The Improved Improved Hunter’s Mark

Continuing with our series of research topics on talents that were redesigned with Wrath of the Lich King, today we talk about Improved Hunter’s Mark.

During Burning Crusade, Improved Hunter’s Mark was placed in the same talent tier as Efficiency, and the pros and cons of using either one became a topic of discussion. However, the new expansion has changed the placement of Improved Hunter’s Mark into a lower tier talent and redesigned its function from scratch.

Did you ever notice that before Wrath was released, the last time we received an upgrade for Hunter’s Mark was at level 58? I had even missed this fact myself. Burning Crusade did not have a Hunter’s Mark (Rank 5). It came with Wrath. This is a shame because it could mean that the ability was highly underpowered in the first expansion. But would an extra rank of Hunter’s Mark during Burning Crusade have made the original Improved Hunter’s Mark any more attractive?

Causes 20/40/60/80/100% of your Hunter’s Mark ability’s base attack power to apply to melee attack power as well.

That was the description of the original talent. It was a five-point talent that was competing with Efficiency for utility. The mechanics of this incarnation of the talent was discussed in the link I provided earlier.

Year of the Tauren

The year 2009 is the year of the Ox, or more appropriately, the year of the Tauren.

According to the lunar calendar, the new year begins today, and it’s a time to honor the elders. Taurens deeply honor their elders, and this is reflected in their customs. They are also a strong and noble race.

According to one Chinese legend, the 12 animals argued as to who would be the first animal in the 12-year cycle. The gods decided to hold a contest in which the animals must cross a river. The first animal to cross the river would be the first on the chart followed by the other animals according to their finish. The rat was the smallest of the animals and was expected by the other animals to finish last. Quickly, the 12 animals jumped into the river, but unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped on his back. As the ox was about to jump on the riverbank to claim first place, the rat jumped off his back and won the race. (source)

Matticus has also posted the horoscope of the Ox zodiac from a World of Warcraft perspective.

The View from 35 Yards

Following in the footsteps of Kestrel, Matticus, and Jess, I’ve decided to put up my humble desk setup at school and what you would see when I play World of Warcraft. It’s a testimony that you don’t have to have a shiny system to play the game or be using that much extra equipment.

• Dell Inspiron 700m, 2.0 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive
  (I’ve been using the same computer for almost 4 years now. It has endured beatings and many games of intense graphics, the first of which was Battle for Middle Earth.)
• AcomData E5 250 GB External Hard Drive
  (This is where I run World of Warcraft from now.)
• Samsung SyncMaster 151V 15″ Monitor
  (Most of the time, this monitor is turned off. I usually only use it when I’m doing work, WoW-related or not, and need a second screen for quick reference. As a matter of fact, I have the GPSA Engineering Data Book open.)
• TDK Tremor Xa-10 Speakers
  (They’re the orange things. I started using external speakers when my laptop finally succumbed last month to the design flaw that causes its speaker cables to fatigue and break with age.)

I’d be interested in seeing what you’re using to play. It’s always fun to see what other people can come up with to enhance their gaming environment.

That about wraps it up this week for the generic posts to ease me back from vacation into the mood of writing more hunter-related stuff, which will start to appear again next week. If you find spare time this weekend, go check out the All Things Azeroth podcast episode 97. I managed to sit in on their recording session, which was full of fun.

Ask and You Shall Receive

E-mails make me happy. =]

Hey Loronar,

I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and wanted to let you know how much i liked it. My main is also a Marksmanship Hunter. I recently started my own blog (http://iquestalone.blogspot.com/) and ask that you take a look at it and let me know what you think. If you like it I would appreciate linking to it from your page.

Thanks.
Nerrad

I’m glad you like what you’re reading. You asked for it, and you got it. Welcome to my sidebar list of links, Nerrad. You’ve also been added to the Compendium of Marksmanship Hunter Blogs. Everyone else, drop by Nerrad’s page and say hello! It’s always a pleasure to see for Marksmanship hunters blogging.

Search Engines (and Swimming Mounts) Are Your Friend

How else would you be able to discover new World of Warcraft blogs and find the wealth of information available at your fingertips? Here’s a look at some of the latest searches that have led readers to our blog.

“35 yards out”

Why, yes. You have indeed found the right place.

“wow can i tame an exotic beast then space marksman”

I believe you meant spec Marksmanship. As far as I know, yes, but you will not be able to take that exotic beast out of the stable once you have spec’d out of the 51-point Beast Mastery talent. Perhaps you would like to consider this if you are a Marksmanship hunter who has his or her sights on Loque’nahak.

“trueshot aura or ferocious inspiration”

Even in Wrath, this choice is sometimes still a matter of raid composition and need. Trueshot Aura has been promoted to a raid-wide and scaling buff, but it still does not stack. Ferocious Inspiration, on the other hand, is still a stacking buff, so you can have as many Beast Mastery hunters as you’d like providing damage bonus. On the other hand, having more than one Marksmanship hunter in your raid does not add any significant contribution to the overall raid. If you are prepared to provide your raid with the benefit of Trueshot Aura, don’t hesitate from doing so. You may find that you like the Marksmanship tree as well.

“hunter dragonhawk viper macro”

Such a macro is actually very simple. For example, you can use this one-line macro:

/cast [button:2] Aspect of the Viper; Aspect of the Dragonhawk

Right-click on a mouse will provide you with Viper, and left-click provides Dragonhawk. There are, of course, other variations of this macro.

“improved hunter’s mark 3/3 level 80″

It appears you have read into my mind, dear reader. A research post is in the works and will be released sometime next week on this topic. Like my previous research into Aspect of the Dragonhawk and Trueshot Aura, this one promises insight into the new mechanics of Improved Hunter’s Mark. Be patient, and you will soon find the fruit of your search.

“marksmanship hunter glyphs”

My personal choices would be Glyph of Arcane Shot, Glyph of Hunter’s Mark, and Glyph of Steady Shot for major glyphs. The only minor glyphs that have some value are Glyph of Mend Pet, Glyph of Feigh Death, and Glyph of Revive Pet. In truth, most of the minor glyphs are quite lackluster, but these three provide survivability.

“can 5 level 80 do serpentshrine cavern”

I don’t know, but you’re certainly welcome to try be the first ones. Let me know when you do, so I can break the story.

“very first chuck norris joke”

I was baffled at how this search could end up here. It turns out this exact phrase was uttered by Euripedes in a comment to my post about memories (though in a slightly different context). I’m not sure how I should respond to this find.

I also found something I must have missed that was announced at BlizzCon: swimming mounts in Patch 3.1.

You want to know why that is one of the most exciting changes, in my opinion, for hunters? You see, pets on defensive have a tendency to engage enemies you may have accidentally or unintentionally aggro’d while running on your mount. As you get away from water, you are now in combat and can’t simply mount up again without having to kill that which you have aggro’d (or run from it until your pet despawns or the mob disengages).

Forget 3.0.8 and its problems. I want to see 3.1 goodies!