wow Upcoming Hunter Dragonflight Class Changes: July 15th

[Staff 1,488]

 

Blizzard have detailed and discussed changes coming to Hunters in the Dragonflight Alpha, with the core and all three spec trees getting adjustments. 

Hunters (Source)

Hello Hunters,

We wanted to discuss some plans we had coming in the next few builds and address a few points of feedback.

Class Tree Changes:

• Improved Mend pet reduced to 2 points for +25/50%. Also now has a chance per tick of Mend Pet to also dispel a magic effect from your pet.
• Scare Beast is no longer on a path that connects to other nodes below it, it’s a one-off thing to the side of the tree.
• There is potentially a placeholder +Agility node where scare beast was. This will be changed if it shows up in your build to something that isn’t direct throughput.
• Chimaera Shot removed from the class tree.
• Master Marksman will likely be changed to also work with melee critical hits.
• Death Chakram will likely be changed to increase all damage taken, rather than just Physical. This should make it more competitive to Survival Hunters, who do a fair bit of non-physical damage.

Beast Mastery

• Dire Pack needs to be reworked.

Marksmanship

• Double Tap is being moved near the middle of the tree.
• New bottom left talent as a selection node:
  • Kill Shot now works with Trick Shots
  • Some number of targets hit by your Trick Shot ricochets also have Explosive Shot applied to them.
• Legacy of the Windrunners has moved, and is consolidated down to 3 points instead of 5.
• Chimaera shot added near the top of the tree. It will once again replace Arcane Shot, and things that modify Arcane Shot will modify Chimaera Shot
• Quick Shot removed.
• Rapid Fire’s Focus generation will just be part of the baseline ability and no longer an upgrade.

Survival

• A bunch of 3-point talents adjusted to fewer points.
• A dependency problem with Frenzy Strikes needs to be resolved where you can get this talent without either Wildfire Bombs.

This is not a complete list of what will change in the next build, or even the next few builds. As more decisions are made, we’ll try to post here. As always, things are subject to change and what is there now, or in the builds to come, may not be final.

Bug fixing is also an ongoing process.

One other quick note:

Maizou:
Serpent Sting is way too far down one side of the tree when it’s one of Survival’s main skills

Serpent Sting is intentionally low on the class side of the talent tree. If it’s up higher, it starts competing in space we have designated for utility options and starts to feel like a mandatory throughput choice. We want to put most of the actual throughput stuff past the second gate, so you have adequate points to get the utility you feel is important while playing. Moving it up higher means you would likely be getting less utility options.

edit: The note about Serpent Sting is specific to the Hunter class tree layout. Different classes have different tree layouts and where utility and throughput is scattered about.
edit2: note about Rapid Fire Focus generation in the MM tree area.
edit3: Death Chakram note in class tree area.
edit4: Frenzy Strikes note was wrong, you have to take Butchery/Carve, but not Wildfire Bombs.