and Vanquisher’s Sword with +15 Agility Enchant (+70 AP)
Expensive/Cheap: Darkmoon Executioner with +25 Agility Enchant (+77 AP)

The level 40 for Non-Marksmans are listed as both Cheap and Expensive because of how you get them. The CB/VS combo is more expensive from the perspective of materials required for the enchants themselves. The weapons though are gold-free (requires time though) since CB is an instance drop and VS is a quest reward.

On the other hand, the Darkmoon Executioner is a quest reward from a “crafted” item that is made by Inscriptionists (Scribes to some who aren’t me), called the Demon’s Deck which requires the Inscriptionist to make Shadowy Tarot cards, which are crafted randomly, until one of each card (Ace thru Five) are created and then combined into a single deck which starts the quest. You can click on the deck again to summon the person you turn the quest into who then rewards you with the axe.