Hunter PvP Archives - HuntsmansLodge.com

The Last of Us

February 4, 2016 By Garwulf 4 Comments

My second time queueing for this instance and I won. My orc out-gears Garwulf 708 to 702, but the best I’ve managed on him is 3rd place. It must be the transmog. Folks were scared, I know it. No one, I mean…NO ONE wants the business end of my crossbow.

I would also like to thank all of the Death Knights and Ret Paladins that did not join this instance.

This coliseum business is kinda fun. I only started doing it last week, so it’s still pretty new and exciting to me. Winning it was a thrill, considering I only ever see plate wearers come out victorious, but let that be a lesson…

Do NOT underestimate the hunter in the loin cloth.

03/21/2016 Update: I’ve competed in this arena probably 20 times since this post, and managed to win it another 4 times. I’ve won it a total of 3 times now on Garwulf, twice on my Paladin, but I have yet to get a win on my orc BM hunter.

I’ve had pretty good success on Garwulf, winning it 3 out of the 7 times I’ve queued for it. The first time I won felt largely due to luck, but when I won it straight away the 3rd time I queued, I figured I must be doing something right. My next win came on my 4th attempt this past week, so at 3 for 7, I feel like I’m doing alright – especially since this event so heavily favors hybrid classes and plate.

My orc BM hunter is running pretty much the exact same spec as Garwulf, but I’ve never gotten past second place on him. Opposing players seem to gun for me, plus I feel like Garwulf has a very slight edge due to a few tricks up his sleeve.

For one, I think Shadowmeld offers a huge advantage. After I run around tagging everyone in the arena, I usually will try to go invisible for 4 or 5 seconds, allowing me to escape some damage and get a few precious ticks of Spirit Bond in. If I’m really out of the fray and unnoticed, I can sometimes get some bandage ticks in as well.

Next, I happen to have a supply of Baby Spice in my bank which I feel works very well for avoiding getting focused at the start. Lastly, I keep a hefty supply of Drums of Fury on hand at all times (since I’m a LW’er), which I pop right around the time Bestial Wrath is about to come off cooldown. The little extra haste buff helps me deal with the remaining 3-4 players that are left at that point. This week I’ll buy some drums off the AH for my orc to see if that little boost will do the trick.

I may post a few more tips on how to tackle this event as a BM hunter, but in the meantime, feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll do my best to provide some answers!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2013 By Garwulf 2 Comments

Gar Jr. wishes you all a safe and happy St. Patty’s Day

I just wanted to post a quick update letting you all know that I’m still around. I know things have been pretty quiet around here, but I do hope to eventually return to a more normal posting schedule – at least a couple of updates per month – as opposed to the one post every few months which has been the case lately. 😉

While it is safe to assume that I don’t find WoW as engaging as I used to, I still enjoy certain aspects of the game very much. Anyone who’s followed this blog over the years can probably guess what those things are.

That’s right…PvP and taming rare Hunter Pets. 😀

Here We Go

September 4, 2012 By Garwulf 34 Comments

After a bit more testing, I’ve settled on this build and I’m enjoying it immensely for BGs.

My updated BM PvP build for Patch 5.0.4

My specialization is still Beast Mastery, of course, and I’m running with a Ferocity specced Spirit Beast…of course. Old habits die hard. 😉

OK, so I really need to try Narrow Escape, but I’m having a hard time letting go of Posthaste. The CC removal (root and snare, anyway) + run speed buff is so useful in so many different situations.

I’ve found that heals and caster DPS are just redonk since the patch, so I elected to drop the new Binding Shot for the tried and true Silencing Shot. This has helped me burn down casters a bit easier and keep those pesky healers under control, plus it’s free (costs zero focus).

Although I did find it fun to play around with, Binding Shot just doesn’t feel as useful to me as Silencing Shot – for what I’m doing. It has a fairly long cooldown (45 seconds, as opposed to 20), the 5yd radius seems exceptionally limited in-game, it costs 20 focus, and I don’t like that it uses a target circle – especially since its range is a bit short. Personally, I’d prefer if it were a standard shot with a 40 yard range, with the offset being that it only affects one target. I feel it’d be more reliable this way, plus it’d be easier to cast while kiting.

I still need to try Exhilaration and Aspect of the Iron Hawk, but Spirit Bond is right there with Posthaste, as one of the talents I’m pretty attached to.

I switched from Dire Beast to Thrill of the Hunt yesterday and haven’t looked back. I can pretty much remain in Aspect of the Hawk – spamming Arcane and Kill Command all day long. The proc rate is just stupid, so I very seldom find myself focus starved. I also like that it’s a passive ability, which means one less button to push. That’s always a plus!

Bestial Wrath + Blink Strike -and- Blink Strike + Intimidation are just too good. I am loving Blink Strike for PvP and doubt I’ll be removing it from my spell book.

Here’s a really good macro you may want to try if you’re a Beast Master with the Blink Strike talent. It pops your on-use DPS trinket, casts Big Red & Rabid, then sends your pet on its target to deliver the pain. This opener can drop a poorly geared level 85 to about 50% health. Follow this up with a Kill Command + Intimidation, Arcane, Arcane, Arcane, and that should put you on the winning end of things. 😉

Bestial Wrath + Blink Strike Macro

/petattack
/use 14
/cast Bestial Wrath
/cast Rabid
/cast Blink Strike
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

Here’s a screenshot showing my pet dropping over 90K on a target dummy in less than a second.

An enraged Blink Strike crit will get an opponent’s attention.

Glyph Changes

I dropped the Camouflage glyph in favor of Mirrored Blades. I like being able to move around while in stealth, but I think it’s something that’s probably more useful for arena. Mirrored Blades is great – especially if you monitor your enemy’s spell casts. It’s nice for throwing a CC or huge damage spell right back in a caster’s face.

My other two major glyphs are still the same as before. Animal Bond for the small buff to healing -and- Master’s Call for double the freedom from roots and snares.

Alright, so if you’re a BM Hunter struggling to have PvP success post-patch, apply some of the info from this post and see if it helps. Your mileage may vary, but I’ve found this setup to be very effective for me.

Adjusting to Patch 5.0.4

September 2, 2012 By Garwulf 8 Comments

Alright, so today I was finally able to sit down and get myself acquainted with Patch 5.0.4. I’m still getting used to things, but overall, I’m having fun with the new hunter mechanics.

I still miss my melee weapons, but not from a practical standpoint – that’s more of a sentimental thing.

Being that I’m so programmed to try and maintain maximum range, the removal of the dead zone is taking some getting used to. It feels odd being able to use other shots besides Scatter Shot when enemies are right up on me. I keep having to remember I can shoot someone in the face with Arcane when they’re up in my grill. I’m definitely not complaining about this, however.

I’ve specced Beast Mastery, of course. It feels very good in 5.0.4. Almost too good. Things aren’t exactly balanced right now, so I won’t be holding out thinking it will stay this way.

How I Roll, Part 2… More BM PvP Build Advice

January 23, 2012 By Garwulf 19 Comments

One major benefit of having a class site like Huntsman’s Lodge is that I get so much great input from all of you. Your comments and discussion really prompt me to revisit a lot things, and in turn, influence change – making me a better player as a result.

After reading some of the comments that were posted in my last BM PvP build post, I ended up trying out a new build. While not radically different, I do think it’s a better build (for BGs, anyway) than the one I posted last week.

Old habits die hard…

I’ve always been one to take a point in Improved Mend Pet. Having the ability to cleanse DoTs and CC from my pet has always been of huge importance to me. However, after reading through some of the comments in response to my posted build, I decided to drop the point just to see if I missed it. If I didn’t, then that would free up a precious talent point that I could use for more DPS, for example.

Another talent I decided to give up was Survival Tactics. I really like this talent for the reduced Disengage cooldown, and to a lesser extent… the increased trap efficiency. Anyway, I elected to dump Survival Tactics to test if the shorter Disengage cooldown would really be missed and to see just how much more often my traps would fail as a result of losing this talent.

Were I a highly competitive arena hunter, I feel that Survival Tactics would be a staple talent. A failed Freezing Trap could make the difference between a victory or a loss, where as in battlegrounds, you can afford to have a small margin of error with traps.

Survival Tactics shaves 4 seconds off the cooldown of Disengage, plus it cancels out the inherent 4% “miss rate” hunters have with traps. Even with capped Spell Penetration, traps have a 4% chance to miss, i.e., a 1 in 25 chance to “not hit”, rather than be resisted.

At any rate… I decided to see if giving up that 4% bonus would actually be that noticeable. The result…not really. I’ve yet to be in a situation where a failed trap has been a game changer, nor have I really noticed my traps missing all that often.

As for the 4 second longer cooldown on Disengage…that hasn’t been a problem either.

Without the point in Improved Mend Pet and the other two points in Survival Tactics, I then had 3 extra talent points to spend elsewhere. So where to put them..?
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