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  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a hunter - Levels 71-80

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    11.12.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, the weekly World of Warcraft Hunter class column. This week we wrap up our "So you want to be a hunter" leveling series as we look at Levels 71-80 and see what makes up the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie Carrington, Brigwyn from The Hunting Lodge blog and podcast, as we explore what's in store for us hunters. Hey gang! Welcome to the last installment of the "So you want to be a hunter" leveling series. It's been a long and windy path through grassy plains, sweltering tropics, and fractured planets to finally end up in the frozen wastes of Northrend as we prepare to face the Lich King and hope to get a flying horse when PTR Patch 3.3 is dropped. As we do every week, we'll review the skills you'll learn. Suggest talent builds for both you and your pet. And help you with finding some solid gear choices by recommending some of the Northrend 5-man instances to run through. And what trek through new territory and levels would be complete without identifying rare tamable beasts along the way? If you've missed a previous edition, I've outlined below what we have covered in the 7 previous installations of this leveling series.

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a hunter, Part 7 Levels 61-70

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    11.05.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, the weekly World of Warcraft Hunter class column. This week we continue our "So you want to be a hunter" leveling series as we look at Levels 60-70 and see why I really feel they're the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie Carrington, Brigwyn from The Hunting Lodge blog and podcast, as we explore what's in store for us hunters. Maybe one day hunters being able to tame duids as their very own pet. Wouldn't that be awesome? I want to thank Dwarffinator and Lissana of Restokin.com for making this picture and sending it in for me to use. This is part six of our, now eight part "So you want to be a hunter" leveling guide series. In what was originally to be our final guide, we will now instead cover 10 levels, 60-70, with levels 71 through 80 coming next week. Part of this change is in response to your feedback wanting a bit more information on the skills. As we do in each, this week we'll review what skills you learn, suggest talent builds for both you and your pet as you level, we'll highlight some suggested dungeon quests that match your current level. We've 6 previous installations in this series. Here's what we've talked about so far. Part 1: We reviewed racials and their impact on the hunter class. Reviewed each of the current races and what the benefits were of each racial. Part 2: We quickly talked about the first nine levels. We also went on to talk about each of the three hunter talent trees and their basic play style. Part 3: Last week we discussed what happened from levels 10 through 20. We also went over the quests to learn how to tame your first pet. Part 4: We covered some of the covered attacks, buffs and spells. We also began looking at how to teach your pet new skills by applying pet talents. Part 5: We covered levels 21 through 40. We ended up with you getting your epic riding mount and you now can wear mail. From now on completing quests and gaining levels will be much faster. Part 6: Is where we started to see that we were learning more new ranks than new spells as we leveled from 41 to 60. We ended our time in Outlands with our first flying mount. That's where we've been. But where are we heading? This week we'll be levels 60 to 70. We'll wrap up Outlands, head out to Northrend. Next week we'll wrap it up by reaching level 80. Then we'll focus on gearing up join everyone having fun storming the castle to tackle the Sindragosa, the Lich King and his Scourge minions and anything else Blizzard can through our way as part of Patch 3.3.

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a hunter - Part 6 Levels 41-60

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    10.29.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, the weekly Hunter class column. This week we continue the "So you want to be a hunter" leveling series.So join me, Eddie Carrington, Brigwyn from The Hunting Lodge, as we explore what's in store for us hunters as we go through 20 levels of information, starting at 41 and ending at 60.. This is part six in our seven part leveling guide series. As we do in each, this week we'll review what skills you learn, suggest talent builds for both you and your pet, highlight some quests and instances that might be of interest, as well as show you which rare pets are tamable for your level. As every week we'll recap what we have covered up to now. Part 1: We reviewed racials and their impact on the hunter class. Reviewed each of the current races and what the benefits were of each racial. Part 2: We quickly talked about the first nine levels. We also went on to talk about each of the three hunter talent trees and their basic play style. Part 3: Last week we discussed what happened from levels 10 through 20. We also went over the quests to learn how to tame your first pet. Part 4: We covered some of the covered attacks, buffs and spells. We also began looking at how to teach your pet new skills by applying pet talents. Part 5: We covered levels 21 through 40. We ended up with you getting your epic riding mount and you now can wear mail. From now on completing quests and gaining levels will be much faster. Now that we know where we have been, let's focus on where we are going. This week we'll be covering 20 levels as we work our way from level 41 though 60. We'll also take our first tentative steps off Azeroth as we head into Outlands.

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a Hunter - Part 5 Levels 31-40

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    09.25.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, So you want to be a Hunter series. This guide is intended to help new Hunters better understand how to play the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington from the Hunting Lodge as we explore the ins and out of how to be a Hunter. Welcome back to the fifth installment of the So You Want to Be a Hunter leveling guide. This week we'll take a journey from 31 through 40. As you journey through these 10 levels you'll have the opportunity to see many of the great vibrant landscapes that will be changed in Cataclysm. Also, if you want you can quest in Dustwallow Marsh and see brave adventurers tackle the revamped Onyxia courtesy of Patch 3.2.2. As every week we'll recap what we have covered up to now. Part 1: We reviewed racials and their impact on the hunter class. Reviewed each of the current races and what the benefits were of each racial. Part 2: We quickly talked about the first nine levels. We also went on to talk about each of the three hunter talent trees and their basic play style. Part 3: Last week we discussed what happened from levels 10 through 20. We also went over the quests to learn how to tame your first pet. Part 4: We covered some of the covered attacks, buffs and spells. We also began looking at how to teach your pet new skills by applying pet talents. With that out of the way, let's mount up and head on out of here.

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a Hunter - Part 4 Levels 21-30

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    09.12.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, So you want to be a Hunter series. This guide is intended to help new Hunters better understand how to play the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington from the Hunting Lodge as we explore the ins and out of how to be a Hunter. Howdy gang! Glad you decided to come back and join in on another week of So you want to be a Hunter. This week we work our way up to level 30 on our quest to becoming ready to raid the endgame content.Now that I think about it, there seems to be an ever increasing push to just quickly level and hit the end game content. But really, there's a lot of fun and interesting stuff in the game that we won't get to see any more after the next expansion. Maybe I'm a bit sentimental, but honestly considering that many of the zones all of you will decide to go off and level today either won't exist in Cataclysm or will be radically different than they are today. Here's a bit of advice for you as you level up. Take some pictures. Get a group together of players at the same level and run through some of the instances like Razorfen Kraul, Stockades, or even the ever hated Gnomeregan. In the meantime, we'll continue onward with Part 4 of So you want to be a Hunter.Just a quick recap of what we've covered so far:

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a Hunter - Part 3 Levels 10-20

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    09.02.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, So you want to be a Hunter series. This guide is intended to help new Hunters better understand how to play the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington from the Hunting Lodge as we explore the ins and out of how to be a Hunter. Welcome back my Hunter compadres! We've made it to Part 3 of So you want to be a Hunter. I know we have had lot's of things happening of late with BlizzCon and Cataclysm, so it's probably a good time to give a quick recap on what we've done so far. Part 1: We reviewed racials and their impact on the Hunter class. Going over each of the factions races and what the benefits were of each racial. For now we haven't talked about the new races that will be added to the Hunter class in Cataclysm (Worgen and Goblins). We'll have to address that when the new expansion is released. Part 2: We discussed each of the Hunter talent trees and their basic playstyle. We talked about Beast Mastery being the partnership between Hunter and pet. We also reviewed the Marksmanship and Survival trees and how they are more about the individual Hunter, their offensive power, utility and flexibility. We also discussed what stats you will want to consider as you level. Though this might seem a bit out of place, knowing what to expect early on will hopefully help you make better decisions later on. However you shouldn't worry, we'll make sure to give a refresher course later on. Now we are in Part 3 of our weekly series. We will continue reviewing leveling your Hunter from level 10-20. We'll talk about taming your first pet. We'll also review some of the more interesting pets and where they can be found. Having a unique is one of the perks of being a Hunter. We'll also talk about placing those first talent points. Building on the lessons we learned last week. We'll be able to make a decision on how to craft a solid leveling talent build. One that will offer us enough power to down mobs, but also enough bonuses to help protect and keep our pet alive as it plays the role of tank. As a reminder, here's some guidelines for using this guide. So you want to be a Hunter is for the new player and/or a new Hunter. This guide is not a "How-to get to 80 in less than 3 days" leveling guide. It's more of a "What to expect as you level" guide. Except where highlighted, this guide does not take into account Recruit a Friend or heirloom bonuses. Since most players tend to level by themselves, all talent build suggestions will focus on a solo leveling/grinding build. This guide focuses on the leveling the PvE Hunter. We will discuss PvP and raiding in other guides. One of the joys of being a Hunter is being able to run around with your best friend right by your side. And believe me, your pet is truly your best friend. I can't tell you the number of times that my turtle FatElvis has charged back and rounded up several elite mobs giving me the crucial few moments I needed to survive. The only drawback to having a pet is you can't tame one until level 10. What's up with that Blizzard?

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a Hunter - Part 2 Levels 1-9

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    08.19.2009

    Welcome back to the Scattered Shots, So you want to be a Hunter series. This guide is intended to help new Hunters better understand how to play the best class in the game. So join me, Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington from the Hunting Lodge as we explore the ins and out of how to be a Hunter. Hail fellow Hunters! Welcome to Part 2 of So you want to be a Hunter. We started off in Part 1 by reviewing racials and their impact on the Hunter class. It was interesting to hear everyone's thoughts and preferences on the best race to play. Although many seemed to prefer Orcs and Trolls for the Horde and Dwarves and Night Elves for Alliance, there were a few that spoke up for the Draenei and Tauren as well. This week we'll be reviewing what to expect as you level your Hunter from 1-9. Yes, we'll eventually get all the way to Level 80, just not today. No, this isn't a speed leveling guide. However, I will provide some tips on how to make leveling less of a grind. Just to make sure we're all on the same page here's some guidelines for using this guide. So you want to be a Hunter is for the new player and/or a new Hunter. This guide is not a "How-to get to 80 in less than 3 days" leveling guide. It's more of a "What to expect as you level" guide. Except where highlighted, this guide does not take into account Recruit a Friend or heirloom bonuses. Since most players tend to level by themselves, all talent build suggestions will focus on a solo leveling/grinding build. This guide focuses on the leveling the PvE Hunter. We will discuss PvP and raiding in other guides. Before we discuss how to level our Hunter, it might be a good idea to review the role a Hunter plays and the talent trees that help us accomplish it.

  • Scattered Shots: So you want to be a Hunter - Part 1 Racials

    by 
    Eddie Carrington
    Eddie Carrington
    08.09.2009

    Good day folks and welcome to Scattered Shots. The column that takes a good look at what it takes to be a Hunter in the World of Warcraft. I am Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington from the Hunting Lodge. This week we'll be starting our "So you want to be a Hunter" class guide series. I have to admit something, I'm a chronic leveler. I do it over and over. Yes, I know it's not the typical play style. Yes, I also know it's highly unorthodox. By now you are probably thinking, "Who in their right mind would want to be a chronic leveler?" That someone would be me. See when I get bored, and the game starts to become a bit of a drag I can't help myself. It only becomes a matter of time till I feel the need to scratch an itch to start over. Yes, I know it's crazy. But you can look at it this way, at least I know how the game works for the beginning Hunter just as well as the raiding one.Having done this a few times now, I thought it would idea to put this experience to some practical purpose. It seems to be a waste and not at least write up a Hunter guide for new Hunters. So I thought I'd create a new series of posts entitled, "So you want to be a Hunter."Before we get started, I need to make sure we're all on the same page by setting some ground rules. This series is intended for the new player and/or a new Hunter. Since most new player won't have a rich uncle in game, nor does everyone use Recruit-A-Friend, I'll just focus on leveling up the old fashioned way. When discussing zone and levels, I'll only highlight some key quests along the way. Except for when we reach the "getting ready to raid" guide, all guides will focus on using a solo-leveling/grinding build. So there, with some ground rules set. Let's get started on making you the best Hunter possible.