Hunter mechanics questions

#0 - Sept. 16, 2009, 3:26 p.m.

I got a few questions about hunter mechanics, specifically about the design intent behind them.

So, without further adoâ€¦

Is Tranq Shot the right place to put buff removal?
Because the ability sounds like devs wanted to let hunters remove buffsâ€¦ but not really. I think 6sec is just an unnecessary crutch for PvP, especially since it only removes one ability per cast (enrage being virtually non-existent in pvp). Would it be vastly overpowered to make it remove 2 buffs and 1 enrage? Could alternate possibilities be looked at ? Like Wind Serpent's breath removing buffs or something.

Why is Freezing Trap still breaking on damage?
It used to not break in WotLK BETA but was apparently reverted due to dumb pet A.I. Inconveniently, Bear Trap got removed because Freezing Trap was supposed to do its job; leaving hunters with 0 CC that doesn't break on damage. Couldn't Bear Trap had been left as a placeholder until pets acquire a brain?

Is Cornered boosting resilience intended?
I personally find it is a brilliant way to make pets less fragile in PvP. But if this is intended then a tooltip clarification would be interesting.

Could Cunning pet abilities become more potent without being considered too strong?
3.0+ pet abilities are much more interesting than ever, but they are still cruelly lacking abilities that more often than not simply trigger DRs without having much of an effect. Would increasing their effectiveness by about 50% cause balance problems? Ex: 6sec Web, 3sec Ravage, 8sec Snatchâ€¦

Could BM PvP utility be looked at now that TBW is changing to a defensive cooldown?
BM hunters have weak CC, weak damage out of TBW duration, and 10sec TBW will be easily circumvented by other classes defensive cooldowns. Now that the "Trick" got removed of the "One Trick Pony", could BM use/see an improvement in its utility department?

Why does Chimera Shot have to be so clunky to use in PvP?
Want to disarm that rogue?
Step 1: Apply Scorpid
Step 1.1: Hope Scorpid doesn't get cleansed by his partner
Step 1.2: Hope the HIDDEN cooldown on scorpid disarm is up
Step 2: Chimera Shot
Step 3: Re-apply Serpent Sting (Scorpid is now useless for the next 60sec because -3%hit is nothing compared to Serpent damage, and Chimera Shot won't proc anything from it)

When rogues/warriors/SP's disarm is only: hit one button and profit.

What's the deal with Deterrence providing 100% parry, but Counter-Attack being unusable the only time it has a guaranteed proc?
What's the reasoning behind this? I don't think Counter-Attack is so powerful that it needs such a hard counter from the very character that can use it.

Kill Command is one of the last abilities that can still be macroed and forgotten, why not turn this into a perhaps more BM centric ability that could actually be included in rotations ?
BM rotations are currently relatively boring, and KC doesn't feel very special in its current form. In addition, BM is lacking in the dps department when compared to MM and SV (yes, even after the TBW change).

Ghostcrawler

#15 - Sept. 16, 2009, 9:20 p.m.

Aarulan, I think those are all good points. I can't go into detail on all of them, but for starters Intimidation could be a lot better and Kill Command could be as fun as say Lock and Load instead of a macro'd ability. We're not going to be in a big hurry to buff Tranq Shot. It might be a better way to go to nerf all dispels to something more like that so that they didn't trivially undo buffs, debuffs and CC.

Ghostcrawler

#68 - Sept. 17, 2009, 10:06 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Furthermore, BM is really not the problem. There are very few "BM only" hunters left, you have made sure of that.

BM is actually more popular than MM among level 80s. BM is also the most popular secondary spec, though maybe it could just be to play Pokemon with Spirit Beasts.

Q u o t e:
Then you and Blizz need to apply that same logic to nerfs.

When we do nerfs, it’s because they typically affect a lot more players than just your class. If we nerf a spec, you often have alternatives. When we fail to nerf a spec, the other guy typically does not.

Q u o t e:
How bout a timetable on when you'll be doing SOMETHING to help out the hunter class?

Lots of promises, not a lot of action.

The nerfs came pretty swiftly. The buffs ought to be just as fast.

I like Lym’s answer:

Q u o t e:
As mentioned earlier by a very admirable and intelligent poster, just because you don't see the changes, it doesn't mean there aren't any being made.

Would you prefer Blizzard to announce all these changes for your class, and then find problems with them and have to swap back again?

When designing and implementing changes to a system or game, it's always best not to announce changes until you're sure they will work.

Then alas we get to:

Q u o t e:
TLDR: Hunters can't ever be "good" so we're not really going to do anything too significant to give them the much needed boost to perform in arenas.

Edit: Sorry for the bitterness, but after 6 seasons (7th happening with no light at the end of the tunnel) it's pretty frustrating.

Q u o t e:
As much as I appreciate you addressing our community; I do not at all expect to see any action from you guys in the remote future. Your track record with us is horrid.

Q u o t e:
Which is great and all, but with you guys, it's all talk and no action when it comes to the hunter class. We'd love to do X, Y and Z , but we don't have any ETA on this. This is the blizzard motto. At the same time, you guys are always quick on the trigger to nerf the class when there is the slightest hint of QQ from other classes.

Look, there is no polite way to say this, but some hunters and I are actually trying to have a conversation here. If you want to high five each other about how we'll never fix your class and blah blah, why don't you find somewhere else to post where we don't have to read it? It's not going to make us more likely to buff you and it's just going to annoy other players. It's only possible purpose is to make you feel better, and sadly that purpose is too narrow for such widely-read forums. Continue to post QQ and you'll just get banned, which isn't going to help you or your class.

These are the kind of responses that make me reluctant to post at all. Keep it in check and I'd probably be able to address your issues more frankly more often.