How do you like being a Hunter?

[Zefla]

I am addicted to playing my Hunter. Yes, I'm a huntroholic. I have tried playing other classes, truly. Every time, after a while, I get an irresistible urge to hunt. My alts turn to mules, profession backups, only questing if it's to help another player along.

Many level 60 Hunters posting here are disappointed with the class in the endgame. That is discouraging, I've just hit level 49 and fear that there's only a short time left until bad class design will ruin my character.

And if, as I suspect, revamping the class is a low priority with Blizzard (as the Hunter is anyway a very popular class), we'll have to live with the current Hunter for a long time.

Thus, whining aside, is it really that bad in the endgame?

[Votan]

Where is the i'm 55+ and I don't like it option ;)


My hunter was my first character and I've always enjoyed playing despite the inherent shortcomings off the class. Of course I'd bitch at the deadzone but hey its become a class skill.
Since the last patch however our few skills that we could have used to gain some sort of an advantage have been hit with the nerf bat..again. Hunters are now pretty much relegated to doing PvE :evil:

Current status: no i'm not happy with playing a Hunter.

[Adriel]

Hunters are now pretty much relegated to doing PvE :evil:



why did you choose to play on a PVE server then? if all you want to do is pvp?

[Kharajo]

Of course I'd bitch at the deadzone but hey its become a class skill.

Buff deadzone! Make hunters able to die all over the place :twisted:

[Votan]

I don't like PvP servers.. seeing all the crap that is coming from them :o

I like to play PvE and PvP hence my choice for a PvE server. Another part of the choice was due to the fact that I came here with a large group of friends; it was a collective choice.

PvP is not all that I want to do.. had I wanted to be a pure PvP'er then I would have gone for the PvP server. Problem is is that one of the two options has pretty much become null and void..


Edit: i'm just pissed that they screwed up my favourite class.

[Votan]

Of course I'd bitch at the deadzone but hey its become a class skill.

Buff deadzone! Make hunters able to die all over the place :twisted:

Make mage blink work like the ultrasafe transporter.. a built in chance to die when blinking :twisted:

[Zefla]

Where is the i'm 55+ and I don't like it option ;)
It's there now. Wasn't at the start due to me being unfamiliar with the mechanics of adding poll options. :oops:

[Maska]

Just to buff your sprits, hunters are getiing a major re-work next patch ;)

[Votan]

Seeing is believing :shock:

[sildiara]

The love/hate is far too binary.

My main, sildiara, I've played most of the game comment with her. Not much left to do, except MC, and we're not going there atm.

My alt, Moriarity, is a priest. And you know what? Even though I've spent the last two evenings on farming Larval Acid / Essence of Water for my Hide of the Wild, I'm having a great time. Tonight I'm farming Living Essence, and I'm enjoying myself.
It's a little quest of my own, of the likes I've never experienced with Sildiara. There is nothing you can craft for a hunter that is better than anything you find in instances, except Devilsaur set - which is not really a hunter item at all (and that says something about hunter itemization).
FAR? Academic difference between it and ABB, CSX, Gorewood, Eaglehorn, Hurricane.. Black dragonscale? Riiiight.

So what about my hunter main? Well.. She'll show up from time to time, I guess. I hope hunters will get buffed in 1.7, but I'm not holding my breath.

From retail to now, the hunter class:
Nerfs:
* -13% DPS (it wasn't working as intended)
* Pet resists taken away (never mind you had to camp Snarler spawn up to 8 hours - Snarler was meant to be just another wolf with nothing special)
* Sandfury guardians made untameable, and the current tamed ones being forced to starve (couldn't feed them anymore)
* Ranged attacks being dodgeable/parryable (hunters rioted on the US forums, and the nerf was removed)
* Ranged attack hit formula changed to compare to targets Defense skill (which makes us incapable of defeating warriors with 400+ defense)
* Traps becoming resistable (as of 1.6)
* Attack power buffs no longer affecting Ranged attack power (because blizzard couldn't code it correctly)
* Lacerate

Buffs:
* Dash and Dive added


Edit: Regarding pet resists. The Searing Rocs in Tanaris used to have fire resists, which meant it would live more than 2 seconds in Molten Core. Blizzard said that pet resists, and I quote, "trivialized some in-game encounters". I wonder what they say about the rogue/druid instance farming groups. Working as intended, I wager.

[Kharajo]

Of course I'd bitch at the deadzone but hey its become a class skill.

Buff deadzone! Make hunters able to die all over the place :twisted:

Make mage blink work like the ultrasafe transporter.. a built in chance to die when blinking :twisted:

I would love that! Good thing I'm not a mage :)

[Votan]

Make SW:P backfire as well. ;)

[Alessan]

Its what you make of it I guess.

I really enjoyed my Hunter up to about lvl 50 and then it started to become hard work. I don't like grinding or farming with the class, whereas my Warrior is much more fun to play in that capacity.

At lvl 60 a lot of the fun in solo play has gone out from my Hunter. I'd still enjoy PvP I''m sure, if there were any PvP left to do that was worth doing.

However, I do like playing my Hunter in instances. I like to act as secondary CC, making the life of the group/raid, a lot easier with traps. I like having my pet ready to use for aggro management should something attack the casters and I love the fact that I get to stand at the back and dish out silly amounts of damage. I love being everything in an instance that whiny "know nowts" say Hunters aren't and love not being everything that whiners say Hunters are. My pet doesn't cause aggro, I keep it under control just fine and I make the most out of my abilities.

I feel that I bring something of real value to the group. 8)

[sildiara]

I like to act as secondary CC, making the life of the group/raid, a lot easier with traps.

Except that now, traps can be resisted, which makes them a liability in any instance run.

"I'll trap that huge rage talon captain!
"Okay, peel when I pull then"
"Bam!"
"Bam!"
*running sounds*
*Resist*
"Oh shit! better hit FD!"
*Resist*
"FOOK!"
*whistle*
"growl!"
*Mortal strike crit!*
Your pet dies.
You die.
Healer who healed you dies.
Everyone else dies.

Well, maybe not that bad, but thing is, if you plan for CC, then that CC has to work. A sheep can be recast, as can shackle, hibernate, banish, seduce, fear.

[Adriel]

i haven't seen my ice traps fail yet I must admit!

I used ice trap quite well the other night in scholomance!

i have to agree with Alessan - my pets under control - he helps when a caster is being attacked and I stand at the back watching and causing nice amounts of damage!

[Alessan]

I've not found my traps to be resisted that often. On an instance run where maybe I'll use 20 or so traps, 2 of those will be resisted.

They are used as more of a "luxury item" than the lynchpin of any strategy, as we all know things go wrong with traps. AOE slightly to far one way, slight lag causes someone to select the wrong target etc etc etc.

They are used to make life easier on pulls which we could manage anyway, but at least having the possibility of a mob being taken out of combat for 20 seconds is nice enough.

I agree it would be nicer if they weren't resisted, but it seems that everything to do with the Hunter class is greatly dependant on luck which can make a mockery of even the most well thought out plan if you rely on hunter abilities succeding 100% of the time.

[SWarkof]

My alt, Moriarity, is a priest.

Totally offtopic, but that's you? I've been running across you in the various Plaguelands, and everytime I thiink "Damn it, that's a great name. Wish I had thought of it before that guy.".

[salamando]

I love the hunter, and I am not considering swapping to any other class other . Heck, I dont even have any alts over lvl 9 and I have been playing since launch, thats how much I love my hunter. I wont consider leveling another character for any other reasons than crafting and learning that class to exploit their weakness to the fullest in pvp. But as I said, i love my hunter to much to play anything other than him.

[Swanvesta]

I chose a hunter because ive always chosen rangers in any games ive played. I like the 'survivalist' aspect of them. being able to take care of and support myself independantly. was really chuffed to get to 60 and have my talents(although severely gimped) exactly how i want them.

oh look, new 'love' for hunters. so to get inproved clip and entrapment i have to take 5 points in parrying????

hmm, i sighned up for the rangers sir, not the wrestling team.

well dont worry son, you get a pet.

and now the only viable option (to be a pure pve hunter) is getting similar 'love'. so all the people with their bestial furies and their spirit bonds are going to be as chuffed as i will.

i spose i should have read up a tad more(or consulted a soothsayer) and figured that rangers werent going to be in the same style as diablo 2 amazons, but still.....anyone playing a hunter out there....dont you feel a tad robbed every patch?

anyways. priests ftw. swanvesta retires as soon as i hit 60.

[Narshanna]

I love my hunter. I love it lots. I love the concept, walking around with a beast you've tamed, turned into your best friend and teach some new skill from time to time (until they all are at their max ranks). I love soloing, as much as I enjoy good teamplay when doing instance runs. There is a huge lot more of things I do love from my hunter.

BUT...

There is also a huge bunch of things I do hate in my hunter life:

- Having to rely on certain skills which, finally, show themselves as hardly reliable ones, even if you use them well. Ie: feign death/frost trap, nice trick, yes? Only if you don't get the Nth *resisted*, if it trully ends your combat and your trap isn't resisted.

- Having certain skills working in such a way that I don't know if bliz devs are joking or making a fool of me. Like concussive shot, really nice, zero damage, 4 seconds daze and, with talents, certain % of stun. Ok, I dislike comparisons but I'll use a couple as examples. Take a look at frost shock. 5xx dmg attack on average, target's speed is down to 50% for 8 seconds. I wuldn't mind having something similar. Make it a zero damage shot, but I'd sign for an 8 seconds duration effect, instead of those 4 we got. And for a 6 seconds cooldown (with diminishing effects, like frost shock got), instead of 12. Ok, make it 10 if you want. Or just take a look at our Arcane Shot. One of our _two_ damage shots usable during a fight (please, don't name aimed shot, it's useful just as opener mostly). 183 arcane damage, instant, 6 seconds cooldown. I wonder how many of those I may need to kite Desaan to death. Meanwhile, my lvl 49 mage's fireblast, instant too, was cheaper and did the same damage on avg already at lvl 30, with the same cooldown. I could continue with several other funny (annoying?) ones.

- Common attitude: "A hunter is nice to have in a party/raid group, but is never a must and, in fact, uses to be seen just as the last resort to fill the blanks". Been there, suffered that. Now some may say "if you excel in your class, you'll be a really valuable tool". True that, but I'll keep being just that, a tool. I could be easily replaced by a rogue, a mage or the like. In fact, I have been. Not to mention MC. The bigger chances of getting an invite if it's not a guild raid, is if the raiders are going to fight Magmadar and they need peeps with tranquilizing shots. Otherwise well, 2-3 hunters are enough. We don't debuff, we don't heal, etc. We are not a support class. We are supposed to be a DPS class, yet a paladin with an arcanite reaper can and will be really close to, if not above, my damage done. And while it's true that we don't need nearly a 10% of the healing a rogue in such a raid would, if we do our job right, we are still the last ones to be called most of the time. Or perhaps it's just me and I'm either unlucky or a total dumb arse.

- So we are supposed to be a DPS class. Yet no buff increasing attack power will affect our ranged attack power unless it specifically says so.

- Add bliz devs and CMs' attitude. "Nah, you are fine, you're a low maintenance cost, sustained DPS class and blahblahblah. Everything is working as intended". Some months later.. "don't worry guys! you're getting some <3!" @ Caydiem. Several months more later "yay! we are revamping the survival tree!" @ Caydiem. Erm... OK... You can also take a look at pets and pets customization. Them retaining any kind of original resistance, attack speed or pursuit speed is a bug. They got rid of the resistance bit. They kept the other two, but there was warning given, that those'd get removed eventually when pets customization is released. Luckily (ironically) it's still in play, even if it was promised, also, several months ago. Luckily (/sarcasm) it will stay in play for a long long time (unless it's hidden somewhere within the 1.7 patch). By the way, can anyone please tell me which bloody need they had to remove tamed sandfuries from the game? Were they really so offending to anyone that they had to be comdemned to death by starvation?

And so and so.

I know it may sound whiney. It may be whiney even. But it's hard to keep the good spirit up when you feel like you're being slapped in your face every X time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we are being systematically screwed as part of some wicked master plan. But some times we feel like we are.

But hey, if you are having fun with your hunter keep leveling it, keep having fun. And the day you stop doing so, or it's more annoying than rewarding, just reroll and keep having fun. It's a game after all.

[sildiara]

Most of the things you said, I can agree with, but hunters in MC.. That's our turf :p
That's where our sustained damage can outlast mages and rogues burst damage.
Unlike rogues, we wont suck up heals due to melee range aoe damage.

In the lucifron battle, we can stand outside his 2k bomb range (40 yards), keeping constant damage output.

Magmadar, well, we have to be there.

Versus gehennas, you can stand close to the pillar, walk out of LOS when the healing curse is going to land, maybe bandage yourself if you've taken the rain, and then be back in action in notime.

I really need to get better stamina gear for the geddon battle, though. If i dont take a pot or tuber while in the air, I die from one bomb.

[Votan]

Where i was staning (group 7) near the huge pillar you can actually prevent yourself from flying up too high. There seems to be a sort of ledge that knocks you down again.. this way you only get about 100 or so falling damage.

[betamax_w]

Of course I'd bitch at the deadzone but hey its become a class skill.

Buff deadzone! Make hunters able to die all over the place :twisted:

Make mage blink work like the ultrasafe transporter.. a built in chance to die when blinking :twisted:

Aye, and while we are about it, give all melee classes a chance to drop their weapon and take a crit counterattack if they miss an attack Ooh, ooh and all priests should have a chance to catch fire if they try to heal! :D :lol:

[Zefla]

falling damage.Is it feasible to use the 'light as a feather' effect of Noggenfogger Elixir in those situations?

[Poag]

2 minute reuse timer and a low chance of getting light as a feather...not really :(

only lasts 2 mins too

[Zefla]

I have only had the other 2 effects myself, they both lasted 10 minus, so I thought it was the same. My bad.
As they say, assumption is the mother of all fuckups.

[Pyroxian]

I really need to get better stamina gear for the geddon battle, though. If i dont take a pot or tuber while in the air, I die from one bomb.

Gnomish Parachute Cloak?

Edit: Requires Engineering (225), so not the perfect option.

Although there's that bloke up the top of the Twin Colossals in Feralas who sells parachutes - you could buy a few of those

Steve

[Narshanna]

Most of the things you said, I can agree with, but hunters in MC.. That's our turf :p
That's where our sustained damage can outlast mages and rogues burst damage.
Unlike rogues, we wont suck up heals due to melee range aoe damage.


Don't get me wrong, I agree with you there. Now all we need is the rest to know. Just so you can have an idea, my second and last time in MC I was invited after the available mages and rogues in my guild had been invited already. In the end, when nobody else was available, they finally got me in. We were like 3 hunters in the whole raid. Two of them were there because of their tranquilizing shots. The 3rd one well, it was me.