The Warcraft Hunter

Everyone has different reasons for playing World of Warcraft. Some like to play casually and wander around and discover things on their own. Others play with graphics and looking “cool” by buying gear and vanity pets. Still others are all about getting rich in the game, while others like the professions. And there are those who want to do nothing except PvP.

Like a lot of other players, I am all about the End Game: getting to 80 and doing raids and instances and ending up with the best gear possible. For serious PvE players, this is the ultimate goal.

I know a lot of players who have the same destination in mind, but have no clue about how to get there; or worse, they doubt that they will be able to do so. Having gone through this process a couple of times, I thought I would share my road map. I jokingly refer to it as “The Big Plan.”

I think most serious and successful players have used the same plan in some variation or another; feel free to tell me in comments how your approach differs from mine, and maybe I will learn something new, too!

The Big Plan starts when I create my first toon on a server. I have no other toon to help out with cash, so it is the same as being a new player, except for the knowledge and experience.

Step 1. I begin by using any one of several leveling guides that are available. They are cheap, and they save me time in figuring out the most efficient way possible to get my toon to level. I know that many of these guides are written with the intent of getting to 80 in the fastest time possible, but I am not looking to break records or race someone to Level 80. I simply want to save as much time on the leveling process as possible.

Step 2. This is actually part of step 1, but it is important enough to state separately: I start a Bank Toon as soon as I have things to put in the Auction House. This saves me a ton of running around and flying to cities to use the Auction House. Also, if my main character needs something I don’t have to run to get it as my Bank Toon can just buy it and mail it.

Step 3. My main toon always starts with two gathering professions. I usually stick with Skinning and Mining because they have always worked well for me, but Herbalism is good too. This allows me to make the most money possible while I am leveling. I want to arrive at level 80 with a lot of money. Also, if I can manage it my Bank Toon will have Enchanting so as to be able to Disenchant “garbage” Green items that won’t sell.

Step 4. I usually don’t buy gear while leveling my Main as I won’t spend a lot of time at any given level, thus outgrowing the gear anyway. You can easily upgrade while questing. Instead, I spend money on potions or elixirs to speed up the questing process. Naturally, the potions or elixirs are almost always Agility buffs. I don’t go crazy with this, though, as I always want to have enough money for mounts and training expenses.

Step 5. I don’t usually do this anymore, as I already have plenty of experience, but if you do not then it would be a good idea to take some time out to do some instances at lower levels. This helps you get ready for the more serious instances and raids later on.

Step 6. Here is where a lot of players fail miserably. They reach the top level and have no idea what to do next, so they try raiding and fail completely. The next step is not to jump into raids, but to start the gearing up process. On my last toon, Cowtzetung, I had over 5000 gold saved up during my leveling. Instead of getting my elite flyer I bought the best player-made gear I could get. I was able to improve my damage output by nearly 40% this way, making me that much more effective for instances. I went to the WoW Armory and checked out my character, and used the “Find an Upgrade” option on all the slots to see what the “best” Created items were. I then went to the Auction House to see the price and whether it was available. Some I waited for, others were too expensive leading me to pick the next best item. It is not about maximizing at this point, just about getting better stats quickly.

Step 7. This is where I am at currently with the Main I am working on. Again, it is not time yet to jump into Heroics, but certainly Northrend instances at non-Heroic levels can be done. But what I am concentrating on at this stage is getting my Reputation up for the various factions. There are some great rewards available, including enchantments that are not available anywhere else. By the time you get to Exalted on all the main factions in Northrend you will have the best gear possible without getting PvP rewards and Heroic drops.

Step 8. Now it is time to start Heroics in order to get the best gear in the game. You can use Emblems to trade in or just look for drops; either one will get you some massive improvements.

So there it is, my Big Plan. This toon has taken me 3 months from starting on a new server to just the start of Step 7. Without this plan I would probably have taken several more months to get to this point; or more likely I would not have gotten here at all. It is not the only way to get to the “top”, but it is the one I like to use.

Basics Hunter, Warcraft

It amazes me sometimes when I look at the gear that other Hunters have chosen, and I sometimes wonder if they are keeping some items for vanity or if they really simply don’t know how stats work for Hunters.

I checked out a guild-mate in the WoW Armory who is level 76, only 4 levels below me, so I would expect similar numbers as my own. However, I was surprised by what I saw. My base damage is 809-1031, whereas his was 558-696. I know mine does not break the bank, but I know I did not pick up 40% more damage in the last 4 levels.

My Attack Power is 2134 compared to his 1306, again a massive difference. Finally Crit %: my 20.54 to his 8.38 %. Mine is more than double his, but the effect is far more drastic than simply missing a chance to crit 1 out of 8 times. He is also missing all the special events that occur with a crit, such as Kill Command. This is a massive amount of damage to leave on the table, and it can make the difference between wiping in a raid, or sailing through it smoothly.

So why the huge difference in numbers? Simply put, it’s the gear. Too many items that he has chosen had no Agility. In fact, of the base stats, his Agility stat was second, behind Stamina. This simply does not work for a Hunter. Stamina is great, and it should be second or third along with Intellect, and I will take free Stamina whenever it is handed to me, but not at the expense of Agility.

Here’s why: Agility affects three major things. First and most importantly it increases Attack Power. Yes, you can get items that buff you power directly, but Agility also does so on a 1 to 1 basis (1 Agility = 1 AP), but you get even more benefits from the Agility. Agility also contributes 2 points to Armor for every 1 point; it increases the chance to Dodge a hit in melee; and most importantly, it increases Crit % chance.

When I looked at my guild-mate’s gear, I noticed a common mistake: his melee weapons were not chosen for Agility. Normally, a Hunter should never enter into melee, so his melee weapons have to be chosen for stats. Unfortunately not all Hunters know that their melee weapon stats will also contribute to their ranged attack, and this is the main area where they lose power.

Some Hunters I have known have argued, “but I want to be able to survive if I get meleed.” Yes, of course, but as I noted above, Agility contributes to Armor, which mitigates damage; plus it increases the chance to Dodge. But the main point is that you should not decrease your damage output in order to increase your ability to withstand hand to hand combat.

After all, the best way to win at melee for a Hunter is to kill your opponent before he gets to melee you.

Basics Basics, Hunter, Warcraft