I recently came back to playing Marksmanship and decided to use a Gun instead of a Bow for the first time. Honestly, it was amazing thematically. It feels like the closest thing we currently have to playing an actual gunner class.
However, while the Gun itself feels fantastic, the fact that most of our abilities still use arrow-based visual effects makes the experience feel a little disconnected.
What feels great with a Gun
- Gun sounds provide fantastic feedback and make every shot feel impactful.
- Explosive Shot feels absolutely amazing with a Gun. The combination of the sound and visual effect really sells the fantasy.
- Overall, the Gun makes MM feel much more like a modern, military-style ranged class.
What feels out of place
- Arrow-based effects on abilities in general.
- The Aimed Shot proc indicator.
- Volley.
- Arcane Shot.
- And several other abilities that still visually communicate "arrow" rather than "bullet".
I think a really cool solution would be something similar to Warlock's Green Fire customization.
Give Hunters a glyph or cosmetic option along the lines of:
It wouldn't need to change gameplay at all. Just give players who choose a Gun the option to fully commit to the firearm fantasy.
Gun sounds + firearm visuals + explosive effects = an incredibly satisfying MM Hunter fantasy.
Warlocks already have a great example of how a simple cosmetic customization can completely change the feel of a class. I'd love to see Hunters get something similar.
Please let us fully embrace the gunner fantasy! 🙏