Last night we ran Kara because we are still chasing badges for loot. I am still two badges short from the new badge loot chest. We cleared 6/10 in Kara, and the group was starting to fade so we stopped at Curator. We generally kill Nightbane on our way up to save time later.

After leaving Kara I was still two badges short so I roped my Tank/Healer/DPS into running Slave Pens for a quick two badges. We pugged a random hunter out of the guild which brings me to the point of today’s piece. Trapping 101.

I don’t believe in the term Huntard, I instead believe in un-educated hunters. The only problem is 12:30am when I have to work in the morning is not the time I intend to teach someone. Let’s get started:

First things first, make sure you know which target is yours. Double Check this if you have to. If you have a tank that keeps changing your mark, don’t run with them anymore as they are making you look bad.

Once we have established which mark is yours, (I prefer either the blue square or the orange circle), back up to a safe distance where your trap is not going to be interfered with by anyone else and lay your trap. You should also ensure that you are not behind the second hunter on the rare occasion when there is one. Remember that your target is going to make a straight line to where you are and you don’t want it running across someone else’s trap.

Things about your trapping skill, and chain trapping in general:

Your trap can lie on the ground for 60 seconds before it disappears
Your trap cool down time is 30 seconds, (unless talented and or geared)
Your target will stay trapped up to 20 seconds, but this is not a guarantee
If you or someone else damages your trap after it’s trapped, it will break.

There are several addons that can help you with keeping track of your trap cooldown, I recommend using quartz.

When pulling your mark, make sure the tank pulls first; you will generate more than enough threat with your first shot to pull your target off of the tank. When you pull, you should use an instant, for today we are going to work with arcane shot. As you have noticed when you fire off your arcane shot, your auto shot starts. Therefore I use the following macro to pull:

/cast Arcane Shot
/stopcasting

This will allow you to only shoot the arcane shot and nothing else.

If you have done this correctly, your trap timer should only have about 10 seconds left on the cooldown and your target is now coming towards you. You should continue to pay attention to your target to ensure that it does not resist your trap, if it does it’s time for kiting but that is another post. Once you are sure your trap is now a big block of ice, move away from your target, drop your next trap and start DPSing the tanks target. Keep your trap in your view.

The next thing that is going to happen is your target is going to come free from the CC and head towards you and into your next trap. (In theory, I have had them come out of the trap and head for the priest several times so pay close attention … if this happens; it’s your job to bring it back.) You can repeat this process until the tank is ready to kill your target. If you run into trouble, don’t be afraid to call out for help.

This brings me to the next part of this. You are a team whether it is 5/10/25 people. This means that you have to trust everyone else on the team to do their part. If you see another CC’d target come free, that is not your worry unless you are asked to help with it.

The first normal impulse is to send your cat after it to protect your priest, but you have to trust the other person to do their part. For instance, if there are two hunters and you start DPSing their target because it came free for a second, they pull it back to them and into the trap … you then shoot it on accident because your auto shot is still going off, and you have now either killed yourself, the other person, or the party in some cases.

You had enough faith in your team mates to walk into the instance with them, so trust them to do their job and you stick to yours, unless the situation warrants or asked. This can be rough to judge, but comes with time.

I used to practice this skill by putting the cat away and heading out into Terrokar Forest and trapping the humanoids. I used these because they are low enough that it will take a while for them to kill you. I would generally chain trap one, and kite another to practice chain trapping and kiting … This can get hectic, but will make you better at it. If you try this, I highly recommend going and getting some cheap gear off the AH and not in your epics.

Gear that can help with this:

The D4 Beastlord Set:

[Beast Lord Cuirass]

[Beast Lord Handguards]

[Beast Lord Helm]

[Beast Lord Leggings]

[Beast Lord Mantle]

When trapping in 5 mans I still remove my epics for two pieces of this for the set bonus that reduces your trap cooldown time by 4 seconds.

With a little practice you will be chain trapping like a pro in no time, and you will find that people want you on runs with them. It can be hard for a hunter to find a group, but a hunter that has a rep as a good hunter is always welcome in a group.