Expansion Talents and Spells Released

[bhodi]

So anyway, ignoring the troll with absoloutely nothing to contribute, if you run the numbers the shadow heal talent is only slightly less efficient than flash heal. That, and the increase in debuff slots really makes it look like they want to make the shadow priest viable. Hopefully they'll itemize the new stuff for +damage and healing instead of just +healing. I wonder how they're going to adjust for the re-targeting issue; I found that a lot of people have issues with hitting the mob while on healing duty, which is why I'm slightly worried at the free instant smite talent; Our priests can't seem to get a SW:P on the mob much less hit it with smite every 20% of the time. Do you guys (those who heal it up, anyway) have any issues with this? I'm guessing dumping Faerie fire on the mob is the same situation. I personally don't see an issue with just clicking on the target-of-target window, but there may be other complications that I don't understand. Since they are trying to code for the lowest common denominator, trying to open up the new instances to your average joe, I can very easily see people who might have an issue with the re-targeting midfight aspect of combat.

[lamaros]

Shadow Priest is already viable.

Dude why don't you start thinking about things that actually matter?

And please do respond to my other genuine question in my other post. Maybe it's hard for you to notice, but there is a point there.

"if you run the numbers the shadow heal talent is only slightly less efficient than flash heal"

By "run the numbers" I hope you mean 'just glance at them and make the obvious calculation in your head' because if you have to bust out a calculator (or do you do everything in spreadsheets?) to work that out.. well.. everything begins to make a sort of sense.

"I found that a lot of people have issues with hitting the mob while on healing duty, which is why I'm slightly worried at the free instant smite talent; Our priests can't seem to get a SW:P on the mob much less hit it with smite every 20% of the time. Do you guys (those who heal it up, anyway) have any issues with this?"

So many questions! A few points!

1: Idiots have trouble with everything. This is just how people are.
2: Be worried about the smite talent because the Holy tree is pretty stupid and useless and specing to improve your smite is just a really boring way to gimp yourself. Slightly useful in PvP. If they also make it generate no threat then I can maybe consider getting it.
3: No.

Priest DoTs:

Mind Flay, SW: P, UD Racial, Holy Fire.

Any more than that and we're looking at a huge Damage boost with Misery. Combine with Shadow Weaving and Imp. Shadow Weaving and you have... oh wait... a build I mentioned ages ago:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-priest/talents.html?50023031305001205055000000000000000000000050050410050001000000

[ajax34i]

I can very easily see people who might have an issue with the re-targeting midfight aspect of combat.

I would probably have trouble with this, you're right.   I have the MT target windows on the right side, and the health bars on the left; problem wouldn't be clicking to target the mob, it would be that I sometimes am out of range of the thing.  Been on many raids where I had to be in range of the main raid body, and out of range of the burn target.

[bhodi]

I can very easily see people who might have an issue with the re-targeting midfight aspect of combat.

I would probably have trouble with this, you're right.   I have the MT target windows on the right side, and the health bars on the left; problem wouldn't be clicking to target the mob, it would be that I sometimes am out of range of the thing.  Been on many raids where I had to be in range of the main raid body, and out of range of the burn target.

Oh, that is true, I forgot about tiered fights like ouro where the healers are deliberately out of range of the boss. Still, it's probably true that you can simply ignore that talent and go with something lke this if you're into the holy thing:

http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/burningcrusade/priest/talents.html?50520001304000000000023505103030215050051000000000000000000000

[bhodi]

Lamaros's spec is good for PvP, which is not surprising since it's clear he dislikes high end raiding, so if you're more into the PvE, you may want to think about something like this:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-priest/talents.html?50500001300000000000000000000000000000000053242010351121051551

Keep in mind a few things:

First, you could probablly Mind Blast --> SW:D --> 2x MF without having to spend points in imp mind blast. That frees up some talent points.
VE should reimburse you for the health lost during SW:D.
Shadowmend very likely gets the +15% shadowform damage bonus onto it's healing.
I'm not sure if healing focus includes shadowmend as a "healing" spell, I somewhat doubt it, so I didn't put any points in it.
Silence is always good to have, but if you can spare it, those 3 talent points could come in handy elsewhere.

[Merusk]

I'm not sure if healing focus includes shadowmend as a "healing" spell, I somewhat doubt it, so I didn't put any points in it.

I'm more willing to bet that Shadowmend will be affected by +healing effects/ bonuses.   So your traditional shadow priest who gears out in +dam, +shadow dam and  +dam/heal won't be getting a lot out of it.    Even less when you consider it's a 1.5s cast like Flash Heal, so you get what.. 30% of your healing/ damage bonus added to it.  Still helpful when you've got +600 healing or more, but w/ the itemization being what it is for shadow priests I don't think they can hit anywhere near that in straight dam/healing gear.

[lamaros]

I would think that shadow priests will be all about what they already are: DPS and (Imp.) Vamp Embrace.

Only now they will be able to throw some specific heals in when needed.

Imp Mind Blast is pretty close to useless now for the reasons bhodi stated. Perhaps the only use being in PvP, and more direct 1v1ish PvP at that.
I dont think Shadowmend with get the +15% healing, as the tooltip says "increasing your shadow damage by 15%", but I did wonder if it would. If it does then that's a very useful heal.
I dont think you want to worry too much about healing focus as a shadow priest anyway, if you're using it enough to matter then you're probably not making the most of your spec. Other situations where you might make more use of it, ie PvP, then you should be getting enough protection and healing from Vamp Embrace and the odd shield/fear to cover yourself.

I think the upper end of the holy tree still needs a bit of work, though the 41 point talent might be useful if it's good enough it needs a reason to invest that much in the tree. I dont really think much of the disp 41 pointer and would like to see something else.

[Merusk]

The real question on the 41 holy talent is the exact definition of "your group."  A lot of people seem to be interpreting it as "your raid group." like a Druid's tranquility.  If so then it's uber (and zomg the aggro..)  I think it just means "your 5-man group" like all other group buffs, though, in which case it's only a "meh" and not worth the extra points, imo. I'd rather go with 31disc/ 30 holy for raiding stuff.

[caladein]

The real question on the 41 holy talent is the exact definition of "your group."  A lot of people seem to be interpreting it as "your raid group." like a Druid's tranquility.  If so then it's uber (and zomg the aggro..)  I think it just means "your 5-man group" like all other group buffs, though, in which case it's only a "meh" and not worth the extra points, imo. I'd rather go with 31disc/ 30 holy for raiding stuff.

Tranquility doesn't work on everyone in a raid... I'd be cool if it did, but no, it only works on people in your five man group. It looks ok... but no way in hell am I going that far down Holy for it, Disc just has too much goodness.

[Merusk]

Hmm for some reason I bought into the whole "Tranq hits the raid" hype, too. Guess because I don''t pay much attention to Druids.. heh.  Ok, so yeah not worth the 41 points.

Anywho; Holy crap..

New News I got from the FOH boards.  Heal Over Times to stack, and Pets will scale with the stats of the pet owner.  Niiiice.

[caladein]

New News I got from the FOH boards.  Heal Over Times to stack, and Pets will scale with the stats of the pet owner.  Niiiice.

Druids better get that Treant at 41 points in Balance now. That's just such good news for all the pets.

[lamaros]

My imp is going to own.

[SurfD]

Interesting.  I wonder how this will affect the 41 point talent Ice tree Water Elemental pet.

Rumor has it that one of the Elementals effects is a passive aura that gives it a 30% chance to act as a grounding totem.

[Merusk]

Leaked hunter stuff over at curse gaming.  FOH boards say these are from the same guy who leaked the druid talents, so there's a good probability they're real.

Beast Mastery

Tier 6 - Animal Handler - Increases your speed while mounted by 4% and your pet's chance to hit by 2%. The mounted movement speed increase does not stack with other effects. (8/4%)
Tier 7 - Ferocious Inspiration - When your pet scores a critical hit, all party members have all damage increased by 1% for 10 sec. (2/3%)
Tier 7 - Catlike Reflexes - Increases your chance to dodge and your pet's chance to dodge by an additional 2%. (4/6%)
Tier 8 - Serpent's Swiftness - Increases ranged combat attack speed by 4% and your pet's melee attack speed by 4%. (8+8/12+12/16+16/20+20%)
Tier 9 - The Beast Within - When your pet is under the effects of Bestial Wrath, you also go into a rage causing 30% additional damage for 18 sec. While enraged, you do not feel pity or remorse or fear and you cannot be stopped unless killed.

Survial
Tier 4 - Resourcefulness - Reduces the mana cost of all traps and melee abilities by 20% and reduces the cooldown of all traps by 2 sec. ( 40%+4sec/60%+6sec)
Tier 6 - Survival Instincts - Reduces all damage taken by 2%. (4%)
Tier 7 - Thrill of the Hunt - Gives you a 33% chance to regain 50% of the mana cost of any shot when it critically hits. (66/100%)
Tier 7 - Expose Weakness - Your ranged criticals have a 10% chance to apply an Expose Weakness effect to the target. Expose Weakness increases the attack power of all attackers against that target by 25% of your Agility for 7 sec. (20/30%)
Tier 8 - Master Tactician - Your successful ranged attacks have a 25% chance to increase your critical strike chance with all attacks by 1% for 8 sec. (2/3/4/5%)
Tier 9 - Readiness - When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Hunter abilities.

Marksman
Tier 5 - Silent Hunter - Reduces threat from all attacks by 7%. (12/17%)
Tier 6 - Combat Experience - Increases your total Agility, Stamina and Intellect by 3%. (6%)
Tier 7 - Displacement - Reduces your chance to be hit by all attacks by 1%. (2/3%)
Tier 7 - Zen Marksmanship - Increases your ranged attack power by an amount equal to 8% of your total Intellect. (16/25%)
Tier 8 - Master Marksman - Increases your ranged attack power by 2%. (4/6/8/10%)
Tier 9 - Silencing Shot - A shot that deals 50% weapon damage and Silences the target for 3 sec.

Level
Kill Command
Give the command to kill, causing your pet to instantly attack for an additional 127 damage. Can only be used after the Hunter lands a critical strike on the target.

Level 62
Aspect of the Viper
The hunter takes on the aspects of a viper, regenerating mana equal to 25% of his Intellect every 5 sec. Only one Aspect can be active at a time.

Level 64
Steady Shot
A steady shot that causes RAP*0.3+100 damage. Causes an additional 175 against Dazed targets.

Level 68
Snake Trap
Place a trap that will release several venomous snakes to attack the first enemy to approach. The snakes will die after 15 sec. Trap will exist for 60 sec. Only one trap can be active at a time.


All Talents seems up to speed now, just a couple of Base Skills

New Pet Types
Dragonhawk
Dragonhawk Fire - Targets in a cone in front of the caster take $m1*3 Fire damage over 2 sec.

Also, pet abilities: http://forums.curse-gaming.com/showthread.php?t=12554

Tho scuttlebutt says a lot of those have been in the spell files since beta.

[Driakos]

Interesting.  I wonder how this will affect the 41 point talent Ice tree Water Elemental pet.

Rumor has it that one of the Elementals effects is a passive aura that gives it a 30% chance to act as a grounding totem.

Just a rumor :)  He auto attacks with frost bolts, and you can have him do a targetable Frost Nova (targeting circle like Flame Strike)

[Morat20]

The pet abilities are insane. Virtually every pet offers a snare, root or stun. Those that don't offer some form of debuff or party buff. On the one hand, it seems overpowered. On the other hand, it seems a reason to have hunters use their pets. Frankly, I was just hoping to have either pet armor/gear or have each pet "family" have a small buff aura. (Cats give an agility bonus, bears an armor bonus, boars and attack bonus). Nothing big, but enough to make it worth having them out.

If the talents are correct, you'll see BM specs in PvP and raiding again. I'd love to spec BM again. I wish there was word on whether they were changing the pet mechanics or adding stable slots. I know some hunters were hoping for "summonable" pets (basically taking up an inventory slot like your mount, only changeable out of combat -- probably 30 seconds out of combat), but I hope they at least add a stable slot or two. Three pets is a bare minimum for a Hunter, and that leaves nothing for a "Go learn a new talent" pet.

[SurfD]

Tier 9 - Readiness - When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Hunter abilities.

If this ability doesent share / trigger the cooldown timer on the hunter Edge of Madness ZG trinket that would be BROKEN BROKEN BROKEN.

Aimed shot, Multishot, ZG trinket, Multishot, Readiness, Multishot, would simply SUCK.

[Zetor]

Tier 9 - Readiness - When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Hunter abilities.

If this ability doesent share / trigger the cooldown timer on the hunter Edge of Madness ZG trinket that would be BROKEN BROKEN BROKEN.

Aimed shot, Multishot, ZG trinket, Multishot, Readiness, Multishot, would simply SUCK.

[1 sec before energy tick] Ambush, Vanish, Ambush, ZG trinket, Preparation, Vanish, Ambush? :P
Though that isn't ranged...

Edit: Trolling aside, I don't see how two hunter cooldown resets are any more broken than a rogue cooldown reset.


-- Z.

[Morat20]

Tier 9 - Readiness - When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Hunter abilities.

If this ability doesent share / trigger the cooldown timer on the hunter Edge of Madness ZG trinket that would be BROKEN BROKEN BROKEN.

Aimed shot, Multishot, ZG trinket, Multishot, Readiness, Multishot, would simply SUCK.

Well, I understand they're making changes to auto-shot and adding in steady shot (another instant) or something similar. I understand the stated goal is to break the Aimed-auto-multi-aimed rotation by making arcane shot and supposedly this new instant steady shot more useful.

Me? I'm looking forward to speccing deep Beastmaster again.

[Merusk]

Well, I understand they're making changes to auto-shot and adding in steady shot (another instant) or something similar. I understand the stated goal is to break the Aimed-auto-multi-aimed rotation by making arcane shot and supposedly this new instant steady shot more useful.

Yeah, I'd read that too.  Also not included in this are the following:

Removal of Improved Scorpion Sting (silent hunter takes its place)
Removal of Improved Scorpid Sting  - instead you get a talent called "improved stings" that (apparently) ups all your stings.

I also read that Arcane shot gets a big damage boost to help it be more useful.  So hey, maybe putting +spell on hunter's equip won't be so damn stupid.   It's also being unlinked from Aimed Shot.

Imp. Aspect of the Hawk changing from 5%chance of 30% increase for 8 secs to a 10% chance of a 15% increase for 12 secs. (Seeming to go hand-in hand with the rumor that all bows have had their DPS upped considerably.  30% haste on a hard-hitting weapon is a BIG dps boost.)

Combined with the Agi/ap changes, lowering the amount of agi required for crits and (rumored) changing of Aimed Shot mechanics (Mother-Fucking YAY) hunters will be seeing massive changes to their current playstyle in BC.

I like the Marks changes and additions a lot.  It doesn't make the path quite so clear and will really make me think about where I put my points.  I also like the various increase to agi/int and AP talents.  MMMmm.

For those drooling over 41-beast but then looking at their sad, sad melee attack power; remember hunter gear is changing to a mix of AP and Agi rather than just straight agi.  You'll see a boost in your Melee damage by quite a bit, even if we don't quite have the specials to back it up.

I don't have any experience as a survival hunter, having always enjoyed Marks and using the remaining points to boost my pet for farming (outside of 6 pts for the slaying talents.)   The expose weakness debuff is uber, however, and better than the DS set proc by far.  Master Tac is a nice little add for the Survivalists who don't pick-up Imp. Hawk because of it's lack of use in PvP.

General Changes:

"Kill" - This'll take some getting used to.  I only watch crits for the numbers or to feign of Aimed crits.  Now I'll feel like I have to punch a button too. 

Aspect of the Viper - Woo hoo.  Spam those shots, boyos.

Steady Shot - I expect people to bitch that it's "only" .3 of AP until someone does the math for them.  Even at my crappy 1200RAP that's 360+100 damage.  A nice little addition indeed.   Tho Morat says it's insta-cast I'd read on FOH it's 1.5s.  We'll see I guess.

Snake Trap - Seems kind of gimmicky.  What kind of damage are these doing? I imagine they're level 1 snakes easily dealt with by one AOE spam.  Is this a poison trap by another name/ mechanic?

I wish there was word on whether they were changing the pet mechanics or adding stable slots. I know some hunters were hoping for "summonable" pets (basically taking up an inventory slot like your mount, only changeable out of combat -- probably 30 seconds out of combat), but I hope they at least add a stable slot or two. Three pets is a bare minimum for a Hunter, and that leaves nothing for a "Go learn a new talent" pet.

There will be no new stable slots.  There was a blue post about a week ago on the hunter forums explaining why; database size.  Add just one slot to every character out there (because the template has to be the same regardless of class) and - hey- that's a few million new DB fields.

They did say they're looking at changing the way you actually learn new pet skills, though, because they understood the difficulty of effectively having only 2 pets.

[Morat20]

Since my steady shot info came via FOH --- I must be remembering wrong. :) As for viper trap -- I'd say poison trap is the best bet.

Aspect of the Viper will be nice.....:) I wouldn't worry about the kill command -- as a pet trick, it can probably be placed on auto.

As for 41 BM -- screw melee power. My pet should be holding him at range, and I can spec enough marksman to make sure I still have solid ranged DPS. Even if the new pet talents are BS (I consider that likely), the new pet scaling means my pet can hold it's own even. Not main tanking elites or anything, but well enough to keep aggro off me.

The threat reduction talent is nice if you're going MM. I know you can always FD to wipe aggro, but I find that often leaves me with FD on cooldown when I really need it. I suspect it's there to help pets keep aggro if you're MM specced.

I'm fairly happy with this tree. I certainly hope it's not a fake.

[Merusk]

The threat reduction talent is nice if you're going MM. I know you can always FD to wipe aggro, but I find that often leaves me with FD on cooldown when I really need it. I suspect it's there to help pets keep aggro if you're MM specced.

That was my thought as well.  There's NUMEROUS times I've aimed-critted, feigned and popped right back up to get 2-3 more crits as I stared at the cooldown just hitting 20s. 

Very very happy with this tree.  Oh please don't be fake.  :-D

[Morat20]

The threat reduction talent is nice if you're going MM. I know you can always FD to wipe aggro, but I find that often leaves me with FD on cooldown when I really need it. I suspect it's there to help pets keep aggro if you're MM specced.

That was my thought as well.  There's NUMEROUS times I've aimed-critted, feigned and popped right back up to get 2-3 more crits as I stared at the cooldown just hitting 20s. 

Very very happy with this tree.  Oh please don't be fake.  :-D

I hope they remember to scale things like "Intimidate" -- one of the joys of my BM spec in 5-mans was using that to smack mobs off the priests and onto the pet. In return, the priests were expected to throw a HoT onto my pet when they could.

I found that the more often I rescued the priest from the mobs, the less often my pet got ignored on the heal list.

As for pet slots -- if they're changing how you learn tricks, I'm good with sticking to three. I've got my 1.5 cat (my first pet -- snow leopard for my Dwarf Hunter) -- high resistance spec for PvP, a LBRS warg (since all pets are good for in raids is Furious Howl -- fire and armor specced), and I think currently nothing else. I've been toying with getting the ZG bat, but I'ld like to see what Outland has to offer.

[Threash]

That snake trap should have been scorpions instead...

[Chenghiz]

That snake trap should have been scorpions instead...

Nah, now hunters can have Snakes on a Zeppelin!

[Xanthippe]

As for pet slots -- if they're changing how you learn tricks, I'm good with sticking to three. I've got my 1.5 cat (my first pet -- snow leopard for my Dwarf Hunter) -- high resistance spec for PvP, a LBRS warg (since all pets are good for in raids is Furious Howl -- fire and armor specced), and I think currently nothing else. I've been toying with getting the ZG bat, but I'ld like to see what Outland has to offer.

I      my boar, LittlePiggy.  Boar charge in pvp ftw.

[Furiously]

That snake trap should have been scorpions instead...

Target the scorpions first. (Someone had to say it)

[MisterNoisy]

Hunter talents/spells are officially up.

Lots of really good changes - I might end up resubbing for the expansion as a result.

[Merusk]

Hunter Talents

Fuck me, they moved Hawk Eye into survival.  Marks got some interesting reworks, though.  Certainly makes it a more interesting spec.

Lethal Shots moved to R1 (matches all the other classes) Efficiency to R2.

R3
 Rapid Killing ( 2pts) Reduces Rapid Shot by 1/2min and any opponent that yields Xp or Honor gets you an added 10/20% on your next Aimed, Arcane or Autoshot.   

Go for the Throat (2pts)- Your crits cause your pet to gain 25/50 focus. (that's a lot of focus)

Mortal Shots now requires Aimed Shot

R5 - Concussive Barrage (3pts) Your Auto Shots have a 2/4/6& chance to daze the target for 4sec
      Scatter Shot is now a req. for Trueshot Aura

R6 - Improved Barrage (3pts) Increases crit chance of Multishot by 5/10/15% and reduces damage interruption on volley by 33/66/100%

Interesting that they changed Marks around so much, but left beast and survival pretty much alone.   Can't say I'm thrilled to see I need to spec in survival so much to get my range up, but with the other changes I'm not complaining.

Damnit I see so much I want to try out.  This is going to get expensive, I can tell.


- Noisy Beat me while I was typing, but I'm going to hit post anyway.

[Fabricated]

Jesus fuck. Hunters were pretty obscenely powerful to begin with from what I see of well equipped ones, and this is makes them crazy fucking good. It looks like there's more than just one/two cookie cutter specs open now though, which is nice.

Funny enough the hunter board on the official forums seems to be very satisfied with the changes outside of a LOT of bitching about Hawk Eye being put into Tier 2 survival.

This makes the warrior update look like shit.

[Morat20]

I know why Hawk's Eye was moved -- that extra six yards was pretty much part of any build, and it meant that Hunters were generally outside the AoE of any boss. They made it more expensive to have.

Now, I consider it a "must have" talent now -- but it's not in my TBC spec. I'm looking at a DEEP BM build. Probably something like 48/13 or 50/11. I mean look at the Thick Hide changes -- for 3 points, it's a 20% boost to pet armor and a 10% boost to your armor. Or Serpent's swiftness -- can you imagine facing a 0.8 speed pet in PvP? As a caster? Ferocious inspiration? Every time your pet crits, it increases party damage by 1% for 10 seconds? (Up to 3 points). With a fast pet, you're talking almost constant party buff of 3% to damage -- not TSA, but nice enough.

With the right pet -- even if the pet talents are all BS -- we're talking boosts to you AND your pet, and minor party buffs. What about the Misdirection spell? Yes, indeed, let me blow my long cool-downs, drop a ton of burst DPS, and dump all the threat on the tank. He'll thank me for it.

I'm thrilled. I think the changes are enough to convince the bloody priests to heal my damn pet.

[caladein]

Jesus fuck. Hunters were pretty obscenely powerful to begin with from what I see of well equipped ones, and this is makes them crazy fucking good. It looks like there's more than just one/two cookie cutter specs open now though, which is nice.

Here's what we're throwing around for the updated version of the 0/21/30 PvP build: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent-bc=mZE0bRVuZcifhzc0hVuh

Basically... Hunter's Mark + Expose Weakness + random Daze (or Conc Shot) = gang bang, especially by Rogues and other Hunters. So overpowering.

I'm thrilled. I think the changes are enough to convince the bloody priests to heal my damn pet.

I heal pets... when I can actually see their healths :P.

[Chenghiz]

Although the hunter changes look interesting, I'm kind of worried about Hunters being overpowered now. The 41-point BM talent looks just crazy overpowered, or at least too binary in a PvP situation. Of course this is all theory and time will tell. At least there are a number of very viable specs now.

[Morat20]

I heal pets... when I can actually see their healths :P.

Don't think we don't appreciate it. :)

I actually don't think Hunter is going to end up overpowered. Remember, these changes are done in the middle of changes to hunter damage, crit, dodge, and AP changes -- as well as the breakup of the 10 second shot rotation. Not to mention the changes to other classes (and the introduction of resiliance).

However, it will make PvP interesting. You'll need totally different strategies against a BM hunter than a MM -- even more so than before.

The snake trap brings new meanings to the word "totally awesome". When the snakes spawn, they aggro on anything in range -- and will even chase. Their bites don't do much damage, but apply a variety of poisons that give random -- and fairly short -- debuffs. All of them on one target is pretty painful, but I can see watching them aggro on a zerg in WSG or AV would be very interesting. Two or three hunters dropping viper traps right before the zerg hits the GY or Flag Room could change the odds drastically.

[Merusk]

Lead Dev Reply about the Hunter Changes

Yes, there are several notable changes.

1. Traps are now on a 30 sec cooldown, but can be used in combat (you no longer need to feign/trap).

2. When feign death is resisted, you are still reduced to 0 threat for any targets that did not resist feign death (although if any creature resists the feign, you won't be taken completely out of combat, you'll still be on the creature group's target list).

3. Attack Power and Crit related changes:
a. Hunters now get 1 AP per Agility rather than 2. This change helps us provide more interesting stat distributions on hunter items. Previously, Hunters valued Agi significantly above any other stat, such that it was extremely difficult for us to create variety among Hunter items. For example, before this change, we could have spent 1 stat point on an item to give you either 2 AP or 1 Agi (which gave 2 AP along with a small bonus to crit and a small bonus to dodge... clearly the better choice). However, several changes have been made along with this change in order to offset the AP loss.

b. Hunters now get significantly more crit per point of Agility than before (about 33agi/crit at level 60).

c. Hunters now get more dodge per point of Agility than before (about 20agi/dodge at lvl 60).

d. Ranged weapons have had their damage values significantly increased (and consequently the weapon's dps)... this also helps make weapon upgrades feel more meaningful for Hunters than it did previously (along with the other changes, this change is retroactive).

e. Most Hunter equipment has been updated to have a better distribution between +Attack Power bonuses and Agility.

4. Aimed Shot related changes:
a. Aimed Shot now resets the Hunter's shot timer. This talent was always intended to be an "opening" shot, and not something that would be woven between shots. However, since Aimed Shot became such a core element for Hunter DPS, we didn't want to make this change until we were prepared to make several other changes to increase hunter DPS to offset it. Fortunately, this means that some of the odd side effects of the old Aimed Shot are no longer relevant, such as requiring hunters to use extremely slow weapons to maximize their DPS (weapons slow enough to be able to use Aimed Shot in between auto shots)

b. Arcane Shot now does substantially more damage than it did before, and scales with AP.

c. Steady Shot has been introduced as a core ability in the expansion, and provides much the same kind of gameplay as Aimed Shot did in the past (a shot you weave in between your normal shots), but to a much more managable degree (since it's a 1.5 sec shot, it doesn't require as slow of a weapon to take advantage of, and doesn't require to stand still for as long).

5. Other note: Wyvern Sting may now be used in combat.