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Some thoughts on the Cataclysm hunter class preview

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Now that I’ve had a chance to read through and digest all of the Cataclysm hunter class changes, here are some of my thoughts…

Focus

There are a lot of negative nellies out there really poo-poo’ing this change. I really don’t think you can come to an accurate conclusion on this new mechanic just yet. For one, we have no way of knowing how other factors will play into our focus regen and management.

All we know is the base cost of shots, along with the base focus regen rate. Given those two things, it looks as if we’re going to be reduced to stationary focus-starved ranged DPS’ers. However, what we don’t know is how talents, abilities, stats and various buffs will play into the equation.

Once talented, there’s no doubt that all of the shots will have their base focus costs reduced. Also, it’s very possible that focus regeneration rates will be much higher than the base 6/sec. once talents, gear and buffs are taken into account.

Hunters are one of the most popular classes in WoW, so it’s highly doubtful that Blizzard would intentionally “destroy” the class. Give this new mechanic some time to develop, and for all you downer donnas out there… FFS, quit yer bitchin’!

My only real concern is that the defensive abilities end up costing too much. They’ve mentioned the possibility of having their focus costs reduced or even done away with, so at least it’s on their minds. I’d hate to have to wait 3-5 seconds to pop Deterrence just because I’m focus starved. 😕

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Cataclysm Hunter Class Preview

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Here’s the official list of Cataclysm hunter class changes that Blizz posted today. Below some of the announcements I’ve included a few notes of my own. In a little bit, I’ll bust out a follow-up post to this one with some additional comments.

With the upcoming World of Warcraft: Cataclysm many game elements will be changing, and each class will be receiving a number of tweaks. Here, we will explore the changes that are being made to the gun-wielding, pet-training hunter. The information you’re about to read is certainly not complete, and is only meant to act as a preview of some of the exciting new things to come. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the new hunter abilities!

Here we go… *holds breath*

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Speculation

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As many of you already know, tomorrow is the scheduled date for the official posting of the Cataclysm Hunter class preview. Seeing the proposed changes that have been announced for some of the other classes has me quite excited (concerned…?) over what Blizzard has planned for hunters in Cataclysm. The anticipation of tomorrow’s news is not unlike the eve of the NFL Draft, for me anyway. 😉 I’m quite anxious to see what’s in store.

Some of what lies ahead has already been revealed.

We know that our resource system is changing from mana to focus. This will no doubt be the biggest change of them all, as it will have us relearning how to play our class. Instead of having a predictable pool of mana to draw from, we will have to more carefully budget our shots, as we’ll be using a more limited resource system much like what Rogues and kitty Druids have.

Agility will once again provide us with 2 points of attack power per point of agility. Agility will be thee stat for hunters in Cataclysm, just as it was in the days of old. No more theorycrafterizing and mathematicalization of stats like armor penetration. In fact…

Armor Penetration will no longer be included in gear itemization. From what I understand, Armor Pen will not be a stat placed upon gear, but will exist in talents and talent masteries.

Haste will become more important because it will directly affect how quickly we regenerate focus. All throughout WotLK haste has been at the bottom of the barrel in terms of stat weight for hunters. Not in Cataclysm however.

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Ghostcrawler Speaks and Other Hunter News

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During the class panel at today’s BlizzCon festivities, Ghostcrawler announced some of the major changes in store for Hunters with the next expansion, “World of Warcraft: Cataclysm”. They are: Mana will be gone. Hunters will now utilize focus. Intellect will be a needless stat for Hunters. Focus will regenerate at a rate of 6 focus per second. Steady Shot improves …

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