Post by Myre on Aug 17, 2015 4:13:42 GMT -6
Hello all,
This is a more in depth explanation as to what was covered in the Complete Hunter Guide. If you're finding this first, please go back and read the main post first: reignguild.freeforums.net/thread/120/complete-hunter-guide
Basic Spec:
This spec is your go-to when starting out. As a hunter with very little gear, your job is to provide Trueshot Aura (TSA) to people around you. You also need to make sure you are getting as much hit as possible, as the majority of your damage comes from Aimed Shots and Auto-shot Crits, and if you're missing any of those, you're losing major damage points.
Once you get enough hit to swap out of Surefooted, but still are needed to provide TSA, you swap to the spec below.
TSA + BM:
This is a really solid spec, does a lot of consistent damage, and will likely be your go-to for a long while. Pets do a lot of damage with the 20 points in BM, and keeping your pet alive becomes a major priority (even more so than before). At this point, some of your talents may be negotiable based on what you're doing. If you have multiple hunters, you don't all need 3/5 Imp Mark for instance: one of you might go 5/5 while the rest go 3 in Improved Concussive or points in improving your Serpent Sting. There is room for a little flexibility.
Once you have 450++ Agility, AND enough hunters to provide melee with TSA, you can consider swapping to survival.
Survival:
Survival is the single best DPS spec on fights where pet are likely to die. The extra 15% agility and 3% crit only becomes more beneficial after you have enough Agility to offset it (again, 450) so it is not advised at the beginning. If however, you are receiving TSA anyway (say from an abundance of Hunters, or a shortage of melee) it might make sense to swap a little sooner.
Once you have full T-2+ (or ~500 Agility) and are looking to maximize your INDIVIDUAL damage (at a potential loss of RAID damage), BM is the most damage. Check with your class lead and raid leaders before making the following switch.
Standard BM:
BM does the most damage of all specs on fights where your pet can survive. This usually requires a higher level of micro managing, which can reduce your damage if you're not used to it. Practice a lot before bringing this into raid. This spec works best in fights like AQ where the pet can survive however debuffs can sometimes be problematic, which is why Improved Mend Pet is more important than Spirit Bond. Taking off negative curses, diseases, and poisons will go a long way to keeping your pet healthy and maximizing his damage.
On certain fights (where kiting is required for instance), and you want to maintain your damage, a slightly modified spec is recommended.
BM - Modified:
This spec is specifically designed for kiting things like Worms on Fankris and Scarabs on Twins. This will help keep your pet doing the most damage possible (the single point out of Frenzy is not really noticeable) while allowing you to kite more effectively. This will also help you keep more "standard" items equipped for fights, rather than having to put on speed boosting items instead. Overall, it will save you DPS in the longrun and help keep you alive.
Myre
This is a more in depth explanation as to what was covered in the Complete Hunter Guide. If you're finding this first, please go back and read the main post first: reignguild.freeforums.net/thread/120/complete-hunter-guide
Basic Spec:
This spec is your go-to when starting out. As a hunter with very little gear, your job is to provide Trueshot Aura (TSA) to people around you. You also need to make sure you are getting as much hit as possible, as the majority of your damage comes from Aimed Shots and Auto-shot Crits, and if you're missing any of those, you're losing major damage points.
Once you get enough hit to swap out of Surefooted, but still are needed to provide TSA, you swap to the spec below.
TSA + BM:
This is a really solid spec, does a lot of consistent damage, and will likely be your go-to for a long while. Pets do a lot of damage with the 20 points in BM, and keeping your pet alive becomes a major priority (even more so than before). At this point, some of your talents may be negotiable based on what you're doing. If you have multiple hunters, you don't all need 3/5 Imp Mark for instance: one of you might go 5/5 while the rest go 3 in Improved Concussive or points in improving your Serpent Sting. There is room for a little flexibility.
Once you have 450++ Agility, AND enough hunters to provide melee with TSA, you can consider swapping to survival.
Survival:
Survival is the single best DPS spec on fights where pet are likely to die. The extra 15% agility and 3% crit only becomes more beneficial after you have enough Agility to offset it (again, 450) so it is not advised at the beginning. If however, you are receiving TSA anyway (say from an abundance of Hunters, or a shortage of melee) it might make sense to swap a little sooner.
Once you have full T-2+ (or ~500 Agility) and are looking to maximize your INDIVIDUAL damage (at a potential loss of RAID damage), BM is the most damage. Check with your class lead and raid leaders before making the following switch.
Standard BM:
BM does the most damage of all specs on fights where your pet can survive. This usually requires a higher level of micro managing, which can reduce your damage if you're not used to it. Practice a lot before bringing this into raid. This spec works best in fights like AQ where the pet can survive however debuffs can sometimes be problematic, which is why Improved Mend Pet is more important than Spirit Bond. Taking off negative curses, diseases, and poisons will go a long way to keeping your pet healthy and maximizing his damage.
On certain fights (where kiting is required for instance), and you want to maintain your damage, a slightly modified spec is recommended.
BM - Modified:
This spec is specifically designed for kiting things like Worms on Fankris and Scarabs on Twins. This will help keep your pet doing the most damage possible (the single point out of Frenzy is not really noticeable) while allowing you to kite more effectively. This will also help you keep more "standard" items equipped for fights, rather than having to put on speed boosting items instead. Overall, it will save you DPS in the longrun and help keep you alive.
Myre
