You'd need chimera + serpent sting to out damage two steady shots for it to be worth it.

There's a couple reason for that. I'm somewhat low on Agi for that. I range in the low 500s, not enough to make me worth it. At the same time I am the single hardest hitting char in our guild at this time (unless it is MH trashwaves), that loss would be quite significant. Further Given how I ache from mana troubles even now, I wouldn't like to think of how I would fare as Surv. Suffice to say I am certain it would be a loss to change to Surv.

110 AP is not insanely much, I agree, but it is not insignificant either. It is easily maintained and requires no special gearing. And in WotLK it will be 300 AP. That will undoubtedly be less compared to 300 now (duh), but I'm not willing to say a small personal benefit overshadows 300 AP for how many melee you have (don't forget that for Bears and Warriors it is a direct threat benefit). 20% extra AP from Hawk is 60 AP for me... So if we have 7 melee classes (discounting Pallytanks) there is an overall gain of 2100 AP. Of course they scale differently with AP, but I am certain that 2040 AP over different classes will beat the 5 points I get for my pet/exotic pet.

One also has to look at the different scaling. IHM goes from 110 to 300, Aspect of the Hawk goes from 155 to 300. Obviously more weight is being put on Hunter's Mark compared to the Aspect., even more when we consider the full bonus of 1200 AP. Only with full Aspect Mastery will the scaling return to the same comparative values as in TBC.

[Changing subjects]
The Volley change combined with all the new AoE effects (Rogues getting AoE???), I think it is a near certainty that WotLK will contain massive amounts of AoE encounters. Espceially in 5-mans, or else not all would need a new AoE strength.

I used to like Disengage for Azuregos way back when... brings back memories. It definitely will be nice to contribute more in AOE situations, or at least not fall as far behind warlocks on the meters in these situations.

Edit: I'm a murloc, interesting.

While I don't know I agree exactly with your assessment of cunning -- I don't describe tier 4 as DPS other than Feeding Frenzy -- I do agree that the pet trees are rather muddled. In fairness, there are certain things that need to be available in each tree. I'd be rather upset if my pet couldn't learn to dash/dive. However, I don't think they did an excellent job of arraying these trees. Among raiders, regardless of which tree they're considering, who isn't putting all their tier 3 points into Avoidance? Aside from maybe Intervene, is there anything worth coming back for?

Personally, I don't view there as being two DPS trees. I see a tanking tree, a DPS tree, and a tree put there for the explicit purpose of returning 40% mana to your group. Cunning is good for NOTHING else, as far as I'm concerned. I could understand if it was screwball back-door DPS, but only Feeding Frenzy meets that description. Maybe I'll change my tune when I find out how Wolverine Bite actually works, but as I'm reading the tooltips, cunning is worthless, and -- worse still -- doesn't even seem to have an identity. Survival is our utility tree. I don't see cunning as the pet's.

As others have commented on the lack of percentage points for cunning coefficients, there has got to be something we're missing. It's just simply deficient in every way imaginable. Anemic, even.

And this, of course, is the other apparent failing of the pet trees. If they're going to give us 5 extra points for BM, they need to make there be decisions non-BM's have to make that BM can just say, "eh, I'll get them all." Right now, there isn't that. As a survivalist, I can pick what I want with 16 and be happy. Would I like other shinies? Sure, but I don't need them. Right now, BMT is looking rather superfluous, especially with how poor Aspect Mastery is looking.

Haven't read all the previous posts, but it seems that Camo is no longer in Beta. Linky.

I don't know about you guys, but this makes me sad. One of the biggest PvP buffs hunters have seen since pre-BC, and they gut it. On top of leaving Scatter a talent, we're once again going to amount to target dummies in the arena.

Where does my logic break?
My logic are based on the assumption that haste will lower casting time while it will not lower GCD as you also states.
All the buffs that I including I also include on Stead and Auto. In fact, one thing that I didn't added was the crit-chance, there are a bigger chance that on shot crits, then two shots crits, including that we get another advantage for Aimed Shot.
With for example 30% crit chance we get that Aimed shot will have a 0.7+0.3*2.3 = 1.39 damage modifier, SS+Auto has a 0.09*2.3+2*0.21*2.3+0.49=1.117 damage modifier if my math is logical, 9% that both crits, 30-9 = 21*2 = 42% that any of them crit and 49% that non of them crit.

Well, I used a 3.2 weapon speed in my seconds example, nvm.
The point being, that while the reset on auto-shot, is only a delay of auto-shot with 1.51s, so you will only 78% of a auto-shot, so the question that comes to me are, will Aimed Shot do more damage then for example a SS + 78% of a Auto Shot? Should also be added that Aimed Shot would be very tricky to get of immediately after a auto-shot so that lower it's chances.

I never stated that Aimed Shot will be supreme to other shots, I just think that it should be considered in future calculation before dismissing it.

I don't really think that's a 'buff.' It's more like bringing it into line with the way threat is going to work.

TBC Blessing of Salvation

replaced with

WotLK Hand of Salvation

If aspect mastery isn't changed, I have a feeling it's value might lie in the 10% damage reduction while in aspect of the monkey. Depending on how encounters turn out, it could be beneficial on some gimmic fights.

Bloodboil Fel Rage type fights
Na'jentus Shield damage type fights
Pre-Council 1-shot trash protection (damn those lazy priests)

Although I guess you could also spec into SV and use imp. Feign Death's 30% reduction on top of it.

If that was so then having a MM hunter for Scoprid/Chimera (60/40/20% damage reduction on next three attacks) would be REQUIRED.

BTW About Chimera/Scorpid... anyone test whether or not it is a Physical attack only reduction or would it work to reduce like say a Mage's next three fireballs by 60/40/20% also?

/Offtopic and a pipe dream to boot... how fun would it be if the 51 point BM talent let you MC a druid in cat/bear/travel form? (the talent would have to significatly reduce the cast time of tame beast which i don't understand why it currently isnt already... I mean you ARE a master at beast taming right???)

Arcazua - I posted before that I trained up Wolverine Bite on a pet. It read 355 on the tooltip once I trained it.