Hunter Alliance leveling guide 1-60
Example route: night elf hunter (Alliance). Create your character to get your own route.
Leveling route
Estimated time from level 1 to 60: ~120 hours played, following the example route.
Alliance leveling routeZones by levelSee the full step-by-step example guide
Leveling talents
Guide buildBeast Mastery then Marksmanship
The guide's build: the pet does most of the work (31 points in Beast Mastery up to Bestial Wrath), then Marksmanship for shooting.
Beast Mastery: 31 points · Marksmanship: 20 points · Survival: 0 points
First talent points
- Level 10: Deadly Aspects 1/5
- Level 11: Deadly Aspects 2/5
- Level 12: Deadly Aspects 3/5
- Level 13: Deadly Aspects 4/5
- Level 14: Deadly Aspects 5/5
Recommended professions
Recommended for Hunter:
The hunter is the ranged class with a pet. While leveling in WoW Forever, the pet holds the monster's attention while you shoot it down, so you take little damage and rarely stop between fights. Many players see it as one of the smoothest classes to level. This page explains how to level a hunter from 1 to 60 in Forever, and what your However guide builds for you.
The hunter while leveling
You fight with a bow, a crossbow or a gun, and your pet fights in melee. Shots such as Arcane Shot, Serpent Sting and Multi-Shot cost mana, so a little Intellect helps. You also need ammunition, and food to keep your pet fed. Your pet arrives at level 10 through a short taming chain; before that, you fight alone.
- Strengths: little downtime, damage from range, a pet that tanks for you, and strong tools to escape or control a fight.
- Weaknesses: you cannot shoot at point-blank range, you depend on your pet, and you must keep ammunition and pet food in your bags.
- Aspects: Aspect of the Hawk for damage in fights, Aspect of the Cheetah for travel. Cheetah is for travel only: getting hit while it is active dazes you.
Recommended leveling spec
The guide's default build is Beast Mastery, then Marksmanship. You spend 31 points in Beast Mastery up to Bestial Wrath at level 40, so the pet does most of the work, then 20 points in Marksmanship for Lethal Attacks, Careful Aim, Efficiency and Mortal Shots. In Forever, Aimed Shot is no longer a talent: it is a regular trainer spell. A Marksmanship build for players who prefer to kill at range is also listed in the talent calculator.
- Weapon: your ranged weapon matters most. The melee weapon mainly adds stats.
- Stats: Agility first, then ranged attack power, critical strike and hit chance. Stamina and some Intellect come next.
- Pet: train its abilities at a pet trainer, use Mend Pet between fights, and revive it before the next pull.
Common mistakes
- Running out of ammunition or pet food far from a town. Stock up every time you pass a vendor.
- Fighting in melee. Let the pet take the monster first, then shoot from range.
- Keeping Aspect of the Cheetah up while questing. Being dazed in a crowded area is a common way to die.
- Buying every rank at the trainer. Extra tracking, group aspects and Volley are not needed solo; the gold is better saved for level 40.
What your However guide builds for a hunter
Your guide gives a step-by-step route from your starting zone to level 60. It places your hunter trainers on the map (a hunter learns something every two levels from level 4), adds the pet quests at level 10, spends one talent point per level, and suggests a ranged weapon for every five levels. On a PvP realm, it also shows hunter tips for dangerous zones. Create your character to get it, try the build in the talent calculator, or check the gear page.
The reference Alliance hunter in this guide is a night elf. Night elves and dwarves can be hunters, WoW Forever adds the human hunter, and High Order Skyborne can also choose the class, though their starting island is not covered by the guide yet. Night elves start in Shadowglen, in Teldrassil; dwarves in Coldridge Valley, in Dun Morogh; humans in Northshire Valley, in Elwynn Forest. At level 10, everyone joins the shared Alliance route in Westfall.
- Night elf: the pet chain is given by Dazalar in Teldrassil and ends with Jocaste, in the Cenarion Enclave of Darnassus.
- Dwarf: the pet chain is given by Grif Wildheart in Dun Morogh and ends with Belia Thundergranite, the pet trainer in Ironforge.
- Human: there is no level 1 class quest. Josephine Carson, in Goldshire, gives the pet chain, which ends with Isaac Chan. Some spell ranks are still taught only in Stormwind.
- Full trainers: Stormwind, Ironforge and Darnassus, Astranaar along the route, and Goldshire for the human hunter.
Read the full Alliance route.
Frequently asked questions
- Which spec should a hunter level as in WoW Forever?
- The guide uses Beast Mastery up to Bestial Wrath at level 40, so the pet does most of the work, then Marksmanship. A Marksmanship build for killing at range is also available in the talent calculator.
- When do I get my pet?
- At level 10, through a short class chain: three "Taming the Beast" quests, then "Training the Beast". Your guide places the chain on your route, near your starting zone.
- Best race for a Horde hunter in WoW Forever?
- Orcs, tauren and trolls all level a hunter well. The guide uses a troll as its reference character; orcs and trolls start with a bow, while tauren start with a gun.
- Can humans be hunters in WoW Forever?
- Yes. WoW Forever adds the human hunter. It has no class quest at level 1, but it gets its own pet chain in Goldshire with Josephine Carson, and the guide covers its whole route.
- When do I get my mount as a hunter?
- The trainer milestones place the mount and mail armor at level 40. The guide skips spells you do not need solo, such as extra tracking or Volley, to keep more gold for that step.