Are you switching from BM to MM in Shadowlands?

[Rondi]

Cheers

Having played the beta for quite a while now, I am still uncertain whether to keep playing BM or if I am being forced to switch to MM because it does more dmg. As a Cutting Edge (12/12M) raider it is very important for me and my guild to play the strongest spec. MM seems to be ahead right now, but I dont like ANYTHING about that spec, just my personal preference. I like to do the "extra work" in raids as a BM hunter to compensate what is generally known as playing the "lazy" spec. And I also enjoy BM as a whole very much, it is just fun to play.

If you're just playing for fun and only on heroic mode, then I guess it won't really matter to you, but if you're a mythic raider then it is significant which spec you are putting all your resources and effort in from the start of the expension. So do you guys know for sure what ranged hunter spec you are going to play? And do you thing that MM will be so much ahead of BM like it was the other way around in BfA? What role will BiS Castle Nathria gear and Legendarys/Conduits and their traits play for the overall performance between MM and BM?

Appreciate any constructive thoughts and suggestions

Sorry for mistakes, not a native speaker

[Sondrelk]

Just play what you find most fun. MM is not a very rewarding spec to play at the moment. I would say you shoul switch only if you actually would prefer to play without a pet, or in general don't like playing BM.

Not sure if you are basing the asesment on the damage in the pre-patch the beta, but neither are especially reliable. The pre-patch is always unbalanced, and we always get a large tuning wave before and after the first raid in which most of the outliers are brought back in.

[Shedaar]

Duh, ofc I am.

I have no idea how someone can consider barbed shot mechanics fun.
Or BM at all.
There is a reason this is a meme spec that can rival the DH in their "meme" ranking.

[bowchikabow]

Yes, all ready made the change. There are macros to learn, new rotation to get accustomed to etc. Better to get comfortable now, in content you all ready know as opposed to waiting til SL drops and learning a spec while also learning the new areas and content.

[Rondi]

Not sure if you are basing the asesment on the damage in the pre-patch the beta, but neither are especially reliable. The pre-patch is always unbalanced, and we always get a large tuning wave before and after the first raid in which most of the outliers are brought back in.

No, I am basing this on what I have heard and seen in numbers for Shadowlands beta. Wouldn't make any sense to rely on numbers in pre-patch because Azerite traits and essences still play a crucial part of BMs playstyle.

But I guess you're right, I will have to play what I find most fun and therefore will perform better since I feel more comfortable with BM.

[Blackmist]

Probably not.

I quite like being able to move and do mechanics without losing all my DPS.

[Midiar]

Gonna stick with MM as i did all of BFA. I hope when MM gets more players, it also gets more attention and something new with it.

[aceperson]

it's still a clunky spec to me so no. i used to play all three specs and enjoy each of them (from when i started in wrath through wod) and now mm is a clunky mess, survival was gutted and even blizz don't want to touch it anymore, and bm is stupidly simple but still the most fun of the three. for a hunter main of 11 years, i'm truly not feeling any love for my class but i love all the utility.

[Naggash]

It depends. How big is a BM-MM gap atm in terms of dps? Is it 100 dps or 2000? I wont switch to MM unless its a huge dps boost, like 30%. But its kinda to early to tell, first big tuning gonna happen after HC week, so everything you see now can and will change. So i gonna hold up with crafting legendaries untill tuning is done and then decide.

[Kaver]

it's still a clunky spec to me so no. i used to play all three specs and enjoy each of them (from when i started in wrath through wod) and now mm is a clunky mess, survival was gutted and even blizz don't want to touch it anymore, and bm is stupidly simple but still the most fun of the three. for a hunter main of 11 years, i'm truly not feeling any love for my class but i love all the utility.

I love that BM hunters always use the word ‘clunky’ for anything that has cast time, ramp up time or needs to be targeted in any way. If it’s not instant up front damage then it’s ‘clunky’ apparently.

I’m sure that most BM hunters would vote ‘yes’ if Blizzard made a poll to remove barbed shot.

[Conjor]

Probably not.

I quite like being able to move and do mechanics without losing all my DPS.

MM isn't Arcane. You can do almost everything on the move. Even when you have to cast Aimed Shot, there are several ways to make that cast time faster.

[aceperson]

I love that BM hunters always use the word ‘clunky’ for anything that has cast time, ramp up time or needs to be targeted in any way. If it’s not instant up front damage then it’s ‘clunky’ apparently.

I’m sure that most BM hunters would vote ‘yes’ if Blizzard made a poll to remove barbed shot.

i love how idiots can't read or understand context. i said i played and loved all specs through wod ending in legion. you know what had a cast time in wod? aimed shot, steady shot, cobra shot, etc. need i go on or is your stupidity on display enough?

[Blackmist]

I love that BM hunters always use the word ‘clunky’ for anything that has cast time, ramp up time or needs to be targeted in any way. If it’s not instant up front damage then it’s ‘clunky’ apparently.

I’m sure that most BM hunters would vote ‘yes’ if Blizzard made a poll to remove barbed shot.

Have you actually played BM?

It's like competing in One Man And His Dog. You do practically fuck all up front damage.

And yes, a game that makes you move constantly and interrupt casts is clunky. We're ranged melee, not casters.

[Biglog]

I agree on BM feeling very clunky right now.

The thing with dps meter analyzing for who top in the world is and assuming that you are at that skill level executing perfectly, is that 99% of players that think they are actually at that skill level are not. And the variance in lower skill levels throws all of that out. In fact put together a raid, throw 5 dps in there same class spec who all think they are at that skill level, and the meters will vary more than they did in the rankings. A good BM hunter will always outdps an average MM hunter.

So play what you want. A hotfix or update that can come at any time will change the numbers and throw it out the window. If you have to play a class/spec that you don't want to in order to raid, that turns raiding into more of part-time job than fun.

[Rondi]

The last think I wanted this topic turn in to was a debate on which of the both ranged specs are easier, clunky, more fun to play etc.

Having said that, I have to share one observation since I switched to BM Hunter in 8.3. The amount of discredit I get for playing a bm hunter is astonishing. Well, maybe discredit is not accurate, lets call it banter. Because I play my Hunter quite good I‘d say. If you‘re now thinking „well, obviously... it‘s not that hard“, then you get my point. I don’t mind the banter tho. I used to main Shadow for a long time (even before it was cool) and Affliction Warlock before that, and let me tell you something, none of the specs were/are rocket science.

Back to the topic, I just hope that BM won‘t be significantly behind MM in terms of raid dps. Whether you like the spec or not, a lot of people do.

[BicycleMafioso]

No.

My Hunter's always been MM, and will remain MM, apart from when I go out rare pet hunting.

[Kaver]

Have you actually played BM?

It's like competing in One Man And His Dog. You do practically fuck all up front damage.

And yes, a game that makes you move constantly and interrupt casts is clunky. We're ranged melee, not casters.

So all caster classes are in your opinion ‘clunky’.

BM is just a ridiculous spec with no downsides at all. It’s boring. But there are people who likes playing games with cheat codes so I guess BM fits their preferences pretty well.

[Blackmist]

So all caster classes are in your opinion ‘clunky’.

BM is just a ridiculous spec with no downsides at all. It’s boring. But there are people who likes playing games with cheat codes so I guess BM fits their preferences pretty well.

Most of them, yes. I actually liked Mage a lot more than Warlock for example, because it has ways of moving (Shimmer talent) that don't stop you casting, and even a damage spell you can use while casting other things.

Stopping casts when moving is a shit mechanic. I've never liked it. If it just slowed or even paused the cast until you stop moving again, it would feel so much better. MM felt really fun during that one patch where the set bonus was instant Aimed Shots.

And why wouldn't you want to play a "cheat code" class? In the end, damage is all that matters.

[MrPaladinGuy]

I"m having so much fun as MM in PVP that after 16 years i've retired my Paladin main that i've mained since classic, but I also retired from pve and I strictly PVP now (except for mythics).

But i can't for the life of me get those 10 horde kills with a bounty on me, there's always some shaman that will dive bomb me wherever I'm hiding and then deletes me with 1-2 attacks. I swear I'm on some horde hit-list

[Puri]

There is literally no clue whatsoever which spec is going to top. There are class balacing issues when the patch hits and/or when the first hotfixes after mythic opens or 9.1 hits and there are dozens of conduit and covenant tweaks coming for sure.
We will know about 5-6 weeks into mythic raiding which spec prevails for that tier, but currently the gap between MM and BM in the beta logs is too small to care, so choose whatever you want to.