Things to say about the hunter preview. I won’t get into everything now, but I do have things to say about it. I did want to address the resource change, however, if only briefly.
Honestly, I just want to hold my mana bar and never, ever let it go. I understand why the change, though — hunters are ranged physical damage dealers. Melee stuff doesn’t really affect them. But they have some similar stats/damaging effects to melee. But they’re not casters either, so caster stuff doesn’t really affect them. But they have a depletable resource in mana that means they’re LIKE casters.
Hunters have always been betwixt and between, in my opinion. Even more so now; they have mana but Chimera and Explosive shots are magical damage, not physical. Back when Aimed Shot was, you know, actually *aimed* with a 3-second cast time, and Serpent Sting was something you sneered at, THEN we were a physical damage class. But right now, we’re a screwed-up hybrid class that can’t tank or heal. But we’re still very much like hybrids.
I don’t think that removing the mana bar is the solution to the problem. The problem is that they want a resource that is not infinite and, in today’s raids, hunters just don’t have mana problems. Replenishment, Aspect of the Viper and Viper Sting work better than feigning/drinking ever did. So hunters basically never go out of mana and it ceases to be a valuable resource, because there’s never a shortage of it.
Focus introduces that shortage. Shots look like they take a lot of focus and it emphasizes more Steady Shot (and I guess Cobra Shot?) use while you regen your Focus.
I don’t think this is the way to fix hunters so that they have to worry about a resource. But similarly, I can understand that to nerf the hunters’ mana regen would nerf everyone else’s mana regen. You can’t just remove Replenishment entirely. You can’t make the regen from it too low. Could you remove tools like AotV? Sure… but what hunters even need to use Aspect of the Viper in a raid these days? And that would harm hunters in dungeons and while questing.
I suppose you could make hunters immune to Blessing of Wisdom/Mana Spring and Innervate. And mana potions. But that’s not a good solution, either.
Clearly, I don’t have much of a solution. But I don’t think Focus is the answer. It’s an answer. But I don’t like it.
Well, is it really supposed to be an answer or a fix? The drastic changes in classes seems (to me) to just be a natural fit to the changes in the world. Azeroth changes a lot, so why shouldn’t the classes? Especially with it being a brand new expansion. It’s less of a balancing act at this point, and more of a “look what you’ll be able to do!” thing.
As for removing replenishment, you’d still have access to it from retadins and destro-locks (who, y’know, actually care about buffing the raid). I honestly didn’t even know hunters could trigger it.
Personally, I like it. I like the idea of having to balance resources, but I don’t come from a raiding standpoint. And I doubt Blizzard is only making these changes based on raiders who have to beat enrage timers. I fully expect to see major overhauls to all of the new systems (such as the DK’s new rune system) over the months following Cataclysm’s release.