first, defining this; Hunter, as the only pure dps class in the game, should be the top dps class (as a max potential with optimal gear/synergy/skill). as it has no options. Utillity dictates that there is no need for more than one, in a 10-20-30-or 40 man raid, as is.
Heart of the lion and trueshot aura on 1 hunter, and the warriors/rogues are happy…the meta will, as it looks, be classic over again; stack warriors (who, due to itemization in higher lvls, also will be MT and OT) and win.
Mages parsing high on dps and healing at the same time, negates them from being top dps. warrior, rouge and druid, and now warlock can all tank, and cc. hunter doesnt have any cc at 25, and a long cd FD/Trap macro at 40, thats pretty much it.
thats what the big scary pet should counter at 25.
and how to counter it, btw.
Changes that should happen imo :
Lone wolf should be buffed to 25% damagebonus, and remove deadzone. and, add a dodge-bonus of 5-8%., or a leap type (to max 30 yards) abillity. that would open the door for survival/melee hunters to have a NEW playstyle and excel in the game, espess pvp wise (without a scary pet at all, to make everyone cry)
exploshot and chimera should be on two different slots - one is a single target dps staple, the other is an aoe.
actually, remove arcaneshot and make it explo shot.
arc shot is pointless and has been for 20 yrs, its there as banter by now, but a tired joke…
traps should be usable in combat.
and icetrap fireable at range.
im fine with nerfing pet dps, i see why. it doesnt feel fair to ppl loosing to a pet. no problem there. so; the BM tree should become a tank-spec.
the pet gains aoe threat(castable) a sheildwall-type abillity on a short cd to withstand crusing blows (shell sheild is not powerful enough), and an armor/stam bonus instaed on damage bonuses, making pets viable MT for dungeouns and raids at max lvl.
cobra strikes should be threatincreasers, like an extra aoe taunt instead, procced of hunter crits. beastmastery rune should be 80% buff to armor and stamina for pet, and 50% focus regen, and the taunt last 6 sec.
…And make world buffs count again!
if a pvper beats u with every world buff up, thats just stats vs stats.
all that nerf is, is a straight nerf to pve dps.
nothing else.
the forgoitten tree, survival, should be the pvp spec tree, with escapes and snares and move Hawk eye there, as its for kiting.
all melee hunting abillities belong there as well -
marks should be the dps raid spec. make sniper training a buff that lasts 7-10 sec, so it doesnt force u to hate to move, when u have to move.
what a dumb design that is.
chimera needs to be what it started as, 125% wepdamage. explosive shot should be the AoE attack, somewhere around 75% of wep dmg, 8 yard aoe effect, 3 ticks.
imp arcane shot in the MM tree should be removed, and replaced with an abillity to either regen mana while dpsing, or a procced runspeed/haste buff
aimed shot should be changed, as its almost the new arcaneshot with its flat scaling. +70 wep dmg at 25, +200 wep dmg at 40 - its too weak to be a staple in an MM rotation at either level, only usable as an opener, and the point better spent on imp mark tbh. its average (over 3 sec) dmg needs to be on par with the top dps, and just adding wep dmg to it would make it WAY OP (quoting future pvp cries) for pvp. the entire mechanic of it is the problem. (if warriors sim to around 800 dps, aimed would have to average 800 dps - meaning a crit would be 3500-4000… not viable at all)
overall, reduce the cost of mana 50% flat on everything. its a pointless cap to gameplay (!!) and the class doesnt have any regen. it makes no actual sense, so make it matter as little as it should. “mana management” would imply one has a regen, otherwise its just an artificial ceiling to dps and dissapointing, not fun.
being able to maintank or offtank would be amazing for everyone.
this way, the pet doesnt do crazy dps, but crazy threat which doesnt affect pvp’ers. and, it helps alot with the whole “LFG missing Tank, ready to go”-aspect of tradechat - which is a 20 year old cunundrum.
as for ppl will solo dungeouns with it - yep - we will. we already do, and mages do it better than we would be able to after this anyway, so…
give us BM tanking and then make MM be equal to warr, rogue lock and cat on damagemeters, not 5% ahead.
Thats only fair. utility has a cost/benefit to it.
as is tho, we dont have that.
and ofc, like everyone prob wants, add dual spec
'tis the season of discovery, and playing either a petless melee leaping trapmaster with a bow,(if thats NOT the legolas fantasy then i dunno) or a beastmaster with a raidtank, would both be fun NEW experiences.
blizz cant balance using pvp good, so pve bad logic.
ppl play either one, or the other mostly, so u ruin the class for a huge amount of players if u do.
pve balance is counted versus other pve class, and pvp versus other pvp classes. both have to work well for all, IF played well, or its a fail. If one has to be OP, make it pvp, its the lesser of two priorities as the vast majority of the game is pve.
what would i play? i mite MT/OT, that would be a fun xp. even tho i love MM normally, and have played it most of the 20 yrs of wow. i HATE having to melee weave, its awful, due to the constant running. ppl who like that and somehow didnt pick rogue, should atleast play the improved Lone wolf rune.