Level 29 hunter twinking guide

'''Page is reserved, but still under construction. Please be patient with me as I try to complete the guide asap.'''

Some gear needs to be split into DPS and Survival. DPS puts main focus obviously on Agility, while Survival focuses on Stamina and/or Item Armor Value.

Equipment
A 'short' summary of the most applicable items for a Hunter twink. Obviously many possible items were not included as they are clearly the last resort. Also note that the order in which these items appear is important; the top items are the "best" in terms of being less time consuming or cheaper to acquire, not the best in absolute numbers. To make the choice somewhat easier, I have included the drop percentages for certain items as provided by Wowhead.


 * Head
 * [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] DPS : Spirit Hunter Headdress (BoP) Quest reward from Frostmaw (quest) in Thunder Bluff
 * [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] DPS : Tribal Worg Helm (BoE) Drop from rare mob Fenros in Duskwood (31% chance)
 * DPS Electromagnetic Gigaflux Reactivator (BoP) Drop from Mekgineer Thermaplugg (7.8%)
 * Survival : Lucky Fishing Hat (BoP) Reward from Rare Fish - Keefer's Angelfish during Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza on Sunday from 2pm to 4pm (server time) in Stranglethorn Vale
 * Pathfinder Hat of the Monkey/of Stamina/of the Eagle/of the Falcon
 * Neck
 * Tumultuous Necklace of the Bandit (BoP) Reward for completing a dungeon with other random players. Note: Added in patch 3.3
 * Sentinel's Medallion (level 28) [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] or Scout's Medallion (level 28) [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] (BoP) Reward in Warsong Gulch
 * Shoulder
 * Mantle of Thieves (BoE) Zone Drop in Razorfen Kraul
 * Forest Tracker Epaulets (BoE) World Drop
 * Rugged Spaulders (BoP) Dropped by Rethilgore in the Shadowfang Keep (96% chance)
 * Serpent's Shoulders (BoP) Dropped by Lady Anacondra in the Wailing Caverns (63% chance)
 * Survival : Watchman Pauldrons (BoE) World Drop
 * Back
 * Tigerstrike Mantle (BoE) World Drop
 * Parachute Cloak (BoE) Engineering
 * Fenrus' Hide (BoP) Dropped by Fenrus the Devourer in Shadowfang Keep (69% chance)
 * Chest
 * DPS : Tunic of Westfall (BoP) Quest reward from The Defias Brotherhood (7)
 * Survival : Raptor Hunter Tunic ilvl 43 (BoP) Quest reward from Raptor Mastery (4) in Stranglethorn Vale
 * Wrists
 * Bands of Serra'kis (BoP) Dropped by Old Serra'kis in Blackfathom Deeps (32% chance)
 * Hands
 * Razzeric's Racing Grips ilvl 41 (BoP) Quest reward from Safety First (2) in Thousand Needles
 * Vigorous Handguards of the Bandit ilvl 35 (BoP) Quest reward from Random Dungeon Quest(2)
 * Waist
 * Highlander's Padded Girdle [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] or Defiler's Chain Girdle (level 28) [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] (BoP) Reward in Arathi Basin
 * Legs (see Enhancements)
 * Triprunner Dungarees (BoP) Quest reward from The Grand Betrayal or Rig Wars in Gnomeregan (Note that these cannot be enhanced and therefore are not the best option)
 * Petrolspill Leggings (BoE) Rare Zone Drop in Gnomeregan
 * Troll's Bane Leggings (BoE) World Drop
 * Panther Hunter Leggings (BoP) Quest reward from Panther Mastery (4) in Stranglethorn Vale
 * Feet
 * Highlander's Padded Greaves [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] or Defiler's Chain Greaves (level 28) [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] (BoP) Reward in Arathi Basin
 * Finger
 * Protector's Band [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] or Legionnaire's Band [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] (BoP) Reward in Warsong Gulch
 * Finger
 * Charged Gear of the Monkey (BoP)
 * Golden Dragon Ring (BoE) Jewelcrafting (135)
 * Signet of Argas (BoP) Quest reward from Never Again! (Alliance) or Never Again! (Horde) in Ashenvale
 * Trinket
 * Insignia of the Alliance [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] or Insignia of the Horde (Hunter) [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] (BoP) Honor reward
 * Trinket
 * Arena Grand Master (BoP) Quest reward from Arena Grandmaster
 * Minor Recombobulator Engineering (140) required to use this item
 * Weapon Will be designated MH (Main Hand) or OH (Off-hand).
 * Dagger
 * MH+OH Thornspike (BoP) Drop from Aggem Thorncurse in Razorfen Kraul (65% chance)
 * MH+OH Sentinel's Blade (level 28) [[Image:Alliance 15.gif‎]] or Scout's Blade (level 28) [[Image:Horde 15.gif‎]] (BoP) Reward in Warsong Gulch
 * Sword
 * OH Outlaw Sabre (BoP) Quest reward from Baron Aquanis (quest) in Blackfathom Deeps
 * MH The Butcher (sword) (BoE) Zone drop in Scarlet Monastery
 * 2H Sword
 * Archeus ilvl 35 (BoP) Quest reward from A Daughter's Love in Duskwood
 * Axe
 * MH Crescent of Forlorn Spirits ilvl 35 (BoP) Quest reward from The Legend of Stalvan (13) in Duskwood
 * OH Callous Axe (BoE) Can be purchased from Vendors for
 * 2H Axe
 * Tunnel Pick (BoE) Drop from Dark Iron Tunnelers in Wetlands
 * Reef Axe (BoP) Drop from Gelihast in Blackfathom Deeps (44% chance)
 * Thermaplugg's Left Arm ilvl 37 (BoP) Drop from Mekgineer Thermaplugg in Gnomeregan (19% chance)
 * Polearm
 * Armor Piercer (BoP) Drop from Razorfen Spearhide in Razorfen Kraul (42% chance)
 * Impaling Harpoon (BoP) Drop from Captain Greenskin in The Deadmines (27% chance)

Enhancements

 * Back
 * Enchant Cloak - Greater Agility requires ilvl 35 or higher (i.e. Parachute Cloak)
 * Enchant Cloak - Lesser Agility
 * Chest
 * Enchant Chest - Exceptional Stats requires ilvl 35 or higher
 * Wrists
 * Enchant Bracer - Greater Intellect +7 Intellect
 * Enchant Bracer - Superior Stamina +9 Stamina
 * Enchant Bracer - Assault +24 Attack Power Requires ilvl 35
 * Enchant Bracer - Major Intellect +12 Intellect Requires ilvl 35
 * Enchant Bracer - Fortitude +12 Stamina Requires ilvl 35
 * Hands
 * Enchant Gloves - Assault requires ilvl 35 or higher
 * Feet
 * Enchant Boots - Greater Agility (+7 Agility)
 * Enchant Boots - Greater Stamina (+7 Stamina)
 * Weapon
 * Enchant Weapon - Major Intellect Requires ilvl 35
 * Enchant 2H Weapon - Major Agility Requires ilvl 35
 * Enchant 2H Weapon - Savagery Requires ilvl 35
 * Enchant Weapon - Greater Agility Requires ilvl 35
 * Enchant Weapon - Mongoose Requires ilvl 35 Note: Mongoose only procs from melee attacks, which are not a hunter's specialty. This enchant may be unhelpful and a waste of gold.
 * Enchant Weapon - Agility
 * Enchant 2H Weapon - Agility
 * Enchant Weapon - Icy Chill

Talent Builds
The following talent builds are the best, choose one according to play style:

A little bit of everything

BM/Survival

Survival/BM

Survival/BM #2

Marksman/Survival

Survival

The Draenai Specialty twink build is

Best Build Ever :)

Pets
These pets are designed for slowing opponents which is useful in both Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin.
 * Spider (Tenacity) - Web: stops movement for 4 seconds, 40 second cooldown, 20 yard range
 * Ravager (Cunning) - Ravage (pet): 2 second stun, 1 minute cooldown, melee range
 * Crab (Tenacity) - Pin: pins the target in place for 4 seconds, 40 second cooldown, melee range
 * Hyena (Ferocity) - Tendon Rip: reduces movement speed by 50% for 6 sec, 20 second cooldown, melee range
 * Bat (Cunning) - Sonic Blast: 2 second stun, 1 minute cooldown, 20 yard range
 * Serpent - Poison Spit (pet):DoT every 2 seconds,30 yard range

Tips & Hints
Every hunter learns how to jump shoot early in his/her hunter lifetime. This is accomplished by autorunning forward and flicking your mouse so that you turn and face behind you in order to shoot an enemy on the run. Some people like to do a full 360, I just go 45 degrees to the side and shoot backwards, then resume my forward motion. A little bit of practice and you should get this down.

You also need to make sure that you know how to strafe. By default, the Q and E keys are strafe left and right respectively. Strafing allows you to move away from enemies while still facing to the side so you can shoot behind yourself at them, as opposed to backing straight up which moves your character very slowly. Every second counts when kiting in PvP, so practice strafing around to avoid enemies. If you're really having trouble go play some counterstrike or something.

Onto more advanced hunter tactics:

1. The frost trap circle kite

With entrapment, the hunter frost trap is the most powerful group PvP snare in the game. In group fights (5v5 arena) your team will want to center the action around your trap. Oftentimes melee enemies will try to catch up to you around the fringes of the trap. You need to strafe in a circle around the frost trap AOE, at an angle where enemies cannot QUITE catch you, since they remain in the AOE to get repeatedly entrapped. This can take some practice, but will frustrate the hell out of your opponents.

2. Jousting

Jousting is the art of moving in and out of ranged/melee combat. After exhausting your array of shots on a target moving towards you trying to deadzone you, you run forward and spam your raptor strike/winglip/mongoose bite macro (Check the WoW hunter forums for some good help about these melee macros). This way, you can get your ~30+% shot at a big raptor strike while applying a snare on your enemy. After throwing your "joust" (yeah this is nerdy but this is actually what its called) you run back to range and resume your shots which are now back off cooldown. This technique is especially effective against other hunters, many of whom don't know how to properly fight a hunter vs hunter battle.

3. Effective Freeze Trapping

Freezing traps can be tricky to use well, and the 30 second trap cooldown ensures that if you make a mistake, you will pay for it. When an enemy meleer is on you and you need to drop a freezing because a frost might not be enough, make sure that you step forward a LITTLE bit beyond (in front of) the trap icon on the ground. This will make it virtually IMPOSSIBLE for anybody to attack you in melee without triggering the trap. This trick works at all levels.

Avoid using freezing traps in a crowd. The secret to effective trapping is manipulating the battle to a situation in which you can turn the tide with a trap. One of my favorite tricks is the "Net-Trap," in which you net an enemy (preferably a healer) and then drop a freezing right on top of them. They will have no choice but to succumb to 12 seconds of frustration. This trick also works very well with entrapment procs, imp wing clip procs, and allied abilities such as hammer of justice. Remember, teamwork wins fights.

4. Smart Aspect Usage

Your aspects are a big part of hunter pvp whether you realize it or not. You will probably have Hawk on the majority of the time, but cheetah and monkey can make a huge difference when the time comes. After practicing on your hunter for a while, you may start to be able to use cheetah in short bursts to make a difference in kiting or making up lost ground. Remember to cancel your cheetah by hitting the hotkey that activates it - this way you won't waste a global cooldown by simply changing aspects instead. If you have a chance between global cooldowns in a frantic melee situation (I know, it's really hard the majority of the time when jousting), aspect of the monkey can really up your damage mitigation in melee. You can really, really screw over warriors by dodging hamstrings or rogues by dodging crippling procs.

5. Smart Pet usage

Know where your pet is/what its doing at all times. Now that hunter pets scale based on the hunter's stats, they are more than just a minor annoyance. Make sure to keep them on casters for interrupts and make sure they ARENT attacking CCed targets or targets that are being called out to be CCed. (CC = crowd control). If you see a twink trying to sneak off to bandage, put your pet on him! That boar will charge right up to him and piss the @@@# out of him, buying valuable time for a serpent sting. Remember that your pets are also very valuable for keeping certain classes in combat, like warriors and rogues. Which brings me to:

6. Stings

Put serpent stings on rogues whenever you can, because they can't vanish out of a dot. Make sure to re-apply them when they are about to run out. But always be careful to never serpent sting targets that are going to be CC'ed. If a CC is coming and the sting is already on, don't panic - put scorpid sting on the target instead. Serpent sting only ticks every 3 seconds so it is VERY possible that you will switch them in time and the target will remain CC'ed. Speaking of scorpid sting, it really owns against melee classes and hunters, so if you have a chance make an effort to apply it whenever you can.

7. Be tricky with your bandages

If you're a real twink, you've got 225 first aid and you're well stocked in heavy runecloth bandages. Hunters have so, so many tools to get free of enemies for a quick bandage, or even a full one. Freezing trap + bandage of course, and any entrapment or imp wing clip proc can result in 1000 free hp before the enemy gets back to you again. Remember - when you get a proc like this and want to bandage, make sure you give your melee opponents a taste of their own medicine and deadzone them so they cannot use a ranged weapon to interrupt your bandage. Of course, this example wont work against casters. A lot of the time, you'll simply be able to snare enemies and cheetah away behind a pillar to bandage.

8. Conserve your mana

If you're in an intense or close arena battle, make sure to manage your mana properly. Stay outside the 5 second rule whenever possible if your mana situation is not looking good. Remember to not waste mana on multishot unless you really can do damage to 3 targets or you're trying to burst somebody down. Arcane shot is sufficient when you're DPSing on mail (plate) or twinks with the big quest armor shields.

Quest Information
All experience mentioned is quest xp only. Experience gained from killing mobs in the process is not included!
 * The Grand Betrayal 4950 xp
 * Never Again! (Alliance) Part 2 of 2 - 4550 xp
 * A Daughter's Love Part 5 of 5 - 4150 x
 * The Legend of Stalvan (13) Part 13 of 13 - 13200 xp
 * Raptor Mastery (4) Part 4 of 4 - 11750 xp
 * Safety First (Thousand Needles) Part 10 of 10 - 15965 xp
 * Panther Mastery (4) Part 4 of 4 - 9950 xp
 * Rig Wars 4950 xp
 * Never Again! (Horde) Part 2 of 2 - 4550 xp
 * Baron Aquanis (quest) 3650 xp