Looking for Advice - Solo LVLing Hunter

[CasA52]

Some background, I got to 10, did pvp until 15 then set out to solo 5 mans.

So far, I have done ONE run of RFC and WC, am I gaining so much XP that doing all the instances will cause me to way out level some of them, so I will be picking ones in my lvl range as I go.

RFC: 15 - 18 and 1/2 (Including quest, no wipes). Done as survival.
WC: Started at about 50% through 18, ended nearly at 23. Done as survival. (Ended one fight at 4 HP; No wipes) Fluked into getting a lot of "of the fang" too, makes me happy!

With my class quest now I am trying out BM spec and headed to SFK.

My questions for the more experienced hunters out there:
1) I know BM will make my pet do more damage, but will it increase their survivability? I think this totally relies on pet spec but I want to be sure.

2) Recommended Spec? I think I will rotate a bit as I go and pick which i like best, but is there one that will truly stand out in 5 man soloing at the lvl of that 5 man.

3) Recommended Pet? Currently I use a turtle from the goblin starting area. Their shell defensive ability is nice. Anything better out there? When I am higher I may grab a spirit beast as well for the heal (well BM) for some fights).

4) Glyphs that would best suit soloing? Anything stand out above the rest

Also, any advice at all you have is welcome.

I am new to posting on MMO so I can't post links to my armory. My hunter is Bàllz <Rise Again> on Area 52 (US)

[Yindoo]

My questions for the more experienced hunters out there:
1) I know BM will make my pet do more damage, but will it increase their survivability? I think this totally relies on pet spec but I want to be sure.

2) Recommended Spec? I think I will rotate a bit as I go and pick which i like best, but is there one that will truly stand out in 5 man soloing at the lvl of that 5 man.

3) Recommended Pet? Currently I use a turtle from the goblin starting area. Their shell defensive ability is nice. Anything better out there? When I am higher I may grab a spirit beast as well for the heal (well BM) for some fights).

4) Glyphs that would best suit soloing? Anything stand out above the rest

Also, any advice at all you have is welcome.

I am new to posting on MMO so I can't post links to my armory. My hunter is Bàllz <Rise Again> on Area 52 (US)

1) Yes & no. It will increase the survivabity when you have a Spirit Heal. Since you cant have one yet, the anwser for you is No.
2) Bm is a bit more bursty, Sv has better aoe and can kite better. Marksman can be good to 1shot a mob.
3) Turtle/Bettle for an extra defensive cd.
4) Glyph of Mending & Animal Bond. Rest is up to you.

[sbking77]

I'm starting my hunter soon to do the exact thing. I leveled a DK, Pally, and Monk in the same fashion. Leveled them all up to Cata while doing nothing except solo dungeon runs. It's fun times.

[Walajanilu]

lvl as survival, get glyphs and talents that revolve around aoe and traps. You want to pull while on mount, Md to pet, aoe all. When pet gets low call him back after dropping a frost trap to root mobs and continue to aoe. GG

[dzidek]

Correct me if I misunderstood: you are lvling by doing low lvl 5-mans solo? This is an unimaginable waste of time. The only explanation to do something like this is that it makes you happy or sth.

But to stay on topic:
1) No.
2) SV for aoe. But I have no idea how it works when soloing low lvl dungeons on low lvl ;] I would rather choose MM for self heal. But on the other hand, I do not remember which skills hunter gets at what level
3) Turtle. And btw yesterday I saw turtle with wings. WTF?
4) Mending and Misdirection. Mandatory.

[Cybran]

1) Yes & no. It will increase the survivabity when you have a Spirit Heal. Since you cant have one yet, the anwser for you is No.
2) Bm is a bit more bursty, Sv has better aoe and can kite better. Marksman can be good to 1shot a mob.
3) Turtle/Bettle for an extra defensive cd.
4) Glyph of Mending & Animal Bond. Rest is up to you.

Best advice you can get. You can get a wolf/cat/hyena pet for more dps while killing add packs. For harder hitting mobs stick to turtle.

[Yindoo]

Best advice you can get. You can get a wolf/cat/hyena pet for more dps while killing add packs. For harder hitting mobs stick to turtle.

Just in case: While all those pets are good, wolf (5% crit) is the best dps pet when you dont have any buffs.

[Bovan]

Correct me if I misunderstood: you are lvling by doing low lvl 5-mans solo? This is an unimaginable waste of time. The only explanation to do something like this is that it makes you happy or sth.

Actually if you know what you are doing, this is a million times faster. I always solo dungeons up till about level 50 on new characters and the speed at which you level this way is nuts. Sadly you can't always do this as traveling between dungeons is a huge waste of time. If you queue for a random dungeon and the group falls apart for some reason, you can easily finish the dungeon off yourself as a Hunter.

[dzidek]

Actually if you know what you are doing, this is a million times faster. I always solo dungeons up till about level 50 on new characters and the speed at which you level this way is nuts. Sadly you can't always do this as traveling between dungeons is a huge waste of time. If you queue for a random dungeon and the group falls apart for some reason, you can easily finish the dungeon off yourself as a Hunter.

I've never done it that way, so I do not want to argue. But for me it still looks a way slower than do it my way (quest + 1 run for each dung for dung q). Maybe for some leveling is fun, but for me it's a pain in the ass.

[Theodoran]

I've never done it that way, so I do not want to argue. But for me it still looks a way slower than do it my way (quest + 1 run for each dung for dung q). Maybe for some leveling is fun, but for me it's a pain in the ass.

I've never leveled by soloing 5mans either but the idea makes perfect sence. In full heirlooms you'll be doing 40-50% of the groups dmg. If you solo a dungeon, it'll take you 2-2,5 times longer to clear, but you get 5 times more experience.

[dzidek]

Only low lvl char I have is monk (15). And for sure I will try this method

[CasA52]

Actually if you know what you are doing, this is a million times faster. I always solo dungeons up till about level 50 on new characters and the speed at which you level this way is nuts. Sadly you can't always do this as traveling between dungeons is a huge waste of time. If you queue for a random dungeon and the group falls apart for some reason, you can easily finish the dungeon off yourself as a Hunter.

I have to agree. I wasn't to sure on how it would go at first. Having leveled to many toons, I wanted to try something different. It is going VERY fast and I have VERY little down time. Thanks to all for the replies.

[Spiralphoenix]

I haven't played a low level hunter in a long time, so I can't really say this with a huge amount of confidence, but I wouldn't expect SV's AoE to be that great at a low level, unless explosive trap scales amazingly well at that point. You don't get serpent spread until 68, so the main part of what makes SV's AoE... good, you don't get for a long time. And you also don't get entrapment for the super-useful root til 55. BM's AoE, while sub-par at max level, you get at level 24 (Beast Cleave). And marks gets bombardment at 45 (and Concussive Barrage for slows at 30).

Again, I'm sure scaling is still pretty out of whack at low levels still so it's possible that maybe explosive trap is super amazing, but Multi-shot damage should be relatively even amongst the specs at low levels. In which case BM/MM get the abilities that buff Multi at an earlier point, and a higher damage Ex. Trap is the only thing SV would really have. Well, actually, SV doesn't even get Trap Mastery til 64 and the stat/skill Mastery that increases elemental damage til 80, so even Explosive Trap damage should be pretty even until that point. By all means though SV will pull ahead come level 68.

But, really, it's just leveling. Any spec will work fine and if you play right your damage will be fine.