My Hunter Talent Tree Rework (Fanfic) (Gone Wild)

While we are waiting for a new content patch, I decided to fanfic my own general Hunter tree. The goals of this rework were to bring our tree more in-line power, defensive, and utility wise with other classes while streamlining both the cost of the tree as well as removing some of the questionable talent nodes.

Some of the largest changes made were moving Kill Command to baseline instead of a talent node as well as moving Serpent Sting to the top of the tree. This was done in an effort to remove filler from the talent tree (taking inspiration from all the reworked classes so far (Priest, Mage, Paladin, etc)). Serpent Sting was moved to the top to introduce the DoT mechanic and maintaining a DoT early on in the Hunter leveling experience, instead of something learned in the 50s.

There are new utility options, more defensive options, and more throughput options. I tried to make a majority of talents appealing to all 3 specs, regardless if you don’t play with a pet or play in melee.

Obviously, this is a WIP and I welcome any sort of criticism or feedback

The general layout of the tree is below in graphic format. I can supply the TTM import upon request, but I’m not sure how many people here use TTM. I will roughly describe each talent in a following post(s).

The text primer in the following post is to be read in reference with the image below, with left to right.

6 Likes

Row 1

Quick Shot – Starting BM Talent – Spending Focus has a chance to use Quick Shot, dealing a small amount of Physical damage to your target. 1 pt

Serpent Sting – Starting SV talent – No Changes. 1pt

Concussive Shot – No Changes. 1pt

Kill Shot – Starting MM talent – No Changes. 1pt

Row 2

Beast Handler – Your primary pet deals 10% increased critical damage. 1pt

Trailblazer – No Changes. 1pt

Misdirection – No Changes. 1 pt

Posthaste – No Changes 1pt

Improved Kill Shot - No Changes 1pt

Row 3

Wilderness Medicine - No Changes 2pt

Counter Shot – No Changes 1pt

Natural Mending – No Changes 2pt

Row 4

Entrapment – No Changes 1pt

Spirint Bond / Aspect of Iron Hawk - While your pet is alive, you and your pet deal 3% more damage and restore 3% of your maximum HP every 6 seconds / You deal 3% more damage and receive 3% less damage.

Survival of the Fittest – Base CD dropped to 2.5 min, same function

Keen Eyesight - Increase your Critical Strike chance by 3% 1pt

Row 5

Tranquilizing Shot – No Changes

Quickfire Mechanism/Trap Launcher - The cooldown of your traps is reduced by 5 seconds. Whenever a trap is placed, increase your movement speed by 8% for 5 seconds / The cooldown of your traps is increased by 5 seconds. You can only activate a trap if you have a valid target targeted. Whenever you activate a trap, you launch it at your target and it is immediately activated.

Hi-Explosive Trap / Ice Trap - Hurls a fire trap to the target location that explodes when an enemy approaches, causing (57.33% of Attack power) Fire damage and knocking all enemies up in the air for .75 seconds. Trap will exist for 1 min. / Replaces your Tar Trap with Ice Trap. Upon being Triggered, Ice Trap roots all enemies within the area for .5 seconds. Enemies within the area are slowed by 50%, increasing by 15% every second they are in the trap area up to a maximum of 90% slow.

Lone Survivor / Nature’s Endurance – No Changes

Born to be Wild – No Changes 1 pt

Row 6

Improved Tranquilizing Shot – Whenever Tranquilizing Shot only removes a single Enrage or Magic effect, CD is reduced by 5 sec

Survivalist – Increase your Versatility by 1 / 2% and increase your healing received by 4 / 8 %

Intimidation/Wyvern Sting – No Changes / slightly shorter stun and CD than intmidation, costs negligible Focus, usable at range

Binding Shot – Same thing CD dropped to 40 second

Rejuvenating Winds – Same thing

Camouflage – Same thing

Hunting Party- Your and your pet’s damage marks the target as quarry, increasing the damage you and your allies do against marked targets under 35% of their maximum HP by 5%

Row 7

Savage Instincts – Your critical strikes increase your Mastery and Haste by 1/3% for 5 seconds

Binding Shackles - Binding Shot’s cooldown is increased by 5 seconds. When Binding Shot lands, up to 8 targets hit are snared by 30% for 1 second and immediately pulled to the center of the impact radius. Attempting to leave the radius of Binding Shot will instead snap the targets back to the enter and snare them for 30%. This effect can only happen once per target.

Hunter’s Agility – Increase your Agility by 1 / 2 % and your movement speed by 3/ 6 %

Hunting Party Big Game - The effects of Hunting Party now also increases damage done while the marked target(s) are above 90% HP.

Row 8

Beast Master - Your pet deals 5% more damage and while your pet is alive, you and your pet gain 1 Focus every 3 seconds.

Serrated Shots - Your Nature and Bleed damage is increased by 15%. This value is increased to 30% for targets under 30% HP

Master Marksman - Your ability critical strikes cause the target to bleed for an additional 10% damage over 6 seconds

Row 9

Pack Tactics - Every 80 Focus you generate increases the damage of your pet’s next Basic Attack by 100%. Every time your pet spends 150 Focus, increase your damage done by 5% for 5 seconds.

Viper’s Venom / Hydra’s Bite - Your Focus spending abilities have a chance to cause your next Serpent Sting to cost 0 Focus and deal 250% increased initial damage / Same Thing

Stampede / War Chakram – Stampede has the same effect, but summons the stampede in a point blank area of effect radius around the target instead of a skillshot / Same thing

Explosive Shot / Barrage – No changes

Long Range Expert - If you do not have an active pet, increase your auto-shot damage by 50%. Your autoshots now restore 1 Focus. Critical Strikes double this bonus.

Row 10

Killer Instinct/Alpha Predator – No changes

Noxious Serpent - Summons a Noxious Serpent from the wilds to fight by your side for 20 seconds. The Noxious Serpent will attack your target every 2 seconds. Each time the Noxious Serpent does damage to a target affected by Serpent Sting, reduce the duration of the active Serpent Sting by 2 seconds and increase the damage taken by Serpent Sting by X%.

Soulforged Embers - Your Flare ability now pelts the area under it with stygian fire, dealing immediate fire damage to all targets in the area and applying a Fire DoT to targets that enter the area. Whenever Soulforged Embers is activated, increase the critical strike chance of you and 3 close allies by 5% for 5 seconds.

Ohn’ahra’s Quiver- Whenever you damage a target with an ability that includes “Shot” in the name, you summon a Wind Arrow that damages all targets hit by your ability, dealing an additional 5% Nature Damage

5 Likes

Not bad, my only issue is that wind arrows currently are affected by weapon durability loss so adding more to ranged specs could potentially significantly increase the amount of durability damage. This is already a problem with MM at current time, so if it is not fixed an MM hunter that does not die in a high key could potentially need to repair MID KEY.

2 Likes

Ideally, this would be fixed, but I would have it function as a separate projectile if possible, somewhat like Icicles from Frost Mage.

2 Likes

I like this, a lot.

2 Likes

I like the work you did my man. The hunter class side of talents definitely needs some love. Ive said it before and Ill say it again. I hope you and others that keep doing legit RnD for blizz (FOR FREE) get noticed by someone in class design.

2 Likes