Hunter PvP

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 PVP guide

Beast Mastery PvP is about the pet: a tough, fast pet that sticks to players and brings slows, roots, a disarm or a healing cut while you shoot from range. At 20 the PvP build trades the dungeon build's Unleashed Fury for Bestial Swiftness, Thick Hide and Improved Aspect of the Monkey, so the pet lives and keeps up. At 30 it reaches Intimidation, a pet stun.

Burst

Control

Staying alive

Battlegrounds

Your best battleground jobs are chasing and stopping. Bestial Swiftness gets your pet onto a runner fast, and a pet with Pinch, Tendon Rip or Web can hold an enemy flag carrier until your team catches up, while Dismember cuts the healing the carrier gets. Mark carriers with Hunter's Mark: you can still see a marked target if it stealths, and it shows on your minimap. On defence, lay Freezing Trap and Immolation Trap on the way into your flag room or control point, and scout with Eyes of the Beast before you commit. At a contested control point, stand at range behind your team, send the pet at enemy healers and keep Mend Pet on it when area damage lands. You're a poor flag carrier, since Aspect of the Cheetah dazes you whenever you're hit. Darkspear Islands, Forever's new 15 vs 15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor, combines strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defence; Blizzard says it opens for beta testing later.

Open-world PvP

On the PvP ruleset, Track Humanoids shows players on your minimap, so you usually see a fight coming, and Eagle Eye and Eyes of the Beast let you look over an area before you ride in. When you pick a fight, open from full range with Hunter's Mark and Serpent Sting and send the pet first: a player who turns on the pet gives you free shots. When you're the one jumped, lay Freezing Trap at your feet against a melee attacker, switch to Aspect of the Monkey and let the pet peel with Pinch, Web or Mine!. To escape, break contact first with Concussive Shot or Wing Clip; Aspect of the Cheetah only helps once nothing is hitting you. Around contested quest areas, don't start a mob fight at half mana or with a hurt pet when enemy players are close. Blizzard's patch notes say Sap now flags the Rogue for PvP when it's used on a PvP-flagged target.

Matchups

Stats

Agility, Stamina, Hit, Critical Strike, Ranged Attack Power, Intellect. Agility is still your main shooting stat, but Stamina comes next in PvP: players go after Hunters, and more health buys time for your pet's control and your traps to work. Hit and Critical Strike keep your shots landing and hitting hard, and Intellect matters because Mend Pet, Concussive Shot and your traps all cost mana in a long fight.

Tips

Marksmanship Hunter PVP guide

Marksmanship PvP is range and burst. Hawk Eye adds 6 yards so you open earlier and have more room to kite, Lethal Attacks adds crit, and Efficiency keeps you shooting. The trade-off against the dungeon build is the Deadly Aspects point, which moves to Hawk Eye. At 30 the PvP build adds Mortal Shots for bigger crits and Scatter Shot, a disorient for melee players who reach you.

Burst

Control

Staying alive

Battlegrounds

You're the team's long-range damage. Hawk Eye lets you stand farther back, so pick a spot behind your team or on high ground and focus enemy healers and flag carriers with Arcane Shot and Auto Shot. On defence, watch the approach to a flag room or control point: traps on the path in, Track Humanoids on to see players coming, and Hunter's Mark on anyone who might stealth, since you can still see a marked target. When chasing a flag carrier, Concussive Shot and your pet's slows do the work. A Hunter isn't built to carry a flag, because Aspect of the Cheetah dazes you when you're hit; cover the carrier from range instead. Darkspear Islands, Forever's new 15 vs 15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor, combines strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defence; Blizzard says it opens for beta testing later.

Open-world PvP

Range is your edge in the open world. Track Humanoids shows players on your minimap, Hawk Eye lets you start from farther away, and opening with Hunter's Mark, Serpent Sting and a few shots before a melee player reaches you gives you the upper hand. When you're jumped, don't just turn and run: Concussive Shot, Freezing Trap at your feet and Wing Clip buy the distance you need, and Aspect of the Monkey helps while they're on you. Aspect of the Cheetah only helps once nothing is hitting you, since damage dazes you. Around contested quest areas, keep enough mana for a fight rather than spending it all on mobs. Blizzard's patch notes say Sap now flags the Rogue for PvP when it's used on a PvP-flagged target.

Matchups

Stats

Agility, Stamina, Critical Strike, Hit, Ranged Attack Power, Intellect. Agility drives your shots, and Stamina keeps you alive against the players who reach you. Critical Strike comes next because it works with Lethal Attacks now and with Mortal Shots at 30 to make your burst hit harder. Hit keeps your shots and Concussive Shot landing, and Intellect keeps you shooting through a long kite. Your ranged weapon's damage per second counts as well.

Tips

Survival Hunter PVP guide

Survival PvP is the Hunter who wins when caught. Deterrence, Deflection and Aspect of the Monkey make melee players miss, Improved Wing Clip and Entrapment root them so you can get back to range, and Humanoid Slaying with Improved Tracking raises your damage against every player. The leveling build takes Survivalist instead of Deterrence; at 30 the PvP build reaches Counterattack.

Burst

Control

Staying alive

Battlegrounds

Survival is the Hunter best suited to defending. At a flag room or control point, lay traps on the way in: Entrapment roots whoever sets them off, and Freezing Trap takes an attacker out of the fight. When a melee player comes for you, Deterrence and Aspect of the Monkey let you hold your ground rather than run, and Humanoid Slaying with Improved Tracking (keep Track Humanoids on) makes you hit players harder. Mark flag carriers and stealthers with Hunter's Mark so you don't lose them. You're not a flag carrier: Aspect of the Cheetah dazes you when you're hit, so it gives no speed under fire. Darkspear Islands, Forever's new 15 vs 15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor, combines strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defence; Blizzard says it opens for beta testing later. Its control points should suit a trap-laying defender.

Open-world PvP

Humanoid Slaying and Improved Tracking make every shot and strike hit players harder, so keep Track Humanoids on; it also shows players on your minimap. Open from range with Hunter's Mark and Serpent Sting. If the other player closes, you can stay and fight with Deterrence, Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite rather than running, then Wing Clip and walk out when you want range back. When you're jumped, lay Freezing Trap or Immolation Trap at your feet, since Entrapment roots whoever sets them off, and break contact with Concussive Shot before you use Aspect of the Cheetah. Blizzard's patch notes say Sap now flags the Rogue for PvP when it's used on a PvP-flagged target.

Matchups

Stats

Agility, Stamina, Hit, Critical Strike, Attack Power, Dodge, Parry. Agility serves both your shots and your melee, and Stamina comes next because Survival's plan is to survive being caught. Hit and Critical Strike make your burst land. Attack Power drives Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite, and Dodge and Parry feed Mongoose Bite now and Counterattack at 30.

Tips

Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70009.

Hunter abilities