Hunter PvP Guide

Hunters - Born to kill, kite to live

Hunter and PvP. PvP and Hunter. If there ever was a class destined to annoy the other faction to their wits end, it was certainly us! With a mountain of abilities to get out of our dead-zone, and a pet that can just about take a cloth wearer down by themselves, we're a one man army. Here are the basics of hunter PvP'ing and dueling, to get you started.

Absolute Basics

Make sure you never fight without your pet! It's a great addition to your team, adding caster interruption, extra damage, and a good companion. Keep him topped up to 125% damage, and you're looking at one killer "pet". Anyone who says that fighting with a pet is cheating is simply a whiner, /slap them and move on. You were given a pet because your base damage isn't the highest in the game, and it's only fair you use it. Next time someone requests you play without your pet, tell them they can't heal because it's cheating, or can't use a sword because its dps (damage per second) is too high.

Battlegrounds

Hunters can really do just about anything in a battleground, so the choice is up to you. You can run the flag or defend it. Capture the lumber mill or defend the blacksmith, it's all totally your decision. How to beat the other classes however, does require some planning and skill. The essential for any fight is to keep your target out of melee range, and depending on your spec this can be difficult, or easy. Regardless, make sure you start the fight by casting Hunter's Mark on them. This will make sure you can keep an eye on those pesky rogues who stealth away, as well as increasing the damage you do to them. Now, keeping at maximum distance, send your pet in and start attacking. Whatever you do, don't use Aimed Shot if you're Marksman. They'll get to you before you can cast it, and it takes far too long for such little damage. Now just keep shooting and casting Arcane Shot, until they get close. You have two options, lay a freezing trap and run, or concuss and do the same. I recommend just using the freezing trap, but you can weave in more shots the other way. Now that they're frozen, you may use your Aimed Shot (if you have it) or start furiously casting shots at your enemy. Note: This will break the trap! If your enemy does get too close and you have to get out of the road, make sure to use Feign Death (so they un-target you) and Wing Clip, so their movement speed is reduced and you have plenty of time to get away. If you're safe from fire, you could even use Aspect of the Cheetah for the extra 30% movement speed. All in all, keep away from melee enemies (known as kiting) and you'll be an extremely successful PvP'er!

Dueling

I just want to warn you, dueling is a terrible, terrible idea as a hunter. You've got limited range, no ability to kite and most likely obstacles blocking your way. If you do decide against your better judgment however, make sure you put down a flare just incase a stealth class gets the jump on you. From then, just put down a trap on the flare and stand on the trap. A melee class will step on the trap while you're firing, a stealth class will walk into the freezing trap, and a ranged class may run into it eventually. From then on in, its simply a matter of doing what you do best, kicking #%!#$ and keeping away. Keep up your concussive shot, and weave in those instant cast spells. Don't do any "over-time" casting, as it gives the enemy a chance to close in, and you'll lose distance.

However, everything is unfortunately not so cut and dry in World of Warcraft. With every ability you have, your foes typically have something to combat it. Here are some essential hints and tips on how to beat each class in World of Warcraft, sure to give you the upper hand.

Hunter v Druid

Typically a reasonably difficult, but winnable fight, this varies as to how they've invested their talent points. If they're restoration, keep Viper Sting up to sap away their mana, and continue to unload sustained but high damage until their mana pool runs dry, or they cannot keep up with the damage you're dealing. They're healers, not fighters, and as such you'll avoid nearly all damage, and just have to sustain yourself through their big heals. If you find them in their Moonkin form, their going to be a ranged class working with spells. As such, make sure to cast Viper Sting to slowly drain their mana pool. You've got to hit them fast and hard to avoid them swapping out of Moonkin to normal form and healing themselves, which could be anywhere up to half their health from a single cast. If you find yourself in this situation, be sure to interrupt their casting with Scatter Shot (Marksman), Intimidation (Beast Mastery) or Wyvern Sting (Survival) which will all interrupt and cancel their healing spell, and rendering themselves incapacitated for a short amount of time. As for a Feral druid, the spell Scare Beast is your friend. Continue to damage like any other class, kiting them away from you at all times. If you find yourself in melee range, use Scare Beast to send them fleeing in terror (as they should!) for a short period of time, whereby you can get your distance back. Keep at a range, and you'll eventually be successful.

Hunter v Hunter

Expect this fight to come down to purely gear or talent points, as Hunters are quite restricted or benefited from both. Keep yourself stationary throughout the fight, as this will allow you to continue doing damage while their bouncing around (Hunters, for whatever reason, seem to love jumping). Make sure to trap their pet with freezing trap, else if they are Beast Mastery (and their pet becomes immune to traps etc.), your mana is better spent doing damage to their hunter. Stray away from using casted shots, stick to putting out instant casts. Like previously mentioned, it does come down to essentially who is better geared, so try your best and see what you can come up with.

Hunter v Warrior

Basic fight. Just kite to keep the warrior away, and use Wing Clip if they get within melee range (with intercept, they're bound to at one stage). Keep your pet on at all times, pump out the damage and you'll find Warriors to be an easy victory. However, if you cannot kite them effectively, expect this to drastically change. Think rogues damage with a main tanks armour, and you have a slight idea of what destruction they can cause to you at close range.

Hunter v Rogue

Another easy win. Simply put down a Flare to detect them when they're stealthed, and then place a freezing trap right beneath you and stand on it. Also, make sure to set your pet to aggressive if he's on passive or defensive, allowing him to target and attack the rogue should they break stealth or come close (pets have a greatly increased stealth detection rate). If they come in melee range they will be detected, and if they get to you they'll be frozen. Then simply walk out (once their stun is finished if applicable), place down a frost trap to slow their movement speed then they get out of the trap, and begin unloading damage like no tomorrow. If you find yourself stunned and getting pummeled, use feign death to break their lock on you to attempt to get away, and use wing clip is necessary.

Hunter v Priest

If their holy, its a straight up win. Deal the damage, win the fight. They'll heal themselves often and for huge amounts of HP, but realistically that's the best they can do. Their damage wont worry you, however if you're getting low on HP consider running into melee them, then drop a trap and wing clip (for insurance if they resist the trap). Outlast their mana pool, and you'll win. Its highly recommended to place Viper Sting on, but if you find them removing it quickly then forget about it, it costs you far more mana to cast than it does for them to dispel it. If they're Shadow Spec, pray to the dear lord above their not a good one, and prepare for a very difficult fight. Get your pet to interrupt at every chance, and Feign Death whenever its up to break their Mind Flay. Do as much damage as you can as quickly as you can, else you'll find yourself at mercy to their wrath.

Hunter v Mage

If you can last their instant cast at the start of the battle, chances are you'll be victorious. Viper sting is extremely effective against mages, draining their limited mana pool due to the high costs of their spells. Keep your pet on them at all times, if they're not concentrating it can easily take down 50% of their health by themselves. They'll try to keep in your dead-zone, so make sure you have your traps down and a wing clip handy should they get close enough. Make sure to stay at your maximum range, doing so will render their attacks out of range, and handing yourself a nice win.

Hunter v Shaman

The bane of all classes. Their strongest point is their lesser healing wave, having virtually no cast time and the ability to heal themselves nearly half their health for next to nothing from their mana pool. Have Viper Sting handy to drain it as best you can, and be prepared for a extremely difficult encounter. They can deal burst damage in comparison to, or better than rogues, and still heal themselves. Drain their mana and keep away from their totems, and hopefully you'll deplete their mana pool before they waste away your health.

Hunter v Paladin

The longest encounter you'll ever face. Basically, its a warrior that will put themselves in an bubble every so often that's invulnerable to attacks, and you have to sit and watch (and also be attacked, as unfair as it may be) while they heal themselves to full health. You don't necessarily have to worry so much about their damage, so just keep them at a range. Try to time your stuns at when you think their most likely to use their bubble, which remember can be at any time (so at a low portion of their HP is the most beneficial). This fight could go on forever, but play your cards right and you will be victorious.

Hunter v Warlock

Warlocks have the innate ability to cast now, and do damage (and LOTS of it) later. After casting their damage over time spells (DoT's), you'll find your health steadily wasting away, not to mention that they are using Drain Life to steal it at the same time. Keeping this in mind, they still don't have as much range as you with their DoT's requiring a reasonable degree of closeness between yourself. Your pet will be your biggest source of damage, as you're focused on kiting this foe away. Be sure to not use casted spells, and use a trap on their pet (whatever it may be). If you can burn down their HP quick enough, you'll find they didn't get many spells cast, and you'll be a very happy hunter.

Hopefully you've gained some beneficial tips on how to play the hunter class from this guide. Make sure to follow it, and know when to break the rules to help the fight!