Arcane VS Aimed

[Xceptiona1 1]

I am new to MM hunter spec and would like some input on what to dump my focus with. I see in the IV guide that they are going from beta information and suggest either. In my last raid I used only Aimed Shot for a focus dump and have the timing down well and like the rotation, however I was checking world of logs and it appears many of the top hunters do not cast Aimed shot much at all.

What do you guys suggest? Thank you

olben - azgalor

[Tidalwavex 3]

There is an ongoing debate, but what it comes down to is cast time on aimed shot. I think the goal is 1.8 second cast time to switch from arcane to aimed, but my last read on that may be off. Kind of a sticky situation with it though. The only way to really get it down to that is by really boosting up your haste, but crit is generally more desired than haste. The only time I switch to aimed in my rotation is when I have another huge buff (lust, rapid fire, ect) which drives down the cast time to below 1.8 seconds.

Also, MM hunters took a huge drop in the DPS ratings. You don't see a lot of us anymore since BM and SV got a lot of help in MoP. Not sure why, but I do love my MM hunter and just can't seem to get away from him.

[Soultrain 7]

Tidalwavex summed it up pretty well. Comes down to how fast you can get off those aimed shots. Elitist Jerks has a nice break down for those haste break points.

If your dps is still holding up with the rest of your group do it how you feel comfortable. If your group is having issues or you want to get into a more competitive dps race. Definitely check those break points

Edited February 8, 2013 by Soultrain

[Tidalwavex 3]

Crazy question to my answer: Does 5.2 change MM hunters to make Aimed Shot relevant? Quick patch notes I found the cast time for Aimed Shot going from 2.9 to 2.5 seconds. I could be crazy, but that sounds like a significant reduction and can easily make Aimed Shot the main focus dump.

[Tehstool 10]

Aimed shot is also getting buffed by 10%. I'd say It could make it the dump until we drop the 4 piece, after that idk because I haven't done the math.

[Ultoraison 1]

At the moment, you should only be casting Aimed Shot when your target is over 80% of you are under heavy haste cooldown.

According to some people that have done the maths, you would only use Aimed when its cast time is under 1.3-1.4 second, which is not likely to happen except if you are under both Rapid Fire and Bloodlust.

With the changes begin made in 5.2, it may become viable to cast Aime Shot when under either Rapid Fire or Bloodlust.

However for Aimed Shot to be cast all the time as the main focus dump, you would need a huge amount of haste, and if you managed to get enough, you would do better by going for critical rating instead.

On EJ there is a very detailed thread on the subject :

http://elitistjerks.com/f74/t130571-mop_marksmanship_guide/

[Littlepinch 0]

I don't like Casting Aimed while the boss is under 80% either. For one it stops your Auto Shots witch will mess with your Wild Quiver Procs over the course of the fight. Once the boss is under 80% HP I tend to only use Aimed when i get a proc ( Unless Lust is up ). Using Arcane shot as my dump makes my rotaion ( Priority System ) Flow much better.

This is only my personal play style and this is what i find works best for me.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Littlepinch

[mantech 0]

Arcane will win!!!

[Iridar 80]

The short answer: both.

The long answer: it seems mainstream nowadays to gear towards haste, especially with RPPM items like trinkets and legendary meta, so reaching short Aimed Shot cast times is not a problem. However, casting only Aimed Shot is not optimal.

They are, though similar in a way that they both cost focus and deal damage, quite different beasts.

One does damage instantly, another after completing the cast time. One is strict GCD, another has variable cast time.

More importantly, Aimed Shot consumes focus at a higher rate than Arcane Shot.

At times with abundance of focus, during Fervor or Dire Beast, for example, we may prefer to use Aimed Shot to quickly dump focus and then proceed to Double Steady -> Chimera Shot sequnce, which would not be achievable without overcapping on focus with using Arcane Shot as a dump.

But if the focus is truly overflowing, and we're likely to overcap on focus before finishing Aimed Shot, then we'd like to use Arcane Shot instead.

What is so special about marksman for me is this constant challenge of shot priority, I find SV mind-numbingly dull and BM is glitchy at that.

There is no clear answer what focus dump to use all the time, and there never will be. To understand that you must only accumulate enough expirience as marksman. Monitor your rotation constantly, think what ability you're using now and why, is this not a mistake? Errors in rotation are easily seen, they usually are:

delayed Chimera Shot, letting Steady Focus to fall off, delaying Glaive Toss (or Barrage), capping on focus.

These mistakes can also (in addition to bad skill) be caused by choosing the wrong focus dump. Learn to notice and analyze these mistakes.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Iridar

[Xinto 18]

Iridar; great synopsis of how to deal with Arc/Aimed, I think with mixing you will be very close to optimal or within RNG.

I've only tried MM in raid a few times recently and avoiding focus capping takes some skill. Choosing between Arcane and Aimed seems to be the main challenge in pumping out the dps.

Edit: To summarise the numbers from EJ

<1.5sec cast - Aimed focus dump

>1.7sec cast - Arcane focus dump

1.5 < cast time < 1.7 - its down to preference/situation. Which is the region I am in and I suspect the region Iridar is describing.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Xinto

[Iridar 80]

1.5 < cast time < 1.7 - its down to preference/situation. Which is the region I am in and I suspect the region Iridar is describing.

That is correct, though I still think MM's DPS isn't where it should be, as a more complex spec to play it should me more rewarding and have a higher potential DPS.

[Xinto 18]

That is correct, though I still think MM's DPS isn't where it should be, as a more complex spec to play it should me more rewarding and have a higher potential DPS.

I have to very much agree, its behind. Not leaps and bounds like BM has been in the previous xpac but still enough for most raiders to go BM/SV. I 've been testing it out recently and its still as fun as ever. But alas I need BM spec for hero for my guild so I've had to respec back.

Still a hunter, still a death dealer, still loving wow.