My Thoughts On 3.3 So Far…

Well 3.3 has been out for a few weeks now and what can I say. From what I’ve seen so far Blizz has done a great job on it. CtH rocks, while it was a boost for all hunters, hands down it was a huge boost for BM hunter in particular. I also noticed that different damage boosting abilities, like FI, now stack and do not overwrite each other. Unfortunately I still have yet to finish up the first of the 3 new 5-man instances. It seems that every time I try to, either I have to spend forever and a day looking for a group for it, or I end up crashing on the last boss and can’t get back in.The other big problem that I’ve been having is the lack of time. I just haven’t had the extra time to hop on WoW for more than a few minutes here and there. I’m hoping that come January I’ll be able to get back to my old schedule and have time to raid and use the sweet new LFG tool more.

Speaking of the new LFG tool, it has cured me of my fear of PUGs so far… I think I’ve only had 1 or 2 bad groups so far. I’ve been trying to snap up as many Frost Badges on Gwen using the LFG tool as much as possible. It’s kinda nice to be able to start getting a hold of the badges when I haven’t had a chance to run ICC yet. So not only have I been able to start working on getting the badges needed for the new gear, I’ve been getting heirloom items and restock my gold supply. I’ve been a little lax on getting things listed on the AH on my bank alt, so I’ve been kinda avoiding him lately.

I also found out something very interesting  while using the new LFG on my DK. Did you that if your gear isn’t good enough, it will not let you do the random heroic for the frost badge? Yep, but it was easy enough to fix, I just made a quick trip to the AH, and a few minutes later, I was able to hit up his first random heroic. So he’s been getting better and better gear from the runs and the badges. Not long after I started I was able to get him his first piece of T9 gear this week, and now I’m working on getting him bigger and better stuff.

Speaking of my DK, I started out leveling him with a standard blood 2hander build, then i decided to try something different. I decided to switch to a duel wielding build and you know what? I really am having a lot more fun with the duel wield build. I know the typical DK DPS build is a heavy blood 2hander spec, but hey I have been raiding as a BM hunter, so why not buck the trend and use a different spec that I like on my DK. 🙂

One final thought though before I go. The new ammo. I know a lot of people out there aren’t happy with needing to be a specific off-spec of engineering to make it., and how they say that it can lead to price gouging…. However, from what I’ve seen on AD so far, the prices for the new ammo are about the same as the price for MCs and SRTs were before the new ammo came out. So until next time have a happy holiday, and don’t for get to reload so you don’t run out of ammo.

What Do They Have Against Spirit Beasts?

Usually I don’t get too confuzzled about what GC and Co. say but this… well… ummm…

As far as the Spirit Beasts are concerned, there are several reasons why they would make a bad “best” pet. There are not very many options to choose from and all of them require “farming”; a rare spawn that is more of a testament to blind luck than any kind of player skill. As we said before, there is no advantage to having a wider spectrum of pets to choose from if there is only one right choice.

We have talked about literally making all the pet families identical and letting the player just pick one based on looks. That certainly homogenizes the game quite a bit, which is why we haven’t done it, but it would ultimately allow pet choice to be cosmetic.

In the end, yes, we do want to get BM competitive with Survival and Marks. We even did some buffs in 3.3 to help them get there but the reason for my comments earlier is that we’d rather have two viable raiding specs than just one so Hunters as a whole are not in terrible shape. Eventually we do plan to get all 3 there. Just remember that when players obsess about 1% differences in dps you can understand why that task is pretty gigantic. There are probably more raiding BM hunters in 3.3 than in 3.2 and probably a lot more than there are Subtlety rogues (sorry for the example rogues, but you/we know it’s true). It’s far from a dead spec. (source)

So, let me get this straight. A pet that can take weeks or months trying to find, and then hoping that some jacktard doesn’t come along kill it for spite, while we’re taming it shouldn’t be one of the best DPS pets there is? Right. Isn’t that like saying Shadowmourne should be just as good as any other 2 handed axe in ICC? Or how about Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings? That should be just as good as any other healing mace right? I mean so what if they are supposed to be extremely hard to get and could be considered badges of the items owner’s dedication to getting the job done.

I mean according to what Blue is saying, it shouldn’t matter just how hard it is to get that pet or piece of gear. Come on they practically came out and said that BM is great for leveling only, and if you want to raid go MM or SV hur hur hur.They have basically turned the hardest to get pet family in to nothing more than a glorified vanity pet. If you even want to be able to get a spirit beast, you need to go 51 points in to BM. The way that I see it is, if Blue wants to make a pet that requires time and effort to find and tame a vanity item, then why not make Shadowmourne and Val’anyr vanity items.

So GC and Co. here’s my Christmas wish. On behalf of all BM hunters who took the time and effort to hunt down Loq, Skol or Acturus, please do something to have made it worth it. We BM hunters have always been the butt of jokes and ridicule, kicked from groups and raids because our spec and pet aren’t the spec or pet de jour. Please don’t get me wrong, I enjoy running with Devilicious. However, I love using Sushi, the attacks and animation on her is one of the best in the game. So until next time, don’t forget to reload, so you don’t run out of ammo.

DPS Survey or How I Hunter

I know it’s been a while since I posted but I’ve been super busy lately. Recently someone started out a DPS survey, and I found a copy on both Aspect of the Hare and Stabilized Effort Scope. So with out much further ado…

 

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary DPS?

Hi, my name is Gweninu, I’m a hunter, and my main spec is a  Beast Master hunter and my secondary spec is Marksman.

What is your primary DPSing environment? (i.e. raids, PvP, 5 mans)

I mainly DPS in raids due to time constraints.

What is your favorite DPS spell/ability for your class and why?

That’s a tough one. See I swap back and forth between BM and MM as I need to. When I’m running BM, I love Beastial Wrath. It’s the trade mark ability of BM, and is a huge damage boost. Since they added the passive 10% damage bonus, it has helped boost my DPS even higher. When I’m running as MM, it’s definitely Chimera shot. The versatility of the shot and the extra damage are a real boost.

What DPS spell do you use least for your class and why?

Mulishot for both BM and MM, hands down. It shares a cool down with aimed, you can’t fire it on the move, and the damage is low.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your DPS class and why?

My biggest  strength is the sustainable mobile DPS that I can bring. On the run or standing in one spot, I bring a steady and constant stream of DPS. Then there’s my pet. While I’m busy running around playing don’t stand in the red stuff, he’s busy nomming away on what ever we are fighting at the time.  The fire and forget aspect does give me some leeway when DPSing certain bosses. Hodir and the twin Valks come to mind right away.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your DPS class and why?

Our biggest weakness is gear dependency. We are so dependent on getting specific gear that is itemized properly, it makes my head spin at times.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best DPS assignment for you?

Single target burn down. What can I say, I’m pretty single minded, and with my DPS and the pet’s DPS we can really turn it up on DPS. Not to mention, if it’s a fight like hodir, where I have to move a lot, I can sick the pet on the target and let it chow down while I am running like a maniac.

What DPS class do you enjoy DPSing with most and why?

Feral druids hands down. I love leader of the pack. Nice big fat juicy crit bonus, and they don’t have anything that will overwrite FI. 🙂

What DPS class do you enjoy DPSing with least and why?

Classes that overwrite my FI lol. I mean ugh it’s the only buff that I can bring to the raid people. Seriously though, there really isn’t a any class that I don’t like to group with, but I do prefer to group with those that can toss me a buff. 🙂

What is your worst habit as a DPS?

Tunnel vision. Plain and simple. There are times that I will get so focused on just maximizing my burst DPS, that well…ummm. why am I surrounded by green flames? I didn’t use a path of Illidan before Jax… OMG IT BURNS!!! GETITOFFGETITOFF!!!! Yeah paying too much attention to my DPS and not watching where I’m running off to, that would be my worse habit.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while DPSing?

People who act like they just bought their account on eBay… You know the ones… dpsers who can’t, or worse, won’t control their aggro… Tanks who refuse to switch to a tanking spec…Healers who heal so fast they draw aggro, or don’t pay attention to who they are healing. Oh and lets not forget the biggest of them all…. the premadona’s out there that think just because they are a meatsheild or a healbot that they can treat everyone else in the group like crap.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other DPS?

Wow is that loaded question. For the most part, yes hunters on the whole are fairly well balanced. Now is BM as balanced as MM or Survival? No, but there was a time when BM was the macro spam king and we were at the top. So I guess it’s fair that they get their time to shine.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a DPS?

Mainly recount.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

That we are easy mode. It’s true we’re not the hardest class to play, and leveling is fast. Then there was the old days of vanilla WoW where we could afk auto shoot our way to the top of the damage meters, but those days are long gone. No matter what spec you are now a days, you really have to pay attention to shot rotation and pet management if you want to be noticed as a hunter who can get the job done and not be just another huntard.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new DPSers of your class to learn?

Micromanagement, a good rotation and threat management. At one point in time I would have said knowing how to chain trap, but CC has practically been removed from the game it has become a lost art.

What DPS class do you feel you understand least?

Melee without a doubt. I’ve been learning them though, my DK is almost to 80, so I’ve gotten a better idea of what they have to go through in a fight.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in DPS?

For macros I only use one, and that combines steady shot and kill command when it’s up. As far as add-ons I use omen, DBM, arc hud 2, and recount.

[Your class’s preferred basic stat] over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?

I do have a tendency to stack agility, however I try to get a balance of stats. I aim to keep my hit capped, and from there a mix of int, crit, haste armpen, and AP. While straight agility is great for the attack, crit and dodge I know that some pieces are better than other for keeping my DPS as high as possible.

So there you have it. A little bit about me along with how and why I hunter. So until next time don’t forget to reload so you don’t run out of ammo.