Comments on Life of a Nin: On A tank's perspective on Hunters

I agree with most of what you said. (Been a hunte...

2008-08-28T15:34:00.000Z

I agree with most of what you said. (Been a hunter since I started playing in 2005.)

You got the buffs right (so many get it all wrong). Although for salv I would go one step further in saying hunters don't EVER "need" salv. (If every other buff is covered than obviously be dumb not to accept it.)

It is supper easy to play a hunter (badly), but it is difficult to play a hunter to the max. Weaving shots, kiting, managing traps, protecting healers, etc, etc. All those things while maintaining dps.

Trapping is indeed an art. I have always preferred to trap well behind the group where I prime my trap (as I call it). AKA lay the trap early so that the CD is about up when the pull is started.

1) Set trap where I want it
1b)On tougher pulls I have the tank wait about 25 secs before pulling. (normally I try to just get my trap down as early as I can to prime it)
2) Pull mob into trap
3) Step through trapped mob and place another just out of its range
4) Step through that as well.
5) When it breaks it is instantly trapped again
6) Drop another & step through it.

Rinse & repeat. One can trap all day doing this. All the while all out dpsing & watching the mob at the same time.

It is extremely helpful in situations like Moroes in Kara for the few times a hunter is needed to chain trap one of the adds.

Double trapping is a lost art also. I remember back when trapping had to be done OOC. One would have to drop a trap, FD, wait for the mob to be trapped by the tanks agro, pop up & drop another getting 2 mobs trapped at once.

Group assignment: I don't think it was made clear ...

2008-08-14T15:29:00.000Z

Group assignment: I don't think it was made clear in your list. A druid's Leader of the Pack also provides wonders to critical strike chances, which in turn leads to more Kill Commands available for use. That's really the primary reason hunters can go with feral druids.

Combat and Utility: Trueshot Aura does not proc on crit. It's a constant, passive 125 AP buff.

Marksmanship hunters is really the spec that is difficult to palce into groups. Because we suffer from mana shortage more than Beast Mastery hunters, having a shadow priest is preferable. However, we provide no help for the priest because TSA is a buff to physical attacks. This would generally mean that melee groups would be better off having us.

Tier 5: "Many fights are not pet friendly." That's why there's the 2-piece tier 5 set bonus. But that's not necessary for a tank to know...

Thank you for posting the correct order of Blessin...

2008-08-14T14:54:00.000Z

Thank you for posting the correct order of Blessings, so many people assume hunters want/need Salv. As for Kings/ Might, it's largely a spec thing: Survival hunters are very dependent on pure agility to maximize their raid buff, so they will want Kings. BM and Marks hunters typically get better results with Might.

Also do not underestimate the DPS increase that comes from giving the pet Might-- even if it's just the "K-Mart" 10 minute version-- it is such a big help and hunters will love you for it.

As for the hunter buffs, they work like this:
Beast Master - Ferocious Inspiration - increases all party damage by 3% for ten seconds, when the pet crits

Marksman - Trueshot Aura - increases all attack power by 125 (like a paladin Aura, it doesn't go away-- only benefits physical damage dealers though)

Survival - Expose Weakness - increases attack power of the raid by 25% of hunter's agility when the hunter crits.

Oh, and thank you for telling the truth about how trapping is an art form... it really is!

Thanks for these guides. My main is a tank and it...

2008-08-12T17:59:00.000Z

Thanks for these guides. My main is a tank and it's good to have things laid out well. Now I can point new druids or hunters at these guides to give them an idea of what I want from them. Thank you again!