Be Selfish and Teach Someone
“Dear BRK, last night I was exploring the western coast of the Hinterlands when a level 49 Dwarf hunter logs in and appears before me. I kindly /salute and start to go back when he whispers me to wait. He then calls his pet - a nice level 48 Rotting Agam’ar from RFK - the same I have and totally LOVE. We smile and /pat each other’s Boar then he asks me when his pet is going to learn next rank of Bite.
“I kindly suggest to skip Bite and train Gore instead, and he says that his trainer does not teach it. At that point I understand that this poor hunter did not know AT ALL that you have to tame beasts to learn new skills. The guy is shocked and begins to ask me a million things about pets, skills, areas and so on; I tell him about Petopia.
“Next I inspect him and notice some +Str and +Spi items, and even some +Spell Damage cloth here and there. No no. Goto to the Auction House, check for “of the monkey” items, then balance some Intellect and since you’re BM specced, google “BigRedKitty” and do it immediately. Finally I tell him about missing Gore and Charge, I send him to tame an Ashmane Boar to get the new ranks and /bye.
“Next day he whispers me, he is very happy. He shows me some blue items he got at the AH ,(every one with the right stats), proudly tells me that his boar has now learned Charge and Gore at the appropriate rank, (ironically, MY boar is still 47 and can’t learn them yet), and that when he got to level 50 he went to Arathi Basin to test The Beast Within and he managed to top the damage chart. He said, “And all of this because of you, Master Levesk!”.
“Of course I thanked him and tell him that I’m no “Master”, I just read A LOT and that the ZOMG-huntardN00b in me may come out anytime and put me to shame. One day to learn, one lifetime to master, you know.
“In the next days I am going to take him to Refuge Point to introduce him to kiting, jump shotting, and chain trapping. Later on we will discuss mana and threat-management when I’ll take him to solo some instance, (maybe Uldaman).
“It made me feel good to help this nice guy. I have made a virtual friend for a long time and I could preach the “BRK approved Hunter Mantra”: balance your gear, take care of your pet, practice chain trapping, and always top the DamageMeters providing sustained, ranged DPS. Much of this I learned from you, so thanks BRK. Levesk.”
What we’d love for you to get from this story is just how much fun Levesk is having teaching the hunter skills he’s learned. When one finds an interested pupil, someone who is lost and foundering, you can give them some guidance and information that makes them a better player immediately and that’s spiffy.
But what will really make you smile is when that person gets that thirst for Knowledge and you know what they feel like because you’ve been there too, but this time you get to feed someone this information. You get to help them learn and grow and become a better player and do more damage and have more fun. And you get to feel great about how you’ve directly contributed to it. Nothing beats that feeling, not even getting a Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle.
Well, maybe getting Legacy to drop feels better, we’ll let you know if it ever happens.
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15 Responses to “Be Selfish and Teach Someone”
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you are the jesus christ of beastmaster hunters.
Then BRK came to them and said, “All authority in Outlands and in Azeroth has been given unto me. Therefore go and make disciples of all hunters, baptizing them in the name of animal husbandry and of gear balance and of sustained dps, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
- adapted from Matthew chapter 28, verses 18-20
DOOM! You know better than that! We’re going to have to crush a valium the size of a handball into his bedtime milk to get him and his ego to sleep tonight after that.
lol TJ
One aspect of teaching Hunters the better way to play is, that at my level 43, the level 70 hunters that are making a disgrace of our class just don’t like to listen to me when i try to help them out.
Cool Story. It’s rare to come across a fellow hunter interested in your point of view, and I’ve seen a few that could use a BRK lesson or three.
Gui and Cybermane
Wow, you published it
You’re right, BRK, it’s very funny, especially when you try to perform jumping shot and accidentally aggro 3 mobs
And yes, I could CLEARLY see the thirst for knowledge that at some point he developed: his questions changed from short and vague to very long and specific.
We still talk everyday. He is clearly very satisfied and happy, and of course it’s great when someone accepts your advices with curiosity, instead of filling the chat log with “L2P” argumentations.
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but shouldn’t the title of the blog article be “selfless” rather than “selfish”?
We like “selfish”. Do it because it feels good. Do it because you’ll get pleasure out of the experience.
Don’t think of teaching as an act of charity. Do it because it you want that happiness. Do it for yourself.
@ Levesk
Grats and good job. Not many will listen, but it’s nice when they do.
About a month ago, i tutored one of our hunters — the alt of a rogue — when we were in our 50’s in Azshara and questing together for a little while. He saw my pet doing so much better than his and it prompted him to ask me about what i was doing differently.
I still give him pointers now and then. He’s finally left the 59 BG bracket that he was sitting in to play AV (apparently, we win almost every game in that bracket on my realm, horde side). I explained about Steady Shot largely replacing the other shots in a dps rotation, now that he has it. It’s working out really well, and he seems to enjoy being a hunter more than being a rogue, although i think they both have an attraction.
I say “largely replacing” because i have tossed an Arcane Shot once in a while while i run if i’m trying to reposition myself. I’m sure everyone would.
Unfortunately, Blizzard doesn’t help new hunters to even get to learn playing the class! Beast Training being in the “General” tab on your spell book means it can SO easily not be used!
It’s not uncommon to see some hunters, even 30ish, that don’t even have GROWL on their pets because they forgot to check General tab for something that clearly belongs in the “Beast Mastery” tab…
Indeed, i’d say the hunter class is one of the classes that is less well-explained in-game than are others.
What BRK says is true. I had an apprentice on my server for a while, although sadly he hasn’t been around, lately.
I’ve always enjoyed helping people in the game, and will admit that it’s one of the main things that allows me to justify the amount of time spent in wow in my own mind, but I will also shamelessly admit that in the case of this one particular guy I was teaching, it was far more gratifying to my ego even than usual.
The other point of having a Padawan (Star Wars reference there) for a while is that it is a strong incentive to be a better Hunter yourself. You become a lot more vigilant of your own conduct as a Hunter when you’re taking them through instances, etc…because you have to be an example. Hence, the line between student and teacher actually becomes blurred; you both end up learning from each other, ideally.
Nice story, Levesk! :o)
//Cheers
Ulrika, SWE
Even I, the frequent arsonist on the Wowinsider forum must admit that you have turned what was a class that I characterized as an abyss for noobs and turned it into my main. I’ve played since launch, and my Hunter that I started around the Expansion launch is my highest level…
You’re like the Billy Graham of hunters, and I think you’re almost required reading for the class…
I’m almost sad you’re on another server, just because I can’t take classes at BRK University…
Levesk, you rock! If I had any BRK Cool Points, I’d give them to you. The game needs more players like you.
And I agree that learning to play a hunter well without using outside resources is darn near impossible.
-Elahnia & Deja
Bonechewer