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Cyverion
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re: The Hunter Thread 3.2: Penetrating Your Armor Feels Good

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I. The Basics

Hunters are a ranged pure DPS class. They have two distinguishing features from other DPS classes, (1) they are the only ranged DPS class that primarily deals physical, rather than magical damage, and (2) they can train a wide variety of beast to act as pets and help them do damage.


A. Races

Available Races - Alliance: Night Elf, Dwarf, Draenei Horde: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Blood Elf.

Which race should I choose?

Night Elf: Shadowmeld is an interesting stealth ability, somewhat mitigated by the hunter's ability to disengage combat through other means, such as Feign Death. Quickness makes it harder for enemies to hit you, but as we'll see with a lot of these abilities, this isn't very important for hunters, since enemies should be hitting your pet most of the time.

Dwarf: +1% chance to crit with guns is an obvious advantage for hunters, provided you can find a gun to use! Most of the lower level weapons in the game will be bows, but once you reach the level cap there are more options. The best hunter weapon in the game currently is a gun. Stoneform can also be used to remove bleed and disease effects, but the other racials aren't very important for hunters.

Draenei: +1% chance to hit for you and all your friends (within 30 yards). You'll want to have +8% chance to hit overall through gear and abilities, so this is a great start. You also get a heal over time spell called Gift of the Naaru. This isn't as important since your main HOT will always be Mend Pet.

Orc: Blood Fury gives you a +AP boost for 15 seconds every 2 minutes. The real meat here is a 5% bonus to pet damage. Depending on your spec, the hunter's pet will be doing anywhere from a third to a half of your overall damage, so a 5% buff is a pretty big deal.

Tauren: War Stomp can stun enemies, but has a range that most hunters should be outside of when in combat. It's mostly good for stunning stuff and then running to a range where you can shoot it. You'll also get a small health buff and nature resistance, but there's not a lot here for hunters in general.

Troll: Berserking will give you a 20% speed buff every 3 minutes. As of 3.2, it no longer scales to 30% based on health, but can be used whenever the cooldown is up. You'll also get +1% crit chance with bows, which is the equivalant of the Dwarf racial for guns. Da Voodoo Shuffle is a passive ability that reduces movement impairing effects and is helpful for getting out of mob abilities that keep you in melee range.

Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent now returns 6% mana, 2 min CD. Its not on the global cooldown so you can add it to your macros and forget about it. Also, as a blood elf you get to look like a model/emo fag.

Verdict: If you want to get the most out of your racial abilities as a hunter, you should pick a Draenei or Orc with Dwarf and Troll being decent backups.


B. Allowed Weapons
Bows (Darnassus, Orgrimmar, Silvermoon)
Guns (Ironforge, Thunder Bluff)
Crossbows (Ironforge, Stormwind, The Exodar, Undercity)
Thrown (Darnassus, Ironforge, Orgrimmar, Silvermoon)
Daggers (Darnassus, Stormwind, The Exodar, Undercity, Silvermoon)
Axes (Ironforge, Orgrimmar)
Fist (Darnassus, Ironforge, Orgrimmar)
Swords (Stormwind, The Exodar, Undercity, Silvermoon)
Polearms (Stormwind, Undercity) (Requires level 20)
Staves (Darnassus, Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff)
2H Axes (Ironforge, Orgrimmar)
2H Swords (Stormwind, The Exodar, Undercity, Silvermoon)
Note: Thrown weapons cannot be used with your autoshot ability and, for this reason, you'll never really use them.

Also note that you will be able to Dual Wield (equip two 1H weapons) starting at level 20.


C. Allowed Gear Types

Mail, Leather, Cloth .

Do I have to wear mail? As you're leveling up? Absolutely not. Many of the leather pieces that are intended for rogues are great for you as a hunter. Once you hit the level cap you'll notice that many of the mail pieces are better itemized for hunters over leather that has stats rogues might use, like expertise. However, provided there aren't any rogues or druids around to complain about you stealing their gear, if the leather is an upgrade over the mail you're wearing, you shouldn't feel embarassed to snatch it up.

What about Cloth? Uhm… stay away from cloth.


D. Abilities (note: all numbers shown are based on the highest trainable level)

Shots:

Auto-shot - The basic shot of a hunter, based on the damage of your weapon plus ammo damage and bonus ranged attack power. Auto Shot no longer is clipped by other shots; you will continue shooting Auto Shot while other shots are going off, even Volley! If you want to stop using Auto Shot, you must either hit escape, jump, or deselect an enemy. Be wary: sometimes it takes a moment for Auto Shot to disengage, and if targets are switched very fast, another shot may go off on the next target unintentionally.

Aimed Shot - An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 408. Aimed Shot applies a 10 second Mortal Strike effect to the target, reducing incoming heals by 50%. (11 pt. MM talent required) Instant cast, 8% of base mana. Shares a cooldown with Multishot.

Arcane Shot - An instant shot that causes [RAP * 0.15 + 492] Arcane damage. 5% of base mana.

Black Arrow - It applies a debuff that increases the damage you do to the target by 6% and deals [RAP * 0.1 + 2765] Shadow damage over 15 seconds. 30 second cooldown, shares its cooldown with all traps.

Chimera Shot - You deal 125% weapon damage, refreshing 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 restores mana to you equal to 60% of the total amount drained by your Viper Sting. Scorpid Sting - Attempts to Disarm the target for 10 sec. This effect cannot occur more than once per 1 minute. (Requires 51. pt MM talent) Instant cast, 12% of base mana.

Distracting Shot - Distracts the target to attack you, but has no effect if the target is already attacking you. Lasts 6 sec. This shot doesn't cause any actual damage. Instant cast, 7% of base mana. Distracting Shot can be thought of as a temporary hunter taunt.

Explosive Shot - You fire an explosive charge into the enemy target, dealing [RAP * 0.14 + 386]-[RAP * 0.14 + 464] Fire damage. The charge will blast the target every second for an additional 2 sec. Instant cast, 7% of base mana, 6 second cooldown. (Requires 51 pt. SV talent)

Kill Shot - You attempt to finish the wounded target off, firing a long range attack dealing 200% weapon damage plus [RAP * 0.40 + 650]. Kill Shot can only be used on enemies that have 20% or less health. Instant cast, 7% of base mana. 15 second cooldown. As of 3.2, Kill Shot correctly no longer has a minimum range.

Multi-Shot - Fires several missiles, hitting 3 targets for an additional 408 damage. 0.5 second cast, 9% of base mana. 10 second cooldown, shared with Aimed Shot. Not a good shot to use when there is CC'd targets nearby. However, at other times, if mana efficiency isn't an issue, Multi-shot can do more damage to a single target than Aimed Shot.

Scatter Shot - A short-range shot that deals 50% weapon damage and disorients the target for 4 sec. Any damage caused will remove the effect. Turns off your attack when used. (11 pt. SV talent required). Instant cast, 8% of base mana.

Silencing Shot - A shot that deals 50% weapon damage and Silences the target for 3 sec. (41 pt. MM talent required). Instant cast, 6% of base mana. As of 3.1, this shot is no longer on the global cooldown.

Steady Shot - Lv 50 Skill (rank 1, rank 2 at lv62). A steady shot that causes unmodified weapon damage, plus ammo, plus [RAP * 0.1 + 252]. Causes an additional 175 against Dazed targets. 1.5 second cast, 5% of base mana. Steady Shot is the meat and potatoes of most hunter rotations. Spamming this shot while waiting for other shots to refresh is the basic way to hurt your foes most effectively with regards to damage vs. mana useage.

Tranquilizing Shot - Lv60 skill. Attempts to remove 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect from an enemy target. Instant cast, 8 second cooldown. 8% of base mana. This will not affect hard enrages, but some soft enrages such as Gluth's frenzy can be dispelled by it. Very useful in PvP or on Kel'zuthad if a mind-controlled player buffs the boss.

Stings:

Scorpid Sting - Stings the target, reducing chance to hit with melee and ranged attacks by 3% for 20 sec. Instant cast, 11% of base mana.

Serpent Sting – Stings the target, causing [RAP * 0.2 + 1210] Nature damage over 15 sec. Only one Sting per Hunter can be active on any one target. Instant cast, 9% of base mana.

Viper Sting - Redesigned in 3.1. Stings the target, draining 4% of mana over 8 seconds (up to a maximum of 8% of the caster's maximum mana), and energizing the hunter equal to 300% of the amount drained. Instant cast, 8% of base mana, 15 sec cooldown.

Wyvern Sting - A stinging shot that puts the target to sleep for 30 sec. Any damage will cancel the effect. When the target wakes up, the Sting causes 2460 Nature damage over 6 sec. Only one Sting per Hunter can be active on the target at a time. (31 pt. SV talent required) Instant cast, 8% of base mana. 1 minute cooldown.

Traps:

Traps have been somewhat reworked in 3.2. Traps are now in 3 different categories: Frost, Fire, and Nature. Each category is on a seperate cooldown, allowing you to drop up to 3 traps at once! However, the active time of all traps has been lowered from 1 minute to 30 seconds. Black Arrow now only shares its cooldown with Fire traps, so survival hunters can keep their DPS rotations up while being able to crowd control again!

Fire Traps:

Explosive Trap - Place a fire trap that explodes when an enemy approaches, causing [RAP * 0.1 + 523] to [RAP * 0.1 + 671] Fire damage and burning all enemies for 900 additional Fire damage over 20 sec to all within 10 yards. Instant cast, 19% of base mana.

Immolation Trap - Place a fire trap that will burn the first enemy to approach for [RAP * 0.1 + 1885] Fire damage over 15 sec. Instant cast, 9% of base mana.

Frost Traps:

Freezing Trap - Place a frost trap that freezes the first enemy that approaches, preventing all action for up to 20 sec. Any damage caused will break the ice. Trap will exist for 30 sec. Only one trap can be active at a time. Instant cast, 3% of base mana.

Frost Trap - Place a frost trap that creates an ice slick around itself for 30 sec when the first enemy approaches it. All enemies within 10 yards will be slowed by 50% while in the area of effect. Instant cast, 2% of base mana. As of 3.2, enemies who are immune to Frost Trap's effects will still trigger the trap but will not trigger Lock and Load.

Nature Traps:

Snake Trap - Lv 68 Skill. Place a trap that will release several venomous snakes to attack the first enemy to approach. The snakes will die after 15 sec. Instant cast, 9% of base mana.

Aspects:

Currently, Aspects are not on the Global Cooldown. They do share a 1 sec cooldown between each Aspect, however.

Aspect of the Beast - The hunter takes on the aspects of a beast, becoming untrackable and increasing melee attack power of the hunter and the hunter's pet by 10%. Only one Aspect can be active at a time. This Aspect can be powerful when used during Bestial Wrath, as that is another ability that increases pet’s damage (already melee) by a percentage.

Aspect of the Cheetah - The hunter takes on the aspects of a cheetah, increasing movement speed by 30%. If the hunter is struck, he or she will be dazed for 4 sec.

Aspect of the DragonHawk – Lv74 (rank 1) and Lv80 (rank 2). The hunter takes on the aspects of a dragonhawk, increasing ranged attack power by 230 and chance to dodge by 18%.

Aspect of the Hawk - The hunter takes on the aspects of a hawk, increasing ranged attack power by 300. This aspect (or its Dragonhawk incarnation) is what most hunters will have on at most times.

Aspect of the Monkey - The hunter takes on the aspects of a monkey, increasing chance to dodge by 18%. This aspect becomes obsolete at lv74, as Dragonhawk has its effect built in.

Aspect of the Pack - The hunter and group members within 30 yards take on the aspects of a pack of cheetahs, increasing movement speed by 30%. If you are struck under the effect of this aspect, you will be dazed for 4 sec. Also known as Aspect of the Daze, Aspect of the Noob, etc etc.

Aspect of the Viper - The hunter takes on the aspect of the viper, causing ranged and melee attacks to regenerate mana but reducing your total damage done by 50%. In addition, you gain 4% of maximum mana every 3 sec. Mana gained is based on the speed of your ranged weapon.

Aspect of the Wild - The hunter and group members within 30 yards take on the aspect of the wild, increasing Nature resistance by 130.

Pet Commands:

Bestial Wrath - Send your pet into a rage causing 50% additional damage for 18 sec. While enraged, the beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear and it cannot be stopped unless killed. (31 pt. BM talent required) Instant cast, 10% of base mana.

Call Stabled Pet - Lv 80 Skill. Choose one of your stabled pets to replace your current pet. The selected pet busts out of its stable to join you no matter where you are. Cannot be used in combat. 30 minute cooldown. All hunters rejoice with the addition of this skill, which can be learned from trainers.

Intimidation - The next attack your pet makes causes a high amount of threat and stuns the target for 3 seconds. On a 1 minute cooldown, costs 8% of base mana.

Kill Command - Lv 66 Skill. Give the command to kill, increasing your pet's damage done from special attacks by 60%. Each special attack done by the pet reduces the damage bonus by 20%. Instant cast, 3% of base mana.

The Beast Within - When your pet is under the effects of Bestial Wrath, you also go into a rage causing 10% additional damage and reducing mana costs of all spells by 20% for 18 sec. While enraged, you do not feel pity or remorse or fear and you cannot be stopped unless killed. (41 pt. BM talent required)

Misc/Melee Abilities:

Deterrence - When activated, increases parry chance by 100% and grants a 100% chance to deflect spells cast by targets in front of you. While Deterrence is active, you cannot attack. Lasts 5 sec. 1.5 minute cooldown. New in 3.2: Deterrence now works from any direction.

Disengage - You attempt to disengage from the target, leaping backwards. Must be facing the target. 14% of base mana.

Hunter's Mark - Places the Hunter's Mark on the target, increasing the ranged attack power of all attackers against that target by 500. In addition, the target of this ability can always be seen by the hunter whether it stealths or turns invisible. The target also appears on the mini-map. Lasts for 5 min, costs 2% base mana. Instant cast.

Misdirection - Lv 70 Skill. Threat caused by your next 3 attacks is redirected to the target raid member. Caster and target can only be affected by one Misdirection spell at a time. Effect lasts 30 sec. Instant cast. 9% of base mana.

Mongoose Bite - Attack the enemy for [AP * 0.2 + 280] damage. 3% of base mana. 5 second cooldown.

Raptor Strike - A strong attack that increases melee damage by 335. 4% of base mana. Raptor Strike is tied to the swing timer and thus will be used after the next melee auto-attack is ready. 6 second cooldown.

Readiness - When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Hunter abilities. (41 pt. MM talent required)

Volley - Continuously fires a volley of ammo at the target area, causing 505 Arcane damage to enemy targets within 8 yards every second for 6 sec. Instant cast, 17% of base mana. (Note: this spell no longer has a cooldown, and scales with AP.)

Wing Clip - Maims the enemy, reducing the target's movement speed by 50% for 10 sec. 6% of base mana.


E. Hunter Math (at level 80)
1 point of AGI = 1 point Melee Attack Power and Ranged Attack Power
1 AGI = .012% crit, meaning 83 agi = 1% crit.
46 Crit Rating = 1% crit SO 1 AGI = 0.5542 Crit Rating, 1 Crit Rating = 0.022% crit.
32.8 points of Hit Rating = +1% hit
vs. Lv80 (PvP), no miss = 5% = 164 Hit Rating
vs. Lv83 (PvE raid bosses), no miss = 8% = 262.4 Hit Rating
3/3 Focused Aim is equivalent to an additional 98.4 Hit Rating (32.8 Hit per talent point) at lv80.
Hit % is transferred over to your pet in whole numbers and irrespective of Focused Aim. For this reason, a BM hunter is advised to forgo FA and aspire for 262.4 or higher Hit Rating.
1231 Armor Pen = 100% Armor reduction (therefore capped)
32.79 Haste Rating = 1% haste. BM hunters are advised to avoid haste wherever possible. MM and SV Hunters should try and get enough Haste to lower the cast time of Steady Shot to 1.5 sec, matching the Global Cooldown. The amount needed to do this is 522.7.
1 INT = 1 RAP if spec'd with 3/3 Careful Aim.
1 STA = .3 RAP if spec'd with 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
1 point of Strength = 1 point Melee Attack Power

II. Pets

Pets got overhauled in 3.0! Forget everything you knew about them before - here is all you need to know about hunter pets.

First off, pets fall into 3 different categories: Cunning Pets, Ferocity Pets, and Tenacity pets. Cunning pets have special unique abilities, such as root or disarm effects, typically used for PvP. Ferocity pets have abilities that enhance their damage, as well as a natural bonus to damage. Tenacity pets have more armor and are better suited for tanking. Each type of pet has a different, unique talent tree. Refer to http://petopia.brashendeavors.net to find out what class your pet falls into.

A. Pet Talents

Cunning Talents
Cobra Reflexes - Take this. It's a net damage bonus, and attacking faster depletes charge-based defense faster.
Dash/Dive - Take this too. There's nothing better at this tier.
Great Stamina - Worthless. If someone wants your pet dead the extra health isn't going to stop them.
Natural Armor - Worthless. See Great Stamina.

Boar's Speed - This is tempting, and a definite "maybe". The bonus speed is very nice, but usually I take Mobility instead. Consider taking this instead if your crit rating is low.
Mobility - Lowers the Dash/Dive cooldown by quite a bit. Very worth it, but make sure not to have Dive on autocast or your pet will blow it every time the enemy moves a foot.
Owl's Focus - Handy but not something to really care about. Consider it if you have a low crit rating.
Spiked Collar - Extra damage. It's good. Take it if you have the points, but remember the point of cunning pets is utility.

Avoidance - If you have spare points, consider putting them here. This talent is worthless, but Wolverine Bite is delicious, and Avoidance is required for it.
Lionhearted - Useful for keeping your pet in the fight. Consider it, but only if CC on your pet is becoming an issue for you.
Carrion Feeder - This is possibly the worst talent ever.

Great Resistance - Do not take this. Ever. For any reason.
Cornered - I like this talent. More damage and less crits on your pet at low health, and more importantly leads into Bullheaded.
Feeding Frenzy - This is why you take Spiked Collar. Large damage increase when the enemy is at less than 35%.

Wolverine Bite - This is an awesome, awesome talent that deals lots of DPS.
Roar of Recovery - Nice for longer fights. Really nice.
Bullheaded - It's a second PvP trinket on a 3 minute cooldown that removes impairing effects and reduces the pets damage taken by 20% for 12 sec. I recommend it.
Grace of the Mantis - Don't bother unless you have points to spare and want Roar of Sacrifice.

Wild Hunt - This talent is always spectacular, but earlier talents are very beneficial as well. You will not have enough points to get this unless you're BM.
Roar of Sacrifice - Awesome, awesome talent that increases your survivability by quite a bit.
Personal build of choice (PvP utility)

Ferocity Talents
Cobra Reflexes - Take this. It's a DPS boost and that's what Ferocity is all about.
Dash/Dive - Take this too, but only use it in emergencies. It's the best of the other choices you have this tier.
Great Stamina - Worthless.
Natural Armor - Also worthless.

Improved Cower - Still worthless.
Bloodthirsty - The healing is nice, as is the happiness bonus, but it's not essential. I usually take a point in it.
Spiked Collar - Take all three points in this. It's extra DPS.
Boar's Speed - Don't bother. Speed is covered by Dash/Dive.

Avoidance - Take all three points in this. Good for raids, but more importantly gets you into Rabid.
Lionhearted - Worthless.
Charge - Worthless. You get to use it once.

Heart of the Pheonix - This is good if and only if you are a bad hunter.
Spider's Bite - More DPS. Take it all the way.
Great Resistance - Utterly, totally worthless. I suspect it's in there as a trap for bad hunters.

Rabid - Take this. It's a huge DPS increase and absolutely worth the three points in Avoidance it takes to get there.
Lick Your Wounds - See Heart of the Pheonix.
Call of the Wild - Take this too. At the moment it's bugged and only works up to 20 yards range, but gets you into Wild Hunt and is good on its own.

Shark Attack - Less DPS than Wild Hunt, but very good. Take it if you're BM.
Wild Hunt - As usual, a spectacular talent. Take one point in it if you're non-BM, and both points if you're BM.
Build of choice (PvE dps)

Tenacity Talents
Cobra Reflexes - If you're trying to make a Tenacity pet into a DPS pet, take this. Otherwise, you have better things to spent talent points on.
Charge - Useless. You will use it once in a fight and most things are immune to the immobilizing effect. The only real benefit is the melee attack power, but as mentioned, you only get it once per fight.
Great Stamina - Now we're talking. Take this all the way.
Natural Armor - Also very nice for a tank pet. Take it. Like Great Stamina, the big benefits are in the next tier of talents.

Spiked Collar - You're a tanking pet. You don't need more damage. The extra threat is nice, but overall a mediocre talent at best for Tenacity pets.
Boar's Speed - The only situation in which you would take this is if you get bored waiting for your pet to get to a target.
Blood of the Rhino - The best talent in the 2nd Tier. Extra healing effects on your pet is spectacular and more health is nice.
Pet Barding - Dodge chance is nice, as is extra armor.

Avoidance - Take this talent only if you expect to use it. If you're in an AoE-heavy environment, it's awesome. Otherwise it's wasted points.
Guard Dog - The extra threat is very, very nice, and the happiness is just gravy. Recommended.
Lionhearted - Like Avoidance, take it only if you expect to have to deal with the effects in question (in this case Fear and Stun).
Thunderstomp - Take it. Even if you aren't AoE tanking, the extra threat and damage is nice, and for AoE tanking it can't be beat.

Grace of the Mantis - Take it, but only because there's nothing else worthwhile this tier and it's requires for some good stuff.
Great Resistance - Totally, utterly worthless. Any kind of elemental damage that's worth resisting is going to be an AoE or so much that the tiny resistance this grants will be useless.

Last Stand - With a six-minute cooldown and a 20-second duration, this is useful only if you need a panic button. A very brief panic button.
Taunt - Don't bother. Pet taunts aren't effective versus character taunts anymore, so the utility of pulling the dragon off the badly-geared DK who Death Gripped it is gone.
Roar of Sacrifice - As of 3.2, this ability can now be used on any friendly target to make that target immune to critical strikes, but the hunter pet takes 20% of all damage taken by that friendly target. Cooldown is now 1 minute, up from 30 seconds.
Intervene - Don't bother. The range is very short, and it only affects one attack. If your reaction time is high enough that you can react to one attack you can Distracting Shot the mob instead.

Silverback - This is kinda nice, but it's not Wild Hunt. Take it if you have bonus points to play with from BM.
Wild Hunt - This talent is excellent and highly recommended. Extra stamina and attack power, and it scales with your gear.
Build of choice (Tanking)
Alternate tanking build

B. Pet Types

Now that that's out of the way, it's time for note-worthy pets. These days, you can pretty much close your eyes and pick a pet out of a hat and it will serve you well, you can PRETTY MUCH pick whatever you want. But if you want to min-max or have the best, these are your options:

Cunning Pets:

Chimera(requires Exotic Pets): The Chimeras main strength is that it has a 5-second movement speed debuff on a 10 second cooldown, 7 seconds with 3/3 longevity which you should have if you have the exotic pet talent. This is extremely useful for keeping melee off of you.

Serpents: The perfect counter to healers. The dot keeps them from shadowmelding or stealthing, and the 50% cast time slow makes priests and shamans hate you. Orrrrr they just cleanse it, you know whatever.

Birds of Prey: A 4 second disarm is worth noting, as it will shut down a rogues initial stunlock by removing their ability to attack during it. However, if a rogue has you stunlocked you're pretty much fucked anyway.

Spider / Silithid: Silithid is the BM hunter's choice here, but both have immobilizing effects that last for 4 seconds. The cooldown is long, but they might be worth it to force the enemy to use their trinket.

Ferocity Pets:

Devilsaurs(requires exotic pets): This is the best BM pet currently. You can tame them in Ungoro Crater.

Cat: These bear mention only because they were the best DPS pet for a very long time. This is no longer the case.

Wolf: The second-best BM pet, and by far the best pet for all other specs. There are level 80 wolves in Storm Peaks you can tame, and as a bonus they change color between white and grey when summoned.

Wasp: Significantly lower than Wolf or Cat DPS, but are notable for their sting. It provides a minor armor debuff, so if you're in a 25 man raid with lots of physical DPS and no feral druid, this will boost raid DPS by more than the DPS you lose. Also the anti-Rogue, as the sting makes it impossible to stealth.

Spirit Beast(requires exotic pets): Spirit Beasts do good DPS, since 3.0.8, but not as much as Devilsaurs. Be aware, if they end up as top DPS as gear upgrades take effect, they WILL be nerfed, as it is not Blizzard's intention that hunters who min/max should HAVE to get a rare pet.

Tenacity Pets:

Note: in 3.1, Thunderstomp was turned into a Tenacity tree talent, rather than a Gorilla family-specific skill, and is now available to all Tenacity pets, greatly increasing their usefulness compared to Gorillas.

Gorilla: Gorilla - Pummel is very solid in PvP, but not hugely useful in PvE.

Crocolisk: Currently the best AoE tanking pet, as the Bad Attitude snap-back skill is effective against mutliple enemies hitting the Crocolisk at once, and combined with Thunderstomp is even better. Highly recommended.

Scorpid: Highest single-target threat. Highest single-target DPS of Tenacity pets (and, indeed, high in general). The most overlooked pet in the game, I highly recommend you pick one up and at least try it out.

Bears: The alternative to a Crocolisk. Swipe is better threat than Bad Attitude, but it only hits 3 targets. Probably better off just taking a Croc, but worth a note.

Crab: Notable for its pin ability, good in PvP.

Pets get 100% of hit rating, however they do NOT get hit from talents like Focused Aim(this is presumably a bug). Note, your hit rating is transferred to the pet in WHOLE NUMBERS, rounding down. So if you have 7.99% hit, your pet will only get 7%. 3.2 Note: All pets now receive 40% of their master's resilience and 100% of their master's spell penetration. In addition, if a player is at their appropriate spell hit chance or hit chance maximum, their pet will be at the maximum for spell hit chance, hit chance, and expertise. If they are below the maximum, their pet will be proportionately below those maximums.

There are more pets out there! If you MUST have some funky pet that's out of the norm, go ahead, but chances are serious raiders will look at you funny. For information on pets that aren't listed in this section, check http://www.brashendeavors.net

D. Enhancers

Pets can be enhanced through buffs, scrolls, and pet foods. Most buffs placed on you will indirectly affect your pet because of the transfer of stats. If you can, try and get your pet buffed with Kings and Might when possible (pets are considered Warriors as far as paladin buffs are concerned. Strength scrolls are usually most effective on a pet, though if there is a death knight in your group, it will be unnecessary. Pets can be fed with Spiced Mammoth Treats for more strength as well, but those require Northern Spices to cook. Kibler's Bits used to be the same buff but were reduced in 3.1 to give less Strength. Kind of sad, instead of buffing Spiced Mammoth Treats. But we move on.


III. Talent Trees

A. Beast Mastery

This tree is all about beefing up your pet. Intimidation gives your pet a powerful stun ability. Serpent's Swiftness increases the attack speed of both you and your pet, and is invaluable for increased DPS. The 31 Point talent, Bestial Wrath, turns your pet into a giant red death monster that eats all clothies and can't be stopped by anything, while the 41 point talent, The Beast Within, turns YOU into a big red monster as well. Anyone going deep into this tree should pick up both of these talents. Bestial Discipline synergizes well with Go For the Throat in the Marksman tree. The 51 point BM talent, Beast Mastery, new with 3.0, allows hunters to tame Exotic pets, as well as giving the hunter 4 extra Pet Talent points with which to use as they please.

Best Talents: Improved Aspect of the Hawk, Focused Fire, Imp Revive Pet, Aspect Mastery, Imp Mend Pet, Unleashed Fury, Ferocity, Bestial Discipline, Frenzy, Animal Handler (for raiding), Bestial Wrath, Ferocious Inspiration, Serpent's Swiftness, Longevity, The Beast Within, Cobra Strikes, Kindred Spirits.

Good Talents: Endurance Training (better with tanking pets), Intimidation, Spirit Bond (only with a tanking pet), Invigoration, Beast Mastery (much better if you need an exotic pet).

Trash Talents: Thick Hide (unless you have a pure tanking pet), Imp. Aspect of the Monkey, Pathfinding, Catlike Reflexes.

B. Marksmanship

The Marksman tree, always the stalwart tree of the Hunter class, is focused mainly on huge burst damage. People focused heavily in this tree should be used to seeing 4000+ chimera shot crits, 2000+ steady shot crits, etc. This build is highly dependant on a mixture of AP, AGI, and INT, in that order of priority. The heavily MM spec'd Hunter is the desired spec for 5v5 Arenas. With 3.0, Trueshot Aura is now a raid wide buff, making MM hunters a bit more raid viable. Readiness has been moved into the Marksman tree, as the 21 point talent. The 51 point talent, Chimera Shot, synergizes with stings. It refreshes the stings and does extra effects based on the sting that is on at the moment. In the latter part of 3.1 the buff to Armor Pen, combined with the increased amount of Armor Pen gear, MM hunters have finally come into their own. With enough Armor Pen (~550 with Mjolnir's Runestone, ~650+ without), Marksmen hunters can drop Arcane Shot from their rotation, freeing up 3 talent points for talents such as Imp. Hunter's Mark or filling out Imp. Steady Shot, giving a significant boost in DPS and placing MM hunters at the top. It is expected that in 3.2, as more of the amazing ArP gear in the Colusseum begin to drop that MM will become the top DPS spec.

Best Talents: Lethal Shots, Careful Aim, Mortal Shots, Go for the Throat, Readiness, Barrage, Ranged Weapon Specialization, Piercing Shots, Trueshot Aura, Improved Barrage, Master Marksman, Wild Quiver, Imp. Steady Shot (a MUST if you are dropping Arcane Shot from your rotation or have 4/4 T8), Chimera Shot.

Good Talents: Focused Aim (best if you aren't hit capped), Improved Arcane Shot, Aimed Shot, Rapid Killing (becomes much better when combined with Rapid Recuperation), Improved Stings, Efficiency, Combat Experience, Rapid Recuperation (much better in conjunction with Rapid Killing), Silencing Shot (PvP only), Improved Steady Shot (depends entirely on your spec), Marked for Death.

Trash Talents: Imp. Concussive Shot, Imp. Hunter's Mark (unless you are the bitch in the raid forced to spec for it), Concussive Barrage

C. Survival

The Survival Tree has had significant changes AGAIN with the advent of the 3.1 patch. Survival hunters can have the highest AP of all the trees, from AGI being increased through Lightning Reflexes as well as talents that can convert both INT and a portion of STA into AP. Trap Mastery has been moved down into the 11 point section and is now a 3 point talent, replacing Improved Wing Clip, which has been removed. The new Survival 41 point talent, Black Arrow, has replaced Serpent Sting as the main source of Lock 'n' Load procs. The survivel rotation has become more complex. Black Arrow shares its cooldown with traps, so be wary of this. As of 3.0, Expose Weakness is a solo-only buff, meaning that multiple SV hunters are very viable in raids. As a replacement for the loss of this raid wide buff, SV hunters can now give the raid Replenishment. New in 3.2: Lock and Load now has a 22 second internal cooldown but seemingly has a higher chance to proc. Replenishment has been nerfed by 20%.

Best Talents: Improved Tracking, Survival Instincts, Survivalist, T.N.T., Lock and Load, Hunter vs. Wild, Killer Instinct, Lightning Reflexes, Expose Weakness, Thrill of the Hunt, Master Tactician, Noxious Stings, Sniper Training, Hunting Party, Black Arrow, Explosive Shot.

Good Talents: Hawk Eye, Savage Strikes (much better for PvP), Surefooted (PvP only), Trap Mastery (used to be trash but the Black Arrow damage increase makes it much more worth taking now), Scatter Shot, Survival Tactics, Resourcefulness (again, its usefulness is now increased because it reduces the cost of Black Arrow), Wyvern Sting (best if you're getting it to take Noxious Stings), Point of No Escape

Trash Talents: Entrapment (good for PvP however), Deflection, Counterattack,

IV. Levelling

Starting a hunter from lv1, how could I level up my character? (Note: this is only a suggestion.)

Levels 10-14 - 5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk
Levels 15-16 - 2/2 Focused Fire
Levels 17-18 - 2/2 Improved Revive Pet
Level 19 - 1/5 Endurance Training
Levels 20-24 - 5/5 Unleashed Fury
Levels 25-29 - 5/5 Ferocity
Levels 30-31 - 2/2 Bestial Discipline
Level 32 - 1/1 Intimidation
Level 33 - 1/2 Improved Mend Pet
Level 34 - 1/1 Aspect Mastery
Levels 35-38 - 4/5 Frenzy
Level 39 - 1/2 Animal Handler
Level 40 - 1/1 Bestial Wrath
Level 41 - 2/2 Animal Handler
Levels 42-44 - 3/3 Ferocious Inspiration
Levels 45-49 - 5/5 Serpent's Swiftness
Level 50 - 1/1 Beast Within
Level 51 - 2/2 Improved Mend Pet
Levels 52-53 - 2/2 Spirit Bond or 2/3 Longevity - The former allows you to keep going without having to heal incidental wounds while the latter allows faster dps.
Level 54 - Put a point somewhere - you can either get max Longevity if you chose that route, buff your health a little more, get faster riding speed, or go back and finish off Frenzy.
Levels 55-59 - 5/5 Kindred Spirits
Level 60 - 1/1 Beast Mastery
Levels 61-65 - 5/5 Lethal Shots
Levels 66-70 - 5/5 Mortal Shots
Level 71 – 1/2 Go for the Throat
Levels 72-74 – 3/3 Careful Aim
Leves 75-77 – 3/3 Cobra Strikes
Levels 78-80 – 3/3 Focused Aim

BM isn’t the only leveling spec however, some players find that MM is a tad easier for them, since Trueshot Aura has the added benefit of greatly increasing the power of your pet’s Growl ability. However, DPS would be affected significantly, so while the pet may not lose aggro much, overall leveling time would increase.

Some changes can be made to the leveling guide above based on various situations: if you have really good gear coming out of TBC, you may be able to get by without Focused Aim, especially if you’re getting a lot of +hit gear while leveling. Usually however the good +hit gear doesn’t start showing up until lv80. If your gear is really lacking on INT, it would be recommended to skip Careful Aim and instead put those points into filling out Go for the Throat and Rapid Killing, or Aimed Shot. Two points in Go for the Throat is also recommended if your crit rating is low (below 20-25%).


V. Level 80 Talent Specs, Version 3.1

Beast Mastery:

52/12/7 - This tree goes into Survival to grab some additional crit.

54/17/0 - A version of the levelling guide spec, this spec grabs most of the important BM tree talents including Beast Mastery for Exotic Pets RAWR DEVILSAUR!!

Marksmanship:

11/55/5 - A standard MM build for soloing and 5 mans.

7/57/7 - This is the most likely MM raiding spec post-3.1, taking into account changes in the cost of Chimera Shot, Silencing Shot being removed from the GCD, and the buffs to various talents such as Rapid Recuperation, Piercing Shots, and Wild Quiver. This spec assumes that you have at least 263 hit on your gear. If you need more hit, points should be moved from Imp. Barrage into Focused Aim, as needed. Updated for 3.1.3.

11/60/0 - Another variation of a deep MM spec, focused less on haste and crit and more on mana efficiency.

7/57/7 - This is the most likely high-end MM spec. This is a variation of the previous 7/57/7 spec but assumes that the player is near or at the ArPen cap, either through gear+gems alone or with a passive ArPen trinket such as Mjolnir Runestone.

Survival:

0/15/56 - A likely main raiding spec for Survival, focuses on all of the talents that increase damage or buff the hunter's stats most effectively. Expose Weakness and Go for the Throat do not need to be filled out fully as this spec assumes a high crit rate (33-50%).

0/17/54 - Another version of the previous spec, this spec assumes that you do not have maxed hit rating. Points have been taken out of Resourcefulness and Aimed Shot and put into Focused Aim. If you want Aimed Shot back, get more hit, buddy!

5/14/52 - Some people are using this spec, under the assumption that 5/5 Imp Hawk will end up dealing more damage than Noxious Stings. I find this logic suspect.

VI. Gear - will soon be upgraded with Trial of the Crusader and other 3.2 items

When talking about gear, you first need to know what stats are important for hunters. Prior to WotLK, it was best to stack agility over other stats, but it now depends on your spec. Beast Mastery hunters will want to stack Attack Power, Survival hunters will want to stack Agility, and Marksman hunters can more-or-less stack either. You don't need to really worry about this while leveling and will see all sorts of crazy itemization before you get to level 60. You'll see hunter gear with strength on it or mp5, but don't worry and just grab items that increase your base stats whatever else they might bring with them.

Your stat priorities at the level cap are roughly as follows:
Hit to 263, which is 8%.
Stack agility or attack power depending on your spec
Haste to 522.7 (ignore this line completely if you're specced Beast Mastery)
Armor Penetration (Higher Priority than Agility in MM spec - its effectiveness goes up the more you have.)
Crit (usually comes naturally through gear upgrades and talents, not necessary to focus on much)
Intellect (if you have Careful Aim from the Marksman tree, this add to damage)
Stamina (if you're specced Survival, this adds to your damage as well through Hunter vs. Wild)
Gear Planning

This list doesn't currently include any PvP gear or any of the new gear from the Trial of the Crusader raid (all four versions). That stuff will be added soon, I promise!

A. Ranged Weapons

Mark 'S' Boomstick - crafted
Polished Zombie Exterminator - Icecrown quest reward
Drakkari Hunting Bow - Gundrak
Zombie Sweeper Shotgun - Argent Crusade Revered
Pierce's Pistol - Heroic Culling of Stratholme
Amanitar Skullbow - Heroic Old Kingdom
Nesingwary 4000 - crafted
Drake-Mounted Crossbow - Heroic Utgarde Keep
Accursed Bow of the Elite - Naxxramas (normal)
True-aim Long Rifle - Trial of the Champion (heroic)
Final Voyage - Naxxramas (heroic)
Nerubian Conquerer - Naxxramas (normal)
Arrowsong - Naxxramas (heroic)
Rifle of the Platinum Guard - Ulduar 10
Golemheart Longbow - Ulduar 10 trash drop
Avalanche - Ulduar 10
Envoy of Mortality - Naxxramas (heroic)
Deliverance - Ulduar 10
Magnetized Projectile Emitter - Ulduar 10 (hard)
Giant's Bane - Ulduar 25
Siren's Cry - Ulduar 25
Skyforge Crossbow - Ulduar 25 (hard)


Should I craft the Nesingwary 4000?
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B. One Handed Melee Weapons

Fang of Truth - Wyrmrest Honored
Ymiron's Blade - Utgarde Pinnacle
Meathook's Slicer - Culling of Stratholme
Dagger of Betrayal Heroic Utgarde Keep
Broken Stalactite - Sons of Hodir Revered
The Key - Heroic Violet Hold
Crypt Lord's Deft Blade - Heroic Azjol-Nerub
Hatestrike - Naxxramas (normal)
Savage Cobalt Slicer - crafted
Calamity's Grasp - Naxxramas (heroic)
Webbed Death - Naxxramas (heroic)
The Hand of Nerub - Naxxramas (heroic)
Silent Crusader - Naxxramas (trash drop)
Anarchy - Naxxramas (normal)
Hailstorm - Eye of Eternity (either mode)
Sinister Revenge - Naxxramas (heroic)
Kinetic Ripper - Ulduar 10
Razorscale Talon - Ulduar 10
Runed-Etched Nightblade - Ulduar 10
Remorse - Ulduar 25
Malice - Ulduar 25
Perilous Bite - Ulduar 10 (hard)

C. Two Handed Melee Weapons

Whale-Stick Harpoon - Kalu'ak Revered
Wyrmclaw Battleaxe - Oculus
Runeblade of Demonstrable Power Ebon Blade - Revered
Wraith Spear - Naxxramas (normal)
Claymore of Ancient Power - Naxxramas (normal)
Cryptfiend's Bite - Naxxramas (normal)
Staff of the Plague Beast - Naxxramas (normal)[only after 3.0.8]
Betrayer of Humanity - Naxxramas (heroic)
Black Ice - Eye of Eternity (either mode)
Relentless Edge - Ulduar 10
Journey's End - Naxxramas (heroic) [only after 3.0.8]
Marrowstrike - Trial of the Champion (heroic)
Hoperender - Ulduar 10
Tortured Earth - Ulduar 10 (hard)
Stormrune Edge - Ulduar 25
Twisted Visage - Ulduar 25
Lotrafen, Spear of the Damned - Ulduar 25
Dreambinder - Ulduar 25 (hard)
Dark Edge of Depravity - Ulduar 25 (hard)

D. Helms

King Dred's Helm - Heroic Drak'Tharon Keep
Plunderer's Helmet - Heroic Utgarde Keep
Truesight Ice Blinders - crafted (engineering only)
Arc-Scorched Helmet - Naxxramas (normal)
Hyaline Helm of the Sniper - Obsidian Sanctum (heroic)
Heroes' Cryptstalker Headpiece - Token drop
Valorour Cryptstalker Headpiece - Token drop
Helm of the Grave - Naxxramas (heroic)
Blue Aspect Helm - Eye of Eternity (heroic)
Helm of the Furnace Master - Ulduar 25
Valorous Scourgestalker Headpiece - Token drop
Conqueror's Scourgestalker Headpiece - Token drop

E. Necklaces

The Severed Noose of Westwind - Icecrown quest reward
Necklace of Arcane Spheres - Heroic Violet Hold
Pendant of the Outcast Hero - 25 Emblems of Heroism
Titanium Impact Choker - crafted
Gem of Imprisoned Vassals - Naxxramas (normal)
Pendant of the Dragonsworn - Quest reward
Icy Blast Amulet - Naxxramas (heroic)
Fool's Trial - Naxxramas (heroic)
Ancient Pendant of Arathor - Trial of the Champion (heroic)
Choker of the Abyss - Ulduar 10
Favor of the Dragon Queen - Quest reward
Nymph Heart Charm - Ulduar 25
Broach of the Wailing Night - 19 Emblems of Conquest
Pendulum of Infinity - Ulduar 25 (hard)

F. Cloaks

Cloak of the Agile Mind - BoE World Drop
Cloak of the Gushing Wound - Heroic Violet Hold
Centrifuge Core Cloak - Oculus
Cloak of Holy Extermination - Argent Crusade Honored
Ice Striker's Cloak - crafted
Cloak of Darkening - Naxxramas (normal)
Cloak of Mastery - Naxxramas (normal)
Hammerhead Sharkskin Cloak - 25 Emblems of Valor
Aged Winter Cloak - Naxxramas (heroic)
Drape of the Deadly Foe - Naxxramas (heroic)
Winter's Frigid Embrace - Ulduar 10
Shawl of the Shattered Giant - Ulduar 10
Drape of the Lithe - Ulduar 25
Drape of Icy Intent - Ulduar 25 (hard)
Drape of the Faceless General - Ulduar 10 (hard)

G. Shoulderpieces

Spaulders of the Abomination - Heroic Culling of Stratholme
Pauldrons of Havoc - Naxxramas (normal)
Spaulders of Egotism - Naxxramas (heroic)
Spaulders of the Black Arrow - Ebon Blade Revered
Shoulderpads of Secret Arts - Naxxramas (normal)
Heroes' Cryptstalker Spaulders - Token drop
Upstanding Spaulders - Obsidian Sanctum (heroic)
Pauldrons of the Abandoned - Naxxramas (normal)
Pauldrons of Concealed Loathing - Trial of the Champion (heroic)
Valorous Cryptstalker Spaulders - Token drop
Treacherous Shoulderpads - Ulduar 10
Ironaya's Discarded Mantle - Ulduar 10
Shoulderpads of the Monolith - Ulduar 25
Shoulderpads of Misfortune - Ulduar 25 trash drop
Iron-Studded Mantle - Ulduar 25
Valorous Scourgestalker Spaulders - Token drop
Mantle of Fiery Vengeance - Ulduar 10 (hard)
Conqueror's Scourgestalker Spaulders - Token drop

H. Chestpieces

Aviary Guardsman's Hauberk - BoE Drak'Tharon Keep trash drop
Chestpiece of Suspicion - Naxxramas (heroic)
Hauberk of the Arcane Wraith - Heroic Nexus
Darkheart Chestguard - Ebon Blade Exalted
Heroe's Cryptstalker Tunic - Token drop
Polished Regimental Hauberk - Argent Crusade Exalted
Tunic of the Lost Pack - Naxxramas (normal)
Valorous Cryptstalker Tunic - Token drop
Chestguard of the Ravenous Fiend - Trial of the Champion (heroic)
Chestguard of Flagrant Prowess - Obsidian Sanctum /w 2 adds
Tunic of Masked Suffering - Naxxramas (heroic)
Tunic of the Limber Stalker - Ulduar 10
Chestguard of the Lasher - Ulduar 10
Valorous Scourgestalker Tunic - Token drop
Chestguard of Insidious Intent - Ulduar 25
Conqueror's Scourgestalker Tunic - Token drop

I. Bracers

Eaglebande Bracers - crafted
Dragonfriend Bracers - Wyrmrest Exalted
Cuffs of Dark Shadows - Naxxramas
Bands of Anxiety - Naxxramas
Wristwraps of the Cutthroat - 60 Emblems of Valor
Sinner's Bindings - Naxxramas (normal)
Interwoven Scale Bracers - Heroic Nexus
Wristguards of Ceaseless Regret - Trial of the Champion (normal)
Armguard of the Tower Archer - 60 Emblems of Valor
Giantmaim Bracers - crafted
Slime Stream Bands - Naxxramas (normal)
Arachnoid Gold Band - Naxxramas (normal)
Bracers of the Smothering Inferno - Ulduar 10
Mechanist's Bindings - Ulduar 25
Fluxing Energy Coils - Ulduar 10 (hard)

J. Gloves

Swiftarrow Gauntlets - crafted
Grips of the Beast God - Heroic Gundrak
Gloves of Fast Reactions - Naxxramas (heroic)
Frosted Adroit Handguards - Eye of Eternity (heroic)
Rusted-Link Spiked Guantlets - Naxxramas (normal)
Handgrips of the Savage Emissary - Heroic Violet Hold
Heroes' Cryptstalker Handguards - Token drop
Grotesque Handgrips - Naxxramas (heroic)
Glove of Calculated Risk - Naxxramas
Gloves of the Dark Exile - Trial of the Champion (heroic)
Valorous Cryptstalker Handguards - Token drop
Gloves of Taut Grip - Ulduar 10
Gloves of Unerring Aim - 28 Emblems of Conquest
Gloves of the Fiery Behemoth - Uluar 25
Valorous Scourgestalker Handgrips - Token drop
Conqueror's Scourgestalker Handgrips - Token drop
Gloves of the Steady Hand - Ulduar 25 (hard)

K. Belts

Cord of Swirling Winds - Heroic Halls of Lightning
Belt of Tasseled Lanterns - BoE Gundrak trash drop
Sovereign's Belt - Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle
Blistered Belt of Decay - Naxxramas (normal)
Vereesa's Silver Chain Belt - 40 Emblems of Heroism
Belt of Merciless Cruelty - Trial of the Champion (normal)
Stalk-Skin Belt - Naxxramas (heroic)
Spectral Rider's Girdle - Naxxramas (normal)
Torn Web Wrapping - Naxxramas
Depraved Linked Belt - Naxxramas
Belt of the Ardent Marksman - 28 Emblems of Conquest
Relic Hunter's Cord - Ulduar 25 trash drop
Waistguard of the Creator - Ulduar 25
Belt of Dragons - crafted
Belt of the Betrayed - Ulduar 25

L. Leggings

Swiftarrow Leggings - crafted
Azure Ringmail Leggings - Heroic Oculus
Leggings of the Stone Halls - Heroic Halls of Stone
Leggings of Fleeting Moments - Naxxramas
Infectious Skitterer Leggings - Naxxramas
Giantmaim Legguards - crafted
Heroes' Crypstalker Legguards - Token drop
Leggings of the Failed Escape - Naxxramas
Leggings of Colossal Strides - Naxxramas
Valorous Cryptstalker Legguards - Token drop
Leggings of Swift Reflexes - Ulduar 10
Leggings of the Tireless Sentry - 39 Emblems of Conquest
Darkcore Leggings - Ulduar 25
Valorous Scourgestalker Legguards - Token drop
Saronite Mesh Legguards - Ulduar 25
Conqueror's Scourgestalker Legguards - Token drop

M. Boots

Dragon Slayer's Sabatons - Heroic Nexus
Twin-Headed Boots - Heroic Violet Hold
Dawnwalkers - Naxxramas
Boots of Captain Ellis - 40 Emblems of Valor
Trespasser's Boots - Naxxramas
Crippled Treads - Naxxramas
Pack-Ice Striders - 40 Emblems of Valor
Scale Boots of the Outlander - Trial of the Champion (normal)
Boots of the Great Construct - Naxxramas (heroic)
Boots of the Renewed Flight - Eye of Eternity (heroic)
Boots of Unsettled Prey - Ulduar 10
Brass-Lined Boots - Ulduar 25
Tempered Mercury Greaves - Ulduar 10 (hard)
Boots of Living Scale - crafted
Greaves of Swift Vengeance - Ulduar 25 (hard)

N. Rings

Stained-Glass Shard Ring - Heroic Dungeon BoE trash drop
Mobius Band - Heroic Culling of Stratholme
Sealing Ring of Grobbulus - Naxxramas
Strong-Handed Ring - Naxxramas (heroic)
Band of the Kirin Tor - Dalaran vendor, 8500g pre-discounts
Titanium Impact Band - crafted
Greatring of Collision - Obsidian Sanctum w/2 adds
Ring of Invincibility - 25 Emblems of Valor
Surge Needle Ring - Eye of Eternity
Band of Draconic Guile - Ulduar 10
Metallic Loop of the Sufferer - Ulduar 25
Cindershard Ring - Ulduar 25
Loop of the Agile - Ulduar 10 (hard)
Brann's Sealing Ring - Ulduar 10 (Algalon quest reward)
Brann's Signet Ring - Ulduar 25 (Algalon quest reward)

O. Trinkets

Fezzik's Pocketwatch - Icecrown quest reward
Mighty Alchemist's Stone - crafted (Alchemy only)
Incisor Fragment - Heroic Drak'Tharon Keep
Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood - Heroic Nexus
Meteorite Whetstone - Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle
Grim Toll - Naxxramas (heroic)
Loatheb's Shadow - Naxxramas
Mirror of Truth - 40 Emblems of Heroism
Banner of Victory - Trial of the Champion (normal)
Fury of the Five Flights - Obsidian Sanctum (heroic)
Bandit's Insignia - Naxxramas (heroic)
Pyrite Infuser Ulduar 10
Blood of the Old God - Ulduar 25
Wrathstone - Ulduar 25
Mjolnir Runestone - Ulduar 10 (hard)
Darkmoon Card: Greatness - crafted
Dark Matter - Ulduar 10 (Algalon)

Note: Some tier gear can also drop from Archavon (T7) and Emalon (T8) (when your faction owns Wintergrasp) on both normal and heroic mode. When Season 7 starts, the new Vault boss, Koralon, will appear, and will be dropping T9 and Season 7 gear.


Ok, so I just hit lv80, what gear can I get quickly?

Most of the reputation rewards in Northrend for Hunters come from the Argent Crusade, so be sure to do their quests in Zul'Drak and Icecrown while you level. That will get you to Revered by the time you're 80 and you can go buy their gun and cloak right away. You'll probably want to do the dungeon reputations in this order:
Argent Crusade
Knights of the Ebon Blade
Wyrmrest Accord
Kirin Tor
Outside of these rep grinds, its recommended to be farming Heroic Utgarde Keep for the Drake Mounted Crossbow, Heroic Drak'Tharon Keep for a helm, trinket, and BoE chest, and Pinnacle for a nice epic belt (Sovereign's Belt).


There are good starter pieces in many of the other instances as well, and of course, many badge items are great as well for hunters who aren't quite yet raiding. The Mirror of Truth is a great trinket that can be bought for 40 Emblems of Heroism, which can be attained through heroic 5 man dungeons (as well as 10 man raids), and the t7 gloves and chest can also be bought with them, for 60 and 80 emblems respectively.

Finally, there are several good crafted pieces that a starting lv80 hunter can benefit from. Leatherworking can make Giantmaim Bracers and Leggings, Jewelcrafters can make the Titanium Impact Band and Choker.


VII. Enchanting

In WotLK there are generally two levels of enchants. The first requires about 1000g of materials and the second requires less than 50g, but is still very good! You'll generally want to reserve the big enchants until you get best in slot items and use the lesser ones for everything else unless you're the WoW equivalent of the Prince of Brunei.

Head

If you're not Revered with Ebon Blade yet, the old TBC Arcanum from the Cenarion Expedition is still pretty decent.

Arcanum of Torment - Knights of the Ebon Blade Revered
Arcanum of Ferocity - Cenarion Expedition Revered

Shoulders

If you're not Exalted with Sons of Hodir yet, the old TBC shoulder enchant from being Exalted with Aldor/Scryer is fine. You might also consider using the PvP shoulder enchant since Stone Keeper's Shards are very easy to acquire and AP is generally more important than crit.

Greater Inscription of the Axe - Sons of Hodir Exalted
Arcanum of Triumph - 40 Stone Keeper's Shards
Greater Inscription of Vengeance - The Aldor Exalted
Inscription of Vengeance - The Aldor Honored
Greater Inscription of the Blade - The Scryers Exalted
Inscription of the Blade - The Scryers Exalted

Back

Major Agility
Superior Agility
Spell Piercing (only for high end PvP)

Chest

Powerful Stats
Super Stats

Wrists

Greater Assault
Striking


Hands

Crusher
Precision
Major Agility
Greater Assault

Legs

Frosthide Leg Armor
Icescale Leg Armor

Weapon

Accuracy
Superior Potency
Exceptional Agility
Greater Potency

2H Weapon

Massacre
Greater Savagery

Ranged

Diamond-cut Refractor Scope
Sun Scope
Heart Seeker Scope


VIII. Gemming

Generally speaking, you want to gem either for Agility or Attack Power, depending on your spec. If you are BM spec, you'll want to stack AP. If you are Survival, stack AGI. For MM, things are a bit more complicated. As of late 3.1/early 3.2, MM hunters really shouldn't consider gemming attack power anymore. Considering the commonality of Combat Experience these days and with how stacking ArPen has affected dps and specs, now they should really gem agility, unless they are attempting to achieve the armor penetration cap. If that is the case they should gem straight ArP. An MM hunter may still consider gemming into AP/crit for PvP.

Meta: There is only one option, and it's Relentless Earthsiege Diamond.
Red: Delicate Scarlet Ruby, or Bright Scarlet Ruby if you're Beast Mastery.
Yellow: Smooth Autumn's Glow. Rigid Autumn's Glow if you are not yet hit-capped.
Blue: Balanced Twilight Opal or Shifting Twilight Opal if you are Survival.

If you need to swap in for Hit, Pristine Monarch Topaz or Glinting Monarch Topaz work for Red and Yellow slots, and Vivid Forest Emerald (for Survival hunters) or Lambent Forest Emerald for Blue slots.

Finally if you are SV spec and are very serious about PvP you may want to consider 1 or 2 Spell Pen gems such as Stormy Sky Sapphire, as a small amount of Spell Pen (35-70) can make sure that Explosive Shot doesn't get resisted as much, getting beyond buffs such as Mark of the Wild.

New in 3.2: Epic Gems! The epic gems hunters would look for are: Bright Cardinal Ruby, Delicate Cardinal Ruby, Fractured Cardinal Ruby, Deadly Ametrine, Glinting Ametrine, Shifting Dreadstone, Rigid King's Amber, Nightmare Tear


IX. Glyphs

VIII: Hunter Glyphs
These are the best major glyphs for various specs.
Beast Mastery
Glyph of Bestial Wrath
Glyph of Serpent Sting
Glyph of Steady Shot
Marksmanship
Glyph of Chimera Shot
Glyph of Kill Shot
Glyph of Serpent Sting
Survival
Glyph of Explosive Shot
Glyph of Kill Shot
Glyph of Serpent Sting/Glyph of Steady Shot.
Minor Glyphs
All hunters should have the same three minor glyphs.
Glyph of Mend Pet
Glyph of Revive Pet
Glyph of Feign Death
There are some other nice Glyphs (some new in 3.1) that can be fun for messing around with in various situations:
Glyph of Mending - A great glyph for gimmick pet tanking builds. In combination with Spirit Bond and Blood of the Rhino, your pet will get 90% additional heals from your Mend Pet and 50% additional heals from other healing sources.
Glyph of Deterrence - PvP glyph. In combination with Survival Tactics, Disengage can be brought down from a 30 second cooldown to 21 seconds.
Glyph of Frost Trap - PvP glyph. With the change to Entrapment a larger AoE area could have more use.
Glyph of Wyvern Sting - PvP glyph.
Glyph of Scare Beast - PvP minor glyph. Only useful against druids, other hunter pets, or Shamans in ghost wolf form.
Glyph of Possessed Strength - Minor glyph, possibly useful when tanking low level instances for friends
List of all available Hunter Glyphs.


X. Consumables

The following consumables are handy for the up and coming hunter, mostly in raiding situations:

Flasks: Flask of Endless Rage, Flask of Relentless Assault (not bad still, if you have leftover mats)
Battle Elixirs: Elixir of Mighty Agility, Elixir of Deadly Strikes, Elixir of Armor Piercing
Guardian Elixirs: Elixir of Mighty Thoughts, Elixir of Mighty Mageblood, Guru's Elixir
Scrolls: Scroll of Agility VIII (Not necessary if you have a Death Knight in proximity)
Food: Hearty Rhino, Poached Nettlefish, Spicy Blue Nettlefish, Spiced Wyrm Burger, Roasted Worg, Baked Manta Ray, Imperial Manta Steak, Grilled Sculpin, Poached Northern Sculpin, Blackened Dragonfin, Mammoth Meal, Mega Mammoth Meal. Blackened Dragonfin is the #1 food to use if there aren't Fish Feasts available.

Keep in mind that you can only use one battle elixir and one guardian elixir at a time. Most likely you will be using Mighty Agility and Mighty Thoughts, if you aren't flasked.


XI. Shot Rotations

Shot rotations are obsolete as of 3.0. Autoshot is no longer linked with Steady Shot, and so for the most part Steady Shot can be spammed on its own, while other attacks such as Stings, Arcane/Explosive/Chimera Shot, and Multi/Aimed Shot are used when their respective cooldowns are up. Depending on your spec, the priority of shots changes. BM spec really needs to only worry about spamming Steady Shot. MM hunters will want to open with stings, spam Steady, and hit Chimera Shot whenever its up, to keep the sting refreshed, with Multi or Aimed as lower priority than Chimera. SV hunters would open with Explosive Shot and then Black Arrow, hitting Aimed Shot/Multishot (depending on spec) and reapplying Serpent Sting when it goes down. Steady Shot is lowest in priority, spammed if all other cooldowns aren't ready. In all cases, Multishot is not to be used when there is crowd controlled enemies nearby. The only real timing needed now for maximizing DPS is making sure to shoot things after the previous shot is over so you don't end up cancelling the previous shot, and timing the next shot so that the least amount of time is wasted after the Global Cooldown has ended.

Shot Priorities

Any skill listed further to the front of the priority list should be shot first as soon as the cooldown is up, regardless of what else is ready. In many cases if shot A is going to be ready in 1 second, but shot B which does less damage is going to be up in .5 seconds, it is better to wait the extra .5 seconds to get out shot A first. Exactly when to do this and for which shots takes practice and experience to garner the best possible DPS over the duration of a fight.

Beast Mastery
Kill Shot->Bestial Wrath->Rapid Fire->Serpent Sting->Arcane Shot->Steady Shot.

Marksmanship
Kill Shot->Rapid Fire->Serpent Sting->Chimera Shot->Aimed Shot/Multishot->Arcane Shot->Steady Shot. Remove Arcane Shot if you have gotten 650+ ArPen and have an ArPen trinket.

Survival
Kill Shot->Rapid Fire->Explosive Shot->Black Arrow->Serpent Sting->Aimed Shot/Multishot->Steady Shot.


XII. Professions

With WotLK, almost all profession items are Bind on Equip, meaning that you can pick whichever profession you like and still have access to the useful items for Hunters, provided you're willing to spend some cash. Some good exceptions are Leatherworking, which allows you to create some very cheap and powerful +114 AP bracer enchants, and Engineering, which offers a Head slot item that is almost identical to the 10 man version of the Tier 7 helm. If that's not enticing enough for you (and it really shouldn't be), you can choose Blacksmithing for extra sockets, Jewelcrafting for BoP gems with additional stats, Enchanting to enchant your rings, or one of the Gathering professions to get a ton of gold. Leatherworking and Skinning together is a good combination while levelling as you can make your own gear with relative ease. For min/maxers, the best selection is Blacksmithing/JC, for the added sockets plus the Jewelcrafting-only gems, which are wildly overpowered in almost any situation. Personally I have Leatherworking and Jewelcrafting, and I find the combination to be very satisfying.

New in 3.2:

Leatherworking: Enchant Wrist - Fur Lining - Attack Power: +16 AP increase from 3.1, now +130 AP
Jewelcrafting: All Dragonseyes are now non prismatic, but have had a stat increase of +7 per gem (Example: 3.1 Delicate Dragonseye was 27 agility, 3.2 Delicate Dragonseye is now 34 agility)
Engineering: Enchant Boots - Nitro Boosts now give +24 critical strike rating, Enchant Gloves - Hand-Mounted Pyro Rocket is now 1654 to 2020 Fire Damage every 45 seconds not on the GCD
Tailoring: Enchant Cloak - Swordguard Embroidery is now 400 AP every 15 seconds, up from 300 AP every 15 seconds
Alchemy: Values for Flasks and Elixirs with Mixology have gone up.
Inscription: Master's Inscription of the Axe: Now gives +120 AP and +15 critical strike rating, up from +104 AP/+15 crit



XIII. Useful Macros

code:
/cast Bestial Wrath
/stopcasting
/cast Intimidation
Pretty simple, this is a BM macro that casts Bestial Wrath and Intimidation at the same time.

code:
/cast [target=pet,dead] Revive Pet; [nopet] Call Pet; Mend Pet
This macro will revive your pet if its dead, call your pet if its not dead but just not out, and if it is out, will heal it.

code:
/cast [target=WHATEVER] Misdirection
The basic macro every hunter wants. Replace "WHATEVER" with "pet" for misdirecting onto your pet, "mouseover" for mouseover misdirection fun, or the name of your tank to make everyone happy. Note: the combination of addons such as zHuntermod and Clique can make this macro unnecessary. See the Macro section below.

code:
/cast [nocombat] Feed Pet
/use FOODNAME
Replace "FOODNAME" with the name of some food item for one-click pet feeding.

code:
/cast Wing Clip
/cast Disengage
The best macro ever for getting away from anyone that is close to you. Extra awesome when used on Death Knights during or after a Death Grip.

code:
#showtooltip
/cast Hunter's Mark
/petautocaston [group] Cower; [nogroup] Growl
/petautocastoff [nogroup] Cower; [group] Growl
This macro will turn on Cower and turn off Growl, when you put Hunter's Mark on a mob, if you are in a group. If you are not, it will turn off Cower and turn on Growl.

code:
#showtooltip Steady Shot
/console Sound_EnableSFX 0
/cast Steady Shot
/castrandom [combat] Kill Command
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear();
/console Sound_EnableSFX 1
I use this macro for my basic Steady Shot spamming (bound to Mouse Wheel Down). It simply allows me to not have to think about using Kill Command ever.

For Marksmen Hunters, it is recommended that if you are spec'd into Silencing Shot (which you should be), that you macro it to all of your other shots, for example:

code:
#showtooltip Chimera Shot
/script UIErrorsFrame:Hide()
/cast Silencing Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
/script UIErrorsFrame:Show()
XIV. Hunter Addons


Pitbull - This addon is a replacement for the standard Blizzard unit frames (player and enemy health/mana bars) and can give you a lot of extra, nice information. For instanc


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