So BM hunter just got nerfed again for no apparent reason, without any compensation, as it is tradition.
In the mean time, we are still facing ton of bugs / bad designs that are so easy to fix, and yet nothing is done. Just a few examples:
When having Rapid Killing rune equipped, if you swap your helmet with another that has the same rune equipped, the CD of Rapid Fire goes back to 5min, making the rune useless as you cant faint death to swap helmet after using Glowing Gneuro-Linked Cowl
Our pet is still not revived with full happiness on rez in STV events (which is the case in BGs, so we all know it is easy to do).
Still only 3 stable slots, with no option to swap pet on the field, while warlocks can do it anytime. What is even the point of introducing cool new pets that are so bad, they will never make the 3 slots cut?
The usage of trap launcher is terrible without using a macro, specially in group content. You will regularly click on a team member and prevent the launch all together and bug your cursor.
Pets do not benefit from PVP DR in BGs or open world, yet are DRed against.
The whelp from Dragon Call is super buggy and decides when it wants to attack your target or not, often not.
And of course, we are still the ONLY class restricted to one role. No healer spec, no tank spec, hell not even any new cool stuff except this lazy melee hunter design that you are forcing down on us, and yet nerfing constantly, while we never asked for it.
And the ranged PVE rotation went to a level a complexity that you need a PHD and 12 weak auras to even somewhat parse. And god forbids you actually want to bring utility to the raid for boss mechanics, then it is the most intensive mental discipline ever…
If you hate the class so much, just say it and delete it once and for all. This slow torture burn is too much man…
Idk if they straight up hate the class, but I finally logged on today since the nerfs, tried some pvp, and yea it’s really bad. BM hunter hitting like a wet noodle, and the pet dies instantly dealing almost no damage. No mobility, worst cc in the game as bm melee, and no raid utility. BM is absolutely miserable now and seems like the overall worst class in the game by a lot
Hunters were usually ahead of rogues until higher percentiles. Warriors are only ahead on fights where they pop recklessness. You guys are complaining that a class that’s generally #1 on the meters with a 1 button rotation got nerfed? Low floor, low ceiling, and that’s the way it should be.
Don’t swap helms. It’s a bug that should be fixed, certainly. But you know what’s bis? The gneuro linked helm, even when on CD due to the interaction with stats and the wbuff.
A lot of your complaints are valid. As for trap launcher, just make a macro or ask for one / find one in the classic hunter discord. Ranged hunter is not complex by any means.
The difficulty of the melee hunter rotation is reactionary based on resets. Flanking strike, and raptor strike can both reset. If neither do you wing clip. But the more you delay your gcd deciding what ability to use costs you dps. And if you chose wrong (example you dont think you will get either resets and you wing clip, well you just lost hundreds of damage because wing clip does near 0 damage and is mostly used to fish for windfury /wildstrike procs).
The rotation is simple on paper but its complicated in practice as its a reactive rotation and not predictable.
But lets assume difficulty of the rotation shoukd determin how good of dps you do. Why were warriors and rogues aloud to be ahead of melee weave hunter p1 then? As melee weave is the most complex rotation in the game, yet it wasnt top back then, and isnt even considered viable now.
Why is ranged hunter behind warrior and rogue when its rotation is harder due to having to ground target, predict movement, respect more mechanics, and is punished even harder for moving even an inch.
Your argument has been shown throughout all of wow to not be how dps is balanced.
So if hunter did to much damage, warrior and rogue should be nerfed as well, as they bring more utility to the raid, they can tank, they are more mobile, have better survivability, etc.
Im fine with the top dps being brought down, but chosing one of the top (who wasnt even in first place) and leaving the rest, thats the issue.
Its more complex than rogues dps rotation. Mostly due to ground targeting on traps and movement restrictions that plummet dps on the slightest movement.
Balance in an MMO based around group content should be based on a reason to bring the spec to the group. Currently, BM hunter has no reason to be in the group is the problem. They do worse damage than the other melee (except for paladins who have a ton of buffs), with no utility/buffs to make up for it.
1: Warriors were already ahead, on all fights, rogues were about to with gear. Hunter cant scale for s*** so every single phase it is the same thing: hunter starts strong, and slowly goes down as gear goes in, getting all melee specs in front of them by end of phase. There is no need for nerf, gear is always doing it itself.
2: Do not pretend that mutilate rogue is more buttons than melee hunter, cause it is not. And overall most DPS rotations are easy, with a few exception like ranged hunter. You cannot use simplicity to justify this when this is Bliz design, we didn’t ask for this, and would love to have more options and utility on melee.
3: The nerf is also impacting BM in general, that includes BM ranged, and any kind of BM in open world and PVP, where a nerf was super not warranted.
4: You are completely missing the point. This is not solely about yet another unnecessary nerf to hunter, but more about yet another nerf while we get nothing on the side on QoL, bug fix, or interesting design.
Try to maintain perfect rotation on fights like Eranikus, dealing with deadzone while staying stacked with other ranged close enough for melees to jump in the pools, traps on ads, focus fire, sniper training proc, etc.
I don’t think they hate the class, like it’s literally one of the best performing classes in the game.
The issue is with BM specifically, because of how Blizzard has decided to design and implement classes with the runes pets as a default are just an enabler for other specs.
Any aspect that you buff BM on is pretty much a buff to melee and potentially MM specs as well, and with munter being so ridiculously overtuned that becomes a big issue.
I’m not super familiar with the BM specific runes that munter or MM isn’t able to take due to required runes though, but if anything that would be the only place BM could reasonably see buffs.
I think that basically only means Kill Command and Cobra Strikes, and maybe something added to Invigoration (although I fear depending on the change would just make it prioritised over Trap Launcher and be a MM buff)
Melee has always been a bad pvp spec. And it’s the most braindead spec in the game. I hated playing melee hunter. Just spam raptor strike over and over with an occasional flanking strike. Very happy that ranged is making a comeback.
Hunters got done dirty with the OP to nerf roller coaster, for sure, but I think the melee balancing is pretty good right now. Melee Hunter, Warrior, Rogue and Shaman all can shine depending upon the player.
I hate to say it but if they can keep us Warriors on a leash all they would need to do is bring caster DPS up in P4 and we may see some semblance of balance.
At the end of the day I am a big fan of Blizz keeping as many DPS classes as possible within 10% of one another so the best players can rise to the top.
I’m part of the group (3 of us) that stand further away and move with each drop. I did my first ranged run last week without practice and managed 85% Sniper uptime on Eranikus that’s while flubbing things up. If I can do it, you can do it. (I’m not great).
The big issue is that, aside from lion, melee hunter brings nothing aside from big damage so if that damage is nerfed it’s kinda lol because ranged can bring lion AND TSA, and better utility (trap launcher). Melee TSA was an option but not anymore.
I mean 10% stats to the raid and big damage is about as much as any class can hope to bring. That’s an instant raid spot, no questions asked, no need to pass go because you already have the $200.