Rage and Reflection: BM Hunter Nerf/Buff in Patch 3.2 PTR Build 10433

First things first,

New Format - I am going to go weekly with this blog!
No Holds Barred - I am going to cover anything and everything that comes to mind!
NSFW - Fuck trying to be polite and proper! I am an adult and time to rage like one! (Or will I be raging like a child? I think that only applies to QQ...)

So the topic of controversy today comes from MMO-champion.com (link to the right, fuck all that embedding shit).

Hunter
Beast Mastery
The Beast Within now lasts 10 sec (Down from 18 sec) but now also increases all damage you deal by 10% at all time.
Bestial Wrath now lasts 10 sec. (Down from 18 sec)


When I first saw the change I was like, "WTF IS THAT SHIT!!!!" Then I thought about it some more and realized that the change is a clever one, Blizzard nerfed BM PvP and "buffed" BM PvE. I used "buffed" because 10% increased damage at all times sounds like a buff but I have not tested it. But guess what? It just so happens I am a Hunter who raids as... BM! I also raid as MM, so now I can go download the PTR when I get home and actually test it and edit my post since I am obviously a fucking failure who would complain about something before ever doing any research on my own. Wait a second... isn't there a huge amount of people on forums about the World of Warcraft that do that? Like the classic, "WoW is too easy because you can get epics from heroics and a guild cleared a 25 man heroic dungeon in one day so everything is too easy even though my guild still runs Naxx." Another time... Another time...

Back on topic. Once upon a time there was a spec for PvP that was along the lines of 50/21/0. It was nicknamed the "36 second hunter build." If you didn't look at the spec or don't know anything about this, it meant that you popped all your cooldowns, zerged the other team, focus fire someone for 18 seconds, then hit readiness, and do it all over again to the same person (if they need it) or another person. Such a ridiculously FUN, and sadly OP, spec. So they nerfed readiness and made it to where is doesn't affect Bestial Wrath. Apparently 18 seconds is still too long to be OP, so they made it a 10 second duration. You know what else has a 10 second duration? A fucking mage's iceblock and a pally's I-take-no-damage bubble. So, as people pointed out on the MMO-champion forums, BM hunters in arena get to be laughed at as they blow Bestial Wrath only to watch a mage or pally sit there are be immune for ten seconds. Personally, I think they should change readiness so when BW is wasted, it can be useful again. I know this sounds crazy but isn't there another class in the game that excels in close quarters combat and can use all there cooldowns and then reset them? *cough* FUCKING ROGUES THAT'S WHO *cough*

So a rogue gets to open up on someone twice if they blow all their cooldowns but a hunter doesn't?

On the PvE side of things, as BM, your pet does about 40 - 60% of your DPS. The variety is from the mobility of the fight. If you get to stand still a lot, then you and your pet are even and you are possibly ahead. If you have to run around a lot, your pet usually passes you in dps contribution. As MM, your pet does about 20% of your dps, if even that much. So by nerfing (arguably) the only signature in the BM tree, your pet's dps is nerfed and yours is buffed. From what I have noticed with my own test prior to this news, my MM spec is a constant 200 - 300 dps above my BM spec. However, my MM spec isn't straight agility gemmed due to BM being my main spec so the dps increase from BM to MM could be more. If this change adds a flat 10% dps increase, with no loss from the shortening of BW (unlikely), my BM spec would be on par with my MM spec.

I PvE more than I PvP. So do I think the change sucks for PvP, yes. I don't know if it sucks for PvE yet but just throwing this out there, BM is a really cool tree. My one hope if this change goes live is that it brings BM dps up and people will stop saying that BM DPS IS NOT VIABLE.

Raging over "Guild Halls"

Something that really gets me raging is when other people rage about "Guild Halls," or the lack thereof. Throughout my day I read WoW.com (formerly wowinsider.com), MMO-champion.com, and occasionally the forums at Worldofwarcraft.com. Going through the comments and forums on the first two sites I mentioned, I can usually get in a pretty good rage over the idiots and the comments they leave.

Here is a quick preface, at Blizzcon this year they told us a lot of things they are going to do to change guilds (and I would like to think all of them) for the better. TONS of things. Then after all the cool announcements and discussion one commenter says, "We didn't get guild halls, so screw it. Not interested in the changes." Of course this sparked a couple replies and a down ranking, but this is exactly what I want to address, this reverence for Guild Halls.

When I first thought about Guild Halls, I thought they were a complete waste of time and I don't know why anyone would want them. It seems really stupid to sit in a room with your guild when you can already chat with everyone and meet up for screenshots anywhere in the game. After thinking about it a little more, I realized it wouldn't be that hard to implement in the first place, and could even be cool.

My idea for the creation of Guild Halls and what they would contain.

First Blizzard gives everyone in a guild a guildID, exactly the same as a raid ID. They make an instanced portal in all major cities that everyone in your guild can go in taking you into the Guild Hall. I don't think the Guild Hall should be customizable like "The Sims" or "Animal Crossing," just have your guild tabard on the walls and then a throne, for the guild leader, a big table with food and chairs, and other benches in the room as well so everyone could sit. Another idea (which I think is totally awesome) is having a "trophy case" on one wall that whenever you take down a boss you get their head on display with a clickable plaque that reads "Soandso Guild defeats Onyxia 08/27/09." This could only be done for the last boss of every raid as to not clutter the screen. Also maybe have some other perk of having the Guild Hall like a reagent vendor or the guild recipe vendor that Blizzard brought up in the Guild Panel at Blizzcon. I honestly don't think that this would require too much effort and it wouldn't desert major cities like Blizzard thinks.

Which brings me to my next point, Blizzard has said they will not implement Guild Halls because they don't want major cities to become ghost towns. I can understand this, but if there is no AH, no bank, no Boss Dummy, or anything like that people would still need to be in major cities. If the Guild Halls were cosmetic, the people that wanted to use them would and would shut up, and the people that actually get on the game to play the game and not sit around in major cities for hours, would go about their business.

Since it is HIGHLY unlikely Blizzard will put in Guild Halls, no matter how relatively easy, I have a solution for all the people that want Guild Halls. Go to any major city and find a remote place that no one ever goes (like that room in Org in front of Thrall's room or ANY PLACE in Silvermoon City) and designate that area to be the Official Guild Hall. For example NO ONE goes to Silvermoon so find a tavern where there are tons of tables and chairs and say, "Hey guild, this is our Guild Hall, so everyone meet up here when you are not doing anything like actually playing the game." If you want a more practical location, go to Shattrath and tell your whole guild that your new guild hall is on the second floor of the inner dome in Shatt and then you have access to ports to other major cities, as well as a hearth to Dalaran since that is pretty much where you need to be for everything besides the AH.

So, really, I don't have a gripe with the idea of Guild Halls. If we got them, great. If we don't, oh well. I really have a problem with people acting like Guild Halls would be the best thing that happened to WoW since 30 minute hearthing. Seriously "retpallyjil," there were so many good changes announced that would be coming to guilds that acting like Guild Halls would be better than any of them is really stupid. Also, because Blizzard has stated we are not getting them, QQ and constantly bringing it up doesn't look like it is going to help.

Finally, I want to give a nod to "XeroThree" who commented on a WoW.com post about Guild Halls. Turns out, he had the same idea I did, which I read today when I was going back looking for links for the post. Cliché "great minds..." quote?

Obligatory "First Post"

FIRST!!!1!!1!!!11!!!!

^^^Myself as well as many other nerds DEFINITELY rage over that.

Anyway, down to business. My name is Josh and I play World of Warcraft. My main is a Troll Hunter, and currently my only 80. I am a chronic nerd rager over WoW, and pretty much any other video game I play. This blog will contain rants, rages, and the occasional insiteful reflection. I am sure if I get on a really good rant or rage the post will have some "NSFW" language, but I will try my best to note it before I post it to the site, just giving fair warning.

Nerd raging for me is my way of letting it all out. I scream at the top of my lungs, yell obscenities, punch my keyboard, and smash mice on the ground. Honestly, after it is all over, I feel better (more or less depending on how much it will cost to replace the mouse). Calling me a nerd rager is a compliment. If you see me questing and out of nowhere getting sapped and then proceed to be killed by a gnome rogue keeping me stun locked while not being able to even get one attack off... Prepare for some... NERD RAAAAGE!