Neltharax, Enemy of the Sky is one of the strongest items in World of Warcraft Dragonflight right now, and it’s easily the strongest item available to Hunter players. No other weapon is able to compare to Neltharax, making it a mandatory choice for Hunters in Mythic+ dungeons and raids.
However, players should expect that to change in Patch 10.0.7, as Neltharax is being dealt a swift nerf in order to give other Hunter weapons a chance.
Neltharax, a Hunter-only weapon that applies a stacking attack speed buff to your character every time you auto-attack with it, is the most desirable weapon in the game right now by any class. No other class (save Evokers in regard to Kharnalex the First Light), is required to have a weapon in their build as strictly as Hunters are to have Neltharax. The difference between having the bow and not having the bow can, quite frankly, make or break your Hunter.
“The power gain from this special Equip effect, in addition to its rarity, has made a pretty big divide between Hunters who have this bow, and Hunters who don’t,” Blizzard said in an update.
In its current form, Neltharax gives six percent attack speed every time you attack the same target consecutively, stacking up to five times. The passive effect also applies to summoned pets, making Beast Mastery Hunters even stronger while the bow is equipped. But in Patch 10.0.7, Neltharax will be adjusted to make it buff your auto-attack damage, not speed. Your pets won’t be affected by Neltharax following Patch 10.0.7, either.
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According to WoW stats site Subcreation, 82 percent of all Beast Mastery Hunters to complete high-level Mythic+ dungeons over the last four weeks used Neltharax in their runs, while 48 percent of all Marksmanship Hunters used the bow. Those numbers only go up in raid environments, with 98 percent of all BM Hunters in Mythic raids using Neltharax.
“We’re changing the bow to have an equip effect that increases your auto-attack damage, rather than auto-attack speed,” Blizzard said. “This auto-attack damage bonus will only affect you, the Hunter, and your own auto-shot damage – nothing from your pets will be increased from having this special bow. We recognize that the power gain of this bow was very large, and are tuning up some Hunter abilities to compensate for the changes made to the bow.”
In some cases, an item level 405 version of Neltharax can outpace weapons with item levels that drop in high-end Mythic+ dungeons and Mythic raids. Having the passive effect from the bow is so valuable for Hunters that a raw item level upgrade won’t be worth it when considering a replacement for Neltharax. Once you have the item equipped, you’re likely only going to be replacing it with better versions of itself.
The nerfs to Neltharax are expected to ship with Patch 10.0.7, giving Hunters a few more weeks to use the item before it’s changed.
