Guide to playing a hunter Hunters combine elements of nature and crafty artifice to scout , confound , and destroy their foes . A well - played Hunter makes everything easier for the group with very little maintenance . This from a combination of ranged DPS , threat manipulation , safe pulling , and the most versatile crowd control in the game . No other class uses ranged weapons with real effectiveness . Hunters can send in a flurry of arrows or barrage of shells for solid raw damage , but also command a variety of special Shots and Stings . These can daze , disorient , silence , sleep , poison , drain mana , or cause clumsiness in their targets . Hunters have the only permanent , personalizable pets . Almost any species of beast in a wide array of colorings can be tamed . Pets make soloing much easier , as your own pocket tank . Tuned damage dealing pets can significantly boost your DPS . And they allow for certain distraction tactics . One of the best reasons to have a Hunter around is the ability to keep a mob of any type occupied indefinitely with Freezing Traps . With a little patience and certain talents , additional mobs can be sidelined for a brief , critical time . Overall , this is one of the classes which scales most dramatically with player skill . You get out what you are willing to put in . Frequently Asked Questions . I want to do a lot of damage . Is this a good class for me ? Certainly a good class , but not necessarily the best fit . Depending on how you prefer to play , the complexity of pet management and split second timing for optimal shot rotations may sound interesting or like too much hassle . Same goes for having to deal with your ranged attacks not working against targets within 8 yards . But put in the effort and you will deal serious damage with relatively little maintenance required . I want to be helpful to my group . Is this a good class for me ? Can be ! A Marks or Survival spec Hunter has the best crowd control potential in the game , but takes practice to achieve . Pets can offtank in a pinch . Hunters are uniquely able to " safe pull " every thirty seconds by aborting tricky - pulls - gone - wrong with Feign Death . Misdirection allows Hunters to send extra threat to specified tanks . Finally , each of the three trees has either a group or raid damage buff . Is it possible to play a Hunter without using a pet ? Possibly . But neglecting pet use even as a Marks or Survival Hunter will make your overall damage subpar . Pet attack power scales by its master ' s ranged attack power , which Marks Hunters have in abundance . Extra Focus regen from crits courtesy of the talent Go for the Throat is especially high for Survival Hunters . All three trees are " pet trees " in their own way . In a today group for a raid or instance , you would be looked down upon for not " knowing " your class . Is it possible to play a melee - oriented Hunter ? Again it is possible but neglecting ranged attacks and utility is even worse than neglecting your pet and is looked down upon . Hunter melee is designed around delivering a heavy burst of damage while snaring or rooting your opponent with the goal of moving back to range . Hunters have no facility for sustained melee damage . What difference does race make ? Draenei - Gift of the Naaru : decent heal - over - time on a 3 min cooldown . 1 % Hit aura to party . 5 Jewelcrafting skill . 10 Shadow Resist . Dwarf - Stoneform : 8 seconds of Bleed , Poison , and Disease immunity / removal on a 3 min cooldown . 5 Gun skill . Can track treasure chests . 10 Frost Resist . Night Elf - Shadowmeld : can stealth when standing still out of combat . 1 % Dodge chance . Faster ghost speed . 10 Nature Resist . Blood Elf - Arcane Torrent : instant AoE Silence on a 2 min cooldown . Mana Tap : drains enemy mana slightly and gives it to you during the next Torrent . 10 Enchanting skill . 5 all - school Magic Resist . Orc - Blood Fury : self - buff to increase Attack Power but cut received healing in half for 15 sec on a 2 min cooldown . Pet melee damage increased by 5 % . 5 Axe skill . 15 % stun and knockdown resistance . Tauren - War Stomp : instant AoE stun on a 2 min cooldown . Health increased by 5 % . 15 Herbalism skill . 10 Nature resistance . Troll - Berserking : 10 - 30 % Haste buff for 10 seconds ( more when activated at low health ) on a 3 min cooldown . 5 % damage bonus against Beasts . 10 % Health regen allowed in combat . 5 Throwing Weapon and Bow skill . Orcs and Draenei are especially good for PvE ; Dwarves and Tauren for PvP . But every race has interesting perqs and can be effective in any environment . Don ' t let races with + Gun or + Bow skill make you feel locked into those weapons . Weapon skill doesn ' t make much of a difference nowadays . What talent spec should I be ? Any of the three trees can be effective when played well , though strengths differ : Beast Mastery - Best personal DPS . Stacking party damage buff works on magic users too . Strong soloing . Favored for 2v2 and 3v3 Arena . Poor crowd control . Marksmanship - High PvP control and burst damage . Favored for 5v5 Arena . Strong soloing and crowd control . Mediocre non - stacking physical party buff . Tends to be lowest sustained damage among well geared Hunters . Survival - Good personal damage . Potent non - stacking raid buff for physical attackers . Excellent crowd control . Poor soloing . What ' s the spec for leveling ? Both Beast Mastery and Marksmanship are solid leveling specs , especially once you have either 31 point talent . Survival requires a lot of talent points and appropriate gear for the synergy to kick in . It pays to do your pet research early . Some looks are only available early on ; leveling a lowbie pet later on is a pain . What are some good , specific talent builds ? If you need to adapt from someone else ' s builds , I recommend using the Armory to look at top PvE guilds and Arena teams . That said , here a few examples of a raiding - oriented Beast , Marks , then Survival build : http : / / www . wowhead . com / ? talent = mVbR0gxRwuVoVVbRV http : / / www . wowhead . com / ? talent = VVbZVViRVzGestMh http : / / www . wowhead . com / ? talent = VZVVbRVZIu00xcrhVbAo Please do not complain or try to tweak these builds in this thread . They are provided as samples only that are - - incidentally - - currently in use by specific Hunters in highly progressed guilds . Take the time to understand what talents do , then make your own tweaks to fit your style and raid composition . For instance , I use this heroic / raiding Survival build : http : / / www . wowhead . com / ? talent = VZVgboVzhZIu0MdfMhVuh What gear should I use ? Which enchants and gems ? I recommend using the Gear Choice Calculator linked at the end of this guide . Right now , Agility gems and enchants tend to be the best for all specs thanks to their Attack Power / Crit synergy . What ' s the best pet ? See " Choosing a Pet " later in this guide . Short answer is that only the beast family matters and current popular beast families are : Cat , Ravager , Raptor , Wind Serpent , Boar , Scorpid , and Owl . There are too many Hunters . How do I distinguish myself ? Improve yourself in four areas : Trapping , Kiting , Low Maintenance , and DPS . Take the time to hone broad skills and you will be noticed . What is " double trapping " ? While it may seem like a Hunter can only trap one mob at a time , the restriction is only on unactivated traps . Lay down one trap and wait until your trap cooldown is complete or nearly so . Pull two mobs toward yourself . As soon as one mob hits your first trap , drop the second trap . Two ice cubes . How does Misdirection work ? Misdirection is a 30 - second buff cast on a group or raid member . Your next attack will trigger a 4 - second countdown , in which , all actions taken will cause threat to generate on your Misdirection ' s target rather than yourself . On a pull , shooting one mob will aggro every mob onto your group member just as if she pulled the group instead . Use Misdirection to give a tank ( or your pet ) an extra burst of threat . If another Hunter casts Misdirection on the same friendly target before your charges are consumed , your buff will disappear . It ' s also possible to abort Misdirection by right clicking the linked , twin buff on your own character . Smart when you accidentally Misdirect a healer . Misdirect - > Volley does appear to work on AoE pulls . How does Track Hidden work ? Unlike other Tracking spells , Track Hidden does not automatically show you every hidden creature within range . Minimap dots will only show for " hidden but visible " things like friendly Druids or really close enemy Rogues . The real value is that your stealth detection is also boosted considerably . A level 70 Rogue will be detected as a level 64 Rogue . Track Hidden is three times more potent than Catseye Elixir and cancels out Master of Deception / Feral Instinct talents twice over . Does Humanoid Slaying work in PvP ? Yes , if your player targets are in Humanoid form . Anything that shows up on your minimap during Track Humanoids will work for Humanoid Slaying . Druids and Shaman in form will track as Beasts and so Monster Slaying ( and Scare Beast ) will work on them . " Undead " players are actually classed as Humanoid , not Undead . How do I do more damage ? See the Damage Optimization section in this guide . When is my gear good enough to switch to [ some particular ] spec ? Any time . Despite some real differences , forum posters over dramatize the concept of gearing to a spec before actually switching . Which is better : Crit or Attack Power ? Neither . The two have a synergistic relationship . The value of X amount of Crit scales up when you add Attack Power . The value of Y amount of Attack Power also scales up when you add Crit . There is a common misconception that - - for any particular spec and ranged weapon combination - - Y amount of Attack Power is better than X amount of Crit until a certain Attack Power threshold is reached , thereafter X amount of Crit will always be better . However , if you keep stacking Crit past such a local threshold , Y amount of Attack Power will soon become optimal once again . Best thing to do is use a tool like the Gear Choice Calculator linked at the end of this guide . Battle Elixir ? Guardian Elixir ? Flasks , oh my ! What does all this mean ? A fully prepared Hunter may have one food buff , weapon oils , and : The advantage to a Flask is that it persists through death and lasts two hours . Elixir of Major Agility tends to grant the most ranged DPS , but feel free to use the Gear Choice Calculator at the end of this guide to help choose . Beyond buffs there are three other separate consumable timers . Which is better for DPS : Blessing of Might or Blessing of Kings ? Until you have about 1100 Agility before Kings , untalented Blessing of Might will grant more damage . Marks Hunters with Careful Aim transition at about 900 Agility . Of course the Hunter applying Exposed Weakness will probably contribute more to a large raid with Kings at any point . Might is better for pets . How does kiting work ? Depends whether you are in an instance . Inside , mobs will follow you until you zone out , one of you dies , or you evade bug them . Just smack the mob with any Shot and run away . Use Aspect of the Cheetah if the mob doesn ' t have ranged attacks , otherwise wear some kind of run speed enhancer . Cheetah does not stack with run enhancers . Outside instances , you must strike the mob with a new attack regularly or it will lose interest and run back to its spawn location . Upper limit is about 15 seconds . It helps to use the Mouselook function : hold down the right mouse button and spin the mouse to look around instead of turning with the keyboard . Sensitivity is adjustable in Interface Options . Shooting sideways is one way to keep running away at full speed . Jumping locks in your direction and velocity while in the air , so jumping then twisting around ( 180 and back or full 360 ) to shoot is a popular way to kite . Arcane Shot Rank 1 is a cheap way to hold a mob ' s interest . To actually kill a kited mob use Serpent Sting , Traps , Arcane Shot , and possibly quick stops for Auto / Multi . After building up some threat , have your pet attack too . Telling it to Stay while you and the kited mob run away will zero out your pet ' s threat . Then just call it again . Mobs vulnerable to Freezing Trap can be alternatively shot and trapped until dead . What are " linked mobs " ? When you shoot one mob out of a pack there are two ways the surrounding mobs can be aggro ' d : hard link or proximity link . A hard link means if one is in combat with you the others are also forced into combat . Proximity link means the only reason the others attack is that they were close to the one you pulled . Most Outlands packs are hard linked and a lot of old world packs have been retrofitted with hard links , but not all . It ' s possible to split proximity linked mobs by initially pulling them all , then Feigning Death . Another player can strike just one of them just before you Feign to keep that one in combat . Alternatively , slowing effects can stagger the pack ' s return . First one to get back is pulled again while the rest are still evading back to the start location . Splitting techniques can still be useful when two separate groups of mobs path near each other . The tank keeps pulling . I thought Hunters were a pulling class ? For regular , no - frills pulls it is usually handier for the tank to pull . This even makes it easier to peel off a target ( or two ) into your traps . Hunters make the tricky pulls safer . Ask your party to stand back so you can feign if a second group aggros . Whenever healing threat might cause a problem , try pulling with a Misdirection . Where can I find ammo , food and stables ? Stables are usually next to Inns . Use an item database website and search for Jagged Arrows or Accurate Slugs to find nearly all NPCs selling arrows and shells in both Azeroth and Outlands . There is also a certain level of food low enough to be for sale in Azeroth and high enough to be for sale in Outlands . Search according to type : Why does my pet mysteriously die around Netherwing Ledge ? You dismount momentarily when switching from your own flying mount to the Netherdrake illusion . This causes your pet to reappear and fall to its death . Pet Basics . " " Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions , they pass no criticisms . " " - Mary Ann Evans A Hunter ' s pet is a constant companion , weapon , and shield . Almost every situation can be improved by intelligent pet use . Taming a Pet . At level 10 , you will be directed to a particular class trainer depending on race . Dwarf - Grif Wildheart in Kharanos , Dun Morogh Night Elf - Dazalar in Dolanaar , Teldrassil Draenei - Huntress Kella Nightbow south of The Exodar , Azuremyst Orc / Troll - Thotar in Razor Hill , Durotar Tauren - Yaw Sharpmane in Bloodhoof Village , Mulgore Blood Elf - Lieutenant Dawnrunner in Silvermoon City , Eversong This trainer will give you a series of three quests called " Taming the Beast . " For each part , you are provided with a Taming Rod which will only work on the indicated quest beast . Turn in the third part to learn a new skill ' Tame Beast ' . You will then be sent to a more advanced class trainer who will teach you ' Feed Pet ' and ' Revive Pet ' . At this point you can tame nearly anything with ' Beast ' on its tooltip . There are some exceptions such as moths and fish . You must also find a beast at your own level or below . To tame a beast , simply select it and click ' Tame Beast . ' Several things will happen . The beast will attack you , your armor will drop to zero , and you will start a 20 second spell channel . If any other player pulls aggro on the beast , taming will fail . Taming tips . Sometimes taming will still fail for unknown reasons . Run away or Feign Death to reset the mob and try again . Once taming succeeds , you can rename your pet once by right clicking its portrait and selecting ' Rename ' . Happiness . Pets have a special type of status : Happiness . There are three levels of Happiness shown by the face icon next to the pet ' s health bar : Increase Happiness by feeding your pet . Happiness is lost when your pet dies ( big amount ) , when you cast Dismiss Pet ( small amount ) , or just by having it out at all ( slow trickle ) . Tell your pet to stay then run away from it or simply mount up to cause a no - penalty dismissal . Feeding . Depending on your pet ' s family ( e . g . a Boar or Serpent ) , it will only eat particular types of food . Usually one to three from the following list : Fish , Meat , Fruit , Fungus , Cheese , Bread . At level 24 , you ' ll learn a new spell ' Beast Lore ' which lists the kind of foods the targeted Beast likes . Nearly every kind of pet will either eat Meat or Bread . The simplest way to feed your pet is just to drag the food item out of your inventory and drop it on the pet . It will gain a ' Feed Pet Effect ' buff that will last 20 seconds . Notice how your Combat window shows Happiness gains . Food with a high enough level compared to your pet will grant 35 Happiness / tick . Cooking tends to raise food level . Wait the 20 seconds out before feeding again , food just goes to waste . Having to open your bags all the time would be annoying . Most Hunters use a macro like this : Alternatively , designate a particular bag slot . See the macro links at the end of this guide for details . Leveling . When you gain combat experience , your pet gains experience . Just be sure to kill non - gray mobs . Pets don ' t benefit from the rest bonus or quest experience . Nor can pets start working on a level you haven ' t finished gaining yourself . For these reasons , it isn ' t practical to level multiple pets simultaneously . Leveling a pet below your own level is a challenge . Small groups ( not raids ) and soloing caster mobs is the best way to go at first . Remember , kill mobs that are green or higher to yourself . It is safe to take lowbie pets to instances . Pet aggro radius is based on your level , not the pet ' s level . Physical pet size scales to pet level . When you tame a pet it will automatically scale down ( sometimes up ) to the same size as any other Hunter ' s pet with the same beast model . As it levels up , it will slowly grow . It doesn ' t matter how big it was in the wild or at which level you tamed it . For example , any tarantula model Spider you tame will end up the same size at level 80 . Focus . Instead of mana , pets use Focus which is very similar to a Rogue ' s Energy bar . Focus ticks up by 24 points every four seconds . Normal attacks don ' t consume any Focus . It may be worthwhile to make a chart of automatic pet skills , e . g . : 50 Focus per 5 sec . . . which is 40 Focus spent per 4 sec with only 24 Focus coming in . The talent ' Bestial Discipline ' bumps up regen to 36 or 48 per tick . And ' Go for the Throat ' grants your pet an extra 25 or 50 Focus every time you get a ranged crit . For a basic Growl / Bite setup , maxing out these talents is overkill . But consider these : Such pet skills are called " Focus dumps " meaning any amount of extra Focus will be turned into damage . There is further synergy for Beast Mastery Hunters who can have Frenzy or Ferocious Inspiration proc from the extra attacks . ' Go for the Throat ' is a useful addition to any build . Universal Pet Skills . All pets know Growl , Cower , a focus dump , and a unique family skill . Growl costs 15 Focus on a 5 second cooldown . Growling generates extra threat but does not force mobs to attack your pet . Each rank of Growl generates a base amount of threat . If your pet ' s Attack Power is beyond a certain threshold based on its level , bonus threat is applied . A level 70 pet with top rank Growl goes by : codice _ 1 codice _ 2 This means once your pet ' s Attack Power reaches 734 , every point of pet AP beyond that adds 5 . 7 threat to Growl . Only Attack Power showing on the pet ' s paper doll counts ; target debuffs like Expose Weakness and Improved Hunters Mark do not scale Growl threat . Cower costs 15 Focus on a 20 second cooldown . It does the opposite of Growl : lowers your pet ' s threat against its target . Rarely useful since turning off Growl is enough to keep your pet from pulling aggro off player tanks . Focus dumps are Claw , Bite and Smack . Family Based Pet Skills . Each pet family has its own unique skill . Pet Control . Any time your pet is out , a new action bar will appear : the Petbar . Keybinds are listed as ' Secondary Action Button ' 1 - 10 . Slash commands also work in macros : / petattack , / petfollow , / petstay , / petaggressive , / petdefensive , / petpassive . Set easy keybinds for / petattack and / petfollow . An important part of keeping your pet alive is pulling it back out of dangerous AoE pulses . Most of the time - - particularly in PvE - - your pet should be set to Follow and Passive . Passive pets only attack when you order them to attack . Defensive pets will attack anything that strikes either of you . Aggressive pets will automatically attack hostile targets in range . Aggressive pets can be useful in PvP for spotting and smacking stealthed enemies . Twisting around while stopped will even result in your pet watching behind your back . Take care when jumping down ledges , crossing bridges , or climbing stairs in PvE . Pets sometimes path oddly and can aggro a bunch of mobs . Pets can be Dismissed temporarily or moved around with Eyes of The Beast followed by / petstay until you catch up . Keep in mind your pet will prefer to follow on your left side . When trying to skirt mobs , running sideways or walking backwards can keep your pet on the side away from danger . The middle of the pet bar is reserved for pet skills . Drag skills from the Pet tab of your spellbook and rearrange to your convenience . Right - clicking a skill in either place will toggle automatic mode on and off . Be careful not to leave a low Focus skill on Automatic if you want a high Focus skill used as often as possible . Order on the pet bar makes no difference . Choosing a Pet . " " This is my pet . There are many like it but this one is mine . " " - Full Metal Jacket , modified Pet choice has two factors : performance and aesthetics . This section will focus on performance . I highly recommend browsing Petopia to see the variety of beast models and skins ( coloring ) : http : / / petopia . brashendeavors . net As mentioned in the last section , physical size scales by pet level . Not a bad idea to check out another Hunter ' s level 70 pet with the same model - - meaning same shape , not necessarily coloring - - to preview proportion . Beast Family . The key to pet performance is beast family . Beast family is now the only distinction between pets . " A Cat is a Cat , " as some like to put it . Things which do not affect performance : Beast family matters and that ' s it . Family Multipliers and Skills . Each family can have a positive or negative multiplier for pet Damage , Health , and Armor . For instance , Scorpids have a - 6 % Damage multiplier , no Health multiplier , and a + 10 % Armor multiplier . Certain families like Spore Bats have no multipliers at all . These multipliers affect everything , not just base stats . As mentioned in ' Pet Basics ' , many skills are tied to a certain family or set of families . Skills available to a particular family have a profound impact on that family ' s total damage and utility , beyond what the multipliers alone might suggest . Warning : a few specific beasts have so - called " caster stats . " Their mana stats are high while physical stats are low . Avoid taming beasts with a mana bar . Happily , all pet families are available in non - caster versions . Beast Family Reference . Families listed below are ordered by Damage modifier from highest to lowest and alphabetically for matches . Thanks to Petopia for specific multipliers . Spot checks matched up very well . Dash / Dive - 20 Focus - Instant - 30 sec Cooldown " Increases movement speed by 80 % for 15 sec . " Lower rank Dash & Dive don ' t boost speed as much , but do cost fewer Training Points . Bite - 35 Focus - Instant - 10 sec Cooldown " Bite the enemy , causing 108 to 132 damage . " More focus efficient than Claw , but does not function as a Focus dump . Claw - 25 Focus - Instant - no Cooldown " Claw the enemy , causing 54 to 76 damage . " Effective Focus dump available to many families . Prowl - 40 Focus - Instant - 10 sec Cooldown " Puts your pet in stealth mode , but slows its movement speed by 40 % . The first attack from stealth receives a 50 % bonus to damage . Lasts until canceled . " Popular among PvPing Night Elves . Gore - 25 Focus - Instant - No Cooldown - 5 yards " Gores the enemy , causing 37 to 61 damage . This attack has a 50 % chance to inflict double damage . " An effective Focus dump a bit more efficient than Claw . The reason for Ravager popularity among raiders . Screech - 20 Focus - Instant - No Cooldown - 5 yards " Blasts a single enemy for 33 to 61 damage and lowers the attack power of all enemies in melee range by 210 . Effect lasts 4 sec . " Focus dump with utility . Makes a noticeable impact on your pet ' s ability to hold aggro . This move stacks with different ranks . A nearby stealth unit will be broken out of stealth if they are in the AOE range of this spell . It does not break any CC . Lightning Breath - 50 Focus - Channeled ' Instant ' - No Cooldown - 20 yards " Breathes lightning , instantly dealing 99 to 113 Nature damage to a single target . " Effective Focus dump and ranged pet attack . Wind Serpents pause to cast it which can interfere with Kill Commands and PvP pursuit . Scales with pet Spell Damage < by how much ? > . Thunderstomp - 60 Focus - Instant - 1 Minute Cooldown - 8 yards " Shakes the ground with thundering force , doing 115 - 133 Nature damage to all enemies within 8 yards . This ability causes a moderate amount of extra threat . " Decent AoE snap threat , but annoyingly long cooldown . < does it scale ? > Fire Breath - 50 Focus - Channeled - 10 Second Cooldown - 10 yards " Targets in a cone in front of the caster take 111 Fire damage over 2 sec . " Pet AoE with a more reasonable cooldown . Careful around crowd control . < does it scale ? > Poison Spit - 35 Focus - Instant - 10 Second Cooldown - 30 yards " Spits poison at an enemy , dealing 120 Nature damage over 8 sec . " Similar to Lightning Breath , but not a Focus dump . Furious Howl - 60 Focus - Instant - 10 sec cooldown - 15 yards " Party members within 15 yards of the wolf receive an extra 45 to 57 damage to their next Physical attack . Lasts 10 sec . " Bonus damage is calculated like a random 45 to 57 + damage weapon enchant ( or scope ) , so total impact on special attacks will vary . The 15 yard range forces Hunters to stand close to targets for full benefit of pet damage and the buff . Scorpid Poison - 30 Focus - Instant - 4 Second Cooldown - 5 yards " Inflicts 40 Nature damage over 10 sec . Effect can stack up to 5 times on a single target . " This is actually Rank 4 . The top rank is less effective despite higher base damage because it only lasts 8 seconds . Rank 4 allows your pet to miss once and not break the stacking . Each stack scales up < ? > % with Spell damage . Use Bestial Wrath and other temporary buffs right before applying the first stack and the whole thing will stay high - damage until the entire debuff falls off . Warp - 25 Focus - Instant - 15 Second Cooldown - 30 yards " Teleports to an enemy up to 30 yards away and gives the pet a 50 % chance to avoid the next melee attack . Lasts 4 sec . " Good for catching up to PvP targets . Charge - 35 Focus - Instant - 25 Second Cooldown - 8 - 25 yards " Charges an enemy , immobilizes it for 1 sec , and adds 550 melee attack power to the boar ' s next attack . " Valuable in PvP for snaring ( but not stunning ) opponents . Also makes for powerful burst threat for soloing when used in combination with Gore . Shell Shield - 10 Focus - Instant - 3 Minute Cooldown " Reduces all damage your pet takes by 50 % , but increases the time between your pet ' s attacks by 43 % . Lasts 12 sec . " Can help with soloing elites , or offtanking in a pinch . Popular Families . Ravagers , Cats , and Raptors are all excellent DPS families . They share a 10 % Damage multiplier and have either Claw or Gore as Focus dumps . Gore is slightly more Focus efficient than Claw , meaning Ravagers nose ahead of other two in the long run . Raptors lack Dash , which cuts their PvP appeal . Dash is usually skipped anyway for raid spec ' d pets . Wind Serpents and Scorpids have lower multipliers , but dish out potent magical damage . How this compares to physical attacks like Claw and Gore depends on target armor . Wind Serpents can be used to attack from a distance , though this is less of an advantage than it used to be thanks to Avoidance . Currently , Scorpid Poison stacks in a particularly strong way . See that skill ' s description for details . Owls and other Screeching families along with Wolves score lower on actual damage , but bring extra group utility . Screech reduces damage done to tanks while Howl increases group damage , at least for those in range . Boars are fantastic for leveling and solo farming . The threat burst of Charge + Gore against each new mob lets you cut loose from range sooner than with other pets . Stats . " " When you can measure what you are speaking about , and express it in numbers , you know something about it . " " - Lord Kelvin Quick Reference . 1 Stamina - > 10 Health 1 Intellect - > 15 Mana 1 Attack Power - > 1 Ranged Attack Power & 1 Melee Attack Power 1 Weapon Skill - > 0 . 2 % Hit & 0 . 2 % Crit vs . + 3 mobs 1 Strength - > 1 Melee Attack Power 1 Agility - > 1 Ranged Attack Power 1 Agility - > 2 Armor 25 Agility - > 1 % Dodge 40 Agility - > 1 % Crit 3 . 9 Weapon Skill Rating - > 1 Weapon Skill 15 . 8 Hit Rating - > 1 % Hit 10 . 5 Haste Rating - > 1 % Haste 22 . 1 Critical Strike Rating - > 1 % Crit 39 . 4 Resilience Rating - > - 1 % chance to be Crit 39 . 4 Resilience Rating - > - 2 % damage taken from Crits ( all these at level 70 ) Rating System . Hit , Haste , Critical Strike , and Resilience are represented in both rating and percentage form . The conversion formula from rating - > percent changes based on your level . The higher your level , the more rating you need to achieve the same percent . Under this scheme , low level items can provide substantial percent bonuses to low level characters without tempting high level characters . AddOns like RatingBuster can show rating - > percent values automatically on tooltips . The Ranged Combat Table . Ranged attacks can either crit , hit , or miss . The decision among these three outcomes is decided with a single random roll . Imagine a 1 - 100 numbered list . Each line has " Crit , " " Hit , " or " Miss " penciled in . If your Hunter has a 20 % crit chance and a 5 % miss chance it would look like this : Lines 1 - 20 - Crit Lines 21 - 95 - Hit Lines 96 - 100 - Miss Each shot picks a random line and there is your result . Here ' s where it gets interesting . What happens when you raise crit by 1 % ? Line 21 ' s " Hit " gets erased and " Crit " written in its place . What happens when you raise your chance to hit by 1 % ? Line 96 ' s " Miss " is erased and " Hit " written in its place . 1 % Crit - > 1 % Crit instead of 1 % Hit 1 % Hit - > 1 % Hit instead of 1 % Miss This is called table - based combat . When there are thousands and thousands of swings , shots , and spell casts happening on the server every few seconds this is more efficient than generating a series of random rolls for each one . The big implication for Hunters is that - - with Mortal Shots or Slaying in play - - 1 % additional crit is a larger boost ( a crit instead of a hit ) than 1 % additional hit ( a hit instead of a miss ) . It also means your crit chance and your miss chance have absolutely no effect on each other . Eliminating Misses . In PvE , missing is more of an annoyance than a disaster . But while increasing your Crit is better for overall damage than increasing Hit by the same percent , Hit stat is ' cheaper ' in gear design so you shouldn ' t have trouble finding a bunch of it . That ' s why Hit is very worthwhile until you stop missing and further Hit becomes useless . Chance to miss your target depends on relative level . The talent Surefooted adds 3 % Hit . Notice this 3 % is not reflected on your paper doll stats which only show Hit Rating . At level 70 , you max at the following amounts of Hit Rating : 142 Hit Rating vs . mobs three levels higher 95 Hit Rating vs . mobs three levels higher , with Surefooted Even with a full measure of hit rating , shots can very occasionally miss , if you get a De - buff from a boss - for example Attumen the Huntsman . Otherwise once you are hit capped you will never miss a shot , thereby increasing your DPS in boss fights ! Attack Power and Crit Synergy . Attack Power increases the damage of your hits and your crits . Crit chance increases frequency of crits . Both stats become more valuable as the other stat improves . 1 % Crit means more at 2000 Attack Power than at 1500 Attack Power . 100 Attack Power means more at 30 % Crit than 20 % Crit . Many Hunters have trouble seeing both directions at first . This misunderstanding can make those with really high Attack Power continue to favor Attack Power , or those with really high Crit continue to favor Crit . Best results come from favoring the lacking stat . It can be hard to tell which combination of Attack Power and Crit is best , given your current stats and talents . I recommend a tool like the Gear Choice Calculator linked at the end of this guide . Attack Power . Attack Power is the stat that makes individual hits and crits show big numbers . The exact contribution of Attack Power for any particular attack varies by that attack ' s formula . See the ' Shots and Stings ' section of this guide for details . You may have different Attack Power values for your ranged and melee attacks . Aspect of the Hawk , for example , only adds to Ranged Attack Power ( aka RAP ) . When ' melee ' or ' ranged ' is not specified , an item or buff adds to both equally . Critical Strike Chance . Crit stat increases frequency of crits , not damage done by individual crits . The Crit percent shown on your character sheet is valid for even - level targets . Dramatically higher or lower level targets are either harder or easier to crit based on Defense stat . In PvP , Resilience stat will both work against your Crit rate and reduce damage done by crits . This is a convenient time to explain the damage bonus of crits themselves , just remember Crit stat has no effect on the damage bonus . Untalented , crits deal double damage compared to normal hits . With Mortal Shots , they deal 2 . 3 times normal damage . If either of the two Slaying talents are active , things become more complicated . Normal shots are increased by 3 % . The Mortal Shots bonus is increased by 3 % . Finally everything together is increased by another 3 % . Crit damage formulas and examples follow : codice _ 3 codice _ 4 1000 - Normal Hit 1030 - Normal Hit / w Slaying 2000 - Crit 2300 - Crit / w Mortal Shots 2122 - Crit / w Slaying 2450 - Crit / w Mortal Shots and Slaying Agility . Review the Quick Reference above to see how Agility adds to Ranged Attack Power , Crit chance , Dodge , and Armor . Great for ranged damage because it adds to both Attack Power and Crit simultaneously , taking advantage of the synergy between those stats . This is why + 8 Agility gems are superior to + 16 Attack Power gems for all talent builds . Survival Hunters gain an extra 15 % total Agility from Lightning Reflexes and 1 / 4 of total Agility becomes Attack Power for the entire raid ( melee and ranged ) thanks to Expose Weakness . Observant Hunters may notice 61 of their base Agility is not turned into Crit chance . This was intentionally changed for the expansion and justified an improved Agi - > Crit ratio . Haste . Haste reduces the time between Auto Shots and the cast time of non - instants like Steady and Aimed Shot . Divide current time by Haste to find the new time . For example , a 3 . 0 sec cast with 20 % Haste increase : codice _ 5 Multiple Haste effects are multiplied together . Let ' s apply Serpent ' s Swiftness ( + 20 % ) , Rapid Fire ( + 40 % ) , and Improved Aspect of the Hawk ( + 15 % ) to that same 3 . 0 sec cast : codice _ 6 Haste does not change damage done by individual Shots . When a Shot ' s formula calls for ranged weapon speed , it ' s asking for the unchanging speed listed on that weapon ' s tooltip . This is a very good thing because hitting faster for the same damage means DPS goes up . Beast Mastery Hunters rely on the Haste from Serpent ' s Swiftness to make up for lower Attack Power and Crit . One snag : Haste can make it hard or impossible to fit an instant after Steady without delaying the next Auto Shot . You need a certain amount of Human reaction time after Auto to tap Steady , then after Steady to tap Multi or Arcane . Spell power . Labeled " Increases spell power by X " , spell power is not a very important Hunter stat . Over their full durations , Serpent Sting and Wyvern Sting receive a damage bonus equal to total spell power . They have a 100 % spell power coefficient . Volley by contrast has a 14 . 3 % spell power coefficient . So if you have 100 spell power , your Volley will only do 14 more damage spread among the ticks . Arcane Shot and Traps operate as magical attacks , but spell power does not enhance them . Same with Mend Pet . A few family - specific pet skills benefit from your pet ' s spell power , not your own . Stamina . Stamina is the primary survivability stat for all situations . Each point of Stamina adds 10 Health ( aka hitpoints ) . The major advantage to Health is the fact it handles all damage types : physical , environmental , and all schools of magic . Stamina is not the only source of Health . Depending on level , you ' ll have a certain amount of base Health . Level 70 Hunters of all races have 3388 base Health . The talents ' Endurance Training ' ( up to + 5 % ) and ' Survivalist ' ( up to + 10 % ) along with the Tauren racial ' Endurance ' ( + 5 % ) are multipliers on total Health , not Stamina . So in general : codice _ 7 Armor . Armor reduces physical damage received by a certain percent . Hunters are allowed to wear Cloth , Leather , and ( at level 40 ) Mail equipment . Mail provides the most Armor stat , but many Hunters wear Leather items when other stats are higher . Particularly in PvE , it just doesn ' t make much of a difference . For level 70 : codice _ 8 Magical Resistances . Resistances reduce damage from a school of magic by a certain percent . Useful when the whole party or raid is taking large amounts of unavoidable magical damage . In most encounters , resistances can be ignored entirely . For some , stacking the proper type is essential . Your raid leaders should let you know about any resistance expectations . For those interested in mechanics details , two separate rolls are involved when a spell is cast at a target . Level - difference roll The first roll is based on relative level between caster and target . There is small chance of lower level targets resisting on this roll ; a high chance of higher level targets resisting . The attacking caster can wear Spellhit gear to reduce her chance of being resisted on this roll . Any resist on the level - based roll will result in total spell failure . Resistance stats are not involved in the first roll . Resistance - stat roll The second roll is based on the attacking caster ' s level and the target ' s resistance stat in the appropriate school of magic . The maximum effect of resistance gear is to reduce incoming damage by an average of 75 % . This requires 5x [ attacker ' s level ] resistance . ( 350 resistance against level 70 casters ; 365 against level 73 casters which includes many raid bosses . ) codice _ 9 Intellect . Each point of Intellect adds 15 to mana capacity . Not too interesting until Aspect of the Viper is active . You will gain 2 . 5 MP5 ( see below ) for every 10 Intellect . Plus , Marks Hunters with Careful Aim gain 4 . 5 Ranged Attack Power every 10 Intellect . MP5 . Seen on gear as " restores X mana per 5 sec " , MP5 is a steady source of mana regeneration . It doesn ' t matter if you are casting lots of spells or no spells at all . MP5 gives the same benefit . The only odd thing is the mana is actually delivered in two second intervals equal to 2 / 5ths of your MP5 . Some weapon oils and raid buffs add to MP5 . Spirit . Almost entirely useless for Hunters . Spirit - based regeneration turns off for five seconds every time you spend mana , including every Shot and Sting . Some classes receive a portion of spirit regeneration even inside this " Five Second Rule . " Hunters get nothing while keeping up a proper shot rotation . Spirit also provides a slight buff to out of combat health regeneration . Pet Scaling . To keep pets in pace with Hunter gear upgrades , pets receive a bonus for some stats equal to a certain percent of their master ' s stats : 22 % of your Ranged Attack Power - > Pet Attack Power 12 . 5 % of your Ranged Attack Power - > Pet spell power 30 % of your Stamina - > Pet Stamina 35 % of your Armor - > Pet Armor 40 % of your Magical Resistances - > Pet Resistances These are beyond any skill or buff bonuses your pet already has . Buffs which affect you and your pet at the same time have a ' double dipping ' effect . Aspect of the Wild grants both of you 70 Nature Resistance . Then , your pet gets a 70 * 0 . 4 = 28 Nature Resistance bonus for a total of 98 more resistance with than without the Aspect . Shots and Stings . " " Boom ! Headshot ! " " - FPS Doug Quick Reference . Auto Shot codice _ 10 Steady Shot codice _ 11 Steady Shot ( Dazed ) codice _ 12 Multi - Shot codice _ 13 Aimed Shot codice _ 14 Arcane Shot codice _ 15 Silencing Shot & Scatter Shot codice _ 16 Volley Tick codice _ 17 Substitute ' BowMin ' for ' BowMax ' to find lower bounds . Multi , Aimed , Arcane , and Distracting Shots have a rank based bonus . Formulas given above reflect top rank bonuses . Note : Above formulas are before general multipliers like Ranged Weapon Specialization , Focus Fire , and Armor mitigation . Multipliers can be applied in any order . Weapon Tooltip Stats . The min damage , max damage , speed , and DPS listed on a ranged weapon ' s tooltip are all used in Shot formulas . These are fixed values not to be confused with actual damage and speed . For convenience - - whether Bow , Crossbow , or Gun - - Bowmin , Bowmax , Bowspeed , and BowDPS . BowDPS is really just the average of BowMin and BowMax divided by BowSpeed . Scopes and Ammunition . ScopeBoost and AmmoBoost represent how much each is raising damage per shot . Sniper Scopes , for example , have a ScopeBoost of 7 . Crit and Hit scopes have a ScopeBoost of 0 . Shells and Arrows also boost per - shot damage like a Sniper Scope , but their boost scales to BowSpeed . Warden ' s Arrows state , " Adds 37 damage per second . " This really means 37 weapon damage per second of BowSpeed . So for a 2 . 9 second bow : 37 / 2 . 9 = 12 . 76 ScopeBoost . Notice how Steady Shot and Arcane Shot ignore both of these damage boosts . As if you needed another reason to prefer a Crit scope . Sting System . Four ranged attacks apply a Poison debuff to targets . These are known as Stings and are subject to stacking limitations . You cannot personally apply two different Stings to a single target at the same time . If you try , the first Sting will be replaced by the new one . Stings do not benefit from crit , attack power , or Ranged Weapon Specialization . They do benefit from Improved Stings . Serpent Sting A 15 second DoT for 660 damage at level 70 . Any spell power gear is added to this total , e . g . 100 spell power will cause it to deal 760 damage over 15 seconds . Improved Stings multiplies this total damage by another 30 % . Many level cap Hunters avoid Serpent Sting most of the time . Other attacks tend to cause more damage and for less mana . However , Serpent Sting can be shot on the run when other instants have already been used and it does impede stealthing . Multiple Hunters may DoT the same target . Scorpid Sting A 20 second non - damaging debuff that turns 5 % of the target ' s ranged and melee attacks into full out misses . This includes most special attacks . Look at it as buffing the tank ( and everyone else ) with an extra 5 % Dodge . If a tank is doing fine with threat and healing isn ' t trivial , keep Scorpid Sting up . Use a timer mod to know when to reapply . Multiple Hunters cannot stack Scorpid Sting on the same target . Improved Stings has no effect . As the only non - damaging Sting , use it to replace any other Sting to prepare a target for crowd control . Viper Sting An 8 second 1368 mana drain on a 15 second cooldown at level 70 . Improved Stings takes it to 1780 total drained . No damage - increasing stats or talents have an effect on it . Viper Sting will break crowd control such as Freezing Traps . Multiple Hunters cannot stack Viper Sting on the same target . Wyvern Sting A 12 second sleep effect followed by a 12 second DoT for 942 damage at level 70 . 1 . 5 second to cast on a 2 minute cooldown . As with Serpent Sting , spell power gear is added to the DoT portion . Improved Stings multiplies this total damage by another 30 % . Though short , extra crowd control is always welcome . Damage Optimization . " For much use maketh men shoot both strong and well , which two - things in shooting every man doth desire . And the chief maintainer of use in any thing is comparison and honest contention . " - Toxophilus Focus on three elements of damage : shot damage , shot frequency , and pet use . Shot Damage . Let ' s say your Steady Shot hits for 1066 and crits for 2526 on average ( without counting armor ) . Your crit rate is 20 % and miss rate is 5 . 6 % . That leaves a 74 . 4 % normal hit rate . Shot damage takes all this into account and comes up with one number . codice _ 18 In this case : 2526 * 0 . 20 + 1066 * 0 . 744 = 1298 When haste can be safely ignored - - such as when comparing equipment within a spec - - maximizing shot damage will maximize overall damage . The Gear Choice Calculator linked at the end of this guide can help you with this . Most of the time an item choice will help all your Shots more than the alternative item . Easy . But sometimes one Shot will go up at the expense of another . When this happens , you will need to weight results by the ratio of how much you use each Shot . Choose what favors Multi - Shot over Steady Shot in PvP , for example . Shot Frequency . A flurry of weaker attacks can match or exceed a few , strong individual hits . Shot frequency forms the other half of ranged damage - per - second . Frequency optimization consists of two related elements . Haste reduces the time between Auto - Attacks and speeds up Steady cast time . Shot rotation is the way you order your Shots to fire off as many in a given timeframe as possible . The two are related because Haste - - and ranged weapon speed - - can affect the best way to order your Shots . More on this below . Pet Use . Pets are necessary for optimal damage . In a large raid your pet can easily make the difference of a few ranks on the meters , even as Marks or Survival . See the ' Choosing a Pet ' section of this guide for details on high damage families . Make sure it knows Cobra Reflexes and Avoidance . Be sure you spec Go for the Throat to take full advantage of its Focus dump skill . Unless the encounter calls for a large amount of magical resistance , train your pet for high Stamina . Armor is great for solo farming pets , but not raiding or PvP pets . Turn off Growl , Bite , Dash , etc . Just leave the Focus dump skill like Claw or Gore on auto cast . Have comfortable keybinds to send your pet in and pull it back away . These binds shouldn ' t interrupt or start your own ranged attacks . This will allow you to start it walking to mobs before tank have aggro and pull it out of AoE easily . For long fights only you may want to move around so your pet approaches a mob from behind to avoid parries and cleaves . The Auto Shot Cycle . Time for the nitty - gritty on Shot rotations . Basic idea is to let Auto Shot fire unhindered while firing a Steady between each one . If there ' s still enough time - - depending on weapon speed and Haste - - squeeze in an Arcane or Multi - Shot after the Steady . Auto Shot has two vital properties : it costs no mana and its ' cast time ' continues during other Shots . Well , usually . Aimed Shot will actually reset Auto ' s full cast time . Steady Shot is meant to be used instead . The other hitch is that Auto requires you to do nothing for the 0 . 5 sec before it fires . Try starting combat by turning on Auto Shot ; notice the delay ? Same happens if you move around , fire an instant , or are still completing a Steady Shot 0 . 5 second before the next scheduled Auto Shot . This half - second ' cast time ' is absolutely fixed , regardless of Haste . Steady Shot should be started immediately after each Auto fires . Steady is mana efficient and scales with Haste . The only real danger with Steady is that you might press the button too soon , effectively skipping an Auto Shot . This is solved with a macro : / castsequence reset = target / 3 Steady Shot , Auto Shot Use this macro in place of Steady Shot . Castsequence simply ensures an Auto between each Steady . No extra button pushing required . If you press this macro too soon , nothing will happen and that ' s a good thing . The part about resetting allows you to lead off with a Steady Shot if you switch targets or stop for at least three seconds and resume firing on the same target . Rotation Gaps . For the moment let ' s ignore human reaction and ping time . Assume Steady Shot begins immediately when Auto fires . How much of a gap is there between the end of that Steady and the start of Auto ' s 0 . 5 sec cast time ? Depends on ranged weapon tooltip and total Haste . Take a 2 . 9 sec bow with a 15 % quiver , 20 % Serpent ' s Swiftness , and 2 . 5 % Haste from a Crystalweave Cape : 2 . 9 / ( 1 . 15 * 1 . 20 * 1 . 025 ) = 2 . 05 sec between Auto Shots 1 . 5 / ( 1 . 15 * 1 . 20 * 1 . 025 ) = 1 . 06 sec Steady Shot 2 . 05 - 0 . 5 - 1 . 06 = 0 . 49 sec ideal gap Emphasis on ' ideal ' . In practice there will be a reaction time and ping delay between Auto Shot and the start of Steady Shot . Some Hunters use the Quartz addon to send the Steady command to the server early so by the time it arrives Auto will have just barely completed . This risks the command arriving slightly too soon and skipping that Auto . Another reaction time and ping delay between the end of Steady Shot and the start of Arcane or Multi - Shot . All this varies significantly among players and their Internet connection . Theorycrafting ideal time to fit in extra shots will often make it sound like things should work out when they don ' t in practice . Spend some time with an Auto Shot timer ( LittleTrouble , Quartz , etc . ) to see if you are delaying Auto Shots . Hands on testing is best . One note on global cooldown : Steady Shots can only be cast every 1 . 5 sec even if the cast time is becomes faster than one second thanks to high Haste . Some Hunters assume this means a 2 . 0 sec Steady / Auto rotation is the fastest ideal . Nope , the Auto Shot ' cast time ' is unaffected by global cooldown . In theory you could have a Steady cast time < = 1 . 0 sec and fire both Shots every 1 . 5 sec with a sufficiently fast bow . Good luck on that . Actually firing both shots every 1 . 8 - 1 . 9 sec can be reasonable under good conditions . Arcane and Multi - Shot will fit nicely after Steady Shots for Hunters with low Haste and slow ranged weapons . Again , use an Auto Shot timer mod to find out how well this is working for you . If additional Shots just won ' t fit after a Steady you can still replace Steadies with another Shot . If an Arcane Shot will do more damage than a single Steady and you have the mana , use a replacement cycle . When multiple mobs are in range , Multi - Shot instead . Mend Pet , Scorpid Sting , etc . can also replace a Steady when needed . Kill Command . Kill Command can be added to any Shot rotation without interference . Think of it as extra , very efficient damage . The secret ? Kill Command is independent of the global cooldown . You can ' t use it in the middle of casting Steady , Multi , or Aimed Shot but you can cast it immediately after or before an instant like Arcane Shot . Binding an extra key for Kill Command can work , but most Hunter prefer some kind of macro . The most popular macro puts it on the same key as Steady Shot but does require a second press any time Steady isn ' t still casting : / castsequence reset = target / 3 Steady Shot , Auto Shot / castrandom [ target = pettarget , exists ] Kill Command or substitute things like ' / cast Arcane Shot ' for the first line . The ' castrandom ' command alters the priority of Kill Command to make the macro work correctly . The bracketed options cause you to momentarily switch to your pet ' s target or skip the Kill Command attempt entirely if your pet is dead or not attacking anything . You may still experience problems if your pet is running towards a target but not yet in range . Some Hunters don ' t like pushing extra buttons . The following macro will fire Kill Command and Steady Shot simultaneously when both are available . Just be careful : extra tapping will stop your ranged attacks . / stopcasting / castrandom [ target = pettarget , exists ] Kill Command / stopcasting / castsequence reset = target / 3 Steady Shot , Auto Shot Error messages annoying you ? Turn off vocals in Sound Options and add this line to the end of any macro : / script UIErrorsFrame : Clear ( ) Mana Management . DPS takes a nosedive when you run out of mana . Best solution : don ' t . Between Judgement of Wisdom , Blessing of Wisdom , Mana Oil , and Mana Potions you should be able to last on long boss fights . Efficiency and Thrill of the Hunt talents help tremendously . Just make sure at least one reliable Hunter has Improved Hunter ' s Mark for 25 man raiding before everyone grabs Efficiency . Take turns occasionally if need be . Aspect of the Hawk vs . Viper can be a tough question . Viper is fantastic between bosses or even during easy boss fights when you really don ' t want to be drinking potions . But using Viper on new boss fights almost always reduces your damage potential . That said , Hunters with a very mana intensive rotation may get more out of Viper . Particularly Marks Hunters who budget Intellect as part of their damage . Shadow Priests are fantastic if you can snag one . Plenty of mana and constant healing on both you and your pet . Beast Mastery Hunters with Ferocious Inspiration have an easier time finding a spot in such groups . Beyond DPS . There is a tendency among damage - role classes to equate group value with damage meters alone . This is an incomplete picture . Hunters are low maintenance DPS with great threat manipulation and crowd control tools . Being Low Maintenance . " Healing Taken " is a Hunter metric . Aim for last place . Stand back . Simply standing far away from mobs will save a lot of damage from AoE . The first thing that should cross your mind when hit by AoE is , " Can I out - range this ? " The Hawk Eye talent sometimes makes a difference increasing max range from 35 to 41 yards . Of course , it doesn ' t do you any good standing at 25 yards in the first place . Use avoidance . If someone other than a tank does need to take physical - attack mob aggro , Hunters are very well equipped to step up . Dodge and Parry mean zero damage taken . Mail armor means less taken when hit . Be capable of switching to Aspect of the Monkey and back easily . Keep in mind you can only Parry attacks from your front ; adjust positioning if necessary . Deterrence is by far the best talent investment to increase avoidance , but at least consider whether your build can support points in Deflection , Improved Aspect of the Monkey , or Catlike Reflexes . Also consider Agility based gems and enchants . These are often the best choice for overall DPS with a bonus of increasing Dodge rate . Be pet - responsible . Pets can be used to great effect without requiring healer attention and mana . Make sure to have comfortable keybinds for / petattack and / petpassive . The idea is to pull the pet back to avoid AoE pulses , then send it right back in . Just because pets can off - tank in a pinch does not mean they should do so unnecessarily . Don ' t let sloppy pet usage turn you into a high - maintenance Hunter . Bring food and drink . During pulls , your job is to crowd control and rain havoc . Between pulls , patch yourself and your pet up . It may seem ' faster ' to expect the healer to res your pet and heal both of you , but when several other party members are expecting the same service it slows everything down . Remember you can eat and drink simultaneously . Don ' t be afraid to ask the vending machine , er , local Mage for conjured goods . Run back after wipes . If the rezzer ( s ) are dead , don ' t be lazy : run your own ghost back to the instance . This makes an incredibly good impression on your healers , trust me . Bonus points if you use Aspect of the Pack to run people back to the wipe location and type / train , but only if you remember to turn it back off . Strip ! Use a gear addon like ItemRack to define a ' naked ' set . When a wipe is in progress , Feign Death and strip down . That way if you get pulled back into combat or can ' t un - Feign safely , your repair bill stays low . This is called being low maintenance to your own pocketbook . ( And no one likes repair bill whiners . ) Use crowd control and threat manipulation . Protect yourself with the tools explained in the next sections . Don ' t be extreme . Sometimes throwing yourself into danger is the right move over avoiding damage . Good Hunters work for a " low maintenance " reputation , but will not hesitate to reverse this habit when needed to maintain DPS , crowd control mobs , or take aggro off another player . Use your judgement to be of best value to the group as a whole . Threat Manipulation . Oversimplified view of threat is that a mob will aggro ( target and attack ) the player who has done the most damage to it . Heals generate threat toward the healer on all mobs involved . There are many modifiers and exceptions to this system . Read Kenco ' s guide for details : http : / / evilempireguild . org / guides / kenco2 . php Hunters are uniquely capable of dropping all threat they ' ve built up on all mobs every 30 seconds by using Feign Death . With such a short cooldown , you should generally try to Feign before pulling aggro so mobs never leave the tank . Why ? It ' s possible to develop a rough feel for your threat production . To be safer and to know when it is safe to skip Feigning , use an addon like KTM Threatmeter . Such addons tend to work better as more in the group have it installed and synched up . Sometimes it ' s a good idea not to Feign yet . Tanks have Taunt or a Taunt - like ability which not only forces a mob to attack them for a few seconds , but brings their threat up equal to the highest person ' s . One way to pull a mob is to hit it with heavy shots , wait for the tank to Taunt , then Feign . This allows the other DPS to start earlier because the Tank starts out at your elevated threat . Misdirection is another way to provide tanks with an initial threat boost . After casting Misdirection on another player ( or pet ! ) , your next three attacks will be considered to come from the other player . Even if you pull one mob in the middle of a group , all mobs will start out running at the other player . Advantage over the Taunt method is that Taunt is still available and in multi - mob pulls it can help the tank with initial mob gathering . Safe pulling eschews Misdirection in favor of Feign Death . Some pulls involve groups of mobs pathing around such that pull timing and which mob is hit makes a difference between bringing 5 mobs and 10 mobs to the group . The key to safe pulling is very simple , yet difficult to convince some players to do : " " Everyone else , stand back a room . " " That way , if you see 10 mobs whip their heads around and go , " Hruhh ? ! " hit your Feign Death button and try again in thirty seconds . Beats Feigning only to have the rest of the party close enough for the mobs to stay aggro ' d and cause a wipe . If Feign fails , your healer can res you in a jiffy . Other classes pulling just have to hope they get the pull right the first time . Growl is best left toggled off by default unless soloing . The Focus is better used for damage abilities until you want the pet to grab aggro . Right - clicking Growl will toggle it to auto - fire as the cooldown and available Focus permits . Doing so can help pull mobs off healers . Intimidation talent is for snappier aggro gain along with a stun . Crowd Control . A well - played Hunter is the best pick for a group ' s crowd control needs . Freezing Trap can be chained indefinitely on one mob of any type vulnerable to crowd control at all . Once you lay a trap down , it will not become active for two seconds and will last for one minute or until activated . You may not have two unactivated traps of any kind up at the same time ; dropping the second will cause the first to vanish early . However - - and this is vital - - activated traps don ' t count towards this restriction . The easiest way to take advantage of this is to drop the first trap , then wait for your trap cooldown to almost expire . Pull a mob into the first trap , activating it . Drop a second trap and pull a second mob into it . Two ice cubes up at once ! A great aid on certain pulls . Most of the time , chaining Freeze Trap on a single mob safely and for as long as it takes is preferred . Drop the first trap and wait a few seconds or nearly the whole trap cooldown , depending on how much safety is needed . Pull a mob into the first trap . Drop a second trap between the frozen mob and where you will be standing when the first trap breaks . Careful not to drop the second trap on top of the frozen mob or the new trap will overwrite the old trap . Why is this more ' safe ' ? Sometimes traps break early . Being ahead on cooldowns allows for an early break or two . The Trap Mastery talent greatly reduces , but does not eliminate early breaks . Plan ahead each fight . You don ' t want your traps to be right in the middle of other mobs being killed ; easier for other players to break it . Re - trapping the same mob will cause a slow shuffle of trap - move - trap - move . Make sure your shuffle path will be in line of sight with the group ' s kill zone and neither too close nor too far for your ranged attacks . After the pull , the only interruption to your DPS output should be one global cooldown for dropping each trap . Communicate with your group . Ask the leader to use raid markers so you and everyone else knows which mob will be trapped . Because of cooldowns , traps are less forgiving than broken Polymorphs . A clearly marked mob directs blame at the breaker , not the Hunter . Ask for melee mobs to be marked in preference to casters ; they are easier to coax into traps . Casters must be handled with line - of - sight pulling and Silencing Shot ( if available ) which cuts down on your DPS time and often means you ' ll take damage . And communicate on trap position vs . tanking position as needed . Talents and gear can greatly impact trap timers : 60 sec - Unactivated trap time 20 sec - Base ice cube duration 26 sec - Duration with two points in Clever Traps 30 sec - Base trap dropping cooldown 26 sec - Cooldown with two - piece Beast Lord set 24 sec - Cooldown with three points in Resourcefulness 20 sec - Cooldown with both Resourcefulness and the set bonus Readiness instantly resets trap cooldown . With more forgiving timers , recovering from early breaks and multi - trapping ( even beyond two ) becomes easier . Yet no trap talent or bonus is strictly necessary for effective trapping . Waiting longer before the first activation , increasing distance between traps , and other crowd control techniques can close the gaps at the cost of time and effort . Other traps can briefly impede mobs . Frost Trap slows all enemies moving across its area of effect . Useful on some pulls because it gives more time for group members to split off particular mobs . Snake Trap will grab the attention of mobs without significant aggro on any players ; especially slow attacking mobs which take longer to kill off all the snakes . Snakes can proc Crippling Poison ( slower movement ) and Mind Numbing Poison ( slower casting ) , lengthening the distraction . These two traps along with the two fire - based traps all have a chance to root mobs in place for a few seconds with the Entrapment talent . Scatter Shot is a staple crowd control tool . It only disorients a target for 4 seconds or until that target takes damage , but it is instant - cast and hits anything from melee range to 15 yards out . Did a mob just peel off at the healer ? Scatter Shot to stop it dead for the tank to grab . Do you need a few more seconds to drop the next trap and have it activate ? Scatter Shot buys you that time . Do you need to get back to range ? You guessed it . Even against assist - targets , the split second disorientation will cause spell interruption . Wyvern Sting can ' t be chained like Freezing Trap , but an extra 12 seconds on another mob is an extra 12 seconds . Like Scatter Shot it can be used to stop mobs in their tracks to be delt with shortly . The DoT effect seems like it would prevent Hunters with Readiness from using two Wyvern Stings in a row or go from Wyvern into a Freezing Trap . It doesn ' t . Just fire off a Scorpid Sting to overwrite the DoT early . Concussive Shot and Wingclip slow targets or even have a chance to stop targets with the respective " Improved " talents . Another way to keep mobs from rushing away from tanks toward vulnerable group members or fleeing toward other groups of mobs . Both of these work just fine if your target is taking damage . Kiting is a form of crowd control . You can kite as many mobs without special attacks as you want , allowing the rest of the group to finish off the remainder . Feign Death then chase them back to help kill the kited mobs . This method is more time consuming than others , but can be very useful in heroics or when a trap breaks early . See the Frequently Asked Questions section of this guide for more information on kiting mechanics . User Interface . " " The architect should strive continually to simplify ; the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty . " " - Frank Lloyd Wright Personalizing your UI for maximum appeal and ease - of - use can go a long way toward making your play comfortable and dexterous . By their nature , personalization tips I share here won ' t necessarily reflect what ' s best for you . Built - in Options . Before downloading any Addons or writing macros , here are some particularly useful Interface Options to adjust : Interface Addons . Standard options are meant to make the game playable , but Blizzard gave players access to a very rich programming interface to allow much deeper customization . Addons are really just glorified macros with thousands of lines of text instruction instead of a few lines . Legitimate Addons are just a Folder with a bunch of text ( and maybe image ) files that you place here : C : \ Program Files \ World of Warcraft \ Interface \ AddOns and the WoW program itself reads in to handle how it likes . In other words , you never ' run ' Addon files yourself . If a supposed Addon comes as a . EXE file , don ' t run it because it could literally do anything to your computer . . . including stealing your WoW password ( or worse ) . Having to open a . ZIP file and just copying the folder to your Interface \ Addons folder is the standard way of installing Addons . Start or restart WoW and click the AddOns button on the character selection screen . Here , make sure the mods you want running are checked and not showing any problems . If there dependency errors , mouse over the affected mods to find out what other mods must be present . Then search Addon websites or Google to download and install them . Some of the main AddOn websites : http : / / ui . worldofwar . net http : / / www . wowinterface . com / downloads http : / / wowace . com / wiki / Category : Addons http : / / wow - en . curse - gaming . com / files / addons Action Bar Mods . Twelve buttons not enough for all your class abilities ? You can either open up 1 - 3 more bars in the built - in options or replace the whole bottom bar with something like Bongos , TrinityBars , or Bartender . Inventory & Gear Mods . Bagnon is by far the best inventory Addon in my estimation . Install it and create a macro for the command " / bgn bags " . Now one icon on your action bars will let you see what ' s in all your bags . " / bgn bank " keeps track of what ' s in your bank , if you ' ve viewed the bank after installing it . Play around with the item type buttons along the top because they make finding all the herbs in your inventory , all the vendor junk , etc . quite easy . Itemrack is likewise the best equipment set Addon I ' ve used . Beyond setting up normal gearsets , you can do things like define Riding Crop as a set by itself and set it to the " Mount " set on the Events tab to automatically ride at full speed and switch back to whatever you were wearing before when you dismount . Itemrack is also handy for stripping after Feigning in case of a wipe . Unit Frame Mods . ' Unit Frame ' refers to those little windows showing player / mob health ( and other information ) that you can click on to target those ' units . ' For now I prefer a very stripped down version of X - Perl , which includes a frame for your Focus target . I set a keybind for ' Focus Target ' to my ' ~ ' key to do things like track a CC assignment . When pulling two mobs into a trap it helps to set one to Focus , start firing at the other on the pull , then easily retarget the Focus mob . Hunter AddOns . Kharthus ' s Hunter Timers aka KHunterTimers displays time left on Hunter ' s Mark , Traps , Stings , and a few others . Type / kht for a list of options . Chronometer is similar , but aimed at all classes . Feed - O - Matic from fizzwidget . com adds flair and intelligence your standard feeding macro lacks . ICU will display more information and let you click to select dot targets on your minimap . bc _ TrackingMenu and TrackerDial manage your pile of tracking abilities with a neat array of icons by your minimap . Hunter Range , Nudge , and Distance display your range from a target , but only as precisely as you can discern manually from Shots buttons lighting up . Good for those without Shot buttons on the screen or for easier visuals while kiting . ZHunterMod is made up of several specific mods that touch on some of the above , and more . Raiding AddOns . Deadly Boss Mods , BigWigs , CT _ RABossMods all read boss emotes and track time between special events to give you a heads up during scripted fights . It may not be necessary to run one of these yourself if someone else is broadcasting announcements . KLHThreatMeter watches all threat producing actions by raid members and displays a graph of estimated total threat . Helps to know whether a Feign Death is really necessary . This mod ' s accuracy grows as more raid members have it installed . SW _ Stats is the most detailed healing and damage meter . It can show who healed a particular player of the course of a raid and for how much . Or it can break down the amount of damage or healing you ' ve been doing by shot . Accuracy also grows with installs . Other AddOns . There are about a zillion other AddOns to try out . CT _ MailMod which lets you send many stacks of items through the mail at the same time is the one I can ' t live without . Tooltip Wrangler Continued lets you set tooltips to any spot on the screen . RatingBuster converts combat ratings to percentages on item tooltips and helps in other ways to compare to items . Take some time and cook up the perfect UI for yourself . Sample UI . http : / / xs216 . xs . to / xs216 / 07254 / nsui . jpg This is my group UI featuring Trinity , X - Perl , KHunterTimers , simpleMinimap , and vBagnon . Most visible icons are either consumables or abilities on a timer . My raid UI looks almost the same , except KLH ThreatMeter takes the place of group unit frames . Sample Keybinds . Here are my custom keybinds which I designed while leveling , then refined as I played all aspects of the game at the cap . There are plenty of ways to set up good bindings , but if you ' re unsure how to get started these will work . Key - unmodified ; shifted ; alted F1 - Hunter ' s Mark F2 - F5 - Raid Markers ~ - Gathering Macro ; Set Focus 1 - Auto Shot ; Volley 2 - Aspect of the Hawk 3 - Aspect of the Cheetah 4 - Aspect of the Monkey Q - Arcane Shot ; Concussive Shot ; Distracting Shot E - Steady Shot ; Multi - Shot ; Serpent Sting R - Scatter Shot / Intimidation ; Silencing Shot / Wyvern Sting ; Viper Sting F - Freezing Trap ; Frost Trap ; Scorpid Sting Z - Pet Attack ; Pet Passive ; Mend Pet X - Feign Death ; Mount ; Shadowmeld C - Wing Clip and Raptor Strike Macro ; Mongoose Bite V - Flare ; Disengage ; Scare Beast Example Combination Macro / cast [ modifier : shift ] Concussive Shot ; [ modifier : alt ] Distracting Shot ; Arcane Shot Hunter Talents . Beast Mastery Talents . Tier One . Improved Aspect of the Hawk - " While Aspect of the Hawk is active , all normal ranged attacks have a 10 % chance of increasing ranged attack speed by [ 3 % , 6 % , 9 % , 12 % , 15 % ] for 12 sec . " Endurance Training - " Increases Health of your pet by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % , 8 % , 10 % ] and your total health by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % , 4 % , 5 % ] . " Tier Two . Focused Fire - " All damage caused by you is increased by [ 1 % , 2 % ] while your pet is active and the critical strike chance of your Kill Command ability is increased by [ 10 % , 20 % ] . " Improved Aspect of the Monkey - " Increases the Dodge bonus of your Aspect of the Monkey by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % ] . " Thick Hide - " Increases the armor rating of your pets by [ 7 % , 14 % , 20 % ] and your armor contribution from items by [ 4 % , 7 % , 10 % ] . " Improved Revive Pet - " Revive Pet ' s casting time is reduced by [ 3 , 6 ] sec , mana cost is reduced by [ 20 % , 40 % ] , and increases the health your pet returns with by an additional [ 15 % , 30 % ] . " Tier Three . Pathfinding - " Increases the speed bonus of your Aspect of the Cheetah and Aspect of the Pack by [ 4 % , 8 % ] . " Bestial Swiftness - " Increases the outdoor movement speed of your pets by 30 % . " Unleashed Fury - " Increases the damage done by your pets by [ 4 % , 8 % , 12 % , 16 % , 20 % ] . " Tier Four . Improved Mend Pet - " Reduces the mana cost of your Mend Pet spell by [ 10 % , 20 % ] and gives the Mend Pet spell a [ 15 % , 50 % ] chance of cleansing 1 Curse , Disease , Magic or Poison effect from the pet each tick . Ferocity - " Increases the critical strike chance of your pet by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % , 8 % , 10 % ] . " Required for Frenzy . Tier Five . Spirit Bond - " While your pet is active , you and your pet will regenerate [ 1 % , 2 % ] of total health every 10 sec . " Intimidation - " Command your pet to intimidate the target on the next successful melee attack , causing a high amount of threat and stunning the target for 3 sec . " One minute cooldown . Required for Bestial Wrath . Bestial Discipline - " Increases the Focus regeneration of your pets by [ 50 % , 100 % ] . " Tier Six . Animal Handler - " Increases your speed while mounted by [ 4 % , 8 % ] and your pet ' s chance to hit by [ 2 % , 4 % ] . The mounted movement speed increase does not stack with other effects . " Frenzy - " Gives your pet a [ 20 % , 40 % , 60 % , 80 % , 100 % ] chance to gain a 30 % attack speed increase for 8 sec after dealing a critical strike . " Tier Seven . Ferocious Inspiration - " When your pet scores a critical hit , all party members have all damage increased by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] for 10 sec . " Bestial Wrath - " Send your pet into a rage causing 50 % additional damage for 18 sec . While enraged , the beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear and it cannot be stopped unless killed . " Two minute cooldown . Required for The Beast Within . Catlike Reflexes - " Increases your chance to dodge by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] and your pet ' s chance to dodge by an additional [ 3 % , 6 % , 9 % ] . " Tier Eight . Serpent ' s Swiftness - " Increases ranged combat attack speed by [ 4 % , 8 % , 12 % , 16 % , 20 % ] and your pet ' s melee attack speed by [ 4 % , 8 % , 12 % , 16 % , 20 % ] . " Tier Nine . The Beast Within - " When your pet is under the effects of Bestial Wrath , you also go into a rage causing 10 % additional damage and reducing mana costs of all spells by 20 % for 18 sec . While enraged , you do not feel pity or remorse or fear and you cannot be stopped unless killed . " Marksmanship Talents . Tier One . Improved Concussive Shot - " Gives your Concussive Shot a [ 4 % , 8 % , 12 % , 16 % , 20 % ] chance to stun the target for 3 sec . " Lethal Shots - " Increases your critical strike chance with ranged weapons by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % , 4 % , 5 % ] . " Tier Two . Improved Hunter ' s Mark - " Causes [ 20 % , 40 % , 60 % , 80 % , 100 % ] of your Hunter ' s Mark ability ' s base attack power to apply to melee attack power as well . " Efficiency - " Reduces the Mana cost of your Shots and Stings by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % , 8 % , 10 % ] . " Tier Three . Go for the Throat - " Your ranged critical hits cause your pet to generate [ 25 , 50 ] Focus . " Improved Arcane Shot - " Reduces the cooldown of your Arcane Shot by [ 0 . 2 , 0 . 4 , 0 . 6 , 0 . 8 , 1 ] sec . " Aimed Shot - " An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 870 . " Required for Mortal Shots . Rapid Killing - " Reduces the cooldown of your Rapid Fire ability by [ 1 , 2 ] min . In addition , after killing an opponent that yields experience or honor , your next Aimed Shot , Arcane Shot or Auto Shot causes [ 10 % , 20 % ] additional damage . Lasts 20 sec . " Tier Four . Improved Stings - " Increases the damage done by your Serpent Sting and Wyvern Sting by [ 6 % , 12 % , 18 % , 24 % , 30 % ] and the mana drained by your Viper Sting by [ 6 % , 12 % , 18 % , 24 % , 30 % ] . In addition , reduces the chance your Stings will be dispelled by [ 6 % , 12 % , 18 % , 24 % , 30 % ] . " Mortal Shots - " Increases your ranged weapon critical strike damage bonus by [ 6 % , 12 % , 18 % , 24 % , 30 % ] . " Tier Five . Concussive Barrage - " Your successful Auto Shot attacks have a [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % ] chance to Daze the target for 4 sec . " Scatter Shot - " A short - range shot that deals 50 % weapon damage and disorients the target for 4 sec . Any damage caused will remove the effect . Turns off your attack when used . " Required for Trueshot Aura . Barrage - " Increases the damage done by your Multi - Shot and Volley spells by [ 4 % , 8 % , 12 % ] . " Required for Improved Barrage . Combat Experience - " Increases your total Agility by [ 1 % , 2 % ] and your total Intellect by [ 3 % , 6 % ] . " Ranged Weapon Specialization - " Increases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % , 4 % , 5 % ] . " Tier Six . Careful Aim - " Increases your ranged attack power by an amount equal to [ 15 % , 30 % , 45 % ] of your total Intellect . " Trueshot Aura - " Increases the attack power of party members within 45 yards by 125 . Lasts 30 min . " Improved Barrage - " Increases the critical strike chance of your Multi - Shot ability by [ 4 % , 8 % , 12 % ] and gives you a [ 33 % , 66 % , 100 % ] chance to avoid interruption caused by damage while channeling Volley . " Tier Seven . Master Marksman - " Increases your ranged attack power by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % , 8 % , 10 % ] . " Tier Eight . Silencing Shot - " A shot that deals 50 % weapon damage and Silences the target for 3 sec . " Survival Talents . Tier One . Monster Slaying - " Increases all damage caused against Beasts , Giants and Dragonkin targets by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] and increases critical damage caused against Beasts , Giants and Dragonkin targets by an additional [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] . " Humanoid Slaying - " Increases all damage caused against Humanoid targets by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] and increases critical damage caused against Humanoid targets by an additional [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] . " Hawk Eye - " Increases the range of your ranged weapons by [ 2 , 4 , 6 ] yards . " Savage Strikes - " Increases the critical strike chance of Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite by [ 10 % , 20 % ] . " Tier Two . Entrapment - " Gives your Immolation Trap , Frost Trap , Explosive Trap , and Snake Trap a [ 8 % , 16 % , 25 % ] chance to entrap the target , preventing them from moving for 4 sec . " Deflection - " Increases your Parry chance by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % , 4 % , 5 % ] . " Improved Wing Clip - " Gives your Wing Clip ability a [ 7 % , 14 % , 20 % ] chance to immobilize the target for 5 sec . " Tier Three . Clever Traps - " Increases the duration of Freezing and Frost trap effects by [ 15 % , 30 % ] , the damage of Immolation and Explosive trap effects by [ 15 % , 30 % ] , and the number of snakes summoned from Snake Traps by [ 15 % , 30 % ] . Survivalist - " Increases total health by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % , 8 % , 10 % ] . " Deterrence - " When activated , increases your Dodge and Parry chance by 25 % for 10 sec . " Five minute cooldown . Required for Counterattack . Tier Four . Trap Mastery - " Decreases the chance enemies will resist trap effects by [ 5 % , 10 % ] . " Surefooted - " Increases hit chance by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] and increases the chance movement impairing effects will be resisted by an additional [ 5 % , 10 % , 15 % ] . " Improved Feign Death - " Reduces the chance your Feign Death ability will be resisted by [ 2 % , 4 % ] . " Tier Five . Survival Instincts - " Reduces all damage taken by [ 2 % , 4 % ] and increases attack power by [ 2 % , 4 % ] . " Killer Instinct - " Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks by [ 1 % , 2 % , 3 % ] . " Required for Wyvern Sting . Counterattack - " A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent ' s attack . This attack deals 40 damage and immobilizes the target for 5 sec . Counterattack cannot be blocked , dodged , or parried . " Tier Six . Resourcefulness - " Reduces the mana cost of all traps and melee abilities by [ 20 % , 40 % , 60 % ] and reduces the cooldown of all traps by [ 2 , 4 , 6 ] sec . " Lightning Reflexes - " Increases your Agility by [ 3 % , 6 % , 9 % , 12 % , 15 % ] . " Tier Seven . Thrill of the Hunt - " Gives you a [ 33 % , 66 % , 100 % ] chance to regain 40 % of the mana cost of any shot when it critically hits . " Wyvern Sting - " A stinging shot that puts the target to sleep for 12 sec . Any damage will cancel the effect . When the target wakes up , the Sting causes 300 Nature damage over 12 sec . Only one Sting per Hunter can be active on the target at a time . " Expose Weakness - " Your ranged criticals have a [ 33 % , 66 % , 100 % ] chance to apply an Expose Weakness effect to the target . Expose Weakness increases the attack power of all attackers against that target by 25 % of your Agility for 7 sec . " Tier Eight . Master Tactician - " Your successful ranged attacks have a 6 % chance to increase your critical strike chance with all attacks by [ 2 % , 4 % , 6 % , 8 % , 10 % ] for 8 sec . " Required for Readiness . Tier Nine . Readiness - " When activated , this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Hunter abilities . " 5 minute cooldown . Tamed Skill Reference . " " Gotta catch ' em all ! " " - Pokémon Keep your pet ' s skills up to date as it levels ! Stable your pet and tame one of these beasts . You must be at least the level - - listed in square brackets - - of the beast . A plus symbol in the bracket denotes an elite mob . Once tamed , fight other mobs in the area using the skill . Eventually you ' ll learn it . Discard that pet , retrieve your real pet , and teach away . Links . Hunter Gear Choice Calculator My Priest Class Guide Other Authors . Cheeky ' s Spreadsheets ( more involved than my own ) Norwest ' s / castsequence Thread Hunter Websites Talent Calculator and NPC / Item Database Interface Addons Macro Intro & FAQ by Cogwheel Guide to Macro Options by Neuro