What would you ask a Gladiator?

Those of you that are familiar with HuntsmansLodge know that PvP is one of my favorite areas of discussion. It’s what I do, it’s what I enjoy. I offer up what I advice I can, which of course is coming from a hard-core casual perspective, but I mainly PvP for fun. I’m not a top competitor, nor do I aspire to be.

However… were I to conduct an interview with one of the top ranked hunters in the world, what would you ask them?

And let’s say for instance they were regarded as one of, if not the best, Beast Mastery PvP’ers playing right now… then what would you ask?

A very nice and talented player from the EU region has agreed to let me pick his brain about hunters, hunter PvP and most exciting to me… playing as a Beast Master at an elite level.

Fans of the site know that I’m a die-hard Beast Master, so I’m especially thrilled to be able to discuss BM PvP with one of the best players in the game right now.

But… what I really want to know is what would you ask him..? That’s what’s most important to me. I want to ask the questions that my readers would like answers to.

So… if you have any burning questions about: builds, strategy, comps, gear, addons, UI, keybindings, etc… Please post them in the comments below. To make this convenient for both he and I, as well as due to time zone issues, I’m going to conduct this Q&A via email. I’ll be assembling a list of questions today and tomorrow, so please help me out by sharing with me what it is you would like to know.

17 thoughts on “What would you ask a Gladiator?”

    • Ditto on keybinds. Also macros.

      I find (as MM) that I go into fights with one or two very general notions about how I’m going to attack the different class categories (e.g. lead with serpent sting against rogues so they can’t stealth, or scatter shot healers before laying down burst damage to 3/4 health then silence them to finish them off). Does THE GLADIATOR have more specific strategies when approaching particular classes or more general ideas like the aforementioned? Finally, what are the tips that he finds himself constantly having to remember (e.g. for me it’s “Wait for the DK to tentacle you before hitting disengage”)?

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      • Just thought of another one! Was there one piece of hardware–a macro laden keyboard, a 17-button mouse, etc–that he felt made a huge difference in his game?

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  1. Is it Garxz? 🙂
    In 2v2 how do you counter DK/Holy Pally?
    How would you make BM more viable in the arena?
    Have you been tempted to go MM?

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  2. What is the best way for a Marksman Hunter to survive BM burst. How can Mm lock a BM hunter down? How effective is trapping pet? When should I expect you to use Intimidation? Does that mean a burst to follow should it be trinketed ASAP?

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  3. I’m really happy to see this. I levelled as BM and played BM almost exclusively until about 1/2 way through Wrath. I still have my BM spec and use it for soloing or heroics when the tank stinks I my turtle is the “fail safe” for when the tank dies. I’d love to use BM for pvp but I just don’t know how and currently use my MM raid spec with pvp gear on. Looking for ward to this.

    How do I interrupt a caster with BM ? How to kill various classes 1 v1 ? or anything else would be appreciated.

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  4. Oh I apologize I failed to mention one quick thing because I’m still new. What is a good rotation I should be using? Thanks again

    Mokongo, Troll Beast Master Extraordinaire…almost

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  5. Well I would ask him how EXACTLY he has his keys bound and for which spell. Also I agree with Ozolin about the vs each class suggestions. If at all possible I’d like to see his build/spec, though I completely understand if he wouldn’t want to. And lastly Garwulf I have a question for you specifically. I’m very interested in specific strategies because I, of course, do not like getting spat on and laughed at by Alliance. (Yes I’m Horde, singin it loud n proud, but I feel that this real life tension between Horde and Alliance is ridiculous.) Thank you SO much.

    Mokongo, Troll Beast Master Extraordinaire…almost

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  6. I’m excited to see what this Gladiator has to say, especially about how to best improve BM in PVP, since that’s the current discussion with Blizzard.

    I’d also like to hear about many of the suggestions here. When to use hunter’s mark or not bother, when to use tranq shot, when to use serpent sting, when to use aspect of the fox.

    I’d like a discussion of 2v2 Arena talent builds versus RBG builds. It seems the MM talents are good in 2v2, when you’ll be using freeze trap instead of Entrapment. What about 3s? 5s?

    I know this particular Gladiator has posted a lot of very interesting PVP macros, and I’d love to see a discussion of macros and keybinds. I see in his videos that he’s very good with his Freeze Traps, and would love to hear about how to do that better.

    Some informational videos on BM PVP would be an especially great format, if possible.

    Can’t wait!

    Kazador

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  7. Only a couple things for now, really (until I can think of more things):

    1) Given the changes made to pets for Cataclysm, what are his most usual pet choices for Arena and BG, and why?

    2) What does he think about the current under-representation of Hunters in high-stakes PvP? What does he think are the causes? (this one has been asked and answered by several different 2200+ Hunters before like Bandet, but I’d really like one more opinion to add to the pot).

    3) If he could improve Beast Mastery, what would he do with the spec?

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  8. There’s a couple of things I’d like to know…

    Hunter’s Mark… when does he apply it?
    Serpent Sting… does he bother in PvP?
    What pet does he use in bgs… and why?

    Cheers,
    D

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  9. Oh were do I start , as a BM hunter i find that I have a vast toolbox compared to a blood dk. For PvP intimidate, masters call , Roar of sac , tranq, widow venom, deterr, disengage, 4 traps , plus our dps abilies plus our pet CC like web/disarm/ silence.

    How does he manage all of this

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  10. What an excellent opportunity, Garwulf. I know I haven’t responded in awhile, but I have been reading, and this really piques my interest.

    I’d want to ask – as a BM Hunter – for:

    1 – His/her thoughts regarding the benefits of the increased damage gained by our pets in the MM tree to the additional utility provided by going into traps of the Survival tree (better traps, disengage, another root, etc.).

    2 – How does his/her build and strategy change between Arena and BGs, if at all.

    3 – What he/she does when confronted 1v1 with each class, which does happen on occasion.

    Good luck and happy gaming!

    Boz

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  11. My question for him would have to be this: as BM i know that we still have scatter->trap for cc, but where do we use intimidation in a competitive setting. My personal experience (which isn’t TOO extensive for this spec) has been that while it can work as an interrupt it is slightly unpredictable seeing as the pet might not attack in time to stop the cast, especially if he isn’t in melee range. Would we want to just put intimidation on our kill target during the trap on his partner to make it easier to pressure him?

    Thanks,
    Zaba 😛

    Reply

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