Post by Anansi
I've been a BM Hunter for a long time, and over multiple Hunters and I think it's time for a change. But I don't know what I want to respec into so I'm going to talk out loud here (as it were) so as to get some feedback from you folks. Because I've read so much excellent information here, my indecision is all the more muddled!
As of late I've been wondering if I remain BM because I like it or because it's what I'm used to, and something BRK said in a podcast a while back about speccing to suit your playing style got me thinking. I'm really not very good at BM, and I really don't like relying on my pet for such a huge portion of my damage. But I do like a tough pet. The latest nerf has given me more mobility as I am less reliant on Steady Shot and I really like that (I kind of hate how Steady locks me down both in position and cast time).
Survival looks good for it's utlility, mana regen talent, fairly straight-forward shot rotation and big damage, but the complete rendering of my pet into something, well, ready for rendering is alarming for a long-time BM Hunter. How do you people play without at least 1 point in Improved Mend Pet? What do you do when your pet is diseased or poisoned or seriously hurt? Relying on the bog standard Mend Pet is not something I can get my head around!
Hunting Party is particularly attractive as with BM I'm in Viper way too much and I know my friends would find it useful as well.
Sniper Training sounds great on paper but realistically one is not often at 30+ yards range and I'm wary of the 'trap dancing' approach but I see the rationale behind it.
Marksmanship looks wonderful for personal DPS and mobility, combined with mana management and a reasonable group AP buff, plus it affords dipping into BM for some basic pet-boosting talents which is sort of a nice security blanket. But shot rotation looks a mess and with the oddly-named Improved Steady Shot proccing other shots thrown into the rotation mix, I get the feeling I'd be watching my button bars more than the game and that does not at all appeal to me.
Lastly, as BM I've pretty much gemmed and enchanted with AP and Hit, and I'm not particularly wealthy so I'd prefer to not spend a ton regemming and enchanting for AGI. Marks seems a better bet for taking advantage of AP while SV is clearly all AGI all the time.
Anyways,
this is me for what it's worth.
Any feedback, observations and commentary on my dilemma are much appreciated!
Oh, I should add that my WoW activities are currently in the questing and heroic dungeoneering category. Not raiding or PVPing, but the latter is something I probably will be doing eventually. Any raiding will be no more than 10 mans.