There’s a new beta build out, and so far… I haven’t been able to see any hunter changes. It’s possible that some are snuck in there that I missed of course, the list of hunter-related bugs is large right now (I’m sure for all classes it is) but I haven’t yet found anything that’s working now that wasn’t before. I don’t see changes in our talents (even Resistance is Futile hasn’t changed), or our specializations. Mastery still isn’t implemented, I don’t see new pet talents, etc.
Which is good for me anyway — I got more leveling to do!
[Update: Ah ha! Zerherah pointed out that they removed Dazzled Prey (damage boost on dazed targets) Hurrah for that one! Possibly the worst and most unused hunter talent, I was shocked to see it make it's way through to the trimmed down trees. But happily that one is gone... though nothing to replace it with, making the MM tree even more scarce.]
Well u should learn by now that hunters come last in blizz concerns…
Only thing I saw was Counterattack now costs 0 focus, not that anyone is going to take it.
It seems like they have a LOT of work to do yet on Cataclysm. Do you still think it’s coming out this year?
I noticed that the old melee haste buffs (windfury totem and the DK talent) now say they affect ranged haste as well. Is this new or was it always in the beta?
@Mangacro, they always save the best for last.
yeah i saw the same thing Deavande, except that on mmo-champ it said that counter attack will no longer cost any mana… lol oh thank god for that. what ever should we do if it cost mana…
@icevieled
One thing to remember is that the Beta does not represent what they are working on now, rather *some* of what they had been working on previously. It is entirely possible that the current beta build was “finished” several days ago and underwent a lot of testing within the company prior to being deployed.
Heck, the Beta doesn’t even have to be everything they have worked on. There could be a lot of issues that they have worked on and potentially fixed that has just not been implemented in the Beta yet. The primary purpose of a Beta is to test the software in a real environment with normal users.
Some fixes may require other areas to be fixed first, even though the fix is, for all intents and purposes, done. They may also neglect to implement changes because they don’t want those changes tested just yet.
TLDR: Beta does not necessarily mean “where the software stands currently”
To piggyback on Valacia, the Beta that is out now is possibly two or more builds behind what they are working on. Not all builds are released to the public. I mean, I am 100% certain they knew they were doing the 31 pt. talent trees even as they were unveiling the original cata. trees but they were just were not ready to be shown. Some would argue they still are not ready to be shown
@Mangraco – Stop with the woe is my class bit. Have you seen how bad druids and paladins were? Not saying hunters are no where near done but to say hunters are last just sounds immature. I think between us and paladins, we are probably getting the most attention in our mechanics for Cata.
@Squeak, true
@Bloodbàne, and u know why are they puting us at last spot? They have a lot of things to do yet in in the whole WoW, and u pointed out correctly that we our gettin the most of the changes.. so only logical way of thinkin for me is if they are a lazy bunch of people like we most are they will save bigest class adjustment for the last
They already did a massive change to us and now they have to let it breathe and see what is working and what is not. If it makes you feel better, we were first on their list of major overhauls so by your logic, they must love us the most.
They are not “lazy like we most are” or anything like that. I am just annoyed by the whole “blizz hates my class” or “blizz just doesn’t understand my class” as it is just such a poor argument.
Removing Dazzled Prey and leaving Concussive Barrage is a bit weird. Both are useless as raid talents, but strong PvP and leveling choices. Leaving just Concussive Barrage out there on it’s own is curious. We still have to choose between maxing out Rapid Recuperation or Master Marksman though if we want to take Hunter vs Wild in Survival or One With Nature in BM so we’re not really gaining anything by the removal of DP.
Could be the Dazzled Prey bonus is being made into a Glyph instead. The 2nd tier Shaman ability Ancestral Swiftness, which allows for faster movement and instant Ghost Wolf was also removed, possibly with the aim of making it a Glyph effect as well, so what we see in this current build could be the result of Blizzard working on the new Glyphs now.
According to MMO-Champion, ” * Counterattack no longer costs mana.”
It technically says nothing about focus. I lol’d a bit there. I wonder if they’re gonna list every ability individually reminding us that they will no longer cost mana.
Frost this has nothing to do with the post but, i c a gold selling add on ur site, do u support those adds or is ok to report them to ya?
Hey
I sent you a message on your website email box did you received it ?
@ Jason: Frost writes a bit about the gold selling ads in the FAQ on this site.
I actually find Concussive Barrage is handy to have in a raid build. I have found it useful dealing with LK Valks and Hard Mode Saurfang. Sure it’s not pure dps talents but handy none the less.
@Fawatam
In previous build Counterattack costed 3% of mana – on tooltip
@Anansi
You dont have to choose between maxing out Rapid Recup. or Master Marksman to be able to pick Hunter vs. Wild od One with Nature.
Youcan go either 1/32/8 or 3/32/6 (depending if you want maxed Hunter vs. Wild or One with Nature). Look here: http://www.wowtal.com/#k=bIdIJhZ.9ob.hunter
BTW, Ancestral Swiftness was not removed (Blue post: It is still in the second tier of Enhancement, available to all.)
@Deepfriedegg
But that leaves out Improved Serpent Sting, which strikes me as a pretty core talent for Marksmen. Instant damage equal to 30% of the Sting’s total periodic effect is a nice chunk of damage, especially now that DoT ticks will be affected by both Haste and Crit for everyone.
And we still have to waste points in Careful Aim, RiF and full ranks in Rapid Killing. Choice in WoW should not be what do I take given I’ve had to waste talents on things I do not want, and I don’t see that interpretation of choice in some other trees.
And yes, great news on Ancestral Swiftness! The former Blue post indicated “Ancestral Swiftness is gone” and the talent was absent on the calculator. Glad this was a mistake.
@Anasi, Improved Serpent Sting will require testing to see if it’s either incredibly useful or completely worthless for MM. If the damage is only applied on it’s first application, or every time it’s refreshed with Chimera Sting. If it’s only on the initial application, then I’d rather have the points in the BM build.
Right now the damage is only applied on the first application. At least that’s how it works with cobra shot, I haven’t tested it with chimera shot.
It looks like noxious stings no longer requires Wyvern Sting as a pre-requisite. It is, however, needed for BA.
Hmm, yes, if Imp Serp Sting only applies that damage on its initial application then it’s a pointless talent for sure, which would certainly free up a couple of points. I was assuming it would be applied every time it is refreshed since all three specs now have a Sting refresh mechanic so manual reapplication isn’t all that relevant.
You do not get the imp stings effect when you refresh with Chimera or extend with Cobra. You only get it when you actually physically fire serpent sting.
Great detailed info, I just bookmarked you on my google reader.
@Frost
Well, that’s not what I had hoped for, but still that’s not too bad when you think about it, really. Considering Marksman Hunters will still be manually refreshing Serpent Sting with Exploit Weakness procs from our T10 gear, Imp Serpent Sting isn’t as pointless as I initially thought.
Also, it’s been my understanding that the rotation is pretty tight right now with getting in another Chimera before Serpent falls off, so we might be looking at a lot of manual refreshing. Of course I also know there’s no functional Glyph of Serpent Sting in beta at the moment so that tightness may relax.
Still it’s not a bad talent and a lot better than some of the junk cluttering up Marksmanship.
Imp stings is *not* a talent for MM hunters. We’ll be putting our serpent sting up once per target unless something goes wrong (getting feared at just the wrong time, for example). Currently MM has a 2 sec window to hit Chimera, and on any boss I’ve never had a problem keeping my sting refreshed, even without any addons to help.
We’ll be manually refreshing once per fight for t10 procs… only in that wee window between patch 4.0 and cataclysm, *if* that trick still works. Once we get to 85, no more t10 set. I think this talent was just clearly designed not to be for MM. It seems pretty much only a SV talent right now, since BM wants to get sic ‘em in the MM tree so can’t afford to get imp stings.
Unless quest rewards and crafted gear is pretty phenomenal, I can see going into 85 still with my T10. True that trick may no longer work in Cataclysm, does it currently work in the beta though?
What makes Imp Serpent Sting a Survival-only talent and not for Marksmanship Hunters? Is Survival not intended to use Cobra Shot rather than Steady Shot? I seem to have read that from a Blue somewhere. If they’re using Cobra, they’re refreshing their Sting and so are only applying it once as with a Marks Hunter.
It’s not for MM because MM never reapplies serpent sting. SV currently has to reapply it as cobra doesn’t keep it up forever, especially during lock & load procs, where you don’t want to be casting cobra shot to keep that serpent sting up.
“removed Dazzled Prey”
Thank goodness. I wonder if anybody has ever found a use for this (somebody probably has), but I could never see the point of it. Ditto with “Counterattack”, although that’s still there. Hopefully beta feedback will make them rethink that one as well.
@Anansi
While you MIGHT still be using your T10 when you hit 85, it’s certainly not going to last. That first tier of Cataclysm raid gear will certainly wipe it out, if it doesn’t happen earlier. It’s a bad idea to be planning your Cataclysm talents and rotation around a set-bonus that is certain to be obsolete. You might as well forget about it now.