[Healer + 4xHunter] WotLK Experiences

Now that the expansion has been underway for a bit, and the few folks who are running Healer+4xHunter setups in LK are starting to hit L80 (or have been for a bit), I thought I'd ping everyone and see how they're liking their team. Here are some questions for those of you running this setup:

0.) What level is your team?

1.) Overall satisfaction?

2.) What are you happiest about? What would you change?

3.) What spec is your team and what pet loadout do you use?

4.) Are you able to do Heroics? Any favorites or ones to avoid?

5.) How are you doing in PvP (Battleground, Arena, World PvP)?

6.) Anything else to add?

I'll go first! :)

0.) What level is your team?
About level 78. My healer is lagging a bit since I will occasionally run with a healer partner.

1.) Overall satisfaction?
So far, good. I'm having fun exploring instance content with this team. I have a nagging suspicion I won't stand a chance in arenas, which bugs me a little.

2.) What are you happiest about? What would you change?
Flexibility and options in PvE content without having to micromanage tanking. Pets are tanking very well so far-- I hope this extends into heroic with good gear investment. I wish that I wasn't so useless in PvP when someone gets in my face.

3.) What spec is your team and what pet loadout do you use?
I've run a ton of different configurations. Hands down, the most efficient (and best DPS, group-wise) has been to stay 4xBeastmastery, with 4xGorillas. All other combos just can't compete. This may change some post BM nerf, but I'm enjoying the simplicity for now.

4.) Are you able to do Heroics? Any favorites or ones to avoid?
Still not 80 due to my hectic work schedule now. :( I am encouraged when I see solo hunters tanking some Heroic instances with their pets, however.

5.) How are you doing in PvP (Battleground, Arena, World PvP)?
Fine. I will echo the same complaint as everyone else and say that too many classes do too much damage now. Unlike my shaman team, I can get wiped easily if I am caught off-guard.

6.) Anything else to add?
I am contemplating a 4xSurvival build for BGs later on, depending on how the class changes shake out. I would very much like to see the AoE component of Explosive Shot returned via glyph. Explosive Shot still looks pretty dominating as it will still deal fire damage (great against plate/mail wearers) and is currently scaling very heavily with attack power on the PTR. (54% total of AP... 4xHunters should be capable of pumping out 18-20k damage like this on a six second cooldown-- less if you have a LnL proc).

0) Level 75. Leveling has been rough, but not horrific. I really dislike all the drop quests and they just hammer my xp/hr, so I've stayed in UK and Nexus about half the time, where I can usually get 200-250k/hr plus tradeskill mats. I've poked my nose into Azjol and VH, but didn't stick around very long. I'll probably work on these and other instances in addition to cherry-picking quests.

1) Eh, it's ok. I could handle UK at 72, which ain't bad considering my gear, but I don't feel overpowered at all. I think life will get a lot better once I can fly. I like the new textures and scenery, but I'm constantly getting hung up on geometry and such. I totally suck at PvP, but then again, sometimes it's not the arrow, it's the indian.

2) Pets. HUGE improvements over BC, obviously. I love the flexibility and theorycrafting choices. Improvements? Well, I'm dreading the nerf - losing 7-10% overall dps will really suck, but I agree that raid dps was a bit high. I wish they could have made more targeted changes that would have hit the high-end raider rather than the Average Guy, but such is life. Mana regen has been a real problem, but Viper is a reasonable solution, it's just an adjustment to my playstyle.

3) Currently, I'm 3x BM and 1x MM (TSA) and all 4 have Gorillas. At 75, my BM hunters register 750-800 dps while my MM lags behind at 550 or so. I can score 900+ running my "kill stuff" macro, but I lose mana soooo fast. I've toyed with switching to 4x BM, but will probably wait until the 3.08 nerfs to decide. I may also experiment a bit with pets when I hit 80, but I agree w/Boylston that Gorillas are far and away the best instance pets.

4) Nope. I'll let you know when I hit 80 and gear up. My best guess is that I'll need a LOT of gear work before Heroics will be viable, but I'm ok with that.

5) I suck. Part of it's me, but the other part is that Hunters are built for range and every other class knows this. DKs eat my lunch and I especially hate Warriors. Casters are manageable. Rogues seem a bit easier, but I've only had 1-2 at a time, and I don't think they were very skilled.

6) 3.0 had me completely stoked about Hunters. LK has muted my expectations a bit, but I'm still enjoying my team. My Disc Priest feels a bit stronger relative to BC and my pets are really nice. Spikey damage is a real problem and while the improved healing keeps pets in the game more often, I still wipe a lot due to an unlucky series of crits that takes out a pet or two. In my opinion, there's no substitute for good ol' plate mitigation. I hope gear will even the score at 80, but I have to think this team will be marginal in dungeons until I can grind some faction epics. Time will tell.