Hunter guide

What Forever changed

• Aimed Shot is trained at 20 by every Hunter, with a 2-second cast. It shares its cooldown with Multi-Shot, and Arcane Shot no longer shares one with it.
• Traps work in combat (Freezing Trap, Frost Trap, Immolation Trap, Explosive Trap), on 30-second cooldowns. Frost and Fire traps have separate cooldowns, and you can have one Fire and one Ice trap out at once. Fire traps now scale with your attack power. You still drop them at your feet.
• Pets inherit your stats: 2 health per point of your Stamina, 30% of your armour, 10% of your attack power and all of your crit (the higher of your melee or ranged crit; they also gain from your Expertise). In exchange they can't take player buffs, but other players' heals do land on them.
• Every pet family gets one signature ability (a Bear's Swipe hits three targets), and the Fox is a new family. Pet Aggressive mode is available.
• Arcane Shot and Serpent Sting scale with ranged attack power; Serpent Sting ticks can crit. Rapid Fire speeds up melee too, and Volley has no cooldown.
• Scorpid Sting now lowers the target's hit chance by 2%, a boss debuff your tank will like. Aspect of the Beast gives melee attack power.
• Survival is melee: Raptor Strike, Mongoose Bite through Expose Prey, Strider Kick and the Lacerating Strikes bleed capstone. Wyvern Sting is gone.
• New talents worth knowing: Summon Hawk (Beast Mastery, 16 points), Lone Wolf (+20% damage with no pet), Careful Aim (Intellect becomes attack power) and Sniper Shot (Marksmanship's 45-yard capstone).
• Every tree has a one-point milestone talent at 11, 16, 21 and 31 points. Trueshot Aura now buffs ranged attack power only, so it mostly helps other Hunters. It reaches the whole raid, not just your party.

Every abilitie, new and changed ones marked, by spec: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, Survival.

Strengths

• The easiest, safest levelling in the beta: the pet tanks, Summon Hawk adds damage, and every source ranks Beast Mastery at the top for solo play.
• A pure class: no hybrid damage tax, and the longest range in the game.
• In-combat traps give real crowd control in dungeons: Freezing Trap mid-fight, Scatter Shot, Feign Death to drop threat.
• Pets scale with your gear, so the Classic "pets fall off" problem is gone, and a healer partner can heal your pet.
• Group tools: Tranquilizing Shot for enrages (only Hunters have it), Scorpid Sting's hit debuff (Druids' Insect Swarm does the same), Hunter's Mark, Flare and Eyes of the Beast.

Gaps you plan around

• No interrupt and no stun of your own (Blizzard: "cannot Stun or Interrupt"). Intimidation is a pet stun, and Scatter Shot a 4-second disorient that damage breaks.
• Ammo is still consumed and the quiver still takes a normal bag slot; it can't go in the reagent slot.
• The 8-yard dead zone stays (Blizzard): ranged attacks don't work up close.
• No dispel, no decurse, no battle resurrection.
• Only three pet slots (1 out, 2 stabled) until the announced stable increase lands. Pet food, happiness and loyalty are still chores.
• A crowded role: damage is the most over-supplied job in groups, and Trueshot Aura no longer buys a raid spot for melee.