Three Favorite Fights as a Hunter in Mists

Where we stand now knowing we are not going to be getting any more raids it is safe to start making lists on mists.  This list is my personal three favorite fights as a hunter for this expansion.  I was going to make a top five but no matter how much I thought about it I could not come up with five fights I actually liked this expansion from the perspective of a hunter.

I can not just make a blanket three favorite because it changes depending on what class I am playing and what role I am filling.  As #2 on this list will show, while it is on my hunters list of his five favorite fights I doubt any caster would touch this fight as one of their favorites.  All of these are based on normal mode because one I have not experienced in heroic (yet) and it would be unfair to judge them based on that.  Oddly enough all three are from the current tier.

So here goes, my three favorite fights as a hunter in mists.


#3) Immerseus:

I am probably the only person in the entire world that would even consider this for the personal favorite fight of an expansion.  As a matter of fact I believe if we put up a poll this fight would have a solid chance at winning for the worst fight of the entire expansion so why do I like it?

Honestly, I didn't, until I started thinking about my favorite fights.  I always hated this fight, still do, but I love it and I hate it.  When thinking about my favorite fights it occurred to me this fight is a hunter fight just like Thok was (see #2).  It has many burst phases which line up nicely for a hunter which can be a pretty burst heavy class at times and during the first couple of times it just so happens you have everything available for it.  As the fight goes on there always seems to be something you can use on it be it crows or stampede, or what have you.  If you happen to be an engineer the glove boost lines up nicely with it as well.  So there is that fun factor, unlike many other classes that need a build up, hunters can burst on demand.

Then there is the split up phase where there is no class in the game that can handle it the way hunters do.  With ice trap, binding shot, glyphed explosive trap, concussive shot, and you and your pet on different targets you can handle more blobs than any other class and then when you have to start running to go get some more you can do everything on the move.

This fight is another chance for hunters to shine with their tool box in an expansion were it often seemed like hunters were nothing special at all because we bring absolutely zero raid utility.  Most fights it really seemed like hunters with their lack of raid cooldowns were more a liability than they were an asset but on this fight their ability to handle so many things all by themselves really shined.  Lets not forget the fact deterrence can completely soak up all the damage from the healing blobs hitting or the water wall spinning and disengage could be used to get around the platform quickly or get to the wall fast to avoid a knock back from the water wall.

So all that, plus we can continuously do our rotation while on the move which means unlike every other class at range we do not get interrupted by needing to move from those annoying puddles being put under our feet, or having to run from the wall, or chasing down blobs.

So do I like the idea of the fight?  Not really.  But when thinking about it purely from a hunter perspective this fight has hunter fight written all over it and as a hunter it is my third favorite fight in the expansion.  As some might say, me concluding this is my third favorite fight proves I am completely freaking insane.

#2) Thok the Bloodthirsty:

Say what you want about this fight but as a hunter I love it.  I love it in part because we are the only class that can basically completely ignore one of the main mechanics of the fight.  We do not get interrupted so of course that is something to really love.  While everyone else is trying to manage what they can cast and when they can cast it we, as hunters, can just pew pew away as if nothing is happening.

When it comes time to run around everyone needs to watch themselves and mostly melee, if they are not really on the ball, will be no where near mr big teeth.  Casters for the most part can't really go running around after him but once again we, as hunters, can continue with our entire rotation as if nothing is happening because we can do 100% of our abilities while on the move.

Then there is utility and the fact we get to use a great deal of the little tools we have in our over loaded tool box.  The things blizzard calls bloat and I call awesomesause.  Abilities you rarely use are not bloat and can really be a lot of fun when you do get the chance to use them.  We can venom the boss before he eats someone to decrease healing, we can tranquilize the jailer to remove the enrage, and if you are one tanking it if the worst happens and the tank goes down in transition we can cover while they are revived with some swift kiting and a distracting shot.

We get to use our toolbox, ignore mechanics and get to take advantage of our best asset of attacking from range while moving.  What is there not to like about this fight as a hunter?  While it is number two on my list it has to be number one on fights that hunters shine on this expansion.  I'd be hard pressed to think of another fight where hunters had as huge an advantage as they do just for being hunters as this fight.  Say what you want, but it is fun being OP, the only difference is, I admit I like it.

#1) Sha of Pride:

Have you ever had a fight that you do better on that others for some reason and you can not explain it?  Well this is one of those fights for me, but I can explain it.  It is a tank and spank fight basically.  Sure there is an adds phase, there is a target switching phase, there is a stand here to help phase and there are stack up and spread out mechanics involved.  But over all, to me, it is just a basic tank and spank.

The reason for that is that the entire fight is on a perfectly scripted cycle that once you know it means nothing will ever surprise you.  You do what it is you do and keep getting a chance to do it better each time you are there.  There is no randomness involved, except for the gift buff, but even at that the one little random part is nothing compared to every other fight in the expansion where it is random random random and run run run.  This fight is all predictable.

This fight is exactly how fights should be in PvE.  It has a lot of things going on and can be a great tool to teach new players because it has so much involved with it but even with all that it really is a super simple fight once you learn it.  So much so that I can call it a tank and spank fight without even feeling bad about it even if it is not just a stand there and kill fight like a tank and spank is normally thought to be.

This fight is as simple as blow up the boss, pool for the adds, disengage to land on the lit panel, turn to kill add, feel the boom or ignore it with deterrence, stack back up and start all over again.  Sure, that sounds like a few things going on there so it is not exactly a tank and spank by the normal definition but once you have the patten down it sure as hell is.  Very rarely will it throw a curve ball at you.

It is one of those fights were it is consistent which is another reason I love it.  I can compare myself each week to the previous week and see if I am getting better, or if a gear upgrade is working, or if I need to work on timing, movement, what have you.

It is probably the most telegraphed fight in the entire expansion and that is why I like it.  I've always been a fan of order.  I like things to be kept in the right places, it is why I am such a stickler with my bags and what I keep in them.  So a fight that puts everything in the right places so they are easy to find is right up my alley.

I enjoy this fight as a tank, as a healer and as a damage dealer, any type of damage dealer.  While 3 and 2 might be hunter specific, 1 is just 1.  It is the best of the best of all fights this expansion. In my opinion of course.