MMORPG.com World of Warcraft Correspondent Robert Duckworth writes this article on the usefulness of the Hunter class in a raid after the launch of Wrath of the Lich King

Hunters in a raid setting are considered to be pure DPS with very minor utility. The only real utility a hunter brings to a raid is the Misdirection ability for pulling, as everything else can be made up from another class. Misdirection is more of a tool for assistance then a necessity, it's not like before it was introduced in TBC nobody could raid anything in WoW. Nothing is really changing in WotLK, hunters will still be brought to a raid in order to do one thing: DPS.

Read The Hunter in a Post-WotLK Raid 

Hmmm, interesting but I think only an opinion. I found MM to be a very valid raid spec in TBC and it was actually prefered by my guild over BM. But I do feeel that BM will be the new best raid spec. And after looking over the new talents I do not see any reason for a hunter to go SV.

Originally posted by valaria

Hmmm, interesting but I think only an opinion. I found MM to be a very valid raid spec in TBC and it was actually prefered by my guild over BM. But I do feeel that BM will be the new best raid spec. And after looking over the new talents I do not see any reason for a hunter to go SV.

Since the "raid" spec for all end game content for hunters was BM. Survival hunters did less dps but increased the dps of a raid. Marksman were kind of laughed at. Will be interesting to see what is brought to the table in the new expansion in the way of end game content though.

Originally posted by valaria

Hmmm, interesting but I think only an opinion. I found MM to be a very valid raid spec in TBC and it was actually prefered by my guild over BM. But I do feeel that BM will be the new best raid spec. And after looking over the new talents I do not see any reason for a hunter to go SV.

MM damage in BC raiding was laughable in comparison to BM in the same way that BM was laughable in comparison to MM in original WoW.

Misdirection is alot more valued by intelligent raid leaders than you think.  Rogues now have a somewhat similar ability, but its nothing compared to how easy some fights can be made with a hunter misdirecting. 

In my guild we usually try and bring at least 2 or 3 hunters (vs 1 or 2 locks and 2 mages), because they do amazing (and safe and foolproof) dps, virtually never pull threat, and misdirect simplifies so many difficult pulls.  Also having a pet is another factor i dont think you include.  Alot of bosses with a random target mechanic are made easier with a pet sometimes taking the blow.  I know blizz has restricted alot of abilities from hitting a pet, but alot still exist.

Originally posted by valaria

Hmmm, interesting but I think only an opinion. I found MM to be a very valid raid spec in TBC and it was actually prefered by my guild over BM. But I do feeel that BM will be the new best raid spec. And after looking over the new talents I do not see any reason for a hunter to go SV.

MM was the raiding spec in vanilla wow.  BM was definitetly the spec for tbc.  While some guilds allowed  MM hunters, BM was the top hunter spd spec, and also the top dps class in the game.

Blizzard will not be satisfied until hunters have one button, "play hunter", that they can press and everything within 200 yards dies.

Originally posted by saturn1234

Misdirection is alot more valued by intelligent raid leaders than you think.  Rogues now have a somewhat similar ability, but its nothing compared to how easy some fights can be made with a hunter misdirecting. 

In my guild we usually try and bring at least 2 or 3 hunters (vs 1 or 2 locks and 2 mages), because they do amazing (and safe and foolproof) dps, virtually never pull threat, and misdirect simplifies so many difficult pulls.  Also having a pet is another factor i dont think you include.  Alot of bosses with a random target mechanic are made easier with a pet sometimes taking the blow.  I know blizz has restricted alot of abilities from hitting a pet, but alot still exist.

 

The point is with misdirection, you do not require it. Sure it makes some pulls easily, but it isn't required. There are some fights, like before mag was nerfed where you required 4+ locks in order to even try the boss. Or other fights that required banishes or so many sheeps. The only thing that it brought was a little damage boost on bosses that had a threat kill.

Also, i can't think of a single boss that targets pets anymore. The only time a pet has difficulty is when the boss has just plain old splash damage, it can be difficult to control the pet. 

But asuming you are a decent hunter, marks was horrible. I think the only place i saw it was in arena. Low end area did BM, but i think upper arena did MM.

As for the review, i think he did well at summing it up. I am interested in how it will turn out but it makes me sad that SV hunters aren't powerful like they should be. The exotic pet buff would be nice too, although i would prefer maybe just having an extra teir of talents that only BM hunters can acess or make exotic pets have special trees that only ones with that talent can get into. 

Well, we shall see how this plays out, and hopefully blizzard can balance the game before hunters are just considered gimped.