When we get a question at the BRK North-American Centralized Digital Communication and Ice Cream Bunker, the email is pretty specific. For example, look at my gear, check my talents, which gun is best, do you like walks on a beach under the moonlight, where can I buy some BRK Mojo, etc.

But sometimes, buried within that question is a deep, theological conundrum… and occasionally a blatant demand for kitty-kisses. The latter we forward to a more personal inbox, but the former gets special blog-attention.

BRK loves to focus on the foundation of Hunterism and Hunteristics, (both terms are hereby copyrighted by BRK Entertainment Ltd. and may not be used without the express written permission of Major League Baseball).

Without a solid understanding of the mechanics and principals of the basic elements of ranged combat with a pet, the intricacies and nuances are really not important. The concept of a Shot Rotation is such an animal.

BRK received a lengthy and kind email within which contained a question about Sting Shots and their usefullness. However, this particular sentence really caught our eyes:

“My shot rotation is usually: send in pet, hunter’s mark, concussive shot, steady shot, {serpent sting}, arcane shot and then auto shot and arcane till mob dead.”

Before we get into a lengthy diatribe, rowdy rebuttal, and messy food fight about the pros and cons of Sting Shots, we’ve got to straighten out this shot selection sequence. Do you know what’s wrong? Yes? No? Bueller?

Either way, let’s go back to the most basic question: What’s the best way to kill a mob.

The answer, of course, is: “It depends”.

PvE or PvP?
Instance with lots of help, or solo?
Lots of possible adds or all alone?
Sober and alert or drunk and slobbering on the keyboard?

The answers to these questions help form the fundamental principal of:

Efficiency versus Expediency - do you need to kill while conserving resources, or kill quickly regardless of the consequences. What BRK considers the optimum solution is to maximize both. This is the foundation of a Shot Rotation.

BRK-Definition of Shot Rotation - Preserving resources as much as possible while delivering the most damage possible while not pulling aggro from the pet/tank.

A Shot Rotation is not the Maximum DPS Possible. Any fool can blow every cooldown and fire every shot whenever their cooldown is up. Pfft. BRK calls this Rambo Mode and it is not recommended for instances or PvE.

Of course, BRK is a strong advocate of using it in PvP. Screaming inarticulate guttural animal sounds in Rambo Mode is optional, but highly recommended; it’s a hoot.

But BRK digresses.

Many people believe that there is a maximum Shot Rotation, and they’ve discovered it, and if you don’t follow their plan perfectly, you’re a n00b.

Bullpucky.

The Perfect Shot Rotation is a one-shot kill. One bullet, one kill; nothing more efficient than that is there; anything less is sub-optimal. Knowing this, we are free from trying to mold ourselves to some incorrectly-calculated shot rotation based upon a specific 2.7 weapon speed and 1700 RAP and cooldown-sequencing and pet attack speed and the high tide in Perth Amboy and other such hogwash.

Your Shot Rotation is dependent upon your gear. And as such, it shall change over time, so don’t be afraid to experiment. But this is a discussion for Advanced Shot Rotation Techniques, and we were talking about The Basics. Digressing canceled.

The basics of a Shot Rotation do not take weapon speed or any other trivia or stats into account. Now then, it’s just you, your pet, and one mob, ok? Here we go.

The Basic Shot Rotation

Step 1. Macro that sends pet and Hunter’s Marks.

/petattack
/cast Hunter’s Mark

Bind it to an easy-to-find key as you’ll use this a lot. BRK has it mapped to one of his extra mouse-buttons. Macros make your life so much easier, why aren’t you using them?

Step 2. Wait.

Don’t fire anything; allow you pet to reach the target and Growl. Growl is like Sunder in that it builds aggro. Pulling the mob off your pet is a Bad Thing, so let your pet Growl and commence fighting before you get wacky and drop an Aimed Shot on it, ok? Sheesh.

Step 3. Serpent Sting.

Get the maximum out of your Damage Over Time debuff by applying it immediately. What is the best Serpent Sting right now, 555 damage over 15 seconds? Something like that? It’s not the best debuff in the game, BRK admits, but get the most damage for your mana-buck and fire it first.

Step 4. Arcane Shot.

Does BRK need to say anything? Is anybody not using Arcane Shot? We didn’t think so.

Step 5. Multi Shot.

Never forget your Multi Shot, especially you Marksman who have talent points spent in improving its damage and crit. Yes, you can get into a lot of trouble with Multi Shot and crowd-controlled mobs, but the solution isn’t to ignore Multi Shot; the solution is to master it and know how to fire so that you don’t hit CC’d mobs. That smells suspiciously like another blog post, doesn’t it?

Step 6. Watch Your Cooldowns.

When your cooldown on Arcane and Multi Shot are ready, fire em again. BRK loves the Cooldown Timers addon that puts a nice graphical bar and countdown clock for each spell so I can see at a glance which spells are not cooled-down, and how long it will be until they are. BRK Growl of Approval for Cooldown Timers.

Step 7. Watch Your Sting.

Watch it and reapply it when necessary. You should develop an inner-clock that tells you it is about to run its course. Some hunters use an addon that tracks the debuff length, BRK doesn’t; he’s got the mojo working and knows when to reapply Serpent Sting just as it wears off.

Step 8. Prevent Adds.

If the mob starts to run away and possibly aggro another mob, use Concussive Shot and/or Intimidation. Don’t blow these two spells any earlier as you can use them to prevent adds if a mob tries to flee.

And frankly, that’s it, folks. Steady Shot, Kill Command, Aimed Shot, and everything else is a matter of taste and preference. BRK likes Kill Command as it generates extra aggro for Hobbes, others prefer Steady Shot as it will crit nicely if you are spec’d properly.

Remember not to pop Steady or Aimed Shot as your first shot into a fight. Pulling aggro of your pet is Not Good. You have a pet for a reason, and that reason is so that you don’t have to melee.

And you know not to let BRK catch you meleeing. I’m not saying; I’m just saying.

The Diet Coke of Evil is out of the basement and back on WoW. We in Legendary are thrilled, and of course a little nervous, but that’s natural. If you’re on Madoran, say Hello to Ozma. She loves people… ok, she hates people, but she’s not reading this…