6/09/2013

Markmanship PvE Guide 3.3.5a

On 3:53 PM by Site Admin in , , ,
Hey everyone! Here is Version 2! Now, along with the release of the guide, I am also revealing something else that I've made to assist me in presenting the hunter forum community with the most accurate, up-to-date , and useful hunter information possible.

I have made a separate hunter resource site run by myself so that I could pull large chunks of information about side topics that needed a more in-depth explanation that I couldn't include with my first attempt due to space and organization considerations.

I also plan to update the site every now and again with more hunter information that may not necessarily belong specifically to Marksman PvE. Eventually I plan to offer coverage on Cataclysm material. PvP material, and even some MoP related topics once Molten decides to make the change. While other servers are more than welcome to use these resources, all of this information is Molten-specific. I made this to help Molten's hunters. It will never be modified, or otherwise adapted to fit other Private Servers.



I have had the help of two hunters during my work on this release. Both of them have been good to me, and demonstrate exceptional skill with the hunter class. These two hunters are very cool people who deserve credit where it's due. A special thanks to Goony, and Vocaloids for assisting me start this project.

My Armory Link: http://armory.molten-wow.com/character-profile/Donorbashed/Lordaeron/

Table of Contents:

  • Foreword
  • What Is MM?
  • Movement Management
  • Talent Builds
  • Rotation/Shots
  • Armor Penetration and Hunters: Bad Marriage 101
  • Dropping Arcane Shot
  • AddOns
  • Glyphs
  • Stats
  • BiS Gear Listing
  • Gems
  • Professions
  • Macros
  • Bugs
  • Pets/Pet Talents

A. Foreword:

So I was thinking about what to say about my guide for the second revision. The one thing that I can say is “wow”. When I was originally writing this guide I had no idea that it would blow up as big as it did, nor did I realize how much of an effect it would have on my WoW experience, and on the Molten hunter community.

When I wrote the guide originally I was younger and less experienced with the hunter class and Molten in general. Through the almost 500 responses to my guide I’ve gained the information on how to fully complete this guide. With this version 2, I want to become the most accurate resource on Molten for MM PvE!

Thank you guys!


B. What is MM?

The hunter class has three specs. These are Beast Mastery, Survival, and Marksmanship. As of WotLK 3.3.5a, Marksman is your top spec for PvE, though Survival and BM are both very close in comparison to the point that really all three specs are completely viable. However what sets MM apart is that it is the easiest out the three.

Does this mean it’s bad? No, it doesn’t Infact the best hunters on Molten use MM in both PvE and PvP. Obviously I do, because I’m writing this guide. I play MM because I like the playstyle, and its challenging for me because I play one-handed, and it helps me improve my performance.

Among the three specs, Survival is about magic damage, Beast Mastery is about physical damage, and Marksmanship is about a mix of the two. When you’re MM 35-50% of all your DPS comes directly from Auto Shot.

This means two things: Marksman hghly dependent on physical damage, and is also very dependent on your standing still during the whole fight. To really get the full potential that MM has, minimization of movement is absolutely essential, and not everyone can do it effectively.


C. Movement Management

Everyone on Molten says “What is the best gear set for the MM hunter?” and “What is the best pet for me?” I’ll be the first to tell you that gear and pets are not nearly as important once you get into the endgame as movement management. Even if you have full heroic gear you can’t pull more than 14k DPS without efficient movement management.

Here are my tips for movement management: Whichever D-Pad you use to move, either WASD or the arrow keys, change the keys you use to turn left and right to strafe left, and strafe right. That way, when you need to move to the side, you’re not jumping over to scoot, or turning and running manually. Instead, you’re simply moving to the right.

Another thing you can do is make plans about every fight in ICC. For example, when I’m on LK, I stand in between the ranged and melee dps so I have a good focus view of the big guys, and LK which gives me an easier viewpoint so I can target switch with the least amount of interruption of the DPS.


D. Talent Builds

The talent builds listed here are pretty standard, but each are customized for different ingame uses.

The first talent build is for newly turned 80 hunters who want to begin farming for gear in instances such as FoS/PoS. This is also a decent 10Man build that can be used with instances like VoA, OS, and Onyxia. This build should be used as long as your passive ArP (ArP without gems) is below 400.


This second build is strictly an introductory 10-Man and beginning ICC build. This is to be used after you have above 400 ArP. You’ll notice that it drops Imp. Arcane Shot. I’ll explain this in the ArP Section. I’ve kept Rapid Recuperation because in this gear stage (If you’re using this when I’m telling you) hunters generally do not have enough of a mana pool to DPS to the end of any encounter without going OOM.


This third build is my build for ICC-10 and 25, as well as any HC I might do. Any hunter in the know can see that it is just the normal endgame spec that drops RR in favor of Wild Quiver and Imp. Steady Shot.



E. Rotation/Shot Priority/DPS System

The main abilities used as MM are:

Serpent Sting
Chimera Shot
Aimed Shot
Steady Shot
Auto Shot
Kill Shot
Readiness

Other guides tell you that MM is a shot-priority spec, where you shouldn’t fire in a set repetition of shots, but instead prioritize the highest damaging shots. Since I’ve come to Molten, I’ve realized that this isn’t exactly right. While it does have certain aspects of a shot-priority system, it is actually primarily a rotation spec.

Allow me to explain: MM does the highest DPS when you prioritize shots. This is true. But, because of the way the shot cooldowns line up, and the number of shots, MM really starts to take on properties of a Rotation. There are still rotation properties, where if Kill Shot is ready, then it takes priority over everything else, and if Serpent Sting isn’t on the target, but Chimera Shot is ready, Serpent Sting still takes priority.

That being said the general shot rotation goes something like this:
Rapid Fire > Serpent Sting > Chimera Shot > Aimed Shot > Arcane Shot(if below 400 ArP.) > Readiness > Refresh Rapid Fire (Don’t cut it off.) > Chimera Shot > Aimed Shot > Arcane > Steady Shotx4 > Repeat.


F. Armor Penetration and Hunters: Bad marriage 101

Hunters and ArP have had a bad marriage since ArP was released. Sometimes it’s good for us, sometimes it sucks, and sometimes it will give us 204573567345357564657 extra DPS(not really but you get the point).

The reason ArP is sometimes good for us, and yet sometimes bad is because unlike Warriors and Rogues who only have abilities that cause physical damage(poisons aside), us hunters have a mix of physical (Steady Shot, Auto Shot, Aimed Shot, Multi Shot, Volley, Wild Quiver) and magic-based damaged(MM’s magic based damage is primarily Nature and Arcane based – Chimera Shot, Arcane Shot, Serpent Sting). This means that we have to balance our two damage types – physical and magic based.

Before explaining any further, please read http://www.donorbashed.com/2013/01/3...ing-explained/

So that you understand exactly what ArP is, and so we are all on the same page. If you understood about the ArP, good job! You just became a better player than 50% of the Molten Community! ArP is a hard concept to understand, yet it is one that I personally believe is necessary to play this class effectively.

Because this guide is tailored towards new hunters, I will simplify the concept a little bit. Since we have two different damage types, that means we have a ratio of physical:magic damage. ArP will only increase our physical DPS. (Our physical DPS is about 55-60% of our DPS without ArP) so we can figure a ratio of about 60:40, or 6:4.

Since ArP benefits us more, and more as we get more of it(explained in the link above), that means we can’t get any real benefit over using Agility until we can get to about 800 passive(the ArP we have on our gear without using gems) ArP, after which point we start seeing more and more of a benefit from using ArP. So if you want to use ArP endgame, you need to focus on getting gear with ArP on it. I would recommend getting up to 950 passive ArP before you start to change over your gems because at 800 passive ArP exactly, the benefit from ArP and Agility is about the same.

CAUTION:

Since ArP only increases our physical DPS, and most of our physical DPS requires us to be standing still (Steady Shot, Auto Shot) Any amount of movement whatsoever will severely limit your DPS to about 30-40% of what it should be. You should only move when absolutely necessary.


G. Dropping Arcane Shot

Everyone seems to have an affinity for Arcane Shot. It was your buddy, and your protector while leveling. The amount of beasts, and nagas you’ve slain with it is innumerable. Sadly, and I know it sucks, everything has an end.

As you get more ArP, the damage from your Steady Shot increases, and at a point Steady Shot will begin to do more damage than Arcane Shot. Once this happens, Arcane’s viability as a damage shot goes to near 0. Zip. Gone. Once you get passed 400 passive ArP you need to stop using Arcane Shot unless you have to move, or for some reason can’t fire Steady Shot(Casting Speed Slows).


H. AddOns and Making an Effective UI

Here is the list of AddOns that I use in raids every day. Most of the them can be found on the AddOn list(http://forum.molten-wow.com/showthread.php?t=51521). If it’s not listed I’ve given an independent link.

Little Trouble -  http://www.wowinterface.com/download%E2%80%A6uble.html#info Ignore the outdated warnings. This is the version I use. It works fine.

SimpleUnitFrames – These are the player frames I use. WoW vets may have noticed I have all kinds of things in the frame, percentages, and the like. It’s lightweight, minimalist, and functional. A+ Hunter addon.

Heatsink – I really only use this so that OmniCC can display my item’s internal CDs. It’s a pretty nifty feature I discovered when I first came here. http://www.wowinterface.com/download%E2%80%A60310&aid=46890

Mik’s Scrolling Battle Text – Excellent Addon for raiding. If you are savy with this addon already, create a new trigger called Exploit Weakness. This is the T10 2piece set bonus, and it will tell you know when it procs so you can refresh serpent sting.

Recount – Necessary if you want to track your progress.

TidyPlates – Helpful in add fights like LDW and Ony.

OmniCC – Shows the cooldown on the action bars. You can see it in my screenshot below.
Snowfall Key Express – Triggers your spells when you click the key, not when you release it. Useful with high latency.

NPCScan/NPCScan Overlay – Generally only for pet collectors. I like it because it shows me my tracking radius.

Bartender/Dominoes – An action bar addon really is essential for a hunter of any spec. Too many things to click, and not enough room. We operate best with a minimalistic UI.

Here is my AddOn and bartender set up:



I. Glyphs

Glyphs are an important part of being a hunter, as with any class. The glyphs that all MM hunters should have are Glyph of Steady Shot, Glyph of Serpent Sting, and Glyph of Kill Shot. I don’t think I really need to explain why exactly these are considered by me and the majority of the hunter community the best, but if there are a lot of questions about it later I will.


J. Stats

There is a lot to explain about stats, so I’ve put it here: http://www.donorbashed.com/2013/02/07/gems-and-stats-pve/

K. BiS Gear List

I decided to use Vocaloid's Ultimate Gear List instead. Thanks man!


L. Gems

Generally you go with one Nightmare Tear, and the rest are full Fractured Cardinal Rubies, or Delicate Cardinal Rubies depending on whether you are stacking one or the other. If you happen to go above 1400 ArP and are 10 or more ArP over the cap, simply replace an ArP gem with an agility gem. It’s better to be 10 under the cap, than 10 over.

More information on the hunter Gem choices can be found here http://www.donorbashed.com/2013/02/07/gems-and-stats-pve/

M. Professions

The best professions for an Endgame Geared MM Hunter are Jewelcrafting, and Engineering. I would recommend also using both the nitroboosts, and parachutes for raids. Both are extremely viable and can increase your DPS more than any other enchant, particularly in high movement fights, or fights with high AoE mitigation needed. Nitroboosts will mean the difference between a live hunter and a dead hunter. Obviously the parachute is a safety feature for when the boosts shoot you into the air, in addition to the +23 agi it gives ya.

For more in-depth information about my position on professions please view http://www.donorbashed.com/2013/02/02/professions-explained/

N. Macros

I have an arsenal of macros that I use in all my raids and encounters. I’ve also integrated a large amount of PvP functionality into a system that I really like. These are made personally for me, so please feel free to edit them to git you wherever you need. Also, if you adopt my system of macros as is, you must use most of the shot macros because they are designed to work together.

Rapid Fire:

#showtooltip Rapid Fire
/cast Prowl
/cast Rapid Fire
/cast !Kill Command
/cast Rabid
/cast Furious Howl
/cast Call of the Wild
/cast Serpent Sting
/petattack

This macro is a general opener macro, that uses all of your damaging CDs, and utilizes every little ability that your pet has to increase its damage. Most hunters overlook them.

Chimera Shot:

#showtooltip Chimera Shot
/cast !auto shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Kill Command
/cast !silencing shot
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Aimed Shot:

#showtooltip Aimed Shot
/cast Aimed Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/cast !silencing Shot
/cast !Kill Command
/petattack
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Arcane Shot:

#showtooltip Arcane Shot
/cast !Kill Command
/cast !Silencing Shot
/cast Arcane Shot
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Kill Shot(I added cancelaura lines in there for PvP ^^):

#showtooltip Kill Shot
/cancelaura Deterrence
/cancelaura Hand of Protection
/cast Kill Shot
/cast !Kill Command
/cast !Silencing Shot
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Steady Shot:

#showtooltip Steady Shot
/cast !auto shot
/cast Steady Shot
/cast !Kill Command
/cast !Silencing Shot
/run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Tranqulization Shambling Horror Macro(Used in the Lich king fight.):

#showtooltiip Tranquilizing Shot
/target Shambling Horror
/cast Tranquilizing Shot
Aspect Switch Macro w/ Trueshot Aura:

#showtooltip
/castsequence Aspect of the Dragonhawk, Aspect of the Viper
/cast Trueshot Aura
Misdirection:

#showtooltip Misdirection
/target focus
/cast Misdirection
/assist
Master’s Call:

#showtooltip Master’s Call
/target DonorBashed
/cast Master’s Call
/targetlasttarget
/target Donorbashed
/cast Roar of Sacrifice
/targetlasttarget
Set Tracking Type Macro:

/run for i=1,GetNumTrackingTypes() do local n, t, a, c = GetTrackingInfo(i); if string.find(n, UnitCreatureType(“target”)) then if t~=GetTrackingTexture(i) then SetTracking(i); end end end
I like to pair this with my hunter's mark macro.
O. Bugs

One of the more heated discussions on hunters are the bugs. Thankfully, most of this is PvP stuff. The only real bugs that affect the MM PvE hunter are the pet scaling, wild hunt, auto shot, and MD Bugs.

Pet Scaling: Pet scaling is the term for the transfer of stats from hunter to pet. Even though this has been bugged since Molten Day One, it’s not been fixed. The common sense of this issue is not for me to debate, but regardless it hurts us. Should pet scaling be fixed, hunters should expect about a 5-10% increase on their DPS. Pet scaling was partly fixed about 6+ months ago, but only for stamina. We still get no resilience, hit, and only a part of our attack power transferred to our pets.

Wild Hunt: Wild Hunt is the top tier pet talent of the ferocity pet tree. It should increase our pet’s attack power and stamina scaling by 15% and 20%, (1/2) and 30% and 40% (2/2) it gives us somewhere around 10% with 1/2.

Auto Shot: At times, our autoshots doesn’t stop firing once we switch targets, and though you still receive the damage, certain recount like addons don’t count the auto shots because they aren’t hitting the boss, and since auto shots make up generally 30-50% of your DPS depending on gear, this is a big hit.

P. Pets and their talents

Pets are a large and complex part of a hunter. There are large debates about which pet is the best to have as a DPS class, but the community consensus is the Ferocity Wolf (please see http://www.donorbashed.com/2013/02/01/the-ultimate-post-about-pets/.) Though you should really pick the pet that benefits your raid’s overall DPS over your own personal.

Here is the optimal Ferocity pet talent build: