Hunter Hunters pull and use threat redirection , crowd control , and primarily ranged damage . Some hunters have pet s that add to their DPS which also allow special spells such as Rebirth and Heroism , and help manage aggro . They can also track , tame , and train animals and beasts found in the wild . The well - trained pet , on countless occasions , has saved a hunter ' s life . They are the only class that can name , feed , and ' train ' their pets to have one of three specializations : Ferocity for burst DPS , Cunning for utility , and Tenacity for tanking . This specialization can be switched at any time when not in combat or dead . Hunters excel in outdoor survival skills , such as tracking and laying traps . They wear mail armor . They are unable to use shields or plate armor . Beast Master and Marksmanship hunters start with a gun , crossbow , or bow , depending on their race . They can use all other weapons except wands , mace s , and two - handed maces . Survival hunters specifically use melee weapons and start with a polearm . Hunters use many abilities that either deal damage or apply a status effect that costs focus to use . Food and drink does not replenish focus ; instead , the only source is by using certain abilities or by having it replenish naturally over time . Most other abilities are free to use such as Mend Pet or their Trap ( Survival - only ) abilities . They can take on various Animal Aspects that grant special abilities , such as improved run speed or additional ranged attack power . Background . Hunters are stalkers in the wild , living on their knowledge of survival and skill with a bow or rifle . They are deeply in tune with nature and some of its mightiest beasts are their allies . Of Azeroth ' s many creatures , few can resist the hunters ' call , and fewer can survive their fury . Hunters are as varied as the world ' s many climates , but they are universally renowned for their amazing abilities to find their prey and bring it down . They come from any race ( players are restricted to playable races , see below ) , though certain races naturally excel at the hunter ' s profession . Most hunters seek to aid the balance of nature along with their druid ic allies . Hunters are skilled in stealth , slipping through the woods like a ghost . Orc s of the Horde first learned the ways of the hunter from forest trolls on Lordaeron and tauren have been masters of the hunt since the dawn of the world . Like the shaman , hunters call upon the spirits of the land , wind , and fire to aid them in their hunts and tasks . Their spells focus on the elements and the land . The hunter is one of the oldest classes in history . They represent a deep connection between man and beast , and the hunters of " Warcraft " are not merely individuals who track animals and slay them for food , but custodians of balance . They understand the natural circle of life and death and the part they must play in maintaining it , not simply as researchers , but as active participants . The " Hunt " is venerated , and the prey they choose to stalk is given as much respect as the predators hunters choose to learn from and embody . All hunters create lifelong friendships with animal companions , who are also often their best and only friends , if the stereotype of the reclusive huntsman is to be believed . Hunters come in all shapes , forms , sizes , and specialties . Hunters are a curious mix of mysticism and rough wilderness know - how . They can learn to mystically align themselves with the aspects of various animals to assist them , such as the swiftness of a cheetah . Hunters use magically empowered trap s to maim and snare their prey . They have various shots imbued with magic or explosives to slow , poison , handicap , and disorient their targets . They can even hold their breath and slow their heartbeat to a highly infrequent , inconsequential tap to give their pursuers the impression they are dead . Weapons . For Beast Mastery and Marksmanship hunters , ranged fighting requires a choice between a gun , bow , or a crossbow . When starting , this will depend on your race . Dwarves , worgen , and goblins are given guns ; draenei , humans , pandaren and Forsaken start with crossbows ; the other races get bows . However , all hunters can still use the ranged weapons that aren ' t inherent to their race . In general , crossbows are relatively slow , but hit harder and are favored for increasing burst damage , while guns are relatively fast and good for steady grinding . Bows have moderate attack speed and are favored for sustained DPS . Guns can be crafted by engineer s , but there are no craftable bows or crossbows , so most ranged upgrades will come from mob drops and quest rewards . Survival hunters forgo use of a ranged weapon , choosing instead to fight toe - to - toe in melee . All such hunters start with a polearm , regardless of race . Combat pets . Pets are the most important tools in the hands of a hunter . They serve as aggro - management , additional DPS , and as tank s . The pet is essential to all specs , dealing anywhere from 10 % of total damage for a Marksman and Survival , to 50 % for a Beast Master . Formerly , pets had anemic damage potential and weak AI that often made them more of a danger to a raid than an asset . Improved AI - pets now always attack from the back of a monster - and an innate 90 % damage avoidance has mitigated this concern . Many beast - type mobs can be tamed , and each offer a set of unique active skills ( there are special abilities just for wolves , just for cats , etc ) . Hunters have a pet at level one . These pets are based on the user ' s race ( night elves get a nightsaber , tauren get a plainstrider , goblins get a crab , etc . ) . They are able to control the pet through various commands at level 10 . Hunters can have only one active pet at a time and 5 others out of the actual game accessible in the Call Pet UI . The stable can house up to 50 additional pets . Traps . Hunters have five different types of trap s available for use . Some traps are a type of Crowd Control ; others are a source of damage , although they do not scale well to the hunter ' s level . Traps exist for 30 seconds , have separate 30 - second cooldown categories , and a 2 - second arming timer once placed . A hunter can have one trap of each category placed at one time . Races . < tabber > Playable races = The hunter class can be chosen by any playable race : Racial advantages = TCG images = < / tabber > Specializations / stats . < tabber > Beast Mastery = Marksmanship = Survival = < / tabber > Skills / Glyphs . < tabber > Core abilities = Talents = Glyphs = PvP talents = < / tabber > In RPG . The hunter ( prestige class ) was replaced with the hunter ( core class ) in the World of Warcraft RPG . End - game expectations . A hunter ' s primary responsibility in nearly all raid encounters is to sustainably generate high DPS . They should know when to use Feign Death to get rid of aggro " before " they gain more aggro than the raid ' s primary tank and then continue dealing damage . Hunters will almost never be asked to trap during raids , but might be asked during 5 - man groups and heroics . Trapping is a form of Crowd Control . This is typically done by laying down a Freezing Trap before the pull , then using Distracting Shot to steal aggro after the tank pulls , thus making the mob run at and into the Freezing Trap . Hitting the mob with a Concussive Shot as it comes to the trap is a good way to buy cooldown time , making it easier to re - trap . The generally accepted raid symbol for this is a blue square , although it is very important to confirm this beforehand . The tank or off - tank will usually be responsible for taking aggro off of the hunter when the group is ready to deal with the mob . A skilled hunter of any spec should be able to keep at least one target controlled indefinitely . It is possible to lay a trap before the pull , wait 30 seconds for the cooldown , trap a mob , and then move away a small distance and lay another trap . Whenever the first trap ' s effect wears off , the mob will usually run to the hunter and right into the other trap . This is called chain - trapping a mob . In some cases a hunter will be asked to kite one or more creatures that either cannot or should not be killed during a specific encounter , allowing the rest of the raid to focus on other needs in order defeat the objective . Kiting is a skill that is best accomplished by hunters because of their Aspect of the Cheetah , pets , and armor rating ; it requires a lot of practice . While kiting , the target it shot with instant and slowing abilities while the hunter uses speed boosts to stay ahead of it . Kiting for most hunters is the hardest skill to learn , yet is considered by many to be the most important . In Legion . Survival specialization returned to using melee - only weapons and also has a Harpoon ability akin to . Survival are also the only hunters able to utilize traps , but an announcement at BlizzCon 2016 indicated this speciality would again be returned to the entire class . Gnomes finally are able to play Hunter in Legion . Not only that , there is a new Pet family called Mechanical . Mechanical pet can be " fed " Engineering supplies such as Handful of Copper Bolts . Gnomes and Goblins can naturally tame Mechanical pets but other races must learn how to tame Mechanical pets through an Engineering - made item .