Legendary Bowmaster - Interview with Stefang

We don't need  to introduce him if you have read our previous news, Stefang (Hunter in Last Resort) is the proud and only owner of Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury, and he was kind enough to give us an interview.
 

Congratulations to the Kil'jaeden kill and the legendary weapon. How was the nerdscream when Kil'jaeden was defeated and you saw the loot? :)

• Yea, it was pretty loud, I was raiding that day from a Net Cafe where I play a lot and people around me were like 'Wow whats wrong with that guy' I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Kil'jaeden was on 1% and I was praying for a kill, and there it was in the middle of my screen: Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury. I was really happy about it, I've been waiting for a hunter legendary for quite a while.

What do you think about the fight itself?

• Well what can I say. Every part of the encounter looks amazing. They had really put some effort into it, in the end it's Kil'jaeden but I'd say I was more impressed with M'uru in terms of difficulty. I see KJ as a simple zerg from my point of view. You have to Dps him to certain % or you die, it's a race with time. DPS orbs or Images from time to time but I don't see that to be complicated. What really impressed me was the way he looked, the whole room and last but not least, that good old lore part in the end after you kill him.

What's the bow like? DPS-wise we know most of its strength comes from working around the Steady Shot mechanic. How much of its legendary-ness can other specs enjoy? Like survival with the similar rotation and the very high crit%?

• Well I heard quite a lot of stuff about it the last 2 days, but I have to say it's an insane dps boost. Haven't really got the time to test it properly in raid, did some 10mans but you can't really see its true power unless in a 25man raid. I can't wait to go to SW next week, and see what this baby can do. I spent some hours on Dr. Boom to test it and what not to compare it with my old bow, which was the Bristleblitz Striker off Archimonde, and I'm pretty impressed with what I have seen till now. Roughly speaking 150+ dps increase and that's a lot I'd say. That bow would be insane for Surv spec, because of the low speed you can pretty much play as a Beast Master on 1:1 rotation and maybe add an Arcane Shot from time to time but with a huge amount of crit. Best of luck to Suntzu to take it and we'll see how it works with Surv spec.

What do you think about the other perks like no need for ammo, and a free bagslots? Do you see epic ranged weapons obtaining the features of this bow in the second expansion?

• Well it saves you a lot of money at least, other than that I don't feel the need of a free bagslot, at least not while raiding. Maybe when I level to 80, but I'm fine for now. It's a nice thing to add to that great bow and who knows how things will go with ammo in WotLK, maybe all ranged weapons will be like that in the future, saving us hunters some money. But for now, besides the fact that I'm the first hunter with that bow, I'm also the first hunter with 5 bags in the world, Hell yeah!!! :)

What are your thoughts about getting a legendary hunter weapon this late in the expansion?

• Well as much as I'm happy about it, I think it's really late for it as it is. Blizzard usually releases the legendaries too late I might say. Same as the Atiesh back in Naxxramas, it's insane for its lvl but you got it in the end when you were pretty much done with the content for that level. Same thing goes for this bow, I don't mind it in SW, I think it will be an insane upgrade and boost of my damage, but then again I don't really need that kind of thing anymore. Comes out legendaries come to help us level in the next expansion, the deal with the bow will be like that at least. Warglaives were another story though, I think that it was timed perfectly in the middle of The Burning Crusade at the hardest encounter at that point, they came to help you progress in SW especially considering how much demon bosses are there in SW, that passive AP vs demons is pretty good. You also shouldn't get it too early on a stage such as SSC/TK which would be a mistake again. So I'd suggest to Blizz for next legendary items to drop off encounters at a better time, not in the end when we are done with everything. Legendaries shouldn't be here to buff us on farm or to help us level, they should help us progress, the same way as it was for the Glaives.

What do you think about WotLK? Does the bow have enough "give" to make it last more than just leveling up to 80?

• I really doubt that the legendary bow will be of any use in the 'End Game' of WotLK. That would oblige players to go back to SW in search of the best weapon possible. I see it more like something to enjoy now and to have fun with, help me level but in the end on level 80 I'm confident that I will change it at the very beginning of raiding as a level 80.

How does your guild handle legendary loot? Did you earn it with DKP or high attendance, how much of your work is in it? How much support do you get at home / school / work for raiding a lot?

• Well, in this case it was given out for DKP, and I was the leader for quite some time. I wasn't sure if this would be the way the bow would be handled and that's why I've been saving ever since my foot stepped in SW for the first time. I can't say that I got a lot of support at home or at school, because most people think that someone at my age shouldn't be considered with such things. But in the end I try to combine everything as good as I can.

What about the other hunters in the guild, was there any drama over your looting of the bow?

• No, I wouldn't say there was any drama over the bow, as I said, I was the leader in DKP for quite some time and that was the only thing that mattered.

Hunter DPS - when supported properly - is top among all classes. What's the status of the hunters in your guild? How much do you build on class synergy?

• Well, in Last Resort we are three hunters – Suntzu(survival), Neza and me as BM. Survival can't top DPS and Neza is under-geared compared to me due to the fact that he was inactive for quite some time. I always give my best and end up as top if not first. I really think that hunter should be first on a lot of encounters if supported properly from their group.

How much of a difference does the weapon make in PVP?

• I haven't done a lot of arena since I got it, mostly Bgs and there in most cases I out-gear my opponents greatly. Haven't really done arena for three months ever since I migrated here to Boulderfist, but I think that I will focus a lot on that now that we are back to one or two raiding days. Undoubtedly it will be great boost for my performance in PVP, but I would say that I always preferred Black Bow of the Betrayer due to the fact that it drains mana off your opponents.

What do you think about the current status of hunters in PVE raids? We hear a lot of complaining over the boredom that is the the "steadyshotspam".

• Well, looking at it, most if not all DPS classes are played with two-three buttons but I don't hear mages complaining about spamming Fireball or Warlocks about spamming Shadowbolt. In the end 'End Game' PVE was always about extracting the best of your class. If it's efficient it's good enough for me.

What are your thoughts about the Sunwell Barriers? Do you prefer this sort of gate system or did you like the previous system better?

• I can't really say, in the end all leads to that big slack till WotLK. Maybe this way they made it somewhat more interesting, but left us hunters less time to farm our so desired bow :)

What are your plans for WotLK? What do you think about the Death Knight?

• Well, I'd really love to be part of Last Resort in WotLK if they still want me and I will most definitely continue playing. For now I haven't really put any thoughts over Death Knights, but I doubt that I'll have such a class as a main. As interesting as it sounds and different from what we've seen till now, I really enjoy playing a hunter and I'll probably stay like that till the end.

Last question. What are your plans for the summer?

• I plan to spend some time at the beach and probably get a job, while attending all the raids Banaii has in plan for us. I am dedicated enough not to let my pals down and leave them alone to venture inside SW. Soon it will be a matter of only one day of raiding and I don't see how this could be a problem for anyone.

Any shoutouts?

• I'm really happy about the bow and that I was the first to test it. I'd like to thank all of my guild for supporting me and to help me to reach my current goal, which was the bow. I'm really proud to be part of Last Resort and also I'd like to thank the Worldofraids crew for this interview!

Thanks for your time, congratulations once again!

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