Hornet_MT
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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I've been playing a hunter and a mage recently to fill the time before Cata hits... the hunter is only in his 20's but I wanted to get an idea of what I should be shooting.
I know everyone says go Beastmaster spec, I have decided to ignore this advice to go survival as I see it being a little more fun than letting your beast do all the damage... so I have:
- Explosive Shot
- Arcane
- Serpent Sting
- Multi
- Steady
I seem to be low on focus all the time, but usually go about my business by firing off an explosive shot/SS on the target, then keeping Steady Shot going to regain Focus until I have enough for another Explosive Shot, repeat... on mobs of 3 or more I use Multi Shot as well as SS.
My DPS isn't bad usually... but it's not exactly challanging. I don't feel like I am really maing the most of my abilities.
I know this is early in the game still, but is their any kind of priority system I should be following? what gives the most bang for my focus? I don't think i get any knew talents for several levels... LnL will make it a little more fun I imagine as I will need to start laying down traps
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Your foe is in cloth and you want to give them a nice surprise!
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Demorak
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Focus is pretty bad at low levels with shots and no perks to help it.
For the record, go beastmaster spec. 
I leveled a little Survival with my new hunter and mainly went Explosive -> Serpent -> Steady over and over, it worked fine. (No idea if it is optimal or not)
Outside of Explosive the spec is pretty craptastic until the end of the talent tree, as is Marksman.
It's sad seeing a Kill Command do double the shot damage of any other spec, even when not specced BM.
SPEC BM!
Sorry if this post is next to useless. 
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-Mythril-
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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the reason to level as BM is because it's more efficient on time and it usually allows you to do more soloing of "group" quests.
For 10g you can dual spec now. ( i want my 9k back from all my alts.)
Dual spec a BM for group quests.
Truth is can level at whatever spec. I wouldn't worry about thinking about it too much. As you level you will figure stuff out.
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Mythphisto- Hunter;
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Dums
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The mystery flavor
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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I've been leveling a new hunter, and with all my heirloom gear as survival I've been able to solo all the group quest mobs and everything I run into is butter to my knife.
For high level stuff, couldn't help you.
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Hornet_MT
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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I may go get my DS sorted out... I am against the idea of it as I am playing the class to be an archer not a pet handler, I don't mind levelling a bit slower, but I do want to optimise the way I play the spec.
It does seem a little unclear at the moment what shots are optimal for what situation and I expect most of my levelling to be via the DF more than anything else so I don't need the group quest flexibility.
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Why use Ambush?
Your foe is in cloth and you want to give them a nice surprise!
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Sociop
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Demorak posted:
Focus is pretty bad at low levels with shots and no perks to help it.
Focus is bad at all levels period!
What I do in BM is;
Mark
Then
SS(and keep it up)
Arcane (until I almost run out of focus)
Steady (twice, build focus back up)
Rinse & Repeat until Kill Shot pops
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Arcilite_I
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Sociop posted:
Demorak posted:
Focus is pretty bad at low levels with shots and no perks to help it.
Focus is bad at all levels period!
What I do in BM is;
Mark
Then
SS(and keep it up)
Arcane (until I almost run out of focus)
Steady (twice, build focus back up)
Rinse & Repeat until Kill Shot pops
So in other words you're a complete baddie...stop telling people you play a hunter, you're making the rest of us look bad.
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PvPing since 1977
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wowplayer321
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Don't even bother to Mark.
Serpent Sting
Kill Command
Steady Shot till dead (usually only one)
Everything else is just fluff.
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Demorak
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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wowplayer321 posted:
Don't even bother to Mark.
Serpent Sting
Kill Command
Steady Shot till dead (usually only one)
Everything else is just fluff.
^^ This.
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Foojo
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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wowplayer321 posted:
Don't even bother to Mark.
Serpent Sting
Kill Command
Steady Shot till dead (usually only one)
Everything else is just fluff.
That's what my hunter does. I still mark as I run up.
Mark
(Possible snare depending on how pet grabs aggro)
(Serpent or Arcane depending on how fast the stuff dies)
Kill Command
Arcane
Steady Shot
Kill Shot or whatever it's called at 20% health
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Sociop
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Arcilite_I posted:
Sociop posted:
Demorak posted:
Focus is pretty bad at low levels with shots and no perks to help it.
Focus is bad at all levels period!
What I do in BM is;
Mark
Then
SS(and keep it up)
Arcane (until I almost run out of focus)
Steady (twice, build focus back up)
Rinse & Repeat until Kill Shot pops
So in other words you're a complete baddie...stop telling people you play a hunter, you're making the rest of us look bad.
More like I know what I am talking about Hunters suck in fact this is from the official forum hard to argue with the state of the Hunter class looking at the numbers;
username posted:
According to wow census. Last month there were 343k active 80 hunters, the third most played class under DK and paladins.
This month hunters are sitting at 268k active 80's but are now the 8th most played class in game.
In one month there is a VERY visible (nearly) 100k loss of active 80 hunters.
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Talehon69
Title: Anonymous Entity
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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I stopped playing my hunter with the changes. A lot of the people who used to play Hunters, stopped playing, but a lot of hunters who are trying the class out now seem to like it...
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Foojo
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I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Yep, the changes to hunter are mixed bag. I can see why many are unhappy with the changes.
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Ardenwolfe
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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It's about adaptation. Some of the suggestions are on the mark, but you need to feel which ones are and which ones works for you.
If nothing else, use a mark macro to make the pet attack in PvE. If you want the shock of an angry pet attacking your opponent, hold off on the mark in PvP.
That said, there's not going to be a 'right' rotation for you other than the one that you find for yourself . . . suggestions aside.
Good luck.
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-MrBean-
Title: Now With Extra Baldness
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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My first character way back in classic wow was a Nelf hunter. Even back when they were a free HK I played them.
I took a year off and when I came back a couple of months ago have been playing a new mage and pally.
I started a human hunter (since I have honestly wanted one since closed beta) and man, I just can't do it. I really don't like the feel of the new hunter changes.
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Arcilite_I
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Sociop posted:
More like I know what I am talking about Hunters suck in fact this is from the official forum hard to argue with the state of the Hunter class looking at the numbers;
username posted:
According to wow census. Last month there were 343k active 80 hunters, the third most played class under DK and paladins.
This month hunters are sitting at 268k active 80's but are now the 8th most played class in game.
In one month there is a VERY visible (nearly) 100k loss of active 80 hunters.
All that says to me is the bad hunters started playing their paladins because hunters actually take skill now...thanks for proving my point.
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PvPing since 1977
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Sociop
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Arcilite_I posted:
Sociop posted:
More like I know what I am talking about Hunters suck in fact this is from the official forum hard to argue with the state of the Hunter class looking at the numbers;
username posted:
According to wow census. Last month there were 343k active 80 hunters, the third most played class under DK and paladins.
This month hunters are sitting at 268k active 80's but are now the 8th most played class in game.
In one month there is a VERY visible (nearly) 100k loss of active 80 hunters.
All that says to me is the bad hunters started playing their paladins because hunters actually take skill now...thanks for proving my point.
Perhaps, but more likely it shows players deserting a broken class in umass!
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Cawlin
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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IF (and I stress the "IF" there) hunters are "broken" it is only by virtue of the complexity of the class compared to others.
It's stupidly simple to DPS as a Mage by comparison to a hunter - spam arcane blast, do missiles on a proc or something. 90% or more of your damage is arcane blast, 10% or less is missiles.
Hunter rotation is a PITA - you've got to fire steady shots in pairs at least in order to keep the haste buff and you've got to do it every 8 seconds. Chimera every 10 seconds or as close to that as you can get. Arcane when Chimera is on CD and you have focus. Alternate between salvos of Chimera and arcane and double taps of steady. The rotation doesn't really repeat on any interval short enough to consider it repeating. It's all reactive.
You have to monitor at all times the following:
Is Improved Steady Shot buff up (only an 8 second duration and only after two consecutive steady shots land)?
Is Chimera off CD?
Is there enough focus for Arcane Shot?
How many Arcanes can I shoot before a) Imp. Steady Shot Buff falls off, b) focus is drained c) Chimera is off CD (gotta make sure you keep Serpent going).
Is instant Aimed Shot procced?
Is my pet dying to some stupid ability that's an AOE but not considered an AOE by some glitch or intentional joke?
If you manage all of those things properly along with your rapid fire and readiness cooldowns as well as kill shot, you'll do competitive DPS on SINGLE target fights only. If it's a boss fight with an add or two, a DK, Paladin, Rogue, Warrior, with as much as 1500 less gear score will out DPS you because of their innate AOE abilities (howling blast, cleave, divine storm, blade flurry).
AOEing as a hunter is MUCH more involved than other classes for basically substandard results.
You've got to toss an explosive trap and hope the tank doesn't move the mobs out of the splash area, launch a multi and a second if you've got the talent for reduced focus cost on a crit multi, and then go to single target DPS. By then, the single button AOE simplicity of a few other classes has all the mobs nearly dead and you're out of focus and looking for something to put 2 steady shots into so you can get the haste buff and regen some more focus for another multi... usually you wind up trying to shoot something with a steady that dies before the steady lands, so you switch targets and repeat the effort for the next 6 or 7 seconds with no focus gain other than baseline and no haste buff.
If you do it all perfectly you'll be well behind other classes with AOE and you'll have carpal tunnel compared to them.
If the dungeon is full of 4 and 5 mob trash pulls you will see DKs, Paladins, and Warriors with as much as 2k less GS doubling your DPS as a hunter since they're able to do their single target rotations which include inherently (or nearly so) multi-target attacks. A well geared paladin tank will also give you a run for your money on overall damage done in such an instance because of their constant AOE damage and the fact that you are constantly trying to single target DPS when everyone else is AOEing because your AOE is not efficient for fewer than like 6 mobs while their single target DPS is twice as efficient on 4 mobs as it is on one.
So, does that make hunters broken? Or does that make other classes broken?
Hunters need volley back for AOE, that's a given, and it needs to be cheap in focus cost. Hunters need some focus changes. The haste buff from Imp. Steady needs to last longer or just be removed and be a part of the spec. Steady needs to return more focus.
Oh yeah, and on fights that don't last long, hunter DPS suffers considerably compared to other classes due to lack of burst, long cooldowns, travel time and interface lag on kill shot.
With all of that said. I am enjoying my hunter now more than I have in a long time. It takes some thought and if you do it right, you get good results. I expect other classes to be tuned to be more demanding and less overpowered going forward. Hunters are now to DPS classes what Warriors have always been to tank classes.
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If ignorance were painful, half the posters here would be on morphine drips.
Everyone playing WoW knows everything about playing two classes: 1) their own and 2) Hunters
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Boone-Eldar
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Arcilite_I posted:
All that says to me is the bad hunters started playing their paladins because hunters actually take skill now...thanks for proving my point.
I am not adverse to having to relearn a class due to changes, but the Hunter change to focus has been pretty bad. I played a Shadow Priest through BT in TBC and played my Hunter through ICC in WoTLK so I am very familiar with the tedium of watching timers and such. The Hunter changes were not implemented well and will likely take a year of tweaking before they work ok. As the poster before me stated, it really is a pain in the ass to play atm. That is not skill, it is just tedium.
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Seriously? 
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Renegade.
Title: Hate the player, not the game
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I don't get the hunter priority system...
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I really miss the way Marksman Hunters worked.
My orc hunter used to do some pretty serious damage (iirc around 13-17k DPS single target), in PvE I ran MM as my main spec and Surv as OS. MM was my forte and I was the HM biatch this was my 25 man raid group spec, and HUGE volley damage lol. I used the Survival spec for heroic ICC runs, and if we were short of a replenishment buff.
I'm pretty sure our raid leader (and current GM) has switched to BM and isn't happy with it. This guy was pretty beast and I believe he was the first to pet tank Sindragosa 10 man. So much work on H LK 25 I wish I was still subbed for the kill. However I didn't want to continue playing WoW then.
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Demorak
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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I love the focus setup for hunters now, but the mechanics behind it are nothing short of a pain in the arse. There's just too many steps and resource management involved to come close to the DPS of another class.
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Hornet_MT
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Subject:
I don't get the hunter priority system...
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Cawlin posted:
IF (and I stress the "IF" there) hunters are "broken" it is only by virtue of the complexity of the class compared to others.
It's stupidly simple to DPS as a Mage by comparison to a hunter - spam arcane blast, do missiles on a proc or something. 90% or more of your damage is arcane blast, 10% or less is missiles.
...
With all of that said. I am enjoying my hunter now more than I have in a long time. It takes some thought and if you do it right, you get good results. I expect other classes to be tuned to be more demanding and less overpowered going forward. Hunters are now to DPS classes what Warriors have always been to tank classes.
Thanks, you've just convinced me to polish off my Shammie or pay more attention to my mage... this is too much like hard work for me I think, I am after "face-rolling" easy-sauce, with huge DPS thrown in...
Cheers for he detailed response though 
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Why use Ambush?
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