I know one of the things I did in the past was at least try to propose legendary ideas that were interesting beyond simple number bloat. Unfortunately, with the old forums gone, I can’t exactly point back to them as a quick reference. Finding strict numbers to adhere to has also never personally been my mission, as it’s also something I’m not being paid to do. In fact, I’m more keen on proposing an idea in an OP fashion simply because if people actually do think it’s OP (and not just stupid), it means something could be tweaked to bring it more in line.
Nonetheless, let’s just look at the ranged weapons for the class:
- 8 Items without powers: Unbound Bolt, Syduru Crust, Venomhusk, Longshot, Bakkan Caster, Starspine, Arcane Barb, Deadeye, Blitzbolter
- 3 Items that only augment elemental damage: Uskang, Balefire Caster, Etrayu
- 15 items that have a lackluster power: Cluckeye, Kridershot, Leonine Bow of Hashir, Odyssey’s End, Windforce, The Raven’s Wing, Demon Machine, Pus Spitter, Hellrack, Chanon Bolter, Helltrapper, Valla’s Bequest, K’mar Tenclip, Calamity, The Demon’s Demise
- 7 Items commonly used in some manner: Yang’s Recurve, Buriza Do-Kyanon, Manticore, Wojahnni Assaulter, Dawn, Fortress Ballista, Lianna’s Wings
That’s 7 weapons out of 26 that anyone sane would consider for endgame, and of those 7, some are cube only or further niche in builds that have fallen off over time.
Quivers have a relatively similar issue even if there might be some obvious weapon pairing ideas.
- 6 Pretty much never used: Fletcher’s Pride, Emimei’s Duffel, The Ninth Cirri Satchel, Augustine’s Panacea, Black Bone Arrows, Archfiend Arrows
- 5 Used somewhere: Spines of Seething Hatred, Sin Seekers, Holy Point Shot, Bombardier’s Rucksack, Dead Man’s Legacy
Using pending and prior updates, we can probably hope for 3 item tweaks at most, and it’s further likely that those 3 tweaks will correlate to the new set. That’s 3 out of 27 arguably useless main/off-hand drops in our pool.
However, we also can’t ignore some of the class-specific armor pieces. At best, they’re LoN fodder, maybe, but I’m just going to list the ones that aren’t really practical under current build conditions.
- The Cloak of the Garwulf
- Beckon Sail
- Cape of the Dark Night
- Cloak of Deception
- Blackfeather
Note I just literally listed all of our cloaks. There’s also honorable mention to the age old request of UE’s body always rolling +Discipline as a secondary that hasn’t happened.
When it comes to other slots directly or tangentially related to DH skills, Visage of Gunes is used a fair bit. Death Watch Mantle is pretty much garbage, but I’d at least point to it as a candidate for LoN/FoK tweaking. Mantle of Channeling is pretty much solely RF/LoN. Wraps of Clarity are good, but not for every build. We have no real DH specific gloves unless you want to consider Tasker and Theo, but the appeal there died with the M6v1 change. Waists have some decent options among Hellcat Waistguard, Chain of Shadows, Hunter’s Wrath, and Crashing Rain, but things like Omryn’s Chain, Sash of Knives, and probably Zoey’s Secret need work (My choice being Sentries now follow the DH). Leg slots have nothing DH specific, with Depth Diggers probably being the most used in conjunction with UE while Yan’s is an item I’ve never liked and presently contradicts the expressed belief that stutter stepping shouldn’t be a thing (or at least required). Nothing DH specific in feet, with Illusory Boots probably being the go to choice for LoN if anything. Amulets also don’t really boast anything targeted to DHs, as well. When it comes to DH rings, all we have is Elusive for Shadow builds, but I’ll also forever groan at our relative reliance on CoE.
So, yeah… a lot to look at. And that’s before actually touching DH skills/passives. There might be some fun builds to play here and there, but efficacy is something obviously in the dumpster. The class has otherwise been on the receiving end of some of the game’s most heavyhanded nerfs and redesigns over time, with the aforementioned M6v1, Prep loop, proc tweaks/removals, smokescreen tweaks, DEX conversion issues, and more I’m likely forgetting off the top of my head. Saying Blizz hates the class may be harsh and hyperbole, but it’s also hard to feel like they care about it when we’ve either not been meta or reacted at with the nerf sledgehammer when we dare.