Beast Mastery Hunter Leveling Guide (Level 1-30)

Overview

This guide takes a Beast Mastery Hunter from level 1 to 30 in WoW Forever. Ability levels, costs and talent values were checked against the beta client (build 1.60.1) and can still change before launch.

Why Beast Mastery

• A pet that hits hard and holds threat. Unleashed Fury adds 15% to its damage, Ferocity adds critical strikes, and a pet that deals more damage also keeps enemies on itself more reliably.
• Summon Hawk at level 25. A new Forever talent: a hawk attacks your target for 18 seconds, and you can keep two of them up next to your pet.
• Almost no downtime. The pet takes the hits, Mend Pet repairs it during the fight, and your own Health bar rarely moves.
• Intimidation at level 30. A 3-second stun delivered by your pet, with a large burst of threat.

The honest trade-offs: the first nine levels have no pet at all, your damage depends on keeping the pet alive and fed, and in dungeons a careless pet causes more wipes than any other class feature.

Levels 1-9: you have no pet yet, and this is the hardest stretch of the class. Pull from maximum range with Serpent Sting (level 4), keep Auto Shot going, add Arcane Shot (level 6), and slow the enemy with Concussive Shot (level 8) to gain a few more shots. Finish in melee with Raptor Strike. At level 10 a class quest teaches Tame Beast, and everything gets easier.

Talents

All 21 points go into Beast Mastery: your own attack speed first, then everything that makes the pet stronger.

You earn one talent point per level from level 10, which gives 21 points at level 30. Learn them in this order:

1. Levels 10-14 — Deadly Aspects (5): with Aspect of the Hawk active, each Auto Shot has a 10% chance to speed up your ranged attacks by 30% for 12 seconds.
2. Levels 15-16 — Focused Fire (2): +2% damage for you and your pet while it is alive.
3. Levels 17-19 — Endurance Training (3/5): +9% Health and armor for your pet, which matters most on multi-pulls and elites.
4. Level 20 — Bestial Swiftness: your pet runs 30% faster, reaches the enemy before your first shot lands and catches runners. It is also required for Intimidation.
5. Levels 21-24 — Unleashed Fury (4/5): +12% damage from your pet.
6. Level 25 — Summon Hawk: the earliest level it can be taken. See the next section for how to use it.
7. Level 26 — Unleashed Fury (5/5): +15% damage for pet and hawks.
8. Levels 27-29 — Ferocity (3/5): +6% critical strike chance for pet and hawks.
9. Level 30 — Intimidation: your pet's next hit stuns for 3 seconds and is far more likely to crit. One-minute cooldown.

Variants. If your pet dies often, move the three Ferocity points into Improved Revive Pet (2) and a fourth rank of Endurance Training. If you would rather travel faster, Pathfinding (2) improves Aspect of the Cheetah from level 20; take it in place of two Endurance Training points. Bonus points from the Legacy perk Talented go to Ferocity.

Gameplay & Main Abilities

Your pet goes first, you shoot second. Everything else is detail.

1. Keep Aspect of the Hawk active (level 10). Put Hunter's Mark on the target and send your pet.
2. Give the pet a second or two to land a hit, then start Auto Shot. It is most of your damage, so stay at range and keep it firing.
3. Serpent Sting on enemies that will live for most of its 15 seconds.
4. From level 25, Summon Hawk. Until then, Arcane Shot on cooldown.
5. From level 20, Aimed Shot when it is ready; against two or more enemies use Multi-Shot (level 18) instead. They share a 6-second cooldown.
6. Mend Pet when the pet drops below half Health. It is a channel, so stand still for it.
7. If the enemy turns on you: Concussive Shot, step back and keep shooting, or finish it with Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite when it is nearly dead.
8. From level 30, Intimidation at the start of a fight against anything dangerous. The stun and the threat both help.

Summon Hawk

A hawk costs 80 mana, lasts 18 seconds and has a 6-second cooldown that it shares with Arcane Shot. The rhythm is simple: summon one, summon the second 6 seconds later, and after that recast only when a hawk is about to leave. Recasting sooner spends mana for nothing. On enemies that die in under ten seconds, one hawk is enough. Because of the shared cooldown you will rarely use Arcane Shot again; keep it for moving targets when both hawks are already out.

Choosing a pet

Every pet can tank for you while leveling, so you cannot choose badly. A few families bring something extra:

• Boar: Charge roots the enemy for a second and makes its next hit much stronger, which secures threat at the start of each fight. It also eats nearly everything. The safest first pet.
• Bear: sturdy, and from level 12 its Swipe hits three enemies, useful when you pull more than one.
• Tallstrider: from level 12, Dust Cloud lowers the target's armor, so your shots and your party's attacks all hit harder.
• Wolf: Furious Howl raises the melee Attack Power of nearby party members, a good dungeon pet.
• Carrion Bird: Demoralizing Screech lowers the Attack Power of enemies around it, so the pet takes less damage.

Ability milestones

• Level 1: Auto Shot, Raptor Strike, Track Beasts. Level 4: Serpent Sting and Aspect of the Monkey. Level 6: Arcane Shot and Hunter's Mark. Level 8: Concussive Shot.
• Level 10: Tame Beast and the other pet skills from your class quest, Aspect of the Hawk, Track Humanoids and your first talent point.
• Level 12: Mend Pet, Wing Clip, Distracting Shot. Level 14: Scare Beast and Eagle Eye. Level 16: Immolation Trap and Mongoose Bite. Level 18: Multi-Shot.
• Level 20: Aimed Shot, Aspect of the Cheetah, Freezing Trap, Disengage.
• Levels 22-28: Scorpid Sting (22), Beast Lore and Track Hidden (24), Rapid Fire (26), Frost Trap (28).
• Level 30: Feign Death and Aspect of the Beast. Most pets learn Dash or Dive.

Things to Remember

• See your trainer every two levels, and the pet trainer when your pet levels: it has its own training points to spend on Growl, Health and armor.
• Feed your pet. A happy pet deals more damage, and an unhappy one eventually leaves. Each family eats different things, so check before you stock up; Boars eat almost anything.
• Never run out of ammunition. Fill your quiver or ammo pouch at every vendor, and move to the next tier of arrows or bullets as soon as your level allows. It is a cheap, permanent damage upgrade.
• Keep a food buff active. In Forever, food that grants a buff also gives 5% extra experience.
• A dead pet is a slow Hunter. Revive Pet costs your whole base mana and takes 10 seconds. Heal the pet early instead.

Stat Priority

1. Ranged weapon damage — a better bow or gun raises every shot. Take each real upgrade.
2. Agility — Ranged Attack Power, critical strike chance, dodge and armor in one stat.
3. Stamina — for the moments an enemy reaches you.
4. Intellect — a larger mana pool for hawks, Mend Pet and stings.
5. Strength — melee Attack Power only. It does nothing for your shots.

Melee weapons are carried for their stats. Choose them for Agility, not for their damage.

Group Play & Dungeons

In a party the tank holds the enemies and your job is steady damage on the right target. Between levels 13 and 30 you can run Ragefire Chasm, The Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, the Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, the Stockade, Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps. Level ranges and quests are in the dungeon guide.

• Turn off your pet's Growl. It is a taunt, and it pulls enemies away from the tank. Right-click it on the pet bar to stop the autocast, and turn it back on when you go back to questing.
• Pet on Defensive or Passive. Send it yourself to the tank's target and call it back before it follows a fleeing enemy into the next pack.
• Hunter's Mark on the kill target. Every ranged attacker in the party benefits from it.
• Wait before Multi-Shot. It hits three enemies and breaks crowd control. Let the tank establish threat, and never use it next to a sheep or a Freezing Trap.
• Traps are your crowd control. From level 20, Freezing Trap holds one enemy for up to 10 seconds; from level 28, Frost Trap slows a whole pack by 60%. Place them before the pull, where the enemies will run.
• Distracting Shot (level 12) pulls an enemy off the healer and onto you long enough for the tank to pick it up.
• From level 30, Feign Death drops your threat when you have pulled too much of it.

Tips

• Mind the gap. Shots need at least 8 yards. An enemy standing closer than that can only be hit in melee, so either step back or use Raptor Strike and Wing Clip.
• Learn to kite. When an enemy leaves your pet for you, Concussive Shot it, run to shooting distance, turn and fire. Wing Clip does the same job once it is already in melee.
• Keep your pet on Defensive. On Aggressive it attacks everything it sees, which is how a quiet quest turns into a five-enemy pull.
• Mind your threat with Rapid Fire (level 26). 40% more attack speed for 15 seconds also means 40% more threat, and solo it often pulls the enemy off your pet. Use it on elites after the pet has a solid lead, or in groups.
• Pull with the pet, not with a shot. A shot before the pet arrives means the enemy runs at you first.
• Skin while the pet fights. With Skinning, send the pet to the next enemy and skin the last one during the first seconds of the fight.

Suggested Races

Eight races can be Hunters in Forever: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf and High Order Skyborne for the Alliance; Orc, Tauren, Troll and Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde. None is a mistake. These stand out between levels 1 and 30:

Both Skyborne orders bring 1% haste, 5% damage against Elementals and the Walk on Air glide. They are fine choices with less to offer against the Beasts of the early zones.

Macros

Auto Shot

One key that picks a new target when yours is dead and keeps shooting. The exclamation mark stops a second press from turning Auto Shot off.

#showtooltip Auto Shot
/cleartarget [dead]
/targetenemy [noharm]
/cast !Auto Shot

Melee

One key for the moments an enemy is on you: it starts your melee swing and uses whichever strike is available.

#showtooltip
/startattack
/cast Mongoose Bite
/cast Raptor Strike

Pet attack

Sends your pet at your target. Many players bind it to mouse wheel up. Keeping it separate from your shots lets you decide when the pet goes in.

/petattack

Pet back

Calls the pet off and brings it to you, for the moment it chases something it should not. Mouse wheel down is a common bind.

/petpassive
/petfollow

Mend Pet without losing your target

#showtooltip Mend Pet
/cast [@pet,nodead] Mend Pet