Originally Posted by
Yvaelle
Given all the changes to other classes, the hunter nerfs are quite minor overall. BM is getting a damage buff, marksmen is getting a damage buff - marksmen is getting silencing shot while BM is losing it but gaining access to binding shot. Binding shot is actually pretty incredible depending on the comp you play - so don't underestimate what it will mean for peeling pet-spam off yourself or your healers - if an enemy hunter stampedes, and/or a rogue drops a smoke bomb on your healer - and you binding shot them when your healer moves out, you just shut down their big burst window using a 25(?) second cooldown: that's going to be awesome for BM versus thugcleave/PHD.
Meanwhile, Marksmen is looking more viable all the time - the biggest problem with hunters all expansion hasn't been damage necessarily, or survivability - but their near-constant application of instant (and thus uncounterable/avoidable) CC's, as prelude to longer CC's that would otherwise be counterable. With Scatter no longer requiring close range, you can't kite hunters to avoid the scatter->trap like you could in the past, and you can't avoid the trap while scattered: they may as well make trap last 3 seconds longer and arm instantly. Similarly the use of pet stuns/roots/disorients works just as well, and the use of silencing shot to constantly disrupt healers or casters who thought they were safe to cast 40 yards from the nearest melee is pretty devastating.
Instant CC is what makes hunters so strong right now, not Stampede. Combined with the multitude of trinket-like effects, the best gap opener (Narrow Escape Disengage) in the game, and the threatening burst cycles every minute that are largely un-counterable (Beast Within) - hunters have been a force to be reckoned with all expansion, and if anything - they have mostly slipped under the radar.
Killing the pet isn't really the counter against hunter teams you make it out to be - if the hunter isn't protecting their pet, then the hunter is getting out-played - in an equal MMR match against a PHD or Thugcleave, BM pets almost never die - and if they do - they instantly resurrect that first time. I'm not saying people shouldn't try to kill the pet if they catch it around a box... all my toons DoT up both hunter and lock pets - but they only usually die if we're pressuring the hunter and cc'ing the healer: when the enemy team has other things to worry about. Pressuring hunters with a non-ret/feral melee on my team is pretty much impossible (and none of my teams currently have a ret or feral on them).
BM damage is going up, their control and anti-control might go down - but they are also the only class in the game who gets to keep their passive damage reduction (10%). That is going to be a huge survivability advantage if they buff base resilience to 75% like a lot of people seem to suspect.
Edit: To be clear, I'm not saying "ZOMG Huntarz are OP!!1", I'm saying hunters have been one of the strongest classes all expansion - and likely will be for all of MoP. Yes, they are going to receive some minor nerfs - but all the other 'strong' classes are getting comparatively heavy nerfs - and at the same time - some of the best partners for hunters are proving to be quite strong now, and likely next season (rets, enh, rogue, warriors, disc).