WoW Classic Hunter Guide - The Best Hunter builds for Vanilla

Wow classic hunter guide

Vanilla WoW is an attempt made by Blizzard to revive the golden age of MMORPG, go back to 2004 and recreate the old school grinding gameplay from the World of Warcraft early days. The game will be much more challenging, than the current Battle for Azeroth version. These cicrumstances make a class that can efficiently farm, quest and level by itself, even more valuable. That, alongside some more advantages that we'll discuss later, makes Hunter a great class, especially if you're going to start all by yourself. Hunter can get you going faster than some other classes that are more reliant on team play and gear. Solo farming as Hunter you have a great chance to get plenty of green and blue items. Let's get into WoW Classic Hunter Guide in details.

About Hunters

Leveling in Vanilla World of Warcraft was nothing like leveling in Retail. These days getting to a max level even if its 120 takes a day or two. Back in the day, it was the main part of the game which took people months or even years to complete. Monsters were much more tough to fight against. The gear was harder to get and had fewer stats. There were no bonus experience Heirlooms and no Recruit a Friend system. Because all of that it was crucial for many players to pick a glass which did not struggle to level up. Imaging that - spending months with a character that you don’t enjoy to level with is a real struggle. And you may ask who is the best at leveling? Without a doubt - the best class for leveling in the Classic World of Warcraft is Hunter - the ranged damage deler with great survivability and self-protection. This class excels at kiting mobs and killing them with basic attacks.

These deer stalking trappers are known for their pets. Choosing the correct pet type can make a huge difference for this class. Hunters are able to mitigate incoming damage by soaking it all with their companions. They also use them to lure their opponents and to attack. They are great levers but that is not all they can do. Hunters are a great choice in world PvP. They are a nightmare to deal with as Rogues which is the main PvP class in Vanilla - sting abilities work wonders in PvP, but the Lightning Reflexes build is probably the best one for this purpose. Hunters are also good in group content. They are great at clearing dungeons and their Tranquilizing Shot is a necessity in every Raid. But what Hunters are most known is their ability to solo content - even this which was made for groups. As one of two classes (other being Warlock) they can perform solo Maraudon runs which is one of the easiest and best money makers in Vanilla.

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Best race for Hunter

There are currently five playable races for Hunters in Classic World of Warcraft. Majority of them are on the Horde side represented by Orcs, Taurens and Trolls. From the Alliance Dwarves and Night Elves can become Hunters. When it comes down to choosing the strongest race for this class there are few different options. First of all, we have Orcs which grant an amazing bonus to your pet damage from Command trait. Trolls have a great bonus in form of Bow Specialization and Berserking ability. There are also Dwarves with their Gun Specialization and Stone Form ability. While other choices are also viable and can be useful (Taurens can stun in AoE, Night Elves disappear with Shadowmeld) these are the best hunter races. Here you have list of traits for them. You should avoiding Humans and Undead when playing Hunter.

Orc :

When it comes down to best Hunter race Orcs probably are the best choice in PvP scenario. Their Hardiness ability improves Stun Resistance by 25%. Orcs also deal 5% increased damage with pets thanks to Command and can use Blood Fury to increase melee damage by 25% for 15 seconds.

Troll :

The seconds amazing race for Hunters which synergize with their playstyle is Troll. These creatures have Bow Specialization racial which improves their ability to use these weapons by 5. Trolls can also use Berserking to increase their attack and cast speed by 10-25% for 10 seconds depending on their missing health. Regeneration improves their ability to recover missing health by 10% and Beast Slaying boosts their damage against beasts by 5%. They are probably the best choice for PvE as a Hunter.

Dwarf :

On the Alliance side the most viable choice goes to Dwarves. Gun Specialization lets them use these weapons more effectively by 5 points. Stoneform grants immunity to Bleed, Poison and Disease effects for 8 seconds and grants an additional 10% armor. They also have +10 to Frost Resistance and can sense nearby treasures with Find Treasure trait.

Night Elf :

The second choice on the Alliance side of the conflict is the Night Elf. Their Shadowmeld ability lets them go invisible while static. Quickness improves their dodge chance by 1% and Nature Resistance increases their resistance to this element by 10.

Tauren :

Last but not least we have Taurens. They can stun their opponents in AoE with War Stomp for 2 seconds. Cows also have increased health by 5% thanks to Endurance, Improved Herbalism by 15 with Cultivation and similarly to Night Elves +10 to Nature Resistance.

Clear favorites from these choices are Orcs and Trolls which have best extra stats and racials for Hunters. Dwarves also do nicely but they are focusing more on survivability than damage output. But the most important question you should ask when you are choosing a race is what you like. Racial traits won’t affect your game so much that you should focus on them right away. Pick a race basing on your own liking and on looks. As leveling in Vanilla is a very long process you are likely to spend months or even years with your character. You will most likely play only one for a very long period so make sure to take a race that you find it fun to play with. Racial trait is a secondary value so keep that in mind. Pick what you like the most and never regret your decision - all races are good in their own ways.

Pros and cons for Hunters

As mentioned before Hunters are extremely good levels that shine in the early stages of the game. Their ability to soak damage with pets comes in handy in many situations and is quite unique since only them and Warlocks can do it. They are amazing at battlegrounds and in open world PvP combat. In Raid environment, they do not shine as the best class but they are still necessary thank to Tranquilizing shot, they perform decently in terms of damage on PvE. They might not be perfect in dungeon and raid situations, but in general, Hunters are a great class to pick up with high skill ceiling. They might seem easy to pick up but they are really hard to be good at with. Below is a list of pros and cons of a Hunter class which might help you decide if you would like to play this class or not. 

Pros:

-Best leveling speed in the game

-Strong in open world PvP

-Best Flag chasers in battlegrounds

-Self-reliant - Hunters can solo content like no one else

-Amazing mobility - Fastest class in the game excluding Druids

-Decent sustained damage both at single and at multi-target

-Not gear dependent

-Access to one of the best farms in the game with solo Maraudon, in general Hunters are top tier solo farmers

Cons :

-Requires ammunition which clutters inventory and costs money

-Need to hunt for new pets

-Taming can be troublesome and might take a lot of time

-Rather low damage in Raids, you cna have problems with finding party for raiding

-Majority of the community view this class really poorly (without a real reason)

As you can see Hunters are in general great class to pick up. They are at least good if not better at every aspect of the game and they shine as fastest levelers. If you like having a companion along your side this might be a class just for you. Hunters without a doubt are a unique class to play with and some people who picked them to be their mains fell in love with them for years since the release of Vanilla. We also think that they are an amazing class to play so if you like them you might give them a try. Just remember to always research and pick the right location for your level for solo farming.

General tips for Hunter players

When playing as a WoW Hunter it will be crucial for you to use your companion for the majority of tasks. You want to always tame best pets possible for your levels and use them during the fight to soak all of the damage. Ideally, you won’t take any hit through the fight. Make sure to bind your macros and skills to comfortable positions - leveling is a long and tedious process so you will always want to make it as simple as possible. There are a few Hunter builds to chose from in the endgame and you have to choose your gear according to the setup you're running. Your rotation shouldn't be the that difficult, but you still might want to take some time to master it, before going for more challenging runs. Additionally, you always want to buy the best possible ammo whether you are using bullets or arrows make sure to get best. Engineering profession might help you with that so it is worth taking.

-Set up one of the addons to track your Auto Shoot

-Set up your keys and macros for everything you use, especially for pet commands

-Combine your regular abilities with Auto Shoot through macro usage

-Buy the best ammunition and carry enough in your inventory

-Use your pet in every fight

-Engage mobs always from max range

-Buy new bows from vendors at low levels

-Your only sources of AoE damage are traps and Multi-Shot which means that you can often only hit a single mob at a time.

hunter Leveling guide

Here you can see basic Hunter build which will be good for leveling. Make sure to follow the steps below exactly to maximize your damage potential. In this build, we will focus on improving pet damage with Beast Mastery and leave spare points in Marksmanship tree to get 1-60 as fast as possible. You can also try a different setup and invest some points in Survival, but we're talking about this specific one.

Beast Mastery talents :

1/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk + 4/5 Endurance Training + 2/2 Improved Revive Pet + 3/3 Thick Hide + 1/1 Bestial Swiftness + 2/2 Pathfinding + 5/5 Unleashed Fury + 2/5 Ferocity + 1/1 Intimidation + 3/5 Ferocity + 5/5 Endurance Training + 5/5 Ferocity + 5/5 Frenzy + 1/1 Bestial Wrath

Marksmanship talents:

5/5 Efficiency + 5/5 Lethal Shots + 1/1 Aimed Shot + 3/3 Hawkeye + 1/5 Hunter’s Mark + 5/5 Mortal Shots

This is how finished talent build looks like.

Class specific add-ons

When it comes down to specific tools that Hunter players can install there are few more and few less important ones. From the ones that you really want to have to make sure to get an auto-shot timer. This will allow using Multi-Shot and Aimed Shot between Auto Shot which will improve your damage done. To track this you can use YaHT (Yet another Hunter Timer) or Rai’s Auto Shot - any of them will work fine. OmniCC might also be another interesting addition which will show you cooldowns on your abilities to track their times even better. At all times you should always use some kind of damage meter like Skada to track how much DPS you are doing and what are stats of your teammates. In addition to all of this there is also Xp / Hr addon which shows you your experience rates so you can find the best spot for leveling by yourself.

Stat priority

When gearing your character there is always one struggle that players find themselves in. Which stats are more important than the others. You always want to get as much of the most valuable statistics so it is necessary to know which ones are those. This is called stat priority and determines what to look for in terms of item attributes. There are many stats in Classic World of Warcraft like Critical Chance or Spell Damage so we can’t cover all of them. Usually Damage per Second and Critical Chance will be most important to Hunter players but below you can see which of the basic stats are most important.

Agility > Stamina > Intellect > Spirit > Strength

Agility :

Improves Hunters  Ranged Attack Power and Armor by 2 for every point, Critical Strike by 1% for every 53 points, Dodge Chance by 1% for every 26 points.

Stamina :

Adds 10 points to your and your pet’s health pool

Intellect :

Increases the rate at which your weapon skill improves

Spirit :

Improves health regeneration for you and your pet

Strength :

Increases Hunter's melee attack power by 1 for every point

During leveling, it is most important to get high DPS weapons and other items that can further boost your damage. As Hunters rely on their pets to soak damage they do not need too much defense to avoid death. Stats like Critical Strike Chance can further boost your abilities so make sure to also look for those. From basic stats, your most important attribute is obviously Agility which will be your main source of damage, getting a lot of AGI is always the priority for Hunter. Stamina although improves your survivability is important due to the fact that it makes your pets durable enough to tank. Hunter DPS is in general pretty low, but good gear can boost it up to an acceptable level. Since they will be mainly tanking you want them to be as strong as possible. Intellect is quite useful since it also improves your weapon specialization. Stats like Spirit and Strength feel much less important and should be the last things that you look for in item attributes.

Best Professions for Hunter

There are many viable professions to choose from as a Hunter but there is the only one which is almost necessity. Engineering provides amazing bonuses for this class. Engineers can craft various augmentations to Hunter weaponry like scopes. On top of that, they can make Guns and best ammunition in the game. Because of that, taking this profession is mandatory for each and every Hunter player. Furthermore, there is also Mining which provides necessary materials for your Engineering inventions.

On the other hand, by taking Leatherworking profession you can benefit from making your own pieces of gear. As a Leatherworker, you will be able to graft BoP items which are best in the slot for Hunters at certain levels this can further increase your damage during leveling but keep in mind that you won’t be able to make best in slot ammunition if you won’t take Engineering. Leatherworking is paired best with Skinning that grants you the ability to collect materials used for Leather gear crafting. It is also the best profession to take during the early stages of the game since you will be able to receive more loot from monsters that you kill. These items can be taken straight to the vendor for additional profit in gold.

Another two Gathering professions are Herbalism and Mining. They can be taken simultaneously which will allow you to collect both Herbs and Ores during the leveling process. This might improve your gold rates by a fair amount but keep in mind that when you have two gathering professions at the same time you can track only one of them on the minimap. For example, if you have Herbalism and Mining learned - you will see only Herb locations or only Ore locations - never both. It is advised to take two gathering professions if you are leveling your first character. By doing this you will maximize your profits and later on, at 60, you can take Engineering or something else.

If you want to learn more about Professions you can visit our Classic WoW Professions Guide where we dive deeply into each and every one of them to get the best overview. The professions are: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Engineering, Herbalism, Leatherworking, Mining, Skinning, Tailoring, Cooking, Fishing and First Aid. You can also check out other articles on our blog, including other Vanilla WoW class guides. The remaining options are: Warrior, Priest, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, Shaman, Paladin and Druid. We also have Facebook and Twitter pages where you can find news from MMORPG world. Sign up and join our community to connect with other players just like you today.

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