Hunters to Get Major Boost in WoW Patch 11.1

World of Warcraft Patch 11.1: Hunter Class Overhaul

Patch 11.1 of World of Warcraft introduces significant changes to the Hunter class, impacting pet management, specializations, and overall gameplay. Key updates include:

• Pet Specialization Changes: Hunters can now alter their pet's specialization (Cunning, Ferocity, or Tenacity) at the stables, offering greater flexibility and customization. This applies to all hunter pets, including those obtained from events like the Feast of Winter Veil.

• Beast Mastery Adjustments: Beast Mastery Hunters gain the option of using a single, more powerful pet, increasing its damage and size.

• Marksmanship Revamp: Marksmanship Hunters undergo a substantial rework, losing their pet entirely. Instead, they gain a Spotting Eagle companion that marks targets for increased damage from the Hunter's abilities. This change has generated mixed reactions among players.

• Pack Leader Talent Overhaul: The Pack Leader Hero Talent is redesigned, summoning a bear, boar, and wyvern simultaneously during combat. This fixed combination replaces the previous talent's flexibility.

Undermine and the Liberation of Undermine Raid:

Patch 11.1 also introduces "Undermine," a new content update that continues the story of "The War Within." Players will explore the Goblin underground capital and face Chrome King Gallywix in the Liberation of Undermine raid.

Hunter Class Specific Changes:

Numerous Hunter abilities and talents receive adjustments:

• Kindling Flare: Increased flare radius by 50%.
• Territorial Instincts: Reduced Intimidation cooldown by 10 seconds; removed pet summoning.
• Wilderness Medicine: Increased Natural Mending cooldown reduction.
• No Hard Feelings: Reduced Misdirection cooldown by 5 seconds.
• Roar of Sacrifice (Marksmanship only): Pet protects a friendly target from critical strikes. Deactivates Spotting Eagle while active.
• Intimidation (Marksmanship): Line of sight no longer required; uses Spotting Eagle.
• Explosive Shot: Increased projectile speed.
• Eyes of the Beast: Now only available to Survival and Beast Mastery Hunters.
• Eagle Eye: Now only available to Marksmanship Hunters.
• Freezing Trap: Breaks based on a damage threshold.
• Tooltip Updates: Tooltips for Roar of Sacrifice, Wilderness Medicine, and No Hard Feelings updated for clarity regarding Marksmanship specialization.

Hero Talents (Hunter):

The Pack Leader talent is completely overhauled, introducing "Howl of the Pack Leader," which summons a bear, wyvern, and boar for assistance. Several new talents are added, while others are removed. Significant changes also affect the Dark Ranger and Sentinel talents. See the detailed breakdown in the original text for specific talent changes.

Beast Mastery Specific Changes:

New talents, such as Dire Cleave, Poisoned Barbs, and Solitary Companion are introduced. Existing abilities like Stomp, Serpent Sting, and Barrage receive damage and cost adjustments.

Marksmanship Specific Changes:

This specialization receives the most significant changes. The loss of the pet and introduction of the Spotting Eagle are central to the rework. Numerous new abilities and talents are introduced, including Harrier's Cry, Manhunter, and Eyes in the Sky. Many existing talents are removed or significantly altered.

Survival Specific Changes:

The changes focus on streamlining the rotation and making choices between abilities more impactful. The talents Frenzy Strikes and Merciless Blow are adjusted, and the talents Flanking Strike and Butchery become mutually exclusive choices.

Player vs. Player (PvP) Changes:

New PvP talents are introduced for each Hunter specialization, and some existing PvP talents are removed. The Dire Beast: Basilisk ability is redesigned.

Player Feedback and PTR Testing:

Blizzard encourages player feedback on the PTR (Public Test Realm) early next year, allowing players to test these changes before their implementation in the live game.