Next gen bow bears

[Ellyidol]

In all honesty I don't know why you would want to be a bowbear. If you want to stand back and deal damage then be a bird. I expect all bears to tank and perform crowd control. Lol. It's the same with "warbirds". If you want to tank and use str gear then be a bear!
That's just me though, whatever floats your boat.

I didn't see the use of it either, until eventually I just tried it.

Was amazed at how well it could perform.

The range of your bow/talon is just amazing, so much more damage versus the melee type.
The Hit is no longer a problem, such a relief coming from a str or dual spec set up.
Depending on set, the crit is awesome!

And, afaik, if buffed with Rage 6 + correct gear, a bear can out-damage a bird sometimes

[KingFu]

I didn't see the use of it either, until eventually I just tried it.

Was amazed at how well it could perform.

The range of your bow/talon is just amazing, so much more damage versus the melee type.
The Hit is no longer a problem, such a relief coming from a str or dual spec set up.
Depending on set, the crit is awesome!

And, afaik, if buffed with Rage 6 + correct gear, a bear can out-damage a bird sometimes

Only downside is the survivability, most dex bears have to chug HP pots like there's no tomorrow while grouping, and 55 talon sets don't offer enough armor to make up for it

[Nightarcher]

Probably what this thread boils down to, which has and always will be a problem, is that

NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO UTILIZE CROWD CONTROL!

I just don't get it. For me, the absolute most fun aspect of being a bear, Str or Dex or Dual, is collecting a whole map of mobs into a corner, unable to move. Controlling their comings and goings, the master of their fate...! Yeah you get it.

[Vivi]

I started a dex bear from the very beginning planning to prove that in right hands dex bear can pull off both massive dmg and crowd control/"tank" and by tank I mean be the primary target 24/7. I'm always leading the grounp maintaing taunt both to keep aggro and to boost my dodge giving me permanent bonus of 16 dodge. Combined with hellscream's aoe hit debuff and decent duration of evade I manage to "tank" the ninja style. Ppl saying that bow bear is just as fragile as bird dont really realize the potential of bear skills. Well timed beckon+stomp combined with aggressively playing group gives us a team that blazes through mobs like a raging conflagration. I'm planning to post my build on the forum in few days once I hit 56 and explain my game style in more depth.

[nazgulking]

After reading this, my next char will be a bowbear!

[CrimsonTider]

Probably what this thread boils down to, which has and always will be a problem, is that

NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO UTILIZE CROWD CONTROL!

I just don't get it. For me, the absolute most fun aspect of being a bear, Str or Dex or Dual, is collecting a whole map of mobs into a corner, unable to move. Controlling their comings and goings, the master of their fate...! Yeah you get it.

This a pretty broad statement, IMO. I know several bears capable of crowd control. Not sure if I misunderstood you point. I agree, the numbers are in favor of those that don't but to say NOBODY does is a bit over exaggerated.

[Vivi]

If someone doesn't know how to play bear it doesn't matter if he's full str, dual spec or full dex. Dex bears just require players with more experience and understanding of the bear skills and limitations. I always try to push it to know where my limits are

So just get out there and practise. U're not gonna learn how to crowd control and be useful by staying in the back and playing it safe. If u're worried about survivability just make sure u spam taunt to keep ur dodge high and hellscream as soon as ure surrounded by a larger group (max those ASAP they're worth it). Crushing blow helps a ton on bosses, and practise using beckon/stomp Combo to group mobs near a wall not scatter them around. (unless it's a tight place and ur combo leaves them nearly dead). And for the end. If ure a dex bear and ure reading this means u don't want to be noob and u try to be useful, and always be open to learning new tricks of the trade

[LordEspe]

I use custom set on my main bear and I do well with controlling the mobs! I also do ok with health b/c of the nice h/s! IMO the key to a bowbear is....movement! You make a nice pile of mobs then if you take too much damage then you simply move to the opposite wall and recreate your pile again!

I have a Mage, bird and bear as mains!!! My bear is, by far, my favorite character because of the crowd control! I have recently made a new bowbear for PVP And while Lvling up I use the same tech. As my 55 bear! The differences I see is
-I lead the way and make a pile but I find myself fighting this group for a good 2-3 sEcs Before the rest of the group is there!
-The other bears, strbears, are middle to back row fighters! Not all but too many!

[CrimsonTider]

Vivi nailed it. Experience and a willingness to learn are the only ways to improve your bear skills. Mo matter what your skill specification is.

[Dark Avenger]

to answer your question mrwallace, i feel my role is crowd control. i usually run in the front of the packs and use beckon to place my crowds where i want against a wall and then stomp and use my slashes and get out of the crowd to survive. if the crowd is still there afterwards i will beckon and slam them to another wall or further down that wall. in 30's-40s i was primarily a talon tank until i was lucky enough to get some nice bows around lvl 45. since then i have switched to bows primarily and if i dont know my crew or dont see a tank bear i switch to my str gear until i am comfortable with the group and then ill switch back to bow bear. i used to like the talon tank approach but in the BS i feel i wasnt doing alot of damage to the crowds and took forever to kill them. you definitely consume more pots as a crowd control bow bear but i love it. i think the biggest part or the problem with the new gen bow bears are they dont know how to do it properly. i started my bear 1 day before the google cloud crash thing so i was stuck at lvl 5 or something and had lots of free time to research what the best way to go with an upcoming bear. my first character was a pure int mage and my second character i wanted to try bear. so after i did research, and the game came back up, i started building my dual spec bear to what he is now. i learned alot from reading all the different posts on dual specing and skill placements and am very happy with where my build is today because of it. if all the bow bears did alittle research i think we all would be alot better off.

[Ellyidol]

If you think about it, if a bowbear doesn't crowd control, seriously, what skills does he use? 0.0

If he's a bow bear, meaning ranged attacks, the ONLY skill you can use is Beckon that has the furthest range. HS / Taunt don't have that much of range.

So what, he pops Rage and just normal attacks? 0.0 LOL!

[Dark Avenger]

guess i dont fully understand crowd control? what is crowd control then? i was refering to it being getting the crowds against a wall/ in a corner where i want them so i can stun them and swoop in for my melee attacks and then dart out to use my range and pull against opposite wall if need be... controlling the crowd...

[Sky../]

guess i dont fully understand crowd control? what is crowd control then? i was refering to it being getting the crowds against a wall/ in a corner where i want them so i can stun them and swoop in for my melee attacks and then dart out to use my range and pull against opposite wall if need be... controlling the crowd...

You're correct.

By the way, elly's comment wasn't to criticiZe your post. He was stating his opinion in general, and not specifically directEd to you.

[Ellyidol]

You're correct.

By the way, elly's comment wasn't to criticiZe your post. He was stating his opinion in general, and not specifically directEd to you.

Oh, yeah wasn't directed at you Dark

Just in general, for those bears that like to lay back and not get their hands dirty

[Dark Avenger]

oh ok. lol. sorry bout that. this is why i dont post in forum too much. i suck at it, lol. after rereading i see the "if" i missed. thats why i thought that was to me.

[NECROREAPER]

I don't use a bow but I am an attack bear. Most of the time I do tank despite my lower armor but I mostly try to rely on killing them before they can hit me.

As far as bow bear tanking, parth does it all the time and it seems very effective, even more effective than a pure str. Bear I'd say. I think it's because the added hit % which aids in pulling.

I think damage bears do more crowd controlling than real tanking

[Vivi]

Beckon 12m range, taunt 12m range, stomp 8m range, hellscream 8m range. That's longer or same range as a bow ellyidol, that's more than enough for the tight corridors of BS. I don't mean to be a troll, but what u wrote made u seem like one.
Also when u corrner a boss u can easily spam 3 slashes and crushing blow for massive ST dmg.

[Ellyidol]

Beckon 12m range, taunt 12m range, stomp 8m range, hellscream 8m range. That's longer or same range as a bow ellyidol, that's more than enough for the tight corridors of BS. I don't mean to be a troll, but what u wrote made u seem like one.
Also when u corrner a boss u can easily spam 3 slashes and crushing blow for massive ST dmg.

Try it, a bow will always be in range for an attack first before HS/Stomp

The only way Stomp/HS can be within equal distance of a max ranged attack is probably a Talon/Wing. Which in that case, if the bear is still afraid to tank, is even funnier.

Not trying to sound like a troll, but if a bears purpose was to attack from a distance and not bother with tanking/crown control at all, why even bother rolling bear? Never knew common sense was considered trolling.

I wasn't trying to troll, it just seems extremely boring to be that bear. Pop rage and tap normal attack as often as possible, see?

[CrimsonTider]

I think what Elly, myself, and others are trying to point out is that the MAJORITY is actually a minority. Those of us that have posted on this topic understand our role, and most importantly how to manage, and use, our skills. I can give countless examples each day of individuals at high levels (47+) who should understand their roles, how to control mobs, and maximize skill distribution but still run into a room and stomp, don't know what beckon is (lol), and run around slashing when they are out of range.

Because of the popularity, and recent explosion, of bow bears, individuals are just creating to be part of the "in" crowd and do not realize the continued importance of their role as a bear. I will admit, a few months ago I had NO CLUE. But I was willing to listen to others, learn from some of the best, and continued my evolution with the introduction to the forums. This is not the case with most bears and it is sad.

[CrimsonTider]

Never knew common sense was considered trolling.

Love it!