Hunter Leveling Build - Post 60

A

Allanon

Moderator
I figured I am getting asked enough that I would post my build and list which talents I invested in at each level past 60. I am currently at 64 and have a 41/14/0 build which is BM/MM. I will end up with a 41/20/0 at level 70.

At 61 and 62, you should invest in "Go for the Throat", a MM level 3 talent. This gives 50% more focus to your pets on your ranged crits (BM depends on crit which makes agility more important then straight AP).

At 63 and 64, I really struggled with what to invest in. I took 1 in Arcane and 1 in Aimed but I believe rapid killing might be a better option then Arcane due to the proc frequency. The one in Aimed is in order to get Mortal shot at 66 to 70.

At 62, you will finally get your main staple dps shot - Steady shot. With the upcoming nerf in 2.0.6, this shot will be your main source of damage. The shot rotation I am using at 64 for raids is:

Aimed Shot, Arcane (or Multi if more then one mob is available without breaking cc), Steady/Auto, Steady/Auto, Steady/Auto, Arcane - repeat. Aimed is only for the first time, should not be considered as part of the rotation. FD often as you will pull aggro with this shot rotation ... trust me ;)

The steady shot should fit inside your auto shot which is why it is important to use a faster weapon with haste (from your ammo pouch), somewhere around 2.6 - 2.8 is ideal.
 
I ripped the following from the beta forums regarding gems you might want for your new shiney socket items ...

"Reds

====

RY - Glinting Noble Topaz 4Hit, 4Agi

RY - Inscribed Noble Topaz 4Crt, 4Str

RY - Glinting Flame Spessarite 3Hit, 3Agi

RY - Inscribed Flme Spessarite 3Crt, 3Str

RB - Shifting Nightseye 4Agi, 6Sta

RB - Shifting Shadow Draenite 3Agi, 4Sta

R - Bright Living Ruby 16AP

R - Delicate Living Ruby 8Agi

R - Delicate Blood Garnet 6Agi

R - Bright Blood Carnet 12AP



Yellows

=======

YB - Jagged Talasite 4Crt, 6Sta

YB - Dazzling Talasite 4Int, 2MP5

YB - Dazzling Deep Peridot 1MP5, 3Int

YB - Jagged Deep Peridot 3Crt, 4Sta

RY - Glinting Noble Topaz 4Hit, 4Agi

RY - Inscribed Noble Topaz 4Crt, 4Str

RY - Glinting Flame Spessarite 3Hit, 3Agi

RY - Inscribed Flme Spessarite 3Crt, 3Str

Y - Smooth Dawnstone 8Crt

Y - Rigid Dawnstone 8Hit

Y - Brilliant Dawnstone 8Int

Y - Smooth Golden Draenite 6Crt

Y - Rigid Golden Draenite 6Hit

Y - Brilliant Golden Draenite 6Int



Blues

=====

YB - Jagged Talasite 4Crt, 6Sta

YB - Dazzling Talasite 4Int, 2MP5

YB - Dazzling Deep Peridot 1MP5, 3Int

YB - Jagged Deep Peridot 3Crt, 4Sta

RB - Shifting Nightseye 4Agi, 6Sta

RB - Shifting Shadow Draenite 3Agi, 4Sta

B - Lustrous Star of Elune 3MP5

B - Solid Star of Elune 12Sta

B - Lustrous Azure Moonstone 2MP5

B - Solid Azure Moonstone 9Sta


Bold Ornate Ruby : red +20 ap
http://thottbot.com/beta?i=3821

Inscribed Ornate Topaz : red and yellow +10ap +5 crit rating http://thottbot.com/beta?i=3825

Smooth Ornate Dawnstone : yellow +10 crit rating http://thottbot.com/beta?i=3823"
 
i would like to verify that rapid killing is the way to go following "go for the throat". not only is the extra % on your next shot following a kill nice, the reduction in cooldown on your rapid fire (now 3 mins instead of 5), means you can use it pretty much every fight
 
Here is a list of good Hunter gear I ripped from the WoW forums (threads disappear quickly there).

2-Hand Weapons:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27751
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24394
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29329
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27903
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23503
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25835
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23499

1-Hand Weapons:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31756
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27754
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27756

Ranged Weapons:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25639
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31072

Gloves:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31796

Head:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28168

Capes:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25712
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25540
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28032

Rings:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31729

Neck:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31727
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25993
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25487
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24073

Trinkets:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28041
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28108


Source thread http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=70848890&sid=1&pageNo=1
 
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Here is a list of enchants ...

Gloves - 26AP
Bracers - 24AP
Cloak - 12 Agil
Shoulders - 26AP from Aldor at honored or 30AP from ZG at exalted (On my server at least Bijous are cheap now), crit from scryers
Head - 34AP 16Hit from Canarion at Revered
Boots - 12 Agil
Chest - +6 all stats
Two hander - Savagery = 70AP
 
I personally really like improved revive pet and improved mend pet, however I could live w/o the imp mend pet (nice for solo grinding though)

I like improved revive pet because when my pet dies, and things are going badly, I can get my pet back up much more quickly that way..

just my opinion.
 
Alright, here is my finalized 41/20/0 BM build. Due to a "possible" pet nerf (Wind Serpents look to be silently nerfed), I might go MM sooner then I wanted to. I'll be in touch :)
 
I bit the bullet and switched to a MM/SV spec for 5-mans.

The problem was not the combined damage output of pet / hunter at all. This rocked. However, in the 5-mans we were having trouble with crowd control on most of the runs I was doing. The trap improvements in the survival tree make SO much difference. I have now run Shattered halls (we didnt take down the very last boss, best attemt was at 3%), steamvaults, and a quick and dirty, rush to third boss then two party members had to split shadow labs. In all cases the difference for me was worth the change. I could now reliably CC 1 mob with no worries. I hate losing the oh-so-fun BM items, but thats the breaks.

Self-buffed AP now is at 1900.

Oh, ya - those group members who purposely ignored any damage the pet was doing and yet proudly showed the damage meters at the end of the run were not so smug in the few runs I did. My damage went up and of course pets went way down. Combined, I think we do less damage as a team than we used too, but have some tools which help the overall party be more successfull.
 
I have been considering a move to a mostly MM/SV build as well, largely due to the silent Wind Serpent nerf plus more raiding and pvping I plan on doing. This is the build I am moving towards. This also ends my love for the Wind Serpent. I will likely be going back to a wolf for raids and using my cat for pvp.

MM/SV - Post 70 Raiding / PVP
 
Ive stuck to my marksman from pre-BC, but I'm lookingto make some tweaks. So far my pet has had a lot of death in 5-mans so I may also go back to a more 'tanking' pet and have the points in BM for increased health, and improve my traps for better CC. Instances seem to need lots of CC these days, and its hard to bring more than one mage in 5-man and still get my hunter in there

7-42-12
 
Well, fast forward two weeks and a dozen 5-mans and I'm heading back to BM. I have two reasons for this decision. First, I am lacking *something* to get my dps to the same levels as my BM build. I will average 450+ dps, with peeks over 500 dps fully raid buffed. This is about 100 dps less then what I was doing under my BM build. So for the time being, until I get to 10-mans, I will stick with BM.

The second reason is Don Santo's Famous Hunting rifle with a stablized Eternium Scope has been secured at the cost of me getting my epic flying mount for another month or two. I am stoked to secure this gun as it is the 5th best ranged weapon currently available.

Also every hunter in our guild needs to review and bookmark this thread regarding the various builds and their usefulness. I like the fact we have options in our builds, based on your style and preferences, you should have no problems finding a build that suits you.
 
Another great thread regarding the PTR 2.1 changes coming and what they mean to hunters. Basically, all trees are balanced. It is not longer a question of which tree is better but taking advantage of each tree in a raid. Have a BM for Ferocious inspiration, MM for TSA and SV for Expose Weakness. Looks like Blizzard got it right this time. I will likely head over to the PTR and give it a try as well.
 
I'm glad you pointed that out.. I didn't even open that thread becuase I figured it was crying and yelling and flaming.. definately a good read :)
 
Allanon said:
Another great thread regarding the PTR 2.1 changes coming and what they mean to hunters. Basically, all trees are balanced. It is not longer a question of which tree is better but taking advantage of each tree in a raid. Have a BM for Ferocious inspiration, MM for TSA and SV for Expose Weakness. Looks like Blizzard got it right this time. I will likely head over to the PTR and give it a try as well.
Click to expand...

Please get this guy to spin a prot warrior, a feral druid, and a prot paladin; a holydisc priest, a resto druid, a holy paladin, and a resto shaman. I want his input on other class lists!
 
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