Mallard came to Naxx25!!1 with us last weekend and kept a good attitude throughout the less-than-smooth run, as well as sitting at or near the top of the DPS parses throughout the raid. He was definitely a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy raid -- hope you'll give us another shot this Saturday to redeem ourselves!
Get in /dfrecruit and start running anything that pops up in there. It is unfortunate that Raid: Kitten Brigade has hunters squirting out our toes, but dps is dps in Wrath. Just be on, shout that you're available and get some runs with Downies under your belt.
Talked with him in vent a bit, and I think he would be a good fit for a solid dps in any of our raids. Both he, and Kynleigh have my stamp of approval.
I just joined up in the channel. Found out today that I have strep throat though so I am taking it easy for a day or two. I'll be on and ready to run something if you need this weekend.
I went through your app thinking "here comes yet another hunter app." Then I remembered the name. You did some Kael/Vashj vial runs with us back in the BC end times. I don't particularly remember being blown away, but if you don't get noticed because you aren't dying to stupid things in a hard fight, that's a good thing.
The first thing I look at with a new hunter app, is his gear. I like looking at hunters who do not have best in slot gear, simply because it makes my job easier. I get to see what decisions a hunter has made for himself, and not just a list off a website saying "this is BiS, just use it." That being said, with the gear you have, I would have geared very similar (probably wouldn't have used Icewalker, but that's a personal choice).
Next thing I like to look at is the talent points allotted. Now I'm not going to tell you if your spec is right or wrong. I want you to CONVINCE ME that it is the best spec. Explain to me why you think it is higher than any other Survival, Marksman, or Beast Master spec. I want you to tell me the significant strengths of your current survival spec, and its potential weaknesses.
As a Survival Hunter, our procs and shot priorities determine when and how we use our abilities. Tell me, what is your basic shot rotation that you use? How does your shot priority change when Lock and Load procs?
Also, with 3.1 hitting soon our class will change quite a bit. Explain some of these changes and how they will affect your play as a hunter. I would also like you to link to a 3.1 talent build that you find acceptable at the moment and explain why you chose specific key talents. This can be any build of MM/BM/SV; whichever you would consider playing in 3.1 the most. If your shot priority has changed, please list any changes made in comparison to your current shot priority.
Pretty much any SV build is going to be better than MM or BM at the moment. With the changes they made in the last significant patch SV abilitys just scale a lot better than the others now. They did make some changes to put them closer together but SV still comes out on top. There is math out there to support this but I am sure you and most people already just know that it is true.
(When I refer to a spreadsheet I am talking about "Shandaras WotLK Spreadsheet". It has been used and trusted by the best theorycrafting hunters for a long time. In my opinion its a great tool so thats why I use it. It is not blind loyalty though. I like it to make sense to me.)
As far was mine being the best SV one. I put my gear into the spreadsheat and set up a 6/14/51 vs 1/18/52 build and 6/14/51 was better. I was sold on 6/14/51 before that though. The "soft cap" for haste is 522 which gives 1.5s steady shots. I have 354 haste right now. Using the 5/5 IAotH eliminates that problem pretty well. Then the focused fire is just 1% extra damage. In my opinion I don't have the haste to pull off at 1/5 IAotH build. Serpent Stings damage itself is not a huge part of the overall damage. So buffing it by 30% + aimed shot is not doing enough to overcome 5/5 IAotH and Focused Fire.
6/14/51 is also the spec used to produce highest possible hunter dps as well when factoring in JC and best in slot gear according to the spreadsheet.
As a strength the 5/5 IAotH is always a white dps increase. Most of what I said above is what I consider the strengths of the build.
As a weakness I suppose multi having a .5s cast and not being a true instant could be situationally harmful.
If you are very, very unlucky and never got hawk procs then it could be a waste of points.
Could see sniper training being a weakness as well if you cannot stay in buff range.
As a strength/weakness your pet gains a little bit more importance. A 1% more damage importance. Could be a weakness if you cannot keep it alive but a strength if you can.
I'm not trying to say my spec is the be all end all of hunter specs. I think you should always play with what you feel most comfortable in. Personal choice plays a significant role in specs and whatever works best for you will be the best spec. This one just happens to be my favorite for the reasons I stated.
As far as rotation. I use a priority list. Killshot>Serpent Sting>Explosive>Multi>Steady.
Killshot is off GCD so it doesn't hurt rotation to use it. Serpent Sting should be up as close to 100% as possible because of glyphs and Noxious talent. Explosive because its the staple shot. Multi because it scales far better than steady. Then steady to fill the space between Explosive cooldown.
Its not a set in stone order. The shots are not always fired in a specific order. Movement and haste buffs change it a bit. The main idea is to fire Killshot whenever possible, use Explosive on every cooldown without ever delaying it, and keeping Serpent Sting up
With LnL procs it changes of course. In order- Explosive->Multi->Explosive->pause-> Explosive.
The pause is to prevent overwriting the debuff and losing a tick. Sometimes replace the pause with a Serpent Sting refresh, Hunters Mark refresh or a hasted Steady Shot. It is situational.
I do like dropping frost traps to get free LnL procs but I am not a fan of trap dancing. Its not very practical and its hard to pull off correctly.
Kill Command every minute as well.
I have Power Auras running to help keep track of cooldowns and procs. Sometimes it gives me a headache though and I turn it off. So I don't rely on it too heavily.
I hope I explained that in a way that made sense.
For 3.1 been toying around with: http://ptr.wowhead.com/?talent=cZ0eVoZx0ci0cIhedAhsu
Trap mastery for Black Arrow damage. Resourcefulness for Black Arrow cooldown. Hunting Party is a lot better now. Sniper Training is still kinda iffy. Have to play with it more to see if it is any good. Rotation looks mostly the same with Black Arrow taking on the same importance as Serpent Sting. Theres no IAotH though. I can't find something to drop that makes it seem worth it. No Hawk Eye is not a big deal to me.
It is kind of hard to nail down something on this PTR. Seems they change it up every week. Still a work in progress though. I have PTR client that I have been trying things out on and keeping up with discussion. Going to try a new BM build too. They should be scaling pretty decent now.
I am really not good at explaining things. If you or anyone else needs more clarification I would be happy to add to it.
I'm fairly impressed with your knowledge of the class. 6/14/51 is indeed the theoretical highest dps on a standstill fight. The problem, is that movement is important in many of those fights, and having an Aimed Shot ready to fire is a nice bonus. Plus Aimed benefits from Sniper Training while Multi does not. Base damage is practically the same otherwise. Multi also has the downside of unneeded threat on adds in fights. If those can be managed fine, Multi is a decent choice. I personally use a 2/18/51, simply because I find the extra mobility to be more effective dps than the theoretical dps from 6/14/51. And I agree with your stipulation that you should go with what gives you more practical dps. If one spec works for you and others don't, use what works.
I'm going to have to disagree on Sniper Training not being significant in 3.1. With the benefit now being a refresh every 6 seconds for a 15 second buff, you can move for 9 seconds out of the 15 and still maintain 100% uptime for an additional 6% damage to some key shots. That is nothing to sneeze at. That being said, I see that you took the talent in your 3.1 build. Its actually similar to the build I'm currently using on the PTR, with only one allocated talent difference.
In regards to Lock and Load procs, Explosive>Explosive>Explosive is technically higher in dps so long as you wait .5 seconds between shots, but that depends on your latency, and timing abilities. Interweaving as you do is perfectly acceptable, although it is not optimal.
I'm convinced that he knows the class well enough to compete at a high caliber level. That being said, we would still really like to get to know you as a person, so run some stuff with us in the recruit channel, or if you want to run something toss out a shout in recruit as well. Hit me up in game, I'd like to discuss some further hunter chat with you over vent if the opportunity arises.
We have them! Several of them! But this one looks like he would be an asset to any guild. A well written application, a dedication to his class mechanics, available every raid night. and shihli says he's a glutton for punishment.. I dont know much about hunter specs or gear, hopefully our hunters will chime in here - but this app looks like a candidate
I rememeber Mallard from pre-WotLK raiding with us, tried his damnedest with those of us that would attend to kill Kael and Vashj for vials. Dedicated glutton for punishment.
Just wanted to give a little insight on this raider - he has never missed a raid that I can remember, he know every detail of every boss fight before he has ever walked into the encounter, always comes 100% prepared, and has a solid understanding of the hunter spec. He is always on the very top of the DPS charts - unless guild issues arise (such as loot distribution and managing DKP). This has always been my go-to person if I have questions - especially on new information on the forums!!!
Guy left after about a week
garreth — Fri, 04/17/2009 - 23:18Guy left after about a week for a "guaranteed" raid spot elsewhere. An unfortunate guild hopper.
" How long do you intend to
Shihli — Wed, 04/15/2009 - 22:14"
How long do you intend to stay in Downfall?:
As long as I am welcome.
"
Amusing, isn't it! Particularly since he gquit tonite.
Bye, don't let the door hit
Katibug — Sat, 04/18/2009 - 09:04Bye, don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.
Two thumbs up
Torvo — Mon, 04/13/2009 - 14:03Mallard came to Naxx25!!1 with us last weekend and kept a good attitude throughout the less-than-smooth run, as well as sitting at or near the top of the DPS parses throughout the raid. He was definitely a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy raid -- hope you'll give us another shot this Saturday to redeem ourselves!
Ran a few heroics as well as
Leighann — Mon, 04/13/2009 - 08:37Ran a few heroics as well as the pre-mentioned Naxx with him, very knowledgeable, with a definate sense of humor. Hope to see him in more runs.
Top DPS =)
Kynleigh (not verified) — Sat, 04/11/2009 - 19:43http://wowwebstats.com/dh6p4nfjmpgqu
This the parse for the 4/11 Sat Naxx run. It's easy to see he is awesome dps and he positively knows all the fights.
Get in /dfrecruit and start
garreth — Sat, 03/28/2009 - 00:03Get in /dfrecruit and start running anything that pops up in there. It is unfortunate that Raid: Kitten Brigade has hunters squirting out our toes, but dps is dps in Wrath. Just be on, shout that you're available and get some runs with Downies under your belt.
I say we pick 'em up.
Derchlon — Wed, 04/08/2009 - 01:00Talked with him in vent a bit, and I think he would be a good fit for a solid dps in any of our raids. Both he, and Kynleigh have my stamp of approval.
i remember mallard from the
Grasen — Thu, 03/26/2009 - 06:38i remember mallard from the vial runs also. he did real well if i remember correctally.
/join dfrecruit
join that channel and git to know some more guildies in 5 and 10 mans,
I just joined up in the
Mallard (not verified) — Thu, 03/26/2009 - 15:39I just joined up in the channel. Found out today that I have strep throat though so I am taking it easy for a day or two. I'll be on and ready to run something if you need this weekend.
Very Solid app.
Derchlon — Fri, 03/27/2009 - 01:35I went through your app thinking "here comes yet another hunter app." Then I remembered the name. You did some Kael/Vashj vial runs with us back in the BC end times. I don't particularly remember being blown away, but if you don't get noticed because you aren't dying to stupid things in a hard fight, that's a good thing.
The first thing I look at with a new hunter app, is his gear. I like looking at hunters who do not have best in slot gear, simply because it makes my job easier. I get to see what decisions a hunter has made for himself, and not just a list off a website saying "this is BiS, just use it." That being said, with the gear you have, I would have geared very similar (probably wouldn't have used Icewalker, but that's a personal choice).
Next thing I like to look at is the talent points allotted. Now I'm not going to tell you if your spec is right or wrong. I want you to CONVINCE ME that it is the best spec. Explain to me why you think it is higher than any other Survival, Marksman, or Beast Master spec. I want you to tell me the significant strengths of your current survival spec, and its potential weaknesses.
As a Survival Hunter, our procs and shot priorities determine when and how we use our abilities. Tell me, what is your basic shot rotation that you use? How does your shot priority change when Lock and Load procs?
Also, with 3.1 hitting soon our class will change quite a bit. Explain some of these changes and how they will affect your play as a hunter. I would also like you to link to a 3.1 talent build that you find acceptable at the moment and explain why you chose specific key talents. This can be any build of MM/BM/SV; whichever you would consider playing in 3.1 the most. If your shot priority has changed, please list any changes made in comparison to your current shot priority.
I can't wait to hear your responses.
Pretty much any SV build is
Mallard (not verified) — Fri, 03/27/2009 - 14:33Pretty much any SV build is going to be better than MM or BM at the moment. With the changes they made in the last significant patch SV abilitys just scale a lot better than the others now. They did make some changes to put them closer together but SV still comes out on top. There is math out there to support this but I am sure you and most people already just know that it is true.
(When I refer to a spreadsheet I am talking about "Shandaras WotLK Spreadsheet". It has been used and trusted by the best theorycrafting hunters for a long time. In my opinion its a great tool so thats why I use it. It is not blind loyalty though. I like it to make sense to me.)
As far was mine being the best SV one. I put my gear into the spreadsheat and set up a 6/14/51 vs 1/18/52 build and 6/14/51 was better. I was sold on 6/14/51 before that though. The "soft cap" for haste is 522 which gives 1.5s steady shots. I have 354 haste right now. Using the 5/5 IAotH eliminates that problem pretty well. Then the focused fire is just 1% extra damage. In my opinion I don't have the haste to pull off at 1/5 IAotH build. Serpent Stings damage itself is not a huge part of the overall damage. So buffing it by 30% + aimed shot is not doing enough to overcome 5/5 IAotH and Focused Fire.
6/14/51 is also the spec used to produce highest possible hunter dps as well when factoring in JC and best in slot gear according to the spreadsheet.
As a strength the 5/5 IAotH is always a white dps increase. Most of what I said above is what I consider the strengths of the build.
As a weakness I suppose multi having a .5s cast and not being a true instant could be situationally harmful.
If you are very, very unlucky and never got hawk procs then it could be a waste of points.
Could see sniper training being a weakness as well if you cannot stay in buff range.
As a strength/weakness your pet gains a little bit more importance. A 1% more damage importance. Could be a weakness if you cannot keep it alive but a strength if you can.
I'm not trying to say my spec is the be all end all of hunter specs. I think you should always play with what you feel most comfortable in. Personal choice plays a significant role in specs and whatever works best for you will be the best spec. This one just happens to be my favorite for the reasons I stated.
As far as rotation. I use a priority list. Killshot>Serpent Sting>Explosive>Multi>Steady.
Killshot is off GCD so it doesn't hurt rotation to use it. Serpent Sting should be up as close to 100% as possible because of glyphs and Noxious talent. Explosive because its the staple shot. Multi because it scales far better than steady. Then steady to fill the space between Explosive cooldown.
Its not a set in stone order. The shots are not always fired in a specific order. Movement and haste buffs change it a bit. The main idea is to fire Killshot whenever possible, use Explosive on every cooldown without ever delaying it, and keeping Serpent Sting up
With LnL procs it changes of course. In order- Explosive->Multi->Explosive->pause-> Explosive.
The pause is to prevent overwriting the debuff and losing a tick. Sometimes replace the pause with a Serpent Sting refresh, Hunters Mark refresh or a hasted Steady Shot. It is situational.
I do like dropping frost traps to get free LnL procs but I am not a fan of trap dancing. Its not very practical and its hard to pull off correctly.
Kill Command every minute as well.
I have Power Auras running to help keep track of cooldowns and procs. Sometimes it gives me a headache though and I turn it off. So I don't rely on it too heavily.
I hope I explained that in a way that made sense.
For 3.1 been toying around with: http://ptr.wowhead.com/?talent=cZ0eVoZx0ci0cIhedAhsu
Trap mastery for Black Arrow damage. Resourcefulness for Black Arrow cooldown. Hunting Party is a lot better now. Sniper Training is still kinda iffy. Have to play with it more to see if it is any good. Rotation looks mostly the same with Black Arrow taking on the same importance as Serpent Sting. Theres no IAotH though. I can't find something to drop that makes it seem worth it. No Hawk Eye is not a big deal to me.
It is kind of hard to nail down something on this PTR. Seems they change it up every week. Still a work in progress though. I have PTR client that I have been trying things out on and keeping up with discussion. Going to try a new BM build too. They should be scaling pretty decent now.
I am really not good at explaining things. If you or anyone else needs more clarification I would be happy to add to it.
Well said.
Derchlon — Fri, 03/27/2009 - 19:51I'm fairly impressed with your knowledge of the class. 6/14/51 is indeed the theoretical highest dps on a standstill fight. The problem, is that movement is important in many of those fights, and having an Aimed Shot ready to fire is a nice bonus. Plus Aimed benefits from Sniper Training while Multi does not. Base damage is practically the same otherwise. Multi also has the downside of unneeded threat on adds in fights. If those can be managed fine, Multi is a decent choice. I personally use a 2/18/51, simply because I find the extra mobility to be more effective dps than the theoretical dps from 6/14/51. And I agree with your stipulation that you should go with what gives you more practical dps. If one spec works for you and others don't, use what works.
I'm going to have to disagree on Sniper Training not being significant in 3.1. With the benefit now being a refresh every 6 seconds for a 15 second buff, you can move for 9 seconds out of the 15 and still maintain 100% uptime for an additional 6% damage to some key shots. That is nothing to sneeze at. That being said, I see that you took the talent in your 3.1 build. Its actually similar to the build I'm currently using on the PTR, with only one allocated talent difference.
In regards to Lock and Load procs, Explosive>Explosive>Explosive is technically higher in dps so long as you wait .5 seconds between shots, but that depends on your latency, and timing abilities. Interweaving as you do is perfectly acceptable, although it is not optimal.
I'm convinced that he knows the class well enough to compete at a high caliber level. That being said, we would still really like to get to know you as a person, so run some stuff with us in the recruit channel, or if you want to run something toss out a shout in recruit as well. Hit me up in game, I'd like to discuss some further hunter chat with you over vent if the opportunity arises.
Wow, I have not seen this
Katibug — Fri, 03/27/2009 - 17:15Wow, I have not seen this kind of thought-out, well written response in a very long time. Keep it up!
kick ass hunters
moriella — Thu, 03/26/2009 - 05:02We have them! Several of them! But this one looks like he would be an asset to any guild. A well written application, a dedication to his class mechanics, available every raid night. and shihli says he's a glutton for punishment.. I dont know much about hunter specs or gear, hopefully our hunters will chime in here - but this app looks like a candidate
I rememeber Mallard from
Shihli — Wed, 03/25/2009 - 18:12I rememeber Mallard from pre-WotLK raiding with us, tried his damnedest with those of us that would attend to kill Kael and Vashj for vials. Dedicated glutton for punishment.
That's where I know that
jaibyrd — Thu, 03/26/2009 - 00:19That's where I know that name. I was reading this app and thinking that he was familiar but didn't know why. Stay active here and in game.
Ya, and we used to be in a
Mallard (not verified) — Thu, 03/26/2009 - 20:38Ya, and we used to be in a Molten Core guild forever ago. Philthy Phantoms I believe.
Never forgot your voice.
Oh, and I <3 Garfield and she loves you.
Just wanted to give a little
Kynleigh (not verified) — Wed, 03/25/2009 - 18:07Just wanted to give a little insight on this raider - he has never missed a raid that I can remember, he know every detail of every boss fight before he has ever walked into the encounter, always comes 100% prepared, and has a solid understanding of the hunter spec. He is always on the very top of the DPS charts - unless guild issues arise (such as loot distribution and managing DKP). This has always been my go-to person if I have questions - especially on new information on the forums!!!