WoW Hunters

Garrad - FD is the single most useful skill in the game...bar none!

What do you use it for - to escape higher level opponents or just to escape certain death - usually from multiple mobs, to drop aggro from some of your area affect spells (i.e, break multiple pulls) - this is particularly effective with your pet - hit FD, mobs go to the pet, pick yourself up, heal with bandage, and back to healing your pet/ranging the opponent.

Thanks for the info PigPen

"Pigpen" wrote:

now my turn for a question...i''m only level 47, and just realized from above I have shadowmeld...

what are good uses for it, do I have to stay still, etc...thoughts?

Yes, shadowmeld only works if you stand still, as soon as you walk, run, jump, attack, etc, you will become visible. Also note, if anyone, including npc''s come right up on you, you will become semi-visible and they can attack.

Shadowmeld is handy if you are killed in a heavily populated area and the chances are likely you will be attacked again soon after you ""rez"". As soon as you accept resurrection, pull away from enemies and shadowmeld, this will allow you to regain full health and mana, and in a hunter''s or warlock''s case bring up a dead pet.

It is also handy for ambushes in PVE and PVP situations. Bear in mind that a hunter can still see you on his minimap as a dot unless you are a hunter yourself and have aspect of the beast on, which I use a bit, and then tries to ambush you.

Lastly, shadowmeld is handy for RL situations where you are in a dangerous location and need to answer a phone, walk the dog, put out a kitchen fire, you know, that old chestnut.

great info...thanks...

I''m guessing if you have a pet called, and go shadowmeld, the pet doesn''t?

I''m guessing if you have a pet called, and go shadowmeld, the pet doesn''t?

Correct, standard practice is to dismiss the pet, or park it on the other side of the hill from where you are crouching.

THANKS - I do love this hunters forum...so much good info for what is easily the best class to play...

Question....I am building a new hunter currently level11 and should I try to train for all the spells i can as long as I have the cash on hand? Also is there suggestions on what talents I should go for? Also how often will i have to feed the pet?? Thanks in advance for any help!

I say yes on all the spells if you can afford...i''ve used everyone except for the ''no tracking'' one we talk about above. none seem to be a waste imho.

talents vary...imho, mix them up for effect...at lower levels, its best to be a jack of all trades (i buffed traps, beasts, crits, etc) Do what you can to get the aimed shot though! Then, once you know what you like (I did it at level 42) simply redo your talents (i''m now an incredible markmanship hunter!).

Feed you pet to as a min keep him content...but if he''s happy, he does 125% damage...so I try to always keep him happy. Let your party know, so you get the meat they find if ok...pets eat a lot!

I would suggest training in fishing early on; It is a great source of food for pet''s (well pet''s that eat fish that is). As PigPen said, you want to keep your pet happy as that will generate the most loyalty and the most damage. At the highest loyalty levels (without any pet deaths) I will go through 2-3 pieces of meat in a 3-hour stretch. Excess damage and death will increase that sharply.
For a new bet, you will prob be feeding him every 15 minutes or so.

As for training all spells... I have found that I never quite have enough money to buy everything...

To save money I disregard all melee abilities except for raptor strike. This includes Mongoose bite and Wingclip. I figure I am all about the bow... if I am worrying about doing extra damage with my melee weapons after I dodge, I am already dead.

I also tend to ignore the aggro management shots, such as distracting shot and disengage. I pick those up when I have a surplus of cash, but I really do not use them that often.

For the most part I only ever use Immolation trap, so the other traps, while I get them, are never my first priority.

Get all the tracking skills you can as they come up... I have used each and every one of them several times.

As for talents I went all marksman, but it is a personal thing. The PvP power gamers will tell you to go marks and survival, but since you can re-spec them it is really no big deal. The one exception is what PigPen said... get Aimed shot as soon as you can. That baby is the bread and butter of your opening moves.

A couple of things to note. Every 10 level make sure you pick up the latest growl spell from the pet trainer. You can get it at 10,20,30. But you need to wait till your pet levels to the same level 10, 20, and 30. Also make sure you take the time to charm a new pet and learn the new abilities every 10 levels or so... Getting claw and bite makes a huge difference on your pets damage output.

The last thing is to train in all the single hand melee weapons. They are 10 silver a piece so in the early level that can hurt, but there is nothing better than picking up a rare drop in axes and being able to equip it. Very handy for when you get duel wield at 20. Actually I did the same for the ranged weapons, just in case I picked up a good dps gun, I could still use it.

Not a bad comment in the group from Garrad...take it to heart.

If you need to save cash, hold on explosion trap, freeze trap (its only useful for taming new pets - see earlier in the thread) and distracting shot - I like mongoose bite and wing clip, and use them often, because your agility will be high compared to other things your level, so you don''t have to worry as much in melee as you might think - (I find i can tank ok if needed, but nowhere near a pet or warrior or paladin).

Wing clip is good when a mob is below 25% - slows them down fleeing for your pet and arrows to kill BEFORE he gets back to other mobs - and with your agility, you will dodge alot...so I thought mongoose nice as well

Distracting shot as mentioned, is nothing more than ''nice to have'' - I use distracting when i''m in a party of two, and a mob runs onto the priest/mage - but I''d get disengage immediately - with your high arrow shots, I find that you pull mobs a lot- when you do, a quick disengage followed by the pet growl will get the mob off you 8 out of 10 times...the other two will usually fall off with one more disengage/growl combo.

don''t forget the pet training he mentions...sites are listed on page 1 and 2 of this forum. And don''t be afraid to borrow a couple of coins...the guild is there...so use it. Much easier to borrow 50s or a gold and be ready to fight, than to scrounge and have to go back.

And unless you are into roleplaying the importance of your pet...don''t be afraid to run while he holds a mob that will kill both you and he...

and...I held off on guns...until I got that damn gun at level 42...now its my weapon of choice...sigh...

Wow some good tips for sure!! You guys are the best! I am confused about fishing and the return it gives you after attaining a high level. Do you catch bigger fish or just ones that give more healing powers? Are there better places to fish than others? I just started to fish and its a blast!!!

Another questions is talents....you mentioned they can be re-spec later in game or at any time in game? How do i do this if i wanted to?? Also i find the melee part of being a hunter discouraging at times....I first start my attack with level 1 concussion shot and the switch to serpent shot...when the target gets too close i have to switch over to melee and use raptor strike which is powerfull and i end up killing the beast using this. I am only using guns at this point since I am dwarf and cannot train in bows until i go to that elf city no clue where its at....lol. I also use a 2h axe which I like alot...You are right about my level 7 ice cave bear pet eating alot to keep happy....I gotta keep shooting boars to keep the meat in stock...lol.

Question am i supposed to get a new pet every 10 levels and train new? This seems very time consuming is it true as the pet will be low level compared to me correct?? Do hunters usually have multiple pets to choose from in the stables or just use one pet all the time? Also do i set my pet to offensive or defensive at my low level?? Now he seems to attack anything that crosses our path....is this good?

Wow some good tips for sure!! You guys are the best! I am confused about fishing and the return it gives you after attaining a high level. Do you catch bigger fish or just ones that give more healing powers? Are there better places to fish than others? I just started to fish and its a blast!!!

As the zones get higher in level, the fish you catch get better( restore more hp''s, gain more loyalty for the pet). Also the random loot you get starts to get decent as well.

Respeccing talents, just talk to your trainer (at least in the capitol cities) there is an option to click on. IO have not done it, PigPen can prob provide more info.

It takes about an evening to track a pet and train him and then learn the new skill. As you go up higher in levels you will need to train higher level pets in different zones. I currently run only 1 pet. My first Cat I got when I hit level 10

The only time I pick up new pets is when I want to learn a new ability, after I learn the ability I dismiss the pet. For me my pet (mandu a black panther) is as much a part of my character as anything

"Thumps" wrote:

Question am i supposed to get a new pet every 10 levels and train new? This seems very time consuming is it true as the pet will be low level compared to me correct??

No, but you need to put your pet in the stable briefly and go out and tame a new pet with higher levels of the skills your pet needs to upgrade (see a link earlier in the thread for what beasts have what skills/levels). Once you tame the new pet, engage in a fight or two and you will learn that skill (e.g. bite 3 vs. the bite 1 your bear has now). Once you learn the skill, you can dismiss the new pet, get your pet out of the stable and teach it to him.

"Thumps" wrote:

Do hunters usually have multiple pets to choose from in the stables or just use one pet all the time?

I just have the one - Maximus, my Ice Claw Bear - though some seem to prefer different pets for different scenarios. They basically fall into 4 categories: High Health, High DPS, High Armor or Medium Everything (jack-of-all-trades). Personally, as long as I keep teaching him new skills, I see no reason to ever get a new pet... unless it''s for vanity.

"Thumps" wrote:

Also do i set my pet to offensive or defensive at my low level?? Now he seems to attack anything that crosses our path....is this good?

That would depend on whether or not you want to fight everything that crosses your path. Personally, my default setting is defensive but I occassionally tell him to be aggressive when I''m on a kill quest in an area innundated with quest targets*. I understand that passive will also become necessary in high level dungeons.

*Edit: If/when said targets are of a level that Maximus and I can handle without difficulty.

Garrad will weigh in too I''m sure...

you can re-spec any time...and first time is a gold, second time is 5 i think, and so on...so it costs...that''s why we say later...it takes to level 30+ before I think you really have a feel for how you want your hunter to fight/play.

You actually melee in the middle of the pack...better than mages and shamans and priests, worse than warriors and paladins and rogues...but you own the ranged world solely - no one else comes close.

My suggestion, and you''ll have mend pet soon to make this easier...but send the pet in, after his first hit, go concussion, then serpent...then reg arrows. You''ll mod this as you get more. That will hopefully keep the mob off you, and the pet alive. You aren''t bad in melee...its just not your best place.

I''d usually keep pet on the mid switch of defensive - offensive is a prob, as he''ll attack anything he senses, whether its a high level, or you are healed up, etc...as you group, passive is handy, to ensure he only attacks when you tell him, even if you get hit...so he doesn''t run off and pull other mobs to you.

Pets - you''ll learn more as you go...you''ll need at least two slots...your main pet, and the hole to get other pets to learn skills and drop them. Get it when you can afford it. Look at the chart for pets, and when you can train up a couple, stable your main pet, and go off and tame some new pets, fight a battle or two, get the new skill in order, and drop that pet. Most people use one main pet, since it take love and care to have them trained up properly.

*Edit* Grump is right...if you are in an area that is camped, having your pet on aggressive will get you the ''first strike'' before others even see the new mob. Also good in certain ''instances'' when you have a mob spawning in extras...as it allows ''remote control'' attack from your pet to the new mob!

You actually melee in the middle of the pack...better than mages and shamans and priests, worse than warriors and paladins and rogues...but you own the ranged world solely - no one else comes close.

unless your adding the Pets DPS into the equation theres no way currently at level 60 a Hunter will outmelee a Shaman. Not with Windfury Weapon and Grace of Air

Not sure about Paladins but I would rank Hunters below Rogues, Warriors and Shamans in melee damage/capability.

But given their lack of escape ability most Hunters I play with never get in melee range....unless they have to of course

I stand corrected...never played a shaman...so ignorance is my excuse. I defer to the GG

of course...to me...pet DPS is part of the hunter''s overall DPS that he brings to a fight...but I wasn''t really adding it in when I discussed the topic above. The reason I do add Paladin in is I had a friend playing one, and he routinely (never saw him lose) beat up to 5 levels above him in PvP combat with every class he fought...so a paladin played properly is deadly indeed.

of course...to me...pet DPS is part of the hunter''s overall DPS that he brings to a fight...but I wasn''t really adding it in when I discussed the topic above. The reason I do add Paladin in is I had a friend playing one, and he routinely (never saw him lose) beat up to 5 levels above him in PvP combat with every class he fought...so a paladin played properly is deadly indeed.

This is true..while a Paladin''s DPS is laughable compared to most melee classes their survivability and stun/invun skills make the the #1 PVP choice.. they simply own at PVP Duels..

They''re boring as hell and will take a while to kill anyone but 1 on 1 they cannot be matched.

Group PVP is another story alltogether though.. I laugh at Paladins in group PVP...

My suggestion, and you''ll have mend pet soon to make this easier...but send the pet in, after his first hit, go concussion, then serpent...then reg arrows. You''ll mod this as you get more. That will hopefully keep the mob off you, and the pet alive. You aren''t bad in melee...its just not your best place.

That''s odd. According to the skill description, Concussive Shot slows the target''s movement speed to 50% for 4 seconds, with a possibility of a stun if you spend talent points.

Why would you have your pet engage a mob, and then fire concussive at it? What difference does slowing it make when it''s standing there beating on your pet? Am I missing something?

Because your pet doesnt always grab aggro right away. If you slow the monster with concussion, the pet has many more opportunities to turn the monsters attention towards it.

Why would you have your pet engage a mob, and then fire concussive at it? What difference does slowing it make when it''s standing there beating on your pet? Am I missing something?

Assume you are using Concussion before your pet closes.

At the early levels this may seem odd yes, but when you get the talent for Aimed shot.. In my opinion you will open every fight with that. If the targetted mob needs to pull out of aggro range a bit (i.e. breaking a camp) before you send your pet in, then the concussion will slow him down enough for your pet to close and get aggro. It will also give you time to either de-taunt or use Feign death.

Also if you use your traps, you will need to draw the mob over the trap, so you don''t always send your pet in first thing. Again anything that slows the mob down is a good thing.

Since my pet has always been a cat (high DPS, low armor/hits ) I need to balance out the aggro she draws versus the aggro I draw.

As fang and Garrad say - at the early levels, I spent points on getting the concussive arrows chance to stun, so I let the pet hit it, concussive arrow it (and if I crit on a shot, and he comes to me, he''s uber slow).

This works well later once you get aimed shot, as you learn timing better. I''ll click aimed shot (3 seconds) click attack for the pet - as soon as aimed shot goes click concussive (they arrive about the same time) - so, the mob comes running to me, slowed and poisoned after slow, the pet nibbling at his heals, - i usually get off 2-3 more shots before he gets to me, where he hits the fire trap, I do disengage, growl, backup and finish the half life or so he has left off with arrows.

As you get a full complement, I was taking (cautiously) 50''s while at level 46 solo...

And again...the true joy I''ve found is when you hit a mob in say the 41 range like last night, for 1040 damage, and watch him go from full health to below 1/4 health with one shot...its a joy I say!

Personally I think you kill quicker if you let the pet engage for a second to cement the aggro on the pet, then use concussion and sting and follow up with regular arrows. I never have to worry about feigning death or taunting away from the pet in the middle of a battle using this system. Sure, there isn''t the sheer joy of hitting something for 1000+, but I think it''s more consistent. With a fast pet like Bangalash you don''t even lose much time waiting for it to close. This also means you have plenty of mana left to crank up the arcane shots and rapidfire if you draw an add.

Speaking of Bangladesh, and since I can''t hit that link from grumps on the unique pets, what is the most unique pet to have...is Bangladesh worth it, etc...

thoughts?

"Pigpen" wrote:

Speaking of Bangladesh, and since I can''t hit that link from grumps on the unique pets, what is the most unique pet to have...is Bangladesh worth it, etc...

thoughts?

I swapped a raptor for Bangalash. The biggest advantage is his movement speed, which I would guess is at least 50% faster than the raptor. Supposedly he is tied with a few others for second place in raw speed after the longtooth runner from Feralas. All I can say for sure is he''s really really fast. His attack speed is also supposedly quite fast, but I can''t say that I notice that as much. He also looks cool and is really not that hard to capture given how close he is to Grom''Gol. I caught him early in the morning when there weren''t too many people on.

The downside for you would be that you must be several levels above him at this point (he''s 43), so he would probably be lagging behind you for a while.

From Grump''s list the only other one I might get is the searing roc with 240 fire resistance, which would be a lot of fun to turn loose on a fire mage. There''s also a spider at level 56 that has a very fast attack that I might check out.

I have a bit of a different opinion on the subject. I have always felt that getting a named mob was the domain of the MIN/MAX players. Alien I am not suggesting that is you, just my opinion. While it might be nice to tame a named mob to show off to my guildies, I am treating my pet from a roll playing position. Mandu( my cat) will always be my main pet, she will be with this character till I retire her.

Just my 2 cents

Kinda feel the same way Garrad...Athaleos was my first pet tamed at level 16...and has been consistent throughout...

(although I like the panther idea better...lol)

Where does this stigma against ""MIN/MAX players"" come from? It''s true that I like my character to be as powerful as it can be, but so what? I don''t Female Doggo if I don''t get an item I want and I''m as generous with the guild as anyone. It''s just a different way to enjoy the game.

I''m in the same camp as Garrad and Pigpen but wouldn''t it be within RP to retire the pet who''s been taking hits for you since level 10 when you hit ~50 (Bangalash) or higher (the 1.0 attack speed spider that I believe Alien13z is referring to)? Eventually, Maximus will leave the easy life of a stable bear but that won''t be for some time.

Edit: Oh, and on the subject of ""MIN/MAX"", I couldn''t have said it better than Alien13z. I think the stigma may be more against twinks, farmers, and campers, Alien. Of course, I guess I really fall somewhere in the middle. For example, should the opportunity to tame a significantly better pet than Maximus come along, he met get early retirement but I''m not actively seeking the next pet with .1 faster attack speed or the like. Another example was when, at one point, I thought I was going to only use gun, throwing axe, 1h axe and 2h axe for RP reasons... but looting a sword that''s twice the DPS of what you''re currently using can make one seriously rethink that strategy.

I saw two hunters last night with a really striking pet that I had never seen before, it was a Frostsaber Pride Watcher from Winterspring (I asked). It was like a large white tiger but was a little glowy and the tiger stripes were silvery blue. It was very nice looking.

Where does this stigma against ""MIN/MAX players"" come from? It''s true that I like my character to be as powerful as it can be, but so what? I don''t Female Doggo if I don''t get an item I want and I''m as generous with the guild as anyone. It''s just a different way to enjoy the game.

Alien, it was not directed towards you as a person or your play style. When I refer to Min/Max players I am referring to the board trolls who base the entire game time against 1 totally maxxed out build, then scream blue murder all over the boards if it gets changed. I also am a PvE player, so maxing my damage potential is not that huge an issue for me.

I think Grump nailed what I was getting at

I think the stigma may be more against twinks, farmers, and campers
I saw two hunters last night with a really striking pet that I had never seen before, it was a Frostsaber Pride Watcher from Winterspring (I asked).

A hunter in my guild has one of the tigers that a lot of hunters want as their ""prize"" pet. I think she said it was a semi-rare spawn that everyone goes after.

If my hunter on the horde side ever gets high enough I want A-ME 01 from Ungoro Crater. I love the developers for making fun of Congo with that one.