BigRedKitty: Gorilladin
by Daniel Howell 
Sep 27th 2008 at 1:30PM
Daniel Howell contributes BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the Hunter class, sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary.
So fighting level 62 fel orcs with a level 74 hunter doesn't impress you? OK, we can see that. A Gorilladin -- gorilla + paladin = Gorilladin! -- has to be able to tank stuff his own level, right? Right.
We're going to "spoiler" you then, and show you a Gorilladin at work in Sholazar Basin. If you don't want to see any new content, do not watch the movie.
But if you want to boggle at the best grinding and leveling hunter-pet you've ever seen, and want to know why we recommend every hunter of every spec grab a gorilla and level him to 70 as soon as the next big patch comes out, click the movie, foshizzle.
Gorillas will change the way you play your hunter. We're not kidding.
You are invited to download the YouTube version (30MB) of this movie here, and the full-sized version (177MB) here.
As always, a great big Thank You to the WoW Insider editors for allowing us to publish this movie both here and on our little blog at the same time!
From his video guides to Karazhan For Hunter Dummies, nobody covers raid Hunters like BRK. Looking for more Hunter goodness? Check out our non-raid Hunter column, Scattered Shots or the WoW Insider Directory of Hunter Guides.Filed under: Hunter, (Hunter) Big Red Kitty
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Coram Sep 27th 2008 3:20PM
MAkes me want to finish levelin my hunter and pick up a gorrila.
Drumhammer Sep 27th 2008 1:54PM
Looking forward to grabbing one of these bad boys for myself.
JustMatt Sep 27th 2008 1:54PM
I am looking forward to this going live since I recently leveled a gorilla to 70. However, it seems a lot of the utility in this comes from having the t5 set bonus and volley for keeping your pet up in a fight amongst a lot of mobs. How well is this going to work for those of us who do not have any t5 gear?
Keylogger Sep 27th 2008 2:11PM
With the tenacity tree's +40% healing and mend pet, I think he'll hold up just fine :)
Perderedeus Sep 27th 2008 2:20PM
I'm also wondering about that Tier 5 benefit, which will either see some reduced functionality past level 70 or will be retooled to prevent its use on through to 80. Not to mention the amount of players who simply do not have it.
So, how much is the T5 really helping? And more over, shouldn't a WotLK Beast Mastery talent provide this benefit for ALL hunters? Beta players, get those suggestions to Blizz rolling!
generalian Sep 27th 2008 2:54PM
This will destory WoW as we know it.
Higher AH prices, more hunters, and god who knows what!
MY SERVER IS ALREADY 55% HUNTARDS!
dAnixx Sep 27th 2008 3:46PM
how come higher prices? more huntards farming alts = cheaper ores and stuff right?
Sunoh01 Sep 27th 2008 2:04PM
My LVL 30 Hunter cant wait for his gorilla. Even If i dont get Volley for ever
FantomRedux Sep 27th 2008 2:13PM
Does this work with the gorillas in STV?
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 3:22PM
Yes, any gorilla is fine if it has the thunderstomp ability (check wowhead just in case, few gorillas don't have that ability).
Kendal Sep 27th 2008 2:14PM
OP! :P
Amaxe Sep 27th 2008 2:21PM
I have to agree. My toon would get slaughtered trying this
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 3:24PM
I did the same in Nagrand and Area51 with a gorilla freshly tamed for the test (on the PTR servers). I've got a hunter in blue/purple gear, no PVP stuff (only drops or badge items) and the gorilla is now level 67. It works amazingly good even on mobs level 70. Of course if your damage output is too high you risk to get the aggro. Just use MD and FD to keep it working :)
Jack Kelly Sep 27th 2008 3:00PM
Nerf incoming.
The more movies you make on this, the more people on the forums talk about it, the more likely it's going to be destroyed before 3.0 hits live.
Ghostcrawler has already stated that they don't want ANY pet to be the one "must have" pet.
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 3:20PM
Will they nerf frost mages too, then? ;)
bendak Sep 27th 2008 4:10PM
I wouldn't worry... clearly you haven't seen what some of the other pets they can do. This gorilla thing is awesome, but no where near my favorite. In fact I am glad we have 2 more pet slots, because I can't even choose a favorite. Hell, they even buffed Furious Howl! Pretty much all pets are on equal ground now, with the exotic pets having... well, somewhat more exotic abilities which is deserved for a 51 point talent. Core Hound will likely be my pvp choice...as for PVE... Rhino, Gorilla, half a dozen others?
Nick S Sep 27th 2008 8:27PM
The gorilla is not unique in this ability. For more-controlled groups of 2 or 3, a Bear is actually better in my opinion.
Plus, this is only one specialized application - Gorillas won't be worth much in PvP or raiding, so they're hardly the be-all/end-all pet.
Ancalimanarion Sep 27th 2008 3:08PM
Wow, incredible stuff!!!
Hehe, this + the CD reduction on misdirect should make AOE grinding pie :)
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 3:21PM
Not a complete pie but fun enough, yes. Keep in mind that thunderstomp does not hold a *BIG* aggro. You need to be careful with your damage.
Ancalimanarion Sep 27th 2008 3:35PM
I was rather counting on the misdirection damage + thunderstomp to at least top the threat of 1 volley, that'll allow the CD on thunderstomp ( 7 sec if spec'd correctly, 10 if not) to cycle through at about the same time as the end of your first volley so you could start up a second volley. It looks like it just took 2 volleys to kill both groups that BRK pulled.