Can Hunter support a Tank Spec?

[Hyperborean]

From a lore perspective:

A tank spin-off of Beast Master could be centred around Mend Pet and Agile Reflexes Style abilities. It would make a stronger connection between the pet and tamer than the relatively cosmetic connection of Beaster Mastery.

From a logistics perspective: it would implement a a class with both an RDPS and Tank Specs that share a primary attribute: agility. This is contrary to Druid, where boomy and bear have differing; int and agi. This makes for awkward daul-spec bear and boomy, and given that there appears to be a lack of both RDPS and Tanks, that may get worse in the future, a move to introduce specs to classes generally, rather than develop more classes, might be a safer strategy for long term stability of queues etc.

What kind of spell would something like this tank spec use? would it make sense from a lore perspective; the tamer that deeply protects and heals their companion? if something like this was implemented, would you be interested in playing it?

[Coxeter]

I imagine it would be kind of awkward. Dodging mechanics, taunting, soaking? They would really have to think out-of-the-box to pull something like that off.

[Deleted]

You could be kind of a "Kled" type from League of Legends. You mount your pet, both have a separate health pool, with different perk/passives. Once your pets health drains to 0 you dismount using different abilities, while your pet passively heals up in the background, once he's fully healed you get back on gaining his set of abilities.

I've always thought it would be pretty cool if they enabled a "pure DPS" spec to have a bit more option in terms of tank/heals

[Hyperborean]

You could be kind of a "Kled" type from League of Legends. You mount your pet, both have a separate health pool, with different perk/passives. Once your pets health drains to 0 you dismount using different abilities, while your pet passively heals up in the background, once he's fully healed you get back on gaining his set of abilities.

I've always thought it would be pretty cool if they enabled a "pure DPS" spec to have a bit more option in terms of tank/heals

Riding, rexaar style, that sounds awesome!

[Garfurion]

I don't see Blizzard introducing ranged tanks but SV could be changed into a tank spec with the pet offering utility depending on it's spec and pet-family. e.g. turtles currently have a shield they could cast on the hunter instead of themselves or a spirit-beast could function like a personal healer to the hunter.

In the past hunter's could adapt their gear&spec to improve their pets ability to tank but Blizzard doesn't like pet-tanking so it was made impossible for current content.

[DeicideUH]

It's possible. Current Survival could be easily be converted to a tank.

I imagine that tank mechanics could include the pet taunting for a limited time, or a short-CD skill that you and the pet share damage for a small period. Aspect of the Turtle could get a CD reduction and built-in taunt. Exhilaration could get it's CD reduced by uses of some attack skill, so you can often heal yourself.

[Hyperborean]

I don't see Blizzard introducing ranged tanks but SV could be changed into a tank spec with the pet offering utility depending on it's spec and pet-family. e.g. turtles currently have a shield they could cast on the hunter instead of themselves or a spirit-beast could function like a personal healer to the hunter.

In the past hunter's could adapt their gear&spec to improve their pets ability to tank but Blizzard doesn't like pet-tanking so it was made impossible for current content.

I like this idea too, using pets as utility. it could be fashioned similarly to buffs or stances, with your 5 pets subbing in and out throughout combat. mechs could including proccing more pets in action, or 2 minute defensives where all come out activated

[Revi]

I could enjoy a concept where your pet is fixed by your side, with active and passive mitigation centered around pet intercepting attacks and aspects of the bear (or w/e) making you more sturdy. A fixed pet position where it's always in melee of what you're in melee of would make interweaving attacks from both you and your pet smooth as well.

Don't think there's a chance in hell it would happen, but it would be an interesting concept. An active mitigation tool with it's own separate health bar is pretty unique as far as tanking goes.

[Holovik]

I don't see Blizzard introducing ranged tanks but SV could be changed into a tank spec with the pet offering utility depending on it's spec and pet-family. e.g. turtles currently have a shield they could cast on the hunter instead of themselves or a spirit-beast could function like a personal healer to the hunter.

In the past hunter's could adapt their gear&spec to improve their pets ability to tank but Blizzard doesn't like pet-tanking so it was made impossible for current content.

Warlocks used to tank an add in Gruul's Lair back in BC. Back then i think searing pain had a threat modifier and they would soak the dmg with their pet as demonology or something. Very niche example though.

[Hyperborean]

would managing threat with misdirection be interesting as a core rotation? as in, using misdirection to turn debuffs and large attacks onto a correct pet to soak.

[Draugnakh]

Do not touch SV ;o.

A heal or tank 4th spec could be good... I do not play BM or MM. Maybe BM as tank ?

I offtanked as SV at Vanilla but it was a crowd control/dps spec, not a tank one.

[Ornerybear]

It's possible. Current Survival could be easily be converted to a tank.

I imagine that tank mechanics could include the pet taunting for a limited time, or a short-CD skill that you and the pet share damage for a small period. Aspect of the Turtle could get a CD reduction and built-in taunt. Exhilaration could get it's CD reduced by uses of some attack skill, so you can often heal yourself.

I like them trying Survival as a tank.

I would also like to see them make it so you could be a weaker split tank setup. Would be a neat way for hunter tank to save a raid if you loose one tank and no brez available. Might get complicated and not fun to play.

At the least make it so that if the pet and hunter on same target bonuses are higher, but if the hunter splits off on another target the pet (who would be doing the taunting i would imagine) would loose some empowerment or something.

It could be neat at least

[Ehuehuecopter]

BM could have been a melee/tank spec back in the day of vanilla due to switch the bonus proc from ZG Fist Weapon set (when you transform into a giant cat a like dude) to stick with the "lore" of going ham with your pet and became a beast.


ATM only survi can be reworked into a tank spec

[Deleted]

Survival revamp should have made it into a tank spec to begin with, not a melee spec while adding a new melee class as well. It's a massive missed opportunity.

[Okacz]

While I like the idea of melee dps SV and would rather see this one developed more, fixing the rotation etc, tanking could be a fun thing to do.

This could be the great return of Eyes of the Beast. Imagine that EotB would be your default tanking stance - you start controlling the pet directly, and your "hunter" body just hangs around, not really being influenced by raid mechanics and doing low, passive DPS. Tanking would be simple, but you would need to, for example, go back to your hunter body once in a while to do something, or even change pets that would be tanking to use some other abilities.

[Deleted]

While I like the idea of melee dps SV and would rather see this one developed more, fixing the rotation etc, tanking could be a fun thing to do.

This could be the great return of Eyes of the Beast. Imagine that EotB would be your default tanking stance - you start controlling the pet directly, and your "hunter" body just hangs around, not really being influenced by raid mechanics and doing low, passive DPS. Tanking would be simple, but you would need to, for example, go back to your hunter body once in a while to do something, or even change pets that would be tanking to use some other abilities.

I like the idea, but will need work to separate us from Guardian Druids then, which are now firmly established as the animal tank. Of course we can tame a plethora of pets, and could tank as a turtle or whatever.
The Hunter body hanging back doesn't really sound good. It pushes us more into a spirit hunter type, as opposed to the visceral classical hunter type we are now.

It's an interesting thought and there's some mental gymnastics needed to make a pet tank work without making either the pet or the hunter irrelevant.

[longal]

I love the idea of hunter tank. This idea was mentioned on the forums for years but never got any attention.
The simplest way it could work would be that your pet (any pet you choose) would be passive similar to hati and the active mitigation would circle between sharing your damage with this pet and mending the pet... If the pet died/reach 0hp it would require couple seconds to revive him or something.

[andreasels]

A pet-tank could work by having the pet walk right by the side of the hunter at all times and have both the pet and the hunter have taunts to take turns on switching as a sort of smoothing out the damage intake (Hunter tanks, takes damage, pet taunts, pet takes damage while hunter getting healed up and vice versa) or getting a slowly fading damage reduction buff after taunting it away from your companion (the longer one of the two tanks, the higher the damage intake is).

There is much room for creativity here, but then it could actually work out quite fine.

[Guran]

Survival revamp should have made it into a melee spec to begin with, not a tank spec while adding a new tanking class as well. It's a massive missed opportunity.

Then you'ld have replied with this version.

As for Surv tanks, I've OT'd a couple of bosses in KZ back in the day of talent trees, and the spec lore does make sense (Rexxar is a Survivalist after all)

I would prefer if your pet has a short CD ability that would force the target to miss its next melee attack (to play as the dodge/parry mechanic), shortened or refreshed by certain of your attacks (or melee crits or something) to give haste/crit defensive scaling. Change Mongoose Strike into a rolling buff with damage reduction, so you can pool up stacks while not tanking and burst a short duration, or just spread it out more for constant aggro, preferably also more interaction with Mastery in this.
Flanking Strike could be a short-ish (30s/1min) CD that forces the target to miss its next X attacks on you.
Add in a pet intervene(*) and/or Turtle Shell and you got yourself a basic tank setup.


(*) The pet would ofc need to leech some healing off of you and could perhaps be your AoE tank portion, where he could grab multiple mobs for you. Maybe even go taunt a mob at ranged and walk its way back to you instead of having a ranged taunt? Just some thoughts on the specific flavour.

[Uko]

If they ever did a hunter tank I would imagine it would be similar to monks but instead of staggering the dmg yourself your pet is what staggers part of the dmg for you or something along those lines so its not just sitting there being useless.