Build 8770... Hrm...

From the new Beta build:

"Chimera Shot, Rank 1:

You deal 150% weapon damage, consuming the current Sting on your target and triggering an effect:
Serpent Sting - Instantly deals 40% of the damage done by your Serpent Sting.
Viper Sting - Instantly burns 30% of the amount of mana drained on your Viper Sting, restoring 100% back to you.
Scorpid Sting - Reduces damage done by the target's next three attacks by 60%. The damage reduction is diminished by 20% following each attack. Lasts 10 sec.
375 Mana, 5-35 yd range, Instant cast, 10 sec cooldown"

Hrm.

HRM.

Yeah, that might be a viable replacement for Arcane Shot, actually. The fact that it STILL consumes the sting makes it rather... weak, though.

Like, if I can refresh my sting (or, even better, everyone's stings), I could keep up Viper, my Survival comrade can keep up Serpent, and the BM Hunter can fire and forget a Scorpid. I'll keep them all active via my Chimera and keep my own mana pool boosted.

Actually, doing some more math...

MM 1.5:1 Rotation, Chimera version

Steady 3: 280 Mana
Kill: 420 Mana
Chimera: 375 Mana

Viper, Chimera, Auto, Steady, Auto, Steady, Kill, Auto, Steady, Auto, Steady, Chimera, Auto, Steady, Auto, Steady, Kill, Auto...

3x Steady @ 280
1x Kill @ 420
1x Chimera @ 375

1635 mana per 10 seconds (vaguely)

Viper 5 burns 3092, so it returns 927 mana when I Chimera it

1635 - 927 = 708 mana per 10 seconds

Hrm...

Edit: Bloody fucking hell, Viper Sting is 8 seconds and Chimera is 10 seconds.

Ignore everything I just wrote because it doesn't work.

So how is Chimera Shot supposed to replace Arcane Shot when it's on a longer cooldown than Arcane Shot?

Damnit, Blizzard. :|