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"Stavros Christoforou" <stgreek@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8be19$42cd17cc$82a1c9eb$21980@news2.tudelft.nl...
> The problem with the hunter is that it is the "easiest" class to
> solo with, since by simply sending your pet to kill and shooting
> from far you can solo quite easily and quickly (at least at
> lower levels).
I have also heard this more than a few times, and with a lvl 60 hunter I
wanted to see for myself. I created a number of alt characters and did the
exact same zones and quests with all of them; play solo only for a few hours
then switch in random order so no character will benefit from another who
just did the quest. I check the "/played" value on every new level, on a
completed zone, on a completed series of quests and so on. Up to level 20
the Paladin is so far the easiest and quickest class to play and level up.
Druid, Mage, Warlock and (new) Hunter all consumed 2-3 hours more playing.
The Priest and the Warrior class are the hardest, 6 more hours to make level
20, dying more and not so fun to solo. (I know the Priest is not a solo
class, I'm just testing.)
> The situation reverses on instance groups, since there you need
> to be precise with your pulls and control of your pet, and if
> you have never learned how to do it, you quickly frustrate
> everyone.
My experience after doing end-game instances is that the major problem is
players who don't know the Hunter class, and players who look for someone to
put the blame on, and the myth about pet control is kept allive.
I have run 100s of tests, on all levels, with runaway mobs on low health
with and without the pet chasing it.The result is always the same,
independant of pet running. If the almost dead mob gets in contact with
other mobs it may draw aggro to me or the group, a pet chasing makes no
difference at all. The ones to really blame in an instance is the players
who did not slow down movement speed on the mob on low health.Warriors and
Warlocks (and Hunters and probably others) can stun or reduce mob speed, but
I guess the Warrior takes enough heat in an instance, and it's nice to have
someone else to point at.
Another test I have done more than a lot of times is jumping down a short
cut while my pet must follow the longer path around. I've done this in
Maraudon, Dire Maul and caves in The Hinterlands and Un'Goro Crater; and my
pet can run _through_ mobs without drawing aggro to me. It looks like if the
distance between pet and Hunter is more than a few yards the animal
represents no aggro at all...
I have not been able to find people who will test this with me in UBRS,
LBRS, Scholomance and Stratholme, but it should work just the same.
Social skills are just as important as class skills in this game tho, and
I'm quick to do a "/P Sorry, didn't stop my pet quick enough, but thanks to
superior tanking and healing we didn't wipe this time", and everyone is
happy. No bitter "control your pet!!!" or "pet on passive!!!" (as if I'd
ever do an instance, or anything else, with pet on aggressive).
My experience in almost every instance is that bad tanking is much more of a
problem than controlling pets; and as a mini-party the Hunter knows a lot
about tanking (and healing).
I also see level 60 Mages and Warlocks using the best ranked skills they
have in a group with a level 57 main tank; and i prepare my Feign Death
skill and know that I will enjoy more than one break while the rest do corps
runs.
As Hunter I'm popular in instances and get invites from friends and
strangers every 20 minutes at least. Inside the dungeon I try to stay close
to the casters, and if a mob comes for our healer I can call my pet on it,
while I'm still dealing damage to the main target, or I can let the pet
continue on the main mob while I switch to melee on the mob coming our way.
With mail armor I can take some damage too before the healer must pay
attention to me.
My skills to track almost any kind of mob is a huge time saver in places
like Dire Maul and BRD, and I can see and warn about patrols coming.
Practice is vital for any class, not just the Hunter of course. When I learn
a new skill or talent I go out on my own for hours to figure out how to best
use it in a variety of situations. I look for series of single mobs coming
fast, or groups of 2-4 mobs at the same time. Later I will ask a Mage friend
and a Warrior friend to join me for practice in a 2 player group.
> On the contrary, classes like warlocks and druids are considered "hard"
> classes to play, since they dont have a specific playing style but need
> to adapt it and learn to play their class, and are therefore CONSIDERED
> to be played by more mature players.
Not in my experience. My level 60 Hunter spent some weeks helping a Warlock
friend level from 40 to 60, and it looked like 90% routine play for my
company. I could almost play the level 20 Druid blindfolded now, but I'm 41
years old and maybe soon in the mature player category....
> However, that doesn't mean at all
> that there are no hunters that can kick serious ass. In
> fact, a well-played hunter is a very valuable asset for a
> 5-man instance, since it is a dps+tank class in one.
And mob tracking!
> You
> might have a problem with easily finding pickup groups at first,
> but you also have the advantage of quick levelling-up from
> grinding. Just try to have fun not to the expense of others,
> and whatever class you play you should be fine.
Yes, social skills is more important than one would think. Don't be affraid
to accept the blame for something someone else did, say you're sorry and
move on, everyone can and will make honest (and stupid) errors.
I have a dear friend on the same server who's also a level 60 Hunter, and
this turned out to be too hard for him, so he had to start a different
class; but missing social skills is still a problem for his new Priest...
I'm going to call my next Hunter "Scapegoat", and I'm sure it will
eventually be popular in high level instances too
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