Hunter PvE

Rotations & Guide · PvE · PvP · Builds · Abilities · Talent Calculator · Changes vs Classic

Hunters are ranged physical damage dealers with pets, traps and stings. Forever adds Summon Hawk (a hawk dive-bomb sharing Arcane Shot's cooldown), melee attack power on Aspect of the Beast, Sniper Shot and a real melee Survival toolkit with Strider Kick, Lacerate and a weapon-based Counterattack. Aimed Shot now shares its cooldown with Multi-Shot.

Beast Mastery Hunter PvE guide

Beast Mastery puts much of its damage through the pet. At 20 the dungeon build takes Unleashed Fury for 20% more pet damage and Deadly Aspects for an Auto Shot haste proc under Aspect of the Hawk. In a group you shoot from range, keep the pet on the tank's target and handle crowd control with Freezing Trap.

Your job in a group

Ranged damage from you and your pet. Turn off your pet's Growl autocast so it doesn't take threat from the tank, and send it in only once the tank has the mob. You're also a crowd controller: set Freezing Trap before the pull for the tank to bring a mob onto. Hunter's Mark raises the Ranged Attack Power of every attacker on the marked target, and you can pull from long range with a shot when the tank asks. Hunters have no interrupt at 20. Furious Howl, if your pet knows it, adds damage to the next Physical attack of party members within 15 yards (Blizzard's patch notes cut its bonus in Forever).

Opener

Cooldowns

Stats

Agility, Hit, Ranged Attack Power, Critical Strike, Intellect, Stamina. Agility is your main shooting stat. Hit keeps Auto Shot and your shots landing, and Ranged Attack Power and Critical Strike add damage. Intellect matters more than it looks at 20, because mana is what stops you shooting on long pulls. Stamina comes last in a group, where the tank takes the hits.

Tips

Marksmanship Hunter PvE guide

Marksmanship is the pure shooter. Efficiency cuts the mana cost of your shots and stings, and Lethal Attacks adds crit and opens Mortal Shots at 25. In a group you shoot from range, keep Freezing Trap ready for crowd control and lean on Auto Shot when your mana runs low. Aimed Shot is skipped at these levels: in Forever it adds only 20 damage and shares its cooldown with Multi-Shot.

Your job in a group

Ranged damage and crowd control. You shoot from range, and Hunter's Mark raises the Ranged Attack Power of every attacker on the marked target. Freezing Trap is your crowd control: set it before the pull for the tank to bring a mob onto, and keep area damage away from it. You can pull from long range when the tank asks, turn your pet's Growl off so it doesn't take threat, and use Concussive Shot to slow a mob heading for the healer or running for help. Hunters have no interrupt at 20.

Opener

Cooldowns

Stats

Agility, Hit, Critical Strike, Ranged Attack Power, Intellect, Stamina. Agility is your main shooting stat. Hit keeps your shots landing, and Critical Strike works with Lethal Attacks now and with Mortal Shots from 25. Intellect keeps you shooting on long pulls. Your ranged weapon's damage per second counts as well, so weigh it alongside these stats.

Tips

Survival Hunter PvE guide

Survival turns into a melee spec at 30, when Aspect of the Beast, Strider Kick and Lacerate arrive. At 20 its melee kit is thin, so in a dungeon you fight from range like the other specs: Improved Tracking and Humanoid Slaying add damage, and Clever Traps makes your Freezing Trap last longer.

Your job in a group

At 20, ranged damage and crowd control: shoot from behind the tank, set your tracking to the dungeon's main creature type for Improved Tracking, and lay Freezing Trap for the mob the group wants controlled (Clever Traps holds it longer). From 30 you fight in melee from behind the target. Turn off your pet's Growl so it leaves threat to the tank. Hunters have no interrupt at 20, and Disengage lowers your threat if a mob turns on you in melee.

Opener

Cooldowns

Stats

Agility, Hit, Critical Strike, Attack Power, Ranged Attack Power, Stamina. Agility helps both your shooting at 20 and your melee from 30, so it's the stat to chase. Hit and Critical Strike come next, though Savage Strikes already gives your melee abilities a lot of crit. Attack Power drives the melee you'll do from 30 and Ranged Attack Power the shooting you do now. Stamina helps against the area damage you take in melee.

Tips

Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70009.

Hunter abilities