High-level ranged weapons getting buffed
by Eliah Hecht 
May 19th 2009 at 1:00PM
Well-geared hunters, rejoice: you're getting buffed. According to Ghostcrawler, hunter DPS is too low at the moment, so the damage of all ranged weapons with ilvl 226 or higher is being increased by about 30 DPS. This includes drops from Kel'Thuzad-25 and Ulduar-25, as well as Furious Gladiator gear and Ulduar-10 hard modes. This is estimated to result in an overall DPS increase for the hunter of "a few percent."
The reason this change ended up needing to be made has to do with what they wanted to do with ammo in patch 3.1. They had grand plans for an ammo revamp (which I don't think they've ever quite revealed), and as a result they stopped designing new tiers of ammo, so raiding hunters now are stuck with the same bullets they were using at the start of Wrath. This change rolls the DPS from non-existent higher tiers of ammo into the weapons.
Ghostcrawler also mentions that they think hunter DPS will need more improvement, and that there is another buff that they're trying to roll out "sometime in the next couple of weeks." We will, as ever, keep you posted if we hear anything.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
dunk May 19th 2009 1:24PM
Why not completely remove ammo and add flat dps increases to all ranged weapons then. Seems like the next natural step.
Pexxle -=SilverHand (RP)=- May 19th 2009 1:28PM
Most likely its Dps from other classes at iLevel 226 are doing a considerable amount of dps over the hunter.
Rob May 19th 2009 1:44PM
This. My bow can not survive a full clear, and i regularly run out of ammo. Which is just really fail, but i cant apparently figure out how much ammo i need. Before i would just fill up my 28 slot quiver and be done with it. Now? I'll learn the hard way i guess.
Need 10 stacks of ammo for a full naxx clear.
But yeah the fact that the bow just breaks in the middle of a boss fight is bothersome. Totally my fault, but nobody else has these issues.
AishaLove May 19th 2009 1:45PM
ammo is going to be completly removed in a future patch, ammo at that point will be a single item that gives a dmg increase and act like relics do.
This was going to be in patch 3.1 but they had to delay it, in the mean time they decided doing away with quivers (giving a 15% haste bonus to auto shot) and making ammo stack to 1,000 was a good interim compromise.
Docp May 19th 2009 1:10PM
Any buffs to a class I play are alwasy welcome (as are nerfs to classes I don't =D)
Nathan Dickson May 19th 2009 1:12PM
When the big hunter nerf bat of 3.0.8 hit, I almost abandoned my account but instead rolled a death knight and made him my new main. I doubt this would make me want to play my huntard again, but it's nice to know that Blizzard is fixing things.
Drow May 19th 2009 1:58PM
LOL I thought that was a joke but I think your serious. It's a good thing though, we didn't have enough QQers re-roll DK's. I think I only had 2 in my last PuG heroic.
I'm glad to see anything to increase my DPS. I enjoyed being #1 up until that big nerf, then I enjoyed being #1 again when I went from BM to SV. In Ulduar, I've had to settle with 1-5 at times lately, but with these buffs coming I may be sitting at #1 again.
garfunkel May 19th 2009 1:58PM
have a DK, love my DK, have a ton of fun with my DK.....
and yes, they're may be some huntards out there......
but once a Hunter Sir, always a Hunter
here's to hopin' you find yer way back
/salute
Briand May 19th 2009 2:11PM
Thanks for the kind words, garfunkel.
I am serious. Rather than QQ a bunch, I just stopped playing the game. The fact that I could no longer compete with mages and warlocks in Naxx 25, Sarth 3D and Maly 25, players who were now beating all our guild's top-geared and expertly-played huntards by a handsome margin of 20-30% on most fights, was just too sickening to behold. I have no idea what Blizzard was smoking when they introduced 3.0.8. Plus, I was getting burned out on raiding almost every night of the week.
However, as often happens, I wanted to do *something* in WoW so a month later I picked up with a DK I created on another realm and have enjoyed it since. Being able to solo ZG, some of the AQ20 bosses and most of the Outlands 5-mans is a hoot. And that's with nothing but crafted and quest gear!
It's all just polygons.
Kassu May 19th 2009 2:14PM
I was the best DPS in my guild in Naxx, as a DK.
During 3.08, only a few hunters (and fury warriors) could get close to me. So l2p your class if you couldn't do competitive DPS.
Don't see the need for a hunter buff, but I haven't done Ulduar, so maybe there are less AOE heavy trash fights where they can push their DPS to ridiculous numbers with Volley...
Lyraat May 19th 2009 2:37PM
@Kassu:
There are no AoE trash fights like there were in Naxx. CC is required, or at least moving the mobs away from each other.
I wouldn't say hunter dps really needed a buff, but I'm not going to say no to it! :D I think the big problem is, most of the fights are hunter-unfriendly. Auriaya = worst fight ever for hunters.
Nick S May 19th 2009 2:43PM
I've never lost my top spot on at least Hunter-friendly fights, despite nerfs and buffs and whatever. #1 all the time with BM pre-3.0.8 (obviously), #1 or 2 with Surv post-3.0.8, and now somewhere #1-5 with Surv post 3.1.
Play with excellence regardless of being nerfed, and only the best players will be able to beat you, even if their class has an advantage. Plus, remember that Ulduar, particularly the early bosses, is pretty friendly to melee compared to Naxx. Look for your DPS to be #1 on fights like Iron Council, but don't expect to top any meters on XT-002.
Briand May 19th 2009 3:02PM
It's so funny to me that people chime in "l2play your class." The implication is that, all of a sudden, people stopped knowing how to play the class. The mechanics of the hunter class are well-documented and analyzed to death on elitist jerks and the like, which all of our hunters were reading. There's only so far you can push the mechanics before internet lag and other factors overwhelm any slight margin you could claim via tweaking a macro here or adjusting a rotation there.
The plain facts, as shown by our later analysis of the fight stats, is that the hunters were doing everything right, yet were far below in DPS. It was disheartening and a bit annoying, so rather than QQ to death, I moved on.
TML May 19th 2009 1:12PM
Why is it that 10-man Ulduar level weapons (ilvl 219) aren't getting a buff? Is Hunter DPS only too low in 25-man raids? As a a 10-man raider, I certainly wouldn't mind a DPS increase. Whether I deserve one, however, is apparently up to Blizz. I feel like my DPS lags just a bit behind my guildmates, but that might just be me.
NeSuKuN May 19th 2009 1:19PM
If they buffed weapons above a iLvl threshold they've probably identified a dps scaling issue. that's probably why they've told that there are more buff incoming, this is only a patch, the real scaling issue still lies and will surface once a new tier of loot arrives.
Lyraat May 19th 2009 1:51PM
What NeSuKuN said.
Hunter scaling got nerfed in 3.0.8, especially BM. That and the lack of ammo tiers means that the increases from gear aren't translating into DPS at the same rate as other classes.
As for why not Uld-10 weapons, my guess is the lack of buffs. 10-mans, by nature, don't have the same buffs as 25-mans. Hunters don't get any benefit from Icy Talons/Windfury, for example. This isn't a big concern in a 10-man as the group may not have a DK or shaman. In 25-mans, though, both a DK and shaman will be present. All dps but hunters benefit from IT/WF, so we need to be buffed in other ways to be equal.
SLYMONSTRA May 19th 2009 1:18PM
Why stop with ranged weapons? After all, every drops a huntard drop.
NeSuKuN May 19th 2009 1:20PM
yeah, they should buff caster plate too, don't forget those hunters that roll con caster plate :(
Pexxle -=SilverHand (RP)=- May 19th 2009 1:21PM
Really? Everything i see is so caster/shammy oriented.
Spell power this, spell power that...
/golfclap for joo
Ayane May 19th 2009 1:19PM
Bwhahaha!
It's nice loot but...my goodness...it's ever so small. >_>