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Hunter PVP Guide


This WoW hunter PVP guide I hope serves some purpose in helping hunters PVP better and makes the assumption that the hunter is marksmen.

Important General Tips

Ranged combat

  1. Try to avoid melee combat by kiting and jousting opponents
  2. Feign death (FD) while a spell caster is casting a spell at you since it will cancel the opponent`s spell cast
  3. Steady shot is interruptible so don`t use it while taking direct damage
  4. Avoid using aspect of the cheetah unless you`re certain you won`t sustain direct damage to avoid the 4 second daze. Damage over time (DOT) spells do not trigger the daze effect
  5. Lay a frost or freeze trap while in ranged combat to protect youself from stealthed opponents
  6. Make use of the steady shot + auto shot + arcane shot whenever possible

Melee combat

  1. Turn off the “auto attack / auto shot” option (press Esc — Interface — Combat)
  2. Cast raptor strike then wing clip before before attempting to exit melee combat
  3. Use a 2-handed melee weapon with a high base damage as raptor strike scales with it. Ignore DPS (damage per second) when selecting a melee weapon

Kiting

Learning how to kite is essentially the most important and perhaps technical skill a hunter must learn for PVP. Kiting involves maintaining distance between you and your opponent while shooting. This method of bringing down enemies works extremely well against classes that have poor or no ranged ability, who at close range would pose a serious threat. Rogues, warriors and feral druids fit into this category. Some boss encounters and trash mobs also require kiting and so it is an important skill not only limited to PVP.

How to kite

  1. Run away from your opponent holding down the `w` key or both mouse buttons
  2. Jump using the space bar and release the `w` key or mouse buttons
  3. Spin 90 to 180 degrees while in the air, holding down the right mouse button
  4. Shoot an instant spell (concussive shot, arcane or sting)
  5. Spin back to your original direction of movement
  6. Continue running
  7. Rinse and repeat using a different instant spell

Note: Spinning a little over 90 degrees will still allow you to shoot off an instant spell or sting. You don`t need to spin the full 180 degrees.

Tip: Casting hunter`s mark on your opponent will allow you to see his position on your mini-map which is handy since for the majority of the time you will be facing the other way.

Watch out for ranged attacks if you are using aspect of the cheetah while kiting because being dazed for 4 seconds may well be the end of you. Generally it`s not advisable to use this aspect in PVP for this reason, but it`s quite useful and sometimes imperative to use in PVE as mobs or bosses run faster than you.

While kiting, watch to see if improved concussive shot procs. If it procs, you opponent will be stunned so use this time to get to the maximum range. If you have time, unload an auto-shot, multi-shot and instants that are currently cooled down. Try to avoid being in a position to rely on using scattershot as it could miss.

Ensure a sting is always applied to your opponent and shoot concussive shot as soon as the cooldown is ready. Don`t constantly spam stings if one is currently applied as you will burn mana fast. Warriors have a lot of health and may take a while to kill so some mana conservation is necessary.

To make kiting easier, it`s a good idea to have concussive shot mapped to slot 1, arcane shot to 2 and serpent sting to 3. The reasons for mapping arcane shot to 2 is that it`s cooldown is a quick 6 seconds so you`ll be using it quite frequently and it`s easier to reach in this possition. Viper sting should go in slot 4 as serpent sting is more predominantly used.

At first this may seem daunting but it`s simpler than it seems. Practice kiting mobs with no spell casting abilities at first to get a feel to it and then try it out in a friendly 1 on 1 duel. A fun and somewhat addictive way to practice kiting is to select an elite named mob and kite it to a nearby town, letting the guards and other players slaughter it for you. In doing so, you may also receive some nice loot as a bonus.

Jousting

Joustling is a method where one moves in and out of melee range in order to confuse opponents, getting off melee strikes to damage and slow them. Joustling is accomplished by running through an opponent, hitting them with raptor strike and wing clip and continue kiting. This is confusing for opponents as they will often lose sight of you for a brief moment and will have to turn around to chase after you. Better still, if your opponent has lag they may continue running through you for a short while. When space is limited in places such as arenas, this is a useful tactic to employ.

Melee Combat

Theoretically it`s possible to kite an opponent all day or to distract them with your pet, but in reality people will generally charge straight at hunters in an attempt to force them into melee combat. Hunter`s are relatively weak in this field but fortunately have a few tricks up their sleeves, enabling them to return to ranged combat.

Steps to return to ranged combat:

Using raptor strike, quickly followed by wing clip is one way, or…

  1. Place a freezing trap on the ground and stand on it. Your attacker will shortly be frozen. Be careful not to attack your frozen target as the trap will break!
  2. Use your PVP trinket to remove any movement impairing effects such hamstring or gouge if necessary
  3. Run through your opponent and cast hunter`s mark while running
  4. Jump shoot off scorpid sting as this will not break your trap
  5. Quickly run to the maximum range using Aspect of the Cheetah if you wish but be sure to change back to Aspect of the Hawk before attacking
  6. Activate any haste or attack power increasing trinkets and hit rapid fire
  7. Use steady shot and send in your pet
  8. Spam your arcane shot button repeatedly
  9. Quickly follow with a multi-shot and spam kill command because it`s likely at least one shot has critted
  10. Finally, cast concussion shot and kite.

Using steady shot will trigger an almost instantaneous auto shot. Immediately followed by an arcane shot proves to be deadly and somewhat abusive move, commonly known as the `3-shot combo`. Alternatively aimed shot could be used in place of steady shot, but that decision would rely on hoping to score a huge crit, which chances are, probably won`t happen. For this reason I personally stick to the 3-shot combo using steady shot.

The 3-shot combo also proves extremely useful against opponents that are scatter-shotted, entangled or currently engaged in combat with someone else because it’s a fast, high burst DPS combo. Only use steady shot when you are not sustaining damage as it is not an instant ability and is prone to interruption.

Sometimes though, for whatever reasons you may be unable to escape melee combat. Maybe your trinket is on cool down or you accidently hit your trapped opponent..whatever. Usually it`s time to say sayonara in such a case so hit aspect of the monkey and deterence (if you are survival spec) and hope for the best.

Feign Death

A hunter`s pet plays an important roll in PVP; not only for dealing damage but also for crowd control (BM spec) and interrupting casters, esspecially healers. As a general rule, prioritise targeting any healing class, followed by mages, locks and shadow priests as they are limited to cloth armor.

There are 3 pet stances which affect how your pet will behave under certain conditions, defensive, aggressive and passive.

Defensive: Any enemy that attacks you or your pet will cause your pet to attack that target. This stance is generally not used but useful for destroying shaman`s totems.

Aggressive: The pet will attack anything that comes into range and very useful for unmasking a nearby stealthed enemy.

Passive: This is the recommended default stance as your pet will take no action unless commanded otherwise, giving you complete control.

The largest problem with a pet set on aggressive mode is that it will also automatically target opponents that are cc`d (crowd controlled). Freeze trap, scatter shot and sheep (mage spell) are such spells which an aggressive pet will break. For this reason, passive is the safest mode.

Note: A warrior can taunt your pet to attack them even if the pet is set to passive. In doing so, it`s possible for warriors to force your pet into breaking your own freeze trap.

Pet survivability is not important as opponents will generally ignore your pet as it poses less of a threat as the hunter himself. Another reason is that once the hunter dies, the pet itself disappears. Pets such as bears and turtles are pets you should avoid using as their strengths are survival and not DPS. Cat`s, boars and Scorpids are commonly used instead.

When spending training points for reasons explained above, it`s not advisable to spend them on extra health and armor. Instead, use them for increasing your pet`s spell resistance to reduce the chance your pet will be cc`d. Fear and frost nova are the two most commonly used forms of cc against pets so be sure to train your pet heavily into shadow and frost resistance. Mages generally won`t polymorph your pet, similarly druids won`t usually bother to use entangle so arcane and nature resist is unneeded.

Warsong Gulch

Goal: Capture the opposing team`s flag while defending your own…NOT farming honor kills

Track Humanoids

There are many places to hide in Warsong Gulch, whether it be inside a base or in the more open field. Track humanoids is therefore very useful as it displays the location of players, but more importantly the opposing flag carrier (FC). One problem though, is that it doesn`t indicate elevation (above, below etc…) but with a bit of knowledge of how it works, it will assist you immensely.

Look at the mini map with track humanoids activated.

If a blip is faded, the opponent is indoors

If a blip is solid, the opponent is outdoors

Let`s assume you have infiltrated the opposing team`s base and both sides have the flag (which is a common occurrence). If the FC`s blip is faded then he`s either on the 1st or 2nd floor. If the blip is solid then he`s on the roof. If he is running out of the flag room (FR) and the blip is faded then he`s running through the tunnel.

Sometimes, even though you are standing in the proximity of the FC he can be difficult to find. I have witnessed some interesting hiding places in my time. To reveal his location, type “/target <FC name>” in the chat box to target him and send your pet to attack. This is also a useful method in lower level battle grounds before track humanoids becomes available but only works if the FC is in range.

To acquire the FC`s name usually one has to scroll through the combat text box. The addon bgflag <link addon> displays who currently has the flag.

Aspect of the Beast

Hunter`s generally aren`t used as the FC (usually it`s a druid) but are useful to hide with the flag as aspect of the beast protects you from track humanoids. If you find yourself hiding with the flag, dismiss your pet or use prowl (if your pet has it) to avoid detection.

Defending

Hunter`s traps play an important role in defending the flag and which trap to use depends on the situation. For a single target, freeze trap is good if you are single handedly defending as it will give time for allies to assist you (providing the opponent doesn`t trinket out of it). This is perfect at lower levels where such trinkets are unavailable. More commonly though, opponents zerg in so frost trap is especially useful if you have 3/3 entrapment as it`s possible to ensnare multiple targets at once. Also, in a zerg situation someone will almost certainly break your freeze trap so if you have to choose a single trap to use, choose frost.

A hunter`s flare can also play an important role. Flaring one doorway forces stealthed opponents to either wait or go around.

Position

If your pet has prowl, position your pet in one corner of the FR, away from the entrance and set it to stay while you shadow meld in another place (if NE). If your pet doesn`t have prowl then you can hide your pet next to the flag in the corner where`s it`s difficult to spot. Alternatively, a good place for a hunter to hide is on the second floor above the FR but ensure it`s trapped as it`s a prime scouting area for rogues and druids. The roof is also good as it`s generally very safe but it`s very likely you`ll have to jump down at some point to pursue the FC - luckily the fall damage isn`t all that much.

Remember! Playing defense doesn`t mean you have to obliterate every poor soul that comes in after the flag; staying alive long enough to delay an attacker or FC while reinforcements arrive is also a part of clever defense. This is one example where kiting can be essential.

The Enemy Graveyard

If you ever find yourself passing by the opposing team`s graveyard, trap it. An explosive trap is usually best as once everyone resurrects they will be instantly be put into combat and unable to mount up. This is extremely useful if your team has already snatched their flag and making a run for home.

Assisting Your Flag Carrier

If you are not on defense then assist your FC. Hunter`s have many different ways to cc targets (concussive shot, scatter shot, traps etc…) so put yourself amongst the heat and assist your team. Killing opponents at this stage of the game is not important, delaying them is so be sure to use frost trap, particularly in the tunnels as it`s impossible to avoid.

Aspect of the pack (AotP) can be a great asset while assisting your FC but use it cautiously as you don`t want anyone becoming dazed, especially the FC. Immediately switch to Aspect of the wild to increase your party`s nature resistance when enemies approach as they will try to root or bind the FC.

Hunter`s are generally not the FC but do a fair job utilizing aspects, deterrence (survival) and the beast within (beast master) which negates crowd control abilities for 18 seconds.

Arathi Basin

Goal:  Capture and hold

Defence

Hunter`s are primarily used for defensive in Arathi Basin because they excell at delaying enemies from capping points and also because they act as great scouts.  Using eagle eye from the lumber mill helps coordinate attacks and early warn team mates defending the farm, black smith and stables.  Line of sight from the gold mine is limited so as a hunter you`re more useful defending another place.  If you`re the only hunter in AB then it`s almost 100% certain that you`ll be defending the stables alone (alliance) or the farm (horde) - a seemingly boring duty but very important as a ninja cap on either can turn an easy victory into turmoil.  Suck it up, assist your team…win.

Assuming you are a night elf you can hide virtually anywhere while defending.  Place your pet on aggressive and command it to stay a short distance from the flag, not right on it.  It`s often a good idea to bait oppoents, especially stealthed ones into attempting to cap before engaging.  The reason is if they detect your pet with warlock`s detect magic spell then they will hunt you out before attempting to cap.  After your pet has engaged, don`t immediately break shadow meld by attacking if it`s a single target.  Let your pet play around for a while before burning them down.  If you are not a night elf then hide in one of the nearby buildings and trap it.

If multiple opponents zerg in then chances are you can`t solo them all.  Instead, focus on delaying them as long as possible till reinforcements arrive.  Trap, kite and make sure that if one goes for the cap you cancel it quickly by damaging the capper.

Note:  Volley does not cancel a cap

If for some reason you leave a node or pass one by, drop a trap and flare to help whoever is defending.

Remember:  Your job is to protect nodes from being capped so it`s important not to die.  Kite enemies, especially warriors or paladins who have a lot of stamina around buildings till help arrives.

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