Hunter leveling guide for WoW Forever

The Hunter is one of the strongest classes to level. You deal damage from a distance, you control monsters with traps and slows, and your pet takes the hits. The first 10 levels are slow, until you tame a pet and get your first talent point. In WoW Forever, new pet abilities and new talents give the class more depth. This guide covers the builds, the rotation, the key levels, gear, pets, traps and tracking.

Easiest spec for leveling	Beast Mastery
Key talents	Deadly Aspects, Unleashed Fury, Ferocity, Summon Hawk, Focused Fire
Strength	Ranged damage, a pet that tanks, crowd control, fast travel
Weakness	A slow start until level 10, mana and ammunition
Talent order per level	Hunter level build
Builds to level 60	After the launch on 4 November

Which spec to level with

All three trees level. Beast Mastery is the smoothest: your pet deals more damage and survives more, and with Growl it keeps the monster on itself while you shoot. Marksmanship deals more damage from your own shots, so you pull threat more often and have to kite. Survival mixes melee, traps and shots, and asks the most of you.

Hunters also handle monsters a few levels above them well, thanks to their range and Frost Trap. The builds below are made for the beta, which stops at level 30, with 21 points. Talented from the Legacy system gives 5 extra points, and you reach each talent up to five levels sooner. Builds for level 60 follow after the launch.

Levels 1 to 10

You start without talents and without a pet, with Auto Shot and Raptor Strike. Monsters reach you quickly, so you often finish them in melee.

1. Keep Aspect of the Monkey up as soon as you have it, at level 4.
2. Pull with Auto Shot.
3. Cast Serpent Sting.
4. Cast Arcane Shot on cooldown.
5. Cast Concussive Shot to slow the monster and keep your distance.
6. Step back between shots.
7. Use Raptor Strike once the monster reaches you, and finish it in melee.

Start every pull from as far away as you can: every extra yard is an extra shot. Stats at these levels: Agility, then attack power, then Intellect, then Stamina and Spirit, then armor.

Level 30 Beast Mastery build

The recommended leveling build. It makes your pet hit harder and survive longer, with a little mana and speed on top. Open the build in the talent calculator.

Talent	Points
Deadly Aspects	5/5
Endurance Training	1/5
Focused Fire	2/2
Pathfinding	2/2
Unleashed Fury	5/5
Ferocity	4/5
Summon Hawk	1/1
Spirit Bond	1/2

Order: Deadly Aspects at 10 to 14, Focused Fire at 15 and 16, Pathfinding at 17 and 18, Endurance Training at 19, Unleashed Fury at 20 to 24, Ferocity at 25 to 28, Summon Hawk at 29 and Spirit Bond at 30.

Want everything on the pet? Take Bestial Swiftness and more points in Ferocity. With the 5 points from Talented you also get Intimidation and a point in Frenzy.

1. Keep Aspect of the Hawk up.
2. Send in your pet and start Auto Shot.
3. Cast Serpent Sting.
4. Cast Summon Hawk on cooldown, once you have it.
5. Cast Arcane Shot when two hawks are up with at least 6 seconds left. Summon Hawk and Arcane Shot share a cooldown.
6. Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown.
7. Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown.
8. Wing Clip, Concussive Shot or Frost Trap when a monster turns on you.

Stats: Agility, attack power, critical strike, Intellect, Stamina and Spirit, Strength, armor.

Level 30 Marksmanship build

The most damage from your own shots, without giving up your pet. The pet holds threat less well, so you pull monsters more often and have to kite. Skip the new talent Lone Wolf while leveling: 20% more damage does not make up for losing your pet. Open the build in the talent calculator.

Talent	Points
Lethal Attacks	5/5
Efficiency	3/5
Careful Aim	5/5
Rapid Killing	2/2
Trueshot Aura	1/1
Mortal Shots	5/5

Order: Lethal Attacks at 10 to 14, Careful Aim at 15 to 19, Efficiency at 20 to 22, Rapid Killing at 23 and 24, Mortal Shots at 25 to 29 and Trueshot Aura at 30.

Efficiency makes your shots cheaper. Rapid Recuperation lets you regenerate mana while casting and saves a lot of drinking, but it sits deep in the tree and only comes after level 30. Pulling threat too often? Take Improved Concussive Shot and Scatter Shot for more control. The 5 points from Talented leave room for those without losing much damage.

1. Keep Aspect of the Hawk and Trueshot Aura up.
2. Send in your pet and start Auto Shot.
3. Cast Serpent Sting.
4. Cast Arcane Shot on cooldown.
5. Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown.
6. Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown.
7. Wing Clip, Concussive Shot or Frost Trap when a monster turns on you.

Stats: Agility, attack power, critical strike, Intellect, Stamina and Spirit, Strength, armor.

Level 30 Survival build

Survival switches between melee, traps and shots. That is hard when a monster turns on you: getting back to range takes time. In return you get more control and more defense. Open the build in the talent calculator.

Talent	Points
Improved Tracking	5/5
Entrapment	3/5
Savage Strikes	2/2
Clever Traps	2/2
Surefooted	3/3
Predator’s Edge	5/5
Resourcefulness	1/2

Order: Improved Tracking at 10 to 14, Savage Strikes at 15 and 16, Entrapment at 17 to 19, Surefooted at 20 to 22, Clever Traps at 23 and 24, Predator’s Edge at 25 to 29 and Resourcefulness at 30.

You can play it two ways: weave between shots and melee, or fight in melee only. With the 5 points from Talented you also get Strider Kick and Expose Prey.

Melee weave

1. Keep Aspect of the Hawk or Aspect of the Beast up, and the right Tracking for the monster type.
2. Send in your pet and start Auto Shot.
3. Cast Serpent Sting, Arcane Shot and Aimed Shot.
4. Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown.
5. Run in and cast Raptor Strike, Immolation Trap, Mongoose Bite when it lights up and Strider Kick if you have it.
6. Step back and shoot again.
7. Wing Clip, Concussive Shot or Frost Trap when you pull threat.

Melee only

1. Keep Aspect of the Beast up, and the right Tracking.
2. Send in your pet, start Auto Shot, cast Serpent Sting and Arcane Shot, and Rapid Fire on cooldown.
3. Run in and keep Raptor Strike, Immolation Trap, Mongoose Bite and Strider Kick on cooldown.
4. Wing Clip, Concussive Shot or Frost Trap when you need to kite.

Stats: Agility, attack power, critical strike, Strength, Intellect, Stamina and Spirit, armor.

Key levels

Level	What you get	From
1	Auto Shot, Raptor Strike, Track Beasts	Default, class trainer
4	Aspect of the Monkey, Serpent Sting	Class trainer
6	Arcane Shot, Hunter’s Mark	Class trainer
8	Concussive Shot	Class trainer
10	Tame Beast, Beast Training	Class quest
10	Feed Pet, Revive Pet, Call Pet, Dismiss Pet, Aspect of the Hawk, Track Humanoids	Class trainer
10	First talent point	Talent tree
12	Mend Pet, Wing Clip	Class trainer
14	Scare Beast, Eagle Eye, Eyes of the Beast	Class trainer
16	Mongoose Bite, Immolation Trap	Class trainer
18	Multi-Shot	Class trainer
20	Aimed Shot, Aspect of the Cheetah, Freezing Trap	Class trainer
20	Polearms	Weapon trainer
22	Scorpid Sting	Class trainer
24	Track Hidden	Class trainer
25	Summon Hawk, Trueshot Aura	Talent tree
26	Rapid Fire, Track Elementals	Class trainer
28	Frost Trap	Class trainer
30	Feign Death, Aspect of the Beast	Class trainer
30	Intimidation, Strider Kick, Expose Prey, Scatter Shot	Talent tree
32	Flare, Track Demons	Class trainer
34	Explosive Trap	Class trainer
36	Viper Sting	Class trainer
40	Aspect of the Pack, Track Giants	Class trainer
40	Bestial Wrath, Sniper Shot, Lacerating Strikes	Talent tree
40	Riding, Dual Specialization	Trainers
46	Aspect of the Wild	Class trainer
50	Track Dragonkin	Class trainer
60	Tranquilizing Shot	Class trainer

Aimed Shot is no longer a talent: every Hunter learns it at level 20. The talent levels are the earliest without Talented; with Talented you reach them up to five levels sooner.

The class quest

At level 10, every Hunter does Taming the Beast. The chain teaches Tame Beast and Beast Training, so you can tame and train your first pet. It starts in your starting zone: Teldrassil for Night Elves, Dun Morogh for Dwarves, Zephras Isle for the High Order Skyborne, Mulgore for Tauren and Durotar for Orcs and Trolls.

Weapons

A Hunter can use more weapon types than any other class. You learn most of them from a weapon trainer.

Weapon	Alliance	Horde
Daggers	Known from the start	Known from the start
One- and two-handed axes	Buliwyf Stonehand (Ironforge)	Hanashi, Sayoc (Orgrimmar)
One- and two-handed swords	Woo Ping (Stormwind)	Archibald (Undercity)
Fist weapons	Ilyenia Moonfire (Darnassus), Buliwyf Stonehand (Ironforge)	Sayoc (Orgrimmar)
Staves	Ilyenia Moonfire (Darnassus), Woo Ping (Stormwind)	Hanashi, Sayoc (Orgrimmar), Ansekhwa (Thunder Bluff)
Polearms, from level 20	Woo Ping (Stormwind)	Archibald (Undercity)
Bows	Ilyenia Moonfire (Darnassus)	Hanashi, Sayoc (Orgrimmar)
Crossbows	Bixi Wobblebonk (Ironforge), Woo Ping (Stormwind)	Archibald (Undercity)
Guns	Buliwyf Stonehand (Ironforge)	Ansekhwa (Thunder Bluff)
Thrown	Bixi Wobblebonk (Ironforge), Ilyenia Moonfire (Darnassus)	Hanashi, Sayoc (Orgrimmar)

Whenever you learn a new weapon type, you first have to train its skill before you hit reliably with it.

Gear

Ranged weapons are your main source of damage. These are strong picks from level 13 to 30:

Level	Item	Source
13 to 16	Barbaric Crossbow	Ragefire Chasm
13 to 16	Calibrated Blunderbuss	Quest in the Hall of Thanes, Alliance only
19 to 22	Venomstrike	Wailing Caverns
22 to 29	Naga Heartpiercer	Blackfathom Deeps
23 to 29	Fallenroot Longbow	Blackfathom Deeps
29 to 30	Quilboar Blaster	Quest in Razorfen Kraul

Melee weapons matter most for Survival, which leans on weapon damage. For the other specs a melee weapon is mostly a stat stick.

Crafted gear and dungeon loot. Leatherworking got strong new recipes early on, such as Dark Leather Boots, Brawler’s Leather Hood and Stalker’s Leather Belt. Dungeons give upgrades such as Bloodied Chestwraps and Triprunner Dungarees.

Professions

Level your professions alongside your Hunter, so you gather and craft at the right level. Camps give buffs to every profession, and in Forever your pet gets them too.

• Cooking is a must: buff food gives extra experience, and you need it for a campfire.
• Leatherworking makes strong soulbound leveling gear and gives a rested experience buff at your camp.
• Skinning goes with Leatherworking, and Aspect of the Cheetah gets you from monster to monster quickly. Its camp buff gives 2% critical strike chance.
• Herbalism fits a Hunter on the move. Its camp buff gives Intellect.
• Alchemy goes with Herbalism, for potions. Its camp buff gives mana regeneration.
• Engineering makes gadgets, explosives and scopes for your ranged weapon. The Reagent Bot at your camp sells food, water and materials.
• Mining goes with Engineering. Its camp buff gives melee attack power, good for Survival and your pet.
• Fishing goes with Cooking. Its camp buff raises all stats by 8%.
• First Aid gives bandages and potions. Its camp buff gives Stamina to you and your pet.

Consumables

• Food and water. Stay Well Fed for the extra experience; any buff food is better than none. Carry water at your level, because you will need to drink.
• Potions. Healing potions for emergencies, now also from First Aid. First Aid also makes cures for Poisons, Diseases and Bleeds, which a Hunter cannot remove otherwise. Mana potions help too.
• Elixirs with the right stats are expensive to keep up, but worth it for a difficult quest or monster.
• Ammunition. Keep your quiver or ammo pouch full. Without arrows or bullets you cannot shoot.

Pets

Your pet is the heart of the class. Keep an eye on where it stands, which abilities it uses and its cooldowns: that lets you respond to what a monster does, or avoid danger altogether. In Forever, your pet also gets the Camping buffs, as long as it is summoned while you sit at the campfire.

Pet abilities add utility, such as Demoralizing Screech and Dust Cloud.

Crowd control and pulls

Hunters excel at control: Frost Trap, Freezing Trap, Wing Clip and Concussive Shot, made stronger with Entrapment, Clever Traps, Improved Concussive Shot and Improved Wing Clip. Scatter Shot and Intimidation add more. Your best tool remains your pet, which holds the monster while you keep your distance.

Scare Beast makes a Beast run in fear for up to 10 seconds at rank 1. It can run into another group, so use it with care. In PvP it works against Hunter pets and Druids in animal form.

You can pull almost anything from a distance with a shot. Hunters also chain pull well: Serpent Sting and your fire traps keep ticking while you move to the next monster. Watch out for monsters that are still alive, though, as they can run into another group.

Movement

• Aspect of the Cheetah gives 30% movement speed, but you are Dazed for 4 seconds when you take damage. Pathfinding adds up to 6%.
• Aspect of the Pack from level 40 does the same for your group, with the same risk for everyone. Good for travel, not for combat.
• Feign Death drops combat. Use it to get through a dangerous area or to loot something while monsters attack you.
• Your pet can draw monsters away from you, so you get through a busy area without fighting everything.

Mana

Hunters use mana for everything, and spells such as Aimed Shot cost a lot. Carry water and a few mana potions. Each tree has a talent for mana in combat: Bestial Discipline, Rapid Recuperation and Resourcefulness. That makes Spirit valuable while leveling. Never spend all your mana: keep enough for a trap or Feign Death when a pull goes wrong.

Tracking

Tracking shows monsters of one type on your minimap. It helps every Hunter, Survival most of all, thanks to Improved Tracking. In PvE you see patrols coming, in PvP you see enemy players. Track Hidden reveals stealthed players.

Color	Meaning
Green with a silver border	Friendly player
Green with a gold border	Friendly NPC
Red with a silver border	Enemy player
Red with a gold border	Enemy NPC
Gold with a gold border	Neutral NPC, hostile once you attack it

Aspects and cooldowns

Only one Aspect can be active at a time.

Aspect	What it does
Aspect of the Hawk	More ranged attack power
Aspect of the Beast	More melee attack power, and you cannot be tracked
Aspect of the Monkey	8% more dodge
Aspect of the Cheetah	30% movement speed, Dazed when hit
Aspect of the Pack	30% movement speed for your group, Dazed when hit
Aspect of the Wild	Nature resistance for your group

• Scorpid Sting has changed: it lowers the chance to hit of the target by 2% for 20 seconds. It does not stack with Insect Swarm of a Balance Druid, but helps your tank against bosses when there is no Druid.
• Tranquilizing Shot at level 60 removes a Frenzy effect from a monster. Important in raids.
• Rapid Fire raises your ranged and melee attack speed by 40% for 15 seconds, with a 5 minute cooldown. Rapid Killing in Marksmanship takes 2 minutes off.
• Big talents: Bestial Wrath for Beast Mastery, Sniper Shot for Marksmanship and Strider Kick for Survival.
• Flare reveals hidden and invisible enemies within 10 yards for 30 seconds.
• Eagle Eye lets you look far ahead, with unlimited range, outdoors only.
• Eyes of the Beast lets you control your pet directly, for example to scout or to pull from a distance.

More about food, camps and rested XP is in the experience guide.