Section III: Leveling

Section III: Leveling

In this section I'm going to describe a couple of different things. First off, I'm going to describe the starting locations of which you'll have to choose to hunt at the lower levels. Secondly I'm going to describe to you the general hunting strategy of which the Hunter employs during these levels. So let's start this off...


First let's start with the Horde. When it comes to the Horde I've noticed very little difference in questing really - well with the starting locations that is. Whether you start off in the Orc/Troll starting area or the Tauren starting area there's not much difference. I have noticed that between the two you'll be running a little bit further with Taurens then you will be with Orc's/Trolls and their starting location. But you'll have a larger stock of beasts with in the Tauren location. So if you were to look at it from a purely statistical perspective the Orc/Troll starting area is a much more efficient area in which to level. But not so much as to really get upset over. You're looking at maybe an hour, at most, of extra time you'll have to spend doing Tauren quests then you would with Orc/Troll. I have noticed that most Tauren end up running over to the Orc areas in order to hunt/gather but that's your choice. Personally I believe that those few are missing out on a lot of very interesting Tauren quests, which give the race its singular feel. Especially the "Earthmother" quests which I absolutely loved.


But leaving that aside, you're really not going to notice a difference unlike with the Alliance, which I confess has a much bigger difference. Night Elves have been pretty much gimped in this area. Not so much with quests and quest rewards, but with the amount of travel which you have to conduct with their quests. You're going to find yourself running ALL OVER the island getting your quests accomplished, and quite honestly, it's really annoying. This is why you'll notice a lot of NE's spending their time trying to get to the Dwarflands in order to level. When you look at it purely statistically, Dwarves got the meat and potatoes of the deal when it comes to their first 10 levels. Small zone, simple quests, quick leveling. I've leveled dwarven Hunters in about 1/2 the time it took me to level my two Night Elf Hunters based purely on the amount of travel time you have to conduct. However, if you do this you'll be missing out on quite a bit of backdrop storyline to the Night Elves. Again, it's up to you. But as you start making alternate characters to play you'll notice the difference, and you'll begin migrating your NE alts to either human or dwarven lands to level for those first 10-15 levels.


The down side to this? As a Hunter you'll inevitably have to return to your homeland in order to do the quest to attain your pet. To circumvent the amount of travel you'll have to conduct in this instance you can do one of two things: Rest in an inn within the dwarven lands so that you can use your Hearthstone to return promptly from the NE lands so that you won't have ride a griffon the entire way back OR do not rest in an inn within the dwarven lands and use your hearthstone once you reach level 10 and it will bring you straight back to your starting location. And then take the griffons back to the dwarven lands. I know this sounds like alot of effort but it sounds worse than it really is and once again it's COMPLETELY up to you. I personally enjoy the extra travel time because even with the extra time it takes to travel back and forth you'll still level in a fraction of the time that it takes you to do so in NE lands. Once again, that's completely up to you. If you do choose to go to the dwarven lands in order to level I highly suggest that you hit up every griffon location on your way there. I'll describe this treck in the final section of this guide. So if this interests you refer to Section 7.


Now once you've reached level 10 you'll need to seek out the Hunter trainer in or near your starting location so that you can begin your most important of quests. Your pet quest. I'm not going into detail regarding this quest because quite frankly, it's pretty self explanatory. I will say that once you complete this quest you'll need to pay attention to the quest givers closing statements so that you can go onto the second part of your pet quest which you will need to complete in order to gain the ability to train, feed and ressurect your pet. This is important, make sure you pay attention so that you'll know who to speak with once your finished. Many a times you'll see players asking why they can't feed their pet in the General chat when, if they paid attention, they would know exactly what to do.


Hunting Tactics:


The most important thing to note up to level 10 is that you have only one aspect of which to choose from "Aspect of the Monkey." This aspect gives you a +8% bonus to your dodge rating. You can have only one aspect up at any one point in time so it goes without saying, that since you have only this aspect, for the first 10 levels you should have this active at all times. Now once you hit level 10 and then 20 you'll recieve your next aspects: Aspect of the Hawk (lvl 10) and Aspect of the Cheetah (lvl 20). Hawk gives you a bonus to your ranged attack and Cheetah gives you a runspeed increase which is useful for travelling.


Primarily you're going to be switching back and forth between Hawk and Monkey so it's a good idea to have these two on your primary quick bar so that you can switch back and forth easily. For instance when your pet drops aggro you'll be able to easily swap back to Monkey in order to go toe to toe with your opponent and then when moving on to your next kill you switch back to Hawk without any messing around. You're going to be using these two so much that it's a bad idea NOT to have them on your primary quickbar for easy access.


After your aspects your going to notice that the majority of your abilities falls unto your rifle/bow. You are after all a ranged combatant! Prior to 10 you're going to notice that your most important shot is going to be Serpent Sting. You're going to want to get this off first because it's a DoT (Damage Over Time), which means that after you shoot the bugger and it runs up to you to go toe to toe it's still being damaged while you're meleeing your opponent. Once you get ahold of Concussive Shot, which is a snare ( a spell which slows the movement of your opponent), you'll be starting off with that shot. Concussive, then hit 'em with your Serpent Sting so that while he's slowly coming after you you'll be able to get a couple more shots off before you have to go melee with your opponent. Now as soon as you get Hunter's Mark (ranged damage buff at level 6) it'll be important to be using that on each and every opponent you go after. So it should look somethinglike this:


Open with Hunters Mark. Tag your opponent with Concussive and a quickly follow up with Sting and then Arcane Shot (level 4 instant damage cast). By the time your opponent reaches you he should be half dead. Good enough for you to deal with him easily.


Now when it comes to level 10... that's when the fun starts. Now you have yourself a tank, your pet. That's to say a guy to go head to head with your opponent while you pelt away with your rifle. Once it get's to this point this is how your opening combat should look:


Open with Hunters Mark. Send in your pet to attack. Let your pet hit your opponent at least once, then launch in with your usual attacks. Now for your first few levels with your pet (10-13) don't be surprised if your pet doesn't manage to hold aggro for you the whole time. As you get higher you'll notice that your opponents will rarely go after you instead of your pet. Now there are a few more things to note in regards to pets but we'll get to that in a later section. Now all the way up to level 18 this is pretty much how your opening combat is going to look. It's quick, effective, and very safe for you. Once you hit 18 that's when you get to throw some interesting things into the mix. Namely traps.


Traps are truly wonderful things. High damage DoT's which will decimate your enemies. However, as useful as they are you'll notice that the best use for them is not when you're solo'ing. Staying to your normal routine is best for solo'ing. But their best use is when you're the "puller" of a group. Which will also be discussed in a later section. Dont' worry, we're getting there = ).
http://www.marsgamer.com/freeguides/hunter_guide.html

First let's start with the Horde. When it comes to the Horde I've noticed very little difference in questing really - well with the starting locations that is. Whether you start off in the Orc/Troll starting area or the Tauren starting area there's not much difference. I have noticed that between the two you'll be running a little bit further with Taurens then you will be with Orc's/Trolls and their starting location.