Hiya.
Excited to start a new hunter since I like the mobile ranged playstyle. I enjoy both MM and BM right now, but am wondering which one is better for:
Mythic +0-10
Raids (LFR and Normal)
Open World PvE
PvP – BGs and Open World
I’m a pretty casual player. Not too interested in Mythic Raiding, mythic+ higher than 10, and I’m not a big fan of Arenas beyond the occasional skirmish bonus week and brawls. Which spec tends to either perform better, or at least has more QoL there? Most questions like this I see are directed toward super high-end content.
Play what you like the most. That said SV is our most mobile Spec and the best at PvP ATM.
I am the same occasional player as you are.
I am enjoying a lot BM.
I can solo pretty much everything pve wise…
With the gear I have I perform well in LFR and in Mythic but I have done +8 as max level.
About wpvp i have fun as BM but don"t expect to be immortal as some other class are but even 1vs1 you have chance to win.
BGs are fun and sometimes you can collect a lot of kills too.
I never seriously tried MM so I can’t say much about it.
BM is THE mobile ranged spec now. For most of what you are asking for it doesn’t particularly matter what you use though. I will say that for questing and rare fights, BM is better as it has access to the Clefthoof which is the best tanking pet in the game at the moment. BM hunters also have access to the Spirit Beast which has a heal that isn’t too bad this expansion.
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Mythic +0-10 - bm seems to be the best on the io ladder but mm has the capability of pushing similar content
Raids (LFR and Normal) - same as above
Open World PvE - I feel bm is faster due to its mechanics
PvP – BGs and Open World - for bgs I liked mm better, don’t do much open world stuff
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BM is more mobile. It is the most mobile ranged spec; there are NO standstill requirements for the spec. It’s the only spec in the game that can do 100% of its dps while moving at ranged 100% of the time.
The downside is it is dependent on pet uptime but realistically it will be close to 100% for most if not all fights in the game.
MM is also fairly mobile but it eventually has to cast a standstill Aimed Shot.
- Mythic+: BM is better, hands down. MM is still strong, but BM is a monster with triple Primal Instincts and one Rapid Reload.
- Raids: More difficult to answer. MM has higher potential damage but it’s also more gear-dependent and will suffer if it has to suddenly move during an Aimed Shot cast (generally avoidable). BM will also have better survivability due to Spirit Beasts.
- Open World PvE: BM since all the damage comes from the pet and therefore the pet will not lose threat
- PvP: BM generally wins, but MM can be good in certain battleground situations. MM is REALLY bad at 1v1 v.s. pretty much any spec so emphasis on certain BG situations (it has 2 knockbacks which makes it great for AB Lumber Mill/EotS flag)
TL;DR I recommend BM
Play the 1 you enjoy most. Generally BM is better at multitarget, MM is the best single target. MM also requires better knowlege of boss mechanics in order to time your aimed shot casts. That can be difficult in the beginning of a new tier but as the fights get more familiar you’ll have no problem with canceling casts.
I don’t know the history of Hunter specs but hasn’t BM always been the most mobile spec in the game? Has MM always had standstill sniping? What was ranged SV like?
Steady Shot and Cobra Shot (formerly a casted focus generator for BM and SV) used to be immobile casts until patch 5.1 in MoP, so after that point BM and SV were fully mobile. MM also had a glyph that made Aimed Shot castable while moving, making it fully mobile during MoP.
WoD made Aimed Shot castable while moving baseline but Sniper Training meant MM had to stand still at times to get full DPS (back then it was a DPS buff given after not moving for a few seconds). BM and SV were still ranged and fully mobile at this time.
Legion made SV melee. It made Sniper Training a passive damage buff with no movement required but once again made Aimed Shot standstill.
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As for ranged SV, its core toolkit was:
- Explosive Shot, instant cast on a 6 second cooldown. Did instant damage + ticking damage each sec for 3 secs. 25 focus in MoP, 15 focus in WoD.
- Black Arrow: 24 sec DoT on a 30 sec CD. Did heavy damage + had a chance to trigger Lock and Load. 35 focus.
- Serpent Sting: just like it is now although it lasted 25 secs. In WoD it was removed as an active ability and tied into Arcane Shot. Also at one point in WoD they removed the initial tick of DMG it did which effectively ended ranged SV’s career as a viable DPS spec a year before the melee change. 15 focus in MoP
- Arcane Shot: Works just like it does now although it cost 30 focus and applied Serpent Sting
- Cobra Shot: SV/BM version of Steady Shot. Worked just like Steady Shot does now although it gave 14 focus and did magic damage.
- Lock and Load: a passive proc from Black Arrow (+ traps until WoD). Made your next 2 Explosive Shots free and cost nothing
- Trap Mastery: Made all our traps have a shorter CD and made Immolation Trap and Explosive Trap do more damage (neither were actually used in the rotation).
Also all Hunter specs had a 1.0 sec GCD in Cata, MoP, and WoD. Now they have a 1.5 sec GCD which gets reduced by haste.
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For these items, I’d heavily recommend playing the spec you personally enjoy more. It seems like you are aiming for more casual environments, so it’s really all down to personal taste.
They play differently, so I would try both and see which style you like more, then learn to play well with that spec.
Right now Im really enjoying MM, so as long as it can do well in most-all content prior to highest end stuff, I’m content. :]
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