Hunter PvP Tips For Thursday: Gouge my Ass!

That's right My Ass! Today I'm going to go over a few tips for fighting rogues. I'm sure alot of them are common knowledge to the PvPers out there but hopefully one of you takes a good skill away from this post.

So rogues, they're stealthed, they stun and slow and blind and have good tools to mitigate your pet as well as your own snares. How can you beat them? Well literally a BM hunter should always beat a rogue. BW nullifies all of the tools rogues commonly use to win VS hunters. All you need to do is time your CD well and you will do OK.

But!

BM doesn't fare that well at the top levels of arena and an Imp Stings/Silence/Scatter hunter is far preferred to help healers out. So lets do this from a marksman perspective. I'm going to go over several situations in a Hunter VS Rogue Duel then some tips for 2v2 Hunter Healer vs Rogue Healer.

Step 1: The opening - Your worst nightmare the rogue with 2 merc weapons has challenged you to a duel. You the underpowered utility mana drain DPS versus the melee with all of the tricks! He's stealthed you can't see him yet what the heck are you going to do? Use your tools young hunter-san!

• Track Hidden - "Greatly increases your stealth detection" What really happens is that stealth and detection work like weapon skill and have a rating. Track Hidden, Paranoia and Perception all increase this by 30. Engineering helmets by another 5. Essentially with track hidden on you are looking for stealthers as though you are level 76. If you have an engineering helmet (great item until you get an arena one good mix of dps with nice stam) you're a 77. Now a good rogue will know this and will not be found easy but if you see him and remove his ability to get a Cheapshot on you. You've started the fight ahead!.
• Flare Up! - Plop down a nice big flair with your trap in the middle. Make it so a rogue cannot disarm your trap easily in stealth.
• Use a frost trap initially - Many rogues expect a good old ice cube when they make their opener and will use cloak of shadows to immune it. This doesn't work on frost traps since they are not a single target effect but an AOE giving you some kiting room to work with and wasting his 1minute CD.
• Pet - Put your pet on stay aggressive at one edge of your flare. If your pet detects the rogue it will make noise and pursue helping you avoid letting the rogue get an opener. Once the rogue is discovered put your pet back on passive. THIS IS A MUST HOT KEY THIS ISH! If you don't you will not be able to use scatter and freezing traps reliably.
• Run Around! Spam Scatter! - Don't stand still letting the rogue pick position. Run in a circle around the fringe of your flare, let your stealth detection work and spam scattershot. It will automatically hit the rogue if you detect him. This also makes it much harder for the rogue to get into position for a good opener.

Step 2: KITEEEEE - Through your sweet defensive strategy you took the opener away from the rogue and he is running around for 4 seconds scattered maybe even over a frost trap. Get your pet on passive send him in and turn on his poison. Keep that rogue from getting a vanish off and resetting the fight. Pet skills do not use you GCD so get a mark and a concussive shot up on him at the same time. Now don't back away. Practice as long as it takes and get yourself trained in jumpshotting and run directly away from the rogue jump rotating 180 degrees to shoot him.

Step 3: React to his abilities - If the rogue sprints immediately turn and scatter him to waste his CD and keep him off you. If scatter is on CD pop deterrence and wait to get away. Spam wingclip pull your pet off and drop a freezing trap use this macro!

/cast Freezing Trap (Rank 1) Save the 50 mana CC only lasts 10 seconds in pvp
/petpassive
/stopcasting

Now some specific Tips:
- You were deadly thrown and a rogue is going to catch you. He is not stealthed. His next move is to hit you with a gouge to stop you, Regen energy and continue to kill you. The trick? Gouge needs you to be facing the rogue. So run towards him, Jump, Rotate your ass to the rogue, Spam wingclip. Once you are through the rogue run back around and continue kiting! SEE GOUGE MY ASS ROGUE! :P

- If a rogue vanishes immediately flare near him not near you to destealth him to prevent another opener.

- If a rogue sprints immediately scatter shot him and drop a freezing trap to waste his CD.

- If you have a rogue at range and he evasions (flash and rogue becomes partialy see through) do not stop and do any dmg/concussive shot him. He will be avoiding 50% of your pets hits and 25% of yours forcing you to waste mana and CD's. Drop a frost trap run directly away and if safe pop AOTC to get more distance and outlast his CD.

- Rogues have great mobility, if the rogue is not stuck in a freezing trap do not use steady or aimed it is going to cost you your best resource distance.

- Scorpid poison and snake traps are also good tools vs rogues as they keep them from stealthing and rogues have no way to AOE down your snakes to stop their dmg. It will often get them to waste trinkets/evasion/CLOS

- If you are stun locked, DO NOT USE YOUR TRINKET UNTIL Kidney Shot is done. Use it only once you have a real chance to get free. Wingclip and a frost or freezing trap down. If you use it on a cheap shot he will immediately gouge or KS you keeping you in his range.

GL People!