The Hunter Lounge - Theorycraft Within - Page 2

KayossZero · 10/12/07, 2:52 AM

Originally Posted by Loshiis

As a MM Hunter using a 1:1.5 shot rotation, the best way I found to work in Kill Command was right after Steady and before the special in the rotation. Unfortunately, although Kill Command is instant, it cannot be used along with arcane or multishot in one button click...you have to click twice. As a result, autoshot can be delayed a little. That, along with a mana/damage ratio that isn't exactly great, prompted me to forget about adding in Kill Command to my shot rotation as MM.

I know, heresy, sue me. :p

Actually you can use KC with Multi/Arcane/Steady at the same time if you use macros such as these:

#showtooltip Steady Shot
/stopcasting 
/castrandom [target=pettarget,exists] Kill Command 
/stopcasting
/equip Rough Arrow
/cast Steady Shot
/equip Warden's Arrow
/cast [target=pettarget, exists] Lightning Breath
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

This will cast KC and SS or any instant shot in one key press, the only downside is if you hit it too early you will stop Auto Shot before it fires, aside from that its golden expecially as BM specc if your timing is spot on.

PSGarak · 10/12/07, 3:05 AM

With the changes in 2.3, you can remove all the /stopcasting lines as well.

Needhamizer · 10/12/07, 6:57 PM

Don't forget a great explanation of trinkets!! We've all got so many and they vary quite a bit in situational/spec usefulness.

Loshiis · 10/12/07, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by KayossZero

Actually you can use KC with Multi/Arcane/Steady at the same time if you use macros such as these:

#showtooltip Steady Shot
/stopcasting 
/castrandom [target=pettarget,exists] Kill Command 
/stopcasting
/equip Rough Arrow
/cast Steady Shot
/equip Warden's Arrow
/cast [target=pettarget, exists] Lightning Breath
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

This will cast KC and SS or any instant shot in one key press, the only downside is if you hit it too early you will stop Auto Shot before it fires, aside from that its golden expecially as BM specc if your timing is spot on.

What effect exactly does equipping a different set of arrows have on the instant cast status of Kill Command? I'll be going to test this, and I don't doubt your word that it works, but I'm interested as to *why* it works. Switching sets of arrows would seem to me to make getting both Kill Command and a special off at the same time impossible rather than possible. :p

Edit: Nevermind, tested it with and without arrow command, same deal. It would appear the only reason earlier macros did not work for me was the initial /stopcasting.

Gorah · 10/13/07, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by Loshiis

What effect exactly does equipping a different set of arrows have on the instant cast status of Kill Command? I'll be going to test this, and I don't doubt your word that it works, but I'm interested as to *why* it works. Switching sets of arrows would seem to me to make getting both Kill Command and a special off at the same time impossible rather than possible. :p

Edit: Nevermind, tested it with and without arrow command, same deal. It would appear the only reason earlier macros did not work for me was the initial /stopcasting.

Arrow swapping for SS is meant to decrease cost of arrows restocking, as Steady Shot does not benefit from arrow dps if I remember well. But its bit pushing it a bit imo, I was never bothered with carrying 2 different sets of arrows, to make SS cheaper in gold.

Tyrae · 10/13/07, 12:07 PM

Hey guys, great idea for a thread. Howitzer and myself have talked via PMs in the past, if you guy want an extra hand putting this thread together let me knowvia PM.

Heathun · 10/13/07, 1:43 PM

First of all I would like to thank the people that have put ElitistJerks.com together, really great website here.
I was a bit overwhelmed reading all the changes in 2.3 to troll hunters, as I am comfortable and content with my current shot rotation and overall stats. Reading this thread has shown me though that as long as I am at or near the hit cap (which I am), I really should'nt notice much of a change in dps when 2.3 is released, from the weapon skill bonus change to Crit %, if anything I should gain some dps from the 1% critical strike chance.
Also, in wanting to be as prepared as possible for the next wave of changes, I have a few questions about some of the other things in 2.3. Has anyone heard weather or not arcane shot is going to get a new cooldown because of its new ability? And could serpent sting scaling with Ranged Attack Power make me want to include that as one of the more important shots in my rotation, instead of being the worst Damage per mana shot that I have?

Edit: Will expertise have any effect on my pet's percentage of a melee attack being dodged, parried, or blocked?

Lumi · 10/13/07, 2:01 PM

Arcane Shot cooldown remains the same. 6 seconds untalented, 5 seconds talented.

Serpent Sting is still expensive, but the formula for its damage is 660 + .1 * RAP. Compare that against steady shot and if it comes up as more, than its worth it. Also its not a bad idea on movement fights depending on the composition of your raid (hella warlocks = no room for dots).

Edit: I'm not sure, but misery might increase serpent sting damage by 5%. The damage goes through armor but is resistible.

Zurai · 10/13/07, 2:04 PM

Originally Posted by Lumi

Serpent Sting is still expensive, but the formula for its damage is 660 + .1 * RAP. Compare that against steady shot and if it comes up as more, than its worth it.

And, unless your RAP is really low, it won't. Not after you factor in crits and all the advantages crits give us.

Edit: I'm not sure, but misery might increase serpent sting damage by 5%. The damage goes through armor but is resistible.

Anything that increases spell damage in general or nature damage in specific will increase the damage from Serpent Sting. Still doesn't make it worth using, though.

Broulgan · 10/13/07, 2:18 PM

For the raiding section (what to do, not to do, and how to...), I suggest adding a Misdirect macro that can just be copied and pasted. Nothing special, just something of the below variety.
/target (Your MT's name here)
/cast Misdirect
/cleartarget

I personally use about 6 Misdirect macros for all of our various tanks that are helpful in fights like Hydross where one should Misdirect the boss to a tank when it drops the aggro.

For the itemization and gems section, you'll want to have different sub-sections for different specs. Personally, I'm running one of the crazier types of gear combinations. I have the Darkmoon Card: Wrath, and I'm just stacking AP because the card can keep crits up (TO A CERTAIN DEGREE***). I stack AP, and try to, dare I say it, lower my crit to increase the effectiveness of the card. When crit is lowered, it gets easier to stack AP. My crit is currently about 18% (unbuffed), which is so low it would hurt some people's feelings. For something like a Survival build, agility is the way to go. Unless something has mad crit or AP, I would honestly take the other item that is competing for the spot on your hallowed character pane. The most important stats for MM in general are all 3. You'll want about 25+% crit for marksmanship (to keep crits rolling). Unfortunately, due to your guild's level of progression (we currently are having a tough time on Morogrim, but I have confidence), your recommended AP will differ. For someone just getting through Karazhan, you'll probably end up with about 1900. For someone like me, you'll want about 2 to 2050. With agility, just get as much as you can. It goes for crit and AP both, so if you've got a good amount of both, stack agility. The best way to do this are the +15 agi to gloves, +12 agi to boots, and +35 agi to a 2h weapon. The more one gets to things like MH and BT, the more you'll get. I'm going to want to shut my mouth about things around the latter halves of TK and SSC and then on, because I have no experience there. Survival-wise, you're gonna want about 700 base agility to make EW worth it, and beneficial to the other hunters/melee dps that you're sharing a raid group with. As stated above, take agility above all else unless it's an obvious choice. An example of this would be Legacy (40 agility, 46 stamina, 80 AP, 8 mp5) and Axe of the Gronn Lords (66 stamina, and 126 AP). Though they have the same-ish AP, part of that AP on Legacy is agility, which is great. Also, the 8 mp5 is great as well.

That's about all I can contribute. Discuss, critique, and call me "RETARD LOL". I probably deserve it.

EDIT: A few grammatical errors and such that I missed while proofreading once.

Enova · 10/13/07, 2:32 PM

Originally Posted by Broulgan

/target (Your MT's name here)
/cast Misdirect
/cleartarget

Alternatively, you can use /assist as the last line, for easier target switching. While before a pull you have all the time you like to take your pick of the target, it usually helps if you don't have to look for the target halfway during a boss encounter for a second MD.

Trohck · 10/13/07, 2:53 PM

Originally Posted by Broulgan

I suggest adding a Misdirect macro that can just be copied and pasted. Nothing special, just something of the below variety.
/target (Your MT's name here)
/cast Misdirect
/cleartarget

I would probably use
/cast [target=MainTankName] Misdirection

One line and doesn't alter your target in any way.

Krikkit · 10/13/07, 6:03 PM

I use this

#showtooltip Misdirection
#show Misdirection
/cast [button:2] Misdirection
/stopmacro [button:2]
/cast [help] Misdirection
/stopmacro [help]
/target XXXXXXXX
/cast Misdirection
/targetlasttarget

KayossZero · 10/13/07, 6:24 PM

Originally Posted by Loshiis

What effect exactly does equipping a different set of arrows have on the instant cast status of Kill Command? I'll be going to test this, and I don't doubt your word that it works, but I'm interested as to *why* it works. Switching sets of arrows would seem to me to make getting both Kill Command and a special off at the same time impossible rather than possible. :p

Edit: Nevermind, tested it with and without arrow command, same deal. It would appear the only reason earlier macros did not work for me was the initial /stopcasting.

The cheap arrows/bullets are for shots that gain no benefit from expensive ammo, I typically bring 6-8 stacks of cheap ammo and 10-12 stacks of Warden/Fel bane, along with another 4-8 stacks in my bags depending on the instance.

As you can see saving 4-5~ gold a night on ammo is nice.

Loshiis · 10/13/07, 6:58 PM

Originally Posted by KayossZero

The cheap arrows/bullets are for shots that gain no benefit from expensive ammo, I typically bring 6-8 stacks of cheap ammo and 10-12 stacks of Warden/Fel bane, along with another 4-8 stacks in my bags depending on the instance.

As you can see saving 4-5~ gold a night on ammo is nice.

Well, there is a problem with arrow switching macros on the Kael fight, as you are given different ammo halfway through the fight. Although I'm far too lazy to carry two sets of arrows when I raid (maybe that will change once I begin to use Timeless Arrows), if you do use a macro like this, I would suggest not using it on the Kael fight.

Oh, and here's my personal Misdirection macro:

#showtooltip Misdirection
/cast [help] Misdirection; [target=focus,help] Misdirection