Aly's Comments on Legion Hunters (as of pre-patch)

Since the PTR and the pre-patch I've "played" with the different hunter specs including leveling on the PTR as Survival, plus raids and invasions, mostly has Survival or Marksmanship, with some minor practice as BM.  Some comments on the various specs, but first a few general class-wide comments.

Hunters are still a lot fun to play, although I find the overall decline in raid utility and CC again unnecessary (no more Distracting Shot for kiting mobs when needed, and only Survival has traps now).  We also again have fewer "buttons" to play with.  Gone are the days where you would have three or four full bars of just hunter abilities!  I also miss the old Aspect of the Cheetah.  The new limited buff duration with a three minute CD is just too long for our only class movement buff !  As an afterthought I guess I’ve listed the specs in order of my playability preference.  Oh, my comments etc. are mostly focused on raiding and inflicting max damage (its what we're supposed to do after not "standing in fire", and killing adds right?).

Marksmanship

Icy Veins Class Guide - http://www.icy-veins.com/wow/marksmanship-hunter-pve-dps-guide

Good Things

1. Great burst damage (especially on pulls/opening sequences).
2. Strong single target damage.
3. Fun rotation that despite having only a few shots does require planning and anticipating CDs, procs and debuffs.
4. Mobility (for now).

Bad Things

1. RNG with marking target and Lock and Load procs can hinder your DPS at times.

MM Spec Thoughts and Comments

1. I went with the suggested Lone Wolf (no pet), Lock and Load, Patient Sniper, Barrage and Sidewinders although I did play around with other DPS talents like Explosive Shot.
2. Not many shots or CDs you need to manage.  It’s a fun DPS spec, but I'd prefer it to be a little more complex and with a DOT or two.
3. Requires being patient and not using Sidewinders without a marking proc up.
4. With high mastery your shot range can be greater than 45 yards.  I just wonder in Legion will there be enough loot with mastery to really stack this or will your range cap out closer to 45 yards.
5. Learn to watch your Vulnerable debuff.  You may not want to shoot another Sidewinder if vulnerable is up, and a marking target proc has time before it expires, and you have a Lock and Load proc to work with.
6. 50% self-heal every two minutes is great so use it!
7. Too bad Explosive Shot just isn't worth it in most cases.  It was fun practicing it with but its damage isn't great, and it requires player focus to denote it.  Depending on range to target this could be a GCD you miss as you're focused on detonating the shot.
8. Just like Barrage, Sidewinders are great at breaking CC!
9. Speaking of CC, your only option for CC is to spec Wyvern Sting.  I miss Freeze Traps! : (
10. Keep telling yourself use Barrage even if it’s just against one target as its great damage even if against a single target (but save if you know multiple adds will spawn in the next say ~5-7 seconds or less).
11. Great mobility, however, this will change once we lose the tier 18 4-set bonus (Aimed Shot is a base 2 second cast without it).

Survival

Icy Veins Class Guide - http://www.icy-veins.com/wow/survival-hunter-pve-dps-guide

Good Things

1. High single-target damage.
2. Good raid utility with traps.
3. More complex rotation.
4. AOE can be weak.

Bad Things

1. If you’re not used to Melee DPS like me in raids you have a few things to learn.  Hit boxes, movement, I can’t see what’s going on!

Survival Spec Thoughts and Comments

1. I went with the suggested Throwing Axes, Snake Hunter, Improved Traps, Dragonsfire Grenades and Expert Trapper, although (as with Marksmanship) I play tested a few other DPS talents.
2. I very much enjoy the more complex rotation.  Unlike Marksmanship you have plenty buttons to hit, and you have a DOT to maintain!
3. Harpoon is very helpful, especially if you have limited melee raiding experience like me. However, the abilities’ CD is just too long in my opinion.  If your target moves away from you quickly (i.e., jumps), and Harpoon is on CD you only have Cheetah with its 3 minute CD to increase movement and close the distance (assuming you’re not a Worgen).
4. Use Mongoose Bite whenever it procs, and certainly stack using it whenever you can to increase damage from Mongoose Fury.  Great burst sequence with Snake Hunter when it comes off CD.
5. You have one lengthy DOT, Lacerate, so keep it up on the target!
6. Although Way of the Mok’Nathal (increases AP with Raptor Strike) is suggested I found I just don’t use Raptor Strike that often as there always seems to be a higher priority “shot” to use, and when focused starved it’s better to wait for the addition 10-20 focus to use a better shot.
7. The many AOE abilities (Explosive Trap, Cleave, Dragonsfire Grenade) available to you often seem to break your CC when soloing more than one target and you need CC to not die.  When soloing content it’s a good idea to pull one mob (one your pet isn’t tanking) away from your pet, CC it with Freeze Trap, then move back in to aid your pet.
8. The initial burst sequence is worth practicing!
9. It’s fun to have a pet again!
10. Like many I’m not a fan of the view melee is limited to with the decreased camera distance.  I very much hope they fix this!
11. Ah hit boxes, why are some so small and irritating to find!

Beast Mastery

Icy Veins Class Guide - http://www.icy-veins.com/wow/beast-mastery-hunter-pve-dps-guide

Good Things

1. High AOE and AOE burst damage, but targets need to be grouped up.
2. Single-target damage can be great, and then not so great.
3. Mobility.
4. You have a strong pet!

Bad Things

1. You seem to have periods of downtime with no shot available to you (either no focus or shots are on CD).  Feels like you should be doing something but, what?

BM Spec Thoughts and Comments

1. I went with Dire Stable, Chimaera Shot, Bestial Fury, A Murder of Crows and Stampede for DPS talents.  Interesting to note that Dire Stable is no longer recommended by the Icy Veins spec guide (Big Game Hunter is now), and that Volley has now gained favor.  Also, Stomp is now recommended over Chimaera Shot.  /uh!
2. It’s fun to have a pet again, but then pets require more management and this can detract from your own DPS.  Basically, more of your total damage is done by your pet and not you, and this takes this out of your control. This can hurt your DPS if you have to switch targets frequently.
3. Use Bestial Wrath (with the Bestial Fury talent) whenever it’s available to you, but be sure to have focus for Kill Commands.  You don’t want to enter Wrath being focus starved!
4. Use Dire Frenzy as often as possible as its decreases the CD on Bestial Wrath.  Be sure to watch the CD on Bestial Wrath decrease as you use Dire Frenzy (also from Dire Beast if selected).  As Bestial Wrath is so important to your DPS you need to be aware and anticipate when it will come of CD, but also as mentioned above save focus for it!
5. It’s again worth noting that there are times when you have no abilities to use and are just waiting for focus, or for an ability or shot to come off CD.  I also found the “rotation” a little clunky, but then again perhaps this was with the build I was using (one that appears to have slightly changed on Icy Veins from what I was using). Hopefully this improves!
6. I hate to see a talent like Chimaera Shot be available, but then not be worth it as another competing DPS talent is more valued for higher DPS.
7. I didn’t play this spec much, but if it suits your play style its DPS ability is still solid.  Just learn the shot and CD priority/rotation.