Best Hunter Build in Azeroth Survivors

How it plays

Hunter fights at bow range and drops a ground spell when the pack is allowed to bunch. Volley is 8 damage per tick across a 5 second duration, radius 7, range 24, cooldown 9, 8 targets, clear score 37.3. That is the lead by a wide margin. Serpent Sting is the dot, only 2 direct damage plus 4 damage over time for 9 seconds, two applications, range 26, cooldown 2.6, clear score 29.3. Multi-Shot, listed as Multi Shot, fires 3 hits of 10 at range 26 on a 2 second cooldown and scores 15.8. The bow is a delivery system for Volley and the sting more than for the heavy aimed hit.

Explosive Trap is the close-range exception. The hit is 22 damage at radius 5 and range 14, cooldown 8, about 4.91 targets, clear score 14.2. A 4 damage over time field sits on the skill, and the duration is 0, so that field contributes nothing. You are briefly at 14 yards, not at 32. Arcane Shot is the starter, 13 damage, range 28, cooldown 1 second, clear score 13.7. Aimed Shot is 48 damage at range 32, cooldown 4, clear score 12.6. The longest range and the biggest hit is the sixth skill, not the first.

Concussive Shot slows to half speed for 4 seconds, 8 damage, range 28, cooldown 3, clear score 2.8. That slow is the best control you have and it is outside the six. Taking it means dropping Aimed Shot or the trap.

Early and late

Arcane Shot is the starting skill and it remains in the six, fifth, at 13.7, from range 28. Walk speed is 7 and health is 135. Volley has the highest Hunter clear score, 37.3, and no learned level beside it. It wants the pack inside radius 7 at range 24. Serpent Sting, Multi Shot, and the two heavy shots are the rest of the pile that adds up to 122.8.

Aspect of the Cheetah is learned at level 5. Speed times 1.7 for 5 seconds, a 70 percent boost, cooldown 14 seconds. Volley is placed at range 24 and lasts 5 seconds on a 9 second cooldown. Cheetah lasts the same 5 seconds and then waits 14. There is no blink and no root. The 4 second slow on Concussive Shot is the only hard control, and it is not in the recommended six.

Reach splits the bar into bands rather than one bow length. Volley places at 24 yards, Serpent Sting and Multi Shot share 26, the starter Arcane Shot reaches 28, and Aimed Shot is the only 32. Explosive Trap is the 14 yard outlier, while Concussive Shot copies the 28 yard reach Arcane Shot has and only scores 2.8. The recommended six keeps every band except that pure slow. Aspect of the Cheetah, 1.7 speed for 5 seconds, is what changes how fast you cross from the trap back out past Volley.

Tradeoffs

Mage sums to 164.1 and can Blink 18 yards. Hunter sums to 122.8 and keeps Aimed Shot at 32 yards, which Mage never reaches. Pyroblast stops at 30. If the fight is a kiting lane, Hunter shots stay available longer. If the pack is allowed to clump in a ground spell, Mage Blizzard at 39.2 beats Hunter Volley at 37.3 and Mage has more behind it.

Warrior clears 213.2 inside 8 yards with 160 health. Hunter has 135 health and no Charge. A Hunter who stands in Explosive Trap range for the whole wave is playing a worse Warrior. The trap is a 14.2 tool you drop while leaving, not a camp.

Recommended Hunter build

Volley, Serpent Sting, Multi Shot, Explosive Trap, Arcane Shot, and Aimed Shot total 122.8, and the tier power only inches up to 125.3. Concussive Shot is the skill you add only when you accept a lower clear score in exchange for a 4 second slow. Nothing else on the class beats Aimed Shot for that last slot.

1. 1
   Volley

   • Ground
   • 9s cooldown
   • clear score 37.3
2. 2
   Serpent Sting

   • Bolt
   • 2.6s cooldown
   • clear score 29.3
3. 3
   Multi Shot

   • Bolt
   • 2s cooldown
   • clear score 15.8
4. 4
   Explosive Trap

   • Ground
   • 8s cooldown
   • clear score 14.2
5. 5
   Arcane Shot

   • Bolt
   • 1s cooldown
   • clear score 13.7
6. 6
   Aimed Shot

   • Bolt
   • 4s cooldown
   • clear score 12.6

Passives

Level haste first. Arcane Intellect at level 5 is +81.9 for a Hunter, Blessing of Might is the follow-up at +61.4, and Blessing of Kings is +22.6. Amplify Magic is a small +8.9 from Volley and the trap. Bow cooldowns are already short, and haste is the stat those cooldowns listen to.

Mistakes

Leading with Aimed Shot because 48 damage and 32 range feel like the class. That shot scores 12.6, while Volley scores 37.3. Aimed Shot is the sixth pick.

Camping on Explosive Trap. Range 14 and radius 5 score 14.2, which is fine as a leaving present. It is a bad address to live at with 135 health and speed 7.

Aspect of the Cheetah

Aspect of the Cheetah multiplies speed by 1.7 for 5 seconds, then waits 14 seconds, and you learn it at level 5. Pop it to restore bow range after a trap, not to run into the pack. The damage skills want 24 to 32 yards, and Cheetah is how you get back there.

Skill numbers

Other classes

• S Warlock
• S Warrior
• A Mage
• A Druid
• B Paladin
• B Shaman
• C Priest
• C Rogue

Same tier

• Mage
• Druid

FAQ