Recently I have been trying the Marksman build for pvp. I was marksman for a year before switching to survival a year ago. I have started to try it out again...to be honest, the inability to excel in arena is why. Survival hunter's in arena are gimped by their CC sharing the same depreciating returns. I have elaborated on this before, but it is the dumbest class design I have ever seen. To have a trap and a sleep share the same diminishing returns and then give a 41st point that refreshes their cooldowns? Wow...just wow.
Here are some keys I have noticed:
- Silence Shot is epic. I can really mess up a resto-druid or priest who has grown over-confident. I am always in a good mood when I get an aimed shot off; I know that person is likely doomed from that point on because of my ability to stop any decent heals. Another excellent use of Silence shot is right after a viper sting on anyone who can cleanse it. Usually the sting lasts it's full duration because after the 2s silence the stung target has to deal with...
- Improved Stings! These points are mandatory for pvp. 30% resistance to removal...yes please! Also, the 30% more damage and mana drained is just gravy.
- Attack power is crazy. In my Survival build I have 1515 RAP and 41% crit. In my Marksman Build I have 1840 RAP and 34% crit. Which is better? Hard to say, but my sustained Marksman damage is quite nice. These numbers are all in Viper by the way. It is debatable whether a Marksman or Survival hunter has better burst though.
Marksman vs Survival in PVP - two major differences
1) Silence Shot trumps Wyvern sting. Both hunters can trap effectively, but Wyvern sting is almost always a waste as it is broken by a teammate or your traps diminishing returns makes it a 4 second crowd control. Silence shot is repeatable every 20 seconds and you can use it with great results all the time. The shot is both reliable and an excellent utility. If you consider your burst as a Hunter, it is vital to be able to stop heals and Marksman can time the interrupt to be right where it causes the most pain.
2) Survival has better sustained burst. It is probably a great unknown that Survival can outburst a Marksman Hunter in arena. It is quite simply the 5-7% higher crit rating and getting to roll 2 rapid fires into every arena exchange or have an extra rapid fire every 5 minutes in battlegrounds. I would say that 65k damage in 30 seconds of battle is not out of the question for a survival hunter.
My 5v5 team last night features me as survival and another hunter as Marksman. When neither of us was under attack, I consistently out damaged him by 15-20k damage. Now, his silence shot may have been more vital, but you have to consider that 20k damage is nearly 2 kills worth of damage. Rapid fire when not under duress is amazing for destroying someone and makes getting the aimed shot debuff on a target so easy.
My current verdict is that I prefer Survival in 5v5 arena and battlegrounds. I can CC at my own discretion while still pumping out heavy damage. In 2v2 and 3v3 arena I prefer Marksman because I really need silence shot in those exchanges (and improved stings in many cases). Less important, but just as good to note, Survival is more fun! It is always an amazing moment to be standing in the field of strife with 4 or 5 people trying so hard to kill you as you are truly making their day feel like forever. Sleep, entrapment and deterrence, oh my!
