Really, that is the best title for this post.
Greetings and Salutations, all! I hope Thanksgiving found everybody at home with family, stuffing yourselves dumb, like I did. As you contemplate the mountains of leftovers in your fridge and squeeble over the soon- to- be release of Cataclysm, let’s talk about something near and dear to my heart.
Hunters.
Yes. I AM A HUNTER AT HEART. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE druids. LOVE. But my DPS class of choice is- and always will be- a Hunter. I will, in fact, be rolling a Worgen Hunter next week- Sethserra. And one of the things that always pisses me off about Hunters is this- the sheer amount of Huntards out there. Hunters are, indeed, one of the easiest classes to play. But it takes something special to be a GOOD Hunter. I was a good Hunter. I raided TBC as a BM Hunter. I know, I know, all I had to to was keybind Steady Shot to my mousewheel and weave it between Auto Shots to get top DPS, but that’s not what made me a good Hunter. And, frankly, the overabundance of Huntards I see is disheartening. Huntards are a plague on WoW society- they make us grind our teeth when they don’t take Growl off (unless the Tank can’t tank), or when they complain that us healers should be healing their pets (you have Mend Pet, don’t you? USE IT.) or when they frontload enough DPS to pull aggro off of a pro!tank… and then whine when they die. Something needs to be said to stem the flow of Huntards. So, here it is! This is for you, pro!Hunters who are sick of having your good reps destroyed by these noobs, and you, new WoWers who want to play a Hunter.
The Classic Hunter
Hunters: Don’t Be Like This
1. Don’t complain about your Resource. For fucking serious. Focus is AWESOME in a bucket. It beats the shit out of having Mana. I am sick to death of listening to Huntards complain that ‘Focus doesn’t work.’ It DOES work, you just have to learn how to use it. Know what abilities generate Focus, which ones use it, and which ones have no cost.
2. Put your damn pet on Passive in instances. Really, this is something you should be doing anyways. Your pet should be under your control. The best way to do that is to command it to attack when you do, that way it always attacks your target (which should be the tank’s target) instead of running around attacking everything else. And under no circumstances should your pet ever be on Aggressive. The only possible exception to this should be when you’re trying to find that sneaky ass rogue who keeps ganking you or during a duel.
3. Always be aware of your pet’s location. This will prevent a lot of heartache- and wipes- in instances. Pet management is key to being a good hunter- know where they are and what they’re doing at all times, so they don’t pull a group of mobs you’re not ready for.
4. Turn Growl off. There is no reason you should have Growl on during an instance. The exception? If you’re saving the healer’s life by having your pet pull aggro off of them. That’s the ONLY time you should have Growl on in an instance.
5. Don’t forget about Traps! You’re Traps are great CC, especially since they now can be delivered via a shot. Just don’t forget about ‘em once they’re set. Remember their duration, and remember to refresh them if necessary. Also… don’t break your own CC. That should go without saying, but… I’m saying it. With how important CC is going to be in Cataclysm, you can’t afford to fuck up like that.
6. Learn/ remember how to kite properly. I know, I know! Its been a long time since the days when we had to kite General Drakkisath in UBRS, but you will NEED to dust off (or gain completely) those kiting skillz. According to rumor, there is going to be a boss in Cata that will have a mob that will need to be kited the entire fight, so get ready.
I know, I know… I usually do this in groups of 10, but I think I’ve covered just about everything. Come back later on for an Introduce an Alt post before Cata’s release. Until then, stay angry, healers!
~Pyo
