The Hunter Dance - Part 1

So a little while back, a guildie was in a PuG where the Hunter died before using MD… while pulling the mob…  Is anyone else confused by this?  I mean, how hard is it to cast MD then shoot the mob…  It’s kindov like a buff.  You do it before the fight.  Actually, it’s one of the best buffs around – it’s the “he did it!” buff!  So in light of the incomprehension of how a huntard could shoot first and MD later, here’s how it’s supposed to work.

 

1. Check to make sure everyone is ready.

2. Cast MD

3. Shoot the (correct) mob 3x (or the correct 3 mobs 1x each) with your biggest shots

4. Resume fight as normal – continue the dance

5. MD again when it comes up if needed, or on other mobs as necessary to help the tank maintain agro.

6. Clean, Rinse, Repeat

 

And why else do I offer up this advice?  Because (at least half of the time) people are right that if the DPS die, it’s their own fault.  A huntard’s problem is that they’re doing everything wrong anyway, so this doesn’t help, but a hunter’s problem is that they do too much dmg and gain too much threat.  It’s not our fault we’re good at DPS!  But it is our fault if we don’t manage the threat.  Popping an extra MD in the middle of the fight can easily mean the difference between a wipe and a clear.  But the key is to be creative and to think on the fly (hunters have quick reflexes, so I probably don’t need to point out the need for them).  By this, I mean that there are multiple targets to use a MD on…

 

1. The target with skull marked.

2. The target going after the healer.

3. The stray mob that the tank hasn’t had a chance to agro yet, who will soon go for the healer.

4. The 3 mobs that just joined the fight (or are about to) because of an accidental pat or pull.

5. The mob about to slice through our squishy friends such as mages…

 

And that’s by no means an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of the things running through a hunter’s mind when the MD CD is almost up.  This is just one part of The Hunter Dance and the intricacies (and joys) of playing a hunter.