#1 - Dec. 8, 2016, 3:40 a.m.
As you should know if you have been reading feedback threads for 7.1.5 (or 7.1, or 7.0, or beta, or alpha), Marksmanship has some serious core design issues that need to be addressed before the spec is enjoyable for many longtime MM Hunters, myself included. There is one major issues that is in immediate need of a fix, and several other important issues, though none are as urgent.
Core Issue: Vulnerable, Hunter's Mark, and Marking Targets
Important Issues: Resource management, talent disparity, utility/mobility
Vulnerable, Hunter's Mark, and Marking Targets
Vulnerable is the defining mechanic of Marksmanship in Legion. For those unfamiliar with the mechanic, you apply Vulnerable to the target with Marked Shot (which requires Hunter's Mark, applied by Arcane Shot/Multi-Shot/Sidewinders after a Marking Targets proc), Windburst (with the corresponding Artifact Trait) on a 20 second cooldown, or Sidewinders (if talented) on a 12 second recharge.
Vulnerable increase the target's damage taken from Aimed Shot and Marked Shot. Neither ability deals acceptable damage to non-Vulnerable targets.
Vulnerable is improved by two talents: Patient Sniper (which increases the Focus cap and improves the Vulnerable effect but reduces duration), and Sidewinders (which replaces Arcane and Multi, generates 50 Focus, and applies Vulnerable directly to all targets hit, with no proc requirement, increasing uptime). With both of these talents, you have a cyclical rotation: Sidewinders, Aimed Shot, Marked Shot, Aimed Shot, Aimed Shot.
Overall, this is not a terrible rotation. You are encouraged to use Windburst on cooldown, as it is our strongest damage ability, and other than that, you use Aimed Shot during Vulnerable windows when Focus permits, use Sidewinders to apply Vulnerable, apply Marking Targets (allowing Marked Shot), and generate Focus, and you use Marked Shot to maintain Vulnerable after it has been applied by Sidewinders or Windburst.
The problem here is that you are pigeonholed into these two specific talents in order to have any consistency in dealing reasonable damage. If you remove Patient Sniper, your Vulnerable is up constantly, but its effectiveness is drastically reduced. If you remove Sidewinders, your Vulnerable uptime drops drastically, as it is entirely beholden to RNG procs outside of the 6 second window created by Windburst. If you remove both talents, you maintain constant Vulnerable, but your Focus cap and generation are so drastically reduced as to prevent any burst DPS.
Currently on PTR, Marked Shot no longer benefits from Vulnerable, baseline Vulnerable has been changed to a single stack at 100% increased damage, and Patient Sniper has been redesigned. Assuming Marked Shot and Aimed Shot baseline damage is properly tuned to make the reduction from 150% to 100% increased damage a net neutral change, this is a positive change. That said, it does not resolve the core issue with Vulnerable:
When Vulnerable is tied to an RNG mechanic, Marksmanship Hunters have little control in when they are able to deal acceptable damage, particularly in single target situations.
There is one clear solution here - remove or lessen the impact of RNG on applying Vulnerable to the target. There are a myriad of ways this could be achieved.
Non-RNG applications:
- Firing Arcane Shot or Multi-Shot twice in a row applies Vulnerable to all targets hit.
- Remove Marking Targets entirely, move Marked Shot to a 12 second cooldown.
- Remove the RPPM from Marking Targets, and simply make it a buff that automatically effects every 4th Auto Shot.
- Add a new shot, let's call it Steady Shot. It should deal damage equivalent to one Arcane Shot, have a 6 second cooldown, have a low (or no) Focus cost, and apply Vulnerable.
Semi-RNG application:
- Allow Marking Targets and Hunter's Mark to stack. Firing Arcane Shot, Multi-Shot, or Sidewinders would consume one stack of Marking Targets on the Hunter. Firing Marked Shot would consume one stack of Hunter's Mark on any affected targets. Ideally, buff uptime should be increased to facilitate stacking.
Less-Impactful-RNG application:
- Nerf Vulnerable to a lower percentage increased damage (say 10%), and increase baseline damage of Aimed Shot to compensate.
- Remove Vulnerable as a mechanic entirely, bake the damage into Aimed Shot directly.