I think MM is actually one of the better solo specs in the game. It's not going to be as good as BM but it still has a lot of strengths in kiting and it can still pet tank at least a few things at once. Try being an immobile caster without a pocket tank at all instead, particularly a clothie. Besides, you can just spec BM for solo content and MM for group PvE.
Obviously MM is going to be worse at solo content than the dedicated pet spec. That's perfectly fine. They are good at different things, as specs of a class should be.
BTW, this is absolutely not how you do Bloodlust as an MM Hunter. Not only do you lose 3 secs by casting dismiss pet but it takes something like 20% for Lone Wolf to ramp back up to 10%. It does not grant 10% immediately. Having a pet out is only a damage loss in AoE situations. On single target it's roughly on par with Lone Wolf. I don't think there are any situations in PvE where it's worth dismissing your pet after using Primal Rage. I would prefer Lone Wolf were somehow a single target boost only (e.g. it doesn't buff Trick Shots damage or something) but this really isn't a big issue.
Did something change and we can't switch specs on demand anymore? (Well on demand with the bag-item/resting in an Inn)
I've been BM for 15+ years at this point and never saw a need to switch. Maybe I was unaware of this change.
Koriani - Guardians of Forever - BM Huntard on TB; Kharmic - Worgen Druid - TB
Koriani - none - Dragon of Secret World
Karmic - Moirae - SWTOR
inactive: Frith-Rae - Horizons/Istaria; Koriani in multiple old MMOs. I been around a long time.
No, Animal companion turns on a hidden -35% damage aura to your main pet = less leech for your main pet = it is less tanky.
Your "buddy" pet from Animal companion is not as strong as your main pet and isn't a true pet per se.
So for situations where you need your pet to maximize its tankiness, Torghast as an example, you should select Killer Instinct or Dire Beast. That also means that you should never accept Animal Companion when it is offered as an Anima Power in Torghast.
Speaking as someone who has been a fan and main BM player for years who every single expansion has been forced into MM at some point due to how dogsh*t BM is at times; I gotta wonder if you are just trolling, have negative 2 in item level or if your Aimed Shot is not bound to any keys.
I will use Torghast as an example as that is the pinnacle of Solo PvE content atm; at layer 8 with my current "lowly geared" (According to the common community and their Rio standard) 200 ilvl Hunter - There is no challenge to be had. You Aimshot with an instant Arcane shot which sets most mobs up to rather be dead or be within Killshot range. Don't DO AoE pulls unless Misdirect is off the CD, simple. If you are in such a rush that... World quests or Torghast makes you think MM is weak because "You need to pull everything all the time" and you can't take a moment to just nib down one and one mob at the time (Which in all fairness is almost faster than AoE'ing them down) then I am sorry to say but your complaints will fall on deaf ears because there is nothing to complain about.
MM also do have an insane AoE burst, Multishot into a Doubble Tapped Aimed or Barrage is enough to slay most regular packs of mobs in AoE situations (Bar high health elites ofc) but even then it's little to no challenge. Just aim-snipe mobs one after another and do AoE when you got the CD's.
^This is all me speaking without taking Wild Spirits into consideration because I am not a Night Fae Hunter. So with that ability into the mix too; it should just be easier.
The funniest jokes on MMO-Champ in order: (This signature is not calling out anyone in SPECIFIC and is thus not breaking any rules)
1: All the moderators that does not know how to handle this webpage.
2: Whoever set up the auto-bot that does not know the rules.
3: The rules and guidelines themselves.
Speaking of jokes:https://i.imgur.com/MaBzzAR.png
Yes, Animal Companion is the best of the 3 talents in the 1st row dps-wise, but....
They don't 65% each. Your "buddy" pet, which has an even worse AI than the regular pet, only does auto attacks and KC, not basic attacks. It also does beast cleave. So it isn't 2*65=130 of normal damage, just a bit more than 100% normal damage. So it is better than Killer Instinct, but not by 30%.
Also the hidden -35% damage aura can affect other pets - for example for a long time if you had chosen Animal Companion then your Spitting Cobra would do 35% less damage. As far as I know most/all of those bugs/features have been fixed.
Yes, but it's not that simple.
Keep in mind that the second pet does only KC and auto attacks and that you lose the dps from killer instinct.
It's not 100% vs 130%, AC is like a 5% dps increase.
That said the original topic to which I replied was about pet survivability
And if you struggle with content you don't want to sacrifice the pet survivability for more dps.
If you want to do maxiumum dps --> Animal Companion
If you want your pet to tank --> Killer Instinct
The difference in leech for the main pet (which will be tanking) is quite huge.
Maybe not an issue if you are 200+ ilvl and/or are pulling small packs, but for low item level and/or big mob pack pulling (e.g. Torghast) I would advise to not take Animal Companion.