Project Lore: World of Warcraft Videos and Guides

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A skilled hunter who has already played the class will have an idea of how to kite (keep the enemy away from you, but not so far away that you cannot shoot it) and can generally put those tactics into use in these early levels, especially once Concussive Shot is learned at level 8. However most new hunters will simply be better off knowing that for the most part you want to shoot your mob at maximum range and do your best not to let it catch up to you. This is easier now than it has been in the past with the removal of the dead zone; you can often keep something at range just by backing up between shots. You can use your axe or dagger to melee things but it is always good practice to try and minimize this as much as possible.

In terms of gear, you will primarily be looking for leather gear (or mail gear, after level 40) with high agility and stamina values. Intellect is somewhat important, while Strength and Spirit can be ignored. As you progress into Outlands more gear comes with Attack Power, Crit Rating, and Hit Rating. These are also important stats to look for, although Agility is often preferred when it comes to enchants and gems. At level 70 you will want your Hit Rating to be as close to 142 as possible in order to hit raid bosses. If you are very close to 142 or over it you can focus on other stats in its place.

Level 4

You learn Aspect of the Monkey and Serpent Sting. Cast your Aspect on yourself and begin using Serpent Sting as an opener in your fights.

Level 6

At level six you learn Arcane Shot and Hunter's Mark. Arcane Shot makes kiting easier and allows you to shoot while moving; Hunter's Mark provides a sizable boost to your attack power and it is good to get in the habit of using it on everything.

Level 8

At level eight you learn Concussive Shot which is when you can really begin to start shining in your kiting.

Level 10

At level ten you will learn Aspect of the Hawk which you will begin using as your primary Aspect. You will also finally be able to tame pets.

All hunters at level 10 will be asked to return to their "racial" hunter trainer (even if you are leveling somewhere else) to learn how to tame a pet. You will tame three "practice pets" which will depend on your race and location. You will then be given the spell to permanently tame a pet of your choosing, and asked to travel to your capital city to learn more useful pet-related skills. As far as Horde is concerned, Tauren will start their quest at Bloodhoof Village, Orcs and Trolls at Razor Hill, and Blood Elves at Farstrider Retreat. For Alliance, Night Elves start at Astranaar, Dwarves at Anvilmar, and Draenei at the road heading southwest from Exodar, by the shore. You will be asked to tame one practice pet at a time then return to the hunter trainer to get a new assignment. Simply target the correct beast when you find it and click on your Taming Rod (or similar item) that you will be given.

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Level 12

At level 12 you learn both Mend Pet and Wing Clip. Keep a Mend Pet on your pet often to keep him alive and fighting, and use Wing Clip to kite mobs or get back at range. Distracting shot is useful for pulling and trapping, especially if you have a tank who generates a high amount of initial threat, like a paladin. You may want to work this into a macro so you don't auto-shot immediate after using it, breaking your trap.

Level 14

Eyes of the Beast is moderately useful for scouting around and pulling. If you have a cat pet that knows Prowl, it becomes a bit more useful, though it only lasts for one minute.

Scare Beast is useful as crowd control while leveling and it can be used in PvP against druids in bear or cat form. Also can be used against shaman in ghost wolf form or other hunters' pets.

Level 16

Immolation Trap is a nice DoT trap if you don't need to use another trap. Keep in mind that the damage will be attributed to the hunter, in case you're trying to keep threat off of yourself.

Level 18

Multi-shot is useful in PvP to hit multiple targets. It is also used in some shot rotations, but will break some forms of crowd control or pull extra mobs. Be aware of the surroundings when using this shot.

Level 20

Aspect of the Cheetah will help you get from place to place much faster-- be careful though, you will be dazed on hit, so it's probably not too good for escaping from mobs unless you can keep them well behind you via a trap, Wing Clip, or Concussive Shot.

Freezing Trap is relatively weak at rank one, and you cannot be expected to provide lengthy crowd control at this point. You can certainly keep something out of commission for a short period of time, though.

Disengage is a threat reducing move that is most helpful pre-Feign Death or if Feign Death resists. You can use this in case you pull aggro from your pet on accident. Less effective than Feign Death, costs more mana, and is a melee attack which means it can be blocked, parried, dodged, or miss.

21-30

Level 22

At level 22 you learn Scorpid Sting which is probably not as useful as Serpent Sting for leveling/grinding but will be much appreciated later on in instances and groups.

Level 26

Rapid Fire is a big DPS booster in a shot rotation because it also decreases the casting time of all shots. It is also handy in PvP, especially against other ranged classes.

Level 28

Frost Trap is useful in many situations, such as kiting, escaping unwanted combat, and slowing down the enemy at choke points in battlegrounds.

Level 30

Feign Death will immediately become a good friend as you use it to drop aggro on things that are attacking you, or drop threat preventively (i.e., before you grab aggro) so your pet or the tank can keep it.

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Level 32

Flare is handy as part of defense against rogues and druids such as at flags in battlegrounds.

Level 34

Explosive Trap is one of a hunter's few AoE abilities. Best to use when pulling groups of low health mobs or in a party as a supplement to other member's AoE.

Level 36

Viper Sting is a nice ability to use against casters and other mana-using classes in PvP (and often in PvE as well).

Level 40

Aspect of the Pack allows you and everyone in your party who is nearby to run 30% faster. Again, everyone will be dazed on hit so be prepared to turn this off if combat is eminent.

Volley is an AoE ability to be used against large groups of mobs. It is channeled which means you cannot move during the cast and it will lose effectiveness if you are hit.

Also, you will be able to start wearing mail armor instead of just leather. It is typically a good idea not to rush out and buy all new mail gear right away, but to slowly upgrade as good gear with good stats comes your way.

Level 52

There is a hunter-specific quest in Azshara that will eventually lead you into an instance (Temple of Atal'Hakkar) and culminate in a nice hunter-specific reward of your choice. This questline starts at any hunter trainer once you reach level 52.

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Level 58

You are eligible to go through the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands and do quests in Hellfire Peninsula. If you find the quests there to be too difficult you may opt to remain in Azeroth until level 59 or 60.

Level 62

You will finally learn Steady Shot which is the foundation for many level 70 shot rotations in all talent specs (but especially Beast Mastery).

Level 64

Aspect of the Viper is a great Aspect to have active when grinding and leveling.

Level 66

Kill Command can be a big DPS booster (again, especially for Beast Master hunters).

Level 68

Snake Trap provides a lot of slowdown and annoyance to other players in PvP situations and also has an occasional use in PvE.

Level 70

Misdirection is a very valuable skill that enables you to pull more effectively and help the tank maintain threat on a specified target.