That little yellow glowy button is one of your biggest boosts to DPS, and learning its nuances is something that you’re going to want to do once you hit max level and start looking into things like raids. It can be kind of tricky to master, and there are quite a few little variables involved, but hopefully I can help to clarify a bit. Here, then, is when to use – and when not to use – a Beast Master Hunter’s second best friend (your pet being your best friend, of course):
WHEN TO USE FOCUS FIRE:
1. Use it at five stacks, of course. The button will glow and you won’t miss it. There is an exception, which I will cover later.
2. Use it with Bestial Wrath. It doesn’t matter if it’s only one stack. If you have a build up of it, use it. It’s also not a bad idea to pop it for other large cooldowns, such as Stampede.
3. Use it when you are about to AoE. That means Barrage and Multi-shot. And lastly,
4. Use it if it’s about to expire. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it, and get no benefit!
Now then, let’s discuss the other side of the coin:
WHEN NOT TO USE FOCUS FIRE:
1. If you’re almost, but not quite, ready for Bestial Wrath. Say you have somewhere between 10-20 seconds left to go before Bestial Wrath is off cooldown, but your yellow glowy button is telling you to click it. Do you? Nope. Because if you do, then it will be expired by the time Bestial Wrath is ready to go! Instead, wait until your Bestial Wrath is about ready to pop (below ten seconds left on the cooldown.)
2. If a boss is invincible or shielded or otherwise unavailable or something for a short amount of time and your Focus Fire won’t expire by the time you can use it again. In this case you’ll want to tactically delay it – the same as any other cooldown, really.
…and that’s about the only times you shouldn’t be using it. Because Focus Fire is just that good.
Okay, that about does it for today’s Hunter Kindergarten Guide! If you have any questions, comments, or other concerns, feel free to post a comment or bug me on Twitter!
