Keep in mind this is just the PTR notes, and all is subject to change. However, loads of cool stuff that we are well able to appreciate since we aren’t getting nerfed. No new ammo yet, though they changed the way the engineering ammo is made, without giving specifics. I’m going to go over some of the highlights of the notes, and the hunter-specific ones.
You can read the full PTR notes for patch 3.2 Here.
Battlegrounds
I know a lot of people don’t care about pvp, but for those who like to BG from time to time, some nice changes. Basically they’re making most battlegrounds take less time to win, putting a hard 20min cap on Warsong Gulch (thank god), randomizing who goes first on Strand (nice) and letting you get XP from your battleground objectives (though you can turn that off if you’re a twink).
Hunters
All pets now receive 40% of their master’s resilience and 100% of their master’s spell penetration. In addition, if a player is at their appropriate spell hit chance or hit chance maximum, their pet will be at the maximum for spell hit chance, hit chance, and expertise. If they are below the maximum, their pet will be proportionately below those maximums.
This is interesting, and we’ll have to do some testing on the PTR to see how it actually works with hunter pets (statement seems geared toward warlock pets). Getting max expertise along with your hit will be very nice, especially for those fond of pet tanking. For a tank, even a pet tank, expertise is the single largest damage increasing stat (thus threat increasing), even more than hit.
Replenishment: This buff now grants 1% of the target’s maximum mana over 5 seconds instead of 0.25% per second. (ie: it’s worse now. Blah.)
Silencing Shot will also apply a 3-second interrupt effect against non-player controlled targets, for use against targets immune to silence
Engineering, but affecting us: The Ultrasafe Bullet Machine and Saronite Arrow Maker schematics have been simplified to create a full stack of the appropriate ammunition. No longer requires an anvil. Reduced the materials required to make this ammunition.
So the question is did they just drop the cost in half since it only makes half as much ammo, or did they drop the cost a ton to handle the ammo being to expensive thing? Again, only the PTR will tell us, and only when Frostheim is no longer stuck at work.
Aspect of the Cheetah: Can now be learned at level 16.
Deterrence now has a new visual spell effect.
The time that traps will exist in the world after being put down has been reduced to 30 seconds, down from 1 minute. Meh, not a huge nerf, and well worth it considering…
Traps now have separate 30-second cooldown categories: Fire (Immolation Trap, Explosive Trap and Black Arrow), Frost (Freezing Trap, Frost Trap) and Nature (Snake Trap). A hunter can have one trap of each category placed at one time.
OMG! Very very nice, most especially for Survival hunters, but also for all of us. So we can have a frost trap, and explosive trap, and a nature trap all out at once. The SV hunters can still CC without losing Black Arrow and their chance at the nerfed-yet-again lock & load. What fun!
I can only begin to imagine the ramifications of this in PVP (snake trap is like a second freezing trap), though my mind thinks there might be some neat PVE/soloing applications as well.
Beast Mastery
Catlike Reflexes now also reduces the cooldown of your Kill Command ability by 10/20/30 seconds. (still only going to take it for pet tanking)
Survival
Entrapment: This talent no longer works with Immolation Trap or Explosive Trap.
Lock and Load: Now has a 22-second cooldown. The Lock and Load effect cannot be obtained on targets immune to snare effects when Frost Trap is used.
Pets
Roar of Sacrifice: Redesigned. This ability can now be used on any friendly target to make that target immune to critical strikes, but the hunter pet takes 20% of all damage taken by that friendly target. Cooldown increased to 2 minutes. (so less useful for extreme soloing)
And there’s a lot more going on in the patch than just this, what with the new dungeons, new gear, and so much more. I don’t know enough about Death Knights to know if they’re getting nerfed, but let’s just imagine it is so, and all will be well with the world.
I’m secretly hoping that my 10-man raid doesn’t get enough people tonight so that I have more time to play on the PTR!
Loading ...
Wish understood thier decision to give LnL a CD again. Wouldnt this just nerf SV more?
Member
doesn’t ammo stack to 1000 now?
Member
oh I think I got you. The machine used to shoot out 10 stacks of 200…sounds to me like the cost reduction is to make up for the half as much ammo, but now you can just make them and you get ammo instead of a box, right?
Dues Payer
while its not hunter specific, and i know its subject to change, did anyone catch this:
“Any dungeons that previously dropped Emblems of Heroism or Valor, such as Naxxramas or Heroic Halls of Stone, will now drop Emblems of Conquest instead. Emblems of Conquest can still be converted to Valor or Heroism.”
i can farm naxx and a couple heroics and get conquest emblems and buy conquest gear? i suppose this is part of their “make the end game accessible to everyone” campaign.
I love this website. I actually LOVE it.
this patch just feels like it’s cheapened ulduar big time.
I guess its a wait and see thing !, just because they put it on the PTR realm doesnt mean it will be in the game this patch as have recieved alot of promises in the past and still waiting to see what becomes of them.The eblems really interest me but i think if they do that everyone will be walking around in much better gear which i can not see them letting happen as eblems of heroism are to easy to get, even i got 100 spare setting in my currency page which i turn into orbs or weopans so i can disenchant them for abyss crystals. But if they do i can see a new armour set coming my way
Contributor
Wow, cool. I also now have a new use for the Valor Emblems that I have been hording recently (no upgrades to be had) since I can get some PvP gear for pet tanking.
It’s a good time to be a hunter.
Contributor
Also, question:
Do we need to gem for expertise for it to transfer it to pets, or will it happen automatically with our hit percentage?
Seems to be like Hunters real issues got ignored this patch. It looks like they’re trying to make Hunters a little more viable in PVP but that’s it. A nerf to LnL imo. BM is still broken and it doesn’t look like they’re taking a serious look at it.
Overall disappointing. Good news for my engineering prof finally, but I’m just glad that I mostly raid as MM now. At least they left that alone.
I wouldnt call BM broken, it is just not designed to be top dps in end game raiding. Its uses are still what it has always been. You can level quickly using it, and you can solo some pretty big stuff. BM is also nice for pvp, if you want to let your pet do a lot of the dmg while u concentrate on pvp.
BTW I havent gone BM in raid for a while, anyone had any positive experiences? I reckon the 4set tier 8.5 bonus is a nice boost for BM
*while u concentrate on cc
(i will learn to type one day)
I’m a bit confused, so perhaps someone can explain it to me. OK, all pets now receive 40% of their master’s resilience. That I get and is indeed PvP oriented.
But they also get 100% of their master’s spell penetration. This is 0 for hunter’s, right? So applies for locks I guess.
But then the hunter stiff: In addition, if a player is at their appropriate (spell) hit chance maximum, their pet will be at the maximum for spell hit chance, hit chance, and expertise. If they are below the maximum, their pet will be proportionately below those maximums.
If I read this correct it means three things:
1) Normal hit already scaled with our hit, but it was rounded down instead of being proportionately below. So now, being just below hit-cap is less worse!
2) spell-hit (which already scaled since 3.1) has a higher cap (446 hit ), than normal hit, and although 3.1 claimed it to scale faster to compensate, it didn’t in reality. But now, if I as a hunter, have my 8% normal hit, my spirit-pet will be at its 17% spell hit cap! If so, this is great for BM and would boost their damage seriously (if they use a spirit beast).
3) pets get a serious expertise boost increasing melee dps.
So overall, this should increase melee dps for ALL hunters and make BM hunters – if I’m reading it right – when using spirit beats being able to at least try and fill the dps gap between their MM/SV brothers.
Unless I’m misreading it, as the notes do sound a bit confusion.
I really like the sound of the three separate trap groups. It brings a greater level of tactical play to us hunters and, again, restores our CC ability whilst in SV spec. Shame they have reduced the “existence” to 30s – but at least this simplifies things.
Hmm…. still undecided whether I like a lot of this!
Enjoying playing dual-spec BM and SV – and I am also a fan of solo-ing some ridiculous stuff – nothing as impressive as Onyxia though! It looks like some of these changes could benefit me there. Anyone care to explain the details here a little more fully?
And then wonderfully explained in the next blog post. Superb! This Union just impresses me more and more!
I hesitate to ask but… Does Hrist do a similar one for tanks?
The Haterade
No, Hrist does not do a blog as I simply have too much going on to dedicate any time to making a blog.
Even if I did have the time I doubt I would as Tankspot says anything I could ever say about tanking much more succinctly than I could ever hope to. Plus, they have heavy hitters like Ciderhelm and Xav who post and critique constantly. I am small potatoes compared to them!
so im thinking after this patch MM will be the only way to go if u wanna stand a chance at topping the dps charts b/c of the nerf to l&L. cause even now i do 3k dps on a target dummy in MM consistantly but only do 3k when L&L procs(2.6k when it doesnt)
Cheers Hrist! Thanks for the reply – I’ll be sure to look at Tankspot then!
Thanks again, Arust and Frostheim, for this wonderful blog.
Admin
I’ve tried to talk Hrist into making a tank blog before, to no avail. Clearly the unique insights into tanking and raid leadering of the hate tank would attract a crowd of readers.
Alas, he just doesn’t think he’d write often enough.
Funny thing about the SV nerf is most well-geared MM hunters spank SV hunters in every raid ( not so much in heroics….or perhaps that is just my own apathy in heroics..)