The Hunter’s Guide to Pugging…
So sorry, hunter fans, for the long delay in posting… I have found myself with what could best be described as writer’s block, but after taking some time to play on my druid tank, i’ve found myself watching other hunters i’ve grouped with. I’ll watch what they do, what they won’t do, and what I would do differently, and now it’s time I pass that knowledge on to you. First, I realize some of you might be new players, so we’ll get the easy stuff out of the way…
Q: “What is ‘pugging’?”
A: PUG stands for Pick-Up Group. When people talk about “pugging” they’re talking about running an instance or a raid with a group of people they don’t know, as opposed to fellow guildies, usually through the dungeon finder.
Now then, if you’ve stumbled on this article, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve pugged before… probably a lot. Here’s the thing though, hunter’s have a very unique roll in pugs. Yeah, we’re a DPS only class, and we’re basically a dime a dozen, but here’s some things you can do to keep the group going smoothly, and the XP rolling in (or badges as the case may be).
First – Be aware of your surroundings. Hunters have a unique problem that no other DPS have. We have to be at least 5 yards away from a mob before we can shoot it. Make sure you’re far enough back to get your blast on, but not TOO far back, that you’re sitting in the path of a wandering patrol.
Second – Know your dungeon. This kind of ties in with the first one, but there’s a reason I made this a seperate point. When I say “know your dungeon”, what I really mean is “know the fights.” There is absolutely no shame in speaking up and saying that this is your first time in a place. Granted, you might run into one of those elitist prick pugs that will kick you out for not knowing what you’re doing, but that’s a whole other story. (This mostly applies to 5-man dungeons. Raids are a whole different animal which i’ll cover in a bit). Boss fights have certain mechanics to make them interesting. Know when you need to blast the boss’s face off, and when you need to run away. Know when to stop DPS, and… well… when to blast his face off again… we hunters are good at that.
Third - Keep an eye on your healer. More often than not your healer will be a few yards back casting away, and generally keeping the group from DYING all the time. This is a good thing. We want our healers to keep the group alive. If you see a mob heading towards your healer for some reason misdirect him to the tank. Back in my first post I listed a macro all hunters over level 70 should have to cast misdirect on a focus target… and you DID make your tank the focus target right? 
Now, say your misdirect is on cooldown, or you’re not level 70 yet, then what? Well, that brings us to point number 4.
Fourth – Realize that, as a DPS, you are basically expendable. Now this might sound harsh, but hear me out. If the tank goes down, the mobs will go flailing around everywhere, beating people up willy-nilly. That kind of chaos is never a good thing. If the healer goes down, then no one gets heals, which brings us back to the mobs flailing around punching squishy people. If you see the healer taking a beating, man up, target whoever’s punching him, and hit Distracting Shot.. Take one for the team. A group is a lot less likely to wipe if a DPS goes down than if the tank or healer does. Now, granted, this might be a rare situation, as tanks are generally aware of what’s going on around them simply because they have to be… but if you can’t see any reaction out of him, bite the bullet little buddy… it’s for the greater good.
Fifth – You can NEVER Misdirect too much. Like I said, i’ve been gearing my druid tank up lately, and there’s one thing that annoys me so much when pugging with hunters. They don’t misdirect to me… ever. This was more of an issue when i was lesser geared, but it’s still a minor annoyance if I don’t see it once through a dungeon. I don’t care if i’m the tank is in any danger of losing threat or not, no one will ever yell at you for using your MD too much. Once per pull in a 5-man is generally enough, but keep an eye out for stragglers.
Sixth – Keep your freezing traps/freezing arrow handy. This is pretty self-explanitory, I think. Crowd control is going to become a lot more necessary in Cataclysm, if anything Blizzard says is to be believed, so learn to use it now. Pre-Burning Crusade dungeons are a great place for learning how to use your traps efficiently.
Seventh – Don’t roll need on leather gear if there’s someone who actually NEEDS leather. This has been a huge debate since who knows how far back. After level 40, hunters wear mail. If you’re grouped with a feral druid or rogue, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, DON’T roll on leather. You have another class of gear you can wear that they can’t wear, so let them have it once you’ve passed level 40.
Now, I realize some things are repeated from my very first post, but some of these very simple, seemingly very basic tips, are some things I see lacking so often when i’m doing dungeons from a non-hunter’s perspective. Again, sorry about the long delay in posts. It’s been kind of a chaotic week, and i’ve been having writer’s block. Until next time, hunters!
Love the third advice! All range dps should be obligated to observe this rule… Ty!
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