Last updated 03.09.06 -- Renamed "Bow of the Four Horsemen" to "Soulstring".

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Main post =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

BASIC THEORY
Using Aimed + Multi-Shot cycle
Multi-Shot is instant (close enough to the truth, very rarely delays Auto Shot with practice)
Disregarding mana, consumables negate mana issues
Disregarding haste buffs (Rapid Fire, Berserking, etc)
With 5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk, I add 4-5% damage, depending on weapon speed - Note: Working on better formula for iAotH

Every cycle consists roughly of:
1 Aimed Shot
1 Multi-Shot
x Auto Shot, depending on weapon speed and cycle lenght.

With most weapons, you'll find something like the following happening:
Aimed Shot finishes cooldown. Auto Shot fired ~1 sec ago.
Should you clip your cycle (ignore the next Auto Shot and fire Aimed Shot immediately)? Or should you use a full cycle (wait for the Auto Shot before using Aimed Shot?
What would give the highest damage potential?

To answer this, you needed to compare both options, and see which one would yield the most damage.

THE AIMED SHOT CYCLE
Multi-Shot has the longest cooldown (10 sec), but since we stated Multi-Shot is an instant, the damage can be converted into any cycle lenght. For this reason, I'll be using a default (clipped) cycle length of 9 seconds. While not being optimal for mana purposes, it is the one with the highest damage potential.
This is roughly what you'll have to take into account:
If Multi-Shot does 1000 damage every 10 seconds, and the cycle is 5 seconds, the cycle damage for Multi-Shot becomes 500.
Likewise, if the cycle lenght is 20 seconds, the cycle damage would be 2000.

However, there are some things to keep in mind as well:
If the cycle is between 9 (minimum cycle length) and 10 seconds long, you have to include damage lost by conflicting cooldowns. For example, in a perfect 9 second cycle, you get to fire 6 Multi-Shots every 7 cycles. So, instead of using 9/10 of the Multi-Shot, I use 6/7 for this. As cycle lenght reaches 10, more of the Multi-Shot damage is included. So, don't be alarmed if you're not able to fire a Multi-Shot between each Aimed Shot.

The cooldown of Aimed Shot is 6 seconds, casting time is 3 seconds. During casting, Auto Shot cools down. This means that basically every weapon will get a free Auto Shot after Aimed Shot. The free Auto Shot comes after a delay of about 0.5 seconds after Aimed Shot is fired, regardless of weapon speed.
During the casting of Aimed Shot, no Auto Shots are fired.
Stats on weapons that affect damage (Agility, (Ranged) Attack Power, +crit%, +hit%) are taken into consideration for the rankings.

For the timestamps, I won't include Multi-Shot. Every cycle basically has a "+ Multi-Shot", which can be placed wherever it fits before Aimed Shot.

MISCONCEPTIONS
Cycles don't exist
Arcane Shot and Aimed Shot have a linked cooldown. For raiding purposes, Aimed Shot is better than Arcane Shot in virtually every aspect. Although there are some exceptions, Aimed Shot is the best option for dealing ranged damage. Every time you use Aimed Shot, you've started a cycle. After Aimed Shot is completed, you have 6 seconds before Aimed Shot is ready again. Go clipped or full?

Cycles are impossible to use
They're not. Performing them perfectly is practically impossible, and it's harder with some weapons. However, getting as close as possible will be the most damaging thing you can do. Thus, the calculations I give you show the weapon with highest damage potential, and also how to deal the most damage with it. It's up to you to maximize the potential. Practice, focus, and knowing the rhythm of your weapon helps a lot; you're always able to improve. Additionally, a timer for your Auto Shots might help you a lot. Personally, I use ZHunterMod (http://curse-gaming.com/en/wow/addon...huntermod.html).
Clipped cycles are the easiest to use, since you can basically spam Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot, and the cooldowns will take care of the rest. Remember that latency might affect this a bit, making Aimed Shot ready just before Auto Shot fires (making you do a sub-optimal cycle). Spamming is rarely a good idea; paying attention is ;)

Lag and human reaction invalidate cycle calculations
Often you'll hear people claiming cycles are useless because of reasons like lag, human reaction, etc. These settings vary from person to person; hunter A might have perfect conditions, performing at almost 100% of what he's capable of, while hunter B might be experiencing lag, talking on the phone and feeding his parrot - of course he'll perform worse. However, comparing the different weapons, using optimal conditions for everything is the fairest comparison. Although this has no influence on a weapon's damage potential, if you know you suffer from lag or slow reaction times, take it into consideration when looking at what I write.

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Weapons and formulae =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

LIST OF WEAPONS
This is the current list of weapons I've compared:

Ancient Bone Bow
Ashjre'thul
Blastershot Launcher
Blessed Qiraji Musket
Bloodseeker
Bow of Taut Sinew
Bow of the Four Horsemen
Carapace Spine Crossbow
Core Marksman Rifle
Crossbow of Imminent Doom
Dragonbreath Hand Cannon
Fahrad's Reloading Repeater
Flawless Arcanite Rifle
Grand Marshal's Bullseye / High Warlord's Recurve
Grand Marshal's Hand Cannon / High Warlord's Street Sweeper
Grand Marshal's Repeater / High Warlord's Crossbow
Gryphonwing Long Bow
Gurubashi Dwarf Destroyer
Heartstriker
Hoodoo Hunting Bow
Huhuran's Stinger
Larvae of the Great Worm
Mandokir's Sting
Nerubian Slavemaker
Rhok'delar
Silithid Husked Launcher
Stoneshatter
Striker's Mark
Toxin Injector


Weapons will be listed sorted by damage potential; highest = first.
All values listed are vs bosses (level 63 mobs --> 8.6% missrate), and before armor mitigation.
This is how the information is going to be shown:

1 - The Milk Makerâ„¢, 2.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 657, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 649, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 419 (1st)

Auto Shot DPS is included mostly for mana reasons. If two weapons seem very equal, but you know you run out of mana alot, you might want to choose the one with highest Auto Shot DPS, even though it could have a slightly lower best cycle. Auto Shot DPS is the DPS a weapon would have using only Auto Shot, not Aimed Shot or Multi-Shot. Auto Shot DPS might work as a tool for selecting a weapon for encounters where you feel you can't use standard cycles.
(1st) indicates the ranking of Auto Shot DPS. If it's the best Auto Shot DPS weapon, it'll be (1st), second best would be (2nd), etc.

Note that using average cycle DPS is not a good idea for comparing weapons. For example, if you know the best cycle for The Milk Makerâ„¢ is clipped, you wouldn't make half your cycles full; you would try to use the best cycle whenever possible.
A full cycle is, in most cases, slightly harder to perform than a clipped one, since you can't just spam the button and let the cooldowns take care of the rest.


WEAPONS TO COME
Dwarven Hand Cannon
Polished Ironwood Crossbow

If you want any more weapons added, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

Alternatively, you can use your own gear / setup, and compare weapons, etc directly by using my spreadsheet: http://forums.elitistjerks.com/viewtopic.php?id=7312


FORMULAE USED
Auto Shot damage: SlayingMod*(AmmoDPS*WeaponSpeed+RWSMod*(RAP/14*WeaponSpeed+Scope+AverageWeaponDamage))
Aimed Shot damage: SlayingMod*(AmmoDPS*WeaponSpeed+RWSMod*(RAP/14*2.8+Scope+AverageWeaponDamage+AimedShotBonus))
Multi-Shot damage: BarrageMod*GSMod*SlayingMod*MSCoEff* (AmmoDPS*WeaponSpeed+RWSMod*(RAP/14*2.8+Scope+AverageWeaponDamage+MultiShotBonus))

CritDamage (all shots): HitDamage*(2+MortalShotsMod)*SlayingMod

Factoring in crits (all shots): HitChance*HitDamage + CritChance*Critdamage

AimedShotBonus = 600
MultiShotBonus = 150
MortalShotsMod = 0.30
SlayingMod = 1.03 if Slaying Talent, 1 if not
RWSMod = 1.05 if MM spec, 1 if LR spec
BarrageMod = 1.15 if MM spec, 1 if LR spec
GSMod = 1.15 if 8/8 Giantstalker bonus, 1 if not
MSCoEff: Coefficient for Multi-Shot.
Since the cooldown of Multi-Shot is 10 seconds, it's obvious that using cycles between 9 and 10 seconds will make you lose a Multi-Shot now and again. For example, using a 9 second cycle, due to the conflicting cooldowns of Multi-Shot and Aimed Shot, you'll be able to fire about 6 Multi-Shots every 7 cycles. So, for 9 second cycles, I add 6/7 of the Multi-Shot damage listed.
As the cycle lenght reaches 10 seconds, more of the Multi-Shot damage is used.
MSCoEff = ROUNDDOWN(6/(10-CycleTime)) / ROUNDDOWN(1+6/(10-CycleTime))) for cycles not exceeding 10 seconds, 1 for cycles exceeding 10 seconds.


CONTACT INFORMATION
Talnivarr EU - Horde -- Lactose or Label
If there's anything you want to comment, ask, etc, feel free to log on and send me a whisper. Please respect if I'm busy though =)
I also check this forum frequently, so posting here or sending a PM should work as well ;)

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Tier 2+ MM-hunter =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The following is aimed at a hunter with good equipment, roughly equivalent to full tier 2 or better.


SETUP
1500 RAP
23.5% ranged crit
+8% hit
5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk
3/3 Barrage
5/5 Mortal Shots
5/5 Ranged Weapon Specialization
3/3 Slaying vs Target
+7 scope
15% quiver
Thorium ammo (17.5 DPS)
Link to example gear setup: http://ctprofiles.net/3044976


WEAPONS RANKING
All values listed are vs bosses (level 63 mobs --> 8.6% missrate), and before armor mitigation.

1 - Nerubian Slavemaker, 3.2 speed
Best cycle DPS: 599, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 503, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 304 (1st)

2 - Ashjre'thul, 3.4 speed
Best cycle DPS: 571, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 491, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 283 (9th)

3 - Larvae of the Great Worm, 3.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 558, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 530, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 290 (3rd)

4 - Soulstring, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 551, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 534, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 293 (2nd)

5 - Crossbow of Imminent Doom, 3.1 speed
Best cycle DPS: 547, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 507, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 276 (13th)

6 - Grand Marshal's Hand Cannon & Repeater / High Warlord's Street Sweeper & Crossbow, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 538, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 521, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 285 (8th)

7 - Rhok'delar, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 534, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 517, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 282 (10th)

8 - Fahrad's Reloading Repeater, 3.2 speed
Best cycle DPS: 530, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 447, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 261 (22nd)

9 - Bloodseeker, 3.3 speed
Best cycle DPS: 528, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 451, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 259 (23th)

10 - Huhuran's Stinger, 2.7 speed
Best cycle DPS: 525, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 517, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 286 (6th)

11 - Blessed Qiraji Musket, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 525, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 506, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 286 (6th)

12 - Carapace Spine Crossbow, 3.3 speed
Best cycle DPS: 523, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 447, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 257 (26th)

13 - Dragonbreath Hand Cannon, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 521, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 516, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 281 (11th)

14 - Heartstriker, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 516, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 498, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 280 (12th)

15 - Flawless Arcanite Rifle, 3.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 510, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 482, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 233 (28th)

16 - Striker's Mark, 2.5 speed
Best cycle DPS: 509, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 480, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 274 (14th)

17 - Gurubashi Dwarf Destroyer, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 508, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 503, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 272 (16th)

18 - Blastershot Launcher, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 508, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 491, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 274 (14th)

19 - Toxin Injector, 2.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 503, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 498, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 290 (3rd)

20 - Core Marksman Rifle, 2.5 speed
Best cycle DPS: 503, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 474, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 270 (18th)

21 - Mandokir's Sting, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 502, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 484, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 270 (18th)

22 - Hoodoo Hunting Bow, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 499, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 493, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 265 (20th)

23 - Stoneshatter, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 499, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 482, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 258 (25th)

24 - Silithid Husked Launcher, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 496, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 490, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 263 (21st)

25 - Bow of Taut Sinew, 2.2 speed
Best cycle DPS: 496, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 445, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 272 (16th)

26 - Grand Marshal's Bullseye / High Warlord's Recurve, 1.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 494, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 470, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 287 (5th)

27 - Ancient Bone Bow, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 490, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 484, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 259 (23rd)

28 - Gryphonwing Longbow, 2.7 speed
Best cycle DPS: 477, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 473, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 254 (27th)

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Tier 2+ LR-hunter =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The following is aimed at a hunter with good equipment, roughly equivalent to full tier 2 or better.


SETUP
1550 RAP
28% ranged crit
+9% hit
5/5 Mortal Shots
5/5 Lightning Reflexes
3/3 Slaying vs Target
+7 scope
15% quiver
Thorium ammo (17.5 DPS)
Link to example gear setup: http://ctprofiles.net/3045139


WEAPONS RANKING
All values listed are vs bosses (level 63 mobs --> 8.6% missrate), and before armor mitigation.

1 - Nerubian Slavemaker, 3.2 speed
Best cycle DPS: 566, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 474, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 311 (1st)

2 - Ashjre'thul, 3.4 speed
Best cycle DPS: 539, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 463, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 291 (9th)

3 - Larvae of the Great Worm, 3.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 528, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 501, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 298 (3rd)

4 - Soulstring, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 521, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 505, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 300 (2nd)

5 - Crossbow of Imminent Doom, 3.1 speed
Best cycle DPS: 516, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 478, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 283 (13th)

6 - Grand Marshal's Hand Cannon & Repeater / High Warlord's Street Sweeper & Crossbow, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 509, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 493, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 293 (8th)

7 - Rhok'delar, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 506, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 490, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 289 (10th)

8 - Bloodseeker, 3.3 speed
Best cycle DPS: 501, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 427, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 267 (23th)

9 - Huhuran's Stinger, 2.7 speed
Best cycle DPS: 498, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 492, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 294 (6th)

10 - Blessed Qiraji Musket, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 497, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 480, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 294 (6th)

11 - Carapace Spine Crossbow, 3.3 speed
Best cycle DPS: 497, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 424, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 264 (26th)

12 - Fahrad's Reloading Repeater, 3.2 speed
Best cycle DPS: 497, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 419, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 266 (22nd)

13 - Dragonbreath Hand Cannon, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 495, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 489, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 289 (11th)

14 - Heartstriker, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 489, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 472, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 288 (12th)

15 - Gurubashi Dwarf Destroyer, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 482, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 477, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 280 (16th)

16 - Blastershot Launcher, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 482, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 466, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 281 (14th)

17 - Striker's Mark, 2.5 speed
Best cycle DPS: 481, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 454, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 280 (14th)

18 - Flawless Arcanite Rifle, 3.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 480, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 453, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 264 (28th)

19 - Toxin Injector, 2.0 speed
Best cycle DPS: 478, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 473, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 298 (3rd)

20 - Mandokir's Sting, 2.6 speed
Best cycle DPS: 476, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 461, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 278 (18th)

21 - Hoodoo Hunting Bow, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 474, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 468, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 273 (20th)

22 - Core Marksman Rifle, 2.5 speed
Best cycle DPS: 474, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 448, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 276 (18th)

23 - Stoneshatter, 2.9 speed
Best cycle DPS: 472, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 455, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 265 (25th)

24 - Silithid Husked Launcher, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 471, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 465, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 271 (21st)

25 - Bow of Taut Sinew, 2.2 speed
Best cycle DPS: 471, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 423, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 280 (16th)

26 - Grand Marshal's Bullseye / High Warlord's Recurve, 1.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 469, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 448, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 294 (5th)

27 - Ancient Bone Bow, 2.8 speed
Best cycle DPS: 466, Clipped
Worst cycle DPS: 460, Full
Auto Shot DPS: 267 (23rd)

28 - Gryphonwing Longbow, 2.7 speed
Best cycle DPS: 454, Full
Worst cycle DPS: 450, Clipped
Auto Shot DPS: 262 (27th)

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 15% Cycle Timers =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Speed: 1.5 (Reduced to 1.30 with quiver) Speed: 1.6 (Reduced to 1.39 with quiver) Speed: 1.7 (Reduced to 1.48 with quiver) Speed: 1.8 (Reduced to 1.57 with quiver) Speed: 1.9 (Reduced to 1.65 with quiver) Speed: 2.0 (Reduced to 1.74 with quiver) Speed: 2.1 (Reduced to 1.83 with quiver) Speed: 2.2 (Reduced to 1.91 with quiver) Speed: 2.3 (Reduced to 2.00 with quiver) Speed: 2.4 (Reduced to 2.09 with quiver) Speed: 2.5 (Reduced to 2.17 with quiver) Speed: 2.6 (Reduced to 2.26 with quiver) Speed: 2.7 (Reduced to 2.35 with quiver) Speed: 2.8 (Reduced to 2.43 with quiver) Speed: 2.9 (Reduced to 2.52 with quiver) Speed: 3.0 (Reduced to 2.61 with quiver) Speed: 3.1 (Reduced to 2.70 with quiver) Speed: 3.2 (Reduced to 2.78 with quiver) Speed: 3.3 (Reduced to 2.87 with quiver) Speed: 3.4 (Reduced to 2.96 with quiver)

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Normalization =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

HUH, NORMALIZATION?
Quote from the patch-notes, regarding the normalization of melee weapon attacks. Bold emphasis my own:

The mechanics of most instant melee attacks have been modified to improve item balance. Previously, instant melee attacks did damage based on the damage range of the weapon, plus a bonus for the player's attack power. This bonus was then multiplied by the speed of the weapon. As a result, slow weapons did more damage than was intended, and fast weapons were considered inferior by most players. We have changed the way the attack power bonus is calculated for instant attacks. This change does NOT affect attack power calculations for normal melee attacks. Instead of multiplying by the speed of the weapon, the attack power bonus is now multiplied by a fixed number pulled from the following table:
+ Two-handed weapons: 3.3
+ Daggers: 1.7
+ All other one-handed weapons: 2.4
As a direct result of this, many weapons have shifted position in their relative power. In particular, many Epic (purple) quality items are now more powerful than slower Superior (blue) weapons. This change was not made to reduce the power of instant attacks, but to correct the relative imbalance of weapon itemization. At a given level requirement, epic quality weapons should always be more powerful than superior quality weapons. Please also note that all normal weapon swings will be completely unaffected by this change. The following abilities are affected by the design change: Sinister Strike, Ambush, Backstab, Whirlwind, Mortal Strike, and Overpower.
For hunters, Multi-Shot and Aimed Shot now use 2.8 instead of weapon speed.
---
However, as we can see from the above posts, weapon speed is still too major an influence, with item quality and level being secondary; while it should be opposite. Bloodseeker (item level 63, rare quality) has a slightly higher damage potential than Huhuran's Stinger (item level 78, epic quality).
Basically, I believe the normalization should have lead to [Epic with higher DPS] > [Rare with lower DPS], regardless of weapon speed. In addition, the following should also be true in most cases: [Epic with higher item level] > [Epic with lower item level]. However, I do think that weapon speed should have some influence, like it has for other classes.

I believe normalization in its current form failed.
With gear attainable at the moment, by varying weapon speed only, the total DPS output might change by almost 80 DPS. With a 50 DPS weapon, that's about 1.6 times what the weapon's raw DPS is. While this is with optimal cycle timing (meaning in real gameplay the difference most likely would be reduced slightly), the values are from a talent spec that isn't the most optimal for raiding. It does not include 5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk; I'm not satisfied with my current formula for it.
Using the values from this post, Unahorn made a graph showing total DPS relative to weapon speed: http://media.wow-praetorians.co.uk/a...onSpeedDPS.jpg

To support my claim, I'll use a fairly standard Marksman spec (let's say 0/31/20), and show the damage potential a weapon would have, with DPS being constant, and weapon speed changing.
I use the stats of a tier 3 hunter, since this makes the problem. It's important to remember the same principles also apply to lower tiered hunters. I am not considering Slaying talents, since they don't work against all mobs, with very few mobs in Naxxramas (where the gear needed for this setup is collected) being valid targets.

While all this also due to some itemization flaws (adding fast weapons are, in a raid setting, mostly useless), I think that's a seperate issue. Itemization was an issue before the normalization patch, the normalization should have taken current (and upcoming) weapons into account, allowing for future upgrades in better way than what we currently have. A big factor, I think, for implementing normalization, was a level 23 green weapon. Pre-normalization, it was, due to its 3.4 speed, better than most ranged weapons including Molten Core gear.
Post-normalization, this is no longer the case.
However, with better gear being added, and tier 2 becoming more accessible than ever before, we can yet again see the flaws of the ranged combat system.

Short summary of results:
Worst optimal cycle: 489.32 DPS (1.5 weapon, 1.30 quiver speed, full)
Best optimal cycle: 568.6 DPS (3.4 weapon, 2.96 quiver speed, full)
Difference: 79.28 DPS


BLUE WORDS
Thanks to Crezax (EU CM), this concern has been forwarded:
I'll make sure the right people see the post. That's all I can say for now I am afraid.
I could say "interesting numbers" I guess, but some people would lynch me if I did.
I don't personally know enough about this to say if it is intended or not.

I'm a bit nervous asking such a noob q, but what the heck. I know very little about hunter mechanics, but recently in guild a discussion started up about which cycle to use, aimed multi or arcane multi. One guy in particular is claiming he does more damage with arcane, whereas everything I've ever seen seems to reference aimed is the best choice - but I can't find any info on _why_ this is.

Can anyone point me to something that would clear this up?

...not in this version.... :P

@Zak
Well, let's check with Huhuran's Stinger, basically the highest DPS bow available for most (2.7 speed).
Since Arcane Shot doesn't interrupt Auto Shot, it's easy figuring out the damage potential:
Auto Shot DPS + Arcane Shot DPS + Multi-Shot DPS
Let's assume 5/5 Improved Arcane Shot. This allows for 2x Arcane Shot per cycle, 1x Multi-Shot per cycle, 10 sec of Auto Shot DPS per cycle.
Auto Shot DPS, crits included: 291.4
Multi-Shot DPS, crits included: 105.3
Arcane Shot DPS, crits included: 51.2
Arcane cycle DPS: 448.0

With the same setup*, Aimed Shot cycle's damage potential would be 501.8 clipped, 507.5 full.

Edit: Note that the above does not take armor into consideration, so the damage difference wouldn't be as big in-game.
With 15% armor mitigation, a full Aimed Shot cycle would be ~430 DPS; while an Arcane Shot cycle would be ~390 DPS.
Edit 2: For the damage potential of an Arcane Shot cycle and an full Aimed Shot cycle with Huhuran's Stinger and the setup mention below to be equal, the target's armor mitigation would have to be ~47%.

Setup:
1600 RAP
25% ranged crit
100% hit
5/5 Ranged Weapon Specialization
3/3 Barrage
13 DPS ammo
Improved Aspect of the Hawk not included for anything here. Would proc slightly more often for the Arcane Shot build, but would speed up Aimed Shot casting time, making it a non-issue for comparing.

@Nasq
Liar! Bit messy with pasting here, fixed now =)

I have a question about how you calculate crit damage, and total dps. With you're current crit equation of hitdamage * 2.3 * 1.03 and your total damage equation of Factoring in crits (all shots): HitChance*HitDamage + CritChance*Critdamage
aren't you factoring in crit damage twice? Total damage should look something like HitChance(HitDamage(100-CritChance) + CritChance*Critdamage) Otherwise you're counting the hits that crit twice, aren't you?

No, not really. I'm converting hit rate into HitChance with crit rate taken into consideration.
With 100% hit rate, and 30% crit rate, this turns into:
70% HitChance
30% CritChance

If your average hit is 100, and your average crit is 230 (just ignoring Slaying for simplicity), you'll get:
70% shots for 100 damage + 30% shots for 230 damage = Total (average with crits included)
0.70*100 + 0.30*230 = 139

Lactose, first off, I love your spreadsheet. It's something I had started doing myself about a year ago but could never fully commit the time I needed to doing, and it's absolutely awesome. Thanks!

My question is this:

Could you work out the Toxin Injector using a 10 second cycle with Arcane Shot instead of Aimed Shot, assuming 5/5 Imp Arcane shot and 1% Increased Attack Speed on both Helm and Legs? I'd be interested in seeing the damage. Also, I'd be interested in seeing Imp AotH and Rapid fire factored in, and a seperate math showing it with the 5/5 Striker bonus to the cooldown of rapid fire, and the 2/8 CS bonus increasing Rapid Fire's duration by 4 seconds.

I'm sorry if that seems like a lot, I'm working out the numbers myself as well, but am limited in time here at work and would like to compare it to yours as you've obviously worked with these formulae a lot more than myself.

Thanks!

Just a quick note to say "Thanks Lactose". I (and I'm sure I speak for many), appreciate your clear, well thought-out posts and the information they contain.

So, just so I am clear, multishot can just be thrown in as soon as the cool down is up as long as it doesn't extend an auto shot? Or is there an ideal placement for multishot?

I ask this because recently multishot has become a challenge for me. After a certain number of rotations it starts to overlap my aimed shot. For reference I use an Crossbow of Smiting. I'm not sure if it is lag causing it or lack of lag, but maybe someone has a solution.

Also, I love you Lactose. Thanks for the update.

This is not true, for a number of reasons.

For one, a clipped cycle handles lag much better than a full cycle. In some cases, lag can cause you to get a free autoshot off that you otherwise would not have fired in a clipped cycle, but in a full cycle you're always losing DPS on account of lag. There's probably a threshhold of lag that would cause a clipped cycle to be better with every weapon, but that threshhold would vary by weapon.

Secondly, the longer the cycle is, the better the DPS number will be when incorporating lag. Prime example would be huhurans vs bloodseeker. Incorporating a half a second delay to your cycles to account for a 500ms ping gives huhurans a better DPS number than bloodseeker with a full cycle.

Another unrelated note:

Factoring in multishot evenly is not quite accurate, since it adds a delay to your autoshot if it's fired just before an autoshot. While this SHOULD affect all weapons evenly, I would imagine in practice it does not. I know I definitely don't get 6/7 multishots off with an ash cycle because if I did, I'd be delaying a fair amount of my autoshots, which would lead to stretching cycles and reducing damage further.

I know I'm a rookie poster, but I thought I'd give some insight on my experience with overlap. :)

My normal cycle for both damage and mana regen goes like this:
Auto
Aimed
Auto
Multi
Repeat auto until Aimed is back up

It allows me to do both of my specials at once and regen mana while auto is going until my specials are ready again. It's a good balance to me with endurance fights. The drawback is while I start aimed again, my multi cools down, so it's just sitting there ready for a couple seconds while I'm winding up Aimed. I feel a dps loss there.

For my max damage cycle, I start with multi instead for less regen and max damage. If you have mana regen buffs and/or gear, it's great, but I've run into overlap as well. Start with multi (10s cooldown), +global (1.5s), Aimed (3s cast), then aimed cooldown (6 sec), that's ~10s, so it's highly likely that both cooldowns will finish at the same time. Again, I feel like I'm losing dps.

I hope someone can enlighten me on how it should work.

The problem is when you're using a clipped cycle (under ten second duration) and you need to find a spot to squeeze in Multi-Shot, which may not always be after an Aimed Shot > Auto Shot.

This is one thing I'm worried about, too, which prevents me from using a clipped cycle. I much rather be able to just count the number of auto shots after an MS instead of trying to figure out if I should fire an MS or wait until after the next auto shot.

I do in fact. I do fire one right after an aimed shot, but perhaps too soon. I will try that right when we get to broodlord and let you know how it goes (on vael now).

Wrayth
I'll check, but most likely I won't include Rapid Fire or Quick Shots, for the reasons I mentioned while doing the fast checks for Huhuran's Stinger. I'm not sure of the proc rates with an Arcane Shot cycle, and how it would affect damage compared to an Aimed Shot cycle.
That being said... how do the +1% haste enchants work? Quiver + EnchantHaste1 + EnchantHast2? Quiver * EnchantHaste1 * EnchantHaste2? Quiver * (EnchantHaste1 + EnchantHaste2)? Etc... And do they affect casting time of Aimed Shot?
Never tried them, so I have really have no idea. Not that it would matter a lot, due to the low haste%, but still....

Groglox
So, just so I am clear, multishot can just be thrown in as soon as the cool down is up as long as it doesn't extend an auto shot? Or is there an ideal placement for multishot?
- Yeah, basically.

I ask this because recently multishot has become a challenge for me. After a certain number of rotations it starts to overlap my aimed shot. For reference I use an Crossbow of Smiting. I'm not sure if it is lag causing it or lack of lag, but maybe someone has a solution.
- They overlap after a while. With a 9 second rotation you get about 6 cycles before they overlap on the 7th. Giving priority to Aimed Shot is the most damage efficient thing to do; Multi-Shot first would lead to the same happening every time --> turning it into a 10 second Multi-Shot cycle. Albeit this is more mana efficient, it lacks a bit in pure damage (for some full cycles, a Multi-Shot cycle is identical to the full cycle).

christide
For one, a clipped cycle handles lag much better than a full cycle. In some cases, lag can cause you to get a free autoshot off that you otherwise would not have fired in a clipped cycle, but in a full cycle you're always losing DPS on account of lag. There's probably a threshhold of lag that would cause a clipped cycle to be better with every weapon, but that threshhold would vary by weapon.

Secondly, the longer the cycle is, the better the DPS number will be when incorporating lag. Prime example would be huhurans vs bloodseeker. Incorporating a half a second delay to your cycles to account for a 500ms ping gives huhurans a better DPS number than bloodseeker with a full cycle.
- Yes, these are some of the reasons why I list Auto Shot DPS and the Sub-optimal Cycle DPS in addition to the Optimal DPS cycle.
In some cases, lag is not better for clipped cycles. It depends on amount of lag you have. As I said, this has no influence on a weapon's damage potential. It does however influence how much damage you will be able to use a weapon for. This is impossible to make 1 straight-forward ranking list for, hence I don't take it into consideration. [Edit: Slighty reworded the last part regarding latency / reaction]
I believe that if you're interested in maximizing your damage, you should be able to realize which outside influences I have not taken into account (especially since I mention some of them), and choose cycles / weapons accordingly. It's a tool, use it as you wish.
As an example, would I use Bloodseeker over Huhuran's Stinger? Nope. For every encounter I run out of mana or miss my cycles the slightest, I'll end up doing less with Bloodseeker. Huhuran's Stinger is awesome since it has very consistant DPS with both cycles, it doesn't penalize a messed up cycle as badly as Bloodseeker does. That and the fact that their best cycles are almost identical (a lucky crit would change the order quite easily) makes me favor Huhuran's Stinger above Bloodseeker.
However, that's my personal opinion, and I try to leave those out of the rankings, and let people judge a little by their own experiences and playstyles.
Still, if I knew I could do every cycle perfectly, I would use Bloodseeker. It's a very potent weapon in the right hands, and I still swap back to it now and again (Mage call followed by Hunter call 2-3x times in a row being the most important reasons :P)

Factoring in multishot evenly is not quite accurate, since it adds a delay to your autoshot if it's fired just before an autoshot. While this SHOULD affect all weapons evenly, I would imagine in practice it does not. I know I definitely don't get 6/7 multishots off with an ash cycle because if I did, I'd be delaying a fair amount of my autoshots, which would lead to stretching cycles and reducing damage further.
- Last I checked how many Multi-Shots I was able to do (or rather, the ratio) was when I first got my Larvae of the Great Worm. During the following Patchwerk kill, I was able to pretty consistently (I missed this like... 3 times in 6+ minutes) get 6 Multi-Shots before the timers overlapped, while extending my Auto Shots by roughy 0.4 (I think, pretty sure it was around there on average) seconds.

Syckness
While extending the cycle is better for mana efficiency, this is stuff I do not take into consideration, due to various mana consumables and buffs. It's fully possible to do full-out DPS with minimum spirit regen for more than 7 minutes if you want to (and can afford to use the potions / buffs). Again, take it into consideration for your own playstyle, it doesn't affect the damage potential.

Nataliah
To be honest, you get used to it :P Try doing it for 3-4 months, and you won't really think about it anymore. Yeah, you'll most likely miss a few now and again, especially if you get a weapon with a different speed than you're used to.

I just think you should make these things clearer when making posts like this. Posts like this lead people to believe huhurans is an absolutely terrible weapon which, in a purely theoretical world, is true, but in the real world is extremely false.

Extending your autoshot will still skew the things, and should be accounted for. This actually affects faster weapons a lot more than slower weapons, as there is a much higher chance you will have a multishot cooldown .5s or less before your next autoshot.

Of course, improved aspect of the hawk is not accounted for, and that favors faster weapons, so I guess the 2 could be considered to cancel each other out.

Thank you!

Im sorry but i dont quite understand the damage cycles. Do you have another post some where that explains them in greater detail??