Hunters Are Still a Powerhouse in Battle for Azeroth
This is what happens when you overfeed your pet
Hunter is one of the most versatile classes in World of Warcraft and one of the easiest classes to master, making it a favorite for old and new players alike. In the Battle for Azeroth expansion Blizzard made several changes gameplay, and hunter was one of the classes that was hit the hardest by these changes. While certain abilities were nerfed, new talents and upgrades to pets have more than made up for those changes and hunter remains one of the strongest classes to play. Keep reading and we’ll go through all three hunter specializations and the best talent build for each one, counting our way down to the best spec of the three to play.
3. Marksmanship (Best Spec for Questing)
Doing his best Legolas impression
The master of ranged weapons, marksmanship hunters have a significantly enhanced repertoire of shots compared to survival and beast mastery hunters. Marksmanship’s one major strength is single-target damage which makes it a weak choice for dungeons or raiding, but perfect for questing, where much of the combat is one on one. What else makes marksmanship the perfect spec for questing?
- Capable of extremely high burst damage, especially area of effect damage
- Limited to no reliance on pets, which means the player has more control over the character’s damage output
- Once earned, marksmanship hunters’ Mastery: Sniper Training increases their damage, range, and critical strike damage, as well as other passive abilities, making its damage output even more impressive.
- Abilities can be combined to create a potentially devasting collaboration of ranged attacks that deal explosive damage while simultaneously granting self-healing, bleeds, or disorients.
A huge part of creating a powerful marksmanship hunter is the armor you choose and which talents you choose.
- Best talent build for marksmanship hunter
- Level 15 – Serpent Sting
- Level 30 – Careful Aim
- Level 45 – Natural Mending
- Level 60 – Bloodseeker
- Level 75 – Posthaste
- Level 90 – Lethal Shots
- Level 100 – Lock and Load
2. Survival (Best Spec for Raiding and PvP)
Maybe not the pet he wanted, but the one he needed
Survival hunter is a pure damage power house and it’s also fairly mobile for a melee spec, making it perfect for raiding. As a melee spec, survival hunters mainly favor two-handed weapons like staves and polearms, mixed in with the occasional agility heavy two-handed axe or sword. So why exactly is this specifically the best hunter spec for raiding?
- The highest damage per second out of the three hunter specs
- A very high sustained area of effect damage
- Highest single target damage potential
- The switch to melee allows survival hunters the chance to fight alongside their pets, allowing simultaneous attacks to an enemy from both sides
- More utility than marksmanship
- Simple single target options and rotation
- Lots of crowd control potential
To get maximum potential from your survival hunter you need to choose the most efficient talent build and armor.
- Most efficient talent build for survival hunter
- Level 15 – Alpha Predator
- Level 30 – Butchery
- Level 45 – Natural Mending
- Level 60 – Bloodseeker
- Level 75 – Born to Be Wild
- Level 90 – Flanking Strike
- Level 100 – Birds of Prey
1. Beast Mastery (Best All-Round Spec)
It was at this point in the quest that they decided to consult their map
Beast mastery hunter is the hunter for the player that wants to do it all; a little questing, a little raiding, some dungeons runs, and the occasional PvP encounter. It simply provides the best combinations of damage in all sorts of scenarios. So what gives this well-rounded spec the edge over survival and marksmanship hunters?
- Highly mobile ranged DPS spec
- The only ranged spec in WoW that can fully execute its rotation while moving, making it incredibly useful in raids and dungeons
- Fairly easy to play
- Additional utility and heals like Spirit Mend
- Short cooldowns
- Powerful pet assists
- Able to deal heavy damage to a single target while also AoE-ing.
- Has optimal multi-target damage
Just like survival and marksmanship, beast mastery hunters would be nothing without the proper armor set and talent build.
- Best talent build for a beast mastery hunter
- Level 15 – Killer Instinct
- Level 30 -Chimaera Shot
- Level 45 -Natural Mending
- Level 60 – A Murder of Crows
- Level 75 – Posthaste
- Level 90 – Stomp
- Level 100 – Aspect of the Beast
We’ve reached the end of our list guys. I hope this ranking and breakdown of the different hunter specs and the usefulness of their abilities and talents has been informative and maybe even helped you decide which spec to play. Let me know your favorite spec and why in the comments below. Happy hunting!
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