Hunter Levels 2 to 4
If you have never played WoW before, you may not know about training. It took me several levels to figure out that on every even-numbered level I would be able to go to the Hunter Trainer and learn some new stuff! The spells you learn are not only useful, but necessary as you progress. If you were to simply use the same thing over and over again (Auto Shot and Raptor Strike), as you rose in levels you would find yourself unable to cope with mobs the same level as you.
So it is important — nay, essential – that you learn these spells at your first opportunity whenever you make it to the next even level. Actually, after level 60 you can learn new spells every level. Sometimes the spells you learn are merely higher “ranked” versions of spells you already know, but they are more powerful and should definitely be learned.
Level 2 comes with the new spell “Track Beasts”, and it is the only spell you will learn at this level. It is the first of many Tracking spells that Hunters get, and it is the same sort of thing as the tracking you get for Mining and Herbalism. Unfortunately you cannot use them both at the same time, but when questing it is really helpful to be able to find mobs fast. Since there are many quests that require the slaying of beasts, Track Beasts comes in very handy. And as there are no other tracking spells available, you may as well turn this one on and leave it on until you get the next one. Even if you are not hunting for beasts at any give moment, it can be useful for avoiding the ones you don’t want to run into.
When you get to Level 4, there are two new spells that are quite valuable. The first is Aspect of the Monkey. This is the first of many Aspects that Hunters get, and this one grants you the extra Dodge percent that monkeys supposedly have. Again, since this is the only Aspect you have right now, you may as well turn it on and leave it on until you get the next one.
Aspect of the Monkey really only comes in handy when you are in melee, which ought to never happen if you were to play perfectly, but then who does? When you do get jumped by some mob, it is nice to be able to avoid some of the hits. This is what the extra Dodge percent does for you.
The other spell you learn at Level 4 is Serpent Sting, which is your first DOT spell (Damage Over Time). This special shot not only does immediate damage, but also poisons the target and doing damage over time (hence the acronym). The other thing to notice about this spell is that it is an “Instant Cast”, which means two things: there is no wait time when you cast it, AND it can be used on the run.
Unlike Auto Shot and some other shots you will learn later, you can shoot Serpent Sting when you are moving. Since Hunters don’t melee well, it makes sense to move away from the mob that is running towards you. However, when you move backwards you cannot go fast, so the mob will catch up to you rather quickly. This is where “strafing” comes into play. Strafing is when you run sideways, and it can be enormously useful to Hunters since you can be at full speed and yet still be facing the mob you are attacking.
The Strafe keys on the normal WoW mapping are Q and E. The basic strategy is this: 1) Target the mob you want to attack; 2) get to maximum range; 3) Decide which direction you will strafe to; 4) Attack with Serpent Sting; 5) Allow one or two shots to fire from Auto Shot; 6) Begin the strafe, and use Serpent Sting when the cool down is up. This should be sufficient to drop most mobs your own level, but you can change directions and do it again if need be. Just be careful not to run into other mobs!
Strafing takes a bit to get used to, but once you are comfortable with it you will rarely have to melee again (only in closed spaces or underwater where you cannot get up to speed).
So why does strafing work so well? It is because you are running in a straight line, but the mob has to change direction and ends up running in a curve. Since the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the mob will not actually catch up to you. Of course the angle between your path and the mob’s will eventually become parallel, and you will need to change direction to regain the benefit of strafing, but by that time hopefully the mob is dead.
Strafing is just one method of “kiting”, which is the process of moving a mob from one spot to another. Usually you do this just to keep to a shooting distance, but you can also do so in order to get the mob to a safer area, or to bring it to an NPC like a guard.
Very informative! Well done
Thank you!