Survival, Rifles, and Tanks…

As I’ve said before, I am a Hunter. Point and I kill. Mark and I trap. All I ask for is gear that befits my station, and a chance to prove my abilities. And in many cases, I get my fair share of the haul. But there are times – oh, are there times – where I see something I think is absolutely perfect for me, and it turns out to be something completely off-the-wall. As a case in point, I was recently sifting through rumor and images of weapons and armor that is always a part of the loot haul when we leave a successful raid, and I came across a fairly nice rife. In fact, it was better than fairly nice. I fell in love with it. The balance and length were elegant, the scope and target reticle were simple yet sophisticated, and the bayonet at the end was just this side of Light-awful. I wanted it. As it turns out, however, the Crossfire Carbine is, in fact, a rifle the benefits a Tank better than a Hunter. Now, I don’t begrudge a tank his right to gear. In fact, that’s more beneficial than anyone else getting gear, in my opinion. But, do they have to get the good looking rifles? And do the other ranged weapons have to look so . . . so . . . well, they don’t look like that carbine, I’ll tell you that!

Now that I got that off my chest, I suppose I feel a little better. I might not have the most attractive rifle in all of Azeroth, but I do have the sexiest skill-traits. I heard before that Survival Hunters are the new up and up when it comes to maximum damage, but I never quite believed it. I’ve always been partial to taming beasts and using their talents in tandem with my own. But, during our last raid, a fellow Hunter – Toga – beat out not only me but every damage dealer in the raid! My damage, while the best I’ve ever seen it, had been paltry and perhaps only half of Toga’s. Obviously, it was time to invest in a new spec. And so, I found myself facing a training dummy with a very distressed Rak’Shiri at my side. He was irate with me, but he still managed to do his part. But the numbers that training dummy calculated back to me! I literally doubled the damage I had been doing as a Beastmaster Hunter! This next raid, I’ll be better prepared.