^ This

Yar! I leveled my mage Frost and prefer to play that way but had to spec him Arcane to get invited to any sort of raid (and also for VoA where that one boss nobody ever did and his adds all seem to be immune to Frost =) ). I knew DPS was sub-par but I didn't care because it was more fun to me to play that way and it wasn't detrimental to the raid or group. True I was never top of the meters but not bottom either so I accepted it when I was allowed to stay in group as Frost, and switched to Arcane when I had to.

Since the patch dropped, I like Frost even more and often am near or at the top. My gear isn't top of the line or anything, but mostly 264 (with some 245) crafted/badge gear and 232 weapons. I can peak over 10k some fights with a nice string of procs. And even if I "waste" Deep Freeze on a stunnable target, I can pound him with 3-4 Ice Lances critting over 10k (often over 12k) each. I still think it's the lowest DPS of the three specs, but it is significantly better and much closer to the other two than it used to be.

I completely agree. I'm a roleplayer at heart, so when I decide what spec my character is going to be, I tend to want to stick with it through thick and thin. BM is, to me, the spec that feels like a true hunter, so I've rarely wanted to play anything else. (Going BM/Surv with my future hunter in Cata, 'cause that's just the kind of guy he is, but BM will be first.)

I have to say, though, I really appreciate how GC not only takes the time to respond to peoples' thoughts, but he also explains Blizzard's perspective and line of thought on the issues, and does it in more than just a few sentences. ^_^

Most of you guys feel like BM hunters are the way to go? I always thought of my hunter as a Marksman. As soon as I hit 10 back in vanilla, I looked over the trees and as soon as I saw Aimed Shot, I knew what I wanted to be. Then again, I played DnD and the ranger class always had me intrigued. If only they implemented a melee hunter spec... then things would get way more exciting!

The mastery system I think will work wonderfully throughout Cataclysm's life cycle. The hunter bonuses themselves have seen changes across the board, so the fine tuning of them will be so much easier than looking at abilities.

Either way, it would be interesting to see a poll as to what each person looks at their character as, see what most people think the archetype is for a certain class.

I can see some specs more important than others as far as RP goes. Frost/Fire/Arcane mages are totally different flavor wise. As are Frost/Unholy/Blood DK's. (those are just a couple examples) I for one don't mind losing some DPS for the survivability from say the frost mage or BM hunter or blood DK. I can also see how one could come accustom to those specs since you are with them for 80+ levels. It happened to my frost mage. Even though arcane missiles is my favorite spell I just got so used to frost I can't shake it. One of my problems is that I try to use too many buttons on the other specs instead of going with a set rotation (yes I know that's bad). I still haven't had the time to redo my offspecs for my mage or hunter but am looking forward to trying fire and BM out. Glad to see they are making efforts to boost DPS but like what I said with survivability it's almost like cheating :)

This is how I feel. My hunter is BM and my mage is Frost. Not because of RP reasons, but because those are the specs I like to play.

I think about re-speccing my mage to arcane in the same way I think about re-rolling as a shadow priest or warlock. Sorry, but I'm a FrostMage, not a mage who happens to be Frost-specced.

Kellerune, I've always felt more "right" being a Marksman hunter too. I dispense death from afar. I survey the battlefield, picking the right targets and crushing them before they even know what hit them. I see it all and am able to help my allies, direct our forces and crush my enemies.

Oh, I absolutely love my pet, I've kept the same cat since I first found him in Winterspring at level 58 way way way back in December of '04. I completely understand why many hunters prefer the BM style, but that's just not me. I'm the main force here, my pet is my cherished helper.

I agree, although I'm really enjoying survival in 4.0.1 (and focus in general). BM is still the symbolic spec for hunters: having the exotic pets who can have incredible raid buffs is what its all about. I'm not seeing the numbers for BM right now, but I really really hope that we have a new expansion where BM stands up as it did in its BC glory days.

Skarn, I like that view :)

Personally, I'm BM and MM right now, rolling as MM for most fights. The SV rotation is extremely focus starved and clunky at the moment, though its aoe brings happy numbers. BM, in it's own right, suffers on movement fights or switches, where it can be difficult to time your kill commands with pet movement. :( I'm really enjoying the MM rotation though.

...Thing is, I just can't seem to part with my Devilsaur, Piggy. :D

i shall ever love sub

@peon47 I agree, I am a Beast Master Hunter, not a hunter with multiple personalities. Even my Off-spec is primarily BM, it just allows me to run faster and CC a little more for farming.