Friday, October 2, 2009

Common Hunter PvP Abilities You May Have Forgotten

Casual PvPers may not remember half the abilities that are at their disposal. PvE abilities have pushed them out of your mind. Without dipping into special PvP-talent-only, or even discussing BM, MM, or SV-specific abilities let's review the extreme basic abilities that are useful in hunter PvP.

In Battlegrounds, information is power. You can fake out druids and other hunters with Humanoid Tracking. Just flip on Aspect of the Beast. It's especially useful if you are holding onto a flag in Warsong Gulch. When was the last time you used it?

Hunter's Mark is fairly brilliant in BGs. Flag someone for execution. Make them show up on everyone's radar. Don't let somebody skirt around a battle and cap something. Point out the healer in the back of the group.

Wing Clip is useful when things get sticky. Use my one button melee macro if you think you're short on keybinds. You probably want to follow it up with a Disengage.

Flare is always nice if you're defending.

You've used Feign Death tons in your PvE existence. You used to pull to the tank using it before you got Misdirect. If you hit FD then the opponent will stop targeting you. If you don't attack them again first (or say have your pet attack them before you do), then they'll be targeting and attacking someone else until they retarget. If they bother. It's especially nice to hit right near the end of a mage's long cast time.

You got Scare Beast at level 14. Maybe you used it in Kara's Wizard of Oz opera event. Maybe you use it on the Faction Champions hunter pet. It's nice in PvP on other pets and feral druids. It used to really suck. Now it works up to 30 yards so you can cast it early. Just don't cast it in front of a hunter actively hitting you. That just wont play.

Eagle Eye rocks. It's not as good as Tracking Humaniods. But information is power. You can check out opportunities for capping things. Sure rogues and feral druids can spoil the day. But if you see them elsewhere then you'll know they can't be in two places at once. This is best for Arathi Basin when you're at the Blacksmith's or the Lumbermill. Call out the things you see. Watch for troop movements.

Concussion shot and Frost Trap are both your friend. PvP isn't all about maximum DPS. Look at the gear you get. It's about mitigating that damage. Slowing opponents is a critical step. Use these on melee as much as possible.

Serpent Sting is usually is part of our max-damage rotations because of many abilities, but it also is good for annoyance. Nobody likes to have a sting on them. Viper Sting is also nice. If you're Marks, Scorpid Sting may be a good one with Chimera Shot. (Though I wasn't going to talk about BM, MM, or SV!) Don't forget you can sting multiple opponents with stings. And really don't forget to serpent sting rogues and feral druids. The DoT will keep them from disappearing.

The same annoyance factor applies to Snake Trap. And who doesn't grin when you see it go off? What's not to like? It poisons the victim and gives them something else to cleanse if they can.

Tranq Shot FTW. See my tranq shot mouse-over macro for using it. Remove one buff. Some can't be removed, but many can.

Okay, so Aimed Shot does require you to take a talent. It however is a not so un-common talent to take for PvE people. And it isn't exactly limited to just one talent tree. (It's not like Entrapment!) So let me say this: If you have it, please use it. You can bring down targets that are getting heals.

Kill Shot is a wonderful thing. If you're good with it, you'll get your KS off early and it won't even be the killing blow. That's when you know you can hit it quickly. Of course if you pause too much with it, you will probably miss out on the window of opportunity.

Master's Call is available to everyone. Try it out if you haven't. Read the description.

Freezing Arrow was meant to be fired while you are moving. Practice doing it. Then practice doing it with a dueling opponent. Then consider how great it is. I typically will use it while riding (it does dismount you when you fire it) and placing it where I think someone may appear.

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