The modifier on Marrow's Song is 2.0, compared with the epic's 1.8, so the modifier isn't quite the same. Moreover, the additional stats point more toward a bard (since high Cha reduces fizzles), but it's perfectly reasonable for a guild to reward this to another class, as the ratio is quite good.

SoE has lately pushed toward making items with instrument modifiers usable by more classes than just bards; look, for instance, at the Eye of Dreams, which has a 2.2 brass modifier but is ALL/ALL with stats that most people would find desirable.

I'm actually in favor of this, as it is a too-frequent occurance that I see class-specific loot rot because the classes in question present have the item (or better) already. It's understandable that there would be some dissatisfaction with Sony's decisions, though.

The new version of Hate actually makes it *much, much* easier for Rangers and Mages to get their epic pieces.

The minibosses that drop epic components for these two classes now have placeholders that repop roughly every 30 minutes. So now, instead of having to port an entire raid up there only to find out that there are no minibosses up, you can port up a single group (safely, I might add) and kill placeholders until the bosses spawn.

Also, thanks to mob placement and pathing changes, it's now *much* easier to pull singles (even a warrior can pull a mob up there with only one or two adds), which means that crowd-control isn't the absolute necessity that it once was.

The minibosses that drop the Ranger and Mage pieces spawn in "Tier 1" areas, which means that the mobs you'll be fighting are exactly the same difficulty as the old Hate, except without the huge risk of chain-aggro.

Also, because there is no 2nd floor anymore, there's no need for people to camp out if they happen to get Grav Fluxxed (I haven't seen a mob use this at all since the change, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility).

Even Warriors and Enchanters have a slightly easier time getting their epic drops now. To get the warrior epic piece you must clear 4-5 old-Hate mobs plus one new mob to reach the Hand (who seems to be up much more frequently, and who always drops the epic bit). The Essence of Vampire for Enchanters is still as rare as ever, but at least now you don't have to bring a raid to clear the zone, and the repop rate of 30mins means that there are a lot more opportunities to get the drop in a given amount of time.

People who complain about the update to this zone have clearly not done their research.

Not sure what you're greivance is about this item but as far as the ranger epic is concerned, items like this make hate a desirable raiding zone again. I've kept hearing rangers complain that people didnt raid hate anymore. Most rangers I've talked to lately are very happy with the zone change.

Glad they made other melee classes able to use this; it makes quite an excellent offhand for an epic rogue, offhand for warrior (no aggro proc), monk, BL, Ranger either hand depending on epic.

Maestro and Inny now big guild raid only, perhaps alliance raids too, along the lines of maybe a PoP boss like Aerin'Dar. The rest of the zone is great for exp grps. Find a nice camp, and let your one or two grps pull at will. No aggro at zonein makes it doable. Rare random drops, armor drops you can turn in for gems and exp, very nice hunting. Necros with essence emerald are very useful in case of wipe (from experience lol).

Agree. Even though this is clearly geared for a bard, all the other classes listed will definately want a roll on this weapon. Ratio is nice. AC/STA/HP are nice, plus WIS/INT and mana to boot for us hybrid types. I can see this being a highly sought after item for the PvP folks in thier low 50's as well.