does attack power increases hit rating?

[ghonosyph and the moocrew]

im thinking the original poster probably is thinking about weapon skill vs casters pewpewing, in which case, whenever you hit a mob with a melee weapon it takes melee hit and other factors into account... WEAPON SKILL when raised (can be done by simply whacking mobs) affects hit somewhat, to a major degree if you're starting out with lets say 10 weapon skill in axes, if you're a lvl 80 toon, whacking away with axes you're going to see SEVERAL misses until that weapon skill levels up

[kadaan]

im thinking the original poster probably is thinking about weapon skill vs casters pewpewing, in which case, whenever you hit a mob with a melee weapon it takes melee hit and other factors into account... WEAPON SKILL when raised (can be done by simply whacking mobs) affects hit somewhat, to a major degree if you're starting out with lets say 10 weapon skill in axes, if you're a lvl 80 toon, whacking away with axes you're going to see SEVERAL misses until that weapon skill levels up :)

That would make sense, but the OP is saying his casters miss MORE than melee. There's just no way other than horrible luck to get a 16% spell miss rate against even level mobs.

[wowphreak]

As other have stated attack power does nothing for to hit.

Just to clarify once yeh hit 80, caster need to hit this is will give yeh yer biggest boost in dps when going up against something over yer level.

Pali tanks dont need to hit or expertise. My pali only has 37 to hit and none of my other char can pull anything off em

Not sure about deathknights I think they need some to hit since a good chunk of there dps/tps depends on melee

[Svpernova09]

As other have stated attack power does nothing for to hit.

Just to clarify once yeh hit 80, caster need to hit this is will give yeh yer biggest boost in dps when going up against something over yer level.

Pali tanks dont need to hit or expertise. My pali only has 37 to hit and none of my other char can pull anything off em

Not sure about deathknights I think they need some to hit since a good chunk of there dps/tps depends on melee

No tank "needs" to focus on hit. expertise is something to be aware / mindful of, but gearing for survivability / defense cap is MUCH more important. Once you're there, if you're having threat issues, then gear for some exp / hit and you should see an improvement in TPS.

[Stealthy]

Just to clarify the difference between Melee Hit & Spell Hit:

Melee Hit:
Assuming 400 Weapon skill...
Against a Level 80 mob, chance to miss: 5.0% / dual-wield: 24%
Against a Level 81 mob, chance to miss: 5.2% / dual-wield: 24.2%
Against a Level 82 mob, chance to miss: 5.4% / dual-wield: 24.4%
Against a Level 83 mob, chance to miss: 8.0% / dual-wield: 27%

Serveral classes have talents that increase the chance to hit mobs with melee attacks:
Enhance Shamans have Dual Wield Specialization - 3 points improves the chance to hit with dual weapons by 6%
Rogues have Precision - 5 points improves your chance to hit with weapons and poisions by 5%
Death Knights have Nerves of Cold Steel - 3 points improves your chance to with with 1 handed melee weapons by 3%
Hunters have Focused Aim - 3 points improves your chance to hit by 3%
Warriors have Preceision - 3 points improves your chance to hit with melee weapons by 3%.

Note - melee attacks can also be Dodged, Parried, Blocked or Glanced Off.

Spell Hit:
Against a Level 80 mob, chance to miss: 4.0%
Against a Level 81 mob, chance to miss: 5.0%
Against a Level 82 mob, chance to miss: 6.0%
Against a Level 83 mob, chance to miss: 17.0%

Most caster classes have talents that increase the chance to hit mobs with spells:
Druids have Balance of Power - 2 points increases the chance to hit with spells by 4%
Druids have Improved Faerie Fire - 1 point will increase the chance of spells hitting the target by 3% when the debuff is applied
Death Knights have virulence - 3 points will icnrease the chance to hit with spells by 3%
Mages have Precision - 3 points will icnrease the chance to hit with spells by 3%
Mages have Arcane Focus - 3 points will icnrease the chance to hit with Arcane spells by 3%
Priests have Misery - 3 points will increase the chance of spells hitting the target by 3% when the debuff is applied
Priests have Shadow Focus - 3 points will icnrease the chance to hit with Shadow spells by 3%
Shaman's have Elemental Precision - 3 points will icnrease the chance to hit with spells by 3%
Warlocks have Supression - 3 points will icnrease the chance to hit with spells by 3%
Note - Misery & Improved Faerie Fire does NOT stack.

Finally - the Dranei Racial Heroic Presence increases both melee & spell hit by 1% to party members.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
S.