World of Warcraft Patch 11.1 is Going to Be a Big Update for Hunters

World of Warcraft Patch 11.1: Hunter Class Overhaul

Patch 11.1 of World of Warcraft introduces significant changes to the Hunter class, impacting pet management, specializations, and core abilities. Key changes include:

• Pet Specialization Changes: Hunters can now alter their pet's specialization (Cunning, Ferocity, or Tenacity) at the stables, offering greater flexibility in companion customization. This applies to all pets, including event rewards like the Dreaming Festive Reindeer.

• Beast Mastery Overhaul: Beast Mastery Hunters gain the option of using a single, more powerful pet instead of two, boosting damage and size.

• Marksmanship Rework: Marksmanship Hunters undergo a significant transformation, losing their pet entirely. They are now supported by a Spotting Eagle that marks targets for increased damage from the Hunter's abilities. This change has generated mixed reactions among players.

• Pack Leader Talent Rework: The Pack Leader talent is redesigned, summoning a bear, boar, and wyvern simultaneously. The ability to choose specific animal companions has been removed, causing some player dissatisfaction.

Undermine and the Liberation of Undermine Raid:

Patch 11.1 also introduces the "Undermined" content update, focusing on the Goblin underground capital. The storyline from "The War Within" continues, culminating in a raid against Chrome King Gallywix.

Hunter Class Specific Changes (Detailed):

The patch notes detail extensive adjustments to Hunter abilities across all specializations. Key changes include:

• Kindling Flare: Increased flare radius by 50%.
• Territorial Instincts: Reduced Intimidation cooldown by 10 seconds; removed pet summon functionality.
• Wilderness Medicine: Increased Natural Mending cooldown reduction.
• No Hard Feelings: Reduced Misdirection cooldown.
• Roar of Sacrifice (Marksmanship only): Pet protects a friendly target from critical strikes; disables Spotting Eagle's mark while active.
• Intimidation (Marksmanship only): No longer requires line of sight; utilizes the Spotting Eagle.
• Explosive Shot: Increased projectile speed.
• Eyes of the Beast: Now only available to Survival and Beast Mastery Hunters.
• Eagle Eye: Now only available to Marksmanship Hunters.
• Freezing Trap: Breaks based on a damage threshold instead of any damage.
• Tooltip Updates: Tooltips updated for clarity, removing irrelevant information for Marksmanship Hunters.

Hero Talents:

The Pack Leader talent receives a complete overhaul, offering new abilities like "Howl of the Pack Leader," summoning a bear, wyvern, and boar. Several talents have been removed and replaced with new options, providing a revised skill tree. The Sentinel talent, "Lunar Storm," also receives significant buffs. Beast Mastery and Marksmanship talents have been extensively reworked to reflect their specialization changes. Survival Hunter talents are adjusted to streamline the rotation and reduce cognitive load.

Player Versus Player (PvP) Changes:

PvP-specific talents are added for each specialization, further diversifying gameplay options. Some PvP talents have been removed, and existing ones have been modified.

Player Feedback:

Blizzard emphasizes that these changes are subject to player feedback. The Patch 11.1 PTR will be available early next year, allowing players to test the changes and provide valuable input before the official release.