Hunter Leveling
Leveling builds and talent order for Hunters, level 1 to 60. The beta stopped at level 30, so each guide marks what was played there and what is projected from the final beta client. The fastest leveling plan covers the route. Try the builds in the Hunter talent calculator or read the endgame guides. The Hunter class journey lines them up by level, with dungeons and raids.
Best classes to level a Hunter with
All Hunter combos →No votes yet, so combos are ordered by how many published guides cover them. Votes decide the order as soon as readers start rating the guides.
- 1
Balance Druid + Beast Mastery Hunter
DuoDPSTop guide: Druid + Hunter duo leveling 40–60: Balance Druid Moonkin talents
- Guides
- 2
- 2
Beast Mastery Hunter + Demonology Warlock
DuoDPSTop guide: Hunter + Warlock duo leveling 10–60: Beast Mastery Hunter talents
- Guides
- 2
Experience changes that affect this route
The beta changed the leveling maths twice in October, so advice written in September no longer holds. Each entry is what Blizzard wrote, with our reading of it marked separately. Last change .
- The target is parity with questing, not Classic Era dungeon speedAnnounced, not in a build yet
Blizzard's stated aim: after these changes, perfect experience-per-hour dungeon play should land very close to, if not equal to, optimal questing. It also said dungeon experience will not return to Classic Era levels, because dungeon spam being the optimal path fails its design pillars.
What it means for your route: Plan a mixed route. Dungeons are for the levels where an instance sits on your path and the group is close to your level; questing carries the levels in between. A pure dungeon run to 60 is being balanced out of the game on purpose.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment (Aggrend) · Blizzard's reasoning
Legacy Points while you level
UnconfirmedWhere to spend Hunter Legacy Points for solo questing, in the order the points arrive. A character can spend 16, and an account can earn 65 at launch. Stop wherever your total is — the list is cumulative. Effects are quoted from the Beta client 1.60.1.70532 data.
- 1.1 point · 1/16
Well Restedrank 1 · Adventure
Your rested experience accumulates 4% faster and your rested experience cap is increased by 4%.
Only one point here for now — it is the prerequisite for Talented, and rested experience is worth having while you are at it.
- 2.5 points · 6/16
Talentedrank 5 · Adventure
You gain talent points every level starting at level 5 instead of starting at level 10, but you still may not have more than 51 total talent points.
The strongest leveling node in the tree: talent points from level 5 instead of 10, so you reach your first real build five levels sooner.
- 3.5 points · 11/16
Thrill of Adventurerank 5 · Adventure
You gain 5% of your maximum Health and Mana over 10 sec each time you deliver the killing blow to a non-trivial enemy. Ineffective in dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds.
5% of your health and mana back on every killing blow. Solo questing is mostly downtime between fights, and this is the node that removes it. It does nothing in dungeons, raids or battlegrounds.
- 4.1 point · 12/16
Field Guiderank 1 · Adventure
Reduces your cooldown on adding Camp features by 8%
Prerequisite for Frequent Flier, and shortens the wait between camp features.
- 5.1 point · 13/16
Frequent Flierrank 1 · Adventure
You receive a 50% discount on all flight paths, and your flight path mount flies 20% faster.
Half-price flight paths and 20% faster flights. You will fly hundreds of times before 60.
- 6.1 point · 14/16
Gourmandrank 1 · Resourcefulness
Increases the duration of beneficial effects from eating food by 33%.
Food buffs last a third longer, so you eat less often between pulls.
- 7.2 points · 16/16
Well Restedrank 3 · Adventure
Your rested experience accumulates 12% faster and your rested experience cap is increased by 12%.
No vendor reagents to save on, so the last two points go into rested experience.
What to skip, and why
- Permanence: Its party-buff half does nothing alone; the camp rest half is not worth three points while you are questing.
- For Great Honor: Honor only, so it waits until you start battlegrounds.
- Diplomat: Reputation matters at 60, not on the way there.
- High Alert, Field Medicine: Stealth detection and bandage timers are situational; neither changes how fast you level.
Variants
- If you gather while you level, one or two points in Bountiful Harvest (20% more scarce materials per rank, Mining, Herbalism and Skinning) pay for your mounts; take them out of the last picks on this list.
- Levelling in dungeons instead? Thrill of Adventure is dead weight there — the dungeon plan on any dungeon leveling guide spends those five points on Permanence, Reinforce and faster corpse runs.
- Your class buys no reagents, and Reagent Economy no longer makes camp features free, so it is left out of this plan.
Legacy values are datamined from the beta client and can change. Plan your own spread in the Legacy planner, see where points come from inLegacy Points, or read the Legacy system guide. The order above is our recommendation; the effects are game data.
Hunter leveling guides
- Newno votes
Beast Mastery HunterDPSSolo levelingLevels 10–60TheorycraftWoW Forever Hunter Leveling 1–60: Beast Mastery Build
Beast Mastery Hunter leveling build for WoW Forever, levels 10–60: Deadly Aspects, Pathfinding and pet talents to Ferocity at 30 as played in the beta, then Summon Hawk, Intimidation, Frenzy and Bestial Wrath at 40 (projected).
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 19, 2026· 0 comments
- Newno votes
Beast Mastery HunterDPSGroup levelingLevels 40–60Theorycraftwith
Druid + Hunter duo leveling 40–60: Beast Mastery Hunter pet talents
Beast Mastery Hunter talents for leveling with a Balance Druid: a tougher pet with Endurance Training and Spirit Bond, Intimidation and Bestial Wrath at 40, then Marksmanship damage to 60.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Beast Mastery HunterDPSGroup levelingLevels 10–60Theorycraftwith
Hunter + Warlock duo leveling 10–60: Beast Mastery Hunter talents
Beast Mastery Hunter build for leveling with a Warlock: your beast tanks the kill target, the Voidwalker takes the add, and Bestial Wrath at 40 turns every pull into a race you win.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Beast Mastery HunterDPSSolo levelingLevels 10–60TheorycraftBeast Mastery Hunter leveling guide 10–60: pet talents, Bestial Wrath and Summon Hawk
Solo Beast Mastery Hunter talents from 10 to 60: Deadly Aspects first, Unleashed Fury and Ferocity for a pet that tanks and kills, Intimidation at 31, Frenzy, Bestial Wrath at 40, then Lethal Attacks, Efficiency and Rapid Killing.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Marksmanship HunterDPSSolo levelingLevels 20–50TheorycraftMarksmanship Hunter leveling guide 20–50: Careful Aim, Trueshot Aura and Sniper Shot
Marksmanship Hunter leveling from 20 to 50: Deadly Aspects, Careful Aim and Efficiency, Lethal Attacks and Rapid Killing, Trueshot Aura at 32, Mortal Shots and Barrage, Sniper Shot at 48.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Survival HunterDPSSolo levelingLevels 30–60TheorycraftSurvival Hunter leveling guide 30–60: Lightning Reflexes, Deterrence and Lacerating Strikes
Survival Hunter leveling from 30 to 60: Improved Tracking damage, Survivalist and Surefooted, Deterrence and Counterattack, Lightning Reflexes at 40, Lacerating Strikes at 46, then pet damage from Beast Mastery.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Beast Mastery HunterDPSDungeon levelingLevels 40–60Theorycraftwith



Control Group 5-man: Beast Mastery Hunter pet off-tank talents (levels 40–60)
Beast Mastery Hunter build for control group dungeon leveling from 40 to 60: a pet that off-tanks one mob with Intimidation and Endurance Training, Ferocity and Frenzy damage, Bestial Wrath burst and Lethal Attacks from Marksmanship.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Marksmanship HunterDPSDungeon levelingLevels 15–40Theorycraftwith



Hybrid Cleave 5-man: Marksmanship Hunter Lone Wolf talents (levels 15–40)
Marksmanship Hunter build for hybrid cleave dungeon leveling: Lone Wolf so no pet pulls extra packs, Barrage for Multi-Shot, Trueshot Aura for the party and Sniper Shot at 40.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments
- Newno votes
Survival HunterDPSDungeon levelingLevels 40–60Theorycraftwith



Control Group 5-man: Survival Hunter trap and melee talents (levels 40–60)
Survival Hunter build for control group dungeon leveling from 40 to 60: Clever Traps and Survivalist's Discipline for longer, more frequent Freezing Traps, Entrapment, Predator's Edge melee and Lacerating Strikes at 40.
by WoWForeverBuilds· Sep 15, 2026· 2 comments