Level a Hunter in World of Warcraft: Forever as Beast Mastery: tame a pet at level 10, let it hold each monster while you shoot, and spend your points on talents that make the pet tougher and add the new Summon Hawk at level 25. Aimed Shot is now baseline at level 20, so you no longer need Marksmanship points to get it, which frees the whole early climb for pet talents.
Below is why Beast Mastery wins for leveling, the talents to take first, when the key abilities arrive, the launch buffs to your shots and the pet durability fix Blizzard has scheduled. It is checked against Blizzard’s Hunter and Druid class deep dive and its beta development notes up to the November 2 launch notes, as of November 7.
Which Spec to Level a Hunter As
Blizzard says Hunters “can utilize their pet as a tank in solo and small group play” and have “the longest range of any class,” but cannot use ranged attacks within 8 yards and “cannot Stun or Interrupt.” All three specs keep the pet; they differ in what your points buy.
| Spec | How it levels | Why pick it | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beast Mastery (our pick) | Pet tanks, you shoot | Tougher pet, more damage while it is out, Summon Hawk | Weaker if your pet dies |
| Marksmanship | Big shots | Lone Wolf gives 20% damage with no pet | Without a pet, nothing tanks for you |
| Survival | Ranged and melee | Traps, melee strikes, Counterattack | More buttons for the same job |
Beast Mastery is our pick because the pet is what makes Hunters the easiest class to solo with, and its tree is built around it. Endurance Training now gives your pet both Health and Armor (Thick Hide was merged into it), and Focused Fire raises all damage you and your pet deal while the pet is out. Summon Hawk, the new 16-point talent, deals instant damage and sends a hawk at your target for 18 seconds; you can have two out at once, and it shares a cooldown with Arcane Shot.
Marksmanship has a new no-pet build: Lone Wolf, the 11-point talent, gives 20% more damage with all attacks while you have no active pet. It is a fine choice for dungeons, but solo you lose the tank, which is the point of the class.
Hunter Talents to Take First
Talents start at level 10, and the milestone talents open at 11, 16, 21 and 31 points, which is levels 20, 25, 30 and 40 if every point goes into Beast Mastery. Our order, using talents Blizzard has confirmed in Forever:
- Levels 10 to 19: Endurance Training for pet Health and Armor, then Deadly Aspects (formerly Improved Aspect of the Hawk), Focused Fire and Aspect of the Monkey, which now gives twice the Dodge and passes half of it to your pet.
- Levels 20 to 24: Unleashed Fury and Ferocity for pet damage (both now also boost your hawks), and Pathfinding, which the launch notes moved to the third row.
- Level 25: Summon Hawk, the 16-point talent.
- Levels 26 to 30: Improved Mend Pet (now also cheaper to cast), Bestial Swiftness and Intimidation, which now requires Bestial Swiftness and also gives your pet 100% extra critical strike chance on its next attack. Intimidation was the 21-point talent in the original game.
- Levels 31 to 40: Bestial Discipline, which now also lets you regenerate Mana from Spirit while casting, then the rest of the tree. Bestial Wrath was the original game’s 31-point talent, and Blizzard’s notes do not list a change to it.
Our best Hunter race guide covers which racials suit a pet build, and our talent reset guide covers changing your mind later.
Key Hunter Abilities by Level
| Level | What you get |
|---|---|
| 10 | Your first pet, from the trainer’s taming quest, and your first talent point |
| 20 | Aimed Shot, now baseline for every Hunter |
| 25 | Summon Hawk, with 16 points in Beast Mastery |
| 40 | Dual Specialization, plus riding |
Our guide to taming a Hunter pet walks through the level 10 quest. Remember that Tame Beast no longer works on beasts above your level. For which family to tame, our best Hunter pets guide picks a Boar or Bear for leveling.
Other baseline changes that help while leveling:
- Traps work in combat. Every trap now shares a 30-second cooldown, and you can have one Fire trap and one Frost trap down at once.
- Arcane Shot no longer shares a cooldown with Aimed Shot. Multi-Shot does instead.
- Aspect of the Beast now also gives melee Attack Power, and Disengage drops twice as much threat.
Launch Buffs and the Pet Fix Coming
Blizzard’s November 2 launch notes made Hunter shots hit much harder: Aimed Shot’s bonus damage rose by about 110%, Arcane Shot’s base damage by about 30% with more Attack Power scaling, Serpent Sting’s base damage by about 20% with a higher Attack Power share per tick, and every rank of Aspect of the Hawk gives more Ranged Attack Power.
Pets are the weak spot right now. Pets draw their stats from your gear, and Blizzard said on November 6 that Hunter pets “are not as durable as tanks as we would like them to be.” Its class tuning post plans hotfixes on Tuesday, November 10, so that pets are about as effective as they were in Classic Era. Until then, keep Mend Pet ready and pull one monster at a time. Our pet feeding guide covers keeping your pet happy between fights.
Where to Level a Hunter
Hunters can be Orc, Tauren, Troll or Horde Skyborne, and Dwarf, Human, Night Elf or Alliance Skyborne. Follow your faction’s route from the starting zone: Westfall, Loch Modan or Darkshore for the Alliance from level 10, The Barrens or Silverpine Forest for the Horde. Beast-heavy zones also double as taming grounds, so keep an eye out for a better pet as you level; you can only tame beasts at or below your own level, so upgrade as you go.
Hunter Leveling Tips
- Stand still to shoot. Auto Shot now needs you to stand still for half a second, as in early World of Warcraft. Forever adds an “Auto Attack/Auto Shot” setting that switches between melee and ranged for you.
- Mind the 8-yard dead zone. Step back before you shoot; Disengage and your traps help.
- Carry ammo and train often. Blizzard’s launch notes put class training from 1 to 60 at about 206 to 207 gold for every class.
- Drag new abilities onto your bars. Since launch, learning a spell no longer adds it to your action bars.
- Rest at a campfire for rested experience; our camping guide explains how.
Every WoW Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Hunter spec for leveling in WoW Forever? Beast Mastery, in our view. Its talents make your pet tougher and add Summon Hawk at level 25, and Aimed Shot is baseline now, so you do not need Marksmanship points for it.
When do Hunters get Aimed Shot in WoW Forever? At level 20, as a baseline ability for every Hunter.
When do Hunters get a pet? At level 10, from the taming quest your Hunter trainer gives you.
Why does my Hunter pet die so fast? Blizzard has said pets are not as durable as it wants and plans to adjust their stats on November 10 so they tank about as well as in Classic Era.
Can you level a Hunter without a pet? Yes, with Marksmanship’s Lone Wolf talent, which gives 20% more damage while you have no pet. Solo leveling is harder that way, since nothing holds monsters off you.