Let's get serious - rotation time

[TobiasX]

Got it even simpler after playing an instance as Survival.

0. Hunter's Mark
1. Focus Fire 5-Stack (BM only) (as it's off the global cooldown).
2. Kill Shot
3. Kill Command (BM only) / Chimera Shot (MM only).
4. Master Marksman Aimed Shot (MM only)
5. Serpent Sting. As was pointed out on the MMO-Champioon forums no cooldown shots do additional damage based on whether or not Serpent Sting is on the target so this gets put down on the priority list a little. That is, except for Noxious Stings in Survival -_-
6. Lock and Load Double Explosive Shot (Black Arrow or Kill Command between shots if focus available (SV only).
7. Black Arrow (SV only)
8. Arcane Shot / Explosive Shot (SV only) (when your next Steady Shot or Cobra Shot will focus cap you).
9. Steady Shot Spam (replaced in 4.0.3 or later at level 81 with Cobra Shot Spam for SV and possibly BM).

I *think* this is final... sort of.

[Curumor]

er... this is a beta thread, ain't it? You sound as though you're talking about live with a mana economy, rather than beta with the focus shenanigans. For one thing, only MM have aimed shot, and for MM you need CHimera in there somewhere.

Yes, I know it's about rotations in Cataclysm and not live, but I was replying to Makoes question/comments about hunter rotations, and just giving an example.

OT: Trying to figure out the optimal rotation now does seem a bit redundant, considering it's very hard to estimate what gear (and consequently what haste, etc..) will be the norm or best, both while levelling and end game.
But I doubt it will change that much. It'll probably be closer to the TBC rotations though, with Steady/Cobra being main and the rest woven in when possible.

[Slickrock2]

...i ate him... sorry

Fatal indigestion commencing...

[Slickrock2]

Our pets don't actually have focus dumps anymore. Those are their main damage abilities now.

I meant our focus dumps... (arcane)

[Slickrock2]

What happened to Slickrock1? o.O

Time warped and using iPad... No access to reset password...

[Anansi]

At least from a Marksmanship perspective, there is no real rotation. The number of specific shots you fire is going to vary depending on what your Haste is and what sort of Focus regen you are getting. It's a mistake to assume a "Steady until capped" approach as that's a significant DPS loss. The key thing to watch for is the balance of Focus with Arcane Shot and Steady and ensuring you have enough Focus to fire Chimera when it becomes available, while also ensuring your ISS buff is close to 100% up-time. What this really results in is a constant back and forth of Arcane and Steady, sometimes two Steadies, sometimes two Arcanes, sometimes one of each, all depending on the situation (sometimes a bunch of Arcanes in a row when in Rapid Fire).

Ultimately, one is doing themselves a disservice DPS-wise to start with a "so what's my rotation?" approach. There is no rotation as there is now, a better approach is to assess your Focus needs and come to learn instinctively where your Focus will be after each shot is fired, and how long it will take to get your Focus to where it needs to be for the next big shot, and adapting from there.

Eventually you may settle into a pattern that fits for you, but that will not necessarily work for another Hunter.

[Slickrock2]

We do not. We time things to make sure that our Big Hitter can be used immediately as it comes off cd, which means juggling arcane shots with steady/cobra, and it's giving me headaches on beta atm.

Yeah, this. Some other post here are on the right track. Since some others here were unaware that we will have a rotation, thats why I wanted to start the discussion, even if the numbers aren't final.

[Slickrock2]

@anansi: yeah, it's more priority based than before, depending on spec, but at least BM will have a rotation of sorts.

[Saturo]

What happened to Slickrock1? o.O

Time warped and using iPad... No access to reset password...

Aww, that sucks. Have you tried PMing Mania (or Veph/Saf if they can do it too, not sure they can) and ask if she can restore your password?

[Anansi]

@anansi: yeah, it's more priority based than before, depending on spec, but at least BM will have a rotation of sorts.

BM is more rotation-like than MM, yes. I like rotations personally. Pure priority systems do not appeal to me at all which is why playing a Hunter in Cataclysm is no longer an attractive option for me at this point. My PTR testing with BM did feel more like the "traditional" Hunter so that combined with it's rise in DPS will, I'm sure, cause a resurgence in it's popularity.

[Saturo]

@anansi: yeah, it's more priority based than before, depending on spec, but at least BM will have a rotation of sorts.

BM is more rotation-like than MM, yes. I like rotations personally. Pure priority systems do not appeal to me at all which is why playing a Hunter in Cataclysm is no longer an attractive option for me at this point.

Same here.

[TobiasX]

@anansi: yeah, it's more priority based than before, depending on spec, but at least BM will have a rotation of sorts.

BM is more rotation-like than MM, yes. I like rotations personally. Pure priority systems do not appeal to me at all which is why playing a Hunter in Cataclysm is no longer an attractive option for me at this point. My PTR testing with BM did feel more like the "traditional" Hunter so that combined with it's rise in DPS will, I'm sure, cause a resurgence in it's popularity.

If it is more like the traditional hunter then hopefully that will give more people a reason to return to their hunters. I seem to flip between priorities and rotations from char to char.

[Anansi]

If it is more like the traditional hunter then hopefully that will give more people a reason to return to their hunters. I seem to flip between priorities and rotations from char to char.

What I meant was that the BM spec for Cataclysm plays closest to the way Hunters currently are on live out of the three specs. As in, BM feels closer to the way a Hunter does now than Marksmanship or Survival. It's still quite a bit different but not as dramatically different as the other two. Although I still think that Survival Hunters will have the easiest time adapting given their current shot system (ie with an element of the reactionary).

I've never been able to get into the way Rogues, Warriors, DKs or Feral Druids play, I don't like that Focus/Energy and priority mechanic. If I wanted that mechanic I would have played a Rogue, DPS Warrior or Feral Druid, not a Hunter. So it bothers me that the class I've played for so long is suddenly being saddled with a resource system I have purposefully avoided for years.
That said, I think a system like Focus is ultimately the right one for Hunters (running low on mana sucks) but I don't like the damage dealing system that accompanies that resource. I realise the former requires the latter however, I just wish Blizzard had stuck with Focus for Hunters way back in the beginning rather than making the switch to mana and saving us all a huge headache now :p

My Shaman is glad to be getting out though, and I'm pretty excited to be playing him more, it's just a shame my Hunter got all the great ICC25 loot instead!

[Slickrock2]

What happened to Slickrock1? o.O

Time warped and using iPad... No access to reset password...

Aww, that sucks. Have you tried PMing Mania (or Veph/Saf if they can do it too, not sure they can) and ask if she can restore your password?

It's still saved on my system at home, so no worries.

[Slickrock2]

@anansi: yeah, it's more priority based than before, depending on spec, but at least BM will have a rotation of sorts.

BM is more rotation-like than MM, yes. I like rotations personally. Pure priority systems do not appeal to me at all which is why playing a Hunter in Cataclysm is no longer an attractive option for me at this point. My PTR testing with BM did feel more like the "traditional" Hunter so that combined with it's rise in DPS will, I'm sure, cause a resurgence in it's popularity.

I really don't like priority based systems either. I've played too long doing rotations, and blizz seems out to kill them. (they killed the port pally 969696 rotation, to a process based system. Yech!)

Part of it is also that I'm old and slow on the keyboard. I'm doomed if I have to time procs.