Hunter Leveling

[Knockahontas]

Hi guys
(yes i used the search thing but its either bugged or there is really no topic about that, so don't flame!)
My question is: Which spec did you choose to level up your hunter, and why?
So my current situation is that I reeeaaally want to level a hunter and I read some threads about which is the best spec to lvl on wowhead or buffed and such and everyone is telling something different. For example, someone said that leveling as BM was very funny and leveling as MM is kind of hard.
So my thoughts on the different specs are the following:
(NOTE: I don't have proven facts, I just write down what I think when I watch the talent trees. And I rely on my lvling exp with my other 6 80 chars)
BM:
+strong pet (which can tank and do a lot of damage)
+easy way to solo groupquests
-no "signature shot" which is kind of boring imo (you can turn that into a + if you like being brain afk while lvling)
-heavy reliance on the pet (you are screwed if it dies)

MM:
+Aimed Shot <3 (One more button to press is considered funny, i guess)
+More crit chance and higher crits (because crit is super cool while lvling)
+Talents like concussive barrage to keep enemies on distance
+Good burst (I guess)
-Weak pet, is barely able to tank
-Needs to viper more often (more skills to use, less dmg from pet)

SV:
+strong traps and tools to keep enemies away
+mana efficient
+good cc
+scales well with stam and agi
-no signature shot till lvl 60
-lock and load is based on dot or trap, which means you either have to lure your target into a trap or have good proc luck to get your burst of
-weak pet

Before you say "there is no "best" spec, do whatever sounds funny to you":
As "best" I mean the spec with the fastest killing speed and the lowest downtime. Fun is something which everyone defines different, but my definition of fun is that you have something to do (or some buttons to press) while leveling, not just autoshot brain afk.

So please share your experience and the pros and cons about the specs, aaand provide some examples please :3
If I'm terribly wrong with my +/- please tell me, too.

[Matti06]

short answer, BM. itll be boring as hell, but itll be over quickly. MM is more fun, and if played well, can be just as quick as BM in kill speed, but generally has higher downtime, and u have to pay a bit more attention around mob groups, as it can be difficult to juggle 5+ mobs with the weaker pet

[wickedbastard]

From my exp. when u spec BM, your pet isnt able to tank at all. After a few arrows/bullets the enemy is on you.
So i always leveled as MM. Mobs die fast, just take a pet then can charge (i always played with a boar, but that was the only pet with charge back then)

For me, MM is best for leveling.
Yes BM has its advantages, such as being able to let your pet tank elite mobs/quests/groups (yes he can tank, but then u need to let him get big aggro first + heal him like mad)
But imo thats about it. If you know how to play and kite, MM is the way to go imo.

[Matti06]

With current mend pet, specd, and the basic pet talents in BM, any of the tenacity pets can tank 4+ mobs with relative ease. send the pet in, growl, smash on a few other mobs, then go in with the hunter. as i said, its boring as batshit, but its fast, easy, and you have almost 0 downtime, unless u do something stupid and get your pet killed in a conceiled area

[johnsakor]

I played BM until level 20 when i switched to MM. BM was very boring and surv wasn't that good so i went MM and never changed specc again.

[Skronk]

From my exp. when u spec BM, your pet isnt able to tank at all. After a few arrows/bullets the enemy is on you.
So i always leveled as MM. Mobs die fast, just take a pet then can charge (i always played with a boar, but that was the only pet with charge back then)

If thats your exp, then your either a super low level or your doing something wrong.

BM all the way while leveling

[Matti06]

The biggest issue with MM as a leveling spec is the severe agro that you generate versus that of your pet. Essentially, your pet just becomes a miniscule dps increase, and you're left to your own devices when you get into trouble

Edit: BM allows your pet to reach its full potential, whilst still allowing you to do your thing (tank multiple moves, whilst u loot/skin/mine/herb/craft etc)

[Drahzere]

BM is best, at least for earlier levels. When you get to the point where you're finding that you pull off your pet more often than he is actually holding aggro, then it's probably better to go MM or SV. Both have good burst (aimed / chim shot, explosive shot) and you should be dropping mobs before they even get to you. However like mentioned already you'll have more trouble killing groups of mobs or elite mobs as MM or SV more so than you would if you are BM. Comes down to a personal preference really, I was BM up until 70, then switched to SV until 80 (and continued SV until you have enough arP )

Edit: Btw you should never really be having "downtime" as a hunter, seeing how you shouldn't really be taking any damage at all, and you can go into viper for mana regen.

[snsdyoona]

I did BM with a raptor all the way up to wotlk. Grabbed a devilsaur for outlands(60+). Once I got to wotlk(68+), go MM with the concussive proc from chimera, you will be 2-3shotting mobs it's super easy. Just grab 2/2 rapid recup for extra mana regen/less time in viper.

This was with full boa, chest/shoulders/bow/x2 daggers

btw, since haste is relatively terrible for hunters I used x2 the spellpower boa trinkets, for mana regen on kill. You notice it a lot at the lower levels(1-70 or so)

[Wardley]

BM was the spec that the other hunters were always 'snobbish' about with claims that it's too easy and too boring in the same way that Afflication and Destruction Warlocks used to always claim that Demon was too easy and boring. To be honest, I found that rubbish.

BM is the fastest way to level with the least amount of downtime. With a tenacity pet you shouldn't have any downtime.

Your 'signature shot' at the moment is Bestial Wrath. With talents and glyphs and everything, you'll probably be using this against every other group of mobs. Ok, not quite the same as Chimera/Explosive shot where you're using it every 6 or 10 seconds although against bosses I find BM to be a more interesting spec to play than MM which I found incredibly boring (my spec of choice is actually Survival).

Of course, when Cata hits, that'll all change anyway.

[Moonchyld]

I leveled my hunter as MM (with all the heirloom items) used a boar pet..
Never had any problems at all with group quests. Yes, I would certainly pull off my pet, but the mob would die before getting to me.
I have always ALWAYS played a healer before making my hunter, so I am no pro at kiting & dps'ing classes.
Being a n'elf helped because in the very few instances I did feel it might end up being a bad situation, I'd shadowmeld & let my pet get aggro back, then move to max range & kill it. Was so much fun I am now leveling another hunter

edit: reaching level 27-ish I ditched the boar & just went with a wolf. Him tanking was no longer really viable. I would switch back to the boar on occasion. At level 68 I got a warp stalker, but rarely used him.

[SoulPoetry]

i did BM til 60, pet kicks ass when it has more hp than you -.- at 60 i went surv- using Frost trap to trigger Lock and Load absolutely wrecks stuff, and you have more control than MM with Wyvern etc.

[Sherbet]

IT IS COMPLETELY RELIANT ON YOU AND YOUR PLAY STYLE!!!

I cant stress that enough.

Typically in these threads it comes down to a 50/50 split on BM/MM

BM you basically send in your pet and watch it kill shit, keep it alive and maybe throw and arrow out here or there.

The nice thing about BM is if you pick up an extra 2 or 3 mobs, you'll survive and you wont be running away trying to kite things to death.

The thing with BM is people will argue over what pet to use which, again, comes down to preference. I like using Ferocity pets, and other people will swear by tenacity.

Id say the difference there is Tenacity can handle another one or two mobs where Ferocity will help you kill shit faster. But Im not 100% positive on that.

As for MM, When I've played MM (and I have leveled 3 hunters to max level so I have a moderate amount of experience) while leveling, I've found you kill ~5 seconds quicker for 1 mob, but you spend a lot of time running around kiting mobs and you have to keep your mana up, so you're drinking more often than you would be with BM.

But ultimately, I promise, it comes down to play style.

If you want a more interactive experience doing shit, constantly running around, blasting down mobs then go MM.

If you want minimal downtime, the ability to handle a pack of mobs and the ability to play without thinking, go BM.

[Ekoor]

Nah. I'd choose MM over all the others, its by far the best. BM is just... so, so lazy and uninteresting. Its as if you rolled a hunter just to play the most mind-numbingly boring spec in the whole game. What's the point? And survival just doesn't really do it for me before Explosive Shot.

[Knockahontas]

a big THX so far :3

Edit: Btw you should never really be having "downtime" as a hunter, seeing how you shouldn't really be taking any damage at all, and you can go into viper for mana regen.

Yes, but being in viper means 50% less dmg which results in lower killing speed, but thanks

If you know how to play and kite, MM is the way to go imo.

I guess i know how to play, so MM isn't terribad for me, right?
With the talent concussive barrage and concussive shot (and disengage for emergencies) it should not be too hard to keep the mob away, I guess.

As a BM I just let my pet charge into the mobs and fire a serpent sting and arcane shot and wait till the mob is dead, right? Or is the best way to level as a BM to pull 2-4 mobs and multishot them down?

So my impression now is, that BM is easy and fast, but boring. MM is not that easy, but also fast and entertaining. SV is bad because you neither have a good pet nor a good shot till 60.

Maybe I should spec BM till 60 and MM from 60 to 80, (or SV from 70-80, because of explosive and aimed shot).
But I kinda like challenging specs (I lvled my rogue as subtlety 1-80, though everyone said combat was "the way to go") so maybe I should try MM.
I have access to all heirlooms so it can't be that hard, right?

[Samin]

BM is slow. I still don't understand what everyone is having with hunters and specially BM, but I at least recently found out why I hate playing them. Your damage is capped at your pet's threat. If you overaggro your pet you're screwed. I can only assume that as BM that is less a problem in that way that you need a small crit streak to overaggro your pet...because you just don't cause that much damage. And no, your pet only merely makes up for that while levelling.
This could be interpreted as the downside of MM levelling, you do much more damage and thus overaggro earlier. BUT. That would ignore the fact that you really really really do much much much much MUCH more damage as MM - and I'm talking about no-heirloom gear even. It goes that far, that when you get aimed shot you can actually kind of 'global' enemies which makes pet aggro not matter anymore. When you get silencing and then chimera it gets even better (and definitely take the daze effect for multi and chimera shot), but if mobs have currently to much HP for you to global them, you're stuck with autoshot or steady shot spam to not overaggro (and even then you have to be extremely careful to not overaggro your pet, with an [un]lucky crit streak I can overaggro my raptor with just autoshot).

The problem with overaggroing is, that the mob is going melee where you can either try to raptor/mongoose if they are low on HP or kite. Kiting works fine in some areas but you can't always rely on it because there are areas that are crowded or just small, like caves. Also kiting leaves you to autoshot (get a swing timer addon!) and instants...and you need to move away from the area you want to kill additional mobs in. It's just inefficient compared to other classes who just go all in, even when only single pulling. (and this is why I also don't get what is so great about frost mage levelling, when you can do much 'better' in my expectations of levelling by going fire or arcane. I guess if you liked frost mage levelling, you will like BM levelling too)

Also a big plus for MM is the OPness in levelling bgs. I never played a class with MS effect before. God is this shit OP. I owned so many EoS in the BC levelling range (and WSG too). And I suck at pvp. All those instants really make it very viable in BGs, especially while levelling - a fun thing to do beside questing, even if you normally don't like pvp (like me).

This thread reminds me of my poor little troll hunter who still needs to get levelled to 80 :/ Because even though MM is much more fun than BM to me, it still sucks if the last class you levelled is a affli warlock :/ And before that a balance druid. And before that an enhancement shaman (that just being the 3 recent ones..and they were all equally awesometastic fun to level). Hunters are the only class beside priests who are annoying to level for me (well and DKs because they are sooo dull, it's hard to stay entertained)

Also, as you (the OP) are obviously german, what realm do you play on?

[wickedbastard]

IT IS COMPLETELY RELIANT ON YOU AND YOUR PLAY STYLE!!!

I cant stress that enough.

Typically in these threads it comes down to a 50/50 split on BM/MM

BM you basically send in your pet and watch it kill shit, keep it alive and maybe throw and arrow out here or there.

The nice thing about BM is if you pick up an extra 2 or 3 mobs, you'll survive and you wont be running away trying to kite things to death.

The thing with BM is people will argue over what pet to use which, again, comes down to preference. I like using Ferocity pets, and other people will swear by tenacity.

Id say the difference there is Tenacity can handle another one or two mobs where Ferocity will help you kill shit faster. But Im not 100% positive on that.

As for MM, When I've played MM (and I have leveled 3 hunters to max level so I have a moderate amount of experience) while leveling, I've found you kill ~5 seconds quicker for 1 mob, but you spend a lot of time running around kiting mobs and you have to keep your mana up, so you're drinking more often than you would be with BM.

But ultimately, I promise, it comes down to play style.

If you want a more interactive experience doing shit, constantly running around, blasting down mobs then go MM.

If you want minimal downtime, the ability to handle a pack of mobs and the ability to play without thinking, go BM.

This basically.

[Firebyrd]

Heirlooms actually makes pulling off pets even worse for MM since you're that much more powerful. Pulling off your pet in two shots is annoying, especially if you're fighting an elite that then comes and eats your face. Honestly, if you haven't played a hunter before, I'd suggest sticking to BM at least for a bit to learn pet management before you're using a squishier pet as another spec while you're pulling more aggro. I'm leveling a second hunter as MM right now and the massive aggro you pull could be very frustrating for a lot of people, particularly those new to the game.

[Knockahontas]

Also, as you (the OP) are obviously german, what realm do you play on?

As this is an international forum, I'm not allowed to speak german, but LOL how do you know ? Is it my poor english? And, to answer your question, EU-Wrathbringer
Also thx to your whole post, was REALLY good Stating out pros and cons and such
I guess I play MM now thanks to all

[Samin]

Heirlooms actually makes pulling off pets even worse for MM since you're that much more powerful. Pulling off your pet in two shots is annoying, especially if you're fighting an elite that then comes and eats your face. Honestly, if you haven't played a hunter before, I'd suggest sticking to BM at least for a bit to learn pet management before you're using a squishier pet as another spec while you're pulling more aggro. I'm leveling a second hunter as MM right now and the massive aggro you pull could be very frustrating for a lot of people, particularly those new to the game.

If you're new to the game I would recommend levelling a priest. Because when you level the first time everything is new and fun. And when you're done at 80 you have the worst levelling class at 80 and only the fun classes left to level once your expectations have risen :P
No seriously, the trick for MM is to start off with auto/steady shot until you're just about to overaggro (get threat meter like skada or omen) and then unleash all your shots, the mob shouldn't be able to reach you before it dies, you should get used to how long you have to auto/steady before unloading your instants so that the mob dies instantly pretty fast..and then it plays just like you're used from your everyday nuke classes like ele shamans, fire mages, balance druids or destro warlocks. At least for me this is the only way to make *any* hunter levelling viable. (And I tried BM up to 71 - deleted that one, and a quick try at survival at ~74 with my current hunter, but that doesn't feel good for levelling, still prefer MM currently)

As this is an international forum, I'm not allowed to speak german, but LOL how do you know ? Is it my poor english? And, to answer your question, EU-Wrathbringer
Also thx to your whole post, was REALLY good Stating out pros and cons and such
I guess I play MM now thanks to all

Well buffed is a german forum. So I just assumed Hope you have as much (no wait..MORE!) fun with MM as I did

Also because I only mentioned it shortly I say it again, get a swing timer addon, because it will help at low levels (first 10 levels = no pet) and if you have to kite (you can't always avoid it) because it shows you when you have to stop to get an autoshot off.. I personally use ForteXorcist because I have it installed anyway. I only use the swing timer and cooldown display of it on my hunter, don't like the class specific plugins and cast/debuff bars that much. But I think there are other addons that show the swing timer too.