WillE's Hunter overview for WoW Forever, checked against the client

2026-10-20 · ForeverDB

WillE's 12-minute tour of the Hunter in WoW Forever lands its headline: Survival is a melee spec again, and the beta client backs it up with new talents like Predator's Edge, Strider Kick and Lacerating Strikes. Most of the names and numbers check out. The pet scaling, the shared swing timer and magic damage scaling with attack power are server behaviour we can't read in the client yet.

This is a community video by WillE, not a Blizzard post. Everything here is WillE's finding or opinion. We checked each claim that names an ability or talent against the WoW Forever beta client (build 1.60.1.70450); the in-game names and numbers below are the client's, and the Classic Era figures are only the "before".

WillE put out an overview of the Hunter in WoW Forever: new abilities, baseline changes, the three talent trees, leveling and PvP. The big one is that Survival "has once again become the melee hunter build". We lined up every ability and talent WillE names with the client's own data. Most of it holds up, and the client fills in the levels and the figures WillE did not have on screen. A few numbers aren't in our extract, and one claim does not match.

The short version

• Survival is the melee build again. New talents back it: Predator's Edge Predator's Edge (off-hand and crit damage, level 25), Strider Kick Strider Kick (level 30) and Lacerating Strikes Lacerating Strikes (level 40, above the cap).
• Lacerate Lacerate is a baseline ability learned at level 30. The client lists it, but our extract has no tooltip, so we can't quote its bleed numbers yet.
• Beast Mastery gets a new button, Summon Hawk Summon Hawk at level 25: 32 plus 5% of ranged attack power as Physical damage over 18 sec, up to 2 hawks, and it shares its cooldown with Arcane Shot.
• Marksmanship gets Sniper Shot Sniper Shot (level 40, above the cap): a 4 sec cast for ranged damage plus 160.
• Several baseline numbers check out: trap cooldowns doubled to 30 sec, Scorpid Sting Scorpid Sting is one rank at −2% hit, Viper Sting Viper Sting has a 15 sec cooldown, and Volley Volley lost its cooldown.
• Pet stat scaling, the shared swing timer and magic damage scaling with attack power are server behaviour we can't read in the client yet.
• This article also lists which of WillE's claims the client can't confirm.

Claim by claim

The client's names and figures; Classic Era numbers are the "before" only. Full rank-by-rank detail is on the Hunter changes page.

New and baseline abilities

WillE's lead is that Survival is melee again, "just like it was back in the original World of Warcraft beta". The baseline list has real, checkable changes:

• Multi-Shot Multi-Shot is one rank now (Classic had 5), on a 6 sec cooldown for 13.9% of base mana. It shares that cooldown with Aimed Shot, so you pick single-target or AoE.
• Scorpid Sting Scorpid Sting (level 22) is one rank and lowers the target's hit chance by 2% for 20 sec. Classic had 4 ranks and lowered Strength and Agility.
• Rapid Fire Rapid Fire (level 26) now reads "Increases ranged and melee attack speed by 40% for 15 sec", which is what the melee builds want.
• Aspect of the Beast Aspect of the Beast gives +50 melee attack power at rank 1 (level 30), rising to +110 at rank 4 (level 60). Four ranks now, one in Classic.
• Aspect of the Monkey Aspect of the Monkey now has a 100-yard range instead of self, which fits WillE's note that a pet can benefit from it with the right talent.
• Viper Sting Viper Sting now has a 15 sec cooldown (Classic: none), so you can't spam it. You get it at level 36, above the beta cap.
• Volley Volley lost its cooldown (Classic had 1 min) and no longer needs you to face the target. It's a level 40 ability, above the cap.
• Frost Trap Frost Trap has a 30 sec cooldown, up from Classic's 15. That matches WillE's "doubled" traps.

WillE also says Auto Shot firing instantly was a bug that will be fixed, the dead zone sits between 5 and 8 yards, and melee and ranged now share one swing timer so you can't melee weave. Those are behaviour the client doesn't spell out, so we can't check them yet. The same goes for "magic damage now scales with attack power" on Serpent Sting, Arcane Shot, traps and Volley: coefficients like that are worked out by the server.

Pets

• Dismember Dismember (crocolisk) deals 11-13 damage at rank 1 and reduces healing by 25% for 6 sec. That healing cut is the "mortal strike type effect" WillE means.
• Mine! Mine! (bird of prey) disarms for 3 sec and deals 10-12 damage at rank 1.
• Dust Cloud Dust Cloud (tallstrider): WillE said "Duscloud"; the client name is two words. Its effect is not in our extract.
• Savage Rend Savage Rend (raptor): WillE said "Savage Ren"; the client name is Savage Rend.
• Trickster's Dance Trickster's Dance (fox) is learned at level 20; the dodge and attack-speed numbers are not in our extract.
• Pet stat scaling and the loss of outside buffs on pets are both things the client doesn't carry, so we can't confirm them yet.

The talent trees

Beast Mastery

• Summon Hawk Summon Hawk (level 25, within the cap): a new button that deals 32 plus 5% of ranged attack power as Physical damage over 18 sec, up to 2 hawks at once, 6 sec cooldown. It shares that cooldown with Arcane Shot, exactly as WillE says.
• Focused Fire Focused Fire: WillE calls it "focus fire"; the client name is Focused Fire. Its numbers are not in our extract.
• Bestial Wrath's 50% for 18 sec on a 2 min cooldown, and the pet focus and mana regen talent, aren't in our extract or are server behaviour, so we can't check those figures.

Marksmanship

• Careful Aim Careful Aim (level 15): attack power equal to 20% of your Intellect per rank, up to 100% at rank 5. WillE is right to call it near-mandatory.
• Hawk Eye Hawk Eye (level 10): +2/4/6 yards of ranged range. WillE said "Hawkeye"; the client writes it as two words.
• Improved Stings Improved Stings (level 15): Serpent Sting damage +6/13/20% and Viper Sting cooldown −2/4/6 sec.
• Rapid Killing Rapid Killing (level 20): cuts Rapid Fire's cooldown by 1/2 min and adds a damage buff on your next shot after a kill.
• Lone Wolf Lone Wolf (level 20): +20% damage with all attacks, but only "while you do not have an active pet".
• Rapid Recuperation Rapid Recuperation (level 30): with Serpent Sting on the target, 25%/50% of mana regen keeps going while casting for 15 sec, rising to 50%/100% when Rapid Killing is used.
• Barrage Barrage (level 30): +3/7/10% to Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot and Volley. Classic hit only Multi-Shot and Volley, for 15%.
• Scatter Shot Scatter Shot is unchanged in effect, only moved in the tree (level 30).
• Sniper Shot Sniper Shot (level 40, above the cap): a 4 sec cast for ranged damage plus 160, and +10 yards range on your next 3 shots for 10 sec. WillE's "giga aim shot" is a fair description.
• Trueshot Aura Trueshot Aura: WillE says ranged attack power and a 30-minute duration. Our extract has the name but not the numbers, so the duration is unconfirmed.

Survival

• Savage Strikes Savage Strikes (level 15): +2%/4% crit to all melee abilities. Classic gave +20% to Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite only.
• Entrapment Entrapment (level 15): traps now root every target they hit, for 1 to 5 sec by rank. Classic was a 25% chance for 5 sec.
• Clever Traps Clever Traps (level 20): +15/30% duration on Freezing and Frost traps and +15/30% damage on Immolation and Explosive traps.
• Predator's Edge Predator's Edge (level 25): +6% to +30% melee crit-strike damage and +10% to +50% off-hand weapon damage across five ranks. This is the dual-wield push WillE talks about.
• Deterrence Deterrence (+25% dodge and parry for 10 sec, level 20) and Counterattack Counterattack (level 25) are both still here.
• Resourcefulness Resourcefulness (level 30): cuts trap and melee mana cost by 30%/60% and grants mana regen while casting on a melee or ranged crit.
• Strider Kick Strider Kick (level 30): 100% weapon damage and +30% movement speed for 3 sec, 8 sec cooldown.
• Lacerating Strikes Lacerating Strikes (level 40, above the cap): Mongoose Bite also bleeds for 40% of its damage over 21 sec. It sits where Classic's Wyvern Sting was.
• The talent that makes attacks on a Hunter's Mark target proc Mongoose Bite, and Survivalist's Discipline Survivalist's Discipline, are named in the client but have no numbers in our extract.

Where the client and WillE differ

• Lone Wolf. WillE says you can take it "and you can still have your pet out. It's not one or the other." The client's Lone Wolf tooltip gives the 20% only "while you do not have an active pet", so the buff and the pet are exclusive.
• Mongoose Bite. WillE says it "would just deal the bonus amount" and "practically no damage". The client's Mongoose Bite change note shows Classic's rank 4 already dealt weapon damage plus 115, so the "before" doesn't match our data; Forever's rank 4 does weapon damage plus 57.
• Aimed Shot's 2 sec cast and Trueshot Aura's 30-minute duration are not in our extract, so those two numbers stay unconfirmed.

Want to build around all this? See the Hunter page, the full Hunter changes, the Hunter talent calculator, and the Beast Mastery, Marksmanship and Survival simulators.

Sources

• HUNTER: EVERYTHING You NEED To Know In WoW Forever | WOW FOREVER (WillE, YouTube)
• Hunter: changes from Classic Era (ForeverDB, from the client)
• Hunter talent calculator (ForeverDB)
• WillE: HUNTER: EVERYTHING You NEED To Know In WoW Forever | WOW FOREVER (YouTube)