World Of Warcraft: Hunter PvP Guide - Levels 1-30

Updated - 4-22-05 - Made slight grammatical changes and changed the part about Track Undead only being useful to the Alliance. A fellow Hunter pointed out that Undead PCs are counted as Humanoids, only Undead NPCs are tracked using Track Undead.

Hunter PVP Strategies - Levels 1-30 by Krazagore

Some acronyms are used in the following article that might not be familiar to you, for reference, here are the acronyms and their meaning.

PvP - Person versus Person (fighting real people)
PvE - Person versus Environment (fighting computer controlled monsters)
NPC - non-player character (controlled by a computer)
PC - Player Character (controlled by a real person)
DPS - Damage Per Second
AoC/AoH/AoM - Aspect of the Cheetah/Hawk/Monkey

Introduction

The first thing to remember when engaging in PvP is that the other person is just that, a person. People make mistakes, but they also utilize techniques that are beyond a simple computer controlled monsters programming. For example, an NPC controlled Rogue won't try to run behind you to use its backstab ability, but a player controlled Rogue will. An NPC isn't smart enough to use an ability that slows you down if you flee, but a player is.

If you're a first time PvPer, it's important to forget everything you know about PvE combat in order to fully grasp PvP combat. PvP and PvE are like apples and oranges, relatively similar on the outside, but extremely different on the inside. Just standing there and blasting away like you do in PvE just won't work in a PvP situation. Most of the below strategies are oriented around your range attacks, if you prefer being a melee Hunter for some odd reason, these strategies won't be as effective.

The following strategies are useful for levels 1-30, and perhaps beyond. I'm not necessarily claiming that these strategies will work beyond level 30, because I'm only a level 32 Hunter myself! However, these techniques are utilized by both me and my peers to great effect. I'm hoping they'll benefit you as well. Also keep in mind that these strategies are much more relavent on a PvP server.

Your Pet

Hunters primarily use their pet as a tank when engaging in PvE, but in PvP it's for pure damage, since taunting doesn't work against PCs. With this in mind, I'd advise getting a pet that is high in DPS, NOT armor, unless you plan to never ever engage in PvP! Generally, pets that have higher armor (like turtles) only have about 10% more armor than pets with higher DPS (like cats). Pets with a high DPS, on the other hand, have a 20% higher DPS than those with more armor. So either your pet lives 10% longer but does 20% less damage, or your pet lives 10% shorter but does 20% more damage. That might be too technical for some, but overall, I'd recommend a higher DPS pet in any situation. Pets with the highest DPS are usually cats and some canines.

Aspects

Generally, aspects are turned on and forgotten about. You turn on AoC when you need to travel, and AoH when you're fighting. In PvP, their use becomes much more varied. For example, say a Warrior sneaks up on you as you're fighting a mob, assuming your pet has the monsters agro in hand, you could immediately turn on AoC, run a distance away, jump, turn around in mid-air by holding the right mouse button, and fire your Concussive Shot, slowing them 50%. With AoC on, that's a 80% speed advantage over your opponent, which is huge! AoM is also very effective, especially against Rogues, since they attack so fast. AoC is also useful in escaping, of course.

Tracking

Tracking is an invaluable skill, both in PvE and PvP, your most valuable tracking skills from 1-30 will be Track Humanoid and Track Hidden. Track Humanoid can alert you to an opponent long before they reach you, and Track Hidden is useful to keep Rogues from sneaking up behind you. You'll probably end up using Track Humanoid more often, I'd recommend keeping it on at all times in a hostile area, unless you feel the need to see where beasts are with Beast Tracking.

Utilizing Your Skills Effectively

Conserving your mana and using your skills in the most effective manner is key to winning any PvP battle. Keep in mind that most of the Hunter's skills are instant, meaning you can use them on the move. Jumping and turning around to use a skill is very popular among Hunters. Despite the fact that you have to be standing still to use your Auto Shot, blasting an opponent with Serpent Sting and Concussive Shot can give you the needed advantage. Concussive Shot is much more useful in PvP than PvE, especially when fighting a primarily melee character. Serpent Sting is devastating against classes with low HP, and Rapid Fire is very effective if your opponent decides to concentrate on your pet or is affected by Concussive Shot. Remember, and I can't stress this enough, jumping and turning around to use an ability is one of the most effective techniques Hunters have. Once you get the hang of it, you can even jump, turn around, use an ability, and turn back around to continue running!

Some Hunters also have a habit of "spamming" shots, or using abilities when they aren't needed. I often see Hunters using Concussive Shot and Serpent Sting when either it's already in effect, or it's simply not needed. The only ability you should be using constantly is Arcane Shot, as it does damage. Concussive shot is useful for slowing your opponent, and Serpent Sting should be kept on the target constantly, but it lasts 15 seconds, so you don't need to use it everytime it's available! Rather, reapply it only when needed.

Conclusion

These strategies will help you win battles, but you can't win every time. Don't get frustrated if you are killed by your opponent, the more you PvP, the better you get. I'm hoping to write up a PvE Strategy Guide for Hunters also, and eventually a revision of this guide for levels 1-60. If you have any questions, comments, or additions you'd like to make, be sure to email me at [krazagore@warcry.com] If you wish to submit a strategy guide for other classes, send it to [wowstaff@warcry.com]

I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it!