Well I picked quite a week to go on vacation, eh? The good news is that all of the hunter cataclysm info. that Euripides and Frostheim discuss in this episode is practically out of date now :P
Enjoy the episode and join us next week when we ding level 40 and Euripides and Frostheim chip-in to get me my epic Ferrari mount :)
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Showing posts with label Hunter Changes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hunter Changes. Show all posts
Let's Get a Move On
I don't know about you, but I find myself on information overload and coffee underload. Not only is the NDA lifted, but the beta forums are open.
If you want to get the scoop on some of the hunter changes, check out mmo-c, or this post over at the WHU. Today, I'm going to dive into the beta forums and share a post from Ghostcrawler regarding the intention behind some of these changes, and my take on what's happening.
I have two words to say about focus - paradigm shift. We are going to have to manage our resource like crazy. Not only do we have to worry about running out of focus, we need to make sure we don't have too much. There is no change in Cata. that will alter our game play as much as this.
Aspect of the Fox is a cool ability, but it is not intended to be our de facto aspect (at least not in PvE). Basically in stand still or low movement situations we'll want to use hawk. In high movement situations we'll want to use fox.
I like the fact that which aspect you use can be mitigated by the skill of the player. The better you are at managing focus, and not losing auto-shots to movement, the more you'll get to stay in aspect of the hawk, even if you have to move a little.
It looks like Kill Command is primarily going to be a BM ability and serve mainly as a way to dump focus. Also SV hunters will be able to use Arcane Shot in their rotation now. Whether it fits into it or not, I don't know, but it's now an option.
The good new is it doesn't look like our shot priorities are changing a whole lot, we'll just have to think about them in terms of our focus now.
No more raid buffs for pets and it looks like we're finally getting the 100% scaling of stats from the hunter. About time I say. Finally we'll have a T14 pet to go with our T14 gear.
If I read this correctly, all pets will do the same dps, have a focus dump ability, a special ability and will bring a raid buff. Exotic pets will get an additional special ability.
Now last I heard it sounded like the raid buffs would be lesser versions of what a class would bring. I hope this isn't the case, but we'll see. At the very least I'm looking forward to using a wider variety of pets in this expansion.
Pretty straight forward here, Blizzard wants BM to use Cobra Shot period. SV and MM will likely be using Steady Shot.
Kill Command is changing and won't be macro'd in with our shots. In fact it looks as if this will primarily be a BM focus dump ability. For SV and MM it will be situational, meaning we'll probably forget to use it entirely :P
Old school, old school, old school! Once upon a time Aimed Shot had a casting time. And now it does once again.
As GC said this will likely be our opening shot, perhaps used in conjunction with Camouflage. MM hunters will have talents that will allow tem to cast it instantly from time-to-time.
I have to say that I kind of like seeing Aimed Shot get the "sniper" feel to it once again.
So if you're doing AoE and want know if you're doing it right here you go. Multi-shot by the way is now an instant cast.
Venoms are going to work a lot like stings. In fact, Chimera Shot will affect venoms similarly to the way they affect stings now. The cool things is we'll be able to apply Serpent Sting and have a venom applied on the target.
As GC points out though, we'll have to be familiar with our targets and decide whether or not it's worth it to apply a venom. Like he warns we have to manage our focus and it may not be worth the focus cost to use one of these every time.
I hope he's right. I like the sound of most of these changes and I can't wait to try them out. As far as I'm concerned though, it's all about focus. If the focus regen and usage is smooth and has a nice flow then it could be a lot of fun to play hunters in Cataclysm.
Happy Hunting!
If you want to get the scoop on some of the hunter changes, check out mmo-c, or this post over at the WHU. Today, I'm going to dive into the beta forums and share a post from Ghostcrawler regarding the intention behind some of these changes, and my take on what's happening.
Focus -- We'll be messing with ability costs for some time. Depending on your weapon, autoshot costs can be higher than "focus dump" abilities, which clearly won't work. We're working on a DPCT priority list that makes more sense. As far as regen goes though, we think the current rate is about right. We don't want the rotation to become erratic and we like the gameplay of building focus through shots. In situations where you just can't stand still, such as kiting, you can use the new Aspect of the Fox. We've tied the focus regen for using cast-time shots during Aspect of the Hawk, otherwise there would be no reason to be in anything but Fox. Focus is more of a combo between rage and energy, since you build it and use it up. The skill of playing a hunter involves keeping your focus high enough -- as it is somewhat random due to procs -- but use it before you overflow.
I have two words to say about focus - paradigm shift. We are going to have to manage our resource like crazy. Not only do we have to worry about running out of focus, we need to make sure we don't have too much. There is no change in Cata. that will alter our game play as much as this.
Aspect of the Fox is a cool ability, but it is not intended to be our de facto aspect (at least not in PvE). Basically in stand still or low movement situations we'll want to use hawk. In high movement situations we'll want to use fox.
I like the fact that which aspect you use can be mitigated by the skill of the player. The better you are at managing focus, and not losing auto-shots to movement, the more you'll get to stay in aspect of the hawk, even if you have to move a little.
Shots -- Each hunter talent tree has a "signature" focus dump: Survival has Explosive Shot, Marks has Chimera Shot, and Beastmaster has Raccoon Shot... I mean Kill Command. These all have cooldowns, so if you are at 100 focus, use Kill Command and still have focus left over, you can use Arcane Shot next. This is why Explosive and Arcane no longer share cooldowns. Once you figure out which abilities to use for each spec, the number of abilities you need to manage should feel less daunting. For example, Marks would use Serpent Sting, Steady Shot, Arimed Shot, Chimera Shot and Arcane Shot on a boss fight, and Serpent Sting gets refreshed automatically. Think less in terms of shot rotations and more in terms of prioritizations.
It looks like Kill Command is primarily going to be a BM ability and serve mainly as a way to dump focus. Also SV hunters will be able to use Arcane Shot in their rotation now. Whether it fits into it or not, I don't know, but it's now an option.
The good new is it doesn't look like our shot priorities are changing a whole lot, we'll just have to think about them in terms of our focus now.
Pets -- We haven't done our design pass on them yet. The design is for them to no longer receive raid buff since they get complete scaling from the master (and we don't want them to double dip). Their abilities will be divided into 3 categories: basic focus dumps (e.g. Claw), specials (e.g. web), and exotic abilities for the BM exotic pets. Specials never cost focus and basics have short cooldowns but meaningful damage. All pets will do the same dps. We don't want "wolf or die" in Cataclysm (and before that it was cat). Each pet family will bring a unique raid buff, allowing hunters to be wildcards for when you are lacking something. The ease of swapping pets will facilitate this further.
No more raid buffs for pets and it looks like we're finally getting the 100% scaling of stats from the hunter. About time I say. Finally we'll have a T14 pet to go with our T14 gear.
If I read this correctly, all pets will do the same dps, have a focus dump ability, a special ability and will bring a raid buff. Exotic pets will get an additional special ability.
Now last I heard it sounded like the raid buffs would be lesser versions of what a class would bring. I hope this isn't the case, but we'll see. At the very least I'm looking forward to using a wider variety of pets in this expansion.
Cobra Shot -- We're not happy with the damage yet. We want BM to basically not use Steady ever again. Marks may use Cobra in PvP situations where spell damage trumps physical damage.
Pretty straight forward here, Blizzard wants BM to use Cobra Shot period. SV and MM will likely be using Steady Shot.
Kill Command -- We like the Frenzy / Focus Fire mechanic, but are likely to make it it's own clicky and not tied to Kill Command. Kill Command itself will be the signature focus dump for BM. For other specs, it will be more situational, such as dealing damage to a target out of your (but not your pet) LoS. Marks also has the Resistance is Futile talent to give it some more use.
Kill Command is changing and won't be macro'd in with our shots. In fact it looks as if this will primarily be a BM focus dump ability. For SV and MM it will be situational, meaning we'll probably forget to use it entirely :P
Aimed Shot -- We are returning this ability to be an opener once again, like Ravage or Ambush. In longer fights, Master Marskman can proc instant Aimed Shots, to keep the ability relevant.
Old school, old school, old school! Once upon a time Aimed Shot had a casting time. And now it does once again.
As GC said this will likely be our opening shot, perhaps used in conjunction with Camouflage. MM hunters will have talents that will allow tem to cast it instantly from time-to-time.
I have to say that I kind of like seeing Aimed Shot get the "sniper" feel to it once again.
AE damage -- The design is that you use Multi-Shot on 2+ targets, and Explosive Trap and Volley on 4+ targets.
So if you're doing AoE and want know if you're doing it right here you go. Multi-shot by the way is now an instant cast.
Venoms -- The focus cost may be too high. However, don't expect to have to use these on every target. Part of separating Serpent Sting from the Venoms so that they could be more situational. Even Serpent Sting isn't necessary on every target, especially those that will die quickly. Instead 2-3 Steadies with an Arcane or Kill Shot should do the job. Hunters are used to using every ability on every target because there is no real resource cost with mana. Now priority and efficiency become important.
Venoms are going to work a lot like stings. In fact, Chimera Shot will affect venoms similarly to the way they affect stings now. The cool things is we'll be able to apply Serpent Sting and have a venom applied on the target.
As GC points out though, we'll have to be familiar with our targets and decide whether or not it's worth it to apply a venom. Like he warns we have to manage our focus and it may not be worth the focus cost to use one of these every time.
Ultimately, we think these changes will solve some of the problems the hunter class has had as well as making them more fun to play, or we wouldn't be going through so much re-design. :)
I hope he's right. I like the sound of most of these changes and I can't wait to try them out. As far as I'm concerned though, it's all about focus. If the focus regen and usage is smooth and has a nice flow then it could be a lot of fun to play hunters in Cataclysm.
Happy Hunting!
For Starters - Pets
One of the changes Blizzard has planned for Cataclysm is that hunters will start out at level one with a "race appropriate" pet. Here's the exact quote,
This has got me thinking (always a dangerous thing btw), about what the possible race/pet combinations might be. Remember too, they're going to be new members of the hunter family in Cataclysm as well.
ALLIANCE
Dwarf and Bear - The original vanilla wow cinematic featured a dwarf hunter with a bear, and the Argent Tournament pet is bear cub. Dwarves and bears just go hand in hand. I think this one is pretty much a given.
Draenei and Ravager - They come from Outland so it makes sense that Draenei would start out with one. Although, I think moths would make a good contender as well. Ooh, look at the pretty butterfly - oh wait, ruuuuun!
Night Elf and Nightsaber - They ride around on cats, and there are plenty of them in their various zones. That being said, I think owls would be a much cooler choice. It'd make them look smarter anyway.
Human and Boar - Wolf could be a possibility, although I'd like to see a killer sheep myself. The hunter uses the Elwyn lamb to sacrifice you.
Worgen and Wolf - I find this idea both cool and creepy at the same time. Is it a pet or you're little brother? Hopefully we'll get some new pets to tame in Cataclysm so maybe Worgen will get something not even in the game yet.
HORDE
Troll and Raptor - They use them for mounts, so it only makes sense that they'd have them for pets too. Although tigers would make good candidates as well.
Blood Elf and Dragonhawk - Lynx would be a close second. I guess whichever one is the "prettier" of the two will win out.
Undead and Bat - Again going with the mount theme here. Spiders would be a nice creepy option as well, but I like bats for Undead.
Orc and Wolf - Wolves and orcs seem to go hand in hand, but it should be noted that there are no wolves in Durotar. I could also see boars and scorpions as options too.
Tauren and Tallstrider - Something about one of these birds pecking you to death makes me chuckle (weird eh?). Other options for Tauren are wolves, cougars and possibly hyenas. Since this is an expansion, tamable Kodos anyone?
Goblin and Mechnical Yeti - They'll probably end up with a crab or turtle (I think they're starting zone is an island). Still though something mechanical would make sense for them. Of course if they went that route that could open up the possibility of Gnome hunters some day, and we just can't have that. I think the reason gnomes can't be hunters is their pets would eat them. Even the veggie ones!
So what do you think the various races should get for their starter pets?
"Additionally, hunters will now start with a race-appropriate pet at level 1 and will be able to tame a different pet at level 10."
This has got me thinking (always a dangerous thing btw), about what the possible race/pet combinations might be. Remember too, they're going to be new members of the hunter family in Cataclysm as well.
ALLIANCE
Dwarf and Bear - The original vanilla wow cinematic featured a dwarf hunter with a bear, and the Argent Tournament pet is bear cub. Dwarves and bears just go hand in hand. I think this one is pretty much a given.
Draenei and Ravager - They come from Outland so it makes sense that Draenei would start out with one. Although, I think moths would make a good contender as well. Ooh, look at the pretty butterfly - oh wait, ruuuuun!
Night Elf and Nightsaber - They ride around on cats, and there are plenty of them in their various zones. That being said, I think owls would be a much cooler choice. It'd make them look smarter anyway.
Human and Boar - Wolf could be a possibility, although I'd like to see a killer sheep myself. The hunter uses the Elwyn lamb to sacrifice you.
Worgen and Wolf - I find this idea both cool and creepy at the same time. Is it a pet or you're little brother? Hopefully we'll get some new pets to tame in Cataclysm so maybe Worgen will get something not even in the game yet.
HORDE
Troll and Raptor - They use them for mounts, so it only makes sense that they'd have them for pets too. Although tigers would make good candidates as well.
Blood Elf and Dragonhawk - Lynx would be a close second. I guess whichever one is the "prettier" of the two will win out.
Undead and Bat - Again going with the mount theme here. Spiders would be a nice creepy option as well, but I like bats for Undead.
Orc and Wolf - Wolves and orcs seem to go hand in hand, but it should be noted that there are no wolves in Durotar. I could also see boars and scorpions as options too.
Tauren and Tallstrider - Something about one of these birds pecking you to death makes me chuckle (weird eh?). Other options for Tauren are wolves, cougars and possibly hyenas. Since this is an expansion, tamable Kodos anyone?
Goblin and Mechnical Yeti - They'll probably end up with a crab or turtle (I think they're starting zone is an island). Still though something mechanical would make sense for them. Of course if they went that route that could open up the possibility of Gnome hunters some day, and we just can't have that. I think the reason gnomes can't be hunters is their pets would eat them. Even the veggie ones!
So what do you think the various races should get for their starter pets?
Cataclysm Hunter Changes
I'm going to assume that you've seen the hunter changes, if not here's as good a link as any to what's coming our way in Cataclysm - http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/24261186675/cataclysm-class-preview-hunter/.
With that out of the way, grab a bowl of Swedish Meatballs and a pint of Raven Beer (make that two, this is going to be a long post, I think) and join me as I dive into the bevy of hunter news that Blizzard sent our way today. Everything thing we know is about to change, and mostly for the better I think. Ammo, clunky traps, leveling without a pet, to quoth the raven, “Nevermore”.
Let's start with the easy stuff, you know the changes that we can all agree are good and a long time coming.
Moar Pets! - Bigger stables, more pets, hunter's leveling with a pet from day one; fantastic! I just leveled a hunter from 1-10 for the WHU raid and let me tell you even when you know what you're doing it still sucks. Getting a pet right out of the gate, along with range abilities is a wonderful change.
Ammo and Quivers - I know a lot people were looking forward to non-consumable ammo, but I think Blizzard made the right decision here to remove it completely. Honestly, what would they have done beside buffs, debuffs, etc. It would've overlapped with stings, traps, and pets and would've led to more "Oh crap, I had the wrong ammo equipped for that fight" moments. I'm glad to see it gone.
Quivers converted into large bags? Nothing but win here. I just hope I still have one in my bank, if not, it's time to get one.
Sting and Periodic Effects - They will crit and benefit from haste. Simply put, get four pieces of T10 before Cataclysm hits. I don't know if the T9 bonus will get updated (I presume it will), but still T10 will be the way to go. This is a great change.
New Hunter Abilities -
Cobra Shot will be available to all hunters at level 81 and it will have a cast time like Steady Shot. BM hunters will be given incentive to use this over Steady Shot, and it looks like it will become their signature shot. It will do nature damage and increase focus. BM hunters really needed a shot of their own, although I think I would've preferred Raccoon Shot over this.
Trap Launcher (level 83) - I guess freezing arrow was such a success Blizzard decided to give this ability to all traps. Sarcasm aside, this might work better for PvP then it will for PvE. It sounds like a cool ability, we'll have to see how it plays out.
Camouflage (level 85) - Does this sound familiar to anyone? Well back in Wrath of the Lick King beta this ability was actually planned for hunters. It was going to be a stealth ability and was ditched because it infringed too much on Rogue's territory. Now it's back and re-designed. Instead of stealth it'll be more like a "shimmering PREADATORy" effect. Okay, if it also comes with a "Get to da choppa" emote, then I'm in.
I'm a little on the fence with this ability. Again it sounds neat, but it also sounds like another thing we need to do right before combat starts. Hunter's Mark, Misdirect and now Camouflage. It's possible that the damage benefit will force us to work this into the normal shot rotation. We'll see, but I'm not 100% on board with this one yet.
Focus
Okay it's time to talk about the 800 lb gorilla/Elephant in the room party that's happening here. I'm on the wait and see bandwagon here, although I've seen reactions that have been both positive and negative. To me this represents a major paradigm shift in how we play our hunters. Whether it's good or bad, I don't know.
Currently we have a priority based system where we watch our cool downs and fire the highest damaging shot that's available with little or no regard to how much mana it's costing.
With focus we're moving to a resource management system whereby firing the highest damaging shot may not be the best option. We'll have to plan our shots based on how much focus we have and how much focus we'll lose. Not only that, but we'll have to take into consideration everything that might be coming up, or could happen to us in an encounter. In other words we'll want to make sure we have enough focus to do other things besides just dps.
It's going to be a big, big learning curve. We know we'll have 100 focus max, but what we don't know yet is how much focus our shots will cost, as well as what the cool downs on our abilities are going to be. For example, will Chimera and Aimed shots still have long cool downs or will they be shortened for this new resource system?
There is a lot of critical information that we don't know yet. Therefore I remain a little cautious and nervous about hunters gaining focus. A beta invite will go a long way to making feel less nervous though ;) .
Pets
It looks like pets are getting normalized in terms of the damage they do. They're now going to get abilities that are similar to the buffs and debuffs provided by other classes. If these abilities stack with their class counterparts then great, otherwise this may be less valuable in 25-man raids, but could work out okay in 10-man raids. I personally would rather see them be as good as their class counterparts and then see how it shakes out.
Talents and Mastery System
It looks like Beast Masters will have great pet damage, and great focus regen with the emphasis on haste. If their damage is comparable to the other trees this might be the way to go when this system goes live. In fact I'll probably go BM for no other reason than I'll lose less dps while trying to figure out how this all works.
Marksman will still be based around Armor Pen. and physical dps. It look like they're getting something called double-shot which looks like a type of Lock and Load. I'll be curious to see how often we get the double-shot during combat.
Survival hunters will be masters of elemental damage (fire, nature, shadow, etc.) This isn't all that different from how they are now.
All in all, I'm excited about what's coming our way. I love the "quality of life" changes, but I remain a bit skeptical about focus. While I agree that mana does not makes sense for hunters, I have no issue with how hunter's function. Focus is changing that, and not in a small way.
With that out of the way, grab a bowl of Swedish Meatballs and a pint of Raven Beer (make that two, this is going to be a long post, I think) and join me as I dive into the bevy of hunter news that Blizzard sent our way today. Everything thing we know is about to change, and mostly for the better I think. Ammo, clunky traps, leveling without a pet, to quoth the raven, “Nevermore”.
Let's start with the easy stuff, you know the changes that we can all agree are good and a long time coming.
Moar Pets! - Bigger stables, more pets, hunter's leveling with a pet from day one; fantastic! I just leveled a hunter from 1-10 for the WHU raid and let me tell you even when you know what you're doing it still sucks. Getting a pet right out of the gate, along with range abilities is a wonderful change.
Ammo and Quivers - I know a lot people were looking forward to non-consumable ammo, but I think Blizzard made the right decision here to remove it completely. Honestly, what would they have done beside buffs, debuffs, etc. It would've overlapped with stings, traps, and pets and would've led to more "Oh crap, I had the wrong ammo equipped for that fight" moments. I'm glad to see it gone.
Quivers converted into large bags? Nothing but win here. I just hope I still have one in my bank, if not, it's time to get one.
Sting and Periodic Effects - They will crit and benefit from haste. Simply put, get four pieces of T10 before Cataclysm hits. I don't know if the T9 bonus will get updated (I presume it will), but still T10 will be the way to go. This is a great change.
New Hunter Abilities -
Cobra Shot will be available to all hunters at level 81 and it will have a cast time like Steady Shot. BM hunters will be given incentive to use this over Steady Shot, and it looks like it will become their signature shot. It will do nature damage and increase focus. BM hunters really needed a shot of their own, although I think I would've preferred Raccoon Shot over this.
Trap Launcher (level 83) - I guess freezing arrow was such a success Blizzard decided to give this ability to all traps. Sarcasm aside, this might work better for PvP then it will for PvE. It sounds like a cool ability, we'll have to see how it plays out.
Camouflage (level 85) - Does this sound familiar to anyone? Well back in Wrath of the Lick King beta this ability was actually planned for hunters. It was going to be a stealth ability and was ditched because it infringed too much on Rogue's territory. Now it's back and re-designed. Instead of stealth it'll be more like a "shimmering PREADATORy" effect. Okay, if it also comes with a "Get to da choppa" emote, then I'm in.
I'm a little on the fence with this ability. Again it sounds neat, but it also sounds like another thing we need to do right before combat starts. Hunter's Mark, Misdirect and now Camouflage. It's possible that the damage benefit will force us to work this into the normal shot rotation. We'll see, but I'm not 100% on board with this one yet.
Focus
Okay it's time to talk about the 800 lb gorilla/Elephant in the room party that's happening here. I'm on the wait and see bandwagon here, although I've seen reactions that have been both positive and negative. To me this represents a major paradigm shift in how we play our hunters. Whether it's good or bad, I don't know.
Currently we have a priority based system where we watch our cool downs and fire the highest damaging shot that's available with little or no regard to how much mana it's costing.
With focus we're moving to a resource management system whereby firing the highest damaging shot may not be the best option. We'll have to plan our shots based on how much focus we have and how much focus we'll lose. Not only that, but we'll have to take into consideration everything that might be coming up, or could happen to us in an encounter. In other words we'll want to make sure we have enough focus to do other things besides just dps.
It's going to be a big, big learning curve. We know we'll have 100 focus max, but what we don't know yet is how much focus our shots will cost, as well as what the cool downs on our abilities are going to be. For example, will Chimera and Aimed shots still have long cool downs or will they be shortened for this new resource system?
There is a lot of critical information that we don't know yet. Therefore I remain a little cautious and nervous about hunters gaining focus. A beta invite will go a long way to making feel less nervous though ;) .
Pets
It looks like pets are getting normalized in terms of the damage they do. They're now going to get abilities that are similar to the buffs and debuffs provided by other classes. If these abilities stack with their class counterparts then great, otherwise this may be less valuable in 25-man raids, but could work out okay in 10-man raids. I personally would rather see them be as good as their class counterparts and then see how it shakes out.
Talents and Mastery System
It looks like Beast Masters will have great pet damage, and great focus regen with the emphasis on haste. If their damage is comparable to the other trees this might be the way to go when this system goes live. In fact I'll probably go BM for no other reason than I'll lose less dps while trying to figure out how this all works.
Marksman will still be based around Armor Pen. and physical dps. It look like they're getting something called double-shot which looks like a type of Lock and Load. I'll be curious to see how often we get the double-shot during combat.
Survival hunters will be masters of elemental damage (fire, nature, shadow, etc.) This isn't all that different from how they are now.
All in all, I'm excited about what's coming our way. I love the "quality of life" changes, but I remain a bit skeptical about focus. While I agree that mana does not makes sense for hunters, I have no issue with how hunter's function. Focus is changing that, and not in a small way.
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