World of Warcraft Hunters specialize in taming animals which make them a strong mini group unit. They are the all round outdoor specialists; not only can they tame practically any of the roaming animals dotting the Azeroth landscape, but also are adept at placing traps to immobilize mobs or pvp adversaries. They can use tracking devices to detect humans or animals as well as being able to assume "aspects" of beasts allowing them to tap into even more abilities. In combat they excel with ranged weapons and are useful melee fighters if the need arises.
1. Ranged weapon specialization is their best talent, even more so than their pet taming. The projectiles include 4 different types of stings that cause a debuff effect on targets causing great damage. They also have shots like Arcane Shot, Auto Shot and later in levels Steady Shot.
2. Melee fighting: Hunters can close fight but not in the same league as warriors. Useful to have if target gets too close or pet is impaired due to a spell or busy with other targets.
3. Pets are probably the most important part in their arsenal adding to their DPS (Damage Per Second) allowing them to dispatch adversaries quicker. They also act for the most part as tanks while the Hunter finishes off opponents with projectiles thus avoiding aggro (or the focus of enemies attack) which the pet absorbs instead.
4. Traps: Hunters have up to 5 traps at their disposal used for crowd control, and to mete out damage. The same kind of trap can be set up again after a 30 second cool down periods but a different kind can be set up right after. There are 4 main traps available to hunters:
Frost Trap - Slows enemies up to 60% in area where trap is set.
Frost Trap - Slows enemies up to 60% in area where trap is set.
Immolation Trap - Burns enemies over 15 sec period.
Immolation Trap - Burns enemies over 15 sec period.
5.Aspects: this is an ability which is only exclusive to hunters. It empowers them to assume aspects (or characteristics) of 7 different kind of animals. At any one time only one aspect can be active. They are most useful for the hunter depending on what kind of combat he or she is about to engage with. A good hunter will know just which ones to implement given the combat situation or mob they are faced with. The seven available hunter aspects are as follows:
- Aspect of the Monkey: This can increase the chance to dodge by 8%.
Aspect of the Hawk: Increases "ranged" attack by "x" amount depending on level
Aspect of the Cheetah: Can speed up the hunter speed by 30% but can also daze him for 4 seconds if suffering damage.
Aspect of the Beast: Allows hunters to become undetectable.
- Aspect of the Pack: The hunter and his/her group take on the characteristics of a pack of cheetahs, increasing all their movement speeds by 30%. If a pack member takes damage, they will be dazed for 4 sec.
Aspect of the Wild: The Hunter and his group take on the characteristics of the wilderness, gaining +X resistance to Nature damage.
Aspect of the Viper: Regenerates mana equal to 55% of his intellect every 5 seconds
6. Hunters are able to track eight kinds of units in the game. Only one tracking ability can be kept open at a time. Type of creatures or items they are able to track are: Beasts, Humanoids, Undead, Hidden, Elementals, Demons, Giants, and Dragonkin.
Being a hunter is fun due to the diverse things it can do. It's the best solo class there is on a par with Warlocks if not better. You should be able to decide if this is the class as soon as you reach level 20 by which time you will have a fair idea if you enjoy playing it. Of course if you like grouping with others, this is not the best class for it but there are still plenty of Hunters who group well.
About the Author:
James Ross is a currently active World of Warcraft player and guides buff as well as webmaster of the World of Warcraft Guides site.
