Primal vs Mod 13 Hunt gear

finalin46

I got myself a Fured Kiono which didn't take long, and it seems to outshine the Primal chest piece that has a defense bonus.

The other pieces will take longer to acquire, and it is not as clear if they are better than the primal. For comparisons sake, let's use the vivified pieces to compare as that is what we will strive for. So you are looking at 30 IL in stats lower piece, the question is whether the bonus effect makes up for the stats. Which do you feel is BIS?

Arms -- Primal has Power, Crit/ArP and 1% bonus to power when you strike for more than 15% of your HP. Easy to achieve bonus for GWF. I assume it's 5% of buffed power? Are these better than Fearbringers which offer a double dose of defense and less power (no crit or ArP) in the stat allocation and 3% to at wills and encounters while a loss of 30% to dailies? Leaning towards Primal but I don't know how to crunch the numbers on this.

Boots -- Primal bonus of AP gain and higher stats versus Boots of the Willed. Boots have decent, if lower stat allocation and a 3% bonus to At Wills. I am thinking this will be better than primal unless you are trying for AP gain build to maintain Slam uptime.

Rings -- Gravestrikers +4 and +5 for the double offensive slots, yes? Or is the Power proc better to have?

rjc9000

In general, the damage bonus from the armor alone beats the stats.

You can always manipulate different enchants or insignias to keep your stats high, but nothing can replace a free damage buff.

finalin46 said:

Arms -- Primal has Power, Crit/ArP and 1% bonus to power when you strike for more than 15% of your HP. Easy to achieve bonus for GWF. I assume it's 5% of buffed power? Are these better than Fearbringers which offer a double dose of defense and less power (no crit or ArP) in the stat allocation and 3% to at wills and encounters while a loss of 30% to dailies? Leaning towards Primal but I don't know how to crunch the numbers on this.

Fearbringers are the best option. The daily attack "downside" is not really a downside when the GWF's only two good daily attacks, Slam and Crescendo, are are hilariously small portion of a GWF's damage.

The DPS increase from the Primal Arms' Power is going to be small, especially if you consider the large amount of Power conferred by a DC/OP and that GWF gets so much Power from your feats.

finalin46 said:

Boots -- Primal bonus of AP gain and higher stats versus Boots of the Willed. Boots have decent, if lower stat allocation and a 3% bonus to At Wills. I am thinking this will be better than primal unless you are trying for AP gain build to maintain Slam uptime.

Yes, the Primal boots lose to either the Boots of Willed or Enduring Boots.

You lose stats from the Primal, but the damage buff of the WIlled/Enduring boots more than make up the stats.

If you can move around comfortably without needing sprint, the Enduring Boots are a no brainer. Ymmv on this, since I notice that many GWFs seem to think that they need to sprint around compulsively. Additionally, Sprint canceling is a common technique for most GWF stuff, so you may find yourself not quite full on stamina, unless you are confident Battle Fury will keep you topped off on Stamina.

The more consistent choice is Boots of the Willed, if you don't want to deal with stamina management.

finalin46 said:

Rings -- Gravestrikers +4 and +5 for the double offensive slots, yes? Or is the Power proc better to have?

Damage buff > stats for rings on your character.

+5/+4 Gravestrikers are the best consistent option for general purpose play.

If you are in Tomb, you can also opt for an Undead Slayer +4/+5, since most of the enemies in the dungeon are considered undead.

If you can comfortably time your Slam just before you begin rekting enemies, you can opt for the Ring of Offensive Action. The bonus is up for a short time though, so your ymmv...