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Marksmanship Hunter: Mists of Pandaria Rotation Changes, Talents, and Glyphs (Patch 5.0.4)

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This article is no longer being updated. Please check our Marksmanship Hunter guide, which is fully compatible with Mists of Pandaria, and is being constantly updated. Thank you.

In preparation for the updates to our guides for Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.0.4, we are releasing articles such as this one, explaining what has changed for a particular class and spec, and what the new rotation is likely to be.

Keep in mind that this is still a work in progress (both from Blizzard's side and from our own) and that this article assumes you are at least somewhat familiar with the Cataclysm version of the Marksmanship Hunter rotation and playstyle (such as from reading our guide).

We will first list the most important changes to the Marksmanship Hunter Cataclysm abilities, and then we will proceed to explaining the (likely to be) optimal rotation. Keep in mind that we do not document every single change or new ability, only those that impact the rotation.

Finally, we will give you some information about the most useful talents and glyphs you should choose.

New Abilities

  • Tier 4 talents offer you a choice between ability_hunter_aspectoftheviper.jpgFervor and ability_hunter_readiness.jpgReadiness (and ability_hunter_thrillofthehunt.jpgThrill of the Hunt, but this is a passive talent). We currently believe that Fervor is the least attractice choice. Which of the other two is a larger DPS gain remains to be determined, but it is important to note that Readiness can also help you reset cooldowns of useful abilities such as ability_whirlwind.jpgDeterrence.
  • Tier 5 talents offer you a choice between ability_hunter_murderofcrows.jpgA Murder of Crows, ability_hunter_sickem.jpgDire Beast, and ability_hunter_catlikereflexes.jpgLynx Rush. At the moment, it seems that A Murder of Crows is the biggest DPS boost.
  • Tier 6 talents offer you a choice between ability_glaivetoss.jpgGlaive Toss, ability_hunter_resistanceisfutile.jpgPowershot, and ability_hunter_rapidregeneration.jpgBarrage. While each of these abilities seems designed for multiple target DPS, we would put forth that Barrage will prove to be the most useful in both single and multiple target situtions. This remains to be determined accurately, however.
  • ability_hunter_bestialdiscipline.jpgStampede is a burst DPS ability, that causes all your current pets (all 5 of them - the ones in your stable are not counted) to attack the target for 20 seconds. Due to its 5 minute cooldown, this spell is not affected by ability_hunter_readiness.jpgReadiness.

Changes to Existing Mechanics

  • Minimum range has now been removed from the game. You can shoot the target from any range.
  • ability_hunter_mastermarksman.jpgMaster Marksman now requires 3 stacks, down from 5, in order to make your next inv_spear_07.jpgAimed Shot instant cast and free of cost.
  • ability_hunter_assassinate2.jpgKill Shot's cooldown is reset if it does not kill the target. This effect can only happen once every 6 seconds. This used to be provided by a glyph, in Cataclysm.
  • ability_hunter_snipershot.jpgHunter's Mark now increases damage done to the target, by ranged attacks, by 5%. Previously, it used to increase the attack power of the ranged attackers against the target. Since the attack power increase was fixed, this change allows Hunter's Mark to scale with your gear.
  • spell_nature_ravenform.jpgAspect of the Hawk now increases attack power by 10%, instead of by a fixed value. This allows it to scale with your gear.
  • ability_hunter_improvedsteadyshot.jpgImproved Steady Shot has been changed slightly, and renamed to ability_hunter_improvedsteadyshot.jpgSteady Focus. The buff now lasts 10 seconds (up from 8) and also increases the amount of focus generated by ability_hunter_steadyshot.jpgSteady Shot by 3.
  • ability_hunter_steadyshot.jpgSteady Shot now generates 14 focus, up from 9.
  • ability_marksmanship.jpgBombardment now also increases the damage of the next ability_upgrademoonglaive.jpgMulti-Shot by 30%. It is no longer provided by a talent - instead, it is simply granted to you as a passive spell.

Removed Abilities

Rotation and Playstyle

The rotation for Marksmanship Hunters remains practically unchanged from its Cataclysm version. The only differences arise from the integration of the new abilities. However, since these abilities are on rather long cooldowns, their impact is minimised.Additionally, you should make sure that ability_hunter_snipershot.jpgHunter's Mark is always on the target.

ability_hunter_zenarchery.jpgCareful Aim remains unchanged. Therefore, the "Careful Aim Phase" rotation should still be maintained, just like in Cataclysm.

Cooldowns

This section assumes you have chosen ability_hunter_murderofcrows.jpgA Murder of Crows, ability_hunter_readiness.jpgReadiness, and ability_hunter_resistanceisfutile.jpgPowershot from your talents.
  • ability_hunter_runningshot.jpgRapid Fire remains your major DPS cooldown. You should make sure to use it as many times during the fight as possible. Ideally, it should be used when the boss is taking increased damage or when you need to do burst damage. It is also ideal to stack it with your potions or procs from other items or enchants.
  • ability_hunter_murderofcrows.jpgA Murder of Crows (in case you have chosen it as a talent) should also be used as many times as possible during a fight. You should ideally use it together with Rapid Fire, so that you can reset both their cooldowns with Readiness (see below).
  • ability_hunter_readiness.jpgReadiness (in case you have chosen it as a talent) should be used immediately after Rapid Fire and A Murder of Crows, in order to reset their cooldown and allow you to use them again.
  • ability_hunter_resistanceisfutile.jpgPowershot (in case you have chosen it as a talent) should be used on cooldown. Ideally, you should find a moment for this spell's long cast time when ability_hunter_chimerashot2.jpgChimera Shot is on cooldown. You should also attempt to use it after you use Rapid Fire and A Murder of Crows, so that you can reset its cooldown with Readiness as well.

Multiple Target Rotation

Against 2-3 enemies, you are best off performing a single target rotation. If it is imperative that the targets are AoE'd (though this will lower your DPS), you should spam ability_upgrademoonglaive.jpgMulti-Shot.

Against 4 or more enemies, you should spam ability_upgrademoonglaive.jpgMulti-Shot. In case the enemies are stationary and in a group, you should place an spell_fire_selfdestruct.jpgExplosive Trap under them.

ability_marksmanship.jpgBombardment still exists (though it now also increases the damage of the next Multi-Shot by 30%), and this is what makes Multi-Shot viable as an AoE spell.

Talents

Tier 1 talents offer you a choice between several movement-enhancing abilities:Narrow Escape seems tailored for PvP use. Thus, in PvE, the choice will almost surely be made between Posthaste and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Chimera. Which of these you choose will depend on the requirements of the encounter, but we currently see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Chimera as being best.

Tier 2 talents offer a choice between ability_theblackarrow.jpgSilencing Shot, inv_spear_02.jpgWyvern Sting, and spell_shaman_bindelemental.jpgBinding Shot. Which one you pick will depend on the encounter, but for raiders, it seems that Silencing Shot will have the most use.

Tier 3 is centered around survival and self-healing. Your options are:

For progression PvE raiding, it would seem that Spirit Bond is at a slight disadvantage. The choice between a powerful, active self-heal and passive damage reduction will probably be determined by the encounter mechanics.

We have discussed Tier 4, 5, and 6 talents at the start of the article.

Glyphs

The only glyph which can play any part in your DPS performance is ability_hunter_assassinate.jpgGlyph of Marked for Death. This causes your ability_impalingbolt.jpgArcane Shot and ability_hunter_chimerashot2.jpgChimera Shot to automatically apply ability_hunter_snipershot.jpgHunter's Mark to the target. This will save you a global cooldown at the start of the fight, and it will also save you from having to refresh the buff during the fight.

Of the other glyphs, these can help improve your survivability and they will probably be mandatory for raiders:

Finally, ability_rogue_feint.jpgGlyph of Disengage may prove very useful on some encounters.

This concludes our Marksmanship Hunter preview for Mists of Pandaria. We hope you have enjoyed reading it and that it proved useful to you. As always, we are looking forward to reading your opinions on the matter!

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Just from your first glances Vlad do you think SV or MM will be the most viable spec for PvE hunters? Sorry to ask the question so early haha!

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Just from your first glances Vlad do you think SV or MM will be the most viable spec for PvE hunters? Sorry to ask the question so early haha!

You totally didn't have time to read this before posting!

But anyway, it's hard to tell. I think Survival is in a pretty good place. One of the reasons Marksmanship has a good reputation of being high DPS is because:

  • During late WotLK, it benefited greatly from Armor Penetration, which is now gone;
  • During the first part of Cataclysm, Careful Aim was active for the first 20% of the mobs' health. The 10% it's active for now is just less impactful.
I wouldn't count out BM. It's looking pretty good to me right now - stay tuned for the preview for that spec over the next few days!
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You totally didn't have time to read this before posting!

But anyway, it's hard to tell. I think Survival is in a pretty good place. One of the reasons Marksmanship has a good reputation of being high DPS is because:

  • During late WotLK, it benefited greatly from Armor Penetration, which is now gone;
  • During the first part of Cataclysm, Careful Aim was active for the first 20% of the mobs' health. The 10% it's active for now is just less impactful.
I wouldn't count out BM. It's looking pretty good to me right now - stay tuned for the preview for that spec over the next few days!

Haha as soon as I told my guildies it was up they wanted to know, I dont read hunter stuff :P! Majority of my friends and guildies have naturally preferred SV just because they saw it as an easier rotation. Without many changes I think they will stick to SV. Will get them all to try out both specs though :D

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I prefer MM in general, I will only change if the DPS is conserably higher on Surv.

I approve of marked for death being a glyph... I don't waste any tallents on it, as I don't think it takes time to refresh a mark durning a fight, generally only need to do this once and I'd rather have the point free for something else. So it's better as a glyph as you are not losing much of anything by deciding to chose it.

I'd like to put forward that narrow esape may be useful during some boss fights for CC - for example in current content you could run up and hit the oozes in chogall or the little spiders in beth - then pop backwards to safety and nuke from where the rest of the raid is stacked. Drop a couple of slowing traps between yourselfs and the adds from where they are rooted to slow them once they become unrooted. So I think it may end up being more useful than it first looks in certian senarios.

Barrage looks like it could pull things from all over... YAS! Our ninja pulling abilities were hampered severly when they 'fied' multi-shot. Shooting randomly in front of you just sounds like a really really good plan. Nay joy tanks...

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I prefer MM in general, I will only change if the DPS is conserably higher on Surv.

I approve of marked for death being a glyph... I don't waste any tallents on it, as I don't think it takes time to refresh a mark durning a fight, generally only need to do this once and I'd rather have the point free for something else. So it's better as a glyph as you are not losing much of anything by deciding to chose it.

I'd like to put forward that narrow esape may be useful during some boss fights for CC - for example in current content you could run up and hit the oozes in chogall or the little spiders in beth - then pop backwards to safety and nuke from where the rest of the raid is stacked. Drop a couple of slowing traps between yourselfs and the adds from where they are rooted to slow them once they become unrooted. So I think it may end up being more useful than it first looks in certian senarios.

Barrage looks like it could pull things from all over... YAS! Our ninja pulling abilities were hampered severly when they 'fied' multi-shot. Shooting randomly in front of you just sounds like a really really good plan. Nay joy tanks...

Well, not to disagree with you (except that that's just what I'm doing :P), but I think the ability_hunter_assassinate.jpgGlyph of Marked for Death is mandatory for any raiding hunter. It is THE only glyph that will actually improve your performance. You still have two other glyph spots for other survival glyphs.

You say it "takes no time at all", but that's not actually true. It takes precisely one global cooldown if the fight lasts more than 5 minutes and 2 global cooldowns if it lasts more than 10 minutes. This isn't counting any additional global cooldowns you are using to apply it to various adds that you may have to attack. The alternative is losing 5% damage done on the adds because you didn't apply it.

The only time taking this glyph is not needed, in my opinion, is when there are at least 2 Hunters in the raid. In that case, it's enough if one takes the glyph.

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No I think you misundersand me, I meant that a glyph is better than a talent in terms of where the ability(?) is located. Ie if it was a talent in the new system you would need to choose between that and two other moves, where as because it is a glyph you are not 'losing out' on something else.

In current content I have another hunter in my group who has specced into MfD so therefor there is no point in me doing it as well. I don't think anyone would not apply hunters mark, that would just be silly. Yes in a fight with lots of adds it would be bad not to have someone with that in the group however on a boss with lots of adds I'd go surv instead of MM because the dps is difference is just far too great, rendering the point moot. On a single target boss I don't think that one global cool down against the added haste bonus is a massive loss, I don't think many of the single target bosses in ds last more than 5 mins. Also depends when you time it during the fight.

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No I think you misundersand me, I meant that a glyph is better than a talent in terms of where the ability(?) is located. Ie if it was a talent in the new system you would need to choose between that and two other moves, where as because it is a glyph you are not 'losing out' on something else.

In current content I have another hunter in my group who has specced into MfD so therefor there is no point in me doing it as well. I don't think anyone would not apply hunters mark, that would just be silly. Yes in a fight with lots of adds it would be bad not to have someone with that in the group however on a boss with lots of adds I'd go surv instead of MM because the dps is difference is just far too great, rendering the point moot. On a single target boss I don't think that one global cool down against the added haste bonus is a massive loss, I don't think many of the single target bosses in ds last more than 5 mins. Also depends when you time it during the fight.

Ok, fair enough about your point regarding it being a glyph and not a talent.

It's not just a question of "AoE" fights. Think of a fight like Madness. It's a very long fight with a lot of target switching, yet there's nothing in it to make you automatically prefer Survival.

So, on Madness, you need to apply a Hunter's Mark to:

  • Every Arm/Wing Tentacle (4 global cooldowns gone there, although we can reduce that to 1, if we assume you somehow manage to apply Hunter's Mark to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th tentacles while you are still traveling to them and you're out of attack range).
  • Every Mutated Corruption. Here, it's absolutely a wasted global cooldown to do it.
  • Every Elementium Bolt. Due to the urgency with which that add must die, you won't have time to apply it manually, anyway, without increasing the time it takes to kill the mob greatly.
  • Elementium Terror(s), Deathwing's head at the end.
Now, keep in mind that, since you can only have Hunter's Mark up on one target at one time, you will have to apply it to the Arm Tentacle, then to the Mutated Corruption, then on the Arm Tentacle again when you switch back to it. Same for the Elementium Terrors.

The same can be said for Yor'sahj, Hagara, Blackhorn and Spine of Deathwing (using a global cooldown to put Hunter's Mark on the Tendon is kind of a waste, when you can have it done automatically).

Fights like Morchok, Zon'ozz (normal only) and Ultraxion are the only ones where I'd say the glyph has no use.

I agree that on some fights, it's possible to "time it" in such a way that your DPS loss is minimal (i.e., do it while you are moving). For example, I used to refresh my Hunter's Mark on heroic Chimaeron when I was affected by the debuff that reduced my chance to hit. But not every encounter has these types of opportunities, and in any case it adds a layer of difficulty.

Also, what does it have to do with haste? :)

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On DW the I would take the first arm out of the equation as you can pop it mid flight as it has a longer range than any of your other shots so you don't lose anything to do that. Corruption you can pop it on it whilst you get your MD sorted I guess, but fair enough I'd say you miss a global cool down for that and then back to the arm.

Yor is defo an aoe fight (well depending on your luck) so I go surv for that and general notice a big dps difference on this.

Hagara I totally disagree. I would say that you can refresh your mark at the end of each phase before you can target the boss with a damaging spell.

I feel that in the gunship first phase it is more about balancing movement and dps than pure pewpew, so I although marked for death may provide a notable difference in this fight I don't think it is crutial to my groups success.

We don't do spine on HC yet and on normal it's only a dps race on the tendons, but again I have another hunter who has the tallent plus with low health it goes down very quickly and it's not essential for a kill for my group on this fight.

I'd replace 'difficulty' with 'challange' - nice to be able to get to know a fight and develop your perfomance in these kind of areas.

Haste has everything to do with it... since that's what I put the extra tallent point in.

To be fair at the end of the day I had this specced into (one point), took it out and put it into a different tallent then saw a noted dps increase. It may not be right for everyone but it suits my playstyle.

NB on your own guide it is recommended but not essential... Just sayin! :P

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      Call of the Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice. I prefer Totemic Persistence with CBT because it gives you the flexibility to use other Water Totems without ruining your CBT timings.
      You can use Call of Elements in this fight too but there is no specific advantage to it. CoE is very good when you have to use a utility Totem twice in a row due to fight mechanics (Tremor, Windwalk, Capacitor, etc.) or when the overall damage is so high, that even one more HST could help. There’s nothing like this on Kargath.
       
      Tier 4:
      Elemental Mastery: we don’t need additional CDs for this fight.
      Ancestral Swiftness: no real need for additional Haste or instant casts.
      Echo of the Elements: I would say that this is our talent of choice on Kargath. A chance for additional Riptides or an Unleash Life without CD definitely increases our healing output.
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams. No reason for Conductivity - the raid is never stacked.
       
      Tier 6:
      Unleashed Fury: your choice if you are aiming for single target healing in this fight. Not valuable if you chose High Tide in Tier 7.
      Primal Elementalist: An acceptable choice. There is nothing to heal for most of the fight, so you could use elementals for DPS!
      Elemental Blast: I can’t see any reason for having mana issues in this fight, so I wouldn’t take this talent.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst Totem: This is my preferred Talent for this fight. Damage on the Raid is low, so it feels better to single target heal while CBT will redistribute our healing to the raid.
      High Tide: The only reason to take this talent on Kargath, in my opinion, is when you are assigned to go upstairs. It’s problematic enough to time CBT there, people are running all over the place, so it might be easier to Riptide the group and Chain Heal them.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING STREAM TOTEM
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      GLYPH OF SPIRITWALKER’S FOCUS (you can take something else instead but I don’t see anything really useful)
       
       
      THE BUTCHER (top)
       
      This is the fight with very high raid damage in both Normal and Heroic versions, especially for soaking groups.
      My guild uses a very specific tactic for this boss:
      We have two healers for 2 soaking groups (5+5 people) - myself (Restoration Shaman) and Disc Priest. Our Restoration Druid stays on the raid full time while our Holy Paladin prioritizes the Tanks. Sub-30%, our Healers come into the soaking groups to help minimise the damage, 2 healers in each group.
       
      TALENTS:
       
      Tier 1: I take Nature’s Guardian for accidental (or not accidental Sub-30%) Cleave damage.
       
      Tier 2: Doesn’t matter
       
      Tier 3:
      Call of Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice.
      I prefer High Tide for The Butcher. According to my assignment, I will have at least 5 heavily injured people during the entire fight. It’s clearly worth the constant use of Chain Heal.
      So Call of Elements is my choice here. The overall damage is very high, so even one more HST could help.
       
      Tier 4:
      Elemental Mastery: I wouldn’t take it. The other two talents are much more useful.
      Ancestral Swiftness: If you like to cast faster and to have an ‘oh, shit’ instant cast once every 90 seconds, this is a good choice.
      Echo of the Elements: A chance for additional Riptides or an Unleash Life without CD definitely increases our healing output. Remember that Unleashed Life empowers Chain Heal too so you can benefit from EotE when taking the High Tide talent.
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams or Conductivity.
      I prefer Rushing Streams but if you are good in handling Conductivity full time on melee - why not?
      You can find the WeakAura for tracking HR with Conductivity talent in our WA thread.
       
      Tier 6:
      Elemental Blast: I would say that this is our talent of choice for the Butcher. The fight is very intense and we’ll need every possible bit of mana.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst Totem: you can choose this it if you prefer single target healing. If you are using spells wisely, CBT will nicely redistribute your healing to all the injured people.
      High Tide: This is a very good talent for this fight. You will always have a lot of injured people and the power of High Tide will be fully utilized.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      GLYPH OF SPIRITWALKER’S FOCUS (for knockbacks)
      Other possibilities:
      GLYPH OF FLAME SHOCK (a bit more of passive self healing)
      GLYPH OF RIPTIDE - if you don’t have a Resto Druid in the raid, it can be a possibility. If you can’t manage your High Tide CH targets without blanketing the raid, it’s a possibility too. But frankly, the amount of Riptides you'll have with the EotE talent should be enough to fully utilize High Tide.
       
       
      TECTUS (top)
       
      This is a fight with very intense movement for the entire raid, including healers.
      The tactic that my guild uses for this boss involves the whole raid spreading out in a big circle around the boss, no stacking.
      We have the assignments for raid healing CDs during Tectonic Upheaval for every Healer too.
       
      TALENTS:
       
      Tier 1: Nature’s Guardian for accidental ‘standing in crap’ damage or Astral Shift for Tectonic Upheavals.
       
      Tier 2: Doesn’t matter
       
      Tier 3: Call of Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice.
      Many people prefer CBT for this fight because of constant movement and obstacles that cause loss of LoS for direct target heals.
      Call of Elements can be a good choice too. One more HST in the moments when you have to run from Crystalline Barrage or around Earthen Pillar could definitely help.
       
      Tier 4:
      Elemental Mastery: You can take it if feeling like one more CD is needed but it will burn your mana really fast.
      Ancestral Swiftness: If you like to cast faster and to have an ‘oh, shit’ instant cast once every 90 seconds, this is a good choice.
      Echo of the Elements: A chance for additional Riptides or an Unleash Life without CD definitely increases our healing output. Remember that Unleashed Life empowers Chain Heal too so you can benefit from EotE when taking the High Tide talent.
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams is the only choice here really.
       
      Tier 6:
      Unleashed Fury or Elemental Blast.
      If you are able to cast a lot and burn your mana quickly or if you took Glyph of Riptide for this fight, then take Elemental Blast.
      If you prefer single target spells and CBT, take Unleashed Fury - 50% increased heal is really good - you can cast less and pay more attention to your movement.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst Totem: you can choose this it if you prefer single target healing. CBT will also nicely redistribute your healing to all injured people when you’re moving around!
      High Tide: good talent for people who are good in positioning or with Glyph of Riptide. You will have a lot of injured people in this fight and the power of High Tide will be fully utilized.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING STREAM TOTEM
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      GLYPH OF SPIRITWALKER’S FOCUS (so much movement)
      Other possibilities:
      GLYPH OF FLAME SHOCK (a bit more of passive self healing)
      GLYPH OF RIPTIDE - if you don’t have a resto druid in raid, it’s a possibility. If you are not very good in finding safe spots and move a lot, it’s a possibility too.
       
       
      BRACKENSPORE (top)
       
      By the tactic my guild uses for this boss, we have assignment for every healer. On Heroic progression you will need two healers assigned to heal mushrooms (one healer in Normal).
      I have to say that a resto shaman with Cloudburst totem assigned to Mushrooms can do miracles ^^. I was able to pull 11% of total healing from CBT on this fight.
       
      TALENTS:
       
      Tier 1: Nature’s Guardian for accidental ‘caught in crap’ damage or Astral Shift for Infesting Spores.
       
      Tier 2: doesn’t matter
       
      Tier 3: Call of Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice.
      Call of Elements can be a choice too. One more HST on Infesting Spores - why not?
       
      Tier 4:
      Elemental Mastery: no need really and it burns your mana too quick.
      Ancestral Swiftness: if you like to cast faster and to have ‘oh, shit’ instant cast once in 90 sec. - it’s your choice.
      Echo of the Elements: I like it on this fight. More UL for mushrooms!
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams talent would be the best choice here really. Conductivity is very arguable, imo. While there are periods when all the raid is stacked on mushroom, I’m not sure that this time is long enough for using this talent.
       
      Tier 6:
      Unleashed Fury or Elemental Blast.
      I would take Unleashed Fury, especially if assigned to mushrooms. 50% increased single heal is really valuable here. If you are healing the raid, Elemental Blast could be your choice too, but frankly, you can refill the mana from blue mushroom.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst totem: best choice for healing mushrooms. CBT will nicely redistribute your healing on mushroom to the raid.
      High Tide: good talent if you are healing the raid.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING STREAM TOTEM
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      Other possibilities:
      GLYPH OF FLAME SHOCK (a bit more of passive self healing)
      GLYPH OF RIPTIDE - if you don’t have a resto druid in raid, it’s a possibility, but remember that it’s weak and burns your mana fast.
       
       
      TWIN OGRON (top)
       
      This is the fight with intensive movement for all the raid, including healers.
      By the tactic my guild uses for this boss, the ranged dps and healers are mostly stacked together and move together, except of moving of fire and Pulverize.
      It would be nice if your hunters will cast Aspect of the Fox, so you could cast when moving from the fire.
       
      TALENTS:
       
      Tier 1: I would advice Nature’s Guardian here, especially if you are not very good in moving out of fire.
       
      Tier 2: doesn’t matter
       
      Tier 3: Call of Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice.
      Many people prefer CBT for this fight because of movement it demands.
      Call of Elements can be a good choice too. One more HST for fire times or Pulverize could definitely help.
       
      Tier 4:
      Ancestral Swiftness: don’t think that more Haste could be very useful in this fight.
      Echo of the Elements: A chance for additional Riptide or Unleash Life without CD definitely increase our healing output. Remember that Unleashed Life empowers Chain Heal too, so you can benefit from EotE when taking High Tide talent.
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams talent is the only choice here really. I don't think that there is enough time of stacking in one spot to benefit from Conductivity.
       
      Tier 6:
      Unleashed Fury or Elemental Blast.
      I would advice on Elemental Blast, this fight is way mana intensive and has more raid-wide than single damage.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst totem: chose it if you move a lot. CBT will nicely redistribute your healing to all the injured people in the time when you are moving around.
      High Tide: good talent for people who are good in positioning themselves. You will have a lot of injured people in this fight and the power of High Tide will be fully utilized.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING STREAM TOTEM
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      GLYPH OF SPIRITWALKER’S FOCUS (so much movement)
      Other possibilities:
      GLYPH OF FLAME SHOCK (a bit more of passive self healing)
      GLYPH OF RIPTIDE - if you don’t have a resto druid in raid, it’s a possibility. If you are not very good in finding safe spots and move a lot, it’s a possibility too, but remember that it burns your mana!
       
       
      KO’RAGH (top)
       
      This is the fight with a high damage from both the boss mechanics and not paying attention.
      One of the fights where you should use shaman utilities.
      Remember that there are two main healing strategies for this encounter regarding dealing with Expel Magic: Frost: you can heal through it or move away if you don’t have enough HPS throughput.
       
      TALENTS:
       
      Tier 1:
      Nature’s Guardian, if you are not very good in moving out of things.
      Astral Shift if you are able not to forget to use it on Expel Magic: Frost or Expel Magic: Fire.
       
      Tier 2: Windwalk totem! Use it to help the raid to get away from Frost Orbs.
       
      Tier 3: Call of Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice.
      Call of Elements can be a good choice too to reset the cooldown of Windwalk totem. Especially if you don’t have druids for Stampeding Roar.
       
      Tier 4:
      Ancestral Swiftness: not sure that more Haste will really shine in this fight, but it worth a shot if you like it.
      Echo of the Elements: A chance for additional Riptide or Unleash Life without CD definitely increase our healing output. Remember that Unleashed Life empowers Chain Heal too, so you can benefit from EotE when taking High Tide talent.
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams talent is the only choice here really. Not enough time stacking in one spot to benefit from Conductivity.
       
      Tier 6:
      Unleashed Fury or Elemental Blast.
      I would advice on Elemental Blast, this fight is way mana intensive and has more raid-wide than single person damage.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst totem: chose it if you like it.
      High Tide: just the same.
      Both talents are valuable for this fight.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING STREAM TOTEM
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      GLYPH OF PURIFY SPIRIT (Purify Spirit has 2 charges now. Useful for Expel magic: Fire dispels)
      Other possibilities:
      GLYPH OF SPIRITWALKER’S FOCUS
      GLYPH OF FLAME SHOCK (a bit more of passive self healing)
      GLYPH OF RIPTIDE - if you don’t have a resto druid in raid, it’s a possibility, but remember that it burns your mana and cuts healing output of Riptide!
       
       
      IMPERATOR MAR’GOK (top)
       
      This is a very long fight with a high damage from both the boss mechanics and not paying attention. There are many boss abilities that will do a raid-wide damage if people handle them in wrong way.
       
      TALENTS:
       
      Tier 1: I would recommend Astral Shift here. Use it on Force Novas or when you are Fixated.
      You can take Nature’s Guardian too, but there’s enough raid damage, so I think it’s better to mitigate.
       
      Tier 2: You can use Windwalk Totem on Slow debuff, but I think that it’s better to just dispel it.
       
      Tier 3:
      Call of Elements or Totemic Persistence.
      If you are aiming for Cloudburst Totem in Tier 7, Totemic Persistence could be your choice.
      Call of Elements can be good for another HST too. It is a long fight, so you’ll be able to use it at least 3-4 times.
       
      Tier 4:
      Ancestral Swiftness or Echo of the Elements: both talents are valuable for this fight. Chose what you are more comfortable with.
       
      Tier 5:
      Rushing Streams talent would be the best choice here. Not enough time stacking in one spot to benefit from Conductivity.
       
      Tier 6:
      Elemental Blast.
      The encounter is more than 10 min. long. You will definitely run out of mana without this talent.
       
      Tier 7:
      Cloudburst totem or High Tide: both talents are valuable for this fight. Chose what you are more comfortable with.
       
      MAJOR GLYPHS:
       
      GLYPH OF HEALING WAVE
      GLYPH OF SPIRITWALKER’S FOCUS
      Other possibilities:
      GLYPH OF FLAME SHOCK (a bit more of passive self healing)
      GLYPH OF RIPTIDE - if you don’t have a resto druid in raid, it’s a possibility, but remember that it burns your mana and cuts you healing output of Riptide!
      (top)
    • By tarokor
      Recently looked at starting to tank with my pally again and was looking through your site regarding tanking. On the Paladin protection page one of the Major glyphs you recommend is shield of the righteous however unless i am going blind it is no longer available as a glyph. Was it renamed or removed and if renamed what is it now called.
      Cheers guys
      ps:- apologies if i am blind, have searched the majors 3 times thou and cannot find it lol
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