Hunter is not easy to play, please help

glancealot

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Edit: if you want to skip all the discussions, i think here is a good conclusion:

i think the conclusion is that hunter is an easy to play but hard-to-master class.

people like me (if i didn't make this thread) could take the moral high ground and say "ha, i am not playing a FOTM class because i am better than that" while deep-down knowing (or not knowing) that we wouldn't be capable of playing hunter at the level of our main classes such as hpal/disc priest/warrior (much easier to master) anyway.

After almost 10k kills, i could count the number of hunters that have made me feel inferior on one hand.

As a healer, you can create macros such that you cast different abilities depending on the target being hostile or friendly, so you can basically squeeze 2 abilities into each keybind.

hunter cannot do that, and hunter has pet target and pet abilities to worry about (petattack, web spray)

so one would need to be creative when it comes to macros.

for example, i have this macro that does 2 things:

/cast Serpent Sting
/petattack

with one click, this casts serpent sting and then send the pet in for attack (my pet target is not always the same as my target as i set it to passive)

i have this other macro that basically slows my target down with concussive shot, and then spider web spray if the target gets rid of the slow, it resets to Concussive Shot after 5 seconds, it also mounts if i am not in combat

but it is not even good because i would need a different macro if i want to slow down 2 people at the same time (my target and my pet's target)

/castsequence reset=5 Concussive Shot, web spray
/cast [nocombat] Striped Frostsaber

I also got the range indicator addon, so now i need to constantly pay attention to the distance between myself and my target

I guess i am just starting this thread to ask for general guidance on hunter play, i now know why some hunters give me an extremely hard time (pressuring me, while sending pet into another player to prevent node capping, etc), because it's a class with a very high skill ceiling.
 
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While I don't BG all that often, and I can't help all that much with macro's, the one universal thing I can say impacted my ability to survive against other players in PVP wasn't fancy/efficient macro's, it was mastering hunter mobility.

Once I got the hang of executing a proper "jump shot" and "jump disengage" (ie jumping/spinning your character around/shooting or disengaging/and then spinning your character back around before you land) my survival went through the roof. I basically just practiced those two maneuvers until I was doing it without even thinking, and it has helped immensely. Both when chasing people, and running away.

It sounds simple, but after I really got the hang of it, not only my survivability went up, but my overall damage as well. If you angle your character right, you can run at damn near full speed while still being able to target people behind you. Just about every move in a hunters arsenal is instant cast, so use that to your advantage, never stop moving unless absolutely necessary.

Also, "Precious Bloodthorn Loop" has got me out of more deaths than I can count, get one of those if you don't already have one (goes for just about any twink).

Anyways, thats what helped me the most, your results may vary, and it's very possible you are already doing what I have suggested.

Keep at it!
 
Well, looking at your character, you are definitely missing some easy raw stats from lack of enchants/gems, artifact weapon, engineering helm/trinkets. Also, a lot of lost utility from things like the Frag Belt, cloak glider, and various trinkets.

Definitely a good start, but missing a lot of easy gains. I assume this is not a F2P character given that armor is from Pandaria.
 
I'd take my level 49 Titanstrike any day over that glorified twig!

I'll see myself out now...

/disengage
/Bloodthorn
/aspectofthecheetta
 
If you check meters on a games that is not a faceroll for most sv hunter's 70-80% of their top damage will be from serpent sting. On faceroll games where they can dive in at will with zero repercussions raptor strike generally will be their top damage skill.

All and all, BM is the spec of choice for me.
 
Part of what makes hunters so strong in this bracket is that they have enough spells to require all those keybinds. If you are running out of your normal keybinds you might have to try out some more exotic ones like some of you F# keys. F4 for example is in a decent enough spot to press for a spell used a decent amount but not entirely spammed. Combine these new keys with button modifiers and you have increased your total number of available keybinds significantly and you can lost those clunky castsequence macros. For example you could change
/castsequence reset=5 Concussive Shot, web spray
/cast [nocombat] Striped Frostsaber
to
/cast [mod:alt] Concussive Shot, web spray
/cast [nocombat] Striped Frostsaber
So now if you want to slow someone you can just use your new hotkey, F4, to cast your pet slow then if you hold alt while you press it you'll cast your concussive shot. This set up gives you more actual control over your spellcasts than a cast sequence macro
 
Honestly, I don't recommend using nearly as many macros on hunter as you do your paladin. For starters, your serpent sting macro is terrible and inefficient. When you cast serpent sting, you're going to be doing it more than once, which means you're making your pet run from target to target doing nothing. Either get normal pet macros or none; it doesn't change much since you're pugging. The only macros I really recommend are just focus macros and anything with engineering etc.

Additionally, if you're intent on a pet attack macro that isn't just /petattack /petassist & /petpassive /petfollow, put it in your aimed shot and ideally make it cast Bite/Claw as well. As far as your spider macro, this is the same thing as the serpent sting; it's just inefficient as you found. I understand, based on your videos, that you seem to have a lack of keybinds, and unfortunately for you hunter is a class that has a lot of buttons if you're trying to be good at it- and those buttons aren't very macro-able.
 
Ya i think this is a class that is a little too hard to play, especially if you don't have good gears.

back on my paladin for now.

mad respect to those that make it work without gears.
 
...you might have to try out some more exotic ones like some of your F# keys. F4 for example is in a decent enough spot to press... Combine these new keys with button modifiers...
keys with button modifiers...
button modifiers...
modifiers...
:FeelsLagMan:
Alt-key.jpg

:HYPERKEKW::trollW:
 
it's okay guys, i will stick to my easy-to-play hpal.

i figured if i wanna step up my game play and work on pressing more keys, i might as well just play druid instead.
 

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