Hunters are a pure DPS class with three different talent trees devoted to dealing damage. The Beast Mastery Hunter has always been one of the most effective solo builds in World of Warcraft thanks to the utility provided by its combat pets. In Cataclysm, the other two talent trees are equally viable for leveling, with Survival Hunters bringing strong AoE and Marksmanship Hunters offering powerful burst damage.
In this guide, we’ll go over helpful tips, where to spend your talent points, what to look for when gearing, effective use of your abilities, and other general advice to make the leveling process as smooth and easy as possible!
Pros
- Simple and straightforward rotations
- Three viable leveling specializations to choose from
- Pets bring strong utility and improved survivability
Cons
- Survivability dependent on kiting and pet aggro
- Pets add a layer of complexity and micromanagement
General Leveling Tips
The best approach to leveling will vary somewhat based on which specialization you choose. Beast Mastery Hunters are strongest on their own and can quest and farm very efficiently in the open world. Marksmanship and Survival Hunters will do fine in the open world as well but will excel in dungeon groups where they can focus on dealing damage rather than controlling their pet.
As far as which pet to pick up for leveling, a turtle is a good choice for tanking if you’re going to be running solo. If you’re going to be running dungeons, you might prefer a cat or a wolf for damage. Any pet you prefer is probably totally fine, though, so feel free to pick one that you like or just stick with the one you started out with.
Stat Priority
- Agility
- Critical Strike
- Haste
- Mastery
Rotation
All three builds have relatively simple rotations with slight differences. Your goal will always be to make use of your Focus without completely depleting it. Don’t forget to use your cooldowns.
Beast Mastery
- Cast Hunter’s Mark and send your pet to attack the target (you can use the macro at the bottom of this guide).
- Cast Kill Shot on cooldown if an enemy is below 20% health.
- Cast Kill Command on cooldown.
- Cast Serpent Sting if you need to apply the debuff.
- Cast Arcane Shot as long as you have Focus.
- Cast Cobra Shot once you have it.
- Cast Steady Shot otherwise.
Marksmanship
- Cast Hunter’s Mark and send your pet to attack the target (you can use the macro at the bottom of this guide).
- Cast Kill Shot on cooldown if an enemy is below 20% health.
- Cast Serpent Sting if you need to apply the debuff.
- Cast Chimera Shot on cooldown.
- Cast Aimed Shot to burn Focus.
- Cast Arcane Shot as long as you have Focus.
- Cast Steady Shot otherwise.
Survival
- Cast Hunter’s Mark and send your pet to attack the target (you can use the macro at the bottom of this guide).
- Cast Kill Shot on cooldown if an enemy is below 20% health.
- Cast Serpent Sting if you need to apply the debuff.
- Cast Explosive Shot on cooldown.
- Cast Black Arrow on cooldown if the enemy won’t die before it expires.
- Cast Arcane Shot as long as you have Focus.
- Cast Cobra Shot once you have it.
- Cast Steady Shot otherwise.
Talents
Beast Mastery
This build takes the optional talent Pathfinding, which gives a nice movement bonus to help make questing and farming a little less tedious.
Marksmanship
This build skips Silencing Shot, but some Marksmanship Hunters like to take that talent for a little extra utility.
Survival
This build skips Sic ‘Em! in favor of Point of No Escape, since the latter offers a little more control for solo content.
Glyphs
Prime
Beast Mastery
- Glyph of Arcane Shot
- Glyph of Kill Command
These glyphs buff two of your core abilities and make great default options for Beast Mastery Hunters.
Marksmanship
- Glyph of Steady Shot
- Glyph of Arcane Shot
These glyphs both buff core abilities and make great default options for Marksmanship Hunters.
Survival
- Glyph of Explosive Shot
- Glyph of Kill Shot
These glyphs are good default options for Survival Hunters as they buff two of your core abilities.
Major
Beast Mastery
- Glyph of Bestial Wrath
Reduces the time your pet spends outside of their buffed Bestial Wrath state. - Glyph of Trap Launcher
Saves you some Focus when you use your Trap Launcher.
Marksmanship
- Glyph of Trap Launcher
Saves you some Focus when you use your Trap Launcher. - Glyph of Mending
Makes your Mend Pet ability more effective so you don’t have to worry as much about your sidekick.
Survival
- Glyph of Trap Launcher
Saves you some Focus when you use your Trap Launcher. - Glyph of Mending
Makes your Mend Pet ability more effective so you don’t have to worry as much about your sidekick.
Minor
- Glyph of Feign Death
Lets you use Feign Death more often, which can save your life. - Glyph of Revive Pet
Makes it easier and safer to cast Revive Pet if your buddy gets taken out of the fight.
Equipment
The old joke that everything is a Hunter weapon is almost true: Hunters are able to use Bows, Crossbows, and Guns as well as Polearms, Staves, Daggers, and One-handed & Two-handed Axes and Swords. For the most part, you’ll want to choose the weapons with the best stats. The damage on your Ranged weapon is important, but your melee weapon(s) serve simply as “stat sticks.”
Weapon upgrades will often be the biggest damage increase while leveling. Weapons are your primary source of Attack Power, and will be a big boost every time you upgrade.
Hunters can use Cloth and Leather armor, and learn Mail at level 40. At level 50 they gain Mail Specialization, and from that point on you’ll want to wear exclusively Mail in order to benefit from the buff to your primary stat. If you’re using Heirlooms, they will automatically convert from Leather to Mail at level 40.
Professions
Your professions won’t really affect the leveling process much, but if you want some useful passive bonuses, you can go with gathering professions like Skinning or Mining. These will be easy to keep up with while leveling and also offer the best gold-making potential. You can also opt to start working on any crafting professions that you want to use at endgame.
Hunters make excellent gatherers since they can have their pet tank any nearby enemies while they quickly harvest the node.
Useful Macros
There aren’t many super important macros for leveling, but there are some that are nice to have.
Hunter’s Mark + Pet Attack
This macro will send your pet in to attack when you cast Hunter’s Mark on an enemy.
#showtooltip/petattack/cast Hunter's Mark