Posted November 4th, 2009 by Mem
Looking to find a bare basics guide to the Hunter class? Need that extra little boost of information to make sure you have a good start in becoming an excellent Hunter? Look no further than this basics page which will prove to be an excellent place to get started. Once you’ve gathered all the information you can here head on over to the other informativeon Hunter sections to answer more specific questions. Also be sure to check out our Hunter forums to get real input from other Hunters!
The first thing to consider before deciding to play the Hunter class is if it is the right class for you. Playing a class you don’t enjoy is not something anyone should do. The best way to decide if this is the class you want to play is to first look over what exactly the class does and see if sparks your interest. Here is a brief listing of what the Hunter class is all about:
Alliance
Night Elf: They gain extra dodge chance and the ability to stealth which will change a lot of your strategies. Shadowmeld will allow you to use your aimed shot ability from stealth as a massive opener.
Dwarf: The additional five skill levels to the Gun skill can greatly help in hitting higher level enemies. Stoneform is useful for getting rid of poisons, diseases, and bleeding effects since you will generally be at a range and won’t be needing to move as much.
Draenei (Burning Crusade): The ability to heal yourself or your pet every two minutes will be amazing. The passive additional chance to hit is a welcome additional to any party and yourself!
Horde
Tauren: War Stomp is extremely helpful when attempting to escape back to where you can fire your ranged weapon. Endurance (5% max health) is beneficial to any class.
Troll: Berserking can very useful in increasing your DPS and a little HP regeneration can’t hurt.
Orc: Command gives an additional 5% pet damage (not a whole lot, but still helpful) and the passive resistance to stun is great. Blood Fury can be used while soloing to help when you need to melee and the additional 5 skills in axes can be somewhat handy.
Blood Elves (Burning Crusade): Mana Tap and Arcane Torrent can be helpful in regaining mana and silencing any nearby enemies. Additional blanket resistance is good stuff.
Each profession can bring different benefits to you. With the
introduction of Wrath of the Lich King these benefits have increased
even further. Below is a list of Professions that can be most helpful
to the Hunter. Use them as you see fit.
Leatherworking:
Gives you a discount on making your Leg Reinforcements, and also offers
you Fur Lining which gives you a more powerful Bracer Enchant.
Skinning:
Gives the player Master of Anatomy which offers a passive bonus to your
critical strike rating
Jewelcrafting:
Jewelcrafter only gems which give you that extra edge over everyone
else. Not as powerful a profession as it used to be, but still
beneficial.
Alchemy:
Gives the player Mixology which increases the effect and duration when
any flask or elixir a player is able to make is used. A good one for
players who want a little extra bonus and like to save money at the
same time!
Blacksmithing:
Provides 2 extra gem slots on wrists and hands.
Enchanting:
Allows the
player to enchant both rings. Assault is the enchant of choice for a
Hunter.
Inscription:
Provides a special shoulder enchant that is slightly better than the
one available through Sons of Hodir and saves you the nasty reputation
grind.
Ranged weapons and the ammo
that goes with them are a Hunter’s
bread and butter. Ranged weapons are equipped in the ranged weapon slot
and all require you to either have arrows (for bows) or bullets (for
guns). This ammo can be dragged into the slot next to your ranged
weapon and can also provide additional DPS depending on what type you
decide to use. Ammo is costly, so be sure to carry lower DPS (and
cheaper) ammo for general kills and bring the good stuff when you
really want to pump out the DPS such as boss fights. In order to carry
your ammo around purchasing a special ammo pouch (made by
Leatherworkers) is a good idea.
There is so much to say about
pets that they get their own special
section in the guide, see our pet
section for complete information.
The basics though are that the pet taming ability can be earned through
quests from your trainer at level 10. From there, you will
eventually learn how to tame a beast and use it as your pet. Pets can
use various skills that are unique to each pet class. As your pet
levels up it will gain skill points just like you that can be used in
their own personal talent tree!
Tracking
Hunters gain the ability to track their enemies starting at
level
two (with Track Beasts). Each type of enemy (beast, humanoid,
undead, hidden, elementals, demons, giants, and dragons) can be tracked
using a different ability. When an ability is active you will
see
any of thatose type of those creatures on the mini-map (both
friend and foe). Track Hidden of course will only show nearby
stealthed creatures and players and increase your stealth
detection. The Tracking ability is useful in both PVE and PVP settings.
Traps
Traps allow you to place a hidden trap on the ground that can
only be activated by the enemy. When they travel on top of
the
trap it’s activated and whatever effect the trap had is
unleashed
on them. Unlike some MMORPGs, there is no need to purchase
the
traps. You only need the mana in order to use a trap. Traps are placed
directly below you and are very handy to use when someone (or some
thing) is chasing you. A more recent change allows you to drop one trap
from each element.
Here are the traps currently
available to Hunters:
Freezing
Trap: Stuns one enemy in a
block of ice until they are hit
with damage or the duration runs out.
Immolation
Trap: The first enemy to step
on this trap will be set on
fire and take damage over time.
Frost
Trap:
When an enemy steps on this trap, all the enemies in a nearby
area are snared by 60% for 30 seconds.
Explosive
Trap: A trap that
deals damage in an AoE radius
whenever an enemy steps on it.
Snake
Trap:
A trap that lets loose a swarm of small snakes that poison enemies, do
light damage and fast attacks. Very useful for interrupting casters.