They just nerfed it in this build, so the difference between pet and no pet is going to be much smaller. I expect they’re leaving it there because it might math out to no longer be fully mandatory.
Lone Wolf could nerf my damage and I still wouldn’t use a pet as MM.
19 Likes
More notes; REALLY LIKE the changes to Intimidation, however just make it baked into intimidation. Having to use 2 talent points just to be able to use it without a pet (yes I know the extra targets are there too), but it would feel better if that was the baseline Intimidation changes
4 Likes
I kinda see this as a reason to make it baseline since it seems to be a playstyle thing for a lot of people. I know my close friend who hates hunter pets would still take the point even if it were a complete waste.
8 Likes
It’s the closest thing to Archer fantasy that WoW has, and I’m just tired of Blizzard making it difficult. 
Like, I would literally rather use drums instead of pulling a pet out to bloodlust. It shouldn’t have to be that way.
18 Likes
With BM moving to synergize with more dots, I hope this doesn’t mean Steel Trap becomes an essentially mandatory talent. Ground targeted abilities like this are awful to play around, and Steel Trap is one of the worst due to its small reticle and target size combined with inconsistent mob/boss hitbox sizes.
16 Likes
Was really hoping they would change this. Choosing between lust and surviability sucks.
13 Likes
Yup. No other class has to make that choice, so why do we?
Also, I have a huge problem with the dev note on the Lone Wolf nerf:
“The opportunity cost of having your pet out as a Marksmanship Hunter is so high that it can feel as though you’re locked out of all pet based utility, especially in AOE situations. Marksmanship is always going to be the Hunter spec that provides more throughput without a pet, but lowering this talent’s power should help to make those times where you’re the only lust or need an extra defensive feel a bit less bad.”
Blizzard… you can make that feel less bad BY NOT TYING OUR LUST TO A PET IN THE FIRST PLACE! 
Ughh, god that’s frustrating to read…
26 Likes
With the changes to for BM, I feel like I have to go Pack Leader, with Synergy Between Laceration and Wild Attacks, and Frenzied Tear and A Murder of Crows, especially the later for close to if not 100% uptime.
1 Like
They just did a whole revamp of the talent trees. This would have been an opportune time to do that work.
And honestly adding “or arcane shot” would work totally fine. It’s just replacing one ability for the other. It would retain a similar gameplay style.
I understand blizzard doesn’t want to let melee survival die, but honestly, as I said before, there’s a reason it’s the least played spec in the game. By a landslide. People don’t roll hunter to be melee. They just don’t. So to compromise between blizzard being stubborn, and what a pretty significant portion of players have been asking for since legion, giving it the same treatment as warriors and DK’s would be a great solution.
9 Likes
I really hope having a pet won’t gimp the damage so much anymore. I want to play MM with a pet.
6 Likes
Right? I’m getting pretty done with being pigeonholed into BM if I want to be both ranged and with a pet. Like, pets and ranged were the core identity of hunters. Its absolutely wild that there’s only one spec that can do it.
9 Likes
This is wrong.
3 Likes
I love the changes to the class tree! I love the changes to both BM and MM, glad I’m not at a large disadvantage when playing with a pet as MM!! I don’t play surv enough to know if the changes are good, but I’d still love to see duel wielding surv at some point. My nelf hunter would use glaives and my orc hunter would use axes.
5 Likes
I still miss ranged SV.
12 Likes
Is it? No one has played survival since it’s rework. It’s constantly been the least played spec in the game aside from a brief period in shadowlands, where it was so stupidly OP, in one of the most difficult raids in a long time, that it was basically required. As soon as that tier was over, dropped right back down to least played.
I understand it has it’s fans and it’s defenders, that’s why instead of outright deleting it, giving the option to choose would be way to go. It’s a win win and I don’t really get why it has so much resistance.
9 Likes
Wailing Arrow…
I dont get where you want to go with this ability. In the current situation, is a random proc than 9/10 times will feel bad and the only one is due pure luck.
Lets analyse it. After a 20 Wind Arrow procs (which i have no control of) my main damage ability will turn into an AoE that deal less Single targed damage to the main targed and the equivalent of a buffed Multi-shot damage to enemies in an area smaller than Multi-shot (8yr to 10 yr of Multishot). It also causes a single target interrupt and silence for 3 seconds.
I cannot hold it as it is replacing my main damage ability (Aimed Shot), I cannot control it's proc as its random. The damage is inferior to other abilities and the only benefit that I can get when it procs is stopping whatever im doing, looking around for a casting mob and shoot it for maybe an interrupt and 3 sec silence.
Why would i do that when i can do more damage not taking this talent and interrupting with Counter Shot without waiting a proc?
Oh but with Readiness it let me control the proc when i start my Main damage cooldown!, the one that im not saving for when a mob is casting. And it reset Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot.
Please do us a favor, at this point, exchange places between Wailling arrow and Readiness, and give us Readiness effect at 20 Wind Arrows. That way i can skip a totally useless ability that will only give me anxiety cause i will never be able to line it correctly without messing my normal rotation.
11 Likes
Wailing Arrow isnt affected by armor as its shadow damage.
Being Shadow damage its value will increase with a Dark Ranger build.
3 Likes
Class Tree Feedback: 95% good, if it went live in this state it would make me very happy, still some minor places for improvement:
Misdirection feels a bit difficult to acquire in the Class Tree, Switching places with Concussive Shot would be a proposed solution but I recognize that due to Misdirection’s Child node of “No Hard Feelings” that this would break the visual symmetry of the Class Tree and so it wasn’t done for that reason. While funny, I’d prefer to avoid feeling like I am wasting a point in Concussive shot. Switching Concussive Shot and Scout’s Instincts would also be a good solution to this issue which maintains visual symmetry.
Misdirection still suffers from MM being target Hardcapped via Trick Shots, and BM pet threat not being redirected properly. These issues need to be fixed for the spell to feel good to use in endgame PvE.
Trailblazer and Pathfinding should also switch places, as Pathfinding is more universally useful, while Trailblazer is frequently minimally useful in PvE. This would allow saving 1 point in acquiring Pathfinding and open up more utility choices once you have “all” the Throughput in the tree.
Exhilaration still should be changed to not incur a GCD.
Tranq Shot being on the GCD also feels bad.
Steel Trap feels like it has no purpose to existing if its damage is going to be tuned down so heavily, It just feels like a 2nd version of Freezing Trap, but only as a root, meaning caster or ranged mobs are not entirely disabled and CC’d by steel trap. Both Freezing and Steel trap still suffer the issue of needing predictable spawn/placement or predictable pathing in order to act as reliable CC.
Hunter’s still lack an AoE “stop” for Mythic plus. Intimidation on 3 targets is nice, explosive trap ruining the pack gathering of pulls is antithetical to M+ gameplay patterns.
MM Hunter should be capable of casting Intimidation without a pet entirely, without removal of Lone Wolf.
Hunter’s Mark now conflicts with the class design of Hunter even more severely. Unnatural Causes further reinforces the execute universal identity of Hunter. Hunter’s Mark is still regularly going to provide no effective benefit when stopping DPS or where phases on boss HP are triggered such as Fyrakk. Hunter’s Mark is still negligible in M+ and not compelling reason to bring a hunter. Make it work also below 20% HP as the hundreds of feedback responses asked for when it was previewed.
Hunter’s Mark still being on the GCD sucks and feels horrible.
Scare Beast still has both a cast time, preventing movement, and a focus cost. Feels horribly clunky to use, especially as BM and Surv. It also still only has a 30 yard range for no reason.
Master’s Call still has weird range issues based on hunter and pet range separately
21 Likes
Anything planned to address leech and misdirection not working properly for BM?
16 Likes