Expertise is always better than Hit
A very common question I’m often asked is, “How much Hit do I need?” Similar questions revolve around how to socket for it, enchant for it, etc. I can’t help, but wonder whether these people understand that Expertise Rating is always better than Hit Rating. The reality is sometimes they do understand this and sometimes they don’t. The issue can be not only being misinformed on the two stats, but also that simply the terminology around the two stats is difficult to discuss. After all, when we talk about Expertise Rating giving twice as much Hit as Hit Rating until the Dodge cap is reached… what are we even saying?
“Effective Hit”
The term, Effective Hit, was suggested by a reader (Ironhusk) and it’s definitely the best solution I’ve seen to the terminology issue. So, let’s define it:
Effective Hit ~ The total additional chance for a tank to land an attack on a mob determined by adding the percentage gains of both Expertise and Hit Rating.
Perhaps that could be a bit better worded, but regardless I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
Expertise Explained
When we discuss Expertise by itself or in relation to Hit, we generally talk about 2 caps. The Dodge cap is the amount of Expertise Rating required so that our abilities will not be Dodged. The other cap is the Parry cap and like it sounds, is the amount of Expertise Rating required so that our abilities will not be Parried. The reason we discuss 2 caps for a single stat is because 1 Expertise Skill reduces the mobs chance to Dodge our attacks by 0.25% and it also reduces the mobs chance to Parry our attacks by 0.25%. Where it gets confusing is that bosses have higher chances to Parry than to Dodge our attacks.
Why does bosses having different Parry & Dodge chances matter?
It matters because the fact that it works that way results in Expertise Rating offering twice as much Effective Hit (now you know why we had to define this early) as a similar amount of Hit rating until the Dodge cap is reached and exactly the same amount of Effective Hit as Hit Rating after the Dodge cap has been passed as we make our way to the Parry cap.
A mouthful, I know. It’s a little easier to understand if we lay out some facts.
32.79 Hit rating = 1% Hit
32.79 Expertise Rating = 4 Expertise Skill = 1% Dodge reduction & 1% Parry reduction
Showing the Expertise “effect”
Note: None of the Effective Hit values below include the additional 3% Effective Hit towards Expertise offered by 3/3 Vitality, I’ll clarify why after the following examples.
A. Small Values + 3/3 Vitality
+100 Hit Rating = 3.05% Effective Hit
+100 Expertise Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
B. Higher Values + 3/3 Vitality
+200 Hit Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
+200 Expertise Rating = 11.10% Effective Hit
C. Assuming we already have 100 Expertise Rating + 3/3 Vitality
+200 Hit Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
+200 Expertise Rating = 8.05% Effective Hit
D. Assuming we already have 164 Expertise Rating + 3/3 Vitality
+200 Hit Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
+200 Expertise Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
E. Assuming we already have 200 Expertise Rating + 3/3 Vitality
+200 Hit Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
+200 Expertise Rating = 6.10% Effective Hit
Explaining the Expertise “effect”
Example A is a perfect example of just how strong Expertise is when you’re still under the Dodge cap. Example B illustrates that once we pass the Dodge cap threshold that Expertise no longer provides twice as much Effective Hit as Hit rating. Example C further reinforces what’s being illustrated in Example B. Example D shows that additional Expertise and Hit rating offer the exact same amount of Effective Hit after the Dodge cap has been completely surpassed. Finally, Example E illustrates that the equality in Effective Hit between the two stats is maintained even at higher starting Expertise values.
As you’ve noticed, I’ve factored 3/3 Vitality into all these comparisons. If I had not, it would have not only been silly since most tanks will have this talent, but also it would have simply made Expertise look even better. So, don’t think that by me using the assumption that you’ve got this talent that it gave Expertise an advantage because the opposite is actually the case.
Haven’t you shown that sometimes Expertise = Hit?
It’s true in the latter examples that Expertise will offer the same amount of Effective Hit that Hit Rating does, but what you also need to understand is that when that’s the case Expertise is reducing a bosses chance to Parry whereas Hit Rating is simply reducing your chance to Miss a boss. A Parried attack results in the bosses next attack coming faster than normal which is clearly a bad thing. Basically in the worst case scenario, Expertise gives you the exact same Threat/DPS benefit as Hit Rating and it gives you additional survivability too!
Blah, Blah! What are the caps!?
Dodge caps
123 Expertise Rating (15 skill)
+ 3/3 Vitality + 5 Skill Racial (Orc/Dwarf) = 3.75% + 1.5% + 1.25%
140 Expertise Rating (17 skill)
+ 3/3 Vitality + 3 Skill Racial (Human) = 4.25% + 1.5% + 0.75%
164 Expertise Rating (20 skill)
+ 3/3 Vitality = 5% + 1.5%
214 Expertise Rating (26 skill)
= 6.5%
Parry caps
435 Expertise Rating (53 skill)
+ 3/3 Vitality + 5 Skill Racial (Orc/Dwarf) = 13.25% + 1.5% + 1.25%
451 Expertise Rating (55 skill)
+ 3/3 Vitality + 3 Skill Racial (Human) = 13.75% + 1.5% + 0.75%
476 Expertise Rating (58 skill)
+ 3/3 Vitality = 14.5% + 1.5%
525 Expertise Rating (64 skill)
= 16%
Hit Caps
230 Hit Rating
+ 1% Racial (Draenei) = 7% + 1%
263 Hit Rating
= 8%
What to take away from this
Expertise is always better than Hit Rating. So, whenever you have an option between the two you should always choose Expertise. In fact, Expertise is so much better than Hit that you should even consider taking Expertise over Hit when the amount of Expertise you’ll gain is a bit less. The best simple technique I can leave you with is when gemming your yellow sockets for Threat/DPS always choose Accurate Monarch Topaz over Rigid Autumn’s Glow.
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After 540 defense, the basic numbers to shoot for...for threat/rage generation:
For trash mobs (level 82s), the hit and expertise caps are:
177 Hit Rating (5.4%)
22 Expertise Skill (5.5%)