On Sept. 26, we wrote about how Hunters are utterly useless in raids because they don’t give raid leaders any real reasons to take them in, outside their mediocre damage. Thankfully, Blizzard has heard our woes and Hunters are getting the buffs they need in World of Warcraft Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
Blizzard posted another round of PTR development notes on Sept. 27, revealing how Hunters will no longer be useless in raids and how they’ll now bring a new raid buff, Hunter’s Mark. This will increase all damage taken by five percent, but only when the target is above 80 percent health.
“When applying Hunter’s Mark out of combat or before a pull, it continues to have no cooldown. If you apply Hunter’s Mark while in combat, Hunter’s Mark receives a 20 second cooldown. We don’t intend for you to move this damage bonus around frequently,” Blizzard explained.
It’s important to note Hunter’s Mark will still have a global cooldown, and you can’t stack this debuff on the same target, meaning you can only get value from bringing one Hunter to your raid nights.
Although I’m filled with feelings of joy that Blizzard is receptive to the community’s feedback, I have to be honest, this buff is quite underwhelming. Hunters will probably only get one raid slot for themselves and only really bring value to a boss fight above 80 percent HP. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Hunter players, but this feels like a bland band-aid fix that is supposed to make the community shut up about Hunter’s poor utility more than anything.
Naturally, fans share the same sentiment and are now saying that Shamans might be next to lose their spot. But that doesn’t seem like it will really come true, not as long as Enhancement Shamans have Windfury Totem, and Restoration Shamans have Spirit Link.
Patch 10.2 will also bring a new zone, Emerald Dream, a new raid Amirdrassil, and a ton of balancing changes you need to catch up with.
Published: Sep 28, 2023 03:09 am