A Small Hunter Fix

We have pushed a hotfix to improve hunter damage.

Specifically, we increased the damage of the signature abilities (Chimera Shot, Explosive Shot and Kill Command) by 15-25%. This will both improve overall damage-dealing and make sure that these abilities are prioritized higher than other shots. We think this will bring hunters to a good enough state until they hit 85. Aspect of the Fox and Cobra Shot solve some specific issues at higher levels. Marksman hunters may still trump Survival and Beastmaster hunters until they’re 85, since their rotations rely a little on Cobra Shot.

Link

Well, it looks like someone got the memo and of course it was not the clueless ghostcrawler.  Notice how ever other class hotfix is posted by GC but this one wasn't?  More anecdotal evidence that GC hates Hunters.  The tin foil hat is working over time now.  Someone else on the developer team must have just got sick and tired of us complaining.

I still go back to what I said before.  I think over all Hunters are fine, just slightly off.  My issues where with some shots, namely Chimera and Kill Shot.  As I mentioned before they are almost so low that it makes them useless to fire.  Kill shot being only 1K more then any other shot was a joke.  Going from critting for 50K to critting for 11K was just plain wrong.  My 63 mage crits for that high almost.  No reason a T10 geared 80 hunter should be critting for the same amount that a 63 mage does.  Simple as that really.

Chimera was really an issue and I can't wait to see how they fixed it.  It costs double of what arcane shot does and only does 800 more damage give or take.  Now I do not know about you but would you rather fire off 2 arcane for 8500 each or 1 chimera for 9300?  Sure, the chimera refreshes serpent sting but that was the only reason we were even still considering it.  Not enough theory crafting had been done yet to prove we should drop it or tell us if we should keep it.

Some tests I read online in various places such as mmo, ej and the official forums have all had threads about it and the usual outcome was that a rotation including chimera refreshing serpent and just spamming arcane and steady were basically equal.  Chimera is a signature shot.  Signature shots should never be that close to being dropped from a rotation.  A signature shot should be so damn good that you just have to use it.

Could you imagine a frost mage not using frost spells or a fire mage not using fire spells or an arcane mage not using arcane spells?  That is what a marksmen not using chimera and a survival not using explosive was like.  Arcane blast to an arcane mage is effectively equal to chimera shot to a hunter.  There are other things you can do but that is a big boy that you fire whenever you have the chance.  We both should use that shot as often as we possibly can.  For hunters we could have dropped it and seen no difference in our DPS outside of the odd 200 maybe which could always be written off as RNG.  It should never get to that point.  Lets hope that they fixed chimera enough to make it a no brainer for the rotation again.

On a side note I saw the argument about hunters using the tanking gun again.  It amazes me how little people know about the hunter class sometimes.  For many people that did not reach the high end game or hard modes the gun was (and still is) best in slot for them.  If you are not a raider at all then without a shadow of a doubt that gun the best best gun in the game for you.  Who cares if it has dodge on it.  People that keep calling it a tank weapon don't know anything about hunters or anything about the game in general really.  If a weapon makes you do more damage it is an upgrade.  End of story.  That is the same for every class.

I wish people would occasionally open their mind a little and think of the bigger picture.  Unless something like that drops in a raid and a tank needs it, then hunters are free to roll for it as a main spec as it is a direct upgrade.  However, as always, being it is not ideal because of the dodge if a tank needs it then it should always go to them first.  If no tanks need it however, it should not go to an open roll, it should go to a main spec roll to a hunter that it would be an upgrade for.

If someone did not roll over a tank for it, or bought it off the auction house, then more power to them for being smart enough to use the best weapon for them at the time.  Insulting someone because they have dodge on a weapon when the weapon ups their DPS is stupid.  Sure, I will change my weapon and do less damage just so I have a weapon that has no dodge on it to make you happy.  Tard.

Personally, I never used it even back when it would have been better then what I had.  I am an elf, elves use bows and crossbows.  That is just nature.  Dwarves use guns.