No one!
Unfortunately no one entered the contest so there is no prize to give away. I feel it for the better right now with my time being limited and not being able to keep as up to date right now with information. I'll leave the opportunity open for anyone who wishes to win the prizes if they so choose to submit a entry.
I hope maybe sometime I can become a little more up to date with some new information and changes that have gone on.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
My Time is Now Limited
I have recently started a new job which will severely limit my time to create articles. I would really like to find someone that can help me write articles. If you are interested please let me know.
Also don't forget the contest. It ends on the 30th so be sure to get your entries in.
Thanks
Also don't forget the contest. It ends on the 30th so be sure to get your entries in.
Thanks
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Cataclysm Commercial and Intro
If you haven't seen these yet then you definitely need to take a look. The cinematic is absolutely amazing.
This is the 30 second commercial shown during the Dallas vs. Minnesota game.
This is the full length cinematic intro.
Enjoy!
This is the 30 second commercial shown during the Dallas vs. Minnesota game.
This is the full length cinematic intro.
Enjoy!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Oh no, Bugs! 4.0.1
I have been checking out the Bug Forum lately for any significant hunter bugs.
There is a pretty big bug with hunters pets in the stables going missing. You can view the thread here. I would be advised to be careful what rare pets you have obtained put into your stable. I could suggest keeping them in your Call Stable Pet for now until this bug has been resolved as to not risk losing your beloved.
Some people appear to be have trouble with the Master Marksman effect not providing a free non cast Aimed Shot at 5 stacks. If this is you, check out this thread.
There are also multiple threads about pets Dash ability. It appears to unlearn itself from Core Hounds and Devilsaurs and some players can't find the spell in the spell book after a pet learns it. Check them out here.
I believe that is all I have been able to find so far. Hopefully all gets fixed pretty quickly as I know we all want to go out and catch all kinds of new pets!
There is a pretty big bug with hunters pets in the stables going missing. You can view the thread here. I would be advised to be careful what rare pets you have obtained put into your stable. I could suggest keeping them in your Call Stable Pet for now until this bug has been resolved as to not risk losing your beloved.
Some people appear to be have trouble with the Master Marksman effect not providing a free non cast Aimed Shot at 5 stacks. If this is you, check out this thread.
There are also multiple threads about pets Dash ability. It appears to unlearn itself from Core Hounds and Devilsaurs and some players can't find the spell in the spell book after a pet learns it. Check them out here.
I believe that is all I have been able to find so far. Hopefully all gets fixed pretty quickly as I know we all want to go out and catch all kinds of new pets!
4.0.1 Rotations
Thanks to Midnight at EJ using FaceShooter we have a little bit of a rotation for each spec we can play around with.
EDIT: I mentioned getting ISS for the other 2 specs. I forgot that isn't possible in 4.0.1 because we only have 5 left over talents. Please disregard what I said, I misunderstood it. They were only talking about getting ISS over Pathing for the MM spec.
SV:
if HM is not on target or running out in less than a set time and there´s no MfD on target and focus/cooldowns/target heath don´t allow for KS, ES or BA
--> cast HM
if KS is off CD and target health is at or below 20%
--> cast KS
if ES is off CD and either enough focus or LnL charges left and last ES cast is 2 or more seconds ago
--> cast ES
if BA is off CD and enough focus
--> cast BA
if SpS is not on target and enough focus
--> cast SpS
if focus over or at 75 (modified by Efficiency) and there´s no LnL buff
--> cast AS
if KC is off CD and enough focus and LnL buff up
--> cast KC
none of the above
--> cast CoS
BM:
if HM is not on target or running out in less than a set time and there´s no MfD on target and focus/cooldowns/target heath don´t allow for KS or KC
--> cast HM
if KS is off CD and target health is at or below 20%
--> cast KS
if KC is off CD and enough focus
--> cast KC
if SpS is not on target and enough focus
--> cast SpS
if focus over or at 75 (modified by Efficiency)
--> cast AS
none of the above
--> cast CoS
MM:
if HM is not on target or running out in less than a set time and there´s no MfD on target and MfD is not talented and focus/cooldowns/target heath don´t allow for KS or CS
--> cast HM
if KS is off CD and target health is at or below 20%
--> cast KS
if CS is off CD and enough focus
--> cast CS
if MMM buff is up
--> cast AimS
if SpS is not on target and enough focus
--> cast SpS
if SS won´t overcap focus and last spell has been SS and the spell before last spell has not been SS
--> cast SS
if enough focus to cast AS now and still enough to cast CS whenever it comes off CD
--> cast AS
none of the above
--> cast SS
SourceThey also bring up a good point right now with using ISS over Pathing in 4.0.1. ISS provides much more haste than Pathing does.
EDIT: I mentioned getting ISS for the other 2 specs. I forgot that isn't possible in 4.0.1 because we only have 5 left over talents. Please disregard what I said, I misunderstood it. They were only talking about getting ISS over Pathing for the MM spec.
Pet of the Week 10/14
I have really been slacking with 4.0.1 coming out. I've been trying to download the patch and get everything working. The download speeds I have been experiencing are atrocious so it's taking me awhile and distracting me.
So this weeks pet of the week is the Green Devilsaur. There is only one green skin Devilsaur in the game and that is King Krush that is a rare elite found in Sholazar Basin.
Devilsaurs bring an increased crit chance as well as a mortal strike. Also I picked out the green skin because basically it reminds me of Reptar. Any one remember the old Rugrats show on Nick? Tommy's favorite dinosaur was Reptar so I'm kicking it back old school!
Enjoy your Devilsaur and I hope everyone is enjoying the new changes in 4.0.1.
So this weeks pet of the week is the Green Devilsaur. There is only one green skin Devilsaur in the game and that is King Krush that is a rare elite found in Sholazar Basin.
Enjoy your Devilsaur and I hope everyone is enjoying the new changes in 4.0.1.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
4.0.1 Overview
Here is a quick brief overview for what hunters can expect in the new patch.
1. Talent System - As most of you should know by now there is a new 41 point system system with 31 point trees. You have to put 31 points in a single tree before you can move on to a second tree. This pretty much prevents any hybrid builds, which is perfectly fine, I don't think you would want to dip half way down 2 trees anyways.
2. Focus - There is no more mana for hunters, we can now stop complaining about going oom half way through a fight and losing precious dps going into Aspect of the Viper. With that, any spells or abilities dealing with mana have been removed. Focus is what our pets have been using this entire time and it works just like energy does. It regens over time and we have 2 shots that cost no focus and give us 9 focus instantly, Cobra and Steady Shot.
3. Glyphs - A lot of glyphs have changed around. They have a new tier of glyphs called prime glyphs. These effect our damage dealing shots mostly. You also no longer have to buy multiple glyphs if you ever need to replace you. Once you learn a glyph you can replace it and go back to it later. All you need it a dust of disappearance from any inscription vendor.
4. Stats - Armor Penetration is no longer a stat. All arp gems have been replaced by crit. On gear if the piece already had crit it was turned to haste and if it already had haste it was turned to crit. Same goes for the trinkets like NES, Runestone, Banner of Victory, and so on.
There is also a new stat called mastery. Each spec is given a different mastery. They are unique to that spec and can be pretty beneficial. Gear found around level 78 will start carrying the mastery stats.
5. Gems - Agility gems are still red. Haste and mastery are yellow. Hit is now blue.
6. Reforging - This allows you to reforge a secondary stat to another secondary stat. You can reforge up to 40% of that stat. Meaning if you have 100 hit on a piece you can reforge 40 of that hit into another secondary stat.
For hunters that would be: crit, haste, mastery, and hit.
7. Pets - The new pet abilities will be available and ready to use. Along with the new Call Pet system which allows you to hold onto 5 pets for easy changing and allows you to hold 20 pets at the stable master.
8. Currency Changes - Currency is being converted to a new points system. As of 4.0.1 Frost and Triumph badges will be converted to Justice Points (JP) which will be used for the first tier of raiding. In raids you will acquire Valor Points (VP). Honor will also be converted into an Honor Points system. All points will have a cap. I know JP caps at 4000. I'm not sure about the rest.
All other emblems below triumph will be converted into gold.
9. Ammo - There is also no more ammo so you can vendor all left over arrows and bullets. Thanks Sandinmygum for pointing that out.
While there have been a lot of tweaking in numbers I believe you will now see a diversity in specs. With the changes BM and SV have become more in tune with the MM spec and you won't see every hunter running MM just to be the best in DPS. It will take a lot of tuning to get rotations/priorities down so be patient.
This can be found at the ZAM Hunter Forums.
1. Talent System - As most of you should know by now there is a new 41 point system system with 31 point trees. You have to put 31 points in a single tree before you can move on to a second tree. This pretty much prevents any hybrid builds, which is perfectly fine, I don't think you would want to dip half way down 2 trees anyways.
2. Focus - There is no more mana for hunters, we can now stop complaining about going oom half way through a fight and losing precious dps going into Aspect of the Viper. With that, any spells or abilities dealing with mana have been removed. Focus is what our pets have been using this entire time and it works just like energy does. It regens over time and we have 2 shots that cost no focus and give us 9 focus instantly, Cobra and Steady Shot.
3. Glyphs - A lot of glyphs have changed around. They have a new tier of glyphs called prime glyphs. These effect our damage dealing shots mostly. You also no longer have to buy multiple glyphs if you ever need to replace you. Once you learn a glyph you can replace it and go back to it later. All you need it a dust of disappearance from any inscription vendor.
4. Stats - Armor Penetration is no longer a stat. All arp gems have been replaced by crit. On gear if the piece already had crit it was turned to haste and if it already had haste it was turned to crit. Same goes for the trinkets like NES, Runestone, Banner of Victory, and so on.
There is also a new stat called mastery. Each spec is given a different mastery. They are unique to that spec and can be pretty beneficial. Gear found around level 78 will start carrying the mastery stats.
5. Gems - Agility gems are still red. Haste and mastery are yellow. Hit is now blue.
6. Reforging - This allows you to reforge a secondary stat to another secondary stat. You can reforge up to 40% of that stat. Meaning if you have 100 hit on a piece you can reforge 40 of that hit into another secondary stat.
For hunters that would be: crit, haste, mastery, and hit.
7. Pets - The new pet abilities will be available and ready to use. Along with the new Call Pet system which allows you to hold onto 5 pets for easy changing and allows you to hold 20 pets at the stable master.
8. Currency Changes - Currency is being converted to a new points system. As of 4.0.1 Frost and Triumph badges will be converted to Justice Points (JP) which will be used for the first tier of raiding. In raids you will acquire Valor Points (VP). Honor will also be converted into an Honor Points system. All points will have a cap. I know JP caps at 4000. I'm not sure about the rest.
All other emblems below triumph will be converted into gold.
9. Ammo - There is also no more ammo so you can vendor all left over arrows and bullets. Thanks Sandinmygum for pointing that out.
While there have been a lot of tweaking in numbers I believe you will now see a diversity in specs. With the changes BM and SV have become more in tune with the MM spec and you won't see every hunter running MM just to be the best in DPS. It will take a lot of tuning to get rotations/priorities down so be patient.
This can be found at the ZAM Hunter Forums.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Cataclysm Guide on ZAM
I have been working on a Cataclysm Guide for the ZAM website. I have tried to streamline all the information I have posted and have found to create a thread that incorporates all the information so far regarding the upcoming expansion.
You can view the guide here. I am also working on an updated FAQ written by Aethien from ZAM, you can view that here.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Pet of the Week 10/8
Welcome to this weeks pet of the week. I'm sorry I'm a couple days off. I've been busy this week but alas we have a new winner for this week. This weeks winner is the Spirit Leopard!
Most of you know him as Loque'nahak from Sholazar Basin. Spirit Beasts bring a new healing over time spell to hunters. They can provide essential healing for soloing or add some healing to a tank during a raid. This is an exotic pet so only Beast Master hunters can tame him. He is very rare and hard to find so be prepared to spend a lot of time trying to tame him as he will surely elude you.
Check back next week for the new pet of the week.
Check back next week for the new pet of the week.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Survival Leveling Build: Cataclysm
In this article I would like to talk about a leveling build centered around the Survival spec. Since you don't receive talent points after each level you will need to make sure to optimize your points for the best performance while leveling.
Level 10: 1/2 Improved Serpent Sting
Level 11: 2/2 Improved Serpent Sting
To provide some survivability we will grab Hunter vs. Wild
Level 13: 1/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 15: 2/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 17: 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
I'm grabbing Entrapment to provide some CC onto mobs when they get too close.
Level 19: 1/2 Entrapment
Level 21: 2/2 Entrapment
Level 23: 1/3 Trap Mastery
Level 25: 2/3 Trap Mastery
Level 27: 3/3 Trap Mastery
Level 29: 1/2 Lock and Load
Level 31: 2/2 Lock and Load
Level 33: 1/3 Thrill of the Hunt
Level 35: 2/3 Thrill of the Hunt
Level 37: 3/3 Thrill of the Hunt
Level 39 : 1/2 T.N.T.
Level 41: 2/2 T.N.T
Next I decided it would be best to grab Mirrored Blades. A lot of mobs when soloing like to cast spells. If you find yourself in a bind with low health you can always pop Deterrence to reflect some damage back at the mob and potentially kill them if they are low enough.
Level 43: 1/2 Mirrored Blades
Level 45: 2/2 Mirrored Blades
Level 47: 1/3 Pathing
Level 49: 1/1 Hunting Party
Level 51: 1/2 Toxicology
Level 53: 2/2 Toxicology
Level 55: 1/1 Wyvern Sting
Level 57: 1/2 Noxious Stings
Level 59: 2/2 Noxious Stings
Level 61: 1/3 Sniper Training
Level 63: 2/3 Sniper Training
Level 65: 3/3 Sniper Training
Level 67: 1/2 Serpent Spread
This will lead you to your 31 point talent which is the ever amazing Black Arrow.
Level 69: 1/1 Black Arrow
Next, I would grab 3/3 One With Nature.
Level 71: 1/3 One With Nature
Level 73: 2/3 One With Nature
Level 75: 3/3 One With Nature
Now I would go ahead and grab Efficiency to lower the cost of Explosive Shot.
Level 77: 1/3 Efficiency
Level 79: 2/3 Efficiency
Level 81: 3/3 Efficiency
Now I would grab the rest of Pathing and then put the remainder into Bestial Discipline.
Level 82: 2/3 Pathing
Level 83: 3/3 Pathing
Level 84: 1/3 Bestial Discipline
Level 85: 2/3 Bestial Discipline
So now your final spec will look like this.
Please remember that this is a spec for leveling and not optimized for the best possible dps. When you reach 85 if you would like to try your hands at raiding or experience end game content you will want to respec into a more suitable spec. You can view a great raiding survival spec as well as more information regarding the spec at the Survival page.
Level 10: 1/2 Improved Serpent Sting
Level 11: 2/2 Improved Serpent Sting
To provide some survivability we will grab Hunter vs. Wild
Level 13: 1/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 15: 2/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 17: 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
I'm grabbing Entrapment to provide some CC onto mobs when they get too close.
Level 19: 1/2 Entrapment
Level 21: 2/2 Entrapment
Level 23: 1/3 Trap Mastery
Level 25: 2/3 Trap Mastery
Level 27: 3/3 Trap Mastery
Level 29: 1/2 Lock and Load
Level 31: 2/2 Lock and Load
Level 33: 1/3 Thrill of the Hunt
Level 35: 2/3 Thrill of the Hunt
Level 37: 3/3 Thrill of the Hunt
Level 39 : 1/2 T.N.T.
Level 41: 2/2 T.N.T
Next I decided it would be best to grab Mirrored Blades. A lot of mobs when soloing like to cast spells. If you find yourself in a bind with low health you can always pop Deterrence to reflect some damage back at the mob and potentially kill them if they are low enough.
Level 43: 1/2 Mirrored Blades
Level 45: 2/2 Mirrored Blades
Level 47: 1/3 Pathing
Level 49: 1/1 Hunting Party
Level 51: 1/2 Toxicology
Level 53: 2/2 Toxicology
Level 55: 1/1 Wyvern Sting
Level 57: 1/2 Noxious Stings
Level 59: 2/2 Noxious Stings
Level 61: 1/3 Sniper Training
Level 63: 2/3 Sniper Training
Level 65: 3/3 Sniper Training
Level 67: 1/2 Serpent Spread
This will lead you to your 31 point talent which is the ever amazing Black Arrow.
Level 69: 1/1 Black Arrow
Next, I would grab 3/3 One With Nature.
Level 71: 1/3 One With Nature
Level 73: 2/3 One With Nature
Level 75: 3/3 One With Nature
Now I would go ahead and grab Efficiency to lower the cost of Explosive Shot.
Level 77: 1/3 Efficiency
Level 79: 2/3 Efficiency
Level 81: 3/3 Efficiency
Now I would grab the rest of Pathing and then put the remainder into Bestial Discipline.
Level 82: 2/3 Pathing
Level 83: 3/3 Pathing
Level 84: 1/3 Bestial Discipline
Level 85: 2/3 Bestial Discipline
So now your final spec will look like this.
Please remember that this is a spec for leveling and not optimized for the best possible dps. When you reach 85 if you would like to try your hands at raiding or experience end game content you will want to respec into a more suitable spec. You can view a great raiding survival spec as well as more information regarding the spec at the Survival page.
Marksmanship Leveling Build: Cataclysm
In this article I would like to take a look at a leveling build for the Marksmanship tree. In this tree you will receive Aimed Shot. But you don't learn this until level 20.
Starting out your pet is going to be a big part of your leveling and damage so it's best to go ahead and get Go For the Throat and then grab Rapid Killing.
Level 10: 1/2 Go For the Throat
Level 11: 2/2 Go For the Throat
Level 13: 1/2 Rapid Killing
Now, I would go ahead and grab 2/3 Efficiency to move onto tier 2.
Level 15: 1/3 Efficiency
Level 17: 2/3 Efficiency
Level 19: 1/2 Sic 'Em
Level 21: 2/2 Sic 'Em
Level 23: 1/2 Careful Aim
Level 25: 2/2 Careful Aim
Level 27: 3/3 Efficiency
The reason I didn't take Improved Steady Shot is that haste won't affect you all that much at such a low level. Also when soloing you won't have much time to stand around to cast Steady Shot. It would make a good opener on a far away mob but after that you should be using Arcane and Kill Command.
Level 29: 1/3 Piercing Shots
Level 31: 2/3 Piercing Shots
Level 33: 3/3 Piercing Shots
Level 35: 1/2 Concussive Barrage
Level 37: 2/2 Concussive Barrage
I decided to grab Concussive Barrage for a bit of CC into mobs. Since your pet won't be able to handle all the threat from your attacks it's best to provide a bit of CC.
Level 39: 1/1 Trueshot Aura
Level 41: 1/2 Resistance is Futile
Level 43: 2/2 Resistance is Futile
Grabbing Resistance is Futile is a good idea. A lot of humanoids flee when they get below 30% or so.
Level 45: 1/2 Bombardment
Level 47: 2/2 Bombardment
Level 49: 1/1 Readiness
Level 51: 1/2 Rapid Recouporation
Level 53: 2/2 Rapid Recouporation
Level 55: 1/3 Master Marksman
Level 57: 2/3 Master Marksman
Level 59: 3/3 Master Marksman
Level 61: 1/2 Posthaste
Level 63: 2/2 Posthaste
At this point you will need to go back and grab 2 more talents to be able to get Chimera Shot. I suggest grabbing Improved Steady Shot.
Level 65: 1/3 Improved Steady Shot
Level 67: 2/3 Improved Steady Shot
Level 69: 1/1 Chimera Shot
Now, I would grab 3/3 One With Nature for the AP bonus.
Level 71: 1/3 One With Nature
Level 73: 2/3 One With Nature
Level 75: 3/3 One With Nature
Level 77: 1/3 Bestial Discipline
Level 79: 2/3 Bestial Discipline
For some added survivability and stability while leveling you can get Hunter vs. Wild. If you aren't having trouble you can grab Pathing.
Level 81: 1/3 Pathing or Hunter vs. Wild
Level 82: 2/3 Pathing or Hunter vs. Wild
Level 82: 3/3 Pathing or Hunter vs. Wild
Level 84: 1/3 Frenzy
Level 85: 2/3 Frenzy
This should finish off your leveling. Your talent tree will then look like this (Hunter vs. Wild) or this (Pathing).
Please note that this is not the most optimal raiding spec. This is purely for leveling to 85. At this point if you would like to start raiding you will need to respec. You can take a look at the Marksmanship page for some information regarding the best raiding specs.
Starting out your pet is going to be a big part of your leveling and damage so it's best to go ahead and get Go For the Throat and then grab Rapid Killing.
Level 10: 1/2 Go For the Throat
Level 11: 2/2 Go For the Throat
Level 13: 1/2 Rapid Killing
Now, I would go ahead and grab 2/3 Efficiency to move onto tier 2.
Level 15: 1/3 Efficiency
Level 17: 2/3 Efficiency
Level 19: 1/2 Sic 'Em
Level 21: 2/2 Sic 'Em
Level 23: 1/2 Careful Aim
Level 25: 2/2 Careful Aim
Level 27: 3/3 Efficiency
The reason I didn't take Improved Steady Shot is that haste won't affect you all that much at such a low level. Also when soloing you won't have much time to stand around to cast Steady Shot. It would make a good opener on a far away mob but after that you should be using Arcane and Kill Command.
Level 29: 1/3 Piercing Shots
Level 31: 2/3 Piercing Shots
Level 33: 3/3 Piercing Shots
Level 35: 1/2 Concussive Barrage
Level 37: 2/2 Concussive Barrage
I decided to grab Concussive Barrage for a bit of CC into mobs. Since your pet won't be able to handle all the threat from your attacks it's best to provide a bit of CC.
Level 39: 1/1 Trueshot Aura
Level 41: 1/2 Resistance is Futile
Level 43: 2/2 Resistance is Futile
Grabbing Resistance is Futile is a good idea. A lot of humanoids flee when they get below 30% or so.
Level 45: 1/2 Bombardment
Level 47: 2/2 Bombardment
Level 49: 1/1 Readiness
Level 51: 1/2 Rapid Recouporation
Level 53: 2/2 Rapid Recouporation
Level 55: 1/3 Master Marksman
Level 57: 2/3 Master Marksman
Level 59: 3/3 Master Marksman
Level 61: 1/2 Posthaste
Level 63: 2/2 Posthaste
At this point you will need to go back and grab 2 more talents to be able to get Chimera Shot. I suggest grabbing Improved Steady Shot.
Level 65: 1/3 Improved Steady Shot
Level 67: 2/3 Improved Steady Shot
Level 69: 1/1 Chimera Shot
Now, I would grab 3/3 One With Nature for the AP bonus.
Level 71: 1/3 One With Nature
Level 73: 2/3 One With Nature
Level 75: 3/3 One With Nature
Level 77: 1/3 Bestial Discipline
Level 79: 2/3 Bestial Discipline
For some added survivability and stability while leveling you can get Hunter vs. Wild. If you aren't having trouble you can grab Pathing.
Level 81: 1/3 Pathing or Hunter vs. Wild
Level 82: 2/3 Pathing or Hunter vs. Wild
Level 82: 3/3 Pathing or Hunter vs. Wild
Level 84: 1/3 Frenzy
Level 85: 2/3 Frenzy
This should finish off your leveling. Your talent tree will then look like this (Hunter vs. Wild) or this (Pathing).
Please note that this is not the most optimal raiding spec. This is purely for leveling to 85. At this point if you would like to start raiding you will need to respec. You can take a look at the Marksmanship page for some information regarding the best raiding specs.
Beast Master Leveling Build: Cataclysm
In this article I would like to discuss some leveling builds. With the up and coming expansion I expect a lot of people to want to level up new characters to check out old world content. With the major overhaul to the talent trees you won't be getting talent points every level so I might be a little more difficult to decide where to put things.
One of the first things we need to look at is when we will be acquiring certain spells.
Lets take a look at the Beast Master Tree first. Luckily we receive both Kill Command and Aspect of the Hawk at level 10. As some extra crit on Kill Command won't be that useful we will go ahead and take One With Nature.
Level 10: 1/3 One With Nature
Level 11: 2/3 One With Nature
Level 13: 3/3 One With Nature
Level 15: 1/2 Improved Kill Command
Level 17: 2/2 Improved Kill Command
Next is where you can really pick and choose what you would like to do. In a soloing sense in BM, pet's are your main focus really. So keeping them alive is a pretty big deal. With the new change to mend pet, getting improved mend pet could prove to be essential for pet tanking.
Level 19: 1/2 Improved Mend Pet
Level 21: 2/2 Improved Mend Pet
Level 23: 1/2 Spirit Bond
Level 25: 2/2 Spirit Bond
Level 27 1/3 Frenzy or 1/3 Bestial Discipline
At this point your fights really shouldn't last that long so getting Frenzy and Focus Fire won't be that big of a deal just yet as you would probably not really use Focus Fire.
Level 29: 1/1 Frevor
Level 31: 1/3 Cobra Strikes
Level 33: 2/3 Cobra Strikes
Level 35: 3/3 Cobra Strikes
You will now have Kill Shot. It is an amazing shot with no focus cost and should be used whenever your target is below 20% health.
Level 37: Frenzy or Bestial Discipline, whichever you prefer.
You could do one of each. We'll grab them later anyways.
Level 39: 1/2 Killing Streak
Level 41: 2/2 Killing Streak
Level 43, 45, 47: I would finish out either Frenzy or Bestial Discipline and 2/3 the other. Frankly mobs won't be alive long enough to worry about getting Longevity just yet.
Level 49: 1/1 Bestial Wrath
Level 51: 1/1 Ferocious Inspiration
Level 53: Finish Frenzy or Bestial Discipline
Level 55: 1/3 Longevity
Level 57: 2/3 Longevity
Level 59: 1/1 The Beast Within
Level 61: 1/2 Invigoration
Level 63: 2/2 Invigoration
Level 65: 1/2 Kindred Spirits
Level 67: 2/2 Kindred Spirits
Level 69: 1/1 Beast Mastery
So, at level 69 you will be able to tame your exotic pet. You now have the 31 points needed in one tree to open up the other two. Now that fights are starting to get a bit longer you can go ahead and take Focus Fire.
Level 71: 1/1 Focus Fire
Level 73: 1/2 Go For the Throat
Level 75: 2/2 Go For the Throat
Level 77: 1/2 Rapid Killing
With pet scaling the increase in stamina will help you survival as well as give your pet more health and will improve the amount that mend pets heals also.
Level 79: 1/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 81: 2/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 82: 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
At this point you have 3 points left to spend. You could put them into efficiency to help with some focus issues. Add some extra burst damage with Improved Serpent Sting. It's really up to you. Just to finish this out I will put them into Efficiency.
Level 83: 1/3 Efficiency
Level 84: 2/3 Efficiency
Level 85: 3/3 Efficiency
So the final build will look like this.
Please note that this is a leveling guide. Once you reach the max level of 85 you will want to respec into a proper raiding spec for maximum dps. You can check out some viable raiding specs on the Beast Mastery page.
One of the first things we need to look at is when we will be acquiring certain spells.
Lets take a look at the Beast Master Tree first. Luckily we receive both Kill Command and Aspect of the Hawk at level 10. As some extra crit on Kill Command won't be that useful we will go ahead and take One With Nature.
Level 10: 1/3 One With Nature
Level 11: 2/3 One With Nature
Level 13: 3/3 One With Nature
Level 15: 1/2 Improved Kill Command
Level 17: 2/2 Improved Kill Command
Next is where you can really pick and choose what you would like to do. In a soloing sense in BM, pet's are your main focus really. So keeping them alive is a pretty big deal. With the new change to mend pet, getting improved mend pet could prove to be essential for pet tanking.
Level 19: 1/2 Improved Mend Pet
Level 21: 2/2 Improved Mend Pet
Level 23: 1/2 Spirit Bond
Level 25: 2/2 Spirit Bond
Level 27 1/3 Frenzy or 1/3 Bestial Discipline
At this point your fights really shouldn't last that long so getting Frenzy and Focus Fire won't be that big of a deal just yet as you would probably not really use Focus Fire.
Level 29: 1/1 Frevor
Level 31: 1/3 Cobra Strikes
Level 33: 2/3 Cobra Strikes
Level 35: 3/3 Cobra Strikes
You will now have Kill Shot. It is an amazing shot with no focus cost and should be used whenever your target is below 20% health.
Level 37: Frenzy or Bestial Discipline, whichever you prefer.
You could do one of each. We'll grab them later anyways.
Level 39: 1/2 Killing Streak
Level 41: 2/2 Killing Streak
Level 43, 45, 47: I would finish out either Frenzy or Bestial Discipline and 2/3 the other. Frankly mobs won't be alive long enough to worry about getting Longevity just yet.
Level 49: 1/1 Bestial Wrath
Level 51: 1/1 Ferocious Inspiration
Level 53: Finish Frenzy or Bestial Discipline
Level 55: 1/3 Longevity
Level 57: 2/3 Longevity
Level 59: 1/1 The Beast Within
Level 61: 1/2 Invigoration
Level 63: 2/2 Invigoration
Level 65: 1/2 Kindred Spirits
Level 67: 2/2 Kindred Spirits
Level 69: 1/1 Beast Mastery
So, at level 69 you will be able to tame your exotic pet. You now have the 31 points needed in one tree to open up the other two. Now that fights are starting to get a bit longer you can go ahead and take Focus Fire.
Level 71: 1/1 Focus Fire
Level 73: 1/2 Go For the Throat
Level 75: 2/2 Go For the Throat
Level 77: 1/2 Rapid Killing
With pet scaling the increase in stamina will help you survival as well as give your pet more health and will improve the amount that mend pets heals also.
Level 79: 1/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 81: 2/3 Hunter vs. Wild
Level 82: 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
At this point you have 3 points left to spend. You could put them into efficiency to help with some focus issues. Add some extra burst damage with Improved Serpent Sting. It's really up to you. Just to finish this out I will put them into Efficiency.
Level 83: 1/3 Efficiency
Level 84: 2/3 Efficiency
Level 85: 3/3 Efficiency
So the final build will look like this.
Please note that this is a leveling guide. Once you reach the max level of 85 you will want to respec into a proper raiding spec for maximum dps. You can check out some viable raiding specs on the Beast Mastery page.
Cataclysm Release Date
It is now official. After all of the guessing and wondering, Blizzard has finally announced the release date of Cataclysm.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT®: CATACLYSM™ IN STORES STARTING DECEMBER 7
IRVINE, Calif. -- October 4, 2010 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®: Cataclysm™, the highly anticipated third expansion for the world's most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game*, will be released starting on December 7, 2010. The expansion will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 and Macintosh® at a suggested retail price of $39.99 and will also be offered as a digital download from the Blizzard Store. A special Collector’s Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of $79.99.
"Cataclysm includes the best content we've ever created for World of Warcraft. It’s not just an expansion, but a re-creation of much of the original Azeroth, complete with epic new high-level adventures for current players and a redesigned leveling experience for those just starting out," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "With the help of our beta testers, we're putting on the final polish, and we look forward to welcoming gamers around the world to enjoy it in just a couple of months."
The first two World of Warcraft expansions, The Burning Crusade® and Wrath of the Lich King®, each shattered PC game sales records upon their release.* In Cataclysm, the face of Azeroth will be forever altered by the return of the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing. Players will explore once-familiar areas of the world that have now been reshaped by the devastation and filled with new adventures. In an effort to survive the planet-shattering cataclysm, two new playable races -- worgen and goblins -- will join the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde. As players journey to the new level cap of 85, they'll discover newly revealed locations, acquire new levels of power, and come face to face with Deathwing in a battle to determine the fate of the world.
The beta test for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is currently underway. Visit the official Battle.net® website at http://www.battle.net to set up a Battle.net account and sign up for a chance to participate. To learn more about World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, visit http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm.
(source)That is right, the release date for Cataclysm has been set for December 7th, 2010. So go there and be sure to pre order your copy of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and be the first to experience the new content!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Land of Orcs has Twitter!
Hi Everyone, I decided to get twitter for Land of Orcs. You can follow me here. Please feel free to ask me any questions and I will get some answers as soon as I can. I will also try and post some updates on up and coming articles, so be on the look out for that. Also feel free to leave comments. You don't need a Google account to comment.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Pet FAQ 4.0.1
I have noticed a lot of people asking questions about pets and what pet they should begin using in 4.0.1 and for leveling up in Cataclysm. I'm going to take the time and try and write out an FAQ to help with some of these questions.
What is the best pet in 4.0.1?
Frankly, there isn't one. It mostly depends on your preference. You will probably always choose a different pet whether you are soloing, raiding, pvping, etc...
What pet should I bring to a raid?
It depends on your raid composition. Check out Malazee's Pet Charts from Petopia. This will be extremely useful to determine what pet you should bring.
What is the best PVP pet in 4.0.1?
It all depends on what you and your teammates can provide. If you need a root or stun then you can bring a Silithid, Spider, or Wasp. If you need interrupts you can bring a Gorilla or Moth. If you need a healing debuff you can bring a Devilsaur. It just all depends on what you have and what you will need when deciding on a pet for pvp.
Will pets have their new special abilities in 4.0.1?
As I understand it yes they will. You can find a list of them here.
What are the difference between Cunning, Ferocity, and Tenacity pets?
Cunning: Cunning pets, like spiders, have a mix of offensive and defensive abilities and are particularly useful in Battlegrounds and Arenas.
Ferocity: Ferocious pets, like cats, can dish out damage but can't take it as well.
Tenacity: Tenacious pets, like turtles, are more defensive and can occupy an enemy's attention while you stay at range.
What is the best tanking pet?
It comes down to preference. You should definitely be using a tenacity pet as they have high stam and armor. Other than that it's pretty much take your pick. Each pet provides a unique ability that can benefit you one way or anything., such as a knock back from a Rhino, or interrupt from a Gorilla.
What is the best soloing pet?
Again it depends on you and your situation. The exotic Spirit Beasts can bring you some heals while soloing. Tenacity pets can tank for you. Pets can bring you different buffs or debuffs.
The pet I'm trying to tame is level 12 and I'm level 60. Will it stay at level 12?
No, when you tame a pet that is greater than 5 levels lower than you it will automatically level to be 5 levels below you. So your level 12 pet once you tame it will become level 55.
What is the best way to level a pet?
Simply by taking it anywhere that gives you experience. So taking pets to instances or questing is usually the best way to level a pet.
I'm sure there are many more questions out there that need to be answered so if you have any other pet questions please leave me a comment or email me at Landoforcs@gmail.com
What is the best pet in 4.0.1?
Frankly, there isn't one. It mostly depends on your preference. You will probably always choose a different pet whether you are soloing, raiding, pvping, etc...
What pet should I bring to a raid?
It depends on your raid composition. Check out Malazee's Pet Charts from Petopia. This will be extremely useful to determine what pet you should bring.
What is the best PVP pet in 4.0.1?
It all depends on what you and your teammates can provide. If you need a root or stun then you can bring a Silithid, Spider, or Wasp. If you need interrupts you can bring a Gorilla or Moth. If you need a healing debuff you can bring a Devilsaur. It just all depends on what you have and what you will need when deciding on a pet for pvp.
Will pets have their new special abilities in 4.0.1?
As I understand it yes they will. You can find a list of them here.
What are the difference between Cunning, Ferocity, and Tenacity pets?
Cunning: Cunning pets, like spiders, have a mix of offensive and defensive abilities and are particularly useful in Battlegrounds and Arenas.
Ferocity: Ferocious pets, like cats, can dish out damage but can't take it as well.
Tenacity: Tenacious pets, like turtles, are more defensive and can occupy an enemy's attention while you stay at range.
What is the best tanking pet?
It comes down to preference. You should definitely be using a tenacity pet as they have high stam and armor. Other than that it's pretty much take your pick. Each pet provides a unique ability that can benefit you one way or anything., such as a knock back from a Rhino, or interrupt from a Gorilla.
What is the best soloing pet?
Again it depends on you and your situation. The exotic Spirit Beasts can bring you some heals while soloing. Tenacity pets can tank for you. Pets can bring you different buffs or debuffs.
The pet I'm trying to tame is level 12 and I'm level 60. Will it stay at level 12?
No, when you tame a pet that is greater than 5 levels lower than you it will automatically level to be 5 levels below you. So your level 12 pet once you tame it will become level 55.
What is the best way to level a pet?
Simply by taking it anywhere that gives you experience. So taking pets to instances or questing is usually the best way to level a pet.
I'm sure there are many more questions out there that need to be answered so if you have any other pet questions please leave me a comment or email me at Landoforcs@gmail.com
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Focus Cost List
This is going to be a very simple, basic list of all the focus costs for hunters. While we are getting used to focus and their costs this list will be beneficial to see all the abilities together to try and get a better feel for the new rotations or priorities.
Focus Costs
General:
Arcane Shot - 25 focus
Camouflage - 20 focus
Serpent Sting - 25 focus
Kill Command - 40 focus
Multi-Shot - 40 focus
Trap Launcher - 30 focus
Tranquilizing Shot - 35 focus
Widow Venom - 15 focus
Revive Pet - 35% of base focus
Scare Beast - 25 focus
Beast Mastery:
No spec specific focus requirements
Marksmanship:
Aimed Shot - 50 focus
Chimera Shot - 50 focus
Survival:
Black Arrow - 35 focus
Explosive Shot - 50 focus
Wyvern Sting - 35 focus
Steady Shot and Cobra Shot do not cost focus but instant give back 9 focus.
Right now I can understand why BM is winning the dps race. It has no talent specific focus costs and it seems to have a really good damage per focus ratio. It uses the lowest costing shots and abilities of all the specs. It's other abilities in the tree that provide extra boost to BM is stuff like Focus Fire, Bestial Wrath, and Intimidation all don't have any associated focus costs.
It's easy to understand why SV can because focus starved. If Cobra Shot can't keep Serpent Sting up then they have to reapply Serpent Sting which is an extra 25 focus on top of applying Black Arrow whenever it comes off cooldown and also using Explosive Shot. Now, I read Explosive Shots damage hasn't been all that great and that it's best to use Arcane Shot as a focus dump and only use Explosive Shot during LnL procs.
With the reduction in damage to both Aimed Shot and Chimera Shot it's easy to see why it is lagging so far behind. With 50 focus costs for each of the main attacks and 40 if Kill Command is used, it seems MM will either not have much time to focus dump and will constantly be waiting for 50 focus to shoot Chimera, or else the bulk of the damage will come from Steady Shot.
Focus Costs
General:
Arcane Shot - 25 focus
Camouflage - 20 focus
Serpent Sting - 25 focus
Kill Command - 40 focus
Multi-Shot - 40 focus
Trap Launcher - 30 focus
Tranquilizing Shot - 35 focus
Widow Venom - 15 focus
Revive Pet - 35% of base focus
Scare Beast - 25 focus
Beast Mastery:
No spec specific focus requirements
Marksmanship:
Aimed Shot - 50 focus
Chimera Shot - 50 focus
Survival:
Black Arrow - 35 focus
Explosive Shot - 50 focus
Wyvern Sting - 35 focus
Steady Shot and Cobra Shot do not cost focus but instant give back 9 focus.
Right now I can understand why BM is winning the dps race. It has no talent specific focus costs and it seems to have a really good damage per focus ratio. It uses the lowest costing shots and abilities of all the specs. It's other abilities in the tree that provide extra boost to BM is stuff like Focus Fire, Bestial Wrath, and Intimidation all don't have any associated focus costs.
It's easy to understand why SV can because focus starved. If Cobra Shot can't keep Serpent Sting up then they have to reapply Serpent Sting which is an extra 25 focus on top of applying Black Arrow whenever it comes off cooldown and also using Explosive Shot. Now, I read Explosive Shots damage hasn't been all that great and that it's best to use Arcane Shot as a focus dump and only use Explosive Shot during LnL procs.
With the reduction in damage to both Aimed Shot and Chimera Shot it's easy to see why it is lagging so far behind. With 50 focus costs for each of the main attacks and 40 if Kill Command is used, it seems MM will either not have much time to focus dump and will constantly be waiting for 50 focus to shoot Chimera, or else the bulk of the damage will come from Steady Shot.
Pet of the Week 9/29
This weeks winner was chosen by my good friend Harpuia. It is, the white gorilla.
There is currently only 1 white gorilla that is tamable and that is Uhk'loc a rare spawn in Un'Goro Crater.
Gorilla are excellent tanking pets with high health and defense. It also provides an interrupt/silence spell called pummel which can be very useful in pvp.
Go out there and catch this rare creature and start soloing some instances today!
Hope you enjoyed this weeks pet and check back next week for a new winner.
Gorilla are excellent tanking pets with high health and defense. It also provides an interrupt/silence spell called pummel which can be very useful in pvp.
Go out there and catch this rare creature and start soloing some instances today!
Hope you enjoyed this weeks pet and check back next week for a new winner.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Page Updates
I have started to update the talent pages with new information regarding specs, gemming, and enchants for 4.0.1 and Cataclysm.
Check them out:
Beast Master
Marksmanship
Survival
Don't forget to check out my Template Contest. You can also find some helpful tips from ZAM users at this thread.
Check them out:
Beast Master
Marksmanship
Survival
Don't forget to check out my Template Contest. You can also find some helpful tips from ZAM users at this thread.
Glyphs
In this article I would like to talk about the new changes to glyphs. There is a new tier of glyphs now called Prime glyphs. These new prime glyphs are for a lot of the major shots fired. Just like in the old system you can have 3 prime glyphs active, as well as 3 major and 3 minor.
Below is a complete list of all the glyphs. After this list I will discuss what I think will be the most widely used glyphs for each spec.
(Please note that I have taken this information from the PTR and used the links from wowhead. A lot of the links on wowhead are under the wrong category, ie. say prime when they are major and so on.)
Prime:
Aimed Shot
Arcane Shot
Chimera Shot
Dazzled Prey
Explosive Shot
Kill Command
Kill Shot
Rapid Fire
Serpent Sting
Steady Shot
Major:
Bestial Wrath
Concussive Shot
Deterrence
Disengage
Freezing Trap
Ice Trap
Immolation Trap
Master's Call
Mending
Misdirection
Raptor Strike
Scatter Shot
Silencing Shot
Snake Trap
Trap Launcher
Wyvern Sting
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
Revive Pet
Scare Beast
Now I would like to discuss which glyphs I believe will be seen most often for each spec:
Beast Mastery:
Prime:
Arcane Shot
Kill Shot
Kill Command, Rapid Fire
Since Arcane Shot is BM's most used shot it needs to be there. Kill shot I believe will be the one glyph ever spec has. It allows for 2 instant Kill Shots on a 6 second cooldown. The last glyph will kind of be up to the numbers. Reducing the focus cost of Kill Command is good and will probably outweigh the haste bonus during Rapid Fire. I would probably choose Kill Command.
Major:
Bestial Wrath
Misdirection
Trap Launcher
Misdirection I believe will be a glyph every spec uses. It allows you to instantly send some of your threat to your pet and immediately send more towards the tank allowing you to be able to focus on dps rather than threat. Bestial Wrath is just an obvious choice. It's a powerful glyph for BM hunters. The last one was hard to decide. I picked trap launcher just because nothing else really fit. Less focus to throw out traps might be useful.
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
There isn't much to choose from, these are the exact same in all three specs. The others left don't really provide anything special.
Marksmanship:
Prime:
Aimed Shot
Kill Shot
Chimera Shot, Rapid Fire, Kill Command
Aimed Shot of course as it will most likely be widely used in MM. Kill shot I believe will be the one glyph ever spec has. It allows for 2 instant Kill Shots on a 6 second cooldown. The last one will come down to numbers. With Chimera Shot not dealing instant damage from serpent sting and not being on a strict rotation with Aimed Shot means you don't really need to reduce the cooldown. Reducing the focus cost of Kill Command is good and will might outweigh the haste bonus during Rapid Fire. With heavy focus shots like Aimed and Chimera, Rapid Fire might be a better choice.
Major:
Misdirection
Silencing Shot
Trap Launcher
There aren't too many glyphs that benefit MM. Misdirection I believe will be a glyph every spec uses. It allows you to instantly send some of your threat to your pet and immediately after send more towards the tank allowing you to be able to focus on dps rather than threat. You can get a bit of focus from Silencing Shot. Lastly, I picked trap launcher just because nothing else really fit. Less focus to throw out traps might be useful.
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
There isn't much to choose from, these are the exact same in all three specs. The others left don't really provide anything special.
Survival:
Prime:
Explosive Shot, Arcane Shot
Kill Shot
Kill Command, Rapid Fire, Serpent Sting
Explosive Shot and Arcane Shot will be up to the numbers in the end. SV has very high crit in the first place and you might not even need the Explosive Shot glyph, in which case Arcane Shot would be a better choice. Kill shot I believe will be the one glyph ever spec has. It allows for 2 instant Kill Shots on a 6 second cooldown. The last will come down to the numbers. The extra time added from Serpent Sting plus Cobra Shot might be worth it so you don't have to keep reapplying Serpent Sting, but if Cobra Shot can keep Serpent Sting up then it won't be worth it. So then it would come down to Kill Command and Rapid Fire. In SV I can see Kill Command not being used as much since Black Arrow and Explosive Shot take up a big chunk of focus therefore making Rapid Fire the obvious choice.
Major:
Misdirection
Wyvern Sting
Trap Launcher
Misdirection I believe will be a glyph every spec uses. It allows you to instantly send some of your threat to your pet and immediately after send more towards the tank allowing you to be able to focus on dps rather than threat. Wyvern Sting is really the only other glyph that deals with SV. Lastly, I picked trap launcher just because nothing else really fit. Less focus to throw out traps might be useful.
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
There isn't much to choose from, these are the exact same in all three specs. The others left don't really provide anything special.
Below is a complete list of all the glyphs. After this list I will discuss what I think will be the most widely used glyphs for each spec.
(Please note that I have taken this information from the PTR and used the links from wowhead. A lot of the links on wowhead are under the wrong category, ie. say prime when they are major and so on.)
Prime:
Aimed Shot
Arcane Shot
Chimera Shot
Dazzled Prey
Explosive Shot
Kill Command
Kill Shot
Rapid Fire
Serpent Sting
Steady Shot
Major:
Bestial Wrath
Concussive Shot
Deterrence
Disengage
Freezing Trap
Ice Trap
Immolation Trap
Master's Call
Mending
Misdirection
Raptor Strike
Scatter Shot
Silencing Shot
Snake Trap
Trap Launcher
Wyvern Sting
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
Revive Pet
Scare Beast
Now I would like to discuss which glyphs I believe will be seen most often for each spec:
Beast Mastery:
Prime:
Arcane Shot
Kill Shot
Kill Command, Rapid Fire
Since Arcane Shot is BM's most used shot it needs to be there. Kill shot I believe will be the one glyph ever spec has. It allows for 2 instant Kill Shots on a 6 second cooldown. The last glyph will kind of be up to the numbers. Reducing the focus cost of Kill Command is good and will probably outweigh the haste bonus during Rapid Fire. I would probably choose Kill Command.
Major:
Bestial Wrath
Misdirection
Trap Launcher
Misdirection I believe will be a glyph every spec uses. It allows you to instantly send some of your threat to your pet and immediately send more towards the tank allowing you to be able to focus on dps rather than threat. Bestial Wrath is just an obvious choice. It's a powerful glyph for BM hunters. The last one was hard to decide. I picked trap launcher just because nothing else really fit. Less focus to throw out traps might be useful.
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
There isn't much to choose from, these are the exact same in all three specs. The others left don't really provide anything special.
Marksmanship:
Prime:
Aimed Shot
Kill Shot
Chimera Shot, Rapid Fire, Kill Command
Aimed Shot of course as it will most likely be widely used in MM. Kill shot I believe will be the one glyph ever spec has. It allows for 2 instant Kill Shots on a 6 second cooldown. The last one will come down to numbers. With Chimera Shot not dealing instant damage from serpent sting and not being on a strict rotation with Aimed Shot means you don't really need to reduce the cooldown. Reducing the focus cost of Kill Command is good and will might outweigh the haste bonus during Rapid Fire. With heavy focus shots like Aimed and Chimera, Rapid Fire might be a better choice.
Major:
Misdirection
Silencing Shot
Trap Launcher
There aren't too many glyphs that benefit MM. Misdirection I believe will be a glyph every spec uses. It allows you to instantly send some of your threat to your pet and immediately after send more towards the tank allowing you to be able to focus on dps rather than threat. You can get a bit of focus from Silencing Shot. Lastly, I picked trap launcher just because nothing else really fit. Less focus to throw out traps might be useful.
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
There isn't much to choose from, these are the exact same in all three specs. The others left don't really provide anything special.
Survival:
Prime:
Explosive Shot, Arcane Shot
Kill Shot
Kill Command, Rapid Fire, Serpent Sting
Explosive Shot and Arcane Shot will be up to the numbers in the end. SV has very high crit in the first place and you might not even need the Explosive Shot glyph, in which case Arcane Shot would be a better choice. Kill shot I believe will be the one glyph ever spec has. It allows for 2 instant Kill Shots on a 6 second cooldown. The last will come down to the numbers. The extra time added from Serpent Sting plus Cobra Shot might be worth it so you don't have to keep reapplying Serpent Sting, but if Cobra Shot can keep Serpent Sting up then it won't be worth it. So then it would come down to Kill Command and Rapid Fire. In SV I can see Kill Command not being used as much since Black Arrow and Explosive Shot take up a big chunk of focus therefore making Rapid Fire the obvious choice.
Major:
Misdirection
Wyvern Sting
Trap Launcher
Misdirection I believe will be a glyph every spec uses. It allows you to instantly send some of your threat to your pet and immediately after send more towards the tank allowing you to be able to focus on dps rather than threat. Wyvern Sting is really the only other glyph that deals with SV. Lastly, I picked trap launcher just because nothing else really fit. Less focus to throw out traps might be useful.
Minor:
Aspect of the Pack
Feign Death
Mend Pet
There isn't much to choose from, these are the exact same in all three specs. The others left don't really provide anything special.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tier 11 Armor Sets
The tier 11 armor sets are here. The hunters set is called "Lightning-Charged." These are item level 359. These have been acquired from MMO-Champion.
Tier 11 Hunter:
Lightning-Charged Headguard
Lightning-Charged Tunic
Lightning-Charged Legguards
Lightning-Charged Gloves
Lightning-Charged Spaulders
These do look pretty solid. Only one item with hit and one item with mastery. With so much hit being put onto items most hunters will probably reforge some to other stats. Mastery has shown to be very powerful for BM hunters on beta. You might see mastery becoming a major stat to reforge or stack over haste. We'll have to wait until it all comes live though.
I have noticed there is only 1 gem socket per each item. This is something different, but the socket bonuses are a lot more powerful than they have been in the past. This could be to counter the lack of sockets. But this will also put a little bit of a hinder on JC and making some money.
Other item level 359 mail pieces that will surely be looked into are:
Moccasins of Verdurous Glooms - Feet
Viewless Wings - Cloak
Fluid Death - Trinket
Item level 349 pieces which can be obtained with Justice Points through Heroic Cataclysm dungeons:
Vest of the True Companion - Chest
Gloves of the Passing Night - Hands
Willow Mask - Head
Hillside Striders - Legs
Wrap of the Valley Glade - Shoulders
Belt of the Dim Forest - Waist
Amulet of Dull Dreaming - Neck
Also the gear for Arena Season 9/Rated Battlegrounds has been released. You can see all those items here at MMO Champion.
Tier 11 Hunter:
Lightning-Charged Headguard
Lightning-Charged Tunic
Lightning-Charged Legguards
Lightning-Charged Gloves
Lightning-Charged Spaulders
These do look pretty solid. Only one item with hit and one item with mastery. With so much hit being put onto items most hunters will probably reforge some to other stats. Mastery has shown to be very powerful for BM hunters on beta. You might see mastery becoming a major stat to reforge or stack over haste. We'll have to wait until it all comes live though.
I have noticed there is only 1 gem socket per each item. This is something different, but the socket bonuses are a lot more powerful than they have been in the past. This could be to counter the lack of sockets. But this will also put a little bit of a hinder on JC and making some money.
Other item level 359 mail pieces that will surely be looked into are:
Moccasins of Verdurous Glooms - Feet
Viewless Wings - Cloak
Fluid Death - Trinket
Item level 349 pieces which can be obtained with Justice Points through Heroic Cataclysm dungeons:
Vest of the True Companion - Chest
Gloves of the Passing Night - Hands
Willow Mask - Head
Hillside Striders - Legs
Wrap of the Valley Glade - Shoulders
Belt of the Dim Forest - Waist
Amulet of Dull Dreaming - Neck
Also the gear for Arena Season 9/Rated Battlegrounds has been released. You can see all those items here at MMO Champion.
Contest Corrections and Extension
The Template Contest has been extended to October 30th as the deadline and the winner will be chosen on Monday November, 1st. It was also come to my attention that the email I had posted was incorrect. These corrections and the extension can be seen on the official page linked above.
The correct email is Landoforcs@gmail.com, sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Get out there and earn your ZAM premium subscription and 30 day World of Warcraft Digital Game Card.
Thanks
The correct email is Landoforcs@gmail.com, sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Get out there and earn your ZAM premium subscription and 30 day World of Warcraft Digital Game Card.
Thanks
Malazee's "Pet Usage Flowchart and Ability Spreadsheet"
Malazee over on the Petopia forums has provided some amazing spreadsheets and charts detailing the new abilities for pets. Here is the topic and all credit goes to Malazee for the creation of these.
The first up is the pet abilities.
After that we have the PvP-ish Utilities
Next is the raid buffs and debuffs
And finally we have the flowchart 
These are absolutely incredible and will be very useful in Cataclysm and most hunters should have these stashed away somewhere for future reference. Thank you Malazee again for these spreadsheets
The first up is the pet abilities.
After that we have the PvP-ish Utilities
Next is the raid buffs and debuffs
And finally we have the flowchart
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Min/Max, Skill, and Performance
Originally I was going to tie this article in with Cookie Cutter Builds, but I decided I wanted to do a completely separate article on it. This article is going to look at the differences between min/max, skill, and performance in raid situations and wipes.
Most all of us want to achieve the highest min/max we possibly can, whether looking at dps, hps, or tps. We want to strive to be the best so we go out and find what other people are using, or see what the computer says is best to do. We all know that is takes more than just the best gear and the best build to be the best player.
The best players have the ability to react and adapt to adversity. They are able to multitask and understand everything that is going on around them. They know all the bosses moves and what each of them means and how it effects them and the raid. If players come to raid prepared, know the fights, and the mechanics it can help themselves and the raid extremely.
Another thing is skill. We have all seen all the debated and jabber about the add on GearScore. We either love it or hate it. The phrase "GS does not equal skill" has been thrown around plenty. Skill comes into play in a variety of different manners. Knowing your classes mechanics is one of the biggest keys. If you don't know what things mean or do in your class then you need to take time out to research them. It could potentially hinder a raid. As I stated above, you need to be able to adapt to adversity. When that red circle is under your feet you need to know to run. If you are targeted by a bosses spell you need to know what to do. But, to be able to distinguish yourself from a good player to a great player you will need to know just how far to run and just how hard to need to go to a place when your targeted by a spell.
The last thing is performance, this can be anything from latency, distractions, or anything else that hinders performance. Latency is basically the reaction time between your computer and the server. There really isn't much you can do to combat latency issues. One thing you can do is to try and stay away from having open windows that use internet connection, this can free up space and allow your computer to be more responsive. Another thing, if your a serious raider is to try and limit distractions around you. If something happens around you and you have to look away from the monitor for a few seconds then something drastic could potentially happen. I don't mean this to sound like a "don't have a life" while raiding sort of mentality, but a boss fight is typically around 5-8 minutes or so. It shouldn't be hard to concentrate for that long.
I would like to changes directions now and talk about all of this and how it can affect wipes. Most of the time you will probably hear that dps simply needs to step it up and that if there were more dps then they wouldn't have wiped. In my opinion this is very rarely the case. The only time it can really be said that there wasn't enough dps is when absolutely everything goes right but you still hit the enrage timer.
To give you an example, my guild was doing Festergut in ICC. We had done the fight previously with all raiders. We had people calling out where spores needed to go. Everything went fine, no tanks died, no one missed spores or had to many spores. In the end, we had done everything right but missed by 1% do to the enrage timer. In this situation you can go back and look at who was struggling at dps to determine where the problem was. In that particular fight melee should be doing the most damage as they don't have to move at all unless 2 get a spore in the middle. Ranged have to run a bit due to spores so that will affect a little bit of their damage.
This isn't true for all fights though. A lot can go wrong during the fight such as a tank dying causing a bit of panic where dps might have to stop and the raid needs to quickly regroup. Another might be a dps dying, as they say, "you do 0 dps when you're dead." There have been plenty of times where you can look back on a wipe and say, "if player X wouldn't have died then we would have had enough damage to kill the boss." I would say the biggest reason raid groups wipe is simply lack of knowledge about the boss mechanics. If you know and understand what the boss does then you should be able to adapt to any situation. If players are able to adapt and regroup quickly then there is a high probability of killing that boss.
Summary:
To sum up I would like to say that while it is good to min/max, it is not as important as knowing your class mechanics and how to use them to their fullest. Just because someone didn't get that 1% increase in dps talent doesn't mean that they are the reason that your raid didn't get the boss down that final 1%. Many other factors determine the cause of a wipe.
If people want to strive to be the best player they can they need to learn their class mechanics, come into fights knowing the mechanics they will be facing, avoid latency and distractions as much as possible, and be able to adapt and adjust to adversity. Late note, make sure you have fun. In the end it is just a game and if it gets to stressful just step away for a bit and regroup yourself.
Most all of us want to achieve the highest min/max we possibly can, whether looking at dps, hps, or tps. We want to strive to be the best so we go out and find what other people are using, or see what the computer says is best to do. We all know that is takes more than just the best gear and the best build to be the best player.
The best players have the ability to react and adapt to adversity. They are able to multitask and understand everything that is going on around them. They know all the bosses moves and what each of them means and how it effects them and the raid. If players come to raid prepared, know the fights, and the mechanics it can help themselves and the raid extremely.
Another thing is skill. We have all seen all the debated and jabber about the add on GearScore. We either love it or hate it. The phrase "GS does not equal skill" has been thrown around plenty. Skill comes into play in a variety of different manners. Knowing your classes mechanics is one of the biggest keys. If you don't know what things mean or do in your class then you need to take time out to research them. It could potentially hinder a raid. As I stated above, you need to be able to adapt to adversity. When that red circle is under your feet you need to know to run. If you are targeted by a bosses spell you need to know what to do. But, to be able to distinguish yourself from a good player to a great player you will need to know just how far to run and just how hard to need to go to a place when your targeted by a spell.
The last thing is performance, this can be anything from latency, distractions, or anything else that hinders performance. Latency is basically the reaction time between your computer and the server. There really isn't much you can do to combat latency issues. One thing you can do is to try and stay away from having open windows that use internet connection, this can free up space and allow your computer to be more responsive. Another thing, if your a serious raider is to try and limit distractions around you. If something happens around you and you have to look away from the monitor for a few seconds then something drastic could potentially happen. I don't mean this to sound like a "don't have a life" while raiding sort of mentality, but a boss fight is typically around 5-8 minutes or so. It shouldn't be hard to concentrate for that long.
I would like to changes directions now and talk about all of this and how it can affect wipes. Most of the time you will probably hear that dps simply needs to step it up and that if there were more dps then they wouldn't have wiped. In my opinion this is very rarely the case. The only time it can really be said that there wasn't enough dps is when absolutely everything goes right but you still hit the enrage timer.
To give you an example, my guild was doing Festergut in ICC. We had done the fight previously with all raiders. We had people calling out where spores needed to go. Everything went fine, no tanks died, no one missed spores or had to many spores. In the end, we had done everything right but missed by 1% do to the enrage timer. In this situation you can go back and look at who was struggling at dps to determine where the problem was. In that particular fight melee should be doing the most damage as they don't have to move at all unless 2 get a spore in the middle. Ranged have to run a bit due to spores so that will affect a little bit of their damage.
This isn't true for all fights though. A lot can go wrong during the fight such as a tank dying causing a bit of panic where dps might have to stop and the raid needs to quickly regroup. Another might be a dps dying, as they say, "you do 0 dps when you're dead." There have been plenty of times where you can look back on a wipe and say, "if player X wouldn't have died then we would have had enough damage to kill the boss." I would say the biggest reason raid groups wipe is simply lack of knowledge about the boss mechanics. If you know and understand what the boss does then you should be able to adapt to any situation. If players are able to adapt and regroup quickly then there is a high probability of killing that boss.
Summary:
To sum up I would like to say that while it is good to min/max, it is not as important as knowing your class mechanics and how to use them to their fullest. Just because someone didn't get that 1% increase in dps talent doesn't mean that they are the reason that your raid didn't get the boss down that final 1%. Many other factors determine the cause of a wipe.
If people want to strive to be the best player they can they need to learn their class mechanics, come into fights knowing the mechanics they will be facing, avoid latency and distractions as much as possible, and be able to adapt and adjust to adversity. Late note, make sure you have fun. In the end it is just a game and if it gets to stressful just step away for a bit and regroup yourself.
Cookie Cutter Builds
Cookie cutter builds have always been a part of World of Warcraft. Recently Ghostcrawler discussed some issues players were concerned with. Quoted below is a little bit about these builds along with some min/max discussion.
With the new 41 point talent builds we are going to have to make sure we place points carefully. This doesn't allow us to go as deep into other trees as we currently can. With being forced to spend 31 points in our primary tree we can only go 2 tiers deep into any of the remaining trees. Ultimately there are going to be builds that trump all the others in dps but they also involve the best gear that a player could possibly obtain and assuming all factors fall right into place. Now we all know this is never what happens.
I have to start to agree with Ghostcrawler on the bit about using a build you are comfortable with that might be suboptimal as opposed to the cookie cutter build you aren't comfortable with. This is where these last 10 points are going to play a big role.
For example, if you are using a beast mastery build. Your last 10 points will probably go into; Efficiency, Improved Tracking, and Improved Serpent Sting. If you are having issues keeping up serpent sting, or using the haste bonuses to your advantage you might want to stick with whats going to be strong for your build, that is, your pet. You might choose to put your points into Sic 'em and Go for the Throat. This will allow you to get the most out of your pet with out hindering your dps all that much.
So while there will always be a build that is technically "the best," it might not always be the best to follow it. Play to your strengths and when you feel you have learned more and are performing better you can always try to move up to those top end builds.
Reading guides and forums aren't going to always teach you how to become the best player you can be, you have to practice. If you are struggling you need to figure out whats going on. If you use the spreadsheets, which you should, then you can compare where you are to where you could be. Go the the practice dummys and work on your rotations or priorities or whatever system you use. Figure out what works best for you and practice it until it comes naturally and hopefully you will see some improvement on your performance in raids.
In the next article I will be discussing how just because you are trying to min/max there is always going to be a reason why a raid wipes on a boss, and how it's rarely because someone else didn't min/max their character.
Even many of the so called cookie cutter builds today are honest about those talents that are a toss up. Picking talent A over talent B may be a theoretical dps benefit in the sims or even for the author of the cookie cutter build, but that doesn't mean it will work for you. I have deviated from these sacred builds often on my own characters because I found that I don't rely on certain abilities or mechanics as much as the build assumes I should. Now maybe my dps (healing, etc.) would improve if I could manage to do that, but in the interim using a build that is bad for me just because it's the anointed one doesn't make sense. A- dps with the "bad" build is superior to C+ dps with the "good" build.
If it's a talent that provides a 10% dps increase or offers an ability you'll use constantly, fine. It's hard to argue that won't benefit most players. But when I see players obsess over talents that provide a theoretical 1% dps increase that is vastly overshadowed by the noise of their own performance, I shake my head a bit. Want to see what I mean? Compare a parse of yours on the same boss from week to week. You'll probably see a dps variance of 5-10% or more. That's the role of your skill, latency, bad luck, lacking the perfect raid comp or whatever else. Worrying about that 1% dps talent was a rounding error. Let's not forget that what may be 1% on one boss probably is not on another.
(source)This sparked a thread on the ZAM forums.
With the new 41 point talent builds we are going to have to make sure we place points carefully. This doesn't allow us to go as deep into other trees as we currently can. With being forced to spend 31 points in our primary tree we can only go 2 tiers deep into any of the remaining trees. Ultimately there are going to be builds that trump all the others in dps but they also involve the best gear that a player could possibly obtain and assuming all factors fall right into place. Now we all know this is never what happens.
I have to start to agree with Ghostcrawler on the bit about using a build you are comfortable with that might be suboptimal as opposed to the cookie cutter build you aren't comfortable with. This is where these last 10 points are going to play a big role.
For example, if you are using a beast mastery build. Your last 10 points will probably go into; Efficiency, Improved Tracking, and Improved Serpent Sting. If you are having issues keeping up serpent sting, or using the haste bonuses to your advantage you might want to stick with whats going to be strong for your build, that is, your pet. You might choose to put your points into Sic 'em and Go for the Throat. This will allow you to get the most out of your pet with out hindering your dps all that much.
So while there will always be a build that is technically "the best," it might not always be the best to follow it. Play to your strengths and when you feel you have learned more and are performing better you can always try to move up to those top end builds.
Reading guides and forums aren't going to always teach you how to become the best player you can be, you have to practice. If you are struggling you need to figure out whats going on. If you use the spreadsheets, which you should, then you can compare where you are to where you could be. Go the the practice dummys and work on your rotations or priorities or whatever system you use. Figure out what works best for you and practice it until it comes naturally and hopefully you will see some improvement on your performance in raids.
In the next article I will be discussing how just because you are trying to min/max there is always going to be a reason why a raid wipes on a boss, and how it's rarely because someone else didn't min/max their character.
Pet of the Week 9/22
It's time again everyone for the pet of the week. This weeks winner is the White Spiked Wind Serpent.
That is the pet of the week, check back for next weeks winner. Don't forget about the template contest I am hosting. You can find all the details here.
With the new abilities. The wind serpent brings an increase in magical damage with its Lightning Breath ability.
With its spiked wing tips and black spikes on its head and body it's sure to make any monster fear for its life.
The white spiked wind serpent can be found in Zul' Drak, its name is Scion of Quetz'lun, it's a 76-77 elite. It is located by the Alter of Quetz'lun.
That is the pet of the week, check back for next weeks winner. Don't forget about the template contest I am hosting. You can find all the details here.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Template Contest
As I had said in my previous article I am having a contest to design a better suiting template for Land of Orcs.
Land of Orcs Template Contest
The current template for the site doesn't do the name any justice. This is why I would like to present you with a chance to earn a 3 month premium subscription to ZAM and a 30 day World of Warcraft Digital Game Card through the Blizzard Store. This will give Land of Orcs a unique template that won't be like anyone elses.
To enter this contest you will need to create a HTML template that can be used for Land of Orcs. The file below is currently the template being used. It can be used as a guide to help you create the template.
Example File, if the download doesn't work can you find it here.
Rules:
Submissions to be sent to Landoforcs@gmail.com
- Template needs to be submitted in a .txt format.
- Needs to have orcs, hunters and World of Warcraft represented somewhere in the template. Needs to be either a 2 or 3 column template.
- I reserve the right to disqualify entries if I feel they have been stolen from other sources. Multiple entries can be submitted by the same user.
Submissions will be accepted until 7:00pm Saturday October 30th, 2010. The winner will be choosen by me. Ultimately I am looking for creativity, theme, look and feel, and style. The winner will choosen and announced on Monday November, 1st and will receive a 3 month premium subscription to ZAM and a 30 day World of Warcraft digital game card through the Blizzard Store.
Terms and Conditions:
- If you are chosen as the winner you have 3 days after the announcement to contact Land of Orcs with the information needed to distribute the prizes otherwise they will be forfeited.
- If you enter and are chosen as the winner you forfeit the rights to the images used.
- Template can not be sold or distributed to other parties.
Disclaimer:
ZAM is not responsible for any terms and conditions or any other problems that may arise. This contest is being held solely by the owner of Land of Orcs.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Not Suitable for All Ages
By request of the fellow users at ZAM, I was told that if I were to incorporate boobies and milkshakes that it would make my blog more appealing. If you do not want to see this cute booby, please advert your eyes now! Though it's probably already too late.
Here you go guys!
Sorry Noc, I had to use a different milkshake picture but that's ok.
Are you confused? Well here is thread that started this whole ordeal. Allakhazam
To kind of get back on topic of World of Warcraft. I will be hosting a contest to create a new template for Land of Orcs, stay turned for that announcement. After previewing the talent trees there were a couple new changes to a few talents in the latest build so check for those to be fixed. I am also still looking for someone to be an author, if you would like to be an author for Land of Orcs, mainly someone with pvp experience please email me at landoforcs@gmail.com.
Here you go guys!
Sorry Noc, I had to use a different milkshake picture but that's ok.
Are you confused? Well here is thread that started this whole ordeal. Allakhazam
To kind of get back on topic of World of Warcraft. I will be hosting a contest to create a new template for Land of Orcs, stay turned for that announcement. After previewing the talent trees there were a couple new changes to a few talents in the latest build so check for those to be fixed. I am also still looking for someone to be an author, if you would like to be an author for Land of Orcs, mainly someone with pvp experience please email me at landoforcs@gmail.com.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Cataclysm Enchants
With the new expansion comes new enchants. Wowhead has a great list to work from in their new database, as well as the new reputation rewards recently posted on MMO Champion. In this article I would like to post some of these new enchants that will probably make their way onto hunters once they reach 85 (or before).
Head:
Arcanum of the Ramkahen
Shoulder:
Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal
Chest:
Peerless Stats
Gloves:
Greater Mastery
Haste
Cloak:
Greater Critical Strike
Bracer:
Greater Critical Strike
Greater Speed
Precision
Boots:
Lavawalker
Assassin's Step
Mastery
Precision
Haste
Legs:
Dragonscale Leg Reinforcements
Waist:
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle (possibly)
Ranged:
Gnomish X-Ray Scope
R19 Threatfinder
Safety Catch Removal Kit
Weapon:
I did not find any new good weapon enchants right now. I'll check the databases later and see if there is anything new for weapons.
I believe this covers it all. Not quite sure about the belt buckle, speculating that it will be the high end belt buckle and will still only add one socket. The eternal belt buckle won't work on items level 300 or higher. A lot of the new enchant seem to be more focused on crit haste and mastery since gear will provide the vast majority of agi maybe that's why we won't see it much on enchants anymore.
Hyolith
Head:
Arcanum of the Ramkahen
Shoulder:
Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal
Chest:
Peerless Stats
Gloves:
Greater Mastery
Haste
Cloak:
Greater Critical Strike
Bracer:
Greater Critical Strike
Greater Speed
Precision
Boots:
Lavawalker
Assassin's Step
Mastery
Precision
Haste
Legs:
Dragonscale Leg Reinforcements
Waist:
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle (possibly)
Ranged:
Gnomish X-Ray Scope
R19 Threatfinder
Safety Catch Removal Kit
Weapon:
I did not find any new good weapon enchants right now. I'll check the databases later and see if there is anything new for weapons.
I believe this covers it all. Not quite sure about the belt buckle, speculating that it will be the high end belt buckle and will still only add one socket. The eternal belt buckle won't work on items level 300 or higher. A lot of the new enchant seem to be more focused on crit haste and mastery since gear will provide the vast majority of agi maybe that's why we won't see it much on enchants anymore.
Hyolith
Hunter and Good to Know Acronyms
Lately I have found myself trying to stray away from using acronyms but it's just not possible. While a vast majority of readers probably know most or all of these I would like to provide a list of some that you will typically see involved with hunters or some other widely used ones.
Hyolith
- AiS: Aimed Shot
- AotF: Aspect of the Fox
- AotH: Aspect of the Hawk
- ArS: Arcane Shot
- BA: Black Arrow
- BL: Blood Lust
- BM: Beast Mastery
- CC: Crowd Control
- CS: Chimera Shot
- ExS: Explosive Shot
- HM: Hunter's Mark
- KC: Kill Command
- KS: Kill Shot
- LnL: Lock and Load
- LoS: Line of Sight
- MM: Marksmanship
- MS: Multi-Shot, or referring to a mortal strike
- Pack: refers to Aspect of the Pack
- Pat: refers to patrolling monster
- PvE: Player vs. Environment
- PvP: Player vs. Player
- SrS: Serpent Sting
- SS: Steady Shot
- SV: Survival
Hyolith
Survival Talents Preview
In this article I would like to preview and review the latest talent changes to the survival tree. Each talent will be given a review plus a grade based on it's ability to help out hunters in pve and pvp.
Tier 1:
Hunter vs. Wild: This provides some survivability but since there is no talent that boosts attack power from stamina this talent isn't as useful.
PvE: C
PvP:C+
Improved Tracking: Changed from damage to haste. Haste is very useful for SV and really all specs. Very useful talent.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Improved Serpent Sting: This is a good talent provides some burst damage for applying serpent sting which you should always have up on a boss.
PvE: B
PvP: B-
Tier 2:
Survival Tactics: This is a good talent for pvp, not so much for pve. Helps with defensive cooldowns and resistances.
PvE: F
PvP: C+
Trap Mastery: Good talent to have. Provides extra damage to the ticks of black arrow as well as immolation trap and explosive trap.
PvE: B
PvP: B-
Entrapment: Good for a little bit of CC, more of a pvp talent or if some CC is needed on trash, but could be nice when used with trap launcher.
PvE: D
PvP: C+
Point of No Escape: If your crit isn't already outrageously high then this might provide a bit of extra crit, useful when used with trap launcher.
PvE: C-
PvP: C-
Tier 3:
Thrill of the Hunt: Excellent talent. While no immediate increase in anything, the ability to have some focus refunded is very helpful
PvE: B+
PvP: B
Counterattack: Not useful at all for pve but can be pretty useful in pvp. Though the point of pvp is to never be that close anyways so it's probably rarely used.
PvE: F
PvP: C
Lock and Load: A must have talent that has a chance to cause your next 2 arcane or explosive shots to have no cooldown or focus cost.
PvE: A+
PvP: A+
Tier 4:
Resourcefulness: This is good for both pve and pvp. Black Arrow has a 30 second cooldown, same as traps. Being able to lower that cooldown is really good.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Mirrored Blades: This will be extremely beneficial in pvp. Provides some great defense for hunters while in deterrence. Not really that helpful for pve.
PvE: D
PvP: A
T.N.T.: This allows your fire traps plus black arrow to proc LnL. Extremely good talent to have.
PvE: A
PvP: B
Tier 5:
Toxicology: Excellent talent, increasing the damage of your dots is really good since SV damage thrives on BA and serpent sting.
PvE: A
PvP: C
Wyvern Sting: Great CC ability for both pve and pvp. With more CC coming around the corning look for this shot to find itself come alive again.
PvE: C
PvP: A
Noxious Stings: Increases damage done by your serpent sting on targets. Also if dispelled the dispeller will be inflicted by wyvern sting.
PvE: B
PvP:B
Hunting Party: Great talent to have, provides 2% more agi, and also triggers some haste effects as well as replenishment.
PvE: A+
PvP: A
Tier 6:
Sniper Training:Good talent especially when being able to stand still. Even if you have to move you have a few seconds to run and stop and this spell won't fall off.
PvE: B
PvP: C-
Serpent Spread: Good for spreading serpent sting to other mobs. While there won't be as much aoe during trash pulls anymore it can still help provide some extra damage.
PvE: B
PvP: D
Tier 7:
Black Arrow: Another dot that provides good elemental damage for SV hunters.
PvE: A-
PvP: B+
That is my preview and review for the survival talent tree I will be adding this to the overhauled SV page in the near future, if you have any comments or questions just leave them.
Hyolith
Survival Tree
Tier 1:
Hunter vs. Wild: This provides some survivability but since there is no talent that boosts attack power from stamina this talent isn't as useful.
PvE: C
PvP:C+
Improved Tracking: Changed from damage to haste. Haste is very useful for SV and really all specs. Very useful talent.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Improved Serpent Sting: This is a good talent provides some burst damage for applying serpent sting which you should always have up on a boss.
PvE: B
PvP: B-
Tier 2:
Survival Tactics: This is a good talent for pvp, not so much for pve. Helps with defensive cooldowns and resistances.
PvE: F
PvP: C+
Trap Mastery: Good talent to have. Provides extra damage to the ticks of black arrow as well as immolation trap and explosive trap.
PvE: B
PvP: B-
Entrapment: Good for a little bit of CC, more of a pvp talent or if some CC is needed on trash, but could be nice when used with trap launcher.
PvE: D
PvP: C+
Point of No Escape: If your crit isn't already outrageously high then this might provide a bit of extra crit, useful when used with trap launcher.
PvE: C-
PvP: C-
Tier 3:
Thrill of the Hunt: Excellent talent. While no immediate increase in anything, the ability to have some focus refunded is very helpful
PvE: B+
PvP: B
Counterattack: Not useful at all for pve but can be pretty useful in pvp. Though the point of pvp is to never be that close anyways so it's probably rarely used.
PvE: F
PvP: C
Lock and Load: A must have talent that has a chance to cause your next 2 arcane or explosive shots to have no cooldown or focus cost.
PvE: A+
PvP: A+
Tier 4:
Resourcefulness: This is good for both pve and pvp. Black Arrow has a 30 second cooldown, same as traps. Being able to lower that cooldown is really good.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Mirrored Blades: This will be extremely beneficial in pvp. Provides some great defense for hunters while in deterrence. Not really that helpful for pve.
PvE: D
PvP: A
T.N.T.: This allows your fire traps plus black arrow to proc LnL. Extremely good talent to have.
PvE: A
PvP: B
Tier 5:
Toxicology: Excellent talent, increasing the damage of your dots is really good since SV damage thrives on BA and serpent sting.
PvE: A
PvP: C
Wyvern Sting: Great CC ability for both pve and pvp. With more CC coming around the corning look for this shot to find itself come alive again.
PvE: C
PvP: A
Noxious Stings: Increases damage done by your serpent sting on targets. Also if dispelled the dispeller will be inflicted by wyvern sting.
PvE: B
PvP:B
Hunting Party: Great talent to have, provides 2% more agi, and also triggers some haste effects as well as replenishment.
PvE: A+
PvP: A
Tier 6:
Sniper Training:Good talent especially when being able to stand still. Even if you have to move you have a few seconds to run and stop and this spell won't fall off.
PvE: B
PvP: C-
Serpent Spread: Good for spreading serpent sting to other mobs. While there won't be as much aoe during trash pulls anymore it can still help provide some extra damage.
PvE: B
PvP: D
Tier 7:
Black Arrow: Another dot that provides good elemental damage for SV hunters.
PvE: A-
PvP: B+
That is my preview and review for the survival talent tree I will be adding this to the overhauled SV page in the near future, if you have any comments or questions just leave them.
Hyolith
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Marksmanship Talents Preview
In this article I would like to preview and review the latest talent changes to the marksmanship tree. Each talent will be given a review plus a grade based on it's ability to help out hunters in pve and pvp.
Tier 1:
Go For the Throat: This is a decent talent, allows your pet to regen focus when you crit with you auto shot. Crit for MM isn't that high, but this talent is better than rapid killing to be able to move down the tree.
PvE: C
PvP:C
Efficiency: Reduces the focus cost of arcane, chimera, and explosive shot. This is a pretty good talent, reducing focus cost for shots is usually a good thing to have, it will allow you to better time your priority list.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Rapid Killing: This talent is really only good for leveling. There is a potential for this talent in end game if there are a lot of adds to deal with, but most people are concerned with bosses and not trash. So against a boss with no adds this talent doesn't do anything.
PvE: D
PvP: F
Tier 2:
Sic 'Em: Reducing focus cost for your pets. This will help them with some focus dumps. Allows for a bit extra damage.
PvE: C
PvP: C
Improved Steady Shot: MM should see a bit of steady shot. Even though right now it's looking like arcane shot is better than chimera. Throwing out 2 steadys for some focus regen should be done anyways, which will in turn proc this talent. Haste is going to be a major stat in Cataclysm
PvE: B
PvP: B
Careful Aim: This talent used to be above 60% health, now that it's 80% I don't know if it will be all that popular. You will probably need to pick it up to move on down the tree, but the time a boss will be from 100-80% usually won't be all that long.
PvE: C
PvP: C
Tier 3:
Silencing Shot: Very solid situational shot. Now that it doesn't do damage it won't be macroed to every shot. CC will probably be a bigger deal in Cataclysm than it is now and this should be a useful shot to have. In pvp this is an excellent shot to interrupt casting.
PvE: C
PvP: A
Concussive Barrage: Unless there is a lot of kiting to be done this talent doesn't do much in pve. This is a nice talent to pick up for pvp though.
PvE: D
PvP: A
Piercing Shots: Great talent to have. With the damage aimed shot has been doing the bleed effect will create a lot of extra damage. A must have.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Tier 4:
Bombardment: With the damage reduction of multi-shot this talent won't be as useful. It would be nice for dealing with trash but that's about it.
PvE: C
PvP: D
Trueshot Aura: Provides a 10% increase in attack power to all party or raid members. Unless changed, blood DK's Abomination's Might will override this spell.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Termination: This will be very helpful for the end of fights when trying to finish off a boss. The extra focus regen is always very useful.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Resistance is Futile: If this can be procced by the tank simply strafing the boss around and causing it to move this this will be a talent worth having, otherwise you might not get to see much use from it. This will defintely be a solid talent for pvp when your enemy tries to run away from you.
PvE: C
PvP: B
Tier 5:
Rapid Recuperation: Excellent talent rapid fire is used as often as it can. As I have stated before any focus regen is really great to have.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Master Marksman: This is a must have talent. At 5 stacks allows your aimed shot to be free and have no cast time.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Readiness: Instantly finishes cooldowns of all abilities. A must have talent to be able to use such things as rapid fire and kill shot for a second time immediately.
PvE: A+
PvP: A+
Tier 6:
Posthaste: Reduces the cooldown of rapid fire by 1/2 minutes. Great talent to have to get the most out of those abilities.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Marked for Death: This is kind of an interesting talent. As long as it doesn't override a glyphed Hunter's Mark application then this will be a nice talent to have to reapply HM.
PvE: C
PvP: C
Tier 7:
Chimera Shot: The final talent in the MM tree. It refreshes your serpent sting and also heals you for 5%. If the damage holds up to be useful this will be a very good shot to have. With the recent changes though, chimera shot has gone down in popularity.
PvE: B
PvP: B
That is my preview and review for the marksmanship talent tree I will be adding this to the overhauled MM page in the near future, if you have any comments or questions just leave them.
Hyolith
Marksmanship Tree
Tier 1:
Go For the Throat: This is a decent talent, allows your pet to regen focus when you crit with you auto shot. Crit for MM isn't that high, but this talent is better than rapid killing to be able to move down the tree.
PvE: C
PvP:C
Efficiency: Reduces the focus cost of arcane, chimera, and explosive shot. This is a pretty good talent, reducing focus cost for shots is usually a good thing to have, it will allow you to better time your priority list.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Rapid Killing: This talent is really only good for leveling. There is a potential for this talent in end game if there are a lot of adds to deal with, but most people are concerned with bosses and not trash. So against a boss with no adds this talent doesn't do anything.
PvE: D
PvP: F
Tier 2:
Sic 'Em: Reducing focus cost for your pets. This will help them with some focus dumps. Allows for a bit extra damage.
PvE: C
PvP: C
Improved Steady Shot: MM should see a bit of steady shot. Even though right now it's looking like arcane shot is better than chimera. Throwing out 2 steadys for some focus regen should be done anyways, which will in turn proc this talent. Haste is going to be a major stat in Cataclysm
PvE: B
PvP: B
Careful Aim: This talent used to be above 60% health, now that it's 80% I don't know if it will be all that popular. You will probably need to pick it up to move on down the tree, but the time a boss will be from 100-80% usually won't be all that long.
PvE: C
PvP: C
Tier 3:
Silencing Shot: Very solid situational shot. Now that it doesn't do damage it won't be macroed to every shot. CC will probably be a bigger deal in Cataclysm than it is now and this should be a useful shot to have. In pvp this is an excellent shot to interrupt casting.
PvE: C
PvP: A
Concussive Barrage: Unless there is a lot of kiting to be done this talent doesn't do much in pve. This is a nice talent to pick up for pvp though.
PvE: D
PvP: A
Piercing Shots: Great talent to have. With the damage aimed shot has been doing the bleed effect will create a lot of extra damage. A must have.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Tier 4:
Bombardment: With the damage reduction of multi-shot this talent won't be as useful. It would be nice for dealing with trash but that's about it.
PvE: C
PvP: D
Trueshot Aura: Provides a 10% increase in attack power to all party or raid members. Unless changed, blood DK's Abomination's Might will override this spell.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Termination: This will be very helpful for the end of fights when trying to finish off a boss. The extra focus regen is always very useful.
PvE: B
PvP: B
Resistance is Futile: If this can be procced by the tank simply strafing the boss around and causing it to move this this will be a talent worth having, otherwise you might not get to see much use from it. This will defintely be a solid talent for pvp when your enemy tries to run away from you.
PvE: C
PvP: B
Tier 5:
Rapid Recuperation: Excellent talent rapid fire is used as often as it can. As I have stated before any focus regen is really great to have.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Master Marksman: This is a must have talent. At 5 stacks allows your aimed shot to be free and have no cast time.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Readiness: Instantly finishes cooldowns of all abilities. A must have talent to be able to use such things as rapid fire and kill shot for a second time immediately.
PvE: A+
PvP: A+
Tier 6:
Posthaste: Reduces the cooldown of rapid fire by 1/2 minutes. Great talent to have to get the most out of those abilities.
PvE: A
PvP: A
Marked for Death: This is kind of an interesting talent. As long as it doesn't override a glyphed Hunter's Mark application then this will be a nice talent to have to reapply HM.
PvE: C
PvP: C
Tier 7:
Chimera Shot: The final talent in the MM tree. It refreshes your serpent sting and also heals you for 5%. If the damage holds up to be useful this will be a very good shot to have. With the recent changes though, chimera shot has gone down in popularity.
PvE: B
PvP: B
That is my preview and review for the marksmanship talent tree I will be adding this to the overhauled MM page in the near future, if you have any comments or questions just leave them.
Hyolith
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