World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

[ Soloing 1-40 | Soloing 41-60 | Soloing 61-80 ]

By now you should have a firm grasp on how the Hunter class handles. You should know the basics of your attacks and how best to deliver...

[ Soloing 1-40 | Soloing 41-60 | Soloing 61-80 ]

By now you should have a firm grasp on how the Hunter class handles. You should know the basics of your attacks and how best to deliver them against your enemy. If you are lacking in this knowledge please read the first guide I wrote about this called 'Soloing the Hunter 1-40' as it will give you some good ideas. Keep in mind this guide is just one way you can deliver your attacks as a Hunter. It's up to you to determine what works best for you and find your own groove.

Gear up your Hunter to turn him into a killing machine.

Aspects and Downtime
One thing you will start to use more and more of is the juggling of aspects as you fight. This is akin to twisting songs like a bard in EverQuest. The general idea is to use an aspect that will support your damage like Aspect of the Hawk or Aspect of the Beast and when you get low on mana switch over to Aspect of the Viper as this will allow you to gain mana while you attack. Learning to juggle your aspects can keep downtime to a minimum and if you're good at it, avoid it all together. If you have chosen to work on your First Aid skill you can easily patch up your hit points during a battle and regenerate mana with 'Aspect of the Viper' completely removing downtime in many situations.

Gear
If you haven't already started you should be gearing up (preferably in Mail) with gear that has a high focus on agility and stamina. Intellect is a nice additive as it provides more mana and with certain talent specs more damage, but agility and stamina should be a priority and in that order. Agility is like crack for the Hunter, it increases attack damage, critical strike rating, and armor. If you can't tell, it is pretty much our key stat. Work on getting a decent ranged weapon and some better armor. Always be looking for that next big upgrade. Instances are your best source for these, but the auction house can also supply you with some good options. Just be prepared to pay big.

It's not enough to just have a fast mount, but you also need one with style.

Mounts
You get your first mount at level 30 but by level 60 you will have the opportunity to get a different and better kind of mount. You will be able to purchase the epic mounts from vendors in the major cities. If your reputation is good enough you can buy different kinds, but they are all pretty much the same. Epic mounts provide a movement speed boost of 100%. While all epic mounts are equal in speed, some just look a lot cooler than the others.

Levels 40-60
At level 40 you gain a lot of new skills that can provide you with a few different ways to approach combat. You can go at a single enemy with high damage attacks or with Volley and Explosive Trap you can tackle multiple enemies at once. Since I speced my Hunter using the Beast Mastery tree, I find that I can to take out 2-4 normal enemies at a time. The trick is using your pet to hold aggro while you pour on the area of effect (AoE) damage. Generally, I have two methods of attack. One I use for solo encounters and the other I use for multiple enemy encounters. I'll go over each and how I use them, but you may find that you prefer other methods than what I use. Don't be afraid to experiment with different approaches. The Hunter is, if nothing else, a class that can be used in a number of ways.

Normal Single Encounters
Engaging a single normal encounter as a Hunter is pretty easy. A normal encounter is equivalent to those poor guys that wear the red shirts on Star Trek. They only last about as long as it takes to yell, "Captain! Over here I found something! AHHHH!" If you choose the Beast Mastery tree your pet will easily have the tools to hold aggro. If you went with one of the other trees he can still hold aggro, but not as well. You will find Feign Death to be a useful tool for dumping aggro in this case. In any case a normal encounter won't last long and if you go into a fight with one at full health and mana, and you somehow manage to lose, reroll now and pick a new class.

For a single encounter I begin with Aspect of the Hawk or Aspect of the Beast (this is all a matter of preference). There are even some decent runes that you can get to enhance your pet's damage while using Aspect of the Beast. I then use Hunter's Mark and pull with Concussive Shot. Not everyone likes the idea of pulling with Concussive Shot, but I do as my very next attack is Steady Shot (Gained at level 50). While a target is stunned from Concussive Shot, Steady Shot gains an attack bonus. By this time my pet usually has his teeth firmly implanted in the enemy's muffins. My follow up attacks include Arcane Shot and Serpent Sting. Some people prefer to use Viper Sting here depending on the encounter.

 Multiple Enemy Encounters
If you're feeling brave and think you can handle it, try this area of effect multi-enemy kill tactic. Keep in mind that you should only try this with normal mobs. If you do something silly like attempt this with elites, make sure your Azeroth Equity Life Insurance is paid up first. This particular approach works best with the Bestial Wrath build as you will be using your pet to juggle aggro. The real trick here is to make sure he is switching targets and keeping aggro while you're dropping AoEs.

Taking on multiple enemies is one benefit to being a skilled Hunter.

To start, mark an enemy and pull with a ranged attack like Serpent Sting or Concussive Shot. Let the pet jump on him and start building aggro. While your pet is taking a bite out of crime, go pull your next target. Once he is on the way, have your pet switch targets and head for him and make for a third. Do the same thing once more and your pet should have all three beating on him. Make sure to drop a Mend Pet and lay an Explosive Trap in that little cluster of enemies. If you chose to build a Beast Mastery Hunter you will have Bestial Wrath. Use this Immediately! If you are also an Orc use your racial skill of 'Blood Fury' to boost your damage output and then start popping Volley. When one ends, fire another, but while you are doing this keep an eye on your enemies. If one breaks off and comes after you get your pet on him. If you did go with Beast Mastery you will also have 'Intimidation' and you can have your pet pull aggro off you. Repeat this until all enemies are dead. Lay a new Explosive Trap when the cool down is up and keep using Volley. The last and most important thing you need to do is keep you pet alive. If you get into trouble use Feign Death for a quick escape.

This is a fun way to break the repetitiveness of single pulling all day.

 Fighting Elites
Fighting an Elite is pretty much the same from 40 to 60 with two small differences between those levels. At level 50 you get Steady Shot which works great with Concussive Shot and at level 60 you get Deterrence which is useful for something I'll explain as we go on.

Outland will provide you with many opportunties to engage elite enemies.

At level 60 you can engage an Elite with all the above mentioned skills, but you can usually down one of these big boys by fighting smart. My general fight with an elite will last a while, but most of the time I come out on top. Like every encounter, mark your target first. Pull him with Concussive Shot to scramble his eggs and follow that up with Steady Shot. By that time your pet should be nipping at his ankles and drawn him off. Use any buff you have at this point from Bestial Wrath to 'Blood Fury' and unload on your target. I usually fire Scorpid Sting to reduce the enemy's damage output, Arcane Shot, and the 'Concussive Shot/Steady Shot' combination. It's also a good idea to drop in behind the target and plant an Immolation or Snake Trap. Keep your pet healed and you should be able to burn this type of enemy down in a lengthy battle.

In some cases your pet may become decor for the local landscape and if he does there are a couple of things you can do to try and salvage a victory. Start casting Revive Pet as soon as your pet goes down. You'll take a few hits, but this trick usually works for me. Once the pet is up cast a Mend Pet and use Deterrence immediately. This will allow you a 100% chance to parry the enemy's attacks for five seconds. The moment that drops use Feign Death. What you have done here is healed your pet to nearly full and deflected a good portion of damage back at your enemy. When the enemy turns back to your pet jump up, use bandages or potions if needed, heal your pet again and get back in the fight. This trick has earned me tons of kills that I might have otherwise lost more times than I can count.

 Know Where to Hunt
There are a number of places you can hunt from levels 40-50 in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, but you need to know where the best hunting grounds are for your faction. Below is a list of places you can go to earn that ever so elusive experience.

 

 

Leveling from 50-60 and Expanding Your Horizon
Once you reach level 58 you can pass through the Outland portal and expand your leveling, but you will first have to get to level 58 before the powers that be will let you pass. That means you get to explore more of Azeroth!

 

 

 

 

Conclusion
There are a lot of ways you can choose to play the Hunter. I have given you a few options, but there are many more and a lot of different approaches you can choose to take in combat. Learn all the perks of this class and you can solo in a number of ways and take down multiple enemies at once without breaking a sweat. Just don't get over confident. Even the most skilled of fighters can go from assailing champion to crying schoolgirl by being sloppy.