Survival WAS A MEELE SPEC! The problem was players where never good enough to master it so blizzard was forced to change it into something more mainstream. For example. What do you get at level one a BOW and a MEELE weapon. The first thing you learn about playing a hunter is shoot your bow then let the mob run up to you and attack it, then it dies.
Blizzard goes further into detail about this even in media, Rexxar who is one of the first hunters in warcraft lore uses meele weapons, and never ranged besides one skill, so uh hello? Are you telling me that the Champion hero of the Horde is playing his class wrong? Seriously Orc Batman, what a joke.
Hunter pet’s are all meele as well, this further explains that blizzard wants you in meele range, because how can you control your tools if you’re too far away to use them. also you can’t even shoot traps from far away, so it’s obvious blizzard wanted you to be close enough to use traps… Guess where traps are in meele range!
Now we can also dig up old files and Hunters where suppose to be able to use shields, obviously they where expecting to be hurt more this also explains why they can use mail! Not only that, but the reward for this playstyle at the end meele spec tree was a ability to watch your foes bleed to death as they run away in fear. NOT encourage you to shoot them down!
This also explains the dead zone, Blizzard obviously gave hunters a dead-zone because they wanted hunters to stop shooting there bows and guns, and start meele attacking them. That’s why aspect of the cheetah daze’s you on strike, you’re suppose to be fighting in meele range and swap to + dodge %.
Hunters also have a lot of freedom with there weapon style, in the form of duel wield two handed. Everything BUT mace’s and wands!
Also, another thing. Is that Players have used aspecet of the cheetah in the wrong way. You’re SUPPOSE to use it as a charge, when you’re fighting a mage the first thing you want to do is get close to them so they’re scared and blink away, if a troll hunter with a big axe ran up to a human mage it’s obvious they wouldn’t know what to do, as explained by WoW Lore, it also explains that aspect of the pack is meant to be a form a banzai charges, I.E the spec of survival hunter is used in a form of irony.
Thought’s questions onto this?