src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/70893">
***The data collected in this article pertains to an old version of World of Warcraft and is no longer up to date.***
Extinction
is the process of going out of use, or no longer existing. Extinction
may happen slowly over a long period of time, or suddenly, in some
cataclysmic event. This process has happened many times throughout
Earth’s long history and will continue to happen till the end
of time. If a species slowly starts to dwindle in numbers it will be
classified as either Vulnerable, Threatened, or Endangered up until the
point that that species no longer exists on the Earth and can be
declared extinct.
is the process of going out of use, or no longer existing. Extinction
may happen slowly over a long period of time, or suddenly, in some
cataclysmic event. This process has happened many times throughout
Earth’s long history and will continue to happen till the end
of time. If a species slowly starts to dwindle in numbers it will be
classified as either Vulnerable, Threatened, or Endangered up until the
point that that species no longer exists on the Earth and can be
declared extinct.
This
process of dwindling numbers, due to certain events can be seen on a
smaller scale in the World of Warcraft universe. No class will ever be
truly be extinct, as it is doubtful that Blizzard will ever remove a
class, making it possible for that class to gain new members at any
given time, and there will always be those dedicated few that will
continue to play a class despite all odds.
If you have played World of Warcraft from the start then you will have
observed first hand the decline and eventual rebirth of certain
classes. No class is immune, and while some classes spring instantly up
from the ruins, others have a tough time recovering their numbers. Now
queue up the cheesy music as we take a walk down memory lane.
The most memorable decline of a class in the not so distant past for
me, at least, was the druid. It may have something to do with the fact
my wife plays a druid, but I was always very aware of the lack of cats,
bears, or healing cows (eventually trees) running around. For months,
she would be the only druid in the raid, and I still recall
her complaints as she set about buffing an entire 40 man raid all by
herself. Ah, the good old days. However a few months, and a few changes
from Blizzard later Druids made a solid comeback, and are still going
strong today.
As with all things, the cycle continued and I watched as Shamans went
through the same process. At one point in my old guild, long before I
was writing for Ten Ton Hammer, we were stuck on Brutallus due to lack
of Shamans. It was a rough time, but like the Druids, the Shamans
popped back in full force. Now it appears my beloved hunter class is
the one pulling the vanishing act so quickly I can’t even
seem to recall when it started.
I wanted a better grasp on the extent of the problem, that is to see if
this was something that was just happening on my own personal server,
or if was something that was spreading to the very edges of the World
of Warcraft. I proceeded to randomly choose different guilds
across various servers (RP, PvP, PvE, etc) and
attempted to ask them questions regarding the status of their hunters.
After being ignored, finding no officers online, or finding that the
guild I was looking for no longer existed I finally found 5 guilds that
were very willing to lend me a hand. Presented in the table below are
some of my findings.
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Received (Monthly
Raiding Hunters
2
4
5
process of dwindling numbers, due to certain events can be seen on a
smaller scale in the World of Warcraft universe. No class will ever be
truly be extinct, as it is doubtful that Blizzard will ever remove a
class, making it possible for that class to gain new members at any
given time, and there will always be those dedicated few that will
continue to play a class despite all odds.
If you have played World of Warcraft from the start then you will have
observed first hand the decline and eventual rebirth of certain
classes. No class is immune, and while some classes spring instantly up
from the ruins, others have a tough time recovering their numbers. Now
queue up the cheesy music as we take a walk down memory lane.
The most memorable decline of a class in the not so distant past for
me, at least, was the druid. It may have something to do with the fact
my wife plays a druid, but I was always very aware of the lack of cats,
bears, or healing cows (eventually trees) running around. For months,
she would be the only druid in the raid, and I still recall
her complaints as she set about buffing an entire 40 man raid all by
herself. Ah, the good old days. However a few months, and a few changes
from Blizzard later Druids made a solid comeback, and are still going
strong today.
As with all things, the cycle continued and I watched as Shamans went
through the same process. At one point in my old guild, long before I
was writing for Ten Ton Hammer, we were stuck on Brutallus due to lack
of Shamans. It was a rough time, but like the Druids, the Shamans
popped back in full force. Now it appears my beloved hunter class is
the one pulling the vanishing act so quickly I can’t even
seem to recall when it started.
I wanted a better grasp on the extent of the problem, that is to see if
this was something that was just happening on my own personal server,
or if was something that was spreading to the very edges of the World
of Warcraft. I proceeded to randomly choose different guilds
across various servers (RP, PvP, PvE, etc) and
attempted to ask them questions regarding the status of their hunters.
After being ignored, finding no officers online, or finding that the
guild I was looking for no longer existed I finally found 5 guilds that
were very willing to lend me a hand. Presented in the table below are
some of my findings.
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Received (Monthly
Hunter
Applications (Monthly)
Applications (Monthly)
Decline
in Hunter Applications?
in Hunter Applications?
Decline
in hunters on the server?
in hunters on the server?
Raiding Hunters
Hunters
Taken to a Raid
(25-man)
Taken to a Raid
(25-man)
Guild
1
1
2
Guild
3
3
4
5
As
you can see above, all these guilds from large to small only carry
around 1-3 active raiding hunters at any given time. This sounds normal
but what is not reported above is that 3 out of the 5 above guilds
stated that they had more hunters than they knew what to do with at one
point, but now they have just enough to cover a raid. You will also
notice that every guild expressed their opinion that hunters in general
have declined on their servers, and two out of the three guilds have
noticed a decline in the number of hunter applications they have
received in recent months.
Taking a Look at my own server the same is true. Hardly any Hunters are
ever in my PUGs, not from not wanting to invite them, but because there
are no Hunters who want to be invited. While my guild does not take
applications, we do extend invites from time to time, and currently our
Hunter count sits at a solid 2. Not a single person invited recently
has been playing the Hunter class.
After talking with these various guild officers, thinking on my
personal experiences, and going over my findings I have come to the
conclusion that the hunter disappearance is not something that is
exclusive to one server, but is something that is happening all over.
Perhaps there are some servers where Hunters abound, but in general
Hunters can sadly probably be placed on the endangered list.
Can Hunters recover from this? Honestly I’m not sure. The way
things currently are (please don’t throw rotten fruit and
shoes) Hunters are able to be replaced with any other ranged class and
I believe due to the new casual friendly tone Blizzard has taken, this
will probably not be changed. I may even go so far as to say not only
can any other ranged class take the place of a Hunter, but they will be
just as useful, if not more so.
Even with the increase in damage to ranged weapons Blizzard recently
implemented I’m not sure if it’s enough to make
Hunters stand on their own. Blizzard has promised there will be new
Hunter changes on the way, and hopefully these improvements will be the
new life blood the class needs to come alive again. World of Warcraft
just doesn’t seem complete to me without an abundance of
Hunters, and Huntards alike.
I would like to offer a special thanks to Fusion of Turalyon,
Dissension of Bleeding Hollow, Aftermath of Twisting Nether, Eternal
Legacy of Blackwater Raiders, and any other persons I talked to that I
have forgotten or requested to remain anonymous for being so friendly
and answering my questions to the best of your ability at such a late
hour. You truly helped make this article happen.
Are you a diehard hunter? Noticed your hunter friends vanishing? Do you
have ideas on how the hunter can make a comeback, or would just like to
reminisce? Share your stories and opinions on our forums.
you can see above, all these guilds from large to small only carry
around 1-3 active raiding hunters at any given time. This sounds normal
but what is not reported above is that 3 out of the 5 above guilds
stated that they had more hunters than they knew what to do with at one
point, but now they have just enough to cover a raid. You will also
notice that every guild expressed their opinion that hunters in general
have declined on their servers, and two out of the three guilds have
noticed a decline in the number of hunter applications they have
received in recent months.
Taking a Look at my own server the same is true. Hardly any Hunters are
ever in my PUGs, not from not wanting to invite them, but because there
are no Hunters who want to be invited. While my guild does not take
applications, we do extend invites from time to time, and currently our
Hunter count sits at a solid 2. Not a single person invited recently
has been playing the Hunter class.
After talking with these various guild officers, thinking on my
personal experiences, and going over my findings I have come to the
conclusion that the hunter disappearance is not something that is
exclusive to one server, but is something that is happening all over.
Perhaps there are some servers where Hunters abound, but in general
Hunters can sadly probably be placed on the endangered list.
Can Hunters recover from this? Honestly I’m not sure. The way
things currently are (please don’t throw rotten fruit and
shoes) Hunters are able to be replaced with any other ranged class and
I believe due to the new casual friendly tone Blizzard has taken, this
will probably not be changed. I may even go so far as to say not only
can any other ranged class take the place of a Hunter, but they will be
just as useful, if not more so.
Even with the increase in damage to ranged weapons Blizzard recently
implemented I’m not sure if it’s enough to make
Hunters stand on their own. Blizzard has promised there will be new
Hunter changes on the way, and hopefully these improvements will be the
new life blood the class needs to come alive again. World of Warcraft
just doesn’t seem complete to me without an abundance of
Hunters, and Huntards alike.
I would like to offer a special thanks to Fusion of Turalyon,
Dissension of Bleeding Hollow, Aftermath of Twisting Nether, Eternal
Legacy of Blackwater Raiders, and any other persons I talked to that I
have forgotten or requested to remain anonymous for being so friendly
and answering my questions to the best of your ability at such a late
hour. You truly helped make this article happen.
Are you a diehard hunter? Noticed your hunter friends vanishing? Do you
have ideas on how the hunter can make a comeback, or would just like to
reminisce? Share your stories and opinions on our forums.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.
