Scattered Shots: So you want to be a Hunter - Part 3 Levels 10-20
by Eddie Carrington 
Sep 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM
Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, So you want to be a Hunter series. This guide is intended to help new Hunters better understand how to play the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington from the Hunting Lodge as we explore the ins and out of how to be a Hunter.
Welcome back my Hunter compadres! We've made it to Part 3 of So you want to be a Hunter. I know we have had lot's of things happening of late with BlizzCon and Cataclysm, so it's probably a good time to give a quick recap on what we've done so far.Part 1: We reviewed racials and their impact on the Hunter class. Going over each of the factions races and what the benefits were of each racial. For now we haven't talked about the new races that will be added to the Hunter class in Cataclysm (Worgen and Goblins). We'll have to address that when the new expansion is released.
Part 2: We discussed each of the Hunter talent trees and their basic playstyle. We talked about Beast Mastery being the partnership between Hunter and pet. We also reviewed the Marksmanship and Survival trees and how they are more about the individual Hunter, their offensive power, utility and flexibility.
We also discussed what stats you will want to consider as you level. Though this might seem a bit out of place, knowing what to expect early on will hopefully help you make better decisions later on. However you shouldn't worry, we'll make sure to give a refresher course later on.
Now we are in Part 3 of our weekly series. We will continue reviewing leveling your Hunter from level 10-20. We'll talk about taming your first pet. We'll also review some of the more interesting pets and where they can be found. Having a unique is one of the perks of being a Hunter.
We'll also talk about placing those first talent points. Building on the lessons we learned last week. We'll be able to make a decision on how to craft a solid leveling talent build. One that will offer us enough power to down mobs, but also enough bonuses to help protect and keep our pet alive as it plays the role of tank.
As a reminder, here's some guidelines for using this guide.
- So you want to be a Hunter is for the new player and/or a new Hunter.
- This guide is not a "How-to get to 80 in less than 3 days" leveling guide. It's more of a "What to expect as you level" guide.
- Except where highlighted, this guide does not take into account Recruit a Friend or heirloom bonuses.
- Since most players tend to level by themselves, all talent build suggestions will focus on a solo leveling/grinding build.
- This guide focuses on the leveling the PvE Hunter. We will discuss PvP and raiding in other guides.
Level 10
As I mentioned before, when you reach level 10 you finally get to go out and tame your first pet. But you can't just go out and grab the first bear, boar, cat or whatever you see. No way! You need to get trained first.
Your beginning Hunter trainer will send you off on The Hunter's Path quest. You'll be sent out into the world in search of your next trainer and learn how to tame pets. This typically involves some form of go here and tame an animal, bring it back, release it, and repeat 2 more times (Taming the Beast).
Finally, once you've successfully learned those you'll be sent to learn how to train you pet. Well, we don't really need to do that anymore, so think of it as "learn how to take care" of your pet with the Training the Beast quest.
Now you're ready to head out into the wilds and tame your first pet. Personally, I'd recommend you get a Bear or a Boar, but if you check out Petopia you'll find about 30 different pets you can go search out and tame.
Besides learning how to tame pets, level 10 also gives you Aspect of the Hawk which will give you a +20 Attack Power buff. This will be your primary self buff until you get DragonHawk at level 74.
Another learned skill will be Track Humanoids. Now you can track both Beasts and Humanoids helping you finish those pesky, go here find "Mr. Fizlestiks" type quests faster. Also, if you happen to be on a PvP Server, having Track Humanoids up can be a real life saver.
The last big item you get at level 10 is your first talent point. This is often a point of contention with many. Some will have you go the added damage or attack power route of Marksmanship, and some will go for the added distance. I rather buff up my pet's stamina. The reason for this is pretty simple. From this point forward, we get to play our class as it's designed. We have our personal tank taking all the aggro and we get to do the damage from the sidelines. Of course this means we need to buff up our pet's stamina as much as possible. And for that I recommend you place your first talent in Endurance Training.
That's a lot to remember I know so here's a quick wrap up of level 10.
New Hunter Skills
Hunter Talent Allocation
Key Quests
- The Hunter's Path
- Taming the Beast (part 1)
- Taming the Beast (part 2)
- Taming the Beast (part 3)
- Training the Beast
- The Rake (Mulgore)
- Dusktalker (Teldrassil)
- Mother Fang (Elwyn Forest)
- Mazzranache (Mulgore)
- Timber (Dun Morogh)
Since you got so much on level 10 not much really happens until you get to Level 12. The biggest events are probably the infamous Hogger quest for Alliance and the Anok'suten quest for the Horde. Both give nice loot that will last you for a while as you level.
The best thing about finally hitting level 12 is receiving Mend Pet. Being able to heal your pet as you tackle higher level or multiple mobs at one time will make the leveling experience faster and more fun. Especially as you grind through all those eyeless liverless Goretusks.
New Hunter Skills
Hunter Talent Allocations
Quest Chains to Consider
- Wanted: "Hogger" (Alliance, Elwynn Forest)
- Anok'suten (Horde, Ghostlands)
- Ressan the Needler (Tirisfal Glades)
- Mangeclaw (Dun Morogh)
- Bjarn (Dun Morogh)
- Death Flayer (Durotar)
Not much happens during levels 13 and 14. You do learn a few interesting skills that can help you in PvP (Eagle Eye and Eyes of the Beast) and one that helps in PvE (Scare Beast). Otherwise it's continuing leveling up and gathering talent points.
New Hunter Skills
Talent Allocations:
Quest Chain to Consider
- Poor Old Blanchy (Alliance, Westfall)
- Old Vicejaw (Silverpine Forest)
- Shadowclaw (Darkshore)
- Dishu (The Barrens)
- Sri'skulk (Tirisfal Glades)
- Gorefang (Silverpine Forest)
The biggest news at Level 16 is the learning of Aspect of the Cheetah. Being able to increase our movement speed by 30% is a great bonus while running around collecting livers, stingers, tusks, and other savory delights. Just remember, if you get attacked while using Cheetah you will be dazed for 4 seconds reducing your movement speed. Even with this drawback, I'd like to see this given earlier on (maybe level 12?) but I'll take it at Level 16. It just helps make the leveling experience that much faster.
As Alliance you might want to consider your first round of Hunter quests. These start off in Loch Modan at the Farstrider Lodge.
New Hunter Skills
Hunter Talent Allocations
Quest Chains to Consider
- A Hunter's Boast (Alliance, Loch Modan)
- Lord Condar (Loch Modan)
- Krethis Shadowspinner (Silverpine Forest)
Level 17-20
Nothing big really happens after level 16 until you get to level 20. Courtesy of the mount changes in Patch 3.2 you can get your first mount. Nothing will help improve the leveling experience better, well maybe a bunch of heirlooms and Recruit a Friend but we're not talking about those.
This isn't all that happens during these levels though. At level 18 you'll learn how to Track Undead and get a new attack, Multi-Shot, to do extra damage. Then at level 20 you'll learn Aspect of the Viper. If you couple this with your Tenacity pet and you will never have to worry about mana again as you grind and quest your way to end game. One skill you learn is now bittersweet, Freezing Trap. I say bittersweet because as you level up or go into PvP you learn to love this new skill. However, once you hit endgame you will notice how it quickly becomes another unused skill on your toolbar.
The good news is we also learn Disengage. This is a Hunters new best friend. Use this with some well timed shots and you can kite elites and other mobs all around Azeroth. Also, this will prove to be a great skill to get out of some trouble when being attacked by Rogues, or after recovering from a charging Warrior.
New Hunter Skills
Level 18
Level 20
Hunter Talent Allocations
Quest Chains to Consider
- A Hunter's Challenge (Alliance, Loch Modan)
- Deviate Hides (Alliance/Horde, Wailing Caverns)
- Red Silk Bandanas (Alliance, The Deadmines)
17-18
- Snort the Heckler (The Barrens)
- Takk the Leaper (The Barrens)
- Shanda the Spinner (Lock Modan)
- Strider Clutchmother (Darkshore)
You want to be a Hunter, eh? Well then you came to the right place. Scattered Shots is the one column dedicated to helping you learn everything it takes to be a Hunter. Each week Scattered Shots will cover topics to help you Fix Your DPS, Choosing the Right Spec, Gear Selection, Macros and Pet Selection, Pet Specs and Management. Filed under: Hunter, Talents, Classes, Guides, Leveling, How-tos, Tricks, Tips, Analysis / Opinion, (Hunter) Scattered Shots
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
mattc013 Sep 2nd 2009 8:07PM
Are spirit beasts exotic beasts? Do you need to be bm to get them?
brigthedwarf Sep 2nd 2009 8:12PM
Mattc013,
Yes, Spirit Beasts (such as Skoll pictured) are Spirit Beasts. And yes, you need to have Beast Mastery the 51st talent in the Beast Master tree in order to tame him.
Omega2 Sep 2nd 2009 8:32PM
On the other hand, the ghost cat in Darkshore does -not- require Beast Mastery and can be tamed at a fairly low level.
Biidi Sep 2nd 2009 11:30PM
The Ghost Saber can be tamed at 19 or 20. It's better to try at 20 since if you're 19 and it spawns at 20 you're out of luck. The hard part is finding those little white tiger statues. It's also quite a jog if you're playing a Horde hunter
Frapter Sep 2nd 2009 8:30PM
Although your posts are very well thought out, I would like to make one personal suggestion. I've found that my cat is just as effective at holding aggro as a tenacity pet while in the lower levels, while it does more damage then say a turtle because of its family skill. Until I got volley and started AOE grinding with my bear I just stuck with the cat. I'd figure any other ferocity pet would work as well too.
Omega2 Sep 2nd 2009 8:37PM
That works well for Beast Mastery, but as Marksmanship I've found it hard to keep aggro on a Ferocity pet after level 20 or so. It only gets worse until you get misdirection, so here's a tip: if you're not BM, get a Tenacity pet and hold back on the firepower since early on unless you have a dedicated tank. You'll peel aggro off your pet really quickly otherwise.
QQinsider Sep 2nd 2009 9:19PM
Here's a better tip: level as BM.
Re the article: IAotH isn't worth it for a levelling build, mobs die too quick. You're better off putting the point into Thick Hide instead. And I've never seen any "traditional" solo build with 5 points in it instead of Endurance Training, that's sacrificing soloability for dps (that you only get the full benefit of on longer fights anyway).
Durane Sep 3rd 2009 1:29AM
The best advice you can give anyone leveling a hunter is to take talents that help keep the mobs off of you and on your pet. BM coupled with a Tenacity pet makes leveling a hunter a breeze. If your pet is able to hold aggro and live longer, then you'll live longer.
It's not about killing faster, it's about killing smarter.
drew Sep 3rd 2009 4:29PM
I actually am new to hunters. I see you linked an article about why to pick a tenacity pet, but can you maybe explain what the different types of pets are? Also (I'm lvl 16 right now) there is a talent area for my pet but I haven't gotten any talents for it yet. When do we get to do that?
I did like how you listed rare pets. I'll have to check those outs.
Lemons Sep 2nd 2009 9:57PM
"one of the joys of being a Hunter is being able to run around with your best friend right by your side"
Also...you get to be an absolute ass in pvp. Most...annoying...class...ever.
Frapter Sep 2nd 2009 10:44PM
Granted, a hunter can be invaluable in some battleground situations, not so worthwhile in arena. And I would think rogues are FAR more annoying than hunters.
Snuzzle Sep 2nd 2009 11:30PM
You've never fought a druid have you? :P
(I am a druid, I love my druid, but part of the fun of PvPing on her is annoying the everloving hell out of people.)
Firestride Sep 2nd 2009 11:31PM
Why are you writing these? These offer terrible advice. Improved Aspect of the Hawk? For all the chain killing or 30+ seconds fights while leveling? Your work on the stats last time was widely panned as well. No knowledgeable hunter is agreeing with the majority of points you make. Have you actually played one before?
Boydboyd Sep 3rd 2009 1:52AM
I must concur.
I know I've been quite opinionated in the past about your articles Eddie, but the time has come that we must ask questions like these.
Like Firestride said, "Have you ever played a hunter before?"
I think the problem, E, is that you base a lot of what you write on your personal opinion, maybe. It might be what you think works best, but you must agree (based off all the comments on your recent posts) that there is a resounding "WTF?" in regard to these guides.
Bull, where ya at man?
Cogfizzle Sep 3rd 2009 7:05AM
I've levelled a bunch of Hunters very successfully and I can't agree with the advice here. I don't want to jump on the 'bash the writer' bandwagon but I really think this is very bad advice - I may know zip about level 80 hunter specs but I know A LOT about levels 1-79 and this is just wrong.
First you boost your pet's toughness and DPS through Beast Mastery...
5x Endurance Training
3x Thick Hide
2x Focussed Fire
(a guaranteed 2% increase on all damage is much better than a 20% chance of improved autoattack speed with IAotH)
5x Unleashed Fury
5x Ferocity
1x Intimidation
2x Bestial Discipline
...then pull back into Marksmanship for the improved crit and focus-regen-on-crit abilities.
5x Lethal Shots
5x Mortal Shots
2x Go For The The Throat
With double Bestial Discipline and double Go For The Throat (with your +5% crit chance so you're critting like 20-25% of the time at least) your pet is basically spamming his abilities as hard possible and things die really quickly.
Once that's done you can either stick in MM and pick up Aimed Shot and Rapid Killing (I do) or head straight back into BM and carry on up the tree.
Boz Sep 3rd 2009 7:57AM
1 - You are absolutely out of your mind to put points into Imp AotH for leveling. The longer your pet survives, the longer the Hunter survives, particularly since "Feign Death" does not become available until Level 30. Points should go into pet stamina and armor, pet damage and healing. Further, you don't even explain why you're recommending Imp Hawk.
2 - Scare Beast? That's a situational PvP ability, at best.
3 - Mangeclaw is not a rare pet, it is a rare skin for the level. Mangeclaw is on a very short respawn timer because he needs to be killed for "A Pilot's Revenge." It's the skin that is rare at the level, but it is not a rare skin in general since half the Hunters in Northrend have a bear with the white skin.
4 - You did not mention that Hunters can dual wield at 20, which dramatically increases their weapon selection. It might also be a good time to explain the mechanics of Raptor and Mongoose and why a 2-hander is slightly better if they end up having to actually melee (which low-level hunters are often required to do).
How to macro aspect-switching would be useful so leveling hunters can pop in-and-out of AotH and AotC while leveling, since they'll be doing a lot of running around. Pet control is also extremely important, and they should be learning to gather more than one mob with their pet, macroing pet attack and Hunter's Mark, using Omen or another threat-meter, and other items that are practical for leveling and good skills to hone for group work at higher levels. Leveling is about learning your class, so they should be developing these skills.
Some good stuff in here though, particularly the consolidated list of recommended quest lines. However, I'd like to see a paragraph dedicated to the first two tiers of all the talent trees, since this is where they're going to be making big choices.
Bullseyed Sep 4th 2009 12:42PM
I'm here Boydboyd. I just started my MBA graduate program this week and I'm still working in Corporate America so I've been hella busy, combined with doing hard mode ToC, keeping up my social life and girlfriend, and whatnot.
I didn't have as many problems with this installment as in the past. There was useful information in the guide with regard to abilities and questing. It is less 'bad info' and more 'things that are lacking' this time around. At least he seems to be improving... But, as many others have said, there are some issues with talent selection that detract from the effectiveness of the guide as a whole. "The last big item you get at level 10 is your first talent point. This is often a point of contention with many." I think this means "no one agrees with my leveling build, so I'll call it a point of contention instead of admitting my build is subpar".
Next point of contention: "One skill you learn is now bittersweet, Freezing Trap. I say bittersweet because as you level up or go into PvP you learn to love this new skill. However, once you hit endgame you will notice how it quickly becomes another unused skill on your toolbar." Our traps are bad in PvP. Our lack of CC is part of why we are the worst PvP class in the game. In terms of PvE, especially soloing, Freezing trap is a godsend if used properly. Unfortunately Eddie, you probably don't know how to use it properly, which is why proper use of this ability is not indicated in the article. More on this below.
Disengage... isn't all it is made out to be. The reference made to disengage lends credence to the 'Eddie doesn't play a hunter' claim. Warriors can charge twice for every disengage at endgame, probably less-so at 20, but acting as if it is a catch all escape mechanism is shortsighted in my opinion. Disengaging while soloing in PvE is very dangerous while leveling, unless used carefully. Sure, you link to the skill description, but noting that it makes you leap backward and some discussion about spinning quickly to disengage into an empty spot instead of a den of monsters would probably be helpful.
Things I would add: (off the top of my head)
1.) The concept of switching back and forth from hawk to viper. We don't need lowbies running at 50% damage because they have viper on all day. Maybe even link to the addon called ViperNotify which is very useful to have in terms of aspect management.
2.) Kiting. Kiting was mentioned but never defined. Never taught. Most newbies would say "wtf is kiting" at the end of this installment. You indicate the level that wing clip is obtained at, but say NOTHING about how to use it or what it does. WHY?
3.) Peeling. In this guide you list both Distracting Shot and Freezing Trap but never indicate how the two are used together to control an NPC while your pet handles 1 or more other NPCs. Talking about traps cooldown versus duration with regard to CC is important and ties into kiting as well. Teaching hunters to drop a trap, wait 10 seconds, pull, and distracting shot an add off their pet tank is an important skill to solo effective and efficiently.
4.) Pets. I don't want to dive into the 'which is better' categorization, because it has been a damn long time since I leveled. This guide also assumes no BoA gear. Threat very well may not be an issue even with ferocity pets. I would refrain from making absolute statements with regard to pets, simply because of how much variance is involved. Maybe even go as far as to discuss what aggro is, how it is managed, how pets generate it compared to players (tanks) and reference threat meters or the default threat information in the Blizzard UI.
5.) Shot rotation. Like I said, it has been quite some time since I leveled a hunter last, but indicating some kind of idealized rotation might be helpful. For example, if serpent sting is going to be applied, do it early on since the fight is short. Frontloading with multishot (when no CC is around) to kill off quickly. Things like that.
Again, other than a few things noted above, this section of the guide is a bit improved, it just leaves more to be desired. Put in full effort instead of paying lip service to concepts that are exaggerated to begin with.
Jimmy Sep 26th 2009 12:06AM
This is a great column for a NEW hunter! What you said is the equivalent to telling a 4 year old they need higher class before they can have their milk.
Firestride Sep 26th 2009 12:17AM
No, what we said is like telling a parent "Why are you encouraging your child to drink bourbon? We really think he should be drinking milk instead, or at least juice. No! Stay away from the antifreeze!"
Lilithsblood Sep 3rd 2009 12:06AM
Hey you should update this post to point out that when you go train for your first pet, you MUST use your factions trainer. Other trainers won't work.
i.e. I have been leveling a dwarf in the draenei starting zone, and had to go all the way back to the dwarf starting area to learn to tame pets before I could continue in the draenei area.
:)