Hunters: the new Buff bot.

[Inune]

First round of pet skills are in, and it's looking like hunters are getting a better situation than Wrath, but I think things could still be improved upon.

Here is the full list of pet abilities as they stand right now. I won't bore you with the details of which pets get which abilities (lolBM-onlybloodlust), but hunters now cover the following buffs and/or utility abilities with their pets:

Bloodlust
Emergency Heal
Blessing of Kings
Fortitude
Crit rating+
Magic damage+
Bleed damage+
Phys damage+
Cast speed reduction
Damage dealt reduction
Attack speed reduction
MS (healing reduction)
Sunder (Armor reduction)
Snare
Root
Stun
Interrupt

blah blah still beta blah blah nothing final blah blah blah (this is for you, Mig).

Personally, I like the changes and I don't like them. I like them because this is infinitely better than Wrath's "bring wolf or GTFO." We might actually get some pet diversity? Holy shit! It also allows good hunters yet another opportunity to prove themselves better than the rabble; being able to coordinate your pet with your raid comp is going to really separate the talented from the huntards in cataclysm.

What it doesn't do, however, is the one thing I think all hunters really yearn for: offer us a true choice on which pet we want to take. Like I said, it's a really, really big step in the right direction after "wolf or gtfo," but it's still not a true choice. I bring the pet that the raid needs me to bring, my favorite can wait for a time when it's useful - that's still a little disappointing, honestly.

And lets not forget the fact that hunters will now not only be mandated to have a BM offspec since 4 of those buff classes (the big ones like Bloodlust and Blessing of Kings) are stuck on exotic pets only, but we're also going to have to invest some time raising about 15 pets to level 85, since we need to be capable of covering all those abilities (maybe a couple fewer, since things like roots and stuns aren't as important to a 10- or 25-man group). It's a price I'm certainly willing to pay, but I don't really relish grinding out about 60 pet levels to get myself truly raid-ready.

Of course, I think the most daunting task is naming them all. Good lord, I'll be occupied for days trying to come up with 15 good pet names.



edit to say: Also, to all those people who kept jokingly telling me to pop lust: fuck you. Come cataclysm, it will actually be a legitimate demand (along with "HEY HUNTER, WHAR DA FUC IS MA KINGS?!?!?!").

[krysinello]

Pop lust, now!

[Draken_crovax]

still sad there is no hunter rez, that would have been perfect

[Inune]

In case you hadn't seen, Cats now get the Strength of Earth buff.

Sorry Shaman; in ur totems, stealin ur buffz.

[Blackshae]

Wait... are you telling me the WoW Gods actually listened to me? All those nights praying, "please make Inune less fail, when I want Bloodlust I want it right NAO!" Now if only they will listen to my other prayer, "please let me be able to DI Jack without having to be in a group with him"