Deterrence!

Ever wonder the best way to beat those pesky Warriors and rogues? How about a nice little combination of annoyance combined with shock.

If you have ever went 11 or so points into the Survival tree, then you likely have utilized the skill called "Deterrence" at some point. This is a skill that...well...provides you with all kinds of good times! In a nut shell, Deterrence is a skill that for 10 seconds grants you 25% dodge and 25% parry. If you are full survival, this should get you to at least 50% dodge and 30% parry or more!

If you see THIS, it is an excellent time to use deterrence!

In PVE
In PVE deterrence is an excellent tool to have at your disposal. When grinding solo, wouldn't it be nice to have an escape when you "accidentally" draw too many mobs and would prefer to not kill your loving pet? Simply take agro! Throw down the deterrence machine and continue to fight your pets target at range while avoiding almost every attack from the extra enemies. Bring your buddy back to take the targets back and then proceed to kill them knowing the 10 seconds you absorbed from your pet likely saved you down time and your pets frustration with your carelessness.

If you are trying an extra difficult elite mob or rare spawn, this is also a great way to save your pet and your chance of killing the mob. Let your pet start in, but dps down the mob hard and ignore the agro table, keep mend pet rolling during this burst. When you draw agro, drop a damaging trap (ice likely not possible) and start up the deterrence. Hold the mob while keeping mend pet rolling. This will provide a nice 10s recovery period where you continue to damage the target and they aren't demolishing your poor little buddy. Feign death and drop back and then tell all your friends what you can solo!This technique is especially geared towards a mob that cannot be crowd controlled and/or slowed; if they can be, simply use it in an emergency situation.

What about in raids, instances or heroics?! Well, I will tell you a nice story about a time I went and saw The Dragon killer. Well, we have him at 3% and the second tank died is the premise. Luckily (debatable) I was next on the agro list after both tanks. I decide to not feign and see if 2 dps and 4 healers can finish him with a hunter tank. I switch to monkey and let him come. I release deterrence and for 10s I take 1 hit for 8k but with 4 healers it is quickly absorbed and I live!! Gruul is at 1% when deterrence ends so I just stay in monkey and wait for a huge blow to pop my super healing potion. In the end, we killed the final 3% of Gruul with a hunter tank, mage and 4 healers.

Lets all be happy Atreyu had Deterrence popped at the most important moment!

So, know that as a hunter you can save groups on boss fights. Especially, if you have a resto druid! In 10s the druid can res the tank and full heal him and you can stand strong and prevent a whipe and possible long walk back (Coilfang anyone?). Just be smart and remember you have the skill. What do you do if a trap is resisted in instances? "Trap resist, need help!" or the more dreaded: "Trap resist, I had to feign" The latter being what is usually said after a whipe.

I will be honest...sometimes Deterrence won't help . . .

In this case, it will! If you have deterrence, you simply use it, and for 10s you can recover from a trap resist. Either you get your trap cooldown to finish or the tank has good time to react and you can hold until then. Basically you become a very reliable source of safe and what the group will see as near flawless crowd control. If your group doesn't compliment or say anything at all about your trapping, then you did it right! :)

In PVP - Battlegrounds

Every non-bm hunter has been there. "God, I hate rogues and warriors! How can they get so many ways to catch me!" I have been there many times. It is this fact that sometimes can make deterrence worth it if you are a pvp'r. In battlegrounds Deterrence is sometimes a real way to beat strong rogues and warriors. If you have any doubts, let me share a story with you...again.

One pleasant day I was taking a stroll in WSG as the flag carrier due to no stronger alternative. I get jumped mid-field by a pair of rogues. Now, this usually spells doom for a hunter, but I stayed patient and dropped a frost trap. Faced the rogues and fought. Deterrence and I am at 80% hp; pop Readiness, drop explosive trap and keep fighting. Second deterrence and I am now at 50% hp and the 1st rogue dead. Second rogue is alive at 30% hp. It is at this point that I see 2 more horde mounted coming my way. So, I sleep the rogue in a haste and make for my tunnel. I am met by a resto shaman and we proceed to score.

Imagine if Neo didn't learn Deterrence...we would all be batteries!

In that situation, it was the difference between a point or another dragging effort to score without a decent carrier. Try to watch for the right moments. It is not in your best interest to waste deterrence if you are fighting say, a warrior and he has 2 healers. Be selective and it will pull you out of tight situations. Focus, keep the target in front of you and watch the hp bar hold!

In Arena

Many battleground strategies are the same as the arena strategies. The glaring exception being you can easily plan when to use deterrence. In my opinion, you should save it for the moment of truth. The moment where you have used all cooldowns and all possible escapes and now you must stand and face that warrior. Drop that frost trap and raptor stike his head in. It is far more valuable to stand and fight (even if the damage is minimal) while your team can recover. Also, you may have a cooldown refresh in those 10 vital seconds!

If Gandalf had kept his enemy in front of him, he could have dodged that last attack and won that match . . .

Luckily he learned from this and used Deterrence properly in his final battle with the Big Red Demon.

In conclusion, try to practice using deterrence and keeping folks in front of you. Many warriors and rogues stuck in slowing traps will be blown away by you surviving and dodging like a mad man!