I saw wow hunters unions "review" of the current beta BM hunters "rotation" and it got me worried. Its currently very boring. You cast hunters mark, serpent sting and spam a macro /cast cobra shot /cast kill command.
So i got to thinking what kinds of mechanics and abilities could be implemented or changed to make the BM hunters fun and still stay true to what they are. I came up with:
Frenzy - Beasts and their ferociousness is what always defined the BM hunter for me from even way back in TFT when we first met Rexxar. But when i play BM currently or when i see it on BETA im much more reminded of Pokemon where the pet is just some flashy toy and not a vicious wild animal to be reckoned with in combat. So what Ive come up with is making the 3rd tier BM talent "Frenzy" into a baseline ability you gain when you choose the BM specialization.
Frenzy would work with and increase damage and utility abilities depending on how much it has stacked on your pet. A maximum of 4 stacks. Something visual should be added to let the hunter know how many times it has stacked for them.
Frenzy lasts on your pet for 8 seconds.
But its just COMBO POINTS! - Incorrect. They are inverse combopoints more akin to energy/rage than combopoints. You dont have to use any abilities to generate Frenzy stacks on your pet. It generates them itself through auto-attacks. You only have to keep in mind how much frenzy your pet has and remember that frenzy still is a big increase itself to your pets damage and your focus regeneration.
Quick Shot/Quick Draw - Rename Arcane Shot, Quick Shot or Quick Draw. We don't use mana anymore, why do we still have arcane powered magic missiles?
Roar - Increases damage by 4% for both you and your pet per stack of frenzy. Removes frenzy when used. a maximum of 3 stacks will be used at once. Lasts 25 seconds. No CD. Dispellable
Stampede - After using Masters Call the pet gives its master 1 stack of frenzy. It will give 3 additional stacks of Frenzy if they're available. While Frenzy is active on you, you deal 10% more damage, heals on you heal you for 10% more and abilities which would otherwise impair your movement will now make you lose 1 stack of frenzy instead. Abilities that make you lose control over you character consume all stacks at once. You lose 1 stack of frenzy whenever you use a shot, sting. Hots and aoe heals do not remove a stack. cannot lose 1 stack faster than once every 1.5 seconds.
Kill Command - Nerf the damage by 50%. Kill Command now consumes 2 stacks of Frenzy, increasing the damage it deals by 50%/100%. So spamming it will be ineffective.
Snake in a Box - Damage done by Snake trap increased by 20%/40%. Snakes now have a chance to Entangle their targets, decreasing movement speed by 30% stacks up 3 times. BM is in a bind. For pvp CURRENTLY you HAVE to pick up Aimed Shot, this means you wont get Entrapment from Survival, nor scattershot. This would help the hunter a bit with being facerolled by melee. In cata it looks like you'll want to go into Marks for BM to pick up Sic'em and lower cost for Arcane shot *Quick Shot/Quick Draw*
Trap Launcher - Make it like the shaman totem bar. You get to choose out a maximum of 3 traps. Survival, BM, Marks.
Clicking the ability will shoot and instantly trigger your current trap at your current target. costs 30 energy and apply the cost reduction from Efficiency.
Bound Spirits - Instantly heals both you and your pet for 10% of your maximum HP. 2min cd. Each stack of frenzy increases this by 3%. Maximum of 3 stacks will be used at once. If either of you is overhealed, the other one will be healed for the remaining amount.