A Guide to Hunter Talents for Patch 2.0.6

I. Introduction and Version History
II. Beast Mastery Talents (Part 1 (Tiers 1-5) and 2 (Tiers 6-9))
III. Marksmanship Talents (Part 1 (Tiers 1-5) and 2 (Tiers 6-9))
IV. Survivalist Talents (Part 1 (Tiers 1-5) and 2 (Tiers 6-9))
V. Talent Builds

I. Introduction

I've seen a void on the Hunters forum that is filled on many of the other class forums with a breakdown of the classs talents. The number one type of posts Ive seen here have been on the subject of peoples thoughts on various builds, so I chose to put together this document to fulfill the need.

I got most of this information from the many comments on our forum about each of the trees, but I also was able to get information from two other sources concerning what I had written. Id like to thank Tallia of Providence (Earthen Ring server) for sending me her own breakdown of her experiences with the 1.8 patch, including which builds she found best for each purpose, and Kormok of the Tears of Draenor (also the Earthen Ring server) for filling in the blanks with a few answers to little-discussed talents.

Please feel free to post thoughts and number crunches about the various talents Ive listed here. This was designed to be a reference and an aid to all interested in making a Hunter, so your feedback is essential for me to make sure this has the latest greatest facts and opinions.

Thanks everyone for making this a very neat class to play and for all the help everyones given with answers!

Also, this is a repost from the original forums and will need to be stickied to be helpful again!

Version 1.0 - Initial Talent Breakdown post
Version 1.1 - Additional material added to the Talent Builds section based upon input. Also added a number of tweaks to thoughts about the various talents based upon feedback.
Version 1.2 - Took comments from Daggerhorn from Cenarion Circle, Phenix of Sargeras, and Steelfleece of Mal'ganis.
Version 1.3 - Added changes from patch 1.10 to the talent trees into the comments, including a comment about how traps now being visible might change gameplay styles. Also, took into consideration some comments people have made and wanted included and included new thoughts on various BM talents I personally have.
Version 1.35 - Included the basic, cookie-cutter Marksman 31 point breakdown in the Builds section.
Version 2.0 - The same version as 1.35, except reposted on the new forums.
Version 2.1 - For the 2.0 patch and Burning Crusade
Version 2.2 - For the talent changes in patch 2.0.6 (Talent changes in Silencing Shot, Arcane Shot, and the two Barrage talents)
Version 2.3 - Updating information in the guide based upon feedback

The latest patch notes can be found here: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/

NOTE: One thing some people have brought up is that some of my comments refer to what others have said. I've tried almost everything in both Beast Mastery and Marksmanship. I've also read what people have to say about the various talents on the forum and on my server. I've noticed that there might be a talent I personally like, but a majority of others have disparaging things to say about; in cases like those, I reported what most people have said about the talent. I feel that relaying what most Hunters have found with the talents are better than stating solely my own opinions on the subject.

II. Beast Mastery Talents

Overview:
Beast Mastery is viewed as being the best for general leveling and grinding. Your pet becomes a great tank and damage dealer with the various talents in this tree. You can rarely pull aggro off your pet if you are BM specced because of the strong damage-dealing potential your pet receives, hence this is why this talent tree is considered the best for leveling. You arent as strong as you could be in Marksmanship and you wont have the combat bonuses to ensure your continued survival in Survivalist. This tree is still viewed as being useful in PvP, but possibly not as useful in end-game raiding.


Tier 1 - No Prerequisites
Improved Aspect of the Hawk - rank 5/5 (While Aspect of Hawk is active, all normal ranged attacks have a 10% chance of increasing ranged attack speed by 3/6/9/12/15% for 12 seconds.)
The new IAotH is set up to proc a lot more (twice as much), but also to shoot half the previous speed of 30%. Good for extra damage in the long run and it is possible to have your IAotH procs chain together.

Endurance Training - rank 5/5 (Increases the health of your pets by 2/4/6/8/10% and your total health by 1/2/3/4/5%.)
At 2,000 hit points, your pet would get a bonus of 200 hp while if you had 2,000 hit points, you’d get 100 extra hit points. Some say it is a big help (if you want to grind with your pet doing a lot of the work), not so much if you want to deal the damage. Many consider this a staple anyway.


Tier 2 - Requires 5 points in Beast Mastery talents
Focused Fire – rank 2/2 (All damage caused by you is increased by 1/2% while your pet is active and the critical strike chance of your Kill Command Ability is increased by 10/20%.)
From what I can gather, this is a small bump in damage output (but helpful to the Kill Command). This looks small but is a big overall DPS addition. This influences all your damaging attacks.

Improved Aspect of the Monkey - rank 3/3 (Increases the Dodge bonus of your Aspect of the Monkey by 2/4/6%.)
Very good for a survivalist build, but not as helpful for someone who wants to rely on either their pets or their guns/bows. Not a bad ability any way you look at it, but you might find something better to spend your points on though. Helpful with your Mongoose Bite proccing.

Thick Hide - rank 3/3 (Increases the Armor Rating of your pets by 7/14/20% and your armor contributions from items by 4/7/10%.)
Helps with damage reduction for your pet and yourself. If your pet has about 2,000 Armor and you also had 2,000 armor, they would get an extra 400 points of Armor while you get an extra 200 points from your own armor thrown into the mix. A very good, solid talent.

Improved Revive Pet - rank 2/2 (Revive Pet's casting time is reduced by 3/6 seconds, mana cost is reduced by 20/40%, and increases the health your pet returns with by an additional 15/30%.)
Situational. Can help when overrun & your pet has died (if you don't flee) and in instances. Previous talent returned your pet with twice as many hit points as this one does. Some use, many don't. I've heard that this is is useful in high-level raids, but also some don't use their pets in high-level raids. Your mileage may vary.


Tier 3 - Requires 10 points in Beast Mastery talents
Pathfinding - rank 2/2 (Increases the speed bonus of your Aspect of the Cheetah and Aspect of the Pack by 4/8%.)
If you like running, this can help a little. It was an increase in speed by 2% compared to the previous version.

Bestial Swiftness - rank 1/1 (Increases the outdoor moving speed of your pets by 30%.)
Helps a lot with keeping your pet in combat chasing down runners and getting to the target before your shots go off. Some skip this, but many love it.

Unleashed Fury - rank 5/5 (Increases the damage done by your pets by 4/8/12/16/20%.)
If you are in this tree, this is a must-have. Helps a lot with raising your pet's DPS.


Tier 4 - Requires 15 points in Beast Mastery talents
Improved Mend Pet - rank 2/2 (Gives the Mend Pet spell a 15/50% chance of cleansing one Curse, Disease, Magic, or Poison effect from the pet each tick.)
50% is great for using it during combat to keep your pet in the fight and at its most deadly. Plus, it allow your pet to repull the aggro back off you when the player or mob thinks they've CCed your pet. Someone brought up that this is more useful for solo play, than if you are typically with a group. My own thoughts? I'm just glad it is only 17 points into the tree which allows you to pursue any other tree if you want. This ability has been GREAT for me. The 15% chance to proc isn't good enough. Seriously. If you are taking this, go with both points.

Ferocity - rank 5/5 (Increases the critical strike chance of your pets by 2/4/6/8/10%. A requirement for Frenzy.)
Less a chance to proc than before (down 5%) but still a great talent. Helps keep your pet dealing out the damage. More pet damage means less chances of your shots pulling aggro back onto you.


Tier 5 - Requires 20 points in Beast Mastery talents
Spirit Bond - rank 2/2 (While your pet is active, you and your pet will regenerate 1/2% of total health ever 10 sec.)
Some like it, some don't. Can help keep you and your pet alive in tough situations & possibly help with shortening downtime. Many skip, but some do like it.

Intimidation - rank 1/1 (Command your pet to intimidate the target on the next successful melee attack, causing a high amount of threat and stunning the target for 3 sec. A requirement for Bestial Wrath. (137 Mana. 100 yd range. Instant cast. 1 min. cooldown.))
Viewed as the reason to put 21 points into Beast Mastery talent and not go for 31 in another tree. Excellent ability for anyone pushing their BM tree down this far. The stun is helpful in PvP and PvE, as well as pulling aggro back onto your pet.

Bestial Discipline - rank 2/2 (Increases the Focus regeneration of your pets by 50/100%.)
Your pet becomes a death dealing machine all on its own. Big change from 10/20%. Can help a lot with your pet being able to constantly deal out more damage in the long run. Again, if your pet is doing more damage and growling more, that means there will be less attention on yourself and your deadly attacks. An extremely deadly talent to take if your pet is important to you.

II. Beast Mastery Talents (Part 2)

Tier 6 - Requires 25 points in Beast Mastery talents
Animal Handler – rank 2/2 (Increases your speed while mounted by 4/8% and your pet’s chance to hit by 2/4%. The mounted movement increase does not stack with other effects.)
The boost in your mounted speed is decent to have, but the increased chance for your pet to hit is small, but will make a big difference in setting off your pet’s procs talents will boost its DPS.

Frenzy - rank 5/5 (Gives your pet a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to gain a 30% attack speed increase for 8 sec. after dealing a critical strike. Requires 5/5 points in Ferocity.)
Frenzy will trigger off any crit your pet gets - Claw, Bite, Screech, and so on. Extremely helpful in adding damage to the mix. If you are going into BM this far, this is an excellent choice. An important thing to keep in mind - if Frenzy procs while your pet is in the middle of frenzying, the 8 second timer resets which can keep your pet attacking 30% faster for a long time if you are lucky.


Tier 7 - Requires 30 points in Beast Mastery talents
Ferocious Inspiration – When your pet scores a critical hit, all party members have all damage increased by 1/2/3% for 10 seconds.
A great reason to have a Beast Mastery specced Hunter in the party or raid. It affects all damage including spells.

Bestial Wrath - rank 1/1 (Send your pet into a rage causing 50% additional damage for 18 sec. While enraged, the beast cannot be stopped unless killed. Requires 1/1 in Intimidation. (206 Mana. 100 yd. range. Instant cast. 2 min. cooldown.))
A great 31 point talent to get in Beast Mastery talent tree. Your pet cannot be CCed (crowd controlled) and is immune to anything that would generally stop its attack (fear, curses, and other such things). Plus, the damage bonus is killer. Leads into getting the Beast Within – a similar effect as Bestial Wrath but for yourself.

Catlike Reflexes – rank 3/3 (Increases your pet’s chance to dodge by 3/6/9% and your chance to dodge by 1/2/3%.)
This will help keep your pet alive longer in fights, plus it will also aid you if you frequently find yourself being attacked at melee range.


Tier 8 – Requires 35 points in Beast Mastery talents
Serpent’s Swiftness – rank 5/5 (Increases ranged combat attack speed by 4/8/12/16/20% and your pet’s melee attack speed by 4/8/12/16/20%.)
Faster firing means more DPS. Faster pet attacking means your pet will be able to keep up with your increased damage. Great DPS addition that some have said helps BM damage be viable compared to the Marksmanship tree.


Tier 9 – Requires 40 points in Beast Mastery talents and 1 point in Bestial Wrath
The Beast Within – 1/1 ranks (When your pet is under the effects of Bestial Wrath, you also go into a rage causing 10% additional damage and reducing mana costs of all spells by 20% for 18 sec. While enraged, you do not feel pity or remorse or fear and you cannot be stopped unless killed.)
More DPS, cheaper cost on all your spells, and you can’t be crowd controlled for 18 seconds. What’s not to love about this? If you want to turn into a big red killing machine like your pet when they go into Bestial Wrath form, then this is the talent to get. I think this would be very helpful in PvP for when someone tries to fear you or stop you in anyway.

III. Marksmanship Talents (Part 1)

Overview:
This tree helps with adding more overall damage to your attacks. Great for PvP and end-game instances.


Tier 1 - No Prerequisites
Improved Concussive Shot - rank 5/5 (Gives your Concussive Shot a 4/8/12/16/20% chance to stun the target for 3 sec.)
Procs more than one might think. Excellent for PvP, but still helpful for PvE. Allows you and your pet, not to mention teammates, get free hits in or to set up for a bigger damage attack like an Aimed Shot.

Lethal Shots - rank 5/5 (Increases your critical strike chance with ranged weapons by 1/2/3/4/5%.)
A staple for the Marksmanship tree. Can't recommend this one enough, even for people pursuing other trees.


Tier 2 - Requires 5 points in Marksmanship talents
Improved Hunter's Mark - rank 5/5 (Causes 20/40/60/80/100% of your Hunter’s Mark ability effect to apply to melee attack power as well.)
What was a very weak talent now helps out your pet in its damage output, your group/raid mates in attacking the target, and even yourself when you close for melee. An extremely solid choice for either just helping with your pet’s damage for soloing or for grouping or raiding.

Efficiency - rank 5/5 (Reduces the Mana cost of your Shots and Stings by 2/4/6/8/10%.)
A toss-up. People like it because it can save you 10% of your Mana costs as if you had 10% more Mana in your Mana pool. Allows you to throw in a few more special shots than you normally would be able to. Not necessary, but helpful in the long run. Considered a "bread-and-butter" talent for raiding Hunters.


Tier 3 - Requires 10 points in Marksmanship talents
Go for the Throat – rank 2/2 (Your ranged critical hits cause your pet to generate 25/50 Focus.)
Really helps Beast Mastery specced Hunters, but also helps anyone else who wants to keep their pet dishing out damage and keeping the aggro on their pet and off them. This plus the Bestial Discipline talent is a deadly combination, although some say you only truly need one or the other.

Improved Arcane Shot - rank 5/5 (Reduces the cooldown of your Arcane Shot by 0.2/.4/.6/.8/1 sec.)
With the changes in Arcane Shot being more powerful, it has become a useful talent. It changes your cooldown of Arcane Shot from a 6 seconds base to 5 seconds when improved; Aimed Shot does NOT get its cooldown reduced.

Aimed Shot - rank 1/1 (An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 70. (68 Mana. 8-35 yd. range. 3 sec. cast. 6 sec. cooldown.))
If you want that extra blast of damage, this is one of the most feared Hunter abilities in PvP, plus it helps end fights faster in PvE. Considered a "bread-and-butter" talent for raiding Hunters. At rank 7, it adds 870 points of damage. Many are disappointed in its effect on the global cooldown of all Hunter spells, so some say only helpful in the beginning of battle or in certain occasions.

Rapid Killing – ranks 2/2 (Reduces the cooldown of your Rapid Fire ability by 1/2 min. In addition, after killing an opponent that yields experience or honor, your next Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot or Auto Shot causes 10/20% additional damage. Lasts 20 sec.)
If you use Rapid Fire a good deal, it will give you a 4 minute (or 3 minute for 2/2 points spent) cooldown rather than a 5 minute cooldown. A toss-up – some who have used it haven’t seen much of a difference in the long run from it. If you are a raider, this will help with the ability to spam your Rapid Fire and damage over the long run.


Tier 4 - Requires 15 points in Marksmanship talents
Improved Stings - rank 5/5 (Increases the damage done by your Serpent Sting and Wyvern Sting by 6/12/18/24/30%, increases the mana drained by your Viper Sting by 6/12/18/24/30% and reduces the chance Stings will be dispelled by 6/12/18/24/30%.)
If you like to use any of your Sting attacks, this is a solid addition to your DPS or mana-devouring tactics. Hard to pass this one up now. A very good addition to someone who is going for a heavy Marksmanship build.

Mortal Shots - rank 5/5 (Increases your ranged weapon critical strike damage bonus by 6/12/18/24/30%. Requires 1/1 point in Aimed Shot. )
A staple for a build where you want to do damage. A 2,000 point crit becomes a 2,600 point death-dealer.


Tier 5 - Requires 20 points in Marksmanship talents
Concussive Barrage – rank 3/3 (Your successful Auto Shot attacks have a 2/4/6% chance to Daze the target for 4 sec.)
If you like Improved Concussive Shot, this gives your normal shot a chance to stun the target, much like that of other classes’ own talents. Could be very helpful if you like your target’s stunned to allow you to set up more damaging attacks.

Scatter Shot - rank 1/1 (A short-range shot that deals 50% weapon damage and confuses the target for 4 sec. Any damage caused will remove the effect. Turns off your attack when used. (123 Mana. 15 yd. range. Instant. 30 sec. cooldown. Requires Ranged Weapon. A requirement for Trueshot Aura.)
This is viewed as the reason to put 21 points in the Marksmanship tree ability and not 31 in another tree. A well-loved talent/ability. Helps stop runners and is our only true interrupt outside of our pets and their special abilities or the Survival talent Counterattack that you can count on when you need it.

Barrage - rank 3/3 (Increases the damage done by your Multi-Shot and Volley spells by 4/8/12%. A requirement for Improved Barrage.)
For PvP, this is a great ability. For PvE, it might not get used as much because of using Volley or Multi Shot might pull aggro or break someone's CC. Although, for a well-geared raiding hunter who's around 400 DPS, that's an extra 48 DPS. It would take a lot of agility to get the same increase. It is a talent that scales as we scale it is a significant factor in a MM-hunter's damage. Considered a "bread-and-butter" talent for raiding Hunters.

Marksmanship Talents (Part 2)

Tier 6 - Requires 25 points in Marksmanship talents
Combat Experience – rank 2/2 (Increases your total Agility by 1/2% and your total Intellect by 3/6%.)
Not a staple, but extremely helpful in the long run. Higher Agility means a better chance to crit and more Attack Power. The extra boost to Intellect in addition to the Agility boost will help with more mana in the long run.

Ranged Weapon Specialization - rank 5/5 (Increases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by 1/2/3/4/5%.)
This talent add 5% to your base ranged damage across the board; Monster and Humanoid Slaying also add base damage to your attacks. One thing to be aware of - without good gear, this talent is lackluster. But, if you have a really good ranged weapon and really good gear or better, this talent will end up paying dividends. The extra damage might seem small at first, but can add up in the long run significantly. Also, it scales with your gear and level extremely well.


Tier 7 - Requires 30 points in Marksmanship talents
Careful Aim – rank 3/3 (Increases your ranged attack power by an amount equal to 15/30/45% of your total Intellect.)
This talent, when combined with Combat Experience, will increase your RAP which means more DPS. If you are going for Marksmanship in addition to having a high AP/RAP, then this will boost your damage output.

Trueshot Aura - rank 1/1 (Increases the Ranged and Melee Attack Power of party members within 45 yards by 50. Requires 1/1 points in Scatter ShotLasts 30 minutes. (325 Mana. Instant cast.))
The 31 point talent of the Marksmanship talent tree. Adds its attack power to you, your pet, and your group for ranged or melee attacks. Doesn't stack with another TSA, though. As an aside, +50 AGI = +50 AP, although with the extra AGI, you'd also get the benefit of a higher crit % as well as other bonuses a higher AGI will provide. At rank 4, it adds 125 AP and RAP to the entire party (including pets).

Improved Barrage - rank 3/3 (Increases the critical strike chance of your Multi-Shot ability by 4/8/12% and gives you a 33/66/100% chance to avoid interruption caused by damage while channeling Volley.)
This talent will further increase your Multi-Shot and Volley damage, plus allow your Volley to be safe from being interrupted by normal damage (i.e., non-interrupting abilities). If you picked up Barrage, this is another good choice, but if Multi-Shot and Volley are abilities you don't use frequently enough, you can use your points elsewhere. Otherwise, I'd recommend it.


Tier 8 – Requires 35 points in Marksmanship talents
Master Marksman rank 5/5 (Increases your ranged attack power by 2/4/6/8/10%.)
Higher attack power means higher DPS when it comes down to it. Also a prerequisite for Silencing Shot.


Tier 9 – Requires 40 points in Marksmanship talents and 5 points in Master Marksman
Silencing Shot – rank 1/1 (A shot that deals 50% weapon damage and Silences the target for 3 sec. (137 Mana, 8-35 yd range, Instant Cast, and a 20 sec cooldown.))
Silences those pesky casters when you need it. Mix this in with Scatter Shot and you will be able to have a much greater control over casters in fights. The pinnacle of the Marksmanship talent tree.

IV. Survival Talents (Part 1)

Overview
Not about necessarily improving your hand-to-hand combat ability, but about getting out of combat and staying out of it, which covers traps and a lot of agility-based abilities. Also adds more burst damage because of the talents based around extra crit bonuses and damage dealing.

NOTE: With traps being visible in patch 1.10, that has changed some people's gameplay using them in PvP.


Tier 1 - No Prerequisites
Monster Slaying - rank 3/3 (Increases all damage caused against Beast, Giants, and Dragonkin targets by 1/2/3% and increases critical damage caused against Beasts, Giants, and Dragonkin targets by an additional 1/2/3%.)
Decent ability; adds about 300 to a 2,000 point crit and even less for a non-crit. At a 250 point Auto Shot hit, it adds about 8 points of extra damage. It does NOT increase crit chance, only damage for any attacks you do against them - normal shot, special shots, traps, and so on.

Humanoid Slaying - rank 3/3 (Increases all damage caused against Humanoid targets by 1/2/3% and increases critical damage caused against Humanoid targets by an additional 1/2/3%.)
Decent ability; adds about 300 damage to a 2,000 point crit and even less for a non-crit. At a 250 point Auto Shot hit, it adds about 8 points of extra damage. Some say it is a decent place to put points in if you need to go further down the tree and don't like the other talents in the tree and want to get involved in PvP. It does NOT increase crit chance, only damage for any attacks you do against them - normal shot, special shots, traps, and so on. It does work in PvP.

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Q u o t e:
Note from Seluhir of the Shattered Hand server on Monster and Humanoid Slaying:

On a 1000 damage attack, you'll gain 30 base damage, making it deal 1030 damage. Doesn't seem like much. When it crits, however, you'll ACTUALLY do 2120 damage, not 2060; effectively adding 12% crit damage.

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Hawk Eye - rank 3/3 (Increases the range of your ranged weapons by 2/4/6 yards.)
A must-have for the Survival tree. This gives us an extra 6 yards of safety where only other Hunters can reach us in PvP, plus it also gives us more distance in PvE from the target, keeping us out of most AoEs. In fact, it is a major staple in most builds for the distance it allows you to have from your target.

Savage Strikes - rank 2/2 (Increases the critical strike chance of Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite by 10/20%.)
Hunters aren't built to be involved in too much hand-to-hand, but could be useful if you like both Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite, plus you use them a lot. Exceedingly helpful if mobs or the other faction get into melee-combat range. That jump in crit chance, on top of any other crit bonuses you might have can make players want to avoid getting into close-combat range with you.


Tier 2 - Requires 5 points in Survival talents
Entrapment - rank 5/5 (Gives your Immolation Trap, Frost Trap, and Explosive Trap a 5/10/15/20/25% chance to entrap the target, preventing them from moving for 5 sec.)
If you love using traps or being involved in PvP, this is pretty helpful. With the 2.0 patch, we now have the ability to lay down a trap in the middle of combat. Putting down a trap is still instant, but it takes two seconds to arm itself. If something runs over it within those two seconds, it won't go off. After that, it will. Some say it's definitely worth putting at least 1 point into it just for the chance it might proc in a Frost Trap. This talent is very helpful for kiting mobs - Frost for one or two and Explosive for a big group to whittle them down.
A warning though - in PvE, if a Frost Trap captures a monster, they will initiate a melee attack on the nearest player. If it is a cloth wearer, it could be messy.

Deflection - rank 5/5 (Increases your Parry chance by 1/2/3/4/5%.)
An excellent talent in the Survivalist tree. Add this in with Counterattack, and you'll be able to keep the target in a near stun-lock. Great for PvP.

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Q u o t e:
From Jeddite of Deathwing:
The base Parry rate for a Hunter is 5% and that Parry can be increased only (currently) by talents or specific equipment bonuses. 5/5 Deflection increases a Hunter's Parry rate from a statistical 1-in-20 attacks to 1-in-10 attacks.

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Improved Wing Clip - rank 3/3 (Gives your Wing Clip ability a 7/14/20% chance to immobilize the target for 5 sec.)
An excellent ability if you want to be involved in PvP or expect to get into hand-to-hand combat a lot.


Tier 3 - Requires 10 points in Survival talents
Clever Traps - rank 2/2 (Increases the duration of Freezing and Frost trap effects by 15/30% and the damage of Immolation and Explosive trap effects by 15/30%.)
It can be great for PvP, except that Freezing Trap will only last a max of 15 seconds (20 seconds at level 60), with or without this talent. For PvE, the extra 6 seconds is great. Plus, the extra damage on Immolation Trap and Explosive Trap is always good for both PvE and PvP. People have said many underestimate the power of this talent as the Freezing and Frost trap can be a big help in PvP.

Survivalist - rank 5/5 (Increases total health by 2/4/6/8/10%.)
Can help some if you rarely get buffed. Gives 200 extra hit points to someone with 2,000 hit points.

Deterrence - rank 1/1 (When activated, increases your Dodge and Parry chance by 25% for 10 seconds. A requirement for Counterattack 1/1 points. (5 minute cooldown. Instant.))
This, plus the Deflection + Imp. Aspect of the Monkey + and Counterattack can almost make you Neo. Not quite, but pretty damned close. Especially helpful for when you need to get away from someone beating your head in with a stick. Or a stone.


Tier 4 - Requires 15 points in Survival talents
Trap Mastery - rank 2/2 (Decreases the chance enemies will resist trap effects by 5/10%.)
Helpful if you like traps, but not so much if you don't. Good combo w/ Entrapment and Trap Efficiency in PvP. Some don't like it even with the other two because their traps are rarely resisted.

Surefooted - rank 3/3 (Increases hit chance by 1/2/3% and increases the chance movement imparing effects will be resisted by 5/10/15%.)
Very helpful for PvP and adds to your overall DPS. A very solid ability.

Improved Feign Death - rank 2/2 (Reduces the chance your Feign Death ability will be resisted by 2/4%.)
Not much use until end-game, and almost none in PvP. If you are raiding end-game content, this could be helpful to ensure safer pulls if you are the one going in, pulling the targets, and then feigning death if you overpull so you can start again.


Tier 5 - Requires 20 points in Survival (Counterattack also requires 1 point in Deterrence)
Survival Instincts rank 2/2 (Reduces all damage taken by 2/4%.)
A nice addition to helping you stay up and going. Nothing dramatic and can be skipped, but also can be helpful.

Killer Instinct - rank 3/3 (Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks by 1/2/3%. A requirement for Wyvern Sting.)
Anything that adds to your critical strike chance is very helpful in the long run. Killer Instinct is the same as Mortal Shots when it comes to DPS in the long run.

Counterattack - rank 1/1 (A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. This attack deals 40 damage and immobilizes the target for 5 sec. Counterattack cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried. (45 Mana. 5 yd. range. Instant cast. 5 sec. cooldown.))
This is viewed as the reason to put 21 points into the Survival tree and not 31 points in another tree. Deflection + Counterattack adds a LOT of survivability. This is a debated ability - some say it is quintessential while others think it isn't as good as it seems. Your mileage may vary. At rank 3, it does 110 point of base damage without any bonuses from talents. (NOTE: Imp. Aspect of the Monkey only helps with Dodging attacks, not parrying attacks.)

Survival Talents (Part 2)

Tier 6 Requires 25 points in Survival talents
Resourcefulness – rank 3/3 (Reduces the mana cost of all traps and melee abilities by 20/40/60% and reduces the cooldown of all traps by 6 sec.)
If you are going for a Survival/PvP build, this talent is probably rather important for your build. Note that it is only truly useful in melee combat or the cost of your traps, not any of your ranged abilities.

Lightning Reflexes - rank 5/5 (Increases your Agility by 3/6/9/12/15%.)
Great talent, but not as helpful if you don't have very solid +AGI gear. Still a very well-respected and liked talent overall. Helps a lot in the higher end-game.


Tier 7 - Requires 30 points in Survival talents
Thrill of the Hunt – rank 3/3 (Gives you a 33/66/100% chance to regain 40% of the mana cost of any shot when it critically hits.)
A somewhat useful talent. Useful when using your Stings, Aimed Shot, Multi-Shot, Volley, and Arcane Shot. If you are in hand-to-hand combat, this won’t make any difference.

Wyvern Sting - rank 1/1 (A stinging shot that puts the target to sleep for 12 sec. Any damage will cancel the effect. When the target wakes up, the Sting causes 300 Nature damage over 12 sec. Only usable out of combat. Only one Sting per Hunter can be active on the target at a time. Requires 3/3 points in Killer Instinct. (115 Mana. 8-35 yd. range. Attack speed. 2 min. cooldown.))
Considered the 31 point talent of the Survival talent tree. At rank 3, it does 600 damage. Situational and countered by Will of the Forsaken & Abolish Poison. Due to its needing distance (like most shots), it isn't good for close range emergency escapes. It is very good for initial crowd control and against healers. Also helpful against casters and Warriors to take them out of the fight early. Long cooldown makes it not as useful as it could be. Does give time to line up an Aimed Shot and send your pet into attack though.

Expose Weakness – rank 3/3 (Your ranged criticals have a 10/20/30% chance to apply an Expose Weakness effect to the target. Expose Weakness increases the Attack Power of all attackers against that target by 25% of your Agility for 7 sec.)
This ability will be a big help in raiding or long battles. It is still helpful in shorter battles, but not as crucial in raid encounters.


Tier 8 – Requires 35 points in Survival talents
Master Tactician – rank 5/5 (Your successful ranged attack have a 6% chance to increase your critical strike chance with all attacks by 2/4/6/8/10% for 8 sec.)
This ability helps make your damage output somewhat comparable to a Marksmanship build. A requirement to take Readiness.


Tier 9 – Requires 40 points in Survival talents and 5 points in Master Tactician
Readiness – rank 1/1 (When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown of your other Hunter abilities. Instant cast with a 5 minute cooldown.)
A great emergency ability - if you are in PvP and you need to use another Wvyern Sting or lay down another trap. In PvE, you could use it for the same reasons or if you do a really bad pull and your Feign Death was seen through. The choice here would be whether you want to pass up Scatter Shot from the Marksmanship talents or Intimidation from the Beast Mastery talents. This talent choice comes down to a playstyle decision. A very good talent, but possibly would have been better as a 35 point talent.

Talent builds coming soon!

Typically, if I were a moderator, I wouldn't sticky your post based on the fact that you asked to sticky your own post. However, if I were a moderator, I'd sticky this based on the fact that the first post after yourself was negative and stating that they wouldn't sticky it if they were a moderator.

Secondly, "Some take it, some dont'" is not a very helpful statement to make. If I'm looking to build a talent build, it doesn't help me make a decision. For a guide to be useful, facts must be presented, descriptions given, and situational applications supplied. Him-hawing about it doesn't a good guide make, mostly because it can be applied to EVERY talent in every talent tree for every class.

Personal opinion and guessing should be separate when creating a guide like this. However, you did make a good attempt.

I'd apologize for giving unsolicited advice, but it's been my experience that that is the most useful kind.

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Q u o t e:
Typically, if I were a moderator, I wouldn't sticky your post based on the fact that you asked to sticky your own post. However, if I were a moderator, I'd sticky this based on the fact that the first post after yourself was negative and stating that they wouldn't sticky it if they were a moderator.

Secondly, "Some take it, some dont'" is not a very helpful statement to make. If I'm looking to build a talent build, it doesn't help me make a decision. For a guide to be useful, facts must be presented, descriptions given, and situational applications supplied. Him-hawing about it doesn't a good guide make, mostly because it can be applied to EVERY talent in every talent tree for every class.

Personal opinion and guessing should be separate when creating a guide like this. However, you did make a good attempt.

I'd apologize for giving unsolicited advice, but it's been my experience that that is the most useful kind.

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Something to think about is that there are wildly varying opinions about almost all the talents. Therefore, it something that has to be partially based in opinions and feelings.

Another thing to remember is that this is guide is based upon a great number of people saying why a certain talent is helpful, while others are not. When scouring the forums previously, I took a notice of what people universally hated, what they said was excellent, and what they said was useful.

There are some number crunching that occurred on the previous version of this post on the old forums. I posted many of the instances where people did the factual research on why a certain talent was better than the others.

On last thing to keep in mind is that there was no guide which explained what most people thought and felt about the Hunters' talents. So, after seeing multiple posts every day asking about what people thought about their builds, this guide does fill the need of "what do people think about these talents?"

A couple of updates/corrections for the BM section: Unleashed Fury gives a 4/8/12/16/20% boost to pet damage now, and Bestial Wrath lasts 18 seconds but only has a 50% damage boost. (Patch 1.8 or 1.9, can't remember which)

You also might want to add information about the details of purchased higher ranks of talents like Aimed Shot and TSA, and that Frenzy will trigger off of *any* pet critical, including things like Bite, Claw, Screech, etc.

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Q u o t e:
A couple of updates/corrections for the BM section: Unleashed Fury gives a 4/8/12/16/20% boost to pet damage now, and Bestial Wrath lasts 18 seconds but only has a 50% damage boost. (Patch 1.8 or 1.9, can't remember which)

You also might want to add information about the details of purchased higher ranks of talents like Aimed Shot and TSA, and that Frenzy will trigger off of *any* pet critical, including things like Bite, Claw, Screech, etc.

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Thanks for the corrections! I'll add them in!

And another thing to add re: Frenzy -- crits that occur while the pet is in Frenzy will reset the 8-second timer, so a pet can stay Frenzied for a very long time.

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Q u o t e:
And another thing to add re: Frenzy -- crits that occur while the pet is in Frenzy will reset the 8-second timer, so a pet can stay Frenzied for a very long time.

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Great things to add yet again. Thanks for the input, Bram!

:)

I also updated my personal 20/31/0 build so that people can click on my Hunter icon next to my avatar and see what I personally use.

STICKY, PLEASE!

I reported this post asking it to be stickied (I hear that's the method one is supposed to use).

I am now bumping for good measure. :P

-Bronil

/bump

Any comments based upon new exploration of talent changes?