If BM is so bad why is it by far the most played hunter spec?

[Pazzey]

coz BM is low skill cap. That is all.

[Alex86el]

because most of the hunters play a lot solo, and BM is easy mode on solo.

i very rarely saw one in a raid or 5man.
99% have been MM.

[pankrolik]

i played BM for whole Legion and did 6/11 M with BM

[andreasels]

BM is not bad at all and wclogs statistics are a bit misleading imo. You have lower highs, but higher lows than MM, so you are really consistent when it comes to try to try dps.
Nearly no matter what mechanics the game throws at you, you can always perform.
I personally can't stand the turret playstyle of MM, so I played BM the whole addon and I don't think that I held my guild(s) back by doing so by any means (https://www.warcraftlogs.com/charact...s/druffballern).
Since the rotation of BM doesn't need that much attention to perform flawlessly, you can also focus more on mechanics and are less likely to die to them, so it's a really solid choice for Progress.

[Fumu]

Easy to solo with, easy to master, and while it's a bit souless in Legion (even by BM's standards) it's still more huntery feeling than MM was this time around.

[Deleted]

Lol none of the dps specs take any skill, I guess people play BM for the class fantasy.

[jakeworty]

I just play bm because i have since start of cata

[Zouria]

I played BM because it was easy to play and stream at the same time, i can move easier so i can focus more with my chat.

[Azalea]

My main is ret and I didn't want to deal with another judgement-like window, it's like my 4th alt in mythic Antorus so who gives a fuck at that point, movement, and a seemingly greater flexibility with legendaries.

[schwarzkopf]

i played BM for whole Legion and did 6/11 M with BM

Well to be fair - you played BM for whole Legion and 20 players including you did 6/11 M.

If BM was 20% across the board worse than average, then the impact on your M run would be under 1%.
Following the mechanics is much more important than 1%.

SO in summary - being a better player is where It counts more than the class at M levels (unless you were in the first 20 or so teams to clear 11/11M).

[Magnagarde]

Shoot while running cause you do relevant DPS either way..you might not outdps the FOTM, but you are moving while shooting.

Low skillcap also.

Pretty much this for the majority of those that do play it. The mobility it has and the lack of any punishment from continously moving is what makes it an easy pick.

[DarkAviator]

It's the only hunter spec left. The others are a caster with some instant spells mixed in and a warrior with a companion.

[cparle87]

BM is arguably the most self-sufficient spec in the entire game. It has lust, a personal tank, good aoe and good single target, good burst, and a lust can be switched out for a pet that heals you. Oh it also has great CC and slows.

Pretty much this. You'd have to look quite hard to find a spell any other class has that a hunter doesn't have an equivalent of from a pet. They're like a super novice from iRO.

[BlueRemedy]

It's the only hunter spec left. The others are a caster with some instant spells mixed in and a warrior with a companion.

No matter how much you cry your eyes out, they're not going to give you the benefits of melee AND ranged.

[DeuZWw]

because people play the spec they like, most people on forums are a minority who plays for the best DPS.

BM has the Pokémon Fantasy, you catch animal companions and make they fight for you, and thats incredibly popular for some reason.

And again, even the worst spec, is hardly that much of a downgrade of the best spec. When you put it into the math, the difference in DPS between the specs of choosing matter very little in most raid scenarios. Unless you are going for a realmfirst, just play what you like.

Not to say that prior to BFA, Hunters didnt felt like a bowman because of the animations being clunky, buggin out and stuff like that. i'm really impressed by how much they improved Hunter animations in BFA. I do love Bows IRL, and for the first time i'm actually considering using a bow in game. Tho i will probably use a Crossbow, since my hunter is an Worgen.

[Tharkkun]

BM was only about 5% worse overall in damage compared to MM. So not having to rely on MM's cluster fuck mechanics and fishing for RNG all day you had a decent alternative that wasn't 100% melee (survival).

The pet fantasy is what originally attracted me (and most players) to the spec though back in Burning Crusade. It was just my hobby character until MOP.

[Just1c3]

Two reasons:

One, because the overwhelming majority of WoW players don't raid bleeding-edge progression content, and if you're just doing a casual Normal, maybe even Heroic group, then numbers don't matter quite as much. Sure, they help, but more casual groups can get by and probably even full clear Heroic with pretty much ANY comp. Might take longer, you might struggle more, but you'll get it done eventually. Pushing the numbers to their limit is something that only top-end Mythic groups really need to worry about.

Second, because BM is better than people think it is. The mobility and ease of play make it VERY easy for people to continue to pump out their full potential while easily avoiding mechanics and doing other raid duties. Everything's instant cast on BM, so you never have to stop moving, ever, and your full rotation is always available to you no matter what you're doing.

Remember this: At the end of the day, your numbers only matter relative to the rest of YOUR group. Warcraftlogs rankings don't mean shit. As long as you're not doing SIGNIFICANTLY worse than the rest of your group, that's all you need to be doing. My bet is, if you're in a more casual group, the folks that are playing classes that are ranked as "higher" than you as a BM, aren't playing their class to the bleeding-edge best that it can be played, and they're not gonna be doing as well as DPS ranking sites would suggest they'll be doing. Just watch YOUR group's meters, make sure you don't lag TOO far behind, and you're always gonna be good to go in that group. Even if you're the bottom DPS, if you're not the bottom by MUCH, then no sane group is gonna have a problem with you.

[Nubulous]

Two reasons:

One, because the overwhelming majority of WoW players don't raid bleeding-edge progression content, and if you're just doing a casual Normal, maybe even Heroic group, then numbers don't matter quite as much. Sure, they help, but more casual groups can get by and probably even full clear Heroic with pretty much ANY comp. Might take longer, you might struggle more, but you'll get it done eventually. Pushing the numbers to their limit is something that only top-end Mythic groups really need to worry about.

Second, because BM is better than people think it is. The mobility and ease of play make it VERY easy for people to continue to pump out their full potential while easily avoiding mechanics and doing other raid duties. Everything's instant cast on BM, so you never have to stop moving, ever, and your full rotation is always available to you no matter what you're doing.

Remember this: At the end of the day, your numbers only matter relative to the rest of YOUR group. Warcraftlogs rankings don't mean shit. As long as you're not doing SIGNIFICANTLY worse than the rest of your group, that's all you need to be doing. My bet is, if you're in a more casual group, the folks that are playing classes that are ranked as "higher" than you as a BM, aren't playing their class to the bleeding-edge best that it can be played, and they're not gonna be doing as well as DPS ranking sites would suggest they'll be doing. Just watch YOUR group's meters, make sure you don't lag TOO far behind, and you're always gonna be good to go in that group. Even if you're the bottom DPS, if you're not the bottom by MUCH, then no sane group is gonna have a problem with you.

LOL this...im 11/11 and I cant tell you how many times my guild shit on BM even though when there were 3 of us we were almost always ALL in the top 5 lol. On our first Argus Kill I was barely 2nd in dmg and would of been first had I not stopped damaging in P2 when the guy in first kept dpsing away. Also had 100+ Mil more dmg than everyone else in last phase.

BM IS easy to play but its not like MM is much more difficult and I find MM more boring than BM.

[chakley]

Survival is growing on me by the day but damn if i don't miss my Arcturis. Miss him bad when i'm not BM.

[NoShelter]

I play BM not because it's easy (I find most classes/specs easy), but because I like freedom of movement and ranged. Before Legion BM was my least favorite spec, but the Legion design forced me into BM. If I wanted to stand still and cast long spells I'd just play a mage.