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Leveling a Hunter to 30
How to level a Hunter in WoW Forever from 1 to the level 30 beta cap: taming and feeding your pet, pet families, ammo, every ability as you learn it, the published leveling talent builds at 20 and 30, what to press, class quests, gear, dungeons for 20 to 30, and the mistakes new Hunters make.
Since the 1 October 2026 maintenance (build 1.60.1.70170), the WoW Forever beta is capped at level 30. Blizzard hasn't said when the cap will rise again. Abilities, talents, pet families and tooltips here come from the Forever beta client. Anything taken from Classic's data, such as class quest givers and where beasts live, is labelled, because Forever may have changed it. For everything else in the new build, see Level 30 build goes live.
Players can now level up to a maximum of level 30. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (October 1)
The Hunter in a nutshell
The Hunter fights from range with a bow, gun, crossbow or thrown weapon, alongside a tamed animal companion, your pet. While leveling, the pet usually holds the enemy's attention and you shoot it down. That makes the Hunter one of the safest classes to play solo. In groups you're a damage dealer (DPS, the players whose job is to kill things) and a source of crowd control (CC: taking an enemy out of the fight for a while) with Freezing Trap.
Your shots and stings cost Mana, which you get back by drinking or waiting out of combat. Your basic Auto Shot is free, so it keeps firing even when your Mana runs dry. Your pet has its own resource, Focus, which its skills spend.
The Forever client lets Hunters wear cloth and leather from level 1 and mail from level 40, above the current cap. For the ranged slot you can use bows, guns, crossbows and thrown weapons. For melee you can use one- and two-handed axes and swords, daggers, fist weapons and staves, plus polearms from level 20. Hunters can't use maces. You can dual-wield (hold a weapon in each hand) from level 20.
Good at
- Soloing. Your pet takes the hits while you shoot, so you take little damage yourself.
- Pulling and kiting. You attack from long range, and Concussive Shot and Wing Clip slow enemies so you can keep your distance. Kiting means shooting while you back away from an enemy that can't catch you.
- Crowd control and utility in groups: Freezing Trap, Hunter's Mark and tracking.
Not so good at
- Enemies right next to you. Your shots can't hit enemies that close, and your melee attacks stay weak unless you play Survival, whose melee tools arrive at 30.
- Mana. Your shots and stings drain it quickly at these levels.
- Upkeep. You have a pet to feed, keep happy and revive, and ammo to buy.
Choosing a race
Hunters can be Human, Dwarf, Night Elf or High Order Skyborne for the Alliance, and Orc, Tauren, Troll or Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde. Human Hunters and Skyborne Hunters are new in Forever. Blizzard reworked the racials so every race has two active abilities and two passive ones, tuned to give a similar amount of power, so pick the faction and look you like. These are the racials that matter most for a Hunter, from the Forever client's tooltips:
| Race | Faction | Racials that help a Hunter |
|---|---|---|
| Human | Alliance | Sword Specialization (more critical strike chance on all attacks while you hold a sword), Will to Survive (breaks out of stuns) |
| Dwarf | Alliance | Big Game Hunter (more damage to Beasts, which you fight a lot while questing), Stoneform (less Physical damage taken, clears bleeds, poisons and diseases), Find Treasure (treasure on your minimap) |
| Night Elf | Alliance | Elune's Light (a burst of critical strike chance), Shadowmeld (hide, or make enemies less keen to attack you), Quickness (a little more dodge and run speed) |
| High Order Skyborne | Alliance | Wind Blessed (a little Haste, ranged included), Read Ley Line (faster Health and Mana regeneration near a ley line), Elemental Insight (more damage to Elementals) |
| Orc | Horde | Blood Fury (a burst of Attack Power), Axe Specialization (more critical strike chance while you hold an axe), Hardiness (shorter stuns) |
| Tauren | Horde | Endurance (more Health and hit chance), War Stomp (stuns up to 5 nearby enemies, handy when they reach you) |
| Troll | Horde | Beast Slaying (more damage to Beasts), Berserking (faster attacks), Rapid Regeneration (faster Health recovery) |
| Windshaper Skyborne | Horde | Wind Blessed (a little Haste, ranged included), Read Ley Line (faster regeneration near a ley line), Elemental Insight (more damage to Elementals) |
Racial tooltips are from the Forever beta client and are still being tuned.
Read more in Races, classes and reworked racials. The Skyborne start on their own island, Zephras Isle; see Meet the Skyborne.
Your pet: taming, feeding and families
Until level 10 you fight alone. At level 10 you get everything you need to keep a pet: Call Pet, Dismiss Pet, Feed Pet, Revive Pet and Beast Training. In Classic these came from the level 10 Hunter quests, not the trainer: Taming the Beast taught Tame Beast, Call Pet and Dismiss Pet, and Training the Beast taught Beast Training, Feed Pet and Revive Pet. The Forever client still has the spells those quests cast to teach them (see Class quests below).
Taming a beast
- Find a Beast at or below your own level. Only Beasts can be tamed, and the pet database shows what each family looks like and where Classic's data puts them.
- Deal with anything else nearby first. Taming takes a while, and you can't fight during it.
- Target the beast and use Tame Beast. You focus on it for 20 sec, and your armor is reduced by 100% while you do, so the beast hits you hard. If you lose its attention, the taming fails.
- Once it's tamed, the new pet is very unhappy. Feed it straight away.
Tame Beast no longer works on Beasts that are higher than the Hunter’s level. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (September 24)
So the old trick of taming a higher-level beast for a stronger early pet no longer works. Your pet gains levels by fighting alongside you.
Feeding and happiness
Pets have a happiness level. Feed Pet feeds your pet the food you choose, which raises its happiness, and food close to the pet's level works better. Each family eats only certain kinds of food, its diet, listed in the table below and on each family's page. Dismiss Pet sends your pet away, but that lowers its happiness, so use it only when you need to. Blizzard's September 24 notes fixed a bug where happiness stopped going down once a pet reached maximum loyalty, so both systems are in Forever.
Speculation: Classic data: in Classic, an unhappy pet dealt less damage and, if it stayed unhappy, could eventually leave you, while a pet's loyalty grew over time as you fed it and fought together. Forever may tune this differently.
Pet families
Every beast belongs to a family, and each family has a signature skill that only it can learn. Many of them are new in Forever. The families, skills and diets below come from the Forever client. The beast levels come from Classic's data, since the client doesn't say which creatures live where.
| Family | Signature skill | From level | Diet | Beast levels (Classic data) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bat | Sonic Blast (new) | 12 | Fungus, Fruit | 1–60 |
| Bear | Swipe (new) | 12 | Meat, Fish, Cheese, Bread, Fungus, Fruit | 5–60 |
| Bird of Prey | Mine! (new) | 10 | Meat | 5–59 |
| Boar | Charge | 1 | Meat, Fish, Cheese, Bread, Fungus, Fruit | 1–60 |
| Carrion Bird | Demoralizing Screech | 8 | Meat, Fish | 5–55 |
| Cat | Prowl | 30 | Meat, Fish | 1–61 |
| Crab | Pinch (new) | 12 | Fish, Bread, Fungus, Fruit | 5–44 |
| Crocolisk | Dismember (new) | 12 | Meat, Fish | 9–60 |
| Fox | Trickster's Dance (new family) | 20 | Meat | none known yet |
| Gorilla | Thunderstomp | 30 | Fungus, Fruit | 32–55 |
| Hyena | Tendon Rip (new) | 12 | Meat, Fruit | 13–51 |
| Raptor | Savage Rend (new) | 12 | Meat | 6–60 |
| Scorpid | Scorpid Poison | 8 | Meat | 3–58 |
| Spider | Web (new) | 12 | Meat | 2–61 |
| Tallstrider | Dust Cloud (new) | 12 | Cheese, Fungus, Fruit | 1–20 |
| Turtle | Shell Shield | 20 | Fish, Fungus, Fruit, Raw Fish | 15–54 |
| Wind Serpent | Lightning Breath | 1 | Fish, Cheese, Bread | 15–61 |
| Wolf | Furious Howl | 10 | Meat | 1–57 |
From level: when the first rank of the signature skill becomes available, from the Forever client. The client also has a Core Hound family, with no known beasts to tame.
Which pet is best? There's no single answer. For leveling, pick a pet you like the look of whose skill helps you. A few ideas from the class guides: a tallstrider's Dust Cloud lowers the target's Armor for everyone hitting it; a bear's Swipe hits 3 nearby enemies (but will break a Freezing Trap); a spider's Web holds an enemy in place; and a boar's Charge rushes in to start the fight. The Wolf's Furious Howl buffs your party, although Blizzard's notes cut its bonus in Forever. The pet database also marks beasts that attack faster than usual, rare beasts, and the ones the game has confirmed in Forever.
Pet skills and keeping your pet alive
Beast Training (level 10) lets you teach your pet the skills you have learned how to teach. Besides its family's signature skill, every pet can use Growl, which makes the enemy attack the pet, and Cower, which lowers the pet's threat. It can also learn passive boosts such as Great Stamina and Natural Armor, and from level 20 resistances to magic schools. Pet skills cost Focus.
Speculation: The Forever client lists every rank of every pet skill as a Hunter trainer spell at level 1, so it doesn't show how you unlock them. In Classic, you learned most pet skills by taming a beast that already knew them, then taught them to your own pet with Beast Training, and you bought Growl, Cower and the passive boosts from pet trainers in the cities. Forever may work the same way.
- Mend Pet (level 12) heals your pet every second for 5 sec while you focus on it. Use it early: a pet at half health in a long fight is a pet about to die.
- Revive Pet (level 10) brings a dead pet back with a little health. It has a cast time, so do it out of combat.
- Eyes of the Beast (level 14) lets you control your pet directly for 2 min, handy for scouting ahead.
- Mend Pet, the rank of Mend Pet you learn at level 28, heals your pet 68 health every second for 5 sec.
Your pet from 20 to 30
Between 21 and 30 the client lists new ranks for many pet skills: Bite, Claw, Charge, Lightning Breath, Scorpid Poison, Demoralizing Screech and Furious Howl get one at 24, Cower at 25, and Growl, Great Stamina, Natural Armor and the five resistances at 30. The cat's Prowl and the gorilla's Thunderstomp open at 30, as do Dash and Dive, which the client lists without tooltip text. Prowl puts your pet in stealth at 50% of its normal speed, and its first attack from stealth gets a 20% bonus.
The Wolf's Furious Howl rank, at level 24, gives party members within 15 yards an extra 31 to 37 damage on their next Physical attack. The 1 October build's tooltips show the lower numbers after Blizzard's cut (the same rank used to say 50 to 62).
Blizzard's 1 October notes also bring back your pet's Aggressive Mode, which you'll find under the pet tab in your spellbook, and fix tameable beasts that knew ranks of pet abilities too high for their level. Blizzard says those ranks could make a pet "forget" an ability, which shouldn't happen any more.
Aggressive Mode has been brought back and can be found under the pet tab in your spell book. Developers’ notes: There were some tameable beasts with ranks of pet abilities that were too high level for that creature. They have all been fixed. This could result in a bug where your pet “forgot” the pet ability which should not happen after this fix. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (October 1)
Tip: Beast Mastery Hunters get a separate helper from level 25: Summon Hawk, a new Forever talent in the fourth tier of Beast Mastery, calls in a hawk to attack your target. It shares its cooldown with Arcane Shot and doesn't replace your pet.
Ranged weapons and ammo
Once you start Auto Shot, it keeps firing your ranged weapon at your target until you stop it or the target dies. It costs no Mana. Bows and crossbows fire arrows, such as Rough Arrow, and guns fire bullets (shot), such as Light Shot. You buy ammo from vendors in towns, and it's used up as you shoot, so buy plenty before you head out: a Hunter without ammo can't use Auto Shot. Blizzard's September 24 notes fixed a few guns and bows that weren't using up ammunition, so ammo is definitely part of Forever.
A quiver (for arrows) or ammo pouch (for bullets), such as Light Quiver or Small Ammo Pouch, is a bag that holds your ammo and also makes you shoot faster; the tooltip shows by how much. Buy one with the ammo that matches your weapon.
Your shots (Auto Shot, Arcane Shot and the rest) can't be fired at an enemy standing right next to you: the client gives them a minimum range of 8 yards. This gap is called the dead zone. If an enemy reaches you, either step back to range (slow it first with Concussive Shot or Wing Clip) or hit it in melee with Raptor Strike.
We’ve been tracking an issue in the WoW Forever Beta where the 0.5-second cast time that precedes a Hunter’s auto-shot or the use of a wand is not functioning properly. Due to a bug, these auto-shots are currently incurring a much shorter cast time, which in practice means that Hunters and wand users don’t need to stop to shoot for as long as intended. Blizzard, Auto-shoot Bug and Fix Incoming
So once the fix lands, expect to stand still briefly before each Auto Shot, and don't build your play around shooting on the move.
Thrown weapons are an option too. The level 20 gear lists put two new Forever thrown weapons at the top of the ranged slot, Sharpened Cutlery and Dull Sawblade, though where they come from isn't known yet, with the bow Ranger Bow (a world drop in Classic's data) next in line. At 30 the lists switch to guns: a new Forever gun, Booty Bay Bruiser's Buckshot (level 30), tops the ranged slot for all three specs, again from an unknown source, followed by Ironweaver (level 29; from Iron Lockboxes and a world drop in Classic's data).
Speculation: Classic data: in Classic, thrown weapons didn't use ammo but wore down as you threw them, and weapon damage mattered more than ammo. Forever may handle this differently, so check the item in game.
Abilities by level
You learn new abilities from a Hunter trainer in your starting area and in the capital cities. This table lists everything the trainer teaches up to level 30, the current cap, straight from the Forever client:
| Level | Ability | Rank | Learned from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auto Shot | Trainer | |
| 1 | Bite | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Charge | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Claw | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Cobra Reflexes | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dismember | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dismember | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dismember | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dismember | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dismember | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dust Cloud | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dust Cloud | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dust Cloud | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dust Cloud | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Dust Cloud | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Growl | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Lightning Breath | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Mine! | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Mine! | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Mine! | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Mine! | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Mine! | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Pinch | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Pinch | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Pinch | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Pinch | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Pinch | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Raptor Strike | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Savage Rend | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Savage Rend | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Savage Rend | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Savage Rend | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Savage Rend | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Swipe | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Swipe | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Swipe | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Swipe | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Swipe | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Tendon Rip | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Tendon Rip | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Tendon Rip | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Tendon Rip | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Tendon Rip | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 1 | Track Beasts | Trainer | |
| 1 | Web | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 1 | Web | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 1 | Web | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 1 | Web | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 1 | Web | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 4 | Aspect of the Monkey | Trainer | |
| 4 | Serpent Sting | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 5 | Cower | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 6 | Arcane Shot | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 6 | Hunter's Mark | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 8 | Bite | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 8 | Claw | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 8 | Concussive Shot | Trainer | |
| 8 | Demoralizing Screech | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 8 | Raptor Strike | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 8 | Scorpid Poison | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 10 | Aspect of the Hawk | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 10 | Beast Training | Quest: Training the Beast (Classic quest) | |
| 10 | Call Pet | Quest: Taming the Beast (Classic quest) | |
| 10 | Dismiss Pet | Quest: Taming the Beast (Classic quest) | |
| 10 | Feed Pet | Quest: Training the Beast (Classic quest) | |
| 10 | Furious Howl | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 10 | Great Stamina | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 10 | Growl | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 10 | Natural Armor | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 10 | Revive Pet | Quest: Training the Beast (Classic quest) | |
| 10 | Serpent Sting | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 10 | Track Humanoids | Trainer | |
| 12 | Arcane Shot | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 12 | Charge | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 12 | Distracting Shot | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 12 | Great Stamina | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 12 | Lightning Breath | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 12 | Mend Pet | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 12 | Natural Armor | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 12 | Wing Clip | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 14 | Eagle Eye | Trainer | |
| 14 | Eyes of the Beast | Trainer | |
| 14 | Scare Beast | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 15 | Cower | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 16 | Bite | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 16 | Claw | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 16 | Immolation Trap | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 16 | Immolation Trap Effect | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 16 | Mongoose Bite | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 16 | Raptor Strike | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 18 | Aspect of the Hawk | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 18 | Great Stamina | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 18 | Multi-Shot | Trainer | |
| 18 | Natural Armor | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 18 | Serpent Sting | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 18 | Track Undead | Trainer | |
| 20 | Aimed Shot | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Arcane Resistance | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Arcane Shot | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 20 | Aspect of the Cheetah | Trainer | |
| 20 | Disengage | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Distracting Shot | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 20 | Fire Resistance | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Freezing Trap | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Frost Resistance | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Growl | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 20 | Mend Pet | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 20 | Nature Resistance | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Shadow Resistance | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Shell Shield | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 20 | Trickster's Dance | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 22 | Hunter's Mark | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 22 | Scorpid Sting | Trainer | |
| 24 | Beast Lore | Trainer | |
| 24 | Bite | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 24 | Charge | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 24 | Claw | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 24 | Demoralizing Screech | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 24 | Furious Howl | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 24 | Great Stamina | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 24 | Lightning Breath | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 24 | Natural Armor | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 24 | Raptor Strike | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 24 | Scorpid Poison | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 24 | Track Hidden | Trainer | |
| 25 | Cower | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 26 | Immolation Trap | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 26 | Immolation Trap Effect | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 26 | Rapid Fire | Trainer | |
| 26 | Serpent Sting | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 26 | Track Elementals | Trainer | |
| 28 | Aimed Shot | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 28 | Arcane Shot | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 28 | Aspect of the Hawk | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 28 | Frost Trap | Trainer | |
| 28 | Mend Pet | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 30 | Arcane Resistance | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Aspect of the Beast | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 30 | Dash | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 30 | Distracting Shot | Rank 3 | Trainer |
| 30 | Dive | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 30 | Feign Death | Trainer | |
| 30 | Fire Resistance | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Frost Resistance | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Great Stamina | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 30 | Growl | Rank 4 | Trainer |
| 30 | Lacerate | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 30 | Mongoose Bite | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Natural Armor | Rank 5 | Trainer |
| 30 | Nature Resistance | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Prowl | Rank 1 | Trainer |
| 30 | Scare Beast | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Shadow Resistance | Rank 2 | Trainer |
| 30 | Thunderstomp | Rank 1 | Trainer |
Everything a Hunter learns up to level 30, from the Forever client. Rows such as Bite, Claw, Dismember, Web or Great Stamina are pet skills from the Beast Training skill line, which the client lists with all their ranks: they are skills you teach your pet, not buttons you press yourself.
Here are the abilities you press yourself, in the order you get them:
- Auto Shot, level 1: your main attack, free to use. Start it and let it run.
- Raptor Strike, level 1: a melee attack for when an enemy reaches you.
- Track Beasts, level 1: shows nearby Beasts on your minimap. You get more tracking types later: Humanoids at 10, Undead at 18.
- Aspect of the Monkey, level 4: increases your chance to dodge by 8%. Wear it when something is hitting you.
- Serpent Sting, level 4: poisons the target for Nature damage over 15 sec. Worth it on enemies that will live a while.
- Arcane Shot, level 6: an instant shot that deals Arcane damage. Fire it whenever it's ready and your Mana allows.
- Hunter's Mark, level 6: raises the Ranged Attack Power of everyone attacking the marked target. Put it on before the pull.
- Concussive Shot, level 8: slows the target's movement by 50% for 4 sec, so it takes longer to reach you.
- Aspect of the Hawk, level 10: raises your Ranged Attack Power. Keep it on while you shoot.
- Wing Clip, level 12: a melee slow, for when an enemy is already on you.
- Distracting Shot, level 12: causes threat, to pull an enemy off a friend (or onto you).
- Scare Beast, level 14: makes a beast run away in fear for up to 10 sec. Handy when a second beast joins the fight.
- Immolation Trap, level 16: a Fire trap you put on the ground. The first enemy to walk over it burns.
- Mongoose Bite, level 16: a melee counterattack you can only use right after you dodge.
- Multi-Shot, level 18: fires at 3 targets at once. It shares its cooldown with Aimed Shot.
- Aimed Shot, level 20: a slower shot with a cast time that adds 20 to your ranged damage. It shares its cooldown with Multi-Shot, so use it on a single enemy and Multi-Shot on groups.
- Freezing Trap, level 20: freezes the first enemy that walks onto it for up to 10 sec. Any damage breaks the ice. This is your crowd control in dungeons.
- Aspect of the Cheetah, level 20: increases your movement speed by 30%, but if you take damage you are dazed for 4 sec. Use it to travel, never in a fight.
- Disengage, level 20: reduces your threat on your target. It turns off your auto-attack, so start shooting again after.
- Scorpid Sting, level 22: reduces the target's chance to hit by 2% for 20 sec. Only one of your stings fits on a target, so it replaces Serpent Sting; keep it for hard-hitting elites.
- Beast Lore, level 24: shows a beast's damage, health, armor, resistances and diet, so you can check a beast before you tame it.
- Track Hidden, level 24: improves your stealth detection and shows hidden enemies on your minimap.
- Rapid Fire, level 26: makes your ranged and melee attacks 40% faster for 15 sec. It has a 5 min cooldown, so save it for elites and hard fights.
- Track Elementals, level 26: shows nearby elementals on your minimap.
- Frost Trap, level 28: a Frost trap whose ice slows every enemy within 10 yards by 60%. It's your one Frost trap, so it and Freezing Trap can't be down at the same time.
- Feign Death, level 30: play dead so enemies may ignore you. Cancel it once you're safe: the tooltip says you actually die if it runs its full 6 min.
- Aspect of the Beast, level 30, new in Forever: raises your melee Attack Power by 50 and makes you untrackable. Wear it when you fight in melee as Survival.
- Lacerate, level 30, new in Forever: makes the target bleed for 119 damage over 21 sec.
You also buy stronger ranks of abilities you already have between 21 and 30:
- Hunter's Mark rank 2 at level 22: 59 Ranged Attack Power for everyone attacking the marked target.
- Raptor Strike rank 4 at level 24.
- Serpent Sting rank 4 and Immolation Trap rank 2 at level 26.
- Arcane Shot rank 4, Aimed Shot rank 2, Aspect of the Hawk rank 3 and Mend Pet rank 3 at level 28.
- Mongoose Bite rank 2, Scare Beast rank 2 and Distracting Shot rank 3 at level 30.
Tip: New ranks cost more Mana. The builds note that Serpent Sting and Arcane Shot cost 80 Mana each at their level 26 and 28 ranks, against 50 at 20, so drinking between pulls matters even more by 30.
Compared with Classic Era, the Forever trap tooltips no longer say traps can only be placed out of combat, and they limit you to one Fire trap and one Frost trap at a time instead of one trap in total. Test it in game before relying on it.
Above the current cap
These are in the client for levels above the current level 30 cap:
- Flare at level 32: reveals hidden and invisible enemies in an area.
- Explosive Trap at level 34: a Fire trap that explodes and hits every enemy near it.
- Viper Sting at level 36: drains the target's Mana.
- Volley and Aspect of the Pack at level 40, the same level as mail armor.
Talents: which spec to level with
You get your first talent point at level 10 and one more each level, so 11 points by level 20 and 21 by level 30. Each row of a tree needs 5 more points spent in that tree: the fourth row opens at level 25 with 15 points in the tree, and the fifth at level 30 with 20, so at 30 you can reach the fifth row of one tree. You spend them at your talent pane (press N).
If you have not recently changed your talents, the cost is now 1 silver to re-spec. This is temporary for the Beta only. After your first talent reset, the subsequent cost will be much higher, but it will drop to 1 silver after 1 hour has passed. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (September 24)
ForeverDB has a published leveling build for each tree. You can see every point and the reason for it on the Hunter builds page, and plan your own in the talent calculator.
| Build | Talents at 20 | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Beast Mastery: Pet-tank leveling | Deadly Aspects 3, Endurance Training 5, Focused Fire 2, Unleashed Fury 1 | Your pet holds the enemy and does much of the damage. Endurance Training makes it a tougher tank, Focused Fire adds to everything you and your pet deal, and Unleashed Fury, the pet damage talent, opens at 20. |
| Marksmanship: Efficient shooter leveling | Lethal Attacks 5, Efficiency 5, Rapid Killing 1 | Efficiency makes every shot and sting cheaper, the best fix for a Hunter's Mana. Lethal Attacks adds crit, and Rapid Killing makes your first shot after each kill hit harder. |
| Survival: Hybrid melee leveling | Improved Tracking 5, Savage Strikes 2, Survivalist 3, Deterrence 1 | Open at range, then finish enemies in melee with Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite. You get bonus damage to the creature type you track, more melee crit and health, and Deterrence for pulls that go wrong. |
Summaries of the published level 20 leveling builds. Talent tooltips, with their values for every rank, are from the Forever client.
Which one should you pick?
- Beast Mastery if you want the most relaxed solo experience. Your pet does the tanking.
- Marksmanship if you'd rather do the damage yourself and drink less often. Aimed Shot isn't a talent in Forever: every Hunter learns it from the trainer at level 20. It adds only 20 damage at that rank, has a cast time and shares its cooldown with Multi-Shot, so treat it as a filler for single enemies.
- Survival if you enjoy mixing ranged and melee. It becomes a proper melee spec at level 30, when Aspect of the Beast and Lacerate arrive and Strider Kick, a talent that needs 20 points in Survival, comes within reach, so expect a thin melee kit before then.
Talents at 30
The level 30 builds carry on from the same points, so you never have to undo anything on the way. Each one spends all 21 points:
| Build | Talents at 30 | What the extra points add |
|---|---|---|
| Beast Mastery: Pet and hawk leveling | Deadly Aspects 5, Endurance Training 5, Focused Fire 2, Unleashed Fury 5, Summon Hawk 1, Ferocity 2, Bestial Discipline 1 | Unleashed Fury and Deadly Aspects are finished, and at 25 Summon Hawk calls hawks that dive-bomb your target and keep attacking for 18 sec, up to 2 at once. Unleashed Fury and Ferocity boost the hawks too, and Bestial Discipline lets some of your Mana regeneration continue while you cast. |
| Marksmanship: Marksman leveling | Lethal Attacks 5, Efficiency 5, Careful Aim 5, Rapid Killing 2, Trueshot Aura 1, Mortal Shots 2, Rapid Recuperation 1 | Careful Aim turns your Intellect into Attack Power, Rapid Killing's second rank takes 2 min off Rapid Fire's cooldown, Trueshot Aura at 25 gives you and your party Ranged Attack Power, and Mortal Shots makes ranged crits hit harder. The 21st point goes into Rapid Recuperation, which turns Serpent Sting and Rapid Killing into Mana regeneration while you cast. |
| Survival: Melee Survival leveling | Improved Tracking 5, Savage Strikes 2, Survivalist 5, Deterrence 1, Surefooted 3, Predator's Edge 4, Strider Kick 1 | All 21 points go into Survival to reach Strider Kick, a kick for full weapon damage that also makes you 30% faster for 3 sec. On the way it finishes Survivalist and adds Surefooted's hit chance and Predator's Edge for harder melee crits. |
Summaries of the published level 30 leveling builds. Every point and the reason for it is on the builds page.
Above the current cap, the second rank of Bestial Discipline needs level 31, and the seventh row of talents, with Marksmanship's Sniper Shot, opens at level 40.
What to press
This is the order from the published builds, in plain terms: first at level 20, then what changes by 30. Skip steps you haven't learned yet.
One enemy (Beast Mastery or Marksmanship)
- Before the pull, put Hunter's Mark on the enemy you'll kill first, and make sure Aspect of the Hawk is on.
- Send your pet in and give it a moment to build threat.
- Start Auto Shot and keep it running.
- Put Serpent Sting on enemies that will live most of its duration. Skip it on ones that die quickly, to save Mana.
- Fire Arcane Shot whenever it's ready and your Mana holds.
- When the pet drops to about half health, use Mend Pet.
- If an enemy reaches you, slow it with Concussive Shot or Wing Clip and step back to range. Use Raptor Strike only if you can't get away.
Several enemies
- Set Immolation Trap before the pull and bring the enemies over it.
- Use Multi-Shot on two or more enemies. Marksmanship players should save it for groups, since it costs a lot of Mana.
- Freeze an extra enemy with Freezing Trap so the pet only has to hold the others. Keep all damage off the frozen one.
- Put Serpent Sting on a second enemy that will live a while.
- Shoot the pet's target so it keeps the enemies' attention and they die one at a time.
- Heal the pet early with Mend Pet: several enemies hurt it fast.
Survival (hybrid melee)
- Wear Aspect of the Monkey: the extra dodge chance means more Mongoose Bites.
- Open at range with Serpent Sting and Arcane Shot while the enemy runs in.
- In melee, use Mongoose Bite whenever a dodge makes it available, and Raptor Strike on cooldown.
- If the enemy tries to flee, Wing Clip it.
- Keep your tracking on the enemy's creature type: Improved Tracking adds damage against it.
Tip: Mana runs out quickly at 20. The builds note that Serpent Sting and Arcane Shot cost 50 Mana each at their level 18 and 20 ranks. Drink between pulls, and when you're low, let Auto Shot and your pet finish the job.
One enemy at 30 (Beast Mastery or Marksmanship)
- Before the pull, put Hunter's Mark on the enemy. Marksmanship Hunters also put up Trueshot Aura, which lasts 30 min and helps the party's ranged attackers too.
- Keep Aspect of the Hawk on and start Auto Shot once the pet has the enemy.
- On elites and hard fights, use Rapid Fire. It has a 5 min cooldown.
- Beast Mastery: cast Summon Hawk until two hawks are out, then spend the cooldown it shares with Arcane Shot on Arcane Shot.
- Put Serpent Sting on enemies that will live most of its 15 sec. For Marksmanship, each one also starts Rapid Recuperation's Mana regeneration.
- Marksmanship: fire Arcane Shot on cooldown, and first at each new enemy to spend Rapid Killing. Use Aimed Shot on a single enemy you can stand still for, since it shares Multi-Shot's cooldown.
- Use Mend Pet when the pet drops low.
Several enemies at 30
- Set Immolation Trap before the pull.
- If a pack chases you, drop Frost Trap: everything on the ice is slowed by 60%. Only one Frost trap can be down, so it takes the place of Freezing Trap.
- Use Multi-Shot on packs; it hits 3 targets.
- Beast Mastery: send Summon Hawk at the pet's target to help finish it.
- Keep the pet alive with Mend Pet, since it's holding the pack.
Survival at 30 (melee)
- Wear Aspect of the Beast in melee: it adds 50 melee Attack Power.
- Tag the enemy with Serpent Sting as it runs in.
- On elites, use Rapid Fire: it speeds up your melee attacks too.
- Put Lacerate on enemies that will live through most of its 21 sec.
- Use Mongoose Bite whenever a dodge makes it available, and Raptor Strike and Strider Kick on cooldown. Strider Kick's speed boost helps you stay on an enemy that tries to run, and Wing Clip slows it.
- When several enemies are hitting you, Deterrence raises your Dodge and Parry chance, which also means more Mongoose Bites.
Tip: From level 30, Feign Death is your way out of a pull gone wrong: enemies may ignore you. Stand up once you're safe, because the tooltip says you die if it runs its full 6 min.
Class quests
Speculation: Classic data: the quests below are in the Forever client, but who gives them, where they start and what they rewarded come from Classic's data. Forever may have moved or changed them.
At level 1, Classic's data has a note that sends you to your trainer: Etched Rune from Sten Stoutarm (Dwarf), Etched Sigil from Conservator Ilthalaine (Night Elf), Etched Parchment (Orc) and Etched Tablet (Troll) from Gornek, and Etched Note from Grull Hawkwind (Tauren). There's no Classic version for Human or Skyborne Hunters, since those combinations are new in Forever.
At level 10 comes the Hunter's most important quest chain, Taming the Beast: three quests in which you tame particular beasts, followed by Training the Beast. Classic's data has them starting here:
| For | Given by | Where (Classic data) |
|---|---|---|
| Orcs and Trolls | Thotar | Durotar |
| Tauren | Yaw Sharpmane | Mulgore |
| Night Elves | Dazalar | Teldrassil |
| Dwarves | Grif Wildheart | Dun Morogh |
Starts of Taming the Beast (level 10). Giver and place from Classic's data.
Classic's data also has The Hunter's Path at level 10, starting from Hunter trainers such as Jen'shan in Durotar, Lanka Farshot in Mulgore, Ayanna Everstride in Teldrassil and Thorgas Grimson in Dun Morogh. Classic's data also has versions from Hunter trainers in Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, Darnassus, Ironforge and Stormwind.
Speculation: In Classic, finishing the three Taming the Beast quests taught Tame Beast, Call Pet and Dismiss Pet, and Training the Beast taught Beast Training, Feed Pet and Revive Pet. The Forever client still has both quests' reward spells, and Tame Beast isn't on its class trainer list, which fits all of them still coming from these quests. Classic's data has no version for Human or Skyborne Hunters, so how they get Tame Beast in Forever isn't known yet.
After the level 10 pet quests, the Forever client has no more Hunter class quests up to level 40, so nothing between 11 and 30 sends you on a class errand: everything new in those levels comes from the trainer or from talents.
Gear and professions
Your ranged weapon is your biggest upgrade: a better bow or gun makes Auto Shot and every shot hit harder. Wear leather, and look for Agility first. Stat order from the class guides: Agility, then Hit, Ranged Attack Power and Critical Strike, with Intellect more useful than it looks because Mana is what stops you. Survival also values Attack Power for melee. In Forever, melee, ranged and spell hit are one stat, which Blizzard says makes traps more reliable.
The Hunter PvE page has a gear list for every slot at levels 20 and 30 for each spec, with where each item comes from, and the gear planner lets you compare items. At 20 the lists put new Forever Leatherworking pieces near the top of several slots, such as Brawler's Leather Hood and Trapper's Leather Pants. At 30 Leatherworking still leads: Dusky Leather Armor tops the chest slot for every spec and the new Brawler's Leather Helm the head slot, while Beast Mastery and Marksmanship also get the new Stalker's Leather Belt for the waist and keep Fletcher's Gloves for the hands.
Professions: Skinning and Leatherworking suit a Hunter. You kill a lot of beasts, Skinning turns them into leather, and Leatherworking makes the leather armor that ranks well in the gear lists. Blizzard's 1 October notes made a number of Leatherworking recipes available as random drops in dungeons, and creatures can once again be skinned only a single time before they disappear. Cooking helps too, since your pet needs food. See the professions guide for how to start.
Groups and dungeons
- Turn off your pet's Growl in groups. Growl makes enemies attack your pet, and in a dungeon that's the tank's job. You can turn a pet skill's automatic use on and off from the pet bar.
- Send your pet in only once the tank has the enemy's attention, and keep it on the tank's target.
- Freezing Trap is your crowd control. Set it before the pull where the tank can bring an enemy onto it, and never Multi-Shot or sting the frozen enemy.
- Put Hunter's Mark on the kill target. It raises the Ranged Attack Power of everyone attacking it.
- If the tank asks, pull with a shot from long range. Hunters have no interrupt up to level 30.
- From 28, Frost Trap and Freezing Trap share the one Frost trap you can have down, so in a dungeon keep Freezing Trap for crowd control. From 30, Feign Death drops you out of the fight if a mob turns on you.
Blizzard's 1 October notes list the dungeons open in the beta: Ragefire Chasm, The Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, The Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, The Stockade, Blackfathom Deeps, Gnomeregan, Razorfen Kraul and Scarlet Monastery, plus three newly opened ones. Before 20, Ragefire Chasm and The Hall of Thanes (from level 13), Ruins of Lordaeron (15), The Deadmines (16), Wailing Caverns (17) and Shadowfang Keep (18) are within reach, with minimum levels from the Forever client. These are the ones for 20 to 30:
| Dungeon | Level | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Shadowfang Keep | from 18 | Silverpine Forest |
| Blackfathom Deeps | from 22 | Ashenvale |
| The Stockade | from 23 | Stormwind |
| Razorfen Kraul | from 24 | The Barrens |
| Gnomeregan | from 25 | Dun Morogh |
| Razorfen Downs | 25+ (Blizzard) | The Barrens; newly opened |
| Excavation Site: Wetlands | 26–31 (Blizzard) | Wetlands; a new Forever dungeon with four bosses in the client: Saltspine, Shadetooth, Highland Horror and Relic Guardian |
| Scarlet Monastery | from 30 | Tirisfal Glades |
| Uldaman | 30+ (Blizzard) | Badlands; newly opened |
Levels: Blizzard's own numbers where its 1 October notes give them, otherwise the minimum level in the Forever client.
Dungeon quests now reward 50% less extra experience beyond normal quest values. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (October 1)
Dungeon quests are still worth picking up, but since the 1 October build their extra experience on top of normal quest rewards is halved. Start with Your first dungeon, and use the planner to look at the bosses before you go.
Common beginner mistakes
- Not feeding your pet. An unhappy pet is a weaker pet. Carry food from its diet.
- Trying to tame a higher-level beast. It no longer works in Forever: tame beasts at or below your level.
- Shooting before the pet has the enemy's attention. The enemy turns on you instead. Give the pet a moment first.
- Standing in the dead zone. If an enemy is next to you, your shots won't fire. Slow it and step back.
- Running out of ammo. Check your quiver or pouch every time you're in town.
- Fighting in Aspect of the Cheetah. You get dazed when hit. Switch back to Aspect of the Hawk after traveling.
- Spending all your Mana on Arcane Shot. Auto Shot is free. Save Mana for Mend Pet and emergencies.
- Forgetting Auto Shot after Disengage. Disengage turns off your auto-attack, so start shooting again.
- Leaving Growl on in a group. Your pet steals the tank's enemies and dies.
- Forgetting to stand up from Feign Death. The Forever tooltip says you really die if it runs its full 6 min.
- Laying Frost Trap when the group needs Freezing Trap. Only one Frost trap can be down at a time, so the second one replaces the first.
What Forever changed for Hunters
Compared with Classic, the Forever client and Blizzard's posts show these changes up to level 30. See the changes tab and the Hunter outlook for the full list.
- New pet family skills, flagged as new in the client: Sonic Blast for bats, Swipe for bears, Mine! for birds of prey, Pinch for crabs, Dismember for crocolisks, Tendon Rip for hyenas, Savage Rend for raptors, Web for spiders and Dust Cloud for tallstriders. There's also a new Fox family with Trickster's Dance.
- You can only tame beasts at or below your level, and the Wolf's Furious Howl bonus was cut by 40% (Blizzard's notes).
- Several tooltips changed from Classic Era: Arcane Shot and Hunter's Mark are stronger, Serpent Sting's early ranks deal less, and Mongoose Bite now deals your weapon damage plus a bonus instead of a fixed amount.
- Multi-Shot now shares its cooldown with Aimed Shot, which the trainer teaches at level 20 instead of it being a talent. Eyes of the Beast lasts 2 minutes. Disengage lowers your threat and stops your auto-attack instead of taking you out of combat.
- Traps: the tooltips allow one Fire trap and one Frost trap at a time, and no longer say you must be out of combat to place them.
- Humans and both Skyborne races can be Hunters.
- New at 25 and 30: Summon Hawk (a Beast Mastery talent at 25), Aspect of the Beast and Lacerate (both new) from the trainer at 30, and Strider Kick (a Survival talent at 30), which Blizzard's notes say gives 30% movement speed for 3 seconds.
- The 1 October build (1.60.1.70170) halved Survival's Deflection talent to 1/2/3/4/5% Parry chance (it was 2/4/6/8/10%), brought back your pet's Aggressive Mode and fixed tameable beasts with pet ability ranks too high for their level. The Furious Howl tooltips now show the lower bonus.
- Also in that build, above the current cap: Marksmanship's seventh-row talent Sniper Shot (level 40) now has a 45-yard range and adds 10 yards to the range of your next 3 shots within 10 seconds. Improved Stings and Predator's Edge got new icons that Blizzard calls more Vanilla feeling.
Furious Howl Attack Power bonus reduced 40%. Sonic Blast ability now properly available to Bat pets. Tame Beast no longer works on Beasts that are higher than the Hunter’s level. Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (September 24)
The 31st talent Sniper Shot now has a 45-yard Range and increases the range of your next 3 shots made within 10 seconds by 10 yards. Deflection’s Parry increase changed to 1/2/3/4/5% (Was 2/4/6/8/10%). Blizzard, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (October 1)
For the whole game's changes, see our write-ups of the September 24 development notes and the level 30 build.
Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70170.