ya know, i used to live by the 0/21/30 build for PVE/PVP.
but man survival is just complete CRAP compared to marks now. And i put my extra point in BM for the extra HP and pet HP and +2% damage increase, which is way better then putting points in the survival equivalent talents. And DAMn they need to put HAWKEYE back in marks. theres no point in having it in surv!
blackpanther on
Aimed Shot A Hunter's point of view of World of Warcraft
So after a several month hiatus, I returned to wow to discover that hunter talents are omgwtf changed. Anyone have good tips on what I should be absolutely avoiding and what I should definitely grab? I went ahead and threw points into marksmen, but i'm not above respeccing if I did it totally wrong.
This is the basic raiding/pvp build I use, I assume it's pretty common.
Well I must concede to the fact that the wind serpent hype was not wrong. I'm lvl 46 right now and I respecced all my points into marks because I was bored.
with go for the throat my serpent is pushing out all kinds of dps. I do hate the whole casting LB then going in to growl, but I timed my aim shots to hit as soon as he finally growls.
Ehh, If you're raiding Naxx hawkeye is pretty much useless, since you're very rarely at max range.
As for survival specced hunters in Naxx, Our CL specced Survival for the Expose Weakness talent, and still manages to outdps the 3 other marks hunters, besides me and Mr. iliketorapethedmgmeters.
As for BM hunters that I've seen, none so far. None of us seen it worthwhile to spec BM for raiding since the pet would need a healer watching out for him. I've used my pet on every encounter in Naxx besides the 4h+ and he's died every fight besides like Patchwerk and like Gluth.
As the puller, I could give a damn about my pet as its usually dead from fetching some random mob from a distance. I need entrapment and deterrence to survive since most healers refuse to heal me until after a tank has agro. Usually by that time, im dead.
Gear is 5/5 T2.5, T3 belt and bracers, Black Grasps, Iblis offhand, Silithid claw main, Toxin Injector. Cthun ring and cloak. Waiting for all the shaman and druids to finish being lootwhores so i can finish my t3.
When the expansion comes out, ill switch to a BM/MM build and start the grind with a priest and mage.
I hate my hunter now. I tried BM and Marks build, and it's just not fun to me anymore. My hunter seems like my warlock, but weaker. Once things get in range of me I die. Whereas with my lock, once they get in range of me, they die. I thought the new changes would be kinda fun, especially the beast within, but meh. I don't know. I guess it's just not my class.
EWom on
Whether they find a life there or not, I think Jupiter should be called an enemy planet.
I got my HWL bow at level 57, now just to grind out those last three to use it.
Wait, bow or crossbow? There's a hunter in my guild that goes insane with rage at the very mention of the High Warlord's Recurve.
Maybe your guildie should get some perspective on life, considering his jibbering rage at a digital weapon. Darfur might just kill him outright.
The bow.
Yes, the crossbow is slow, max damage blah blah...I could really care less with BC coming out soon, and me being in a smallish world pvp/rp guild.
Who cares, it's your character. You could play with throwing knives or something and I mean, why not! Be the potions barbarian of WoW and live a little!
By the way, mail your spaz friend 90 rat kebobs on an alt. >_>
I got my HWL bow at level 57, now just to grind out those last three to use it.
Wait, bow or crossbow? There's a hunter in my guild that goes insane with rage at the very mention of the High Warlord's Recurve.
Maybe your guildie should get some perspective on life, considering his jibbering rage at a digital weapon. Darfur might just kill him outright.
The bow.
Yes, the crossbow is slow, max damage blah blah...I could really care less with BC coming out soon, and me being in a smallish world pvp/rp guild.
Who cares, it's your character. You could play with throwing knives or something and I mean, why not! Be the potions barbarian of WoW and live a little!
By the way, mail your spaz friend 90 rat kebobs on an alt. >_>
I'm pretty sad that there isnt a "berserker" tree for the hunter, I mean I am a troll and all. If throwing weapons could be a viable spec that would rock.
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
edited December 2006
Any hunters use fist weapons? I'm grinding honor to get three GM weapons, the Bullseye and two one handers. I'm considering the GM Fist weapons simply because I never see hunters with fist weapons. My build is all about the crit, so as far as stats are concerned, they're identical to the swiftblade, my other choice. Put a couple +15 agi enchants on an they'd be worth +3% crit for the pair, plus the attack power bonus.
So, I'm spec'ing BM for levelling when the expansion hits. I don't plan to do much PvP, just hit the faction grinds and instances and level myself to 70 as quickly as possible for Arenas.
Call me crazy, but I'm considering spec'ing 39/12/0 for Go For The ... Throat in place of 1 point in Serpent Swiftness and The Beast Within. Both of those talents are ridiculous, but with a wind serpent pet, GFTFT is an absolute beast for soloing and small groups (me + healer... which is how I plan to do a good portion of my levelling).
Any thoughts? It's really only a matter of "which ones first" as by 62 my spec would look exactly the same either way. I'm in T3/T2.5 with Ashjre and GM Bow.
If I end up playing a hunter in the xpack I'll probably go with a spec like this. I've always loved BM and since aimed shot is not longer a necessity you can get the low tier SV talents that really help in PVP.
It is unbelievable with a windserpent. For soloing your pet can tank elites, it is awesome in 5 and 10 mans since it can off tank AND boost your party's dps with Ferocious Inspiration and it is an amazing pvp build. When I end up 1v1ing another hunter in the battlegrounds I win almost every time, even if they start shooting first. I rock any cloth class, can intimidate and trap rogues and warriors and lay the smackdown on shaman. I top the damage charts almost every game with the most killing blows and the most damage and I have one tier 1 piece (Helm), 1 ZG epic, the Savage Chain from BRD and a Hurricane (Everything else is blue). I think the BM tree is underrated for pvp in a big way.
The only thing this build isn't awesome at is 40 man raiding because the pet still dies quick. With the expansion, though, 5 points in serpents swiftness, 2 in spirit bond and 2 in rapid killing will make this build good at anything. I don't think I'll ever respec. :P
PS, I'm almost to my GM Bow (The 1.8 speed bow), which will increase my dps by 20. Since I'll be keeping the speed and crit rate for GFTT, I can't imagine the kind of damage I'll be laying out. By the time the expansion hits I should have a pair of swiftblades or GM fist weapons as well, so that's another 2-3% crit. I'm waiting for the nerf bat because GFTT seems so overpowered right now.
Don't forget, your windserpent's lightning breath is buffed by your ranged attack power, so my blue Deviate Dreadfang (named Sapphire) hits for 250 nature damage, 350 crit, + auto-attack.
The only downside is intimidation doesn't always happen and Ferocious Inspiration procs a little less because your windserpent backs up to fire off lightning breath. It's a trade off I'm willing to live with.
Yeah, I'm fairly confident I'll pick up GFTFT before finishing out Serpent Swiftness and picking up TBW at 62. I'll probably stay out of Survival completely until I respec Marks/Surv at 70.
The next question is: do I continue buffing my pet (backfilling BM) or do I continue up Marks into Rapid Killing and Mortal Shots... previously I would have thought the latter, but taking a look at some remaining BM talents, there might be some value in continuing to create a monstrous pet. Keep in mind, this is for PvE solo'ing and small groups.
I keep having a bug where I lose my petbar when my pet dies or is dismissed, how would I make a macro to get it back without having to relog or reload my ui?
Just type "/script PetActionBarFrame:Show();" to get it back.
And maybe a little "/script local f = PetActionBarFrame; f.RealHide = f.Hide; f.Hide = (function(self) if (not UnitExists("pet")) then self:RealHide(); end);" to keep it from hiding itself when your pet dies but still allow it to be hidden when you dismiss it.
But only use that second one once per session, or you'll get some lovely stack overflows.
Just the person I was hoping would see that, thanks a lot.
Copied from the chat thread in case anyone else is having this problem.
Sounds like a great build, I might have to copy that if you don't mind. I just started playing a Dwarf hunter (as a matter of fact, just started playing wow), on Dark Iron. I go by the same name as my forum one, so if anyone wants to help or gank a struggling level 15 hunter send me a message.
Sounds like a great build, I might have to copy that if you don't mind. I just started playing a Dwarf hunter (as a matter of fact, just started playing wow), on Dark Iron. I go by the same name as my forum one, so if anyone wants to help or gank a struggling level 15 hunter send me a message.
I'm Ozark on DI.
I assume you're in the PAA? I was shocked when I realized there were actually people from the forums who are on DI and not in the PAA. Shocked, I tells ya!
I'm not in any guild actually. I started on DI because I remember reading something awhile back on the news posts about a PA guild being on it but I didn't think I met the minimum level as yet so I haven't really looked into it. Is there a place in the PA guild for a novice such as my self?
Aquil on
0
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
Sounds like a great build, I might have to copy that if you don't mind. I just started playing a Dwarf hunter (as a matter of fact, just started playing wow), on Dark Iron. I go by the same name as my forum one, so if anyone wants to help or gank a struggling level 15 hunter send me a message.
I don't mind at all.
For pvping though, the real power is GFTT plus Bestial Wrath. Until you can counter your pet being crowd controlled, you may feel gimped. This build is reliant on the pet. Good thing players normally ignore the pet. Half of my kills come from kiting something while my pet tears them up.
I was reading the WoW hunter forums yesterday and got a kick out of the guy who preffered the cat to the windserpent for GFTT. He said that since the Windserpent backs off to cast lightning breath the cat was better - it could keep autoattacking while using claw.
I hope more and more people believe that. I really do. Because they can have their 34 - 64 damage bonus from claw on their 100 pet dps while my windserpent rocks their socks with 250 nature dps at range. Also, mages. If BW is on cooldown and the windserpent gets frost nova'd, no problem.
Sounds like a great build, I might have to copy that if you don't mind. I just started playing a Dwarf hunter (as a matter of fact, just started playing wow), on Dark Iron. I go by the same name as my forum one, so if anyone wants to help or gank a struggling level 15 hunter send me a message.
I don't mind at all.
For pvping though, the real power is GFTT plus Bestial Wrath. Until you can counter your pet being crowd controlled, you may feel gimped. This build is reliant on the pet. Good thing players normally ignore the pet. Half of my kills come from kiting something while my pet tears them up.
I was reading the WoW hunter forums yesterday and got a kick out of the guy who preffered the cat to the windserpent for GFTT. He said that since the Windserpent backs off to cast lightning breath the cat was better - it could keep autoattacking while using claw.
I hope more and more people believe that. I really do. Because they can have their 34 - 64 damage bonus from claw on their 100 pet dps while my windserpent rocks their socks with 250 nature dps at range. Also, mages. If BW is on cooldown and the windserpent gets frost nova'd, no problem.
While I'm well aware that a Scorpid is far from a high DPS pet, has anyone tried to use one with the GFTT and heavy BM talents? They have that poison and also have the ability to use claw - they lack dash but even if they end up being a subpar PVP pet I would imagine that with all of the extra focus you would be generating for the pet they would be awesome at holding aggro, and they have high armor and medium HP. Would they be a better PVE tanking choice for BM Hunters?
Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
edited December 2006
I think any pet is good for pve, to be honest. The windserpent has it's downsides and is low armor/health (Right now my pet is 7000 armor unbuffed, 4500 hp unbuffed). Can a hunter with a tanking pet give it's numbers? I've never had anything more tankified than a wolf.
My windserpent can stand against a 59 elite in the EPL long enough to kill it solo. I can also offtank in UBRS with it. What Blizzard has done is narrow the gap between pets in terms of tanking ability for solo pve and 5 mans. I want to get a high armor pet and see how they do in the 25s, though. It'd be interesting if your pet could off tank level 72 elites in Medivh's Tower.
I'm not in any guild actually. I started on DI because I remember reading something awhile back on the news posts about a PA guild being on it but I didn't think I met the minimum level as yet so I haven't really looked into it. Is there a place in the PA guild for a novice such as my self?
As for hunters, whats the prevalent opinion about the new talents for raiding because I've been thinking about coming back before BC hits. I'm sure marksman is still great and survival isn't worth it until they change lightning reflexes and master tactician (i'm an agi whore at heart) but how is BM for raiding?
Topic of the Day: Dealing with 41pt Frost Mages in battles that start within Blink range (as a 41pt Marks Hunter).
*Warning: PvP theorycraft to ensue, avert your eyes*
So here's the deal. I have no problems whatsoever with:
-Fire or Arcane Mages
-Frost Mages that are 35+ yards away
-Frost Mages who aren't focused on me
In general, MM Hunter v. Mage is a very imbalanced fight right now in favor of Marks Hunters. I can fairly easily put out 5k+ damage in a very short time. This requires little to no skill, and frankly I don't find it very sporting. I'm a fairly seasoned PvPer (~100k HKs between 2 characters) with more than adequate gear (T2.5/T3), so I don't really get anything out of Honor grinding. Right now, I PvP only to continue learning how to deal with matchups that are problematic. And for fun
Since 2.0, I've run into trouble when I get into closer open field combat situations (within Blink range) with highly experienced and geared Mages that have a Water Elemental focusing on me. Right now, I think this is one of our hardest "winnable" fights, largely due to the near perfect timing that is required. Prior to the Water Elemental, the key to beating a Frost Mage was timely use of the PvP Insignia to break cold snares and Frost Nova, while the Mage is under the effects of Scatter Shot or otherwise incapacitated. Doing this directly after a Blink/Nova means these abilities will be on cooldown, and you can get some range with Concussive Shot and a sneaky trap (if no Cold Snap) to end the fight. By being mindful of the Mage's cooldowns, I usually won these fights (~70:30).
The Water Elemental's ranged 'Nova, however, throws a wrench into this plan. In a series of duels yesterday against Corrz of Insomnia (Tichondrius: US), I was repeatedly wrecked by an opening Water Elemental 'Nova followed by Blink -> CoC, and a reapplication of Frost Nova as needed. I had the most success with the following approach:
I Silencing Shot <- (revisiting this, this might not be necessary, the forthcoming scatter alone might work and would save Silencing Shot for later in the fight)
Mage Blinks (is hit with SiShot mid-blink)
Water Elemental uses ranged 'Nova
I use Insignia
I Scatter Shot, get some range (Mage can't Nova/CoC pre-Scatter due to SiShot, or if I didn't SiShot I eat CoC and reverse the order: Scatter -then- Insignia), sic my pet on his elemental, and drop a Freezing Trap (not on him, but on where I'm going)
I take a few steps back and open Multi-Arcane-Auto barrage from just about min range (8-10 yards, just as soon as I'm out of dead zone)
Mage likely Ice Blocks after seeing Multi-Shot fly to prevent my full barrage (which could otherwise be lethal after taking Silencing and Scatter).
Multi-Shot plus previous pet damage kills his Elemental (which has very little HP)
If all goes well, I've accomplished everything by this point that I could have hoped for: eaten up the Elemental's 'Nova, killed the Elemental, and forced the mage into an early 'Block. The mage can't really afford to wait in Ice Block for Blink and Nova cooldowns. If they do, I move away, we reset, and now I have the advantage of range. So instead:
Mage comes out of 'Block and shields or barriers to eat some shots. If I'm lucky and they're a bad player, they chase and hit my Freezing Trap without having used Cold Snap. They get frozen, I get range, game over. If they've 'Snapped, I get as much range as possible before their second Block (opening a barrage on them if they're dumb enough to wait for my shots to Block). If they avoid my trap or resist, I'm in trouble and need to resort to quick burst from Arcane, Raptor Strike, and my pet. By the time they come out, they'll likely have Blink up or close and will probably use it. If I can use the pre-Block time get out of Blink->Nova/CoC range, I'm golden. Even if he Blinks, if he can't get CoC or Nova to land on me, I have Silencing Shot up (or will shortly) and can end the fight. If he does manage to Blink while I'm not at sufficient range, I turn and move -towards- him, trying for an Arcane mid-Blink, and hoping to end the fight with a sizable Raptor crit (with a 2H) and some pet damage before I'm locked down in 'Nova.
There are a lot of points where this can go terribly wrong. The assumed strategy of the Mage is meant to be optimal, but a slight variation (delaying the use of the Elemental Nova) could upset the entire scenario. Key to this fight are: Removing snares/roots while the mage is incapacitated and thus allowing you to get some range, Freezing Trap use AFTER the first Ice Block (hoping for Cold Snap mismanagement), and making sure the Elemental dies before a second ranged Nova is an option. I'm assuming precise timing and anticipation on the part of the Mage because that is the type of opponents I've been facing. The worse your opponent is, the larger the room for error. Also, at no point in this fight should your opponent be casting Frostbolt on you. Between a pet, a trap, FD to interrupt casting, Scatter, and SiShot... there's just no excuse.
I know this is TLDR~ and that this fight changes drastically between now and 70/TBC (Ice Lance, Golden Hare, etc etc). I'm mainly looking for other hunters' experience in this matchup atm, and if there's anything you would do differently.
Septic on
For victory we ride, fury of the storm!
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kaleeditySometimes science is more art than scienceRegistered Userregular
edited December 2006
The approach is solid. You could add in a feign death as the water elemental is taking damage from your pet so the elemental will typically target your pet instead. It'll probably absorb a water bolt even if the mage reacts properly to your feign with a quick order. Or you could save that feign to interrupt a mage frostbolt right before it's about to go off if you're stuck.
I've only been solo farming in AV and I've only had one mage water elemental + cold snap (double nova, double ice block) on me once, and he didn't get a frost bolt off on me. He wasn't too well timed or geared, and I can see how a well geared competent mage will be an issue with those talents.
Your goal should be to land several hits before they're even in their range. Frost's longest range spell talented is 36 yards, and you're a hunter, so just don't let them get the drop in on you. Should be a free arcane or multishot right there, before you SiS-as-he-blinks.
Your goal should be to land several hits before they're even in their range. Frost's longest range spell talented is 36 yards, and you're a hunter, so just don't let them get the drop in on you. Should be a free arcane or multishot right there, before you SiS-as-he-blinks.
Yeah, I have no problem against mages except in the situation where they DO get the drop on me. 90% of the time, if I can see them (I stay fairly aware of my surroundings), I've got the reach on them to keep them from closing and they either die or don't approach. Ocassionally, however, I don't have that luxury-- especially if they close while/just after dealing with another opponent.
I mostly see this in 2v2 Arena when the mage slow-rolls (comes in late to avoid drawing attention).
I'm thinking of switching to this as my new spec.
Questions? Comments?
Pet attack speeds are still getting the nerfbat right? I really want to get one of those spiders with the insane attack speed from ZG but I dont know how long I'll actually get to use it before it becomes just another pet.
Posts
but man survival is just complete CRAP compared to marks now. And i put my extra point in BM for the extra HP and pet HP and +2% damage increase, which is way better then putting points in the survival equivalent talents. And DAMn they need to put HAWKEYE back in marks. theres no point in having it in surv!
A Hunter's point of view of World of Warcraft
This is the basic raiding/pvp build I use, I assume it's pretty common.
Marksman 45 points
-Imp Concussive Shot 5/5
-Lethal Shots 5/5
-Go for the Throat 2/2
-Aimed Shot 1/1
-Rapid Killing 2/2
-Mortal Shots 5/5
-Concussive Barrage 1/3
-Scatter Shot 1/1
-Barrage 3/3
-Combat Experience 2/2
-Ranged Weapon Specialization 5/5
-Careful Aim 3/3
-Trueshot Aura 1/1
-Imp Barrage 3/3
-Master Marksman 5/5
-Silencing Shot 1/1
Survival 6 Points
-Humanoid Slaying 3/3
-Hawk Eye 3/3
Well, that killed a few minutes :P . Hope it was helpful
with go for the throat my serpent is pushing out all kinds of dps. I do hate the whole casting LB then going in to growl, but I timed my aim shots to hit as soon as he finally growls.
right now I got
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=mZEmboVzheob
I plan on respeccing and getting rapid killing and one point in barrage at 49 so pvp will be better.
As for survival specced hunters in Naxx, Our CL specced Survival for the Expose Weakness talent, and still manages to outdps the 3 other marks hunters, besides me and Mr. iliketorapethedmgmeters.
As for BM hunters that I've seen, none so far. None of us seen it worthwhile to spec BM for raiding since the pet would need a healer watching out for him. I've used my pet on every encounter in Naxx besides the 4h+ and he's died every fight besides like Patchwerk and like Gluth.
Gear wise I'm in; 3/9 t3, 2/5 t2.5, 3/8 t2, 3pc aq20 set, fotfl, and huhu's stinger
1567ap with TSA and AOTH, 24% crit
I'm also bored farming juju might. kay bye
I am not so angry as I am blinded with rage.
Wait, bow or crossbow? There's a hunter in my guild that goes insane with rage at the very mention of the High Warlord's Recurve.
Maybe your guildie should get some perspective on life, considering his jibbering rage at a digital weapon. Darfur might just kill him outright.
Beast Mastery (5 points)
5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk
Marksmanship (31 points)
5/5 Lethal Shots
5/5 Efficiency
5/5 Improved Arcane Shot
1/1 Aimed Shot
5/5 Mortal Shots
1/1 Scatter Shot
3/3 Barrage
5/5 Ranged Weapon Specialization
1/1 Trueshot Aura
Survival (12 points)
3/3 Hawk Eye
2/2 Savage Strikes
3/3 Entrapment
3/3 Improved Wing Clip
1/1 Deterrence
As the puller, I could give a damn about my pet as its usually dead from fetching some random mob from a distance. I need entrapment and deterrence to survive since most healers refuse to heal me until after a tank has agro. Usually by that time, im dead.
Gear is 5/5 T2.5, T3 belt and bracers, Black Grasps, Iblis offhand, Silithid claw main, Toxin Injector. Cthun ring and cloak. Waiting for all the shaman and druids to finish being lootwhores so i can finish my t3.
When the expansion comes out, ill switch to a BM/MM build and start the grind with a priest and mage.
The bow.
Yes, the crossbow is slow, max damage blah blah...I could really care less with BC coming out soon, and me being in a smallish world pvp/rp guild.
Who cares, it's your character. You could play with throwing knives or something and I mean, why not! Be the potions barbarian of WoW and live a little!
By the way, mail your spaz friend 90 rat kebobs on an alt. >_>
I'm pretty sad that there isnt a "berserker" tree for the hunter, I mean I am a troll and all. If throwing weapons could be a viable spec that would rock.
Call me crazy, but I'm considering spec'ing 39/12/0 for Go For The ... Throat in place of 1 point in Serpent Swiftness and The Beast Within. Both of those talents are ridiculous, but with a wind serpent pet, GFTFT is an absolute beast for soloing and small groups (me + healer... which is how I plan to do a good portion of my levelling).
Any thoughts? It's really only a matter of "which ones first" as by 62 my spec would look exactly the same either way. I'm in T3/T2.5 with Ashjre and GM Bow.
Ghalan - Tauren Druid
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/hunter/talents.html?5020300052501205311100505200000000000000000300000000000000000000
It is unbelievable with a windserpent. For soloing your pet can tank elites, it is awesome in 5 and 10 mans since it can off tank AND boost your party's dps with Ferocious Inspiration and it is an amazing pvp build. When I end up 1v1ing another hunter in the battlegrounds I win almost every time, even if they start shooting first. I rock any cloth class, can intimidate and trap rogues and warriors and lay the smackdown on shaman. I top the damage charts almost every game with the most killing blows and the most damage and I have one tier 1 piece (Helm), 1 ZG epic, the Savage Chain from BRD and a Hurricane (Everything else is blue). I think the BM tree is underrated for pvp in a big way.
The only thing this build isn't awesome at is 40 man raiding because the pet still dies quick. With the expansion, though, 5 points in serpents swiftness, 2 in spirit bond and 2 in rapid killing will make this build good at anything. I don't think I'll ever respec. :P
PS, I'm almost to my GM Bow (The 1.8 speed bow), which will increase my dps by 20. Since I'll be keeping the speed and crit rate for GFTT, I can't imagine the kind of damage I'll be laying out. By the time the expansion hits I should have a pair of swiftblades or GM fist weapons as well, so that's another 2-3% crit. I'm waiting for the nerf bat because GFTT seems so overpowered right now.
Don't forget, your windserpent's lightning breath is buffed by your ranged attack power, so my blue Deviate Dreadfang (named Sapphire) hits for 250 nature damage, 350 crit, + auto-attack.
The only downside is intimidation doesn't always happen and Ferocious Inspiration procs a little less because your windserpent backs up to fire off lightning breath. It's a trade off I'm willing to live with.
The next question is: do I continue buffing my pet (backfilling BM) or do I continue up Marks into Rapid Killing and Mortal Shots... previously I would have thought the latter, but taking a look at some remaining BM talents, there might be some value in continuing to create a monstrous pet. Keep in mind, this is for PvE solo'ing and small groups.
Copied from the chat thread in case anyone else is having this problem.
Sounds like a great build, I might have to copy that if you don't mind. I just started playing a Dwarf hunter (as a matter of fact, just started playing wow), on Dark Iron. I go by the same name as my forum one, so if anyone wants to help or gank a struggling level 15 hunter send me a message.
I'm Ozark on DI.
I assume you're in the PAA? I was shocked when I realized there were actually people from the forums who are on DI and not in the PAA. Shocked, I tells ya!
I don't mind at all.
For pvping though, the real power is GFTT plus Bestial Wrath. Until you can counter your pet being crowd controlled, you may feel gimped. This build is reliant on the pet. Good thing players normally ignore the pet. Half of my kills come from kiting something while my pet tears them up.
I was reading the WoW hunter forums yesterday and got a kick out of the guy who preffered the cat to the windserpent for GFTT. He said that since the Windserpent backs off to cast lightning breath the cat was better - it could keep autoattacking while using claw.
I hope more and more people believe that. I really do. Because they can have their 34 - 64 damage bonus from claw on their 100 pet dps while my windserpent rocks their socks with 250 nature dps at range.
While I'm well aware that a Scorpid is far from a high DPS pet, has anyone tried to use one with the GFTT and heavy BM talents? They have that poison and also have the ability to use claw - they lack dash but even if they end up being a subpar PVP pet I would imagine that with all of the extra focus you would be generating for the pet they would be awesome at holding aggro, and they have high armor and medium HP. Would they be a better PVE tanking choice for BM Hunters?
Ghalan - Tauren Druid
My windserpent can stand against a 59 elite in the EPL long enough to kill it solo. I can also offtank in UBRS with it. What Blizzard has done is narrow the gap between pets in terms of tanking ability for solo pve and 5 mans. I want to get a high armor pet and see how they do in the 25s, though. It'd be interesting if your pet could off tank level 72 elites in Medivh's Tower.
In the BC Beta, i tamed Ironjaw, a named wolf from a quest in Terrokar and at level 70, hes got 10k AC unbuffed.
He's maintanked Blood furnace at 64
A Hunter's point of view of World of Warcraft
There are many guilds, go to www.pa-guilds.com
As for hunters, whats the prevalent opinion about the new talents for raiding because I've been thinking about coming back before BC hits. I'm sure marksman is still great and survival isn't worth it until they change lightning reflexes and master tactician (i'm an agi whore at heart) but how is BM for raiding?
As for raiding,i only did 5 mans and having a pet as a MT/OT was awesome... if you could get the priest to heal him.
A Hunter's point of view of World of Warcraft
In addendum, don't bother raiding in the 2-3 weeks before BC.
I think everyone's basically just PvPing their asses off right now.
*Warning: PvP theorycraft to ensue, avert your eyes*
So here's the deal. I have no problems whatsoever with:
-Fire or Arcane Mages
-Frost Mages that are 35+ yards away
-Frost Mages who aren't focused on me
In general, MM Hunter v. Mage is a very imbalanced fight right now in favor of Marks Hunters. I can fairly easily put out 5k+ damage in a very short time. This requires little to no skill, and frankly I don't find it very sporting. I'm a fairly seasoned PvPer (~100k HKs between 2 characters) with more than adequate gear (T2.5/T3), so I don't really get anything out of Honor grinding. Right now, I PvP only to continue learning how to deal with matchups that are problematic. And for fun
Since 2.0, I've run into trouble when I get into closer open field combat situations (within Blink range) with highly experienced and geared Mages that have a Water Elemental focusing on me. Right now, I think this is one of our hardest "winnable" fights, largely due to the near perfect timing that is required. Prior to the Water Elemental, the key to beating a Frost Mage was timely use of the PvP Insignia to break cold snares and Frost Nova, while the Mage is under the effects of Scatter Shot or otherwise incapacitated. Doing this directly after a Blink/Nova means these abilities will be on cooldown, and you can get some range with Concussive Shot and a sneaky trap (if no Cold Snap) to end the fight. By being mindful of the Mage's cooldowns, I usually won these fights (~70:30).
The Water Elemental's ranged 'Nova, however, throws a wrench into this plan. In a series of duels yesterday against Corrz of Insomnia (Tichondrius: US), I was repeatedly wrecked by an opening Water Elemental 'Nova followed by Blink -> CoC, and a reapplication of Frost Nova as needed. I had the most success with the following approach:
I Silencing Shot <- (revisiting this, this might not be necessary, the forthcoming scatter alone might work and would save Silencing Shot for later in the fight)
Mage Blinks (is hit with SiShot mid-blink)
Water Elemental uses ranged 'Nova
I use Insignia
I Scatter Shot, get some range (Mage can't Nova/CoC pre-Scatter due to SiShot, or if I didn't SiShot I eat CoC and reverse the order: Scatter -then- Insignia), sic my pet on his elemental, and drop a Freezing Trap (not on him, but on where I'm going)
I take a few steps back and open Multi-Arcane-Auto barrage from just about min range (8-10 yards, just as soon as I'm out of dead zone)
Mage likely Ice Blocks after seeing Multi-Shot fly to prevent my full barrage (which could otherwise be lethal after taking Silencing and Scatter).
Multi-Shot plus previous pet damage kills his Elemental (which has very little HP)
If all goes well, I've accomplished everything by this point that I could have hoped for: eaten up the Elemental's 'Nova, killed the Elemental, and forced the mage into an early 'Block. The mage can't really afford to wait in Ice Block for Blink and Nova cooldowns. If they do, I move away, we reset, and now I have the advantage of range. So instead:
Mage comes out of 'Block and shields or barriers to eat some shots. If I'm lucky and they're a bad player, they chase and hit my Freezing Trap without having used Cold Snap. They get frozen, I get range, game over. If they've 'Snapped, I get as much range as possible before their second Block (opening a barrage on them if they're dumb enough to wait for my shots to Block). If they avoid my trap or resist, I'm in trouble and need to resort to quick burst from Arcane, Raptor Strike, and my pet. By the time they come out, they'll likely have Blink up or close and will probably use it. If I can use the pre-Block time get out of Blink->Nova/CoC range, I'm golden. Even if he Blinks, if he can't get CoC or Nova to land on me, I have Silencing Shot up (or will shortly) and can end the fight. If he does manage to Blink while I'm not at sufficient range, I turn and move -towards- him, trying for an Arcane mid-Blink, and hoping to end the fight with a sizable Raptor crit (with a 2H) and some pet damage before I'm locked down in 'Nova.
There are a lot of points where this can go terribly wrong. The assumed strategy of the Mage is meant to be optimal, but a slight variation (delaying the use of the Elemental Nova) could upset the entire scenario. Key to this fight are: Removing snares/roots while the mage is incapacitated and thus allowing you to get some range, Freezing Trap use AFTER the first Ice Block (hoping for Cold Snap mismanagement), and making sure the Elemental dies before a second ranged Nova is an option. I'm assuming precise timing and anticipation on the part of the Mage because that is the type of opponents I've been facing. The worse your opponent is, the larger the room for error. Also, at no point in this fight should your opponent be casting Frostbolt on you. Between a pet, a trap, FD to interrupt casting, Scatter, and SiShot... there's just no excuse.
I know this is TLDR~ and that this fight changes drastically between now and 70/TBC (Ice Lance, Golden Hare, etc etc). I'm mainly looking for other hunters' experience in this matchup atm, and if there's anything you would do differently.
I've only been solo farming in AV and I've only had one mage water elemental + cold snap (double nova, double ice block) on me once, and he didn't get a frost bolt off on me. He wasn't too well timed or geared, and I can see how a well geared competent mage will be an issue with those talents.
Your goal should be to land several hits before they're even in their range. Frost's longest range spell talented is 36 yards, and you're a hunter, so just don't let them get the drop in on you. Should be a free arcane or multishot right there, before you SiS-as-he-blinks.
Yeah, I have no problem against mages except in the situation where they DO get the drop on me. 90% of the time, if I can see them (I stay fairly aware of my surroundings), I've got the reach on them to keep them from closing and they either die or don't approach. Ocassionally, however, I don't have that luxury-- especially if they close while/just after dealing with another opponent.
I mostly see this in 2v2 Arena when the mage slow-rolls (comes in late to avoid drawing attention).
Questions? Comments?
Pet attack speeds are still getting the nerfbat right? I really want to get one of those spiders with the insane attack speed from ZG but I dont know how long I'll actually get to use it before it becomes just another pet.