5 Huntard Domination

[Supasnake]

Leveling one hunter is easy on its own. Leveling 5 is unimaginably awesome. I have thoroughly enjoyed pvping, questing, and running dungeons with my hunters. My setup consists of two Orcs specd beast master with cat pets, three Trolls specd Marksman/ Survival with two boars and a spider. I was able to level today in RFK with only one or two wipes. It really is a blast soloing dungeons. Also I was able to land all five chars in the top ten dps for Arathi Basin. Love love love this team.

[Fursphere]

When you hit Outlands, prepare to be disappointed. The dynamic changes considerably, then again when you hit Northrend.

There are many many many posts here trying to get this group comp. to work - but in the end they all come up short. Its a fun comp, but it just doesn't work in the end unfortunately.

[HPAVC]

Agreed, you had me until you said RFK. The pets just cannot tank instance bosses in Northrend, even on normal unless you are VERY out gearing the content.

That said, my hunters and a shaman team was pretty fun stuff right when WOTLK dropped.

[Ualaa]

Well, your team won't have any issues getting to 80th.
And you'll have a blast in battlegrounds.

You'll be able to do normal versions of a lot of dungeons.
But I'd be surprised if you did the level 80 normals or any of the heroics.
Then again, you could queue 3 of them at a time, in random dungeons, where you get a tank and healer played by others...

You'll be able to do dailies, farm, pvp, etc.
And the team is quite fun.

[xandor]

[QUOTE=Supasnake;265933] I was able to level today in RFK with only one or two wipes. QUOTE]

Dont mean anything rude, but its enough with 2 characters to solo almost all instances before wotlk. :)

Did almost all instances on my 2*retri paladin combo until rampart (rampart at lvl 60, not sure if i wiped).
That is a 2*dps combo, with plate and heals ofc but still, many things is possible until outlands atleast.
I wiped in BF tho, the boss mindcontrolled me and made me kill the other paladin, and bouble wasnt enough since the boss used it twice in 1 fight due to the low dps. Didnt try the rest of the outlands instances.

I tried northrend when i reached it but it was really hard, had to use my cds to get past the first thrash, got to first boss in UK with 2 chars with both 2 retri paladins and 1 prot paladin and 1 resto druid (i mean only 2 at a time, not 4), but didnt work further.

Did UK first boss and all thrash until 2nd boss 3 man (my retri paladins and 1 mage), didnt try 3 manning 2nd boss without real healer or tank becouse they joined just when we was gonna go for it, was in random dungeon queue.

More on topic about hunters, im gonna lvl 2 hunters again, only got to 30ish and then i deleted one for room on the server, gonna migrate so i get 9 free spots :P
They are fun, but i dont get how you do when opponents are at you, except for your extremely high pet dmg at low lvl.

[Ualaa]

I leveled 5x hunters, to level 60, during my RAF time.
They were quite fun, but have been on the back burner since then.
I'm planning on getting them to 68th level shortly, for 5x more alchemists.

Chances are you'll need seventy-something, for maximum trade-skill levels in Cataclysm...
So getting them to 80th isn't a bad idea.

Overall a hunter team is quite fun for leveling.
I was running 5x Beast Mastery team.
Very simple to macro and the pets are powerful.
Did not do instances with them, aside from a short stint boosting to have the other four catch up to the existing hunter.

Concussive Shot on round-robin.
Frost Trap on round-robin.
Pet Intimidate on round-robin.
But most of the stuff is just, everyone shoots and pets go wild.
I was using Keyclone at the time, I'd imagine Volley with the IS Boxer mouse broadcasting will make for some very fun AoE too.

I wouldn't think they would be good in instances.
But with flying mounts across the board, probably Slow + Cold... since this is a team I'm not gearing or playing long-term...
And two pieces of heirloom 10% experience gear.
I'd think this will be as fun in the new leveling grind, as they were during RAF.

[Boylston]

One of the best teams I've played was 4xHunters + Healer. Such a blast. Leveled them to 80 in instances, piece of cake. Then the wheels fall off and the composition turns to crap...

Do a search on Hunters with me as author for the full rundown.

Don't waste your time if you want a viable PvE or PvP team at end-game. If you insist on bashing your head against the wall, drop a hunter and put a healer in as your main. Even then, be prepared for disappointment long-term.

[accretion]

If you insist on bashing your head against the wall, drop a hunter and put a healer in as your main. Even then, be prepared for disappointment long-term.

QFT

I had Priest/4xHunter team for a long time. Absolutely loved them...until I tried lvl 80 heroics. The best I could do in newbie 80 gear was an occasional boss or two, but nothing that you could credibly call badge farming. The pets were simply too fragile (even as BM spec), the dps was unimpressive, and the lack of buffs just killed me, literally. I've thought about reviving this team and swapping a Shaman in for the Priest. The availability of better crafted gear, the right totems, scrolls, and the Dungeon Finder tool might get a team over the hump in terms of badge farming.

Bah, now you're getting me all excited...

[DrChaos]

Sorry for a late post in this thread but i would drop a hunter and get a pally tank. You can instance no problem. If thats what your aiming for. I have a 4 hunter, warrior tank team and have alot of fun with them. PvP, not so much unless I can take a post up high and face roll whoever comes by........

[Fuzzyboy]

Having played 4 x hunter to level 80 and currently using one in my mixed team, I have a bit of experience with them. First of all there is no "5 huntard domination" - a hunter is a dps class with moderate burst, which is not superior to other dps classes.

In PvE: You can do well and faceroll heroics with tank + healer + 3 x hunter - just like you can with any other combination of tank + healer + 3 dps (and in some cases tank + 4 dps). They're not the easiest class to PvE with, because of melee range. Some fights will be harder because you can't be /follow on tank while doing good dps. That's not to say that it's by any means "hard", it just requires some movement and attention on your part and it's harder that the with standard ranged dps (mages, ele-shaman, locks etc.).

In PvP: Especially for PvP there is no "huntard domination". Hunters in PvP rely on movement and kiting a lot - something you will NOT be doing efficiently with 4 hunters at the same time. You can faceroll small groups you outnumber, outgear or outposition, but not more so than any other combination of 4 range dps - in fact less so, because you rely in part on pet damage and because you're toast if someone is able to get in your melee range and are aware that you're boxing. That's not to say that you can't PvP with 4/5 hunters, it's just a LOT less efficient than for instance shaman, locks or ret-paladins.

Now, if only blizzard would remove the inability to shoot at point blank, hunters might be a viable class for multiboxing PvP (/crosses fingers)

[Deevext]

When you hit Outlands, prepare to be disappointed. The dynamic changes considerably, then again when you hit Northrend.

There are many many many posts here trying to get this group comp. to work - but in the end they all come up short. Its a fun comp, but it just doesn't work in the end unfortunately.



Out of interrest, what about the classic 5x Elemental Shaman? I'm currently level 71 and have had no trouble doing instances under-level but what should I expect? Do I need to reroll one into a paladin?

[Talos]

Out of interrest, what about the classic 5x Elemental Shaman? I'm currently level 71 and have had no trouble doing instances under-level but what should I expect? Do I need to reroll one into a paladin?

Back in TBC it was possible to clear heroics with 5x shamans with decent gear trough use of healing and elemental totems on bosses.
In WotLK the bosses hit a LOT harder and even some trash mobs are a pain, making a tankclass almost needed. On the other hand a dedicated healer isnt neceserry in WotLK with decent passive group heals (healing totem, divine storms, etc)

1 guy in here has managed to 5x shaman Normal Forge of Souls (wiping several times and waiting for elemental totems to cooldown)... so while possible its not optimal.

Its up to you to decide if you want to roll a tank, or keep the 5 shammies for pvp and use the LFD tool to queue 4 at a time and pugging a tank (or add a friend/guildy tank)

[Kalros]

Dont let them kill your vibe, Supasnake (http://www.dual-boxing.com/member.php?u=31491)! Keep on going with it until you decide its not working for you anymore!!!! I actually tried the 5x Hunters once myself through Outlands. Even if you cant do instances, I would imagine its still a blast to do in the bigger BGs.

[d0z3rr]

While an all hunter team is not viable for heroics/instances, it was the most fun group of all from 0-60 (non-raf), heh.

[Deevext]

So - it is totally out of the question to run them as 5x Elemental? :(
What about just normal instances to farm cloth and mats?

What tank is simplest to setup in combination with a lightning bolt spam; let me rephrase. What would be the simplest tank, least keys to use for tanking. I'm already stressed enough and want something relative easy.

[Ualaa]

I'm breaking out the hunters for 60th to 70th.
For the tradeskill reasons, although I only really need 68th.

So far in Hellfire, they're as fun as they were 1st to 60th, with RAF.
I'm doing 2x BoA +exp items per toon.
And they all have slow flyers now, which is a huge boost.

I've spec'd them all Beast Mastery.
Just open with a shot of any sort.
And the pets destroy whatever I'm attacking.
Not sure if its the best strategy for them, but with 5x hunters it's pretty good.
Volley is quite good too.

An 80 mage, totally wrecked the team, doing the Hellfire Fortifications.
Not really sure how they compare to my other teams, in this regard.
My PvE team, didn't really do pvp quests until Grizzly Hills, at which point they were stronger then any 80 they met.
And my 5x Feral didn't take out 80's until 67th... which the Hunters aren't at yet.

[Gormand]

I'm breaking out the hunters for 60th to 70th.
For the tradeskill reasons, although I only really need 68th.

So far in Hellfire, they're as fun as they were 1st to 60th, with RAF.
I'm doing 2x BoA +exp items per toon.
And they all have slow flyers now, which is a huge boost.

I've spec'd them all Beast Mastery.
Just open with a shot of any sort.
And the pets destroy whatever I'm attacking.
Not sure if its the best strategy for them, but with 5x hunters it's pretty good.
Volley is quite good too.

An 80 mage, totally wrecked the team, doing the Hellfire Fortifications.
Not really sure how they compare to my other teams, in this regard.
My PvE team, didn't really do pvp quests until Grizzly Hills, at which point they were stronger then any 80 they met.
And my 5x Feral didn't take out 80's until 67th... which the Hunters aren't at yet.

My mixed group got destroyed the same way, just replace Mage with Warrior. He charged in and bladestormed, my guys were even mounted on flying mounts at the time I hit jump as soon as I saw him charge, 2 or 3 died and the others took a big beating :/

[accretion]

So I broke out a Shaman + 4 Hunter team last night to attempt some normal ICC dungeons. It took a couple of wipes to get the hang of pulling, but went pretty smoothly with trash. James Brown went down quick as well. The Devourer of Souls...well, that's another matter. Purple goo eats pets very quickly, and Mirrored Soul is a really crummy debuff for this team. Overall, it was a good reminder of why you really need tank/healer/dps to seriously run instances.

As for PvP, after reading some other forums, I just don't think they're viable there, either. Hunters are just not a class that stacks well in instances or PvP right now. Questing seems to be their sweet spot, but that's a very limited role. *sigh*

[d0z3rr]

So - it is totally out of the question to run them as 5x Elemental? :(
What about just normal instances to farm cloth and mats?

What tank is simplest to setup in combination with a lightning bolt spam; let me rephrase. What would be the simplest tank, least keys to use for tanking. I'm already stressed enough and want something relative easy.


In all honesty, all the tanks are pretty easy to use. Just set up a /click macro and you're set, only one key needed (well two in case you need to taunt).

[Zappy]

So - it is totally out of the question to run them as 5x Elemental? :(
What about just normal instances to farm cloth and mats?

What tank is simplest to setup in combination with a lightning bolt spam; let me rephrase. What would be the simplest tank, least keys to use for tanking. I'm already stressed enough and want something relative easy.

It's not entirely out of the question to run 5x Elemental. The biggest drawback I see against them right now is that you can't use the dungeon finder tool to queue random dungeons or heroics which means a lot less badges when farming. I really hate this as my shammys can clear heroics faster than my DK/ret team.

Like the others have said, any tank will work. I've used the following tanks with my shamans: druid, paladin, and a DK. The paladin was by far the easiest as everything sticks to him like a magnet. With the DK and druid, I would regularly have to taunt the mobs to keep them on me. The paladin also seems to be the easiest for setting up a /click rotation.

If you're hellbent on gearing 5x elementals, I would stick with the plan and queue randoms with 4 of them at a time and pick up a random tank -- at least this way you're getting the extra badges on 4 of them (assuming heroics), then just swap them around. 4 eles can provide plenty of heals for tanks in about every heroic.

[Boylston]

It's not a matter of hunters not stacking well. It's that Heroic instance content scales beyond the tanking capabilities of a hunter pet.

Yes, you can over-gear the content significantly, but PvE as a multiboxer is no fun if you have to outgear it in order for it to be even viable. The parallel to 5xShamans is interesting and relevant. 5xShamans can kill heroic content once they're overgeared, but the real allure is that they're strong at PvP. 4x-5xHunters are not strong for PvP outside of some very narrowly limited applications.

It's just a very hard road to travel and the end result is you're mediocre (at best) at just about any aspect of the game once you hit end-game content. Ask anyone that has played the comp and they'll say they had a fun time leveling them, but there's a reason why the few of us who played the comp seriously prior to WotLK have all dropped it in the last year...

[cmeche]

Finally decided to lvl my 4 BM hunters that were parked at lvl60 for about a year....for alchmy purposes. Like everyone else has said, this has to be the easiest single class questing group there is.
Being 69ish with northrend greens/blues.......AV is a blast to play. Back capping towers, controlling choke points(track humanoids is priceless)....my team(without a healer) was almost unstoppable agaist an equally numbered group.

I am sure the pvp domination will change as I lvl higher......but damn this setup is easy/fun as hell to play.

....makes me want to lvl some locks.

[Qbox]

I am sure the pvp domination will change as I lvl higher......but damn this setup is easy/fun as hell to play.

....makes me want to lvl some locks.

I just started playing my warlocks again after a 2 year hiatus, as I'm trying to keep my pally group in rested xp. It's been a blast leveling the warlocks in WSG so far. I think I'll have to try rolling a group of hunters to level in BGs as well. :-)