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Talent Specs
What's the best spec as of 3.3.3?- Frostheim sums it up very nicely in this post over at Warcraft Hunters Union (WHU).
Marksman (MM):
- WHU recommends this spec for typical agility based MM hunters, and this spec for armor penetration based MM hunters. Why the difference? See this post for the reason.
- Spec from Elitist Jerks (EJ) based on best possible DPS spreadsheet (here)
- Two nice specs from Rilgon at Stabilized Effort Scope (SES); use this one if you're under the hit cap, and this one if you've reached the hit cap - both snagged from this post.
Survival (SV):
- See section #1 on the SV 3.3 guide at EJ
- Best spec from WHU (here)
- Best spec from OutDPS (here)
Beast Mastery (BM):
- See the appropriate section of this BM 3.3 guide at EJ
- The preferred spec of WHU (here)
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Shot Priority (a.k.a. Rotations)
MM:
- The preferred MM shot priority from WHU (here)
- Shot priority from OutDPS (here)
SV:
- See section #3 on this SV 3.3 guide at EJ
- Best SV shot priority from WHU (here)
BM:
- The simple BM shot rotation from WHU (here)
- See the appropriate section of this BM 3.3 guide at EJ
- Here's the macro I use to weave Steady Shot and Arcane Shot together (here)
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Gear
Gear Rankings and Calculating Your DPS:
- Hunters have 2 great resources for planning/ranking their gear as well as calculating and tweaking their DPS. The most preferred option of serious hunters is to use one of these two tools: Shandara's spreadsheet (an excel file found at EJ forums) or Zeherah's Hunter DPS Analyzer (simply an online version of Shandara's spreadsheet). These things are great! If you have any trouble figuring them out, Euripides from OutDPS has some "how-to-guides" for using them (guide for Shandara; and guide for Zeherah). You can do sooo much with these tools; they're amazing!
- MaxDPS is a basic, quick, and easy alternative for ranking gear only. It's not as comprehensive as the tools above, but you can import your toon's info from the WoW Armory for slightly more accuracy.
Pre-raid Gear Lists:
- Did you just hit 80 or are you new to the raiding scene? This is an excellent gear list for new 80s by Eidotrope. It includes items from heroics, crafting, Emblems, and BoEs available from the AH (here)
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Pets
Highest DPS Pets:
- Wolves contribute the highest DPS for all hunter specs (BM, MM, and SV).
Pet Talent Builds:
- BM ferocity talent build from EJ (here)
- Best ferocity builds (for both BM and SV/MM pets) from WHU (here)
The Most Awesome Hunter Pet Website:
- Petopia, the complete guide to hunter pets in WoW
Pets
Highest DPS Pets:
- Wolves contribute the highest DPS for all hunter specs (BM, MM, and SV).
Pet Talent Builds:
- BM ferocity talent build from EJ (here)
- Best ferocity builds (for both BM and SV/MM pets) from WHU (here)
The Most Awesome Hunter Pet Website:
- Petopia, the complete guide to hunter pets in WoW
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Glyphs
MM:
- Best MM glyphs from WHU (here)
SV:
- See section #2 on this SV 3.3 guide at EJ
- Best SV glyphs from WHU (here)
BM:
- Best BM glyphs from WHU (here)
- See the appropriate section of this BM 3.3 guide at EJ
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Gems, Enchants, & Consumables
Gems:
- Gem rankings for all hunter specs from EJ (here)
- If you're just looking to browse or sort through all kinds of gems, head over to WoW Gem Finder; it's a jewelcrafter's paradise!
Enchants:
- Best enchants from WHU (here)
Consumables:
- When it comes to ammo, flasks, elixirs, and food, Frostheim has summed up what's best (here)
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Addons/Mods & Macros
Addons/Mods:
- Recount, the in-game DPS and damage meter. Get this now dammit; you're a hunter!
- Deadly Boss Mods: don't be caught with your pants down during a boss fight! Know what the boss will do and when.
- PowerAuras Classic: (updated for 3.3, hooray!) It's a mod that creates on-screen visuals for all sorts of things (ex: cooldowns, when spells become active, buffs/de-buffs). Great for assisting hunters in their shot rotations. Also, the visuals appear right over your toon, so you can pay more attention to your position during a boss fight (does fire or void zones ring a bell?). Here is a guide for setting it up from BRK (here), and another guide over at NoStockUI (here).
- A list of good hunter addons from EJ (here)
- THM posted a recent list of helpful hunter addons too (here)
- Addon suggestions from Xumio (here)
Macros:
- 10 important macros from The Hunter's Mark (THM) (here)
- Helpful hunter macros from EJ (here)
*Be advised: The functionality of macros changed in patch 3.1, so don't use any site that has not updated their macros for 3.1 and beyond.
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Comprehensive Raiding Guides for each Talent Specialization
BM:
- BM raiding guide for patch 3.3.3 at EJ (here)
MM:
- Rilgon has a great (and funny) MM guide over at Stabilized Effort Scope (here)
- A concise and helpful MM guide at Huntsman's Lodge (here)
SV:
- SV raiding guide for patch 3.3 at EJ (here)
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Dungeon and Raid Strategies
In General:
- Tankspot; this site has movie guides for many raid encounters (see below for more specifics).
- Instances listed by continent on WoWwiki (here)
Ulduar:
- Tankspot's video playlist for all Ulduar bosses (here). Additionally, here is their video playlist for all Ulduar bosses on hard mode.
Trial of the Crusader:
- Tankspot's video playlist for TotC bosses (here).
- OutDPS has also posted several written guides for strategy: Northrend Beasts, Lord Jaraxxus, Faction Champions, Twin Val'kyr, Anub'arak.
Icecrown Citadel:
- Lower Spire videos at Tankspot: Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwhisper, Gunship Battle, & Deathbringer Saurfang.
- Lower Spire hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- Plagueworks videos at Tankspot: Festergut, Rotface, & Professor Putricide
- Plagueworks hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- Crimson Hall videos at Tankspot: Blood Princes & Blood Queen Lanathel
- Crimson Hall hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- Frostwing Halls videos at Tankspot: Valithria Dreamwalker & Sindragosa
- Frostwing Halls hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- The Lich King videos at Tankspot (here)
- The Lick King hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
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Leveling and Beginner Guides
Leveling Spec
- Beast Master is still the way to go when leveling. Here's a great talent spec post for very young hunters working their way up the levels - courtesy of our retired BRK. Note that it only goes up to lvl 70, so after that, see the BM 101 guide below. (here)
Leveling Guides
- I want you to get to 80 as soon as possible so that you can enjoy raiding as an "anti-huntard." Jame has made some wonderful and FREE detailed leveling guides for both Horde (here) and Alliance (here). These are awesome guides that lay out the most time efficient questing patterns to use; he has even turned them into an in-game addon now - still FREE!!
Are You a Fresh 80?
- Then check out these 101 guides over at WoW.com: Survival 101, Beast Mastery 101, Marksman 101.
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Glyphs
MM:
- Best MM glyphs from WHU (here)
SV:
- See section #2 on this SV 3.3 guide at EJ
- Best SV glyphs from WHU (here)
BM:
- Best BM glyphs from WHU (here)
- See the appropriate section of this BM 3.3 guide at EJ
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Gems, Enchants, & Consumables
Gems:
- Gem rankings for all hunter specs from EJ (here)
- If you're just looking to browse or sort through all kinds of gems, head over to WoW Gem Finder; it's a jewelcrafter's paradise!
Enchants:
- Best enchants from WHU (here)
Consumables:
- When it comes to ammo, flasks, elixirs, and food, Frostheim has summed up what's best (here)
____________________________________________________________________
Addons/Mods & Macros
Addons/Mods:
- Recount, the in-game DPS and damage meter. Get this now dammit; you're a hunter!
- Deadly Boss Mods: don't be caught with your pants down during a boss fight! Know what the boss will do and when.
- PowerAuras Classic: (updated for 3.3, hooray!) It's a mod that creates on-screen visuals for all sorts of things (ex: cooldowns, when spells become active, buffs/de-buffs). Great for assisting hunters in their shot rotations. Also, the visuals appear right over your toon, so you can pay more attention to your position during a boss fight (does fire or void zones ring a bell?). Here is a guide for setting it up from BRK (here), and another guide over at NoStockUI (here).
- A list of good hunter addons from EJ (here)
- THM posted a recent list of helpful hunter addons too (here)
- Addon suggestions from Xumio (here)
Macros:
- 10 important macros from The Hunter's Mark (THM) (here)
- Helpful hunter macros from EJ (here)
*Be advised: The functionality of macros changed in patch 3.1, so don't use any site that has not updated their macros for 3.1 and beyond.
____________________________________________________________________
Comprehensive Raiding Guides for each Talent Specialization
BM:
- BM raiding guide for patch 3.3.3 at EJ (here)
MM:
- Rilgon has a great (and funny) MM guide over at Stabilized Effort Scope (here)
- A concise and helpful MM guide at Huntsman's Lodge (here)
SV:
- SV raiding guide for patch 3.3 at EJ (here)
____________________________________________________________________
Dungeon and Raid Strategies
In General:
- Tankspot; this site has movie guides for many raid encounters (see below for more specifics).
- Instances listed by continent on WoWwiki (here)
Ulduar:
- Tankspot's video playlist for all Ulduar bosses (here). Additionally, here is their video playlist for all Ulduar bosses on hard mode.
Trial of the Crusader:
- Tankspot's video playlist for TotC bosses (here).
- OutDPS has also posted several written guides for strategy: Northrend Beasts, Lord Jaraxxus, Faction Champions, Twin Val'kyr, Anub'arak.
Icecrown Citadel:
- Lower Spire videos at Tankspot: Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwhisper, Gunship Battle, & Deathbringer Saurfang.
- Lower Spire hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- Plagueworks videos at Tankspot: Festergut, Rotface, & Professor Putricide
- Plagueworks hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- Crimson Hall videos at Tankspot: Blood Princes & Blood Queen Lanathel
- Crimson Hall hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- Frostwing Halls videos at Tankspot: Valithria Dreamwalker & Sindragosa
- Frostwing Halls hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
- The Lich King videos at Tankspot (here)
- The Lick King hunter tactics at WoW.com (here)
____________________________________________________________________
Leveling and Beginner Guides
Leveling Spec
- Beast Master is still the way to go when leveling. Here's a great talent spec post for very young hunters working their way up the levels - courtesy of our retired BRK. Note that it only goes up to lvl 70, so after that, see the BM 101 guide below. (here)
Leveling Guides
- I want you to get to 80 as soon as possible so that you can enjoy raiding as an "anti-huntard." Jame has made some wonderful and FREE detailed leveling guides for both Horde (here) and Alliance (here). These are awesome guides that lay out the most time efficient questing patterns to use; he has even turned them into an in-game addon now - still FREE!!
Are You a Fresh 80?
- Then check out these 101 guides over at WoW.com: Survival 101, Beast Mastery 101, Marksman 101.
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