This guide is simply intended to provide a general overview of the class. For a more in-depth and highly detailed resource on this class, check out this guide here.

Click here for the Hunter Class Guide, also check out this page for more world of warcraft leveling tips & tricks.

Index:
1.0 - Introduction
2.0 - Talents
3.0 - Gear & Progression

Hunters are the fastest and easiest leveling class in the entire game, no contest.  Why would this be? Because they have an unbeatable and unmatched solo capability due to a number of hunter unique features, primarily the pet.

Of all the classes, the hunter alone can skip more than ten levels of training and new abilities and continue to reach insane levels of experience per hour, and this is all tied to their massive and consistent DPS.

However, there’s always room for improvement, so read on and I’ll show you what I believe to be the greater method of leveling a hunter.

2.0 – Talents

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For hunters the beast mastery tree is quite obviously the best for straight leveling speed, although it gives few buffs to the hunter himself, although they are there, it turns his pet into a war machine and allow it alone to solo multiple monsters at a time.

However, the primary aspect of which this aids leveling is not built entirely on how much damage the pet deals, but rather that it also hold’s aggro well enough to rate it as an extremely reliable and durable tank.  

This combined aspect of both hunter and pet dealing high damage and the hunter being capable of healing the pet quite easily makes it almost a rival for any Warrior/Priest team.

The first talent of the beast mastery tree is, interestingly enough, a buff to aspect of the hawk.  Although not an unwelcome talent, easily trumping endurance training, it is a rather interesting start on a tree almost entirely focused on the hunters pet.

The next talents, focused fire and endurance training, are largely filler – yet again they provide bonuses, just not exactly major ones at any level or step of the beast mastery build.

Unleashed fury is obviously helpful, a large passive increase to pet damage can’t be bad.  Also on this tier is bestial swiftness, something that really helps with the whole issue of pet’s falling behind a hunter when using aspect of the cheetah.

Ferocity, this is a real gem as well as leads up to what is likely the best beast mastery talent in terms of grinding and pet damage.  A 10% increase to critical chance is massive and makes your pet into a respectable force on the battlefield.

Intimidation is a reasonable ability, making it extremely easy for you to go all out as your pet will likely be capable of pulling aggro once more in short order once you use this ability. 

The other big pick is bestial discipline, the focus regeneration increases overall damage by an immense amount as the pet gains the ability to use its special attacks far more often.

Finally, we reach frenzy.  As mentioned above this is yet another great talent, easily turning it into a meat-grinder of death against your targets and making it practically impossible for your ranged DPS to now pull aggro, overall the last big thing of the tree.

Bestial Wrath, The Beast Within, both of these function as survivability tools that allow you to pull victory from the jaws of defeat when faced with otherwise unbeatable encounters.  Serpent’s Swiftness and Catlike Reflexes simply makes your pet slightly more awesome, enjoy it.

10 – 14 Improved Aspect of the Hawk
15 – 16 Focused Fire
17 – 19 Endurance Training
20 – Bestial Swiftness
21 – 25 Unleashed Fury
26 – 30 Ferocity
31 – Intimidation
32 – 33 Bestial Discipline
34 – 35 Improved Mend Pet
36 – 40 Frenzy
41 – Bestial Wrath
42 – 44 Catlike Reflexes
45 – 49 Serpent’s Swiftness
50 – The Beast Within
51+ - Branch out, possibly finish off a few points into the beast mastery tree, also a couple of survival and marksmanship talents are quite useful.

3.0 – Gear & Progression

Gear wise what you want is massive amounts of damage, agility to be specific.  Due to your numerous tools of survivability including feign death, traps, dodge, etc. you’ll find stamina a largely low priority stat, being beast mastery specced makes it even more so.

One point of agility equals an increase in attack power, critical chance, and dodge, making it essentially the wonder-stat for hunters in that it increases everything required at once.  However, individual items possessing significant amounts of straight up +attack power or +critical rating are valued as well.

With the synergy of both your DPS as well as the pets, you should find your hunter becoming an unbeatable grinding speed demon, enjoy it.