Hunter Growl and Scare Beast changes not so sweet after all
One of the biggest surprises Hunters found when they logged on after this morning's patch was that all was not as it was supposed to be. Although the tool tip for Scare Beast reads as instant cast, the old 1.5 second cast time is still intact. Netheara confirmed that the reversion of the cast time was, in fact, intentional. It was considered too strong and reverted, although the 30 yard range buff is still intact. The instant cast designation in the tool tip is an error that will be fixed.
It's certainly is not what many Hunters were hoping for, but many Druids are breathing a sigh of relief. Scare Beast should still be slightly more of a threat, as it should allow for a bit more of a preemptive strike against approaching Druids because of the range, and should give them more time to get it off against a fleeing Druid or Shaman. However, the intact 1.5 cast time also means it can be interrupted, or that the druid can quickly shift out of form just before it finishes to avoid being feared. Whether the 30 yard change alone is enough to make it a more useful tool in the Hunter's PvP arsenal remains to be seen.
In others news, despite Hortus' repeated insistence that Growl was working as intended, Many Hunters are still reporting that it seems firmly tied to Pet AP instead of Hunter AP. We've reported on this problem before, but now that it's on live servers, the conclusion is the same. Mania reports that she's used proven testing methods on the live servers and concluded that the Pet AP scaling is still intact, with the only real change being the nerf to the Boar Charge and Growl combo.
She's reported this on the bug forums. Hortus' latest reply is that there is a bug that allows Growl to scale with certain pet buffs, and that it will be fixed in a future patch. It's difficult to say whether Mania and other Hunters are using faulty assumptions or testing methods, or if Hortus himself is missing something. I tend to side with Mania and the others, but for now, it looks like Hunters will have to believe what they want to believe, and little will change. Maybe more testing in a future PTR patch where these "bug fixes" are implemented will shine a light on what's going on.
