Hunter/Legion changes

This article concerns content exclusive to Legion.

Beast Mastery

Beast masters were already in a good place overall, but we’ve refined existing abilities and talents to better differentiate them from other hunters. Previously, Cobra Shot filled all of your free moments in combat, leaving no time for managing your pet, which should be a defining characteristic of beast masters. To this end, and to aid in Focus accumulation, Dire Beast is now core to beast mastery, allowing you to repeatedly summon wild beasts that generate additional Focus for you through their every attack.

To give you an idea of the Beast Master Hunter in action, here’s a basic look at their core combat abilities:

Cobra Shot

• 30 Focus, 40 yd range, Instant
• A quick shot that causes moderate Physical damage.

Dire Beast

• 40 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown
• Summons a powerful wild beast to attack your target for 8 sec. Each time the beast deals damage, you will gain 4 Focus.
• Summoning a beast reduces the remaining cooldown of Bestial Wrath by 15 sec.

Kill Command

• 20 Focus, 25 yd range (from pet), Instant, 6 sec cooldown
• Give the command to kill, causing your pet to instantly inflict strong damage to its target.

Wild Call

• Passive
• Your critical strikes have a 30% chance to reset the cooldown of Dire Beast.

Mastery: Master of Beasts

• Increases the damage done by your pets by 45% (with Mastery from typical gear).

Additionally, to provide a glimpse at how some talents may build upon this, here’s one example of a Beast Mastery–specific talent:

Way of the Cobra

• Passive
• For every pet or guardian you have active, Cobra Shot deals an additional 5% damage.

Survival

Not only do survival hunters use melee weapons instead of ranged weapons, they’re also now the only hunters that make use of traps — other specs will receive forms of crowd control and AoE damage suited to their distinct characteristics. Survival hunters will snare and bleed their enemies, fighting them in close quarters with their trustworthy companion to maximize the brutality of the hunt. They have no direct control over Focus regeneration, but instead pool it up during successive Mongoose Bites to further amplify the damage they inflict.

Here’s a basic look at the core combat abilities for Survival Hunters:

Harpoon

• 5-40 yd range, Instant, 15 sec cooldown
• Hurl a harpoon at your target and pull yourself toward them, rooting them in place for 3 sec.

Raptor Strike

• 20 Focus, Melee Range, Instant.
• A vicious slash, dealing moderate Physical damage.

Laceration

• 35 Focus, Melee Range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown
• Tear a wound in the target, dealing heavy damage over 12 sec.
• Developer Comment: We promise it will do good damage!

Mongoose Bite

• Melee Range, Instant, 10 sec recharge, 3 charges
• A brutal attack, attempting to sever the enemy's limbs, dealing strong Physical damage.
• Each consecutive Mongoose Bite dealt within 3.5 sec of the last will deal 50% increased damage, stacking up to 6 times.

Flanking Strike

• 20 Focus, Melee Range, Instant, 6 sec cooldown
• You and your pet attack the target simultaneously, each dealing strong damage.
• If the target is attacking you, your pet's attack will deal 50% increased damage and threat. If not, your attack will deal 50% increased damage.

Wing Clip

• 30 Focus, Instant
• Maims the target, reducing their movement speed by 50% for 15 sec.

Mastery: Hunting Companion

• Your pet’s attacks have a 20% (with Mastery from typical gear) chance to grant you an additional charge of Mongoose Bite.

Additionally, to provide a glimpse at how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Survival-specific talents:

Snake Hunter

• Instant, 1 min cooldown
• Instantly grants you 3 charges of Mongoose Bite.

Marksman

The Lone Wolf gameplay introduced in Warlords of Draenor proved extremely popular with hunters, and that play style fit perfectly with our vision of marksmanship hunters as master archers and snipers, relying on their skill and precision with weapons rather than animal companions. All marksmanship hunters now gain Lone Wolf by default, ranging through the wilds without a pet beside them. On the resource front, the marksman now gains Focus from the use of Arcane Shot. And, as a note for those who enjoyed the previous version of survival gameplay, we have moved certain abilities, such as Black Arrow and Lock and Load, to Marksmanship-specific talents.

Here’s a basic look at the core combat abilities for Marksmanship:

Arcane Shot

• 40 yd range, Instant
• A quick shot that causes moderate Arcane damage, and generates 5 Focus.

Seek Vulnerabilities

• Passive
• Targets hit by your Arcane Shot and Multi-Shot have a chance to be marked with Hunter's Mark for 6 sec.

Marked Shot

• 30 Focus, 40 yd range, Channeled
• Rapidly fires a shot at up to 3 targets affected by Hunter's Mark, dealing strong Physical damage. Usable while moving.
• Also exposes vulnerability in the target, snaring them by 15%, and increasing Aimed Shot damage done to the target by 25%. Lasts 10 sec, and stacks up to 3 times.

Aimed Shot

• 50 Focus, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
• A powerful aimed shot that deals strong Physical damage.

Mastery: Sniper Training

• Critical strike damage and range of all shots is increased by 12.5% (with Mastery from typical gear).

Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Marksmanship-specific talents:

Lock and Load

• Passive
• Attach an explosive charge to Aimed Shot, dealing strong additional Fire damage to the target and all enemies within 4 yds.
• Your ranged auto attacks have a 5% chance to trigger Lock and Load, causing your next 2 Aimed Shots to cost no Focus and be instant.

Source

• Hunter class preview blog