Even if you aren’t a hunter, you may have heard of the famous Elitist Jerks Spreadsheet for hunters. It’s a handy tool for identifying gear upgrades and seeing what combination of stats yields the best dps. It is also a source of occasional controversy, because there are those who swear by nothing but the spreadsheet even in the face of dissenting opinions. Regardless, it is a powerful tool, and one that I use frequently.

The EJ resources, however, are not the only source of such information. Rawr is a program that performs a similar function, and does so for every class in the game.

http://rawr.codeplex.com/

Many gear upgrades are clear. The stats on one item are better, ergo that piece is an upgrade. However, navigating gear decisions becomes trickier when you begin to reach hit or expertise caps, or various soft and hard caps for other stats (Armor Pen. hard cap exists, as do various soft caps for classes on things like crit. and haste). That’s where Rawr comes in handy, doing the math for you. A tour on the front page will walk you through the basics, and it’s not hard to use.

The other thing that Rawr does is show you exactly where your upgrades are in dungeons or raids. Keeping track of every boss and their loot tables on 10M, 25M, hard modes, etc. can be a chore. Rawr can show you exactly what you need, and exactly where it is.

Hardcore numbers junkies may protest such programs or spreadsheets. The formulas aren’t always 100% correct, and the information can occasionally be a little off. However, for the other 99% of us, tools like Rawr can be a godsend, and will do far more good for our endeavors than we could on our own.

On a closing note, this is my last article for Twisted Nether. Real life aggro that prevents me from updating this blog in a timely manner has become a long-term thing. This is a good thing for me, but it means that I have to cut back on my other responsibilities. So my thanks to Fimlys for giving me this gig, my apologies for not being able to fill it longer, my thanks to anyone who has ever read or commented, and a premature congrats to Fim & Co. on their upcoming 100th podcast. Cheers!

The resource site spotlight is a “weekly” blog written by Arthemystia from warcrafthuntersunion.com, in his quest to find every useful WoW website on the internet.