Updated List of Hunter Class Changes in the MoP Beta

MMO-Champion recently posted a compiled list of all the class changes that are in the MoP beta. I’m not sure how new all of these hunter updates are, but regardless…I’m just now seeing them for the first time. I’ve been out of the WoW loop for quite a few weeks now, but I hope to return to re-enter the loop very soon. Recent developments in the RL have rendered me loopless – as far as WoW and MoP news is concerned.

Some of the damage modifier updates are interesting, but I’m mostly curious about the new skills – and updated skill mechanics. A lot of this damage stuff will change as they continue to tune things, so I’m not going to worry about that stuff too much until the expansion is ready to launch.

I like how they’ve made Camouflage usable during combat, and I also like the change to Trap Launcher. If I understand it correctly, it looks as if we’ll just be able to keep Trap launcher “on” at all times – launching our traps with one button press, just as we used to with Freezing Arrow.

Beast Cleave looks like it will offer Beast Masters a slight boost to their AoE. I appreciate that.

I like the added range on Kill Command, but will it be packaged with a new animation? I love the idea of my pet instantly charging an enemy from 25 yards away. Sounds to good to be true, but without the pet being in melee range, it’d just seem silly.

Anyway…here’s the list in case you’re interested. The hunter list…the only list that is important.

MoP Hunter Skill Changes

  • Arcane Shot: Now causes 65% weapon damage, down from 100%.
  • Aspect of the Fox: Now includes Barrage.
  • Aspect of the Hawk: Now 10% of Ranged Attack Power, rather than a flat value.
  • Camouflage: Can now be used in combat for 6 seconds.
  • Hunter’s Mark: Now increases damage on the marked target by 5%, rather than increasing your Attack Power.
  • Kill Shot: Now causes 85% weapon damage, down from 150%, and if Kill Shot fails to kill the target, the cooldown is instantly reset, but cannot be reset more often than once every 6 sec.
  • Multi-Shot: Now causes 60% weapon damage, down from 120%.
  • Rapid Fire: Now a 3 minute cooldown, down from 5.
  • Revive Pet: Now a 6 second cast, down from 10.
  • Steady Shot: Now causes 65% weapon damage, down from 100%.
  • Tracking: New – Allows the tracking of various types of creatures: Beasts, Demons, Dragonkin, Elementals, Giants, Hidden, Humanoids, and Undead. Activated through tracking interface.
  • Trap Launcher: Now a toggle ability.
  • Trueshot Aura: Grants 10% (was 20%) increased melee and ranged attack power and 5% (was 10%) increased critical strike chance to all party and raid members within 100 yards.

Beast Mastery

  • Beast Cleave: After you Multi-shot, your pet’s melee attacks also strike all other nearby enemy targets for the next 5 sec.
  • Beast Mastery: Now reduces the cooldown of Pet Special Abilities. No longer increases amount of Skill Points.
  • Bestial Wrath: Now a 1 minute cooldown, down from 2.
  • Cobra Shot: Now deals 115% weapon damage, up from 100%.
  • Invigoration: Now only requires your Pet’s Basic Attack to deal damge, rather than critically hit. Also has a 15% chance to regenerate 20 focus, rather than a 100% chance to regenerate 6 focus.
  • Kill Command: Now costs 37 focus, down from 40. 25 yard range, up from 5.

Marksmanship

  • Aimed Shot: Now causes 90% weapon damage, down from 160%.
  • Careful Aim: No longer includes Cobra Shot.
  • Chimera Shot: Now causes 115% weapon damage, up from 100%. 9 second cooldown, down from 10.
  • Steady Focus: Now also causes your Steady Shot to regenerate an additional 3 focus. Lasts 10 seconds, up from 8.

Survival

  • Black Arrow: Reworked – Fires a Black Arrow at the target, dealing 85% Weapon damage as Shadow damage to the enemy target. In addition, Black Arrow deals 10 damage over 20 sec to the target and any other enemy within the path of the Black Arrow when fired. Lock and Load cannot trigger from the damage done to these additional targets.
  • Lock and Load: Now also has a 20% chance when Explosive Trap and Black Arrow deal damage to cause the Lock and Load effect.
  • Serpent Spread: Now spreads a full duration Serpent Sting, up from 9 seconds.
  • Trap Mastery: Now reduces the cooldown of your traps and Black Arrow by 6 seconds.
  • Viper Venom: New – You gain 3 Focus each time your Serpent Sting deals damage. This effect has a 3 sec cooldown.

Hunter Pet Changes

Sporebat

  • Smack: Now also deals % more damage and costs % more Focus when your pet has 50 or more Focus.

Bat

  • Bite: Now also deals % more damage and costs % more Focus when your pet has 50 or more Focus.

Bear

  • Claw: Now also deals % more damage and costs % more Focus when your pet has 50 or more Focus.

General Hunter Pet Talent Changes

  • Blood of the Rhino: Now also increases your pet’s armor by 20% and reduces its chance of being critically hit by 6%.
  • Growl: Now has an 8 second cooldown, up from 5.
  • Rabid: Reworked – Now increases your pet’s attack power by 50% for 20 sec. 2 minute cooldown, up from 45 seconds.
  • Spiked Collar: Now increases the damage of your pet’s Basic Attack by 10%, up from 9%. Also increases your pet’s haste by 10%, and increases your pet’s critical strike chance by 10%.

Have any thoughts on these changes..? Leave a comment below.

15 thoughts on “Updated List of Hunter Class Changes in the MoP Beta”

    • Yes, but I believe we’re still getting them as cosmetic items.

      I’m one of the few hunters who doesn’t like this change. I’ve always enjoyed having melee abilities – especially in the lower levels. I know we’ll have equivalent ranged skills for close quarters combat, but I guess the dorky RP’er in me likes the idea of having melee abilities for bringing the pain – or snaring – when in close range.

      Reply
  1. I can see why they reduce weapon dmg on most shots for the fact that hunters will no longer have polearms or staffs and the stats of polearms and staves are going to have to go into our range weapons so dont be surprised that our range weapons will have twice theof agi and attack power balancing the scales. However still in beta so

    Reply
    • Keep in mind it is beta, meaning they do a lot of “tweaking” of things to try to bring them in line with where they think they should be.

      Reply
    • You can basically ignore any of the reductions to damage from the Beta. Weapon damage is going to be a bigger percentage of the dps so a lot of abilities look like they are being reduced down. We won’t be able to assess damage until the release most likely, but fingers crossed we keep all of the shiny new abilities 🙂

      Reply
      • Your not seeing it. Ignore the damage changes for now because Blizzard hasn’t adjusted damage properly yet, that will come later in the beta. Blizzard hasn’t nerfed hunters, we have lots of nice new abilities and our old abilities are fixed (mostly). None of these are nerfs, if anything it seems Blizzard has listened to the community 🙂

        Reply
  2. I don’t know if I’m reading things too lightly, but it looks to me like BM will be THE MoP spec. MM and SV look “meh” at best and “nerfed” at worst, and I love the idea of my pet aoeing after I multi shoot. Combine that with Rabid and WOW!

    Cheers,
    D

    Reply
  3. Things are changing pretty fast, my friend. You should really choose if you’re IN or OUT. The Hunter class as you know it now (Cata) will drastically change once again. Being out of the scene for such a long time wont help you at all. Time to move on, maybe?

    I guess the WoW era has reached an end for you too… but you’re still attached to your (very good) blog and you don’t want to lose it. I guess Diablo III will fit your RL time much much better. I’m in the beta and having a family (wife + 2 children) I can tell you D3 is *THE* game for those who can’t spend/waste too much time in a row.

    You can jump in, insta-group with other people and insta-leave whenever you want (because you’re almost immediately replaced). Everyone is a dps, no class fights, no class problems, no schedules, no crying people and a ton of fun.

    Oh and… the Demon Hunter is fun and powerful. Finally some love for this class, at least in Diablo!

    Reply
    • Hello, my friend!

      I’ve been playing the D3 beta since October – off and on. My son’s actually logged in waaay more time on it than I have, but I did sit down the past couple nights – blasting all five characters through in HC mode.

      I am enjoying it, but I seriously doubt it will tear me away from WoW altogether. I’ll likely be playing both, but probably just one class type in each — hunter and Demon Hunter.

      Yes, I also enjoy the Demon Hunter the most. 🙂

      I’m toying with the idea of producing some sort of guide for Diablo 3, so I created yet another new site over the weekend. I wrote a post the other day – offering my take on the five classes. Check it.

      http://d3domination.com/diablo-3/diablo-3-beta-notes-fall-of-the-black-king-hardcore/

      Reply
      • well i should say OMG WTF
        looking at this they could as well just dump marksman and leave only 2 specs active and Yes ill go Beastmaster

        Reply

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