Hunter changes in beta 8962
by Mike Schramm 
Sep 18th 2008 at 3:45PM
There are a slew of new updates to Hunters in the latest beta build, but the biggest one comes to Aspect of the Viper. Blizzard has been tuning this spell for a while -- originally it gave Hunters back their ranged damage as mana (pretty overpowered), and then was tuned down to each shot giving back mana based on twice the base ranged weapon speed. Now it's still based on the base ranged speed, but they've buffed it back up to a percentage of mana -- if you have a base ranged weapon speed of 2, for example, you'll get 4% mana back for every shot that hits. Not a bad deal, and hopefully Blizzard is getting close to settling on making itso that Hunters only need to switch to AotV sometimes, instead of leaving it up all the time.Most of the other Hunter changes in 8962 are just tweaks -- Kill Shot no longer does a knockdown and got a little damage buff. Tranq shot got added utility, in that it will remove enrage and magic effects rather than just the frenzy effect that was so hard to come by. Misdirection's cooldown got dropped to 30 seconds from two minutes, which means Hunters will get more chances to dump aggro when necessary.
There's one new skill which will make things pretty interesting on the trapping side -- Freezing Arrow lets you fire off an arrow that will lay down a Freezing Trap (which, by the way, now has only a chance to break on damage, instead of 100% certainty). That, combined with some quick Misdirection, could make trapping a whole new game at level 80. Unfortunately, it looks like the tradeoff for that is that we're losing Camouflage, which some Hunters already aren't happy about. But as always, all of these skill and talents are still up for grabs, so maybe we'll see Camo back in some form before it's all over.
Update: Whoops, forgot to mention that AotV is still carrying that 50% damage penalty while on. That's pretty harsh, even with the mana coming back, so look for a buff on that end before 3.0.2 goes live.
Filed under: Hunter, Analysis / Opinion, Cheats, Blizzard, Talents, Buffs, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Trent Sep 18th 2008 3:53PM
Forgot to mention that aspect of the viper still has the 50% damage penalty. From some testing done a MM hunter would still have to be in viper 30%+ of the time.
Starstrike Sep 18th 2008 4:25PM
still better than 100% of the time. also, I like the idea of this new arrow but damn I really wanted camo. Especially since blizz gave rogues misdirect I figured they could give hunters a very limited stealth ability
Raze Sep 18th 2008 3:55PM
You forget to mention the 50% damage penalty on Aspect of the Viper in all of its incarnations so far throughout the Wrath Beta. The way you make it sound it's as if Hunters could toss on Viper and just have free mana flowing with no penalty.
I'm not one to theorycraft, but I'd say in its present state it wouldn't be too unreasonable to remove the damage penalty, elsewise I certainly won't bother with it in solo play.
Drotara Sep 18th 2008 4:06PM
You obviously don't do Arena and realize that AotV with passive regen continues to push Hunters to the bottom of Arena viability.
Or how Mortal Shots no longer affects Auto Shot.
And you missed GC little tidbit of "Camo just felt to us like were giving hunters a rogue ability, which is going to end up feeling cruddy for both rogues and hunters. We kept trying to give it a unique niche or twist but it felt like we were just changing something for change's sake. I am personally more excited about the new Disengage. "
So yeah . . . . just tweaks huh? Didn't read much into the patch did ya?
Drotara Sep 18th 2008 4:08PM
The last line wasn't referencing Camo by the way. All the other changes that you didn't bring up. Such as Steady Shot damage reduction and cost increase, etc.
Hombre Sep 19th 2008 5:01AM
Yeah, what Drotara said.
It is more than a little frustrating that many other classes get their patch notes looked over by experts while hunters are treated by Mike Schramm. Both writers of the Scattered Shots-column would be good choices. Bigredkitty not so much, judging by his last posts.
Or do the really smart thing and go to Drotara's website. Very good coverage of all things hunter at www.qqpewpew.com.
Ichigo Sep 18th 2008 4:10PM
Don't forget that they got rid of the DBZ style animation that goes along with separation anxiety. The wings and the light effects were a bit much.
Ichigo Sep 18th 2008 4:11PM
Beast Mastery
Skills
* Aspect of the Viper mana regeneration buffed. Each ranged attack regenerates a percentage of maximum mana equal to twice your base ranged weapon speed. (Previously only regened your base ranged weapon speed)
Marksmanship
Skills
* Steady Shot mana cost increased from 4% of base mana to 5%, damage reduced. (Check Skill List for Details)
* Kill Shot no longer knocks you down. Damage Increased to 205% weapon damage plus [ 40% of RAP + 820 ] (Old - 200% weapon damage plus [ 30% of RAP + 400 ]). Can only be used on targets under 20% health. (Check Skill List for Details)
* Kill Shot (Rank 2) 205% weapon damage plus [ 40% of RAP + 1000 ] and (Rank 3) 205% weapon damage plus [ 40% of RAP + 1200 ] have been added to the game.
* Tranquiliziing Shot attempts to remove 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect from an enemy target. (Previously removed 1 frenzy effect as well)
Talents
* Wild Quiver (Tier 9) now gives you a 4/7/10% chance to shoot an additional shot when doing damage with your auto shot, dealing 50% Nature damage. Wild Quiver consumes no ammo. (Previously 60% nature damage)
* Master Marksman (Tier 8 ) changed to increase your critical strike chance by 1/2/3/4/5%, and increases your total ranged haste by 1/2/3/4/5%. (Previously increased ranged AP by 2/4/6/8/10%)
* Combat Experience (Tier 6) Increases your total Agility and Intellect by 2/4%. (Previously 3/6%)
* Mortal Shots (Tier 2) now only affects ranged abilities.
Survival
Skills
* Misdirection cooldown reduced to 30 sec. (Previously 2 mins)
* Freezing Trap now has a chance to break on damage. (Previously broke 100% of the time on damage)
* *New Skill* Freezing Arrow (Level 80) - Fire a freezing arrow that places a Freezing Trap at the target location, freezing the first enemy that approaches, preventing all action for up to 20 sec. Any damage caused will break the ice. Trap will exist for . Only one trap can be active at a time. (3% of base mana, 40 yd range, Instant cast, 30 sec cooldown)
Talents
* Explosive shot (Tier 11) damage reduced. (Check Skill List for Details)
* Hunting Party (Tier 10) mana regen reduced to 0.25% of max mana. (Previously 0.5%)
* Sniper Training now increases the critical strike chance of your Kill Shot ability by 15%. (Old - No health requirement)
* Surefooted (Tier 4) reduces movement impairing effect durations by 10/20/30% (Previously 16/25/50%)
* Lock and Load (Tier 4) now affects your next 2 Arcane or Explosive shots. (Previously 1)
* Trap Mastery is now implemented.
* Survival Instincts (Tier 2) changed to - Reduces all damage taken by 2/4% and increases the critical strike chance of your Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, and Explosive Shot by 2/4%. (Previously reduced all damage taken by 2/4% and increased ap by 2/4%)
Glyphs
* Glyph of Aspect of the Viper - Increases the amount of mana gained from attacks while Aspect of the Viper is active by 10%. (Old - You regenerate mana from Aspect of the Viper as if you had 15% less mana in your current mana pool.)
Heilig Sep 18th 2008 4:17PM
AotV is still junk. As it stands you get 2% mana per weapon speed. That means, regardless of damage output, gear, or weapon speed, it will ALWAYS take 50 seconds to get your full mana back. 50 seconds of half DPS. Yeah, that's not a piece of crap at all. Mages stop DPS for, what, 8 seconds to evocate? Warlocks Life Tap, Priests carry massive Spirit, Pallies get Divine Plea, we get a minute of half DPS.
Hope all you hunters out there have some MP5 gear in the bank.
mARC Sep 19th 2008 6:13AM
As usual the best solution would be to reroll rogue. Yes, I am a bitter hunter.
pudds Sep 18th 2008 4:48PM
And that assumes you stop using anything which costs mana for those 50 seconds.
Keep spamming Steady Shot (5% base mana) and you'll likely never refill the blue bar.
Shenzhe Sep 19th 2008 5:28PM
It's worth noting that as it stands shooting any other special shot also regenerates mana, and few hunters actually shoot at weapon speed (quiver hastes you 15% default) so a 3.0 speed gun regens 6% mana per shot but lets you shoot every 2.55 sec (with no other haste present.) Also that means you're gaining some mana on steady shot (6% base mana cost +6% total mana gained on shot) assuming you have any intellect you're doing quite well for yourself. You could use a slower gun, but nothing seems to suggest that's a good idea.
Manatank Sep 18th 2008 4:24PM
I'm glad to see hunters are finally getting the nerfs they need so they wont continue to dominate arenas.
Morhos Sep 18th 2008 4:43PM
lol
Naix Sep 18th 2008 4:50PM
Bah no big deal really. Blizzard has now forced hunters to need on MP5 and INT gear. So the next time a hunter rolls your Druid, Mage, Priest, Warlock gear you will understand.
STereo Sep 18th 2008 5:26PM
There are 3 classes in WarHammer that are analagous to a WOW hunter. I'm going to try one of them. I just wish I could get my money back from the purchase of TBC and the months they kept me waiting for fixes that never came.
Xino Sep 18th 2008 5:30PM
Forgot to mention that hunter dps took a 1k dive in this build.
Dominant Sep 18th 2008 6:25PM
They are making hunters look like clowns im not buying WotLK before i test new commings on private servers because im really annoyed ..... i really want como back without tradeoffs for some additional shots ...
Dominant Sep 18th 2008 6:32PM
They are making hunters look like clowns im not buying WotLK before i test new commings on private servers because im really annoyed .....i really want como back without tradeoffs for some additional shots ...
wowtard Sep 18th 2008 6:53PM
The MD cooldown buff should make pet offtanking a lot easier.