stick with BM or go mark/surv?

[ketzil]

Ok so I've got my hunter up to lvl 53 in BM....and I'm really bored of it. I want to be able to utilize the mark/surv talent only abilities(havent decided which one ill pick yet). My question is, would it be smart to switch specs at this point? is the survivability at this lvl the same for the the other two as it is for BM?

thank you in advance ;D

[Timeholdsus]

I would have to say survivability is the same between all the specs but!!!! Surv or marks your pet wont hold aggro as well so you end up pulling off the pet making it harder and/or slower to lvl. If your wanting speed stick with Bm, if you want a slow lvling pace then pick one of the other specs.

[Orangejews]

Timeholdsus is right. I got bored of BM also when i was leveling my hunter and changed to MM and as said, your pet just can't hold aggro. So BM is defiantly the 'quickest & easiest' way to level. Having said that though, it's personal preference and up to what you find fun and appealing.

Happy Hunting

[Kalti]

BM can sometimes make life alot easier while leveling because your pet is a more effective tank and for group quests thats gold, however you can level as any spec you like and still be viable. SV would be my recommendation if you want to try something different, things should die pretty quickly assuming you have all the boa gear.

[allforone]

I found for soloing survivability frankly BM is the best, you can make the pet into a viable off-tank, get a tenacity pet(i.e. bear or worm) and get mend pet's major glyph. Get the talents that increases the pet's armor and dodge in your tree, and spec the pet for tanking with the improved healing talents courtesy of tenacity.

At 80 I was getting over 2k per tick with 4.2k AP. Made even 5 man quests soloable although those did usually take a while though.

However I did also level with MM a lot too, again used tenacity pets most of the way because of the improved growl(keeping a wolf @ level as well) With MM just to give the pet an extra GCD between using your first 2-3 abilities in the sequence to build up a bit of a buffer on aggro. Generally went Mark/petattack-wait for pet to reach target-SS-1 GCD-CS-AiS-AS-AotV-SS

On Surv: I found the mobility restriction and lesser AoE on Surv to be somewhat irritating, but to each their own.

[ketzil]

thank you guys, yes i do want the fastest lvling spec so im just gonna tough it out with BM. And sadly no I do not have any BoA gear, this is a horde alt on a different server than all my allies so I've started fresh with him.

thanks for the advice!

[Calyxto]

While I do advise leveling hunters that BM should be the fastest way to level, I usually point out that they are likely to respec at 80. I leveled from 1-80 as MM and switched to Survival when I started raiding, only recently going back to MM.

So sure BM will likely level fastest, but you'll probably be learning a new spec at 80.

Just some food for thought...

[Siri]

Leveling is nothing like raiding anyway so you'll have to learn from scratch regardless.

[Karaghan]

While lvling as MM or Surv you rely on Missdirect alot. To keep the killing speed you will have to missdirect every mob on your pet. Only then you will be able to go all out and not pull agro. Tho missdirect got cooldown so its going to be slower than BM anyways. The big minus is mana managment and mend pet will have to be rolling 24/7 while BM hunters pet can preety much heal himself all the time.

[crovax3000]

The most important thing should be that you're having fun, not that you're playing whatever is "the best leveling spec."

Personally, I never leveled as BM. I started MM, switched to Surv in the 60's, then back to MM in the 70's.

[Calyxto]

Leveling is nothing like raiding anyway so you'll have to learn from scratch regardless.

Right, because a adjusting shot priority is just the same as having talents you've never even used before...

[Siri]

The name doesn't matter, it's still just a different order of pressing the buttons.
The order won't be the same when leveling and raiding.

[jereminion]

bm is the best until you get enough points for the last talent tier. then go to survival. your pet wont keep aggro as well but the enemies will die faster and it will be more fun. with BM you just serpent shot....arcane shot....fall asleep

[ReverendSC]

Ok so I've got my hunter up to lvl 53 in BM....and I'm really bored of it. I want to be able to utilize the mark/surv talent only abilities(havent decided which one ill pick yet). My question is, would it be smart to switch specs at this point? is the survivability at this lvl the same for the the other two as it is for BM?

thank you in advance ;D

Leveling MM or SV is certainly doable, but if you spam all your shots, of course you will pull agro off the pet. Leveling MM or SV is simple - send pet, sting, auto. Repeat. Anything more and you pull agro. If you're thinking of changing specs to have different abilities, that's fine, but chances are you won't get to use many of them. Catch 22.

BM is better for "trouble" spots too (pulled too many mobs, pat came along, runner brought friends, get jumped by player, etc).

[Cyph3r]

The above post has the right idea. People tend to go all out when attacking mobs, and as SV or MM you'll actually find it easier if you slow down on dps a bit, so as not to pull off your pet.

And yeah, you're not going to raid as BM (I mean you can, but only people who really love the spec do) so it's in your best interest to switch now so that you're good and comfortable with the spec when you hit your first raid.

As far as your pet, if they're dying a lot get a tenacity pet, otherwise a ferocity should actually be fine, and have some very nice leveling talents (like heart of the phoenix). Ferocity actually generates higher single target threat than tenacity via higher dps and self healing (bloodthirsty).

[Cracka_Bob]

with BM you can (almost) start attacking as soon as your pet hits the mob... with MM you can wait till approx 2 growls and start attacking, that way even if you DO pull off "Fluffy", the mob will most likely be dead by the time it reaches you... if not, you could always macro disengage with concussive shot for more room, and save fein death as a last resort

at least thats what i did when i was leveling as MM for a while

as for pet, id choose either a cat or wolf... or if you have multi target, probably a bear for the swipe (plus improved growl if you spec for it)

[fizikz]

Ok so I've got my hunter up to lvl 53 in BM....and I'm really bored of it. I want to be able to utilize the mark/surv talent only abilities(havent decided which one ill pick yet). My question is, would it be smart to switch specs at this point? is the survivability at this lvl the same for the the other two as it is for BM?

thank you in advance ;D

a famous quote from the warlock forums that really, can be applied to any class (hunter especially)

if you're bored while leveling, you're not pulling enough mobs

[Kalti]

at least thats what i did when i was leveling as MM for a while

YOU were MM? I'm shocked, Bob.