It can be quite daunting to start a new character in WoW. Hunter is no exception, so we hope this Hunter leveling guide and its Hunter leveling spec can help you on your new journey to level 80.
Now, as there are a number of outdated guides on the internet and WoW is constantly being updated, let me first say that this article is current as of July 2009 (3.1 patch).
Hunter is one of the most powerful PvE classes if played correctly, and with the right spec you’ll be nearly invincible while playing solo. The best solo tree is Beast Mastery, as it allows you to turn your pet into an unkillable tank machine, as well as making you much less reliant on equipment than other trees.
The basic leveling spec for Beast Mastery Hunter is as follows:
You need to put all your points into BM at the beginning, until you complete all the high level talents.
Stamina Training – Rank 5/5
Focused Fire – Rank 2/2
Thick Skin – Rank 3/3
Aspect Mastery – Rank 1/1
Fury Unleashed – Rank 5/5
Improved Repair Pet – Rank 2/2
Ferocity – Rank 5/5
Increases your pet’s critical strike chance by 10%.
Spirit Link – Rank 2/2
Intimidate – Rank 1/1
Bestial Discipline – Rank 2/2
Frenzy – Rank 4/5
Fierce Inspiration – Rank 3/3
Bestial Wrath – Rank 1/1
Cat Reflexes – Rank 3/3
Snake Speed - Rank 5/5
Longevity – Rank 3/3
The Beast Within – Rank 1/1
Cobra Strikes – Rank 1/3
Kindred Spirits – Rank 5/5
Beast Mastery – Rank 1/1
After this, enter MM to get the rest of your points.
Focused Aim – Rank 3/3
Lethal Shots – Rank 5/5
Aim Carefully – Rank 3/3
Kill Shots – Rank 5/5
As for your pet, you want a Tenacity pet, with the following talents
1/1 Load
3/3 great resistance
2/2 Rhino Blood
2/2 natural armor
2/2 Fence for pets
2/2 watchdog
2/2 Grace of the Mantis
Now that you have the correct hunter leveling spec, let’s move on to the actual hunter leveling guide.
First, some advice for anyone who plays Warcraft:
Tie everything up and rotate with the mouse! Make sure all your abilities are bound to the keys; you should never click anything. This, in turn, frees up mouse movement: hold the right mouse button to rotate and hold both keys/use the W key/stafe key (Q and E, by default) to move.
Choose professions that make you money (mining and skinning) and auction everything. The gear you buy using all the gold you’ll make will be better than what you could make at low levels in general, and you can always change professions at 80.
Always log out of Inn-Rest XP is too good to miss!
Use a good quest guide! I’ll link my review of the most popular ones at the end of the article.
Keep a good supply of food/drinks at the correct level!
Now for some specific hunter leveling guide tips!
Make sure your pet has Grown turned on and Cower turned off! You want your pet to create a big threat, so stack up for you!
Use your DPS stance (Hawk or Dragonhawk, depending on level) when you have a lot of mana, switching to Viper when your mana gets low enough (ie once you have Viper). Alternatively, you can use Viper as your default stance, only switching to DPS on hard pulls.
Keep your pet happy! Either by feeding it regularly or by using the Glyph of Mend Pet. A happy pet hits harder, and that means you level up faster.
Learn to kitesurf! If things go wrong, being good at kites can keep you alive long enough to take down your enemies.
Keep a good supply of appropriate level ammo! Burning out is one of the worst things that can happen to you!
Go for Hit Rating, Agi and Attack power over other stats! You shouldn’t get hit so stamina is useless!
Now how exactly do you play your hunter? It depends on what level you are!
1-10: Autoattacking, running away (don’t back off!) between shots, will do most of your damage. Keep your poison on the enemy and use Arcane Shot when it’s not on cooldown.
11-29: Now you have a fart. Apply Hunter’s Mark and send your pet to attack. Once you start hitting the enemy, start attacking. Apply your Sting and use Arcane Shot, as before; however, now you don’t have to kitesurf. On stronger pulls, use Mend Pet when your pet gets close and reapply when it runs out. Make sure your pet hits all the enemies before you do, so you don’t end up with aggro. If you DO get aggressive, place your pet on top of the enemy, hit them with a concussion shot, and run away until your pet becomes aggressive.
30-39: Same as before, except you may want to get a Gorilla at 30.
40+: Combining a gorilla’s AoE tank ability with Volley, learned at 40, can turn you into an AoE killing machine. Also, at level 50 you get Steady Shot, another major damage dealing ability that will be added to your normal rotation.