WoW, Hunters: Is it boring to play?

[CrowDog]

Almost everything I hear that people dont like about hunters is the player problem...not a class problem. The problem with any class is the player not playing it right.The Hunter is my favorite class and when played right can control any situation for a whole group. There is alot to know about the class and alot of learning to do to play it right.

I suggest reading this for any hopeful hunter.

 

[HumblePie]

True, what msot people have problems with the hunter, including high level hunters, is solely because they aren'tgood at playing the class. However, this doesn't mean hunters don't have a host of their own problems as a CLASS. We are a ranged attack class with less ranged attack powers then any other ranged class. We are a pet class with less pet powers then a warlock, however we have slightly more "control" with our pets. Then again, we have more micro managing then a warlock for that control.

We are the only class with a "Dead zone" and area we can not attack into between our range attacks and our melee attacks. We have that spot without any way of getting INTO or OUT OF that deadzone spot from our opponent to attack back if they won't let us.

We have problems with equipment specifically tailored to hunters as a whole. We have problems with some pet scaling, not as much as some point out because they are picking the wrong pet for the wrong job, but there is a problem.

We have bugs galore from pet run speeds getting stuck at lower then normal, +attack buffs not doing anything which makes powers like aspect of the hawk and hunters mark nearly worthless, and we have a severe lack of melee prowress.

Those ARE class problems unique to the hunter that all hunters must deal with. No matter how good a player is, they can not make those problems go away. There ARE alot of "problems" people complain about that really aren't valid because they are induced by play style and not by the game to everyone.

Then again, hunters aren't the only ones with problems. Hunters are just last on the list, if there is a list, of getting their problems fixed right now.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: HumblePie
True, what msot people have problems with the hunter, including high level hunters, is solely because they aren'tgood at playing the class. However, this doesn't mean hunters don't have a host of their own problems as a CLASS. We are a ranged attack class with less ranged attack powers then any other ranged class. We are a pet class with less pet powers then a warlock, however we have slightly more "control" with our pets. Then again, we have more micro managing then a warlock for that control.

We are the only class with a "Dead zone" and area we can not attack into between our range attacks and our melee attacks. We have that spot without any way of getting INTO or OUT OF that deadzone spot from our opponent to attack back if they won't let us.

We have problems with equipment specifically tailored to hunters as a whole. We have problems with some pet scaling, not as much as some point out because they are picking the wrong pet for the wrong job, but there is a problem.

We have bugs galore from pet run speeds getting stuck at lower then normal, +attack buffs not doing anything which makes powers like aspect of the hawk and hunters mark nearly worthless, and we have a severe lack of melee prowress.

Those ARE class problems unique to the hunter that all hunters must deal with. No matter how good a player is, they can not make those problems go away. There ARE alot of "problems" people complain about that really aren't valid because they are induced by play style and not by the game to everyone.

Then again, hunters aren't the only ones with problems. Hunters are just last on the list, if there is a list, of getting their problems fixed right now.

Pet speed has improved since a recent patch. There was a limited period of time where the pet would slowly fall further and further behind. The way it is now, it will very occasionally fall behind, and usually for a reason.

I'm using a bear so I don't think it's a type of pet problem when I say that the pet is more and more useless as you approach the high 50's. Of course, it still is useful, and perhaps the real argument should be whether it is TOO good of a tank in instances before then.

The armor problem is really quite a major one. Often times I have to use leather armor instead of mail because the leather armor is just simply better. For example, the blazewind breastplate (think that's the name) or albino crocskin boots. I think that high level weapons are moderately ok for hunters, though more are probably needed. It's the armor situation that is really irritating. Dragonscale leatherworking in particular is frustrating. Beyond the beastplate, not much else is useful for a hunter.

However, all that being said, I still think that the hunter is one of the least problematic classes overall over the course of 60 levels. In fact, the warrior is kind of the opposite of the hunter... mediocre for about 50 levels, then finally starting to come into its own after that.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: CrowDog
Almost everything I hear that people dont like about hunters is the player problem...not a class problem. The problem with any class is the player not playing it right.The Hunter is my favorite class and when played right can control any situation for a whole group. There is alot to know about the class and alot of learning to do to play it right.

I suggest reading this for any hopeful hunter.

That is an excellent article. I have no idea why I am able to read it since last I checked the site is blocked. Anyway, there are a few tips I will quote here because I either did not know them or hadn't thought of the strategy even at level 55:

1. If you do not send your pet at a target, you can feign death and place traps or eat/drink. This is actually a trick similar to the one I do with my priest. I am able to eat/drink sometimes as a priest during mid battle. I did not realize this was the case, though it does make sense intuitively since if you feign death after your pet dies, you are out of combat.

2. While scare beast is dangerous, you can use wing clip PLUS scare beast to do some limited crowd control that is less likely to result in painful death.

 

[BigJimSlade]

2. While scare beast is dangerous, you can use wing clip PLUS scare beast to do some limited crowd control that is less likely to result in painful death.

Good ole EQ fear kiting tactic

 

[HumblePie]

Originally posted by: torpid
Pet speed has improved since a recent patch. There was a limited period of time where the pet would slowly fall further and further behind. The way it is now, it will very occasionally fall behind, and usually for a reason.

I'm using a bear so I don't think it's a type of pet problem when I say that the pet is more and more useless as you approach the high 50's. Of course, it still is useful, and perhaps the real argument should be whether it is TOO good of a tank in instances before then.

The armor problem is really quite a major one. Often times I have to use leather armor instead of mail because the leather armor is just simply better. For example, the blazewind breastplate (think that's the name) or albino crocskin boots. I think that high level weapons are moderately ok for hunters, though more are probably needed. It's the armor situation that is really irritating. Dragonscale leatherworking in particular is frustrating. Beyond the beastplate, not much else is useful for a hunter.

However, all that being said, I still think that the hunter is one of the least problematic classes overall over the course of 60 levels. In fact, the warrior is kind of the opposite of the hunter... mediocre for about 50 levels, then finally starting to come into its own after that.

The pet speed bug I'm refering to has NOTHING to do with pets following after you. ALL pets travel at the same rate when following behind and due to small pathing errors, will eventually lose a step here and there. The further you run, the further they fall behind. As I said, that is NOT what I'm talking about.

Pets have 2 speeds, following speed when traveling behind you and PURSUIT speed. This is the speed they chase down a target at. If you are standing at max range and send in your pet to attack your target, their pursuit speed will affect how fast that they get there. Some pets are MUCH faster then others. A good way to check the speed on your pet is to use Eyes of the Beast and race it with someone else. My pet can currently run down epic mounts even with someone using spurs, the carrot, and riding gloves.

The bug is occasionly, their pursuit speed just drops. The is always caused by a pet getting hit with a negative speed modifier in battle. When the negative effect is suppose to wear off, it doesn't. Also, randomly, and this is harder to reproduce consistantly, your pet will just slow down to a crawl even if you haven't been using it in combat. THAT is the bug I was refering too and it needs to be fixed. The only current work around to this bug is to dismiss your pet and resummon it which causes a lose of 50 happiness. It's annoying as heck when you try to use an aimshot at max range and sick in your pet to have it run so slow to your target that you have taken time to fire your shot of and have the monster run that distance to melee you even with a concussive shot on them. Yes, pets can get that fugging slow.

As far as pet scaling problems... look at the DPS, armor, and hitpoints of ANY bear at level 40 and compare it to a level 50 pet. Then do the same comparison from level 50 to level 60... the problem is the percentage of gains from levels drops dramatically after level 50. Pet scaling is fairly linear all the way to level 50, afterwards it's so slow it's pathetic. This makes a level 60 hunter pet barely better then a 50. The other problem is while pets are losing ground on the scale factor past 50, the monsters you are fighting are gaining ground dramatically. A level 50 monster is > then a level 40 monster. A level 60 monster is >>>>>>>>>> then a level 50 monster. Get the picture? This is something that needs to be seriously looked at and redressed.

 

[Litchfield285]

i have a lvl 52 hunter on a PvP server, and im very discouraged with the class to say the least... dont get me wrong, i love the class and its extremely fun, but the anti hunter sentiment of the population wears on you... at my level to get into a pickup instance group you either have to start the group yourself or get lucky and squeeze your way into a group that, through the grace of god, already has the holy trinity and hasnt picked up another one of the 1,000,000 hunters on the server...

it is true that a well played hunter can be a good addition to any group, the only problem is that even when played at our best we still arent needed... ive seen a poorly played priest, mage or warrior contribute more to a group than an extremely well played hunter...

we're great for soloing, but honestly soloing isnt fun... there are some glaring issues with hunters at endgame that need to be addressed... and im shelving my hunter until we get some love...

as far as pvp is concered we rule lage group pvp encounters... i own people in the nightly SS vs TM battles... but when it comes to 1v1 i usually lose, especially vs priests, druids, and mages... we're going to do very well in battlegrounds which is the only reason why im keeping my hunter...

i figure ill lvl a priest to 60 so i can get in instance groups whenever i want, and ill get my hunter to 60 so i can aid in battlegrounds... that way ill get the most out of the game im paying monthly for...