Introduction
Greetings,
Today I would like to share my concerns (and the concerns of many fellow hunter players and theory crafters) regarding a recently posted hotfix for the 9th of October - that may impact not only a whole spec but also may ruin the opportunity to play this spec in all Group based content (M+ and Raiding, particular Mythic).
The recently announced Hotfix Changes for Hunter are problematic due to significant missed opportunities to address the underlining issue with Basilisk Collar in the Past (this issue has been raised by theory crafters and players during TTW Alpha/Beta).
While many of us are happy to see Basilisk Collar getting the nerf it deserves, it still remains to be one of the most powerful nodes on the whole BM Tree. Going forward it should be replaced entirely with a new node as it feels way too “mandatory” and demanding. Later on I will share my personal opinion what could be done about it.
Before I will go into the detail what this change creates for the Spec in Terms of number here a quick look what will be changed:
Hunter
Beast Mastery
Basilisk Collar damage bonus per damage over time effect reduced to 2%/4% (was 5%/10%).
Kill Command damage increased by 18%.
Pet damage increased by 4%.
The Impact
As I mentioned in my introduction - Basilisk Collar has been problematic. It was so Problematic that it became spec defining in terms of damage tuning. Due to this, the whole damage BM does atm. almost entirely weighted by the power of Collar. Losing such 6% with 2 points invest has such a significant impact on our Damage that compensation buffs have to occur significantly, nothing those 18% Kill Command Damage and 4% pet damage can achieve.
The results by Theorycrafter Tarlo and Azor showed a 9% ST Nerf and 7-9% AoE Buff. While those buffs to AoE are nice, we are still behind by a significant margin to our other specializations MM and SV when it comes to AoE.
As AoE and ST are important for M+ this will likely kill our viability from somewhat ““okay”” to unviable for M+ as MM and SV do a better job in both scenarios.
The same goes for raiding - BM’s niche of being a great ST Spec on Nexus Princess and Sikran f.e. are totally gone, as the ST difference is around 15% behind MM and SV in ST.
For many Mythic Guilds, this may end up them sitting their hunters for encounters like Nexus Princess as MM is not looking too hot on it and SV being melee is unfavorable to bring in an encounter that promotes range play.
More on this issue is shared here by Azor:
Solutions
Buffing KC and Pet Damage by more would be the first thing to do (it would also help Pack Leader), imo. but leaves the underlining issue present (Basilisk Collar). That said, buffing KC might need some slight nerfs than to the Beast Cleave - and Kill Cleave Conversion Rate if it is too big of a buff.
Despite the nerfs, Basilisk Collar feels somewhat mandatory. It being gone from the tree would be the best way of addressing it and shifting some of its power back into the spec.
I personally would like Basilisk Collar being replaced by Bloodshed (the node beneath it) and giving it 2 points (for 2 charges). The currently existing choice node beneath Bloodshed should be split into two separate nodes. This would not only address the issue in Single Target but also would give Blood Shed more Power to Shine as a talent and make it more flexible.
That is all - more thoughts on those changes can be found here: