The Fate-Cyntex Alliance Guild Forums - Hunter FAQ/TIPS

HUNTER: UI and Addons (no replies)

aranethon — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:31:34 -0500

Hi! I am about to get a new machine and will actually be able to run addons with my hunter. Suggestions? Currently just running the standard bars on my oldish laptop.

Thanks!
Aranethon

Starting a fight (1 reply)

ailiny — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:22:30 -0600

the way i start off a boss fight, after sending my pet in and marking the target, i serpent sting, pop all my cooldownz, then shoot, cimera, silence, aimed, arcane, immediatly hit readiness and repeat shooting cimera, silence, aimed, arcane, then hit rapid fire again, this way i can get rapid fire off 3 or 4 times in a fight

BM making a comback (3 replies)

dardale — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:06:09 -0500

Possible BM changes...soon

Beastial Wrath Changes
It should be no surprise to anyone who has been on these boards for long that we're trying to chill out abilities that convey offensive and defensive bonuses with the same button press. At the same time, BM damage was a little low and too dependent on the pet. With this change, hopefully, Bestial Wrath becomes more of a defensive ability while taking Beast Within will boost hunter (and just the hunter) damage at all times.

I call it more of a defensive cooldown because it now breaks all CC like a PvP trinket.

[...] “Send your pet into a rage causing 50% additional damage for 10 sec (down from 18). While enraged, the beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear and it cannot be stopped unless killed.”

The tooltip doesn’t say this, but it now breaks all forms of CC that a PvP trinket would break (including Cyclone, Sap, etc.).

“Increases all damage you deal by 10% and while your pet is under the effects of Bestial Wrath, you also go into a rage causing 10% additional damage and reducing mana costs of all spells by 20% for 10 sec (down from 18). While enraged, you do not feel pity or remorse or fear and you cannot be stopped unless killed.”

So the changes are:
* Duration lowered.
* Passive hunter damage buff added.
* Now breaks all forms of CC (whatever a PvP trinket breaks, including Sap and Cyclone).

Silencing Shot and General V (1 reply)

Algon — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:25:44 -0500

I haven't speced Silencing Shot in the past but will add it back and see if it helps with General V. It will make Mana even more of a problem in that fight but if it helps with the blasts will be a net plus for the Raid. Mana is the MM Hunter's issue now because of mana cost of shots ... but it is better since last patch.

The Mana problem makes me think about going back to t7.5 gear for that fight. I have done a lot better if I can stay close to the Mana generators and get into the fissures more quickly.

I am still amazed at the number of shots Dardale gets in during a fight. How high is your haste Dardale and is does that and skill do it?

Survival DPS in WotLK 3.1.2::o (3 replies)

dardale — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:25:33 -0500

Figured Id make a new post about survival dps since the patches has changed survival play style quite a bit.

My raiding spec 0/15/56.

Some of the more noticeable changes;
40-50% Explosive shot does a little less damage but still #1 damaging ability
20-30% Auto shot has gone up to #2 damaging ability (maybe have to work on some armor penetration)
5-10% Steady shot has dropped down to #3 damaging ability

Black Arrow - new shot, shadow damage dot, 6% more damage, shared CD with traps T-T
Sniper Training - standing still rewards 6% increased damage with SS, AS, ES, and BA, +15% crit chance with KS

I had to change some of my glyphs as well, mainly the major ones

Majors
Glyph of Kill Shot - reduce CD by 6 secs ( biggest DPS increase glyph, a MUST!)
Glyph of Explosive Shot - adds 4% crit chance to explosive shot
Glyph of Steady Shot - does 10% more with serpent sting on target
(might change glyph of steady shot, dont use it as much i found out in dps reports)

My basic rotation now (order of priority)
Kill Shot @ less then 20% Health
Black Arrow*
Serpent sting*
Aimed Shot (with sniper training it does more then MS when facing single target)
Explosive shot
Steady Shot
*Always try to keep those dots up

~15% increased damage dealt to target

Hope this helps.
Happy Hunting!

Survival DPS in WotLK (2 replies)

dardale — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:40:29 -0600

Hello Fellow Hunters
I would like to share with you guys my play style and what I do during different encounters.
I would love to know what my fellow hunters do also.

As you guys know Dardale is a survival hunter, he has been a survival hunter since blizzard introduced Explosive Shot [ES]
Before Wrath, survival was not a competitive DPS compared to BM and MM. However, I stuck to survival because I love its play style and the resources it brought to our raids. I do not do much research on maximizing DPS. Mostly its all trial and error, I have had many re specs learning what spec works best, what talents to go for and which spec I do not like. 108 talent re specs and counting! I’m not even a hybrid class :(

Preparations

Pet - Ferocity Pet, not just for the increase in DPS but don’t have to heal that sucka! As much
I personally use a cat, but I hear the wasp is a great alternative
I like the cats because its all physical damage + they have more variations
Only downfall I see to the wasp is that its poison can be resisted and its armor penetration debuff it buts on targets will get overridden by a warriors sunder armor

Ammo/Arrows - Spendy but it’s worth it. 10 boxes will last 1-2 weeks depending how much you use, for heroics, pvp, testing dummies
Mammoth Cutters - 1 Box / 10 stacks - require 6 Saronite bars and 4 Volatile Blasting Triggers
10 Boxes - 60 Saronite Bars, 40 Volatile Blasting Triggers (60 Cobalt Bars, 20 Crystallized Water)
Saronite Razorheads - 1 Box / 10 stacks - require 15 Saronite bars
10 Boxes - 150 Saronite Bars
Let me know if you need mats for them I have a ton of Eternal water for the Volatile Blasting triggers.
Also have Saronite Bars and Cobalt Bars if you need some

Consumables - What I use
Battle: Elixir of Mighty Agility - 45 Agi
Guardian: Elixir of Mighty Thoughts - 45 intellect
Food Buff: Blacken Dragonfish - 40 agi and 40 stamina
Scroll of Agility VIII - 30 agi if no DK present
Total RAP/AP ~ 200
More up Time, 450 Mana
Total Crit Chance ~ 1%
Not Including Kings

Compared to
Flask of Endless Rage - 180 RAP/AP
Food Buff: Blacken Dragonfish - 40 agi and 40 stamina
Total RAP/AP ~ 270
Total Crit Chance ~ .5%

Survival - My spec atm 02/16/53
Major Glyphs -
*Aspect of the Hawk - Increases the haste bonus of Improved Aspect of the Hawk by an additional 6%.
*Serpent Sting - Increases the duration of your Serpent Sting by 3 sec.
*Steady Shot - Increases the damage dealt by Steady Shot by 10% when your target is afflicted with Serpent Sting.
Minot Glyphs
*Mend pet - Your Mend Pet spell increases your pet's happiness slightly. 10 happiness per tick
*Revive Pet - Reduces the pushback suffered from damaging attacks while casting Revive Pet by 100%.
*Feign Death - Decreases the cooldown of Feign Death by 5 sec.

Explosive Shot [ES] - 6 sec CD ticks 3 ticks 1 per sec instant cast
Steady Shot [SS] - 1 sec CD and 2 sec cast but with 400+ haste 1.5 sec cast
Multi-Shot [MS] - 10 sec CD .5 sec cast
Arcane Shot [AS] - shared CD with Explosive shot

Boss Encounters - Stay at max range if you can, depends on boss
Pop Rapid Fire ONLY and ONLY if heroism is not used for the beginning part of the fight, if Heroism is used right at the start, hold off on Rapid fire until Heroism expires then pop Rapid Fire.
Keep Serpent sting up >.< I always forget to refresh and I hate "A more powerful spell is active" damn buffs!
Hunters Mark, even if there’s another on the Boss, you might have a more powerful Hunters Mark. Kill Shot when it’s Available
I do not have a set rotation but here’s a basic rotation I try to follow
Basic Rotation: FirstComeFirstServe! - MS, ES, SS, SS, ES, SS, SS, MS, ES, SS, SS, ES, SS, SS, MS....
Varies, depending on encounter, mobility and such
Even though using MS cost a ton of mana, with replenishment and mana return on crits it’s not as harmful as it looks to your mana pool

When Lock and Load [LnL] Procs or is forced to proc from traps
Still optimize MS and SS; However, Your Rotation will change (ES, AS, ES, MS, SS....continue FCFS) for 5-6 secs depending on how fast you use the shots granted by LnL

Trash Pulls (2+mobs) - Setting traps and getting to max range is not worth it, lose DPS in the time getting to max range, unless you volley :P. On single target trash or 2 target pulls make use of serpent sting
You do not have time for serpent sting to go to its fullest effect on multiple mob pulls
Use rapid Fire when available, but save it when getting near boss encounters
This is where hunter DPS can hurt the most or be the most beneficial. Since they nerf'd Volley it’s not DPS wise to use Volley as much.

Option 1: Spam Volley on Targets (I preferably do not volley on trash but your choice, but might have too soon once in Loot council)
Example of Rotation: Volley, Volley, Volley, ah more Volley, o yeah forgot Volley..... :)

Option 2: Trap, LnL procs single target, BUT change targets
Trap Dancing as they call it, but with Freezing Arrow you won’t have to move as much unless that group of mobs is immune to Freezing Trap. Run to the mobs and place an Explosive trap or Frost trap, might get killed if you set off an Explosive trap and tank doesn’t have agro. But again your choice. Don’t run out, make use of Disengage! Once trap goes off, LnL will proc giving you 2 free explosive or arcane shots that cost no mana, use no CD, or no ammo/arrow. This really means u can fire 3 ES or AS in a row. Now what you want to do is tab target, use the 1st ES on your main target, change targets use the 2nd ES, change to a different target if there’s more then 3, and use the 3rd ES. As soon as that 3rd is shot use MS and begin to use Basic rotation on all the mobs until it’s over. Keep in mind that LnL has a hidden 30 sec Cooldown.

My thoughts on gear itemization.
Range Attack Power [RAP/AP] - Scales Best with Explosive Shot
As always the more your have the better

Armor Penetration - Don’t go crazy over Armor pen, it does not work with ES and not a desired stat unless you’re comfortable with your other stats.

Agility - 1200 unbuffed is what I try to aim for (Expose Weakness: 25% of agi converts to RAP) about 300+ RAP/AP
About [1:1.5 ratio (1 Agility = 1.5 RAP/AP when Expose Weakness procs)] as Survival
Adds to Crit rating, armor bonus, dodge %, and Scales really well with Kings.

Haste - 400 gets your Steady Shot [SS] down to 1.5 sec cast
Haste is a tricky stat for hunters but anything from 300-400 is optimal.
NEVER use Rabid Fire when a Shaman pops Heroism! Insane speed, but your SS cast will be way faster then the GCD.
Heroism is where spell casters and melee Excel. You will notice a huge DPS increase in all other DPS types during heroism, but after you will notice their DPS slowly and steadily go down as yours begins to climb sometimes even to the top. After heroism is the perfect timing for Rabid Fire.

Crit - 30% unbuffed is a good number but more is always better
Prob 50-60% of our DPS comes from crits so it’s really important to get hit capped for this stat.
Try to bribe a Feral Druid to tag along in raids :)

Hit - 8%-9% chance to hit
It is prob around 7% but 8% does not hurt much :)

Intellect - One of the top stats for hunters [1:1 ratio (1 Intellect = 1 RAP/AP)] with Careful Aim
I know some of the leather gear that hunters can use is awesome compared to some mail, but keep in mind that you lose a ton of intellect and that’s a 1:1 ratio to RAP/AP. Also more intellect means more mana which in turn means more UP time and less time spent in AotV. Also Mage buff and Kings will give more RAP/AP.
Mail > Leather

Stamina - 30% of Stamina converts RAP/AP
This stat is awesome because with Fort and Kings you gain some decent RAP/AP

My thoughts on the other specs MM and BM

Marksman
No doubt this spec hits hard and has great dps for short intervals. I just don’t like how MM in raids, especially on long fights you will be spending about half the time in Aspect of the Viper [AotV]. This is especially true if you don’t have any kind of replenishment. Down time is not a good friend of DPS. That spec just goes OOM way to fast for my taste, I hate having to change aspects especially if that’s going to cut my dps in half. Trueshot Aura [TSA] benefits the whole raid and is a great buff to physical DPS, but there is also a buff that if a DK is in the raid (blood spec) will override TSA. I still do not understand when a MM hunter will use Readiness in pve situation other then to use Rapid Fire again, for pvp its prob used more often for traps and aimed shot.

Beast Master
This used to be the spec of all hunter specs, The #1 Dominating DPS spec in Burning Crusade and was in Wrath until the nerf. Don’t give me wrong I never would have reached lvl 80 if it were not for BM. I was a readiness BM back when they allowed Readiness to refresh BW, now that was a crazy DPS spec. One of the things I do not like about BM is their rotation, it’s so boring and not challenging. You have so much haste that trying to use any other shot or ability that removes you from the GCD of steady shot hinders your DPS. Also I can never keep my pet alive and wasting mana on healing pet and reviving the pet slows down your DPS by a ton.

Whew, lots of stuff to cover! Lots to take in right? :) Hope this helps!
Good Luck Hunting!

mm spec, take a look (2 replies)

ailiny — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:37:17 -0600

[www.worldofwarcraft.com]

Hunter Exotic Pet Nerf (2 replies)

Gokumusprime — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:02:26 -0500

It's official, exotic pet ground stomping epileptic seizures inducing walk effects are being removed with no on/off button. :(

BM hunter shot rotation (2 replies)

ailiny — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:01:04 -0500

#showtooltip Auto Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/cast [target=pettarget, exists] Kill command
/castsequence reset=5 Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

this shot rotation will increase your dps alot, it includes acane shot

Hello, (3 replies)

Anonymous User — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:43:28 -0500

Hello fellow hunters. I just felt the need to post something, so the locks don't take the lead. I never claim to know it all, but shout if you have a question.