Hunters Tips

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Frequently Asked Questions
3. Talents **builds finished, specifics on talents under construction**
4. Itemization Basics
5 . Pet Basics
6. Rotations: Shots and Stings
7. User Interface/Addons/Macros **under construction**
8. Pre-Raid Gear List
9. Gems, Glyphs and Enchants
10. Known Hunter Bugs / Issues
11. Links **under construction**



1. Introduction

Hunters are the only ranged, physical damage dealing class in WoW. Hunters combine the best damage dealing in the game with above average Crowd Control and raid utility. A skilled hunter progresses his or her group quickly through trash and bosses alike with a minimum of fuss, depending on a mix of ranged shots, deadly personalized pets and occasional devastating melee swings. Hunters are a class which scales dramatically with player skill- the more you know and the better you get, the more you will get out of your hunter. The intent of this guide is to help you do exactly that.

If you find a mistake in the guide, politely point it out in the comments and I will be happy to fix the problem. If you disagree with my recommendations on talents, gear or pets, you are more than welcome to make your objections know. Keep it polite and have hard math to back it up, though, or I'll be happy to tear into you. This is a step above the rest of the hunter forums - not a place for you to say "Some lvl 70 on the EU forums thinks that so and so is such and such, so you're wrong". This guide is to teach, not to flame and argue. Keep it clean and keep it helpful.



2. Frequently Asked Questions

I need a Steady Shot macro!

In Wrath of the Lich King, a “shot macro” is no longer required in order to maximize hunter damage. That said, there is still benefit to using macros. See the UI/Addons/Macro section for more information.

I want to do a lot of damage. Is this a good class for me?

Hunters are one of the 4 “pure dps” classes, and so are designed by Blizzard to produce reliably high dps in the hands of a capable player. However, rogues, warlocks and mages are also designed for high damage, and a player who wishes to top damage charts but who finds pet management and shot rotations too difficult or not fun may enjoy another dps class more.

I want to be helpful to my group. Is this a good class for me?

Hunters bring a fair amount of utility to a group. Tenacity pets are quite capable offtanks, and can even main tank in some circumstances (all WotLK 5-mans have been tanked by hunter pets). A hunter of any spec can use Misdirection to pull monsters from range and send them directly to the tank, and depending on spec, hunters bring either a 3% damage buff, a 10% attack power buff, or a mana replenishment buff to the group.

Is it possible to play a melee-oriented Hunter?

It is possible, but not optimal. Again it is possible but neglecting ranged attacks and utility is even worse than neglecting your pet. Hunter melee is designed around delivering a heavy burst of damage while snaring or rooting your opponent with the goal of moving back to range. Hunters have no facility for sustained melee damage.

What's the best race for hunters?

Dwarves, Orcs, Draenai and Trolls have excellent PVE abilities, while Night Elves, Dwarves, Tauren and Orcs have good PVP abilities. Every race has interesting perks and can be effective in any environment.

What talent spec should I be?

Any of the three trees can be effective when played well, though their strengths differ. For more information, see the Talents section of this guide.

Beast Mastery - Good personal DPS against single targets. Ferocious Inspiration gives +3% damage to the entire raid, magic users included.

Marksmanship - High PvP control and burst damage. Solid sustained damage against multiple targets. True-Shot Aura is a raid-wide +10% Attack Power boost.

Survival - High personal damage. Excellent crowd control. Replenishment regens mana for your raid every time you crit.

What's the spec for leveling?

Hunters level quickly no matter what spec you choose. Both Beast Mastery and Marksmanship are solid leveling specs, especially once you have either 31 point talent. Survival requires a lot of talent points and appropriate gear for the synergy to kick in.

What's the best pet?

Refer to the Pet section of this guide, or head on over to petopia.brashendeavors.net. The short answer is Wolf or Raptor for PVE dps.

What happens to my tamed exotic pet when I change specs?
Your pet will sit in your stable and wait for you to love him enough to take him out again.

Is Armor Penetration a good stat?
Short answer: no.
Long answer: yes, but you have to have a lot, and you can't gimp other stats "too much" to get it. You should not gear specifically for arpen until you can reach the softcap by gemming, and even then the difference between doing so and playing a more traditional hunter is only on the order of 5%.

When should I use Chimera as a MM hunter?
Use Chimera directly after Serpent Sting, and then use it on every cooldown. The tooltip on Chimera is slightly confusing- you will do the same amount of damage with Chimera - Serpent, no matter when during the duration of the sting Chimera is used.

Does the Focused Aim talent help my pet?
Yes. This talent adds 1% per point (which is not reflected on paper doll stats.) and it does affect your pet as well. There used to be an issue with Focused Aim not affecting pets- FA now grants 1% hit per ppint to your pet (and about 0.5% expertise per point, which seems to be a bug - it should grant 1% expertise per point.) FA is a good talent with which to maximize your hit if necessary.