Hunter DPS

[T-Bone]

Yeah, a lot of people, including Kershan, are surprised to learn that when main tanking in raids and healing in raids I used no macros, keybindings or mods that make things easier. I prefer the old fashioned way and it's served me well. All I ever hear from people who use these things are "My keybindings are'nt working" or "My mod has fucked up my interface" resulting them being unable to play for a good while...just not worth it.

 

[Silk]

Guys, I appreciate all the anti macro talk but you're arguing with Gombol and I came here asking for tips. You're preaching to the converted if you're talking to me.. I've never used macros and I've always played well "manually"..

However the hunter is new to me.. I doubt I'm going to get any practise in on instances in the run up to 70 (since noone wants to do non-heroics anymore) so I'm after a few pointers.

How do you sustrain the best DPS without going oom? I find currently the moment I start using anything other than autoshot.. I'm dry in 4 or 5 mobs. Not good.

When doing a shot rotation.. is it a simple case of firing a steady shot right after an AS? Replace with Arcane shot if the situation dictates? What about aimed shot? When should rapid fire be used? Should I use my abilities as soon as their cooldown is up? Should feign death be used everytime it's ready on bosses or is it best to save it 'til you actually get aggro?

 

[Gombol]

Guys, I appreciate all the anti macro talk but you're arguing with Gombol and I came here asking for tips.

Its cause i went alliance, and everyone here has the attitude "alliance suck, horde ftw"

anyway, the first macro would be the best (as it uses steadyshot and auto shot only) then use other shots/stings if you wish (e.g. Aimed for mobs/bosses that heal, scorpids sting (? Correct me, the one that does somthing like -5% or somthing for the target to hit) for all bosses (since it makes healing the MT easier)

*prepares for everyone to start going on about "alliance do suck" etc.*

They are the same, end of conversation before we start.

 

[Ashya]

Nooo, don't think all Alliance suck. The missus plays Alliance more then she does Horde, has more then 3 lvl 70s there, raids endgame like it's on farm. And I can honestly say she doesn't suck (at WoW, that is...)

Now, if it's not Alliance in general that sucks, what does that leave us with for the sake of this discussion?



Aaanyway; on macro's and mods? Use them if they make you have fun playing. As soon as you become a face-rolling button-bashing raidiot that wouldn't know how to play the day someone deletes his /interface folder, stop playing all together. As for tips on playing a hunter; tackle Zhinrak or Umbrator, they never steered -me- wrong. And as long as the interweb has people dedicated to do the maths, there's plenty of tips out there too.

 

[Gombol]

Nooo, don't think all Alliance suck. The missus plays Alliance more then she does Horde, has more then 3 lvl 70s there, raids endgame like it's on farm. And I can honestly say she doesn't suck (at WoW, that is...)

Now, if it's not Alliance in general that sucks, what does that leave us with for the sake of this discussion?

To be honest, theres NO difference between horde and alliance, they both have immature people, they both have mature people, they both have equal races, they both have equal classes, they both have equal citys, the only REAL differences, are the looks of them, and the quests/areas they can quest in, as i said in the post before, discussion over before it started, so shush on it now.

 

[Zhinrak]

Back onto topic of hunter DPS.

I find that using macro's is pointless, the only macros i use on my hunter are ones that left click activate one aspect, right click activates another.

As for keybindings i just have b bound to flare and g bound to my pvp trinket both for pvp.

Simply put it is all about the dps and timing, which recently the only reson ive been having trouble is my horrible fps.

From what i can hear you have it right with the whole steady shot asfter each auto shot. you should also be able to squeeze in arcane shots and multi shots inbetween aswell instead of steady shot. [remember only to use multi shot in safe CC free situations.]

Kill command is good because it doesnt activate global cooldown and shouldnt interupt your auto shot. so if your BM especially good idea to use it. the increased crit in the talent means its much more likely to trigger ferocious inspiration, though i must say gombols estimation of how much damage pet contribute is over estimated, i would say more like 20%.

Mana is an issue i have alot, and unfortunately im stuck using aspect of the viper most the time when aspect of the hawk [improved] increases my dps by 5-10% easily. generally for long extended fights use haw for the first part, switching to aspect of the viper when at about 50-60% mana.

If your in a raid build up hopefully you should have some mana regen in your group, like a shaman or shadowpriest. also i usually request blessing of wisdom from the paladins, though blessing of might gives more ap than aspect of the hawk, the 15% talented speed increase proc more than makes up for it.

If you are really having mana problems theres two things i can suggest, one stack lots of Mp5 on your gear with enchants or armour kits which i personally would avoid. the other is get yourself two one handed weapons with decent stats, you can put 30 intellect on both. so with 2 weapons thats 60 int. this accounts for 600 more mana and more importantly, with aspect of the viper thats another 45Mp5.

hope this has been helpful [ps im another hunter who refuses to use those sill "OMGWTF imba" macros]

 

[Tamgir]

In my opinion, there is no such thing as "the best" shot rotation.
The shot rotation depends on a lot of things. It depends on what kind of enemy you are fighting, how fast your weapon is, what specc you are and so forth.
The most important thing is to not interrupt your own auto shot. That is number 1,2 and 3 on the "how-to"-list. Next comes to make sure not to break any CC around. If you manage those two things you'll be ok. What to put in where for the rest is a matter of trial and error, to see what suits your hunter best.
Generally the maximum dps on raid level hunters comes from the Beast Masters. It is also as beast master it matters the most what type of pet you choose (dps, tank or all-round).
I think the play style for the different specc are quite different (at least I find them to be). I have one lvl 70 beast master and one heroic/raid specced hunter with mostly marksman. I have to confess that I haven't tried a pure survival hunter at lvl 70 yet. (But I will, as soon as I have time to level her ^^)

Edit: almost forgot... I find dual wielding very useful in raids, as it allows me to use two mana-oils at once. That means I can use aspect of the hawk more.

 

[Windzarko]

Its cause i went alliance, and everyone here has the attitude "alliance suck, horde ftw"

No... it isn't. You might have noticed that some of my close friends play Alliance-side even now, and some of my friends I had long before this game came out are playing Alliance now. If you seriously think that's the reason, then you, sir, are an idiot.

anyway, the first macro would be the best (as it uses steadyshot and auto shot only) then use other shots/stings if you wish (e.g. Aimed for mobs/bosses that heal, scorpids sting (? Correct me, the one that does somthing like -5% or somthing for the target to hit) for all bosses (since it makes healing the MT easier)

Macros are training wheels in most circumstances. I'd say to use them if you're still learning, but never rely on them. There are some exceptions; the paladin taunt macro, the mage counterspell macro, etc, but those are somewhat less than constantly used.

*prepares for everyone to start going on about "alliance do suck" etc.*

They are the same, end of conversation before we start.

You started the conversation, not us, then kept on going with it when we're not saying anything like that. Whenever most of us have said this, it's this thing that many of us like to call "a joke", and which you seem to take far too seriously. Stop trying to make a martyr of yourself.

Back on topic; here's a little thread from Elitist Jerks which might help:
http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t16943-hunter_lounge_-_theorycraft_within/
You'll have to go through the pages to find some of the info. There's also other pages on the EJ website for hunters.

I should warn you; as the name says, they are Elitist, and often jerks. I'd recommend taking what they say there into consideration, but do so with a pinch of salt. Some of it is very opinionated, some of it is from a very narrow perspective, but some of it is undeniably accurate and/or worth taking into consideration. Also bear in mind that a lot of the time, they'll be talking from the perspective of someone who's in Tier 5 or higher gear, which often has a noticeable influence.

 

[Gombol]

[mod]Your posts are being deleted by moderators, please stop reposting them now[/mod]

 

[Angelic]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Macro spamming. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FAIL!

Second that.

Do google at home, mate. And try the official forums. I can't tell you anything about hunters, as my highest lvl hunter ever is level 24, but what I can tell you is that macros are evil and kill the last bits of fun you can have. And are not flexible.

EDIT: Consider this an obsolete post, more or less, people before me said what I'm trying to say and said it better. I failed to notice the thread has 3 pages and only read the first one.

 

[Windzarko]

Second that.

Do google at home, mate. And try the official forums. I can't tell you anything about hunters, as my highest lvl hunter ever is level 24, but what I can tell you is that macros are evil and kill the last bits of fun you can have. And are not flexible.

EDIT: Consider this an obsolete post, more or less, people before me said what I'm trying to say and said it better. I failed to notice the thread has 3 pages and only read the first one.

When an increasing number of experienced people say it, it only helps to reinforce the point, so it's not so obsolete

 

[Zhinrak]

I will agree that the official hunter forums are often a good source of information, its where i read up alot of what i now know.

Unfortunately it does mean filtering through masses of crap, 'QQ-ing' nad needless flaming but there are a few posts there that are well worth a read

 

[Windzarko]

Urgh, tell me about it... and also people disregarding valid methods just because it isn't their favourite method. Seen plenty of mages in there disregarding Arcane as worthwhile, for example. Or launching insults at anyone that doesn't use one of a very specific number of hunter pets.

 

[Zhinrak]

The whole thing with hunter pets is a bit hit and miss. i tend to ignor the whole "omg this pet has teh most imba dps" thing. My wolf is fine for dps and im not replacing him with some crappy other pet for the sake of a potential minor increase in dps.

Besides from what i see there are fixing this in WotLK with the new pet talent trees and actually making each pet have a role as either utility, dps or tank which im greatly looking forward to.

 

[Windzarko]

Your wolf is ace, and I could understand not wanting to change him. I only swapped my raptor for a Wind Serpent for a change of pace, and for potentially annoying Paladins in PvP, and it's not a permanent swap.

And Wrath just might make me respec BM... just to get a huge number of points for the Pet talent trees... and maybe an exotic pet for fun...

*rides in with a Devilsaur pet* Lookie! My raptor grew up!

 

[thatbloke]

Your wolf is ace, and I could understand not wanting to change him. I only swapped my raptor for a Wind Serpent for a change of pace, and for potentially annoying Paladins in PvP, and it's not a permanent swap.

And Wrath just might make me respec BM... just to get a huge number of points for the Pet talent trees... and maybe an exotic pet for fun...

*rides in with a Devilsaur pet* Lookie! My raptor grew up!

O god.

Think what Rappie might be able to achieve...

 

[Razaak]

O god.

Think what Rappie might be able to achieve...

Dying in more and more new and interesting ways?

./mourn Rappie

 

[Windzarko]

...*tries to imagine Soulhaven flirting with a Devilsaur Rappie*...