the funny thing is a majority of the spec in ranged already
bombs? 40 yard range
serpent string? 40 yard range
kill command? 50 yards
the only things not ranged is curve, raptor/mongoose, and muzzle.
they literally could make aspect of the eagle a permanent talent choice effect and make our interrupt ranged. and i dont think having people jump in and out of melee to curve for aoe would be too widely hated
or even just have it be a baseline passive and depending on what weapon you equip effects the range on raptor/mongoose. (like they used to have for fury SM/TG, Monk, and DK’s)
So what solutions do Mages or locks have to be melee or rogues to be range ?
If you go none of them want that well neither did hunters until they made surv melee and most of those were people that were playing melee specs to begin with and only a small % of surv hunters stayed . Most either went to BM/MM or just flat out changed classes because of it.
Then again why should you care if players get things taken away that they like . It’s how your class came into existence .
Ion : We don’t want you tp play demonology
Locks : Why ?
Ion : We are making a new class called Demon Huntards and we are stealling some of your core abilities to give to them.
Ranged rogues don’t make sense. The whole fantasy rogue thing has never been ranged. Yes some use bows but its more a temporary type thing before they go into melee to finish the job. The actual act of pure ranged fighting is a ranger or hunter thing which we already have. And mages being melee? Are you not familiar with the mage fantasy trope? They are not melee. Your thinking of “battlemages” which aren’t the same thing…and we have battle mages…aka enhancement shaman rework in SL.
Well making survival into melee didn’t make sense either. It was only done for 2 reasons to create spec locking that has become the norm since Legion and because so many people were playing range survival.
We are not asking for Msurv to go away but we should not be told no to wanting a 4th spec to bring back a well beloved spec by other players .Especially by those that got their class by having the spec of another class being gutted.
I did find something interesting. Survival is top points in mythic 7. Maybe that’s the level of gameplay for most players? So they choose not to buff the spec because of it. Def sucks if your trying to get ksm though.
People that spout this nonsense are they very same people giving the spec a bad rap.
Hunters themselves are the real problem. The non-stop crying that 2 ranged specs arent enough is getting old. Its been 7 years…ranged survival is never coming back, nor should it.
Having a melee spec adds more dimension to the class than a 3rd ranged spec ever could.
ok so when are warlocks and mages getting affliction and fire removed to make room for a melee spec? or when are rogue getting assassination removed to make room for a ranged spec? we gotta give those classes some unique dimension now that they just have 3 dps choices which are all the same thing right?
They need to give melee something worth having for picking it over ranged. Right now it isn’t much. Safer from range, and less mechanics and more damage from ranged is what keeps survival sub par.
It would have made sense as a fourth spec. Deleting a spec like they did was a huge mistake both for gameplay reasons and class fantasy reasons. I used to be able to play an archer who infused their shots with magic that had a fun distinct playstyle separate from BM and MM. I no longer have that option, and I think that’s more so a failing on Blizz’s part.
The identity of wanting to fight side by side with your pet is a good one, but I believe Blizz seriously underestimated how many hunters picked the class initially because of its focus on ranged weaponry that had been going strong for about 12 years before Legion. Removing one of the only three specs that focuses on that sort of gameplay for current SV drove many players away from the class altogether.
I think they should buff current SV and double down their focus on its themes, but I also think a 4th spec makes the most sense. The current precedent right now is that Blizz can and will delete specs if they want to regardless of whether it makes sense or not. There is no guarantee it won’t just happen again to MSV considering it has gone through back to back reworks and is deeply unpopular. And I don’t think that’s good for fans of the spec either.
Edit: For clarities sake, this information is using all hunters who have joined a covenant which will include some that are not level capped. However, even factoring that in it’s still a clear trend that BM is still popular despite its performance. Which leads me to believe that there’s something other than performance for why there’s such a strong dislike for SV within the hunter community.