So many people who want to keep their pet have literally been offering solutions that let you keep all of the new design that also let us optionally use our pets by simply moving the utility of things like the bloodlust or whatever to the hunter instead of the pet, and we’re constantly met with vitriol. Literally, instead of any kind of empathy or understanding, we’re told that no, we can’t have our pets and the only solution for us is to go play something else. The entire dialogue is tone deaf when one side will do anything to keep those of us who use our pets from using our pets.
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There’s a multitude of opinions clashing here, it’s not just “anti-pet” and “pro-pet”. It’s just hard to distinguish who thinks what.
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I feel like the logical explanation as to why keeping regular hunter pets while at the same time doing the rest of the rework doesn’t make sense has been posted enough times. You’re gonna post it again and they’re going to then say that you’re attacking them. Then another 100 replies will go by and they’ll say that nobody has given a reason why you can’t just do the rest of the rework and leave regular pets in again.
I’ve always advocated for a second physical ranged class.
When WoW launched in 2004, we had measly 3 specs that use bows, guns, and crossbows as their main weapons.
Now?
It’s only two specs. We literally lost a physical ranged dps spec! And BM barely counts — a huge percentage of the dps comes from the pets, not the weapon, so it’s really more like 1.5 specs.
Blizzard keeps trying to cram way too many archetypes and themes into one spec, instead of creating a second class.
It’s a problem entirely of their own making.
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we only have two dagger specs too, 0 wand specs, etc. having two bow specs isn’t really an outlier
While I think there’s room for another ranged weapon class, Blizzard won’t ever do it for a concept that is entirely or nearly entirely covered by an existing class. The concept of the traditional ranger/scout is pretty much covered by Hunter, so it makes sense to fall under its umbrella. No one ever questioned night elf archers or blood elf farstriders would be hunters, for instance. They are bow users and wilderness specialists, pet or no pet.
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There was room for a ranged or semi ranged dh spec imo
Wands are casters. We have 9+ caster specs (Mage, Warlock, and Priest). There’s also Ele shammy, Boomkin, and Devsto evoker.
Daggers are part of melee specs. We have… what, 13+ melee specs? Rogue, Warrior, Enh shammy, DK, Paladin, half of the Druid specs, Monk…
None of the other roles have been reduced like physical ranged damage has. There’s a clear difference, and you know it.
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And yet you said in your first reply that Blizzard struggles with the designs. I said you’re right because they’re trying to cram too many archetypes into one single spec. (Ranged SV into MM and now the Tinker-esque stuff and petless stuff and dark ranger stuff… shall I go on?)
So I’m not sure why you’re arguing this point. We both agree that Blizzard has been struggling with the Hunter class design for a long time. I say that it’s better to cleanly separate the archetypes but you seem to want them all crammed together? Or are you just disagreeing with me… because…?
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Dang yall really do have a complex
They are not trying to cram too many archetypes, it’s very clear which one archetype they want the spec to follow. Heck, it’s in the spec’s name.
Lone Wolf is something that instantly clicked on the moment it was introduced 10 years ago. It instantly became the favored option for both Survival and Marksmanship the instant it came out, despite being a talent that competed with the other options in its row. And, even before WoD, Survival and Marksmanship had lost the pet as part of their rotation. Sure, you could cast Kill Command, except it wasn’t desirable except to force your pet to run to the target. The pet was reduced to a passive DoT that can get stuck or be killed, CC’ed or outrunned.
Lone Wolf was just the final nail in the coffin of the pet’s importance to those specs. Survival was then redesigned into melee and the pet was reincorporated into it (and yes, melee hunters make all the sense, as Rexxar was there to prove).
THe difference between Marksmanship and the other specs is that the pet is not part of their rotation or mastery. It was there just for a passive damage, utility and tanking. Lone Wolf compensated the passive damage. This update moves the utility to the hunter. There’s still a nich for the pet for tanking, and defending that niche while admitting its other functions are gone is the best way to keep the pets in some way.
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And that is a ranged combatant with an eagle pet, and no other.
My break is up, so I need to go back to work. I disagree with you, but I really do appreciate your clarification on your position. Thank you! 
And I have no problem with it. It’s an awesome compromise between pet and petless.
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if you’re comparing a dagger to the fantasy of a 2h sword I dont really know if we can keep this conversation going lol. if we treat those the sme, then surely there isn’t a difference between something like mm and fire mage
Having a pet, is not pet petless. Therefore there is no compromise.
If they offered a glyph that removed the pet entirely, then yes.
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There is. You are just refusing it.
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If I’m forced to use a pet, how am I petless?
Edit: It’s like saying “You can pick any of these types of ranged weapons, as long as they are only brown-coloured bows” is a compromise.
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You are essentially taking a spec away from us again. We might as well take our MM pets behind the barn and shoot them. Don’t you understand that we have a massive emotional connection with our pets.
You can’t trust you’re data. Even when we are specced into Lone Wolf, we often have our pets out.
This is the worst thing you’ve done since Legion pre-patch. It may worse - since you’re doing it AGAIN. Why do you keep trying to destroy the most popular class in the game. Focus on classes that need help.
Please don’t do this. Give us a fourth spec. Give us a real Ranger class. Do ANYTHING - just please don’t take our pets. I beg you.
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This change by the hunter to deprive access to pets really doesn’t make any sense, as it will deprive players of having access to their animals that they suffered so much to capture and that they created some bond over the decades.
This change will not please anyone who wants an animal, as they will no longer be able to choose. And those who didn’t want it don’t like it either, because they’ll end up having a generic and practically obligatory owl.
The most important thing everyone should strive for is giving players maximum choice. Taking things away from players is never good and that’s what’s happening here.
I hope this change is reversed as soon as possible for the good of WoW, as one of the biggest in the MMORPG genre.
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