Hunter (Class)

Hunter
Image
Caption
Type	Ranged, Melee
Role	DPS
Resource	Mana
Armor	Cloth, Leather Mail (lvl40)
Weapons	Daggers, Fist Weapons, Polearms, Staves, One/Two-Handed Swords, One/Two-Handed Axes Bows, Crossbows, Guns, Thrown
Races	Alliance — Dwarf, Night Elf; Horde — Orc, Tauren, Troll
Faction	Both Alliance & Horde
Starting Level
Difficulty
Status

Overview

Hunters are survival experts drawn to the wilderness, whose skills are aided by their finesse with ranged weapons and their kinship with fierce beasts. They fight from a distance with bows, crossbows, and guns, set traps for their enemies, and are accompanied by tamed animal companions. Hunters are self-sufficient and can hold their own while their pet keeps enemies at bay.

Role and Resources

Hunters are a mostly ranged pure damage class with traps, pets, and some melee ability. They use mana and need ammunition (arrows or bullets) for their ranged weapons. Hunters start with a pet at level 10 and can tame many kinds of beasts, keeping several in the stable.

Armor and Weapons

Hunters wear cloth and leather, and gain the ability to wear mail at level 40. They cannot use shields or plate. For melee they can use daggers, fist weapons, polearms, staves, and one-handed and two-handed swords and axes. For ranged combat they use bows, crossbows, guns, and thrown weapons.

Playable Races

Alliance: Dwarf, Night Elf
Horde: Orc, Tauren, Troll

Humans cannot be hunters in Classic.

Key Abilities

Ranged attacks: Auto Shot, Arcane Shot, Multi-Shot, Concussive Shot, Distracting Shot, Scatter Shot (talent), Aimed Shot (talent), Rapid Fire, Volley
Stings: Serpent Sting, Viper Sting, Scorpid Sting, Wyvern Sting (talent)
Melee: Raptor Strike, Mongoose Bite, Wing Clip, Counterattack (talent)
Pets: Tame Beast, Call Pet, Revive Pet, Mend Pet, Feed Pet, Beast Lore
Aspects: Toggle abilities that grant benefits such as ranged attack power, dodge, movement speed, or group buffs, including Aspect of the Hawk, Monkey, Cheetah, Pack, and Wild.
Traps: Freezing Trap, Frost Trap, Immolation Trap, Explosive Trap
Utility: Hunter's Mark, Feign Death, Tracking, Eyes of the Beast, Flare, Disengage, Deterrence

Specializations

Beast Mastery: Pet damage and pet enhancement, with talents such as Bestial Wrath, Intimidation, and Frenzy.
Marksmanship: Ranged precision and shot-based damage, with talents such as Aimed Shot, Trueshot Aura, and Ranged Weapon Specialization.
Survival: Traps, melee, and survivability, with talents such as Wyvern Sting, Deterrence, and Counterattack.

Talents

Hunters have 51 talents across three trees: Beast Mastery (16), Marksmanship (17) and Survival (18). Each tree has seven tiers, and each tier needs another 5 points spent in that tree. The trees work as a talent calculator: click a talent to spend a point and right-click to take it back (on a phone, use the Tap adds / Tap removes switch). Hover over a talent, or tap it, to see what it does. Copy link saves the build you have made.

Beast Mastery16 talents

5

Deadly Aspects

5 ranks

While Aspect of the Hawk is active, Auto Shot has a 2/4/6/8/10% chance of increasing ranged attack speed by 30% for 12 sec. While Aspect of the Beast is active, all melee auto attacks have a 2/4/6/8/10% chance of increasing melee attack speed by 30% for 12 sec.

5

Endurance Training

5 ranks

Increases the Health and Armor of your pets by 3/6/9/12/15%.

2

Focused Fire

2 ranks

Requires 5 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases all damage you and your pet deal by 1/2% while your pet is active.

3

Improved Aspect of the Monkey

3 ranks

Requires 5 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases the Dodge bonus of your Aspect of the Monkey by 2/4/6%. Additionally, your pet gains 50% of the effect of your Aspect of the Monkey ability.

2

Pathfinding

2 ranks

Requires 5 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases the speed bonus of your Aspect of the Cheetah and Aspect of the Pack by 3/6%.

2

Improved Revive Pet

2 ranks

Requires 5 points in Beast Mastery talents

Revive Pet's casting time is reduced by 3/6 sec, mana cost is reduced by 20/40%, and increases the health your pet returns with by an additional 15/30%.

1

Bestial Swiftness

1 rank

Requires 10 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases the movement speed of your pets by 30%.

5

Unleashed Fury

5 ranks

Requires 10 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases the damage done by your pets and hawks by 3/6/9/12/15%.

2

Improved Mend Pet

2 ranks

Requires 15 points in Beast Mastery talents

Gives your Mend Pet spell a 15/50% chance of cleansing 1 Curse, Disease, Magic, or Poison effect from your pet each time it heals and reduces the Mana cost by 10/20%.

5

Ferocity

5 ranks

Requires 15 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases the critical strike chance of your pets and hawks by 2/4/6/8/10%.

1

Summon Hawk

1 rank

80 Mana · 35 yd range · Instant · 6 sec cooldown

Requires 15 points in Beast Mastery talents

Command a hawk to dive-bomb your targeted enemy, dealing 32 (plus 5% of your Ranged Attack Power) Physical damage and continuing its assault for 18 sec. Only 2 hawks can be active at once. Summon Hawk shares its cooldown with Arcane Shot.

2

Spirit Bond

2 ranks

Requires 20 points in Beast Mastery talents

While your pet is active, you and your pet will regenerate 1% of total health every 10/5 sec.

1

Intimidation

1 rank

8% of base mana · 100 yd range · Instant · 1 min cooldown

Requires 20 points in Beast Mastery talents
Requires 1 point in Bestial Swiftness

Command your pet to Stun the target for 3 sec on its next successful attack, which also gains 100% increased critical strike chance. Generates high threat.

2

Bestial Discipline

2 ranks

Requires 20 points in Beast Mastery talents

Increases the Focus regeneration of your pets by 10/20% and allows 25/50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.

5

Frenzy

5 ranks

Requires 25 points in Beast Mastery talents
Requires 5 points in Ferocity

Gives your pet a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to gain a 30% attack speed increase for 8 sec after dealing a critical strike.

1

Bestial Wrath

1 rank

12% of base mana · 100 yd range · Instant · 2 min cooldown

Requires 30 points in Beast Mastery talents
Requires 1 point in Intimidation

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.

Marksmanship17 talents

3

Hawk Eye

3 ranks

Increases the range of your ranged weapons by 2/4/6 yards.

5

Improved Concussive Shot

5 ranks

Gives your Concussive Shot a 4/8/12/16/20% chance to stun the target for 3 sec.

5

Lethal Attacks

5 ranks

Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks by 1/2/3/4/5%.

3

Improved Stings

3 ranks

Requires 5 points in Marksmanship talents

Increases the damage of your Serpent Sting ability by 6/13/20%, reduces the cooldown of your Viper Sting ability by 2/4/6 sec, and increases the duration of your Scorpid Sting ability by 15/30/45 sec.

5

Efficiency

5 ranks

Requires 5 points in Marksmanship talents

Reduces the Mana cost of your Shots, Stings, and melee abilities by 3/6/9/12/15%.

5

Careful Aim

5 ranks

Requires 5 points in Marksmanship talents

Increases your Attack Power by 20/40/60/80/100% of your Intellect.

2

Rapid Killing

2 ranks

Requires 10 points in Marksmanship talents

Reduces the cooldown on your Rapid Fire ability by 1/2 min. In addition, when you kill a non-trivial enemy or it dies while afflicted by your Serpent Sting, you gain Rapid Killing, increasing the damage of your next Shot ability within 20 sec by 10/20%.

5

Improved Arcane Shot

5 ranks

Requires 10 points in Marksmanship talents

Reduces the cooldown of your Arcane Shot by 0.3/0.6/0.9/1.2/1.5 sec. Does not affect the cooldown of abilities which share a cooldown with Arcane Shot.

1

Lone Wolf

1 rank

Requires 10 points in Marksmanship talents

You deal 20% increased damage with all attacks while you do not have an active pet.

1

Trueshot Aura

1 rank

180 Mana · Instant

Requires 15 points in Marksmanship talents

Increases the Ranged Attack Power of party members within 45 yds by 30.

5

Mortal Shots

5 ranks

Requires 15 points in Marksmanship talents
Requires 5 points in Careful Aim

Increases the critical strike damage bonus on all ranged abilities by 6/12/18/24/30%.

5

Improved Serpent Sting

5 ranks

Requires 15 points in Marksmanship talents

Increases the damage done by your Serpent Sting by 2/4/6/8/10%.

2

Rapid Recuperation

2 ranks

Requires 20 points in Marksmanship talents
Requires 2 points in Rapid Killing

Hitting a target with your Serpent Sting ability grants you 25/50% and consuming Rapid Killing grants you 50/100% of your Mana regeneration while casting for the next 15 sec.

3

Barrage

3 ranks

Requires 20 points in Marksmanship talents

Increases the damage done by your Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot, and Volley abilities by 3/7/10%.

1

Scatter Shot

1 rank

8% of base mana · 15 yd range · Instant · 30 sec cooldown

Requires 20 points in Marksmanship talents

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.

5

Ranged Weapon Specialization

5 ranks

Requires 25 points in Marksmanship talents

Increases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by 1/2/3/4/5%.

1

Sniper Shot

1 rank

365 Mana · 45 yd range · 4 sec cast · 15 sec cooldown

Requires 30 points in Marksmanship talents
Requires 1 point in Trueshot Aura

A long-range shot that deals ranged damage plus 160 and increases the range of your next 3 Shots by 10 yards for 10 sec.

Survival18 talents

5

Improved Tracking

5 ranks

While tracking Beasts, Demons, Dragonkin, Elementals, Giants, Humanoids, or Undead, all damage you deal to the tracked creature type is increased by 1/2/3/4/5%.

5

Deflection

5 ranks

Increases your Parry chance by 1/2/3/4/5%.

5

Entrapment

5 ranks

Requires 5 points in Survival talents

When your traps are triggered, all affected targets are Entrapped, preventing them from moving for 1/2/3/4/5 sec.

2

Savage Strikes

2 ranks

Requires 5 points in Survival talents

Increases the critical strike chance of all your melee abilities by 2/4%.

5

Survivalist

5 ranks

Requires 5 points in Survival talents

Increases your total Health by 2/4/6/8/10%.

3

Improved Wing Clip

3 ranks

Requires 5 points in Survival talents

Gives your Wing Clip ability a 7/13/20% chance to immobilize the target for 5 sec.

2

Clever Traps

2 ranks

Requires 10 points in Survival talents

Increases the duration of Freezing and Frost trap effects by 15/30% and the damage of Immolation and Explosive trap effects by 15/30%.

3

Surefooted

3 ranks

Requires 10 points in Survival talents

Increases your hit chance by 1/2/3% and reduces the duration of movement impairing effects on you by 10/20/30%.

1

Deterrence

1 rank

Instant · 5 min cooldown

Requires 10 points in Survival talents

When activated, increases your Dodge and Parry chance by 25% for 10 sec.

2

Survival Tactics

2 ranks

Requires 15 points in Survival talents

Increases your chance to hit with your Trap and Feign Death abilities by 5/10%.

5

Predator's Edge

5 ranks

Requires 15 points in Survival talents

Increases your melee critical strike damage by 6/12/18/24/30% and your Off Hand weapon damage by 10/20/30/40/50%.

1

Counterattack

1 rank

30 Mana · Melee Range · Instant · 5 sec cooldown

Requires 15 points in Survival talents
Requires 1 point in Deterrence

A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. This attack deals 50% weapon damage plus 26 and immobilizes the target for 5 sec. Counterattack cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried.

2

Resourcefulness

2 ranks

Requires 20 points in Survival talents

Reduces the mana cost of your Trap abilities and melee abilities by 30/60%. In addition, your critical strikes have a 50/100% chance to allow 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting for 30 sec.

2

Expose Prey

2 ranks

Requires 20 points in Survival talents

Your attacks against targets with Hunter's Mark have a 5/10% chance to activate your Mongoose Bite for 5 sec.

2

Survivalist's Discipline

2 ranks

Requires 20 points in Survival talents

Reduces the cooldown of your Trap and Deterrence abilities by 20/40%.

1

Strider Kick

1 rank

5.81% of base mana · Melee Range · Instant · 8 sec cooldown

Requires 20 points in Survival talents

A powerful kick that deals 100% melee weapon damage and increases movement speed by 30% for 3 sec.

5

Lightning Reflexes

5 ranks

Requires 25 points in Survival talents

Increases your Agility by 2/4/6/8/10%.

1

Lacerating Strikes

1 rank

Requires 30 points in Survival talents
Requires 2 points in Expose Prey

Your Mongoose Bite also causes the target to Bleed for damage equal to 40% of the damage done by Mongoose Bite over 21 sec

Talent data read from the beta client (build 1.60.1.70170). Trees and values may change before launch.

Organizations

The Farstriders of Quel'Thalas are the best-known hunter order. Notable hunters and rangers include Alleria Windrunner, Sylvanas Windrunner, and Rexxar.

Best in slot

PvP

Priority: Bow or gun above everything, since a hunter's damage is the weapon's damage. Then Stamina, then Agility. Strength is wasted: it only feeds a melee swing.

Talents: Beast Mastery 0 / Marksmanship 0 / Survival 11

Best in slot (level 20) – PvP
Slot	Alliance	Horde
Head	Brawler's Leather Hood Leatherworking (100), maker only Crafted	Same as Alliance
Neck	Erudite's Amulet Friend of the Library Quest	Same as Alliance
Shoulder	Serpent's Shoulders Lady Anacondra, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Back	Cape of the Brotherhood Edwin VanCleef, The Deadmines Drop	Same as Alliance
Chest	Tunic of Westfall The Defias Brotherhood Quest	Blackened Defias Armor Edwin VanCleef, The Deadmines Drop
Wrist	Staghide Armguards Researching the Corruption Quest Unverified	Spare Part Bindings Light's Justice Quest
Hands	Gloves of the Fang Trash mobs, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Waist	Deviate Scale Belt Leatherworking (90) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Legs	Duty Bound Leggings Bloodied Insignia Quest	Leggings of the Fang Lord Cobrahn, Wailing Caverns Drop
Feet	Footpads of the Fang Lord Serpentis, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Finger 1	Malignant Root Nightveiled Rotheap, Wetlands Drop Unverified	Seal of Sylvanas Arugal Must Die Quest
Finger 2	Sustaining Ring Knowledge in the Deeps Quest	Band of the Fist Allegiance to the Old Gods Quest
Trinket 1	Minor Recombobulator Engineering (140) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Trinket 2	Lookie's Spyglass Cookie, The Deadmines Drop	Same as Alliance
Two-hand	Impaling Harpoon Captain Greenskin, The Deadmines Drop	Same as Alliance
Ranged	Venomstrike Lord Serpentis, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance

Rankings adapted from ForeverChanges. See the full list there for alternatives per slot.

Priority: Bow or gun first, then Stamina, then Agility. The two-hander is picked by how hard each blow hits, since Strider Kick deals full weapon damage and Counterattack half, so a slow, heavy weapon comes first.

Talents: Beast Mastery 0 / Marksmanship 0 / Survival 26

Best in slot (level 30) – PvP
Slot	Alliance	Horde
Head	Brawler's Leather Helm Gelihast and Aku'mai (Blackfathom Deeps), Dextren Ward (The Stockade), Aggem Thorncurse and Overlord Ramtusk (Razorfen Kraul); Leatherworking, maker only Drop Crafted Unverified	Same as Alliance
Neck	Souvenir Sea Shell Gezzy Gunkgear, Booty Bay (Honored) · +5 Agi Vendor	Same as Alliance
Shoulder	Mantle of Thieves Trash mobs, Razorfen Kraul; World drop Drop World drop Auction house	Same as Alliance
Back	Tigerstrike Mantle +3 Agi World drop Auction house Unverified	Same as Alliance
Chest	Trapper's Leather Tunic Leatherworking (110), maker only · +2 all stats Crafted	Same as Alliance
Wrist	Staghide Armguards Researching the Corruption · +3 Agi Quest Unverified	Barbaric Bracers Leatherworking (130) · +3 Agi Crafted
Hands	Razzeric's Racing Grips Safety First · +7 Agi Quest	Same as Alliance
Waist	Stalker's Leather Belt Leatherworking (150), maker only Crafted	Same as Alliance
Legs	Triprunner Dungarees The Grand Betrayal · Thick Armor Kit Quest	Triprunner Dungarees Rig Wars · Thick Armor Kit Quest
Feet	Shapeshifting Sentinel's Strides A rare of northern Stonetalon Mountains, near the night elves · minor speed Drop Unverified	Same as Alliance
Finger 1	Wyvern Heart Band Heartrazor, Thousand Needles Drop Unverified	Same as Alliance
Finger 2	Wyvern Heart Band Heartrazor, Thousand Needles Drop Unverified	Same as Alliance
Trinket 1	Minor Recombobulator Engineering (140) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Trinket 2	Gnomish Net-o-Matic Projector Engineering (210) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Two-hand	Corpsemaker Overlord Ramtusk, Razorfen Kraul · +5 Int Drop	Same as Alliance
Ranged	Truthseeker's Bow Greater Friend of the Library · Scope +5 damage Quest	Same as Alliance

Rankings adapted from ForeverChanges. See the full list there for alternatives per slot.

Coming soon.

PvE

Priority: Bow or gun first, then Agility for ranged attack power and crit. Intellect is worth as much as Agility point for point, since Careful Aim 5/5 converts it into attack power. Stamina and Strength count for nothing.

Talents: Beast Mastery 0 / Marksmanship 11 / Survival 0

Best in slot (level 20) – PvE
Slot	Alliance	Horde
Head	Solomon's Comfortable Hat Source not known yet Unverified	Same as Alliance
Neck	Erudite's Amulet Friend of the Library Quest	Same as Alliance
Shoulder	Serpent's Shoulders Lady Anacondra, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Back	Glowing Lizardscale Cloak Skum, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Chest	Tunic of Westfall The Defias Brotherhood Quest	Bloodied Chestwraps Viktor the Vile, Ruins of Lordaeron Drop
Wrist	Staghide Armguards Researching the Corruption Quest Unverified	Witherbite Bracers Witherfang, Ruins of Lordaeron Drop
Hands	Gloves of the Fang Trash mobs, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Waist	Blackened Defias Belt Captain Greenskin, The Deadmines Drop	Same as Alliance
Legs	Leggings of the Fang Lord Cobrahn, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance
Feet	Footpads of the Fang Lord Serpentis, Wailing Caverns Drop	Trailblazer Boots Horde Presence Quest
Finger 1	Malignant Root Nightveiled Rotheap, Wetlands Drop Unverified	Band of the Fist Allegiance to the Old Gods Quest
Finger 2	Lavishly Jeweled Ring Gilnid, The Deadmines Drop	Seal of Sylvanas Arugal Must Die Quest
Trinket 1	Minor Recombobulator Engineering (140) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Trinket 2	Lookie's Spyglass Cookie, The Deadmines Drop	Same as Alliance
Two-hand	Impaling Harpoon Captain Greenskin, The Deadmines Drop	Same as Alliance
Ranged	Venomstrike Lord Serpentis, Wailing Caverns Drop	Same as Alliance

Rankings adapted from ForeverChanges. See the full list there for alternatives per slot.

Priority: Bow or gun first, then Agility for ranged attack power and crit. Intellect now only fills the mana bar, because Careful Aim is a Marksmanship talent. Stamina and Strength count for nothing.

Talents: Beast Mastery 0 / Marksmanship 26 / Survival 0

Best in slot (level 30) – PvE
Slot	Alliance	Horde
Head	Tribal Worg Helm World drop Auction house Unverified	Same as Alliance
Neck	Dissolved Locket Unknown source · +5 Agi Unverified	Same as Alliance
Shoulder	Forest Tracker Epaulets World drop Auction house Unverified	Same as Alliance
Back	Tigerstrike Mantle +3 Agi World drop Auction house Unverified	Same as Alliance
Chest	Dusky Leather Armor Leatherworking · +2 all stats Crafted	Same as Alliance
Wrist	Insignia Bracers +3 Agi World drop Auction house Unverified	Same as Alliance
Hands	Pilferer's Gloves Leatherworking (115) · +7 Agi Crafted	Same as Alliance
Waist	Stalker's Leather Belt Leatherworking (150), maker only Crafted	Same as Alliance
Legs	Petrolspill Leggings Trash mobs, Gnomeregan · Heavy Armor Kit Drop Unverified	Same as Alliance
Feet	Insignia Boots +4 Agi World drop Auction house Unverified	Warsong Boots Warsong Supplies · +4 Agi Quest
Finger 1	Ironspine's Eye Ironspine, Scarlet Monastery Graveyard Drop	Same as Alliance
Finger 2	Wyvern Heart Band Heartrazor, the rare wyvern of Thousand Needles Drop Unverified	Same as Alliance
Trinket 1	Minor Recombobulator Engineering (140) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Trinket 2	Mechanical Dragonling Engineering (200) Crafted	Same as Alliance
Two-hand	Armor Piercer Razorfen Spearhide, Razorfen Kraul · +5 Int Drop	Same as Alliance
Ranged	Truthseeker's Bow Greater Friend of the Library · Scope +5 damage Quest	Same as Alliance