Cataclysm Class Preview: Hunter

[cowmuflage]

t its kind of silly if you think of it seeing as most pets are tiny compared to there owners.....

[Dweezill]

And while I am here, I may as well add this thought.... I really hope Blizz does something about the unfair looting that is going on. I can only select "need" on dps items, yet i always lose them to assinine tanks and healers who role "need" for off-spec gear. I have lost well over a dozen rolls to tanks and heals in the last two days. Talk about unfair. I will never get my 3rd level 80 hunter geared at this rate.

[Dragonpuff]

I meant unfair in the notion that if we could tame mounts, we'd effectively be choosing out of a multitude of skins. While druids, pallies, warlocks, and DKs get class mounts, they can't choose what kind of creature that mount is. Plus, if hunter's could tame more then one mount at once, how easy would those mount achievements be?

[cowmuflage]

well Dweezill they do have a right to roll need on items that they can use. Bliz has made it that you can not roll need on items you can not use allready. Anyway its all down to the luck of the dice who wins rolls or looses them. So really its not unfair the way it is at the moment and i don't think they should change the way loot is given out now.

[FuzzyDolly]

well the devilsaur would make sence for a mount as its big but a spirt beast? unless its like a ghostsaber.

Blizz could leave them the size they are before taming, or let them grow a bit. Ya know, they could make it a training thing. You tame a pet, then spend a few levels training it to be a mount. It would take time and resources and couldn't be used as an attack pet once it's a mount. Maybe only let us have one tamed mount at any time. Maybe make it work on a pet talent tree.

[Mania]

A 'taming' quest that unlocked a hunter class mount might be fun, even if we couldn't choose the particular mount to tame.

And I think I know what Dweezil means: Classes with multiple roles can use -- and therefore can roll -- on more items than single-role classes like hunters. So on average they will be going home with more items of loot than the hunter. Now the flip side of that is that they need more items if they are going to play all of their roles at the same level. But some of them don't. Some of them enjoy rolling need on equipment for a spec they don't use much.

And even with the good players who only roll need on what they will actually use, seeing them go home with twice as much gear as you do after every run can really be ... disheartening.

[Palladiamorsdeus]

Class mechanics, Dweezil, and completely different from the subject at hand. What you refer to are travel forms utilized by druids AND by shaman to a lesser degree. Do druids have permanent pets? No. Pets are one of OUR class mechanics. Can druids give their whole party a 30% speed increase even indoors? No. Do druids have a self buff for damage that they can quickly change to a self buff to regen mana? No. I can go on, but I think I've proven my point.

MOUNTS are something else ENTIRELY different. Mounts are something that everyone has, and right now nearly everyone has access to every mount. Obviously paladins, death knights, and warlocks have two unique mounts a piece, but that is entirely different from asking for every pet skin to be a possible mount. Mania's suggestion is about the only managable or fair one in this case, to allow hunters to have a quest to allow them to tame one, possibly two class mounts.

As for gear, I can't really argue there. Nothing irritates me more then to be on a DPS, and to have a tank or healer roll on something I REALLY needed. As a tank or a healer I ALWAYS ask if anyone else needs something first, and if they don't then I will roll on it for my off-spec. If they do, then I won't roll. I also find it incredibally rude when a tank or healer has already come away with two or three drops from other bosses, and STILL proceeds to roll on something DPSy. Drives me insane. Quit being so damn greedy!

[Dweezill]

Palla, couldn;t agree with you more. I just leveled my 3 rd hunter, and in one day lost at leasta dozen rolls to tanks/ heals..... and these are tanks/heals who were getting stuff for their main spec and for dps. the whole time, I am still wearing a couple greens and the dps drops would REALLY help me. So, just to get even with a tank, I rolled need on the Black Heart (tanking trinket) and won it. I made him trade me the banner of Victory for it and he called me an @$$hole for it. lol I thanked him for the compliemnt, then proceeded to trade me or i will vend the heart. lol In the long run, I got my banner. So now, i go into a dungeon and say flat out... " i will be rolling need on anything possible. If You roll need on dps, i will trade you for anything I get in the end." It's terrible that it comes to this,. but for the most part, nobody has really complained yet.

Mania, yeah, it is so irritating. i am a casual player, even on my main, and when i do decide to take the time to actually do some dungeoins and occasionally some raids, it is very annoying to lose rolls to people who roll need on stuff they won;t use 99% of the time. It's just a matter of having some courtesy, and when you go into a a random dungeon. more often than not, tanks and heals don;t have any.

[Angie]

Will our current gear be altered since we no longer require intellect or have any use for mana? I'm not sure if I'm liking the fact that we'll no longer need ammunition. Will I lose the added damage from my shattered rounds? Not to mention it sounds kinda silly to have a gun or bow shooting with no ammunition, though I guess it's like rouges and their ranged throwing weapons.

Everything else sounds okay...just gonna have to wait and see how smoothly it goes. I would love it if there was no longer a cool down on disengage. Since it seems almost like they're trying to create a deadzone by taking away mongoose bite.

[Tahlian]

Very likely yes, our gear will be altered when the big change patch drops before the release of Cataclysm - the Intellect will come off it, as will the Attack Power and the Armor Penetration. Everything will be converting to the new stat system, though, so it won't be just our armor stats undergoing changes. The additional damage we got from ammunition is supposed to be baked into our ranged weapons, I believe. And I don't think they're trying to cripple the hunter in melee deliberately - they're just trying to make the "melee hunter" a less attractive style of play by reinforcing the hunter as a ranged class right from the beginning, with more ranged abilities and a pet from level 1. I would almost suspect we might see a couple more pet commands to help up keep our targets at range, even in PvP. To know for sure, though, we'll have to wait until we start seeing news coming out of the beta, and that hasn't even started yet.

[Tygamoon]

WTB MOAR HUNTAR NEWS!!1!

[Saturo]

WTB MOAR HUNTAR NEWS!!1!

The Tame Beast spell has been removed. Instead, we will give the hunter Summon Wolf, Summon Spider and Summon Crab. All pets will be unnameable, and use the grey colour scheme. In addition, all pet skills have been removed.

[Teigan]

.

[zedxrgal]

The Tame Beast spell has been removed. Instead, we will give the hunter Summon Wolf, Summon Spider and Summon Crab. All pets will be unnameable, and use the grey colour scheme. In addition, all pet skills have been removed.

Um. Seriously? Is that a joke?

[Vephriel]

Don't worry, it's a joke. x)

[Mania]

Ghostcrawler did post this today, though, on hunter focus use in Cataclysm:

I'm thinking its going to be similar to the Feral druid "rotation" where you achieve maximum damage from using all your abilities at the proper times.

Yeah, I would describe the Feral "rotation" as more of a prioritization. Instead of the player just hitting 123123, they have to make the best decision for their resources at that moment. Feral druids are rarely "starved for resources" unless it's an unusual fight like Vezax. There is almost always a button they can push and the decision is whether to push a cheaper button now or wait a sec or two to push a stronger button.

That's more of how we see the hunter playing. If hunters don't use about the same number of shot that they do now, then we've failed. What will feel different is that you won't hit long stretches of being out of mana.

It's definitely possible that the long term cooldown abilities won't cost any focus. You shouldn't have to bank part of your bar for emergencies.

My apologies if you just really liked mana as a mechanic. For us, and for plenty of hunters -- because they told us constantly -- mana just never fit the hunter class. You're firing arrows, not winding up big spells.

[Vephriel]

I'm really pleased with that explanation of our Focus. It's actually what I had been thinking from the start, but hopefully it puts to rest the fear that some hunters have over the change.

I'm really comfortable with it and can't wait to see it in action.

[Saturo]

My apologies if you just really liked mana as a mechanic. For us, and for plenty of hunters -- because they told us constantly -- mana just never fit the hunter class. You're firing arrows, not winding up big spells.

This brings hunters closer to rogues, which I find good. Hunters are essentially rogues with guns. Not bows. Bows suck. You can just break a bow by cracking it. Hard to do that with a rifle. I got an idea! If we put blades on the upper part of the bow, we could make a polearm/bow! OT? Why yes, because I'm sleepy.

Great news eveyone! The slime is flowing again!
What?

[Kalliope]

Great news eveyone! The slime is flowing again!

That IS good news!

As is the explanation of focus, which I totally agree with both of you ladies on.

I wonder if this means that "readiness double burst" will still be in game....

People may yet still have reason to complain about hunters. xD

[Yojimbow]

The Tame Beast spell has been removed. Instead, we will give the hunter Summon Wolf, Summon Spider and Summon Crab. All pets will be unnameable, and use the grey colour scheme. In addition, all pet skills have been removed.

Yay! Finally, a wolf named Ver'jin!
What?