I think Updraft should be a baseline ability available to all hunters. Here’s why:
Most classes have a way to prevent lethal fall damage. Mages have slow fall, blink, and ice block. Demon Hunters have glide and fel rush. Priests have levitate. Paladins can use divine shield. Warriors can use heroic leap. Rogues, Druids, and Pandaren have abilities that lower the damage, although it doesn’t make them immune. Et cetera.
With the exception of Druids’ flap, all of these classes have access to their fall-damage abilities regardless of spec or equipment. And Druids can go into cat form to reduce damage even if they’re not specced for moonkin.
Hunters, on the other hand, must have a pet from a specific family (and some hunters don’t even use pets) and it requires a special tome before you can even tame one.
More importantly, we don’t have access to it if we’re already falling because our pets despawn.
Therefore, I suggest that Updraft be made a baseline ability utilizing the animation from when we use an eagle feather from our class hall.
It fits within the flavor of the class, and it makes this life-saving ability accessible to every Hunter 100% of the time, as it is for most other classes already.
It wouldn’t have any practical combat purpose, so it wouldn’t cause imbalance with other classes. But it would be an excellent quality of life change that I think every Hunter would be glad to have.
I think Death Knights, Warlocks, and Monks (without their spirit/circle set up) are SoL when it comes to fall damage if they aren’t using items - but even then, Noggenfogger/Gliders/Parachutes aren’t too expensive.
Edit: On the note of class fantasy I think it is well in line class fantasy wise for a hunter to use something like a glider or parachute as they use a variety of tools for survival such as their myriad of traps.
As you pointed out though, only 3 classes get a way to negate fall damage easily in all specs (Mage, Priest, and Demon Hunters). Druids, as you said, need to be in Balance (or use the affinity). That isn’t “(nearly) everyone else”. Just be glad that hunters have the ability of using a slow fall.
You also mention Paly Bubble and Warrior Heroic Leap (not to mention Blink and Ice Block for mages). Hunter Disengage would be in the same group.
Not a case of missing the point.
More like several reminders that Disengage is an effective fall damage negator.
Updraft, an Exotic Pet ability. That means a BM Hunter pet.
30 sec. slow fall, activated BEFORE commencing the fall.
What you’re asking for is not Updraft.
Can Rylaks even do this anymore?
If they can, but we all had it, what would be the point of taming a Rylak?
No point, we wouldn’t need to cause we would have the same thing, but better?
This kind of reasoning is why my Waterstrider can’t fulfill it’s native function anymore.
And… any Hunter not running with a pet, that was their choice, to forgo the benefits of a pet. I shouldn’t ever have the Updraft ability, as I never Spec BM Hunter. My choice.
Do not take it like that, but instead as a reminder that disengage does the job
Also, paladins and warriors also have to activate the skill in the right moment to negate damage, which implies a risk if you activate it either too soon or too late.
In paladins case, it implies getting a major ability into CD, and talking about warriors a bit more complex mechanic as you need to target where to land the leap. I find disengage far more simpler than this last one.
You had nice ideas though! But we shouldn’t be falling every single time. I actually can’t really remember when I died from falling dmg (I actually do, but it was on my DK)
News to me. Thanks. It’s looking like my Hunter’s Pet’s references are out-dated.
I was referring to the original water-walking mount.
It was only yesterday that I learned of the Water Strider Hunter’s pet.
IF I played BM Hunter, a Water-Strider would be a Must-Have pet.
I understand your issue here, but fall damage is something already preventable being a hunter. I also see your point about people fighting against something “good.”
This would add button bloat for something already that is already mitigated.
Many would rather push design and new spells into things we need. We aren’t against you, just trying to help you with this issue.
Put Heroic Leap on an [@cursor] macro, point your mouse at the ground, and spam the button. Timing isn’t really involved.
Also, on the not of abilities that can negate the fall, druids speced into Wild Charge (which most druids are) can use it in Travel Form regardless of spec to negate the fall damage. If there’s a friendly target below them, they can use it on that friendly target while in caster form to leap to them and negate it, and if there’s a hostile target below them, they can use it in cat form to leap and negate it (without losing stealth), or in bear form to charge and negate it. Warriors can also use Charge in a similar way, or Intervene on a friendly (Intervene now being a baseline ability in SL).
DH can also use Vengeful Retreat to reset fall height in the same way as hunters use Disengage, though there’s basically never a reason to with Glide.
Outlaw rogues can use Grappling Hook the same way as warriors use Heroic Leap, and Sub and Sin rogues can Shadowstep to most types of targetable entities (including a decent number of quest nodes and similar that can be “targeted”).
Warlocks can now gateway down cliffs, as they removed the pathing requirement, though it still has a cast time and a max range.
