This information is verified to be accurate as of World of Warcraft Patch 3.3.x.

As I pointed out in my Horde Warlock Race Guide, you should choose a Horde race based on their unique traits. These racial traits occasionally figure into game play, but, as every Forsaken rogue knows, these game-changing racial traits can and will be changed. With that in mind, choose a race that suits your playstyle or just looks cool.

Horde hunters can select from the following races: Blood Elf, Orc, Tauren, and Troll. Each race has different starting stats, but the differences at level 80 are so minimal that this should not factor into your decision. The lists below only include racial traits that affect hunters. Other traits, such as the Blood Elf affinity for Enchanting, are not included.

Blood Elf

  • Arcane Torrent silences enemies within 8 yards and restores 6% of mana. Since hunters are rarely within 8 yards of their enemies, this shouldn't be very useful. The restoration of 6% of mana can definitely have its uses. Presumably this trait will change when hunters no longer use mana.
  • Magic Resistance is essentially a 2% reduction in magic damage taken. Again, enemies are rarely focused on hunters so this has little impact.

Orc

  • Blood Fury increases attack power (AP) for 15 seconds. The amount of AP granted scales with level. At level 80, the resulting AP increase is 322. This results in a nice damage boost available every 2 minutes.
  • Command increases the damage done by pets by 5%. This is a great trait for any hunter since pets can be a major component in hunter damage output. This is especially useful if you plan to do a lot of soloing or raiding as Beast Master.
  • Hardiness reduces the duration of stun effects by 15%. This trait is mainly beneficial in PVP situations, but can occasionally by useful in PVE.

Tauren

  • Endurance increases your base health by 5%. This only affects the hunter, since pet health is influenced by Stamina not Health.
  • Nature Resistance, like Blood Elves' Magic Resistance, reduces the amount of Nature-based damage received. Since the hunter is rarely the target, this trait is rarely used.
  • War Stomp stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards. This trait is situationally very useful. If an enemy has targeted the hunter and gets in too close for ranged attack, War Stomp gives the hunter a chance to stun the enemy and back out of melee range.

Troll

  • Beast Slaying increases troll damage against beasts by 5%. This is useful in certain situations but does not affect all gameplay.
  • Berserking grants a 20% attack speed increase for 10 seconds. The ability can be used every 3 minutes. This is a nice option for increasing burst damage.
  • Bow Specialization increases the hunter's chance to critically hit with bows by 1%. Troll hunters are therefore encouraged to use bows over guns.
  • Da Voodoo Shuffle reduces the duration of movement impairing effects by 15%. Hunters are not as frequently affected by movement impairing effects as other classes, but it does occasionally happen.
  • Regeneration increases trolls health regeneration by 10%. Additionally, trolls also maintain 10% of their health regeneration during combat. Since hunters are infrequently the target of attacks, this trait is only occasionally useful.

Therefore...

The two best races for hunters are Orcs and Trolls. Which race to choose depends on what kind of hunter you want to be. Beast Masters should choose Orcs since they receive a bonus to pet damage. Marksmen, on the other hand, may find the 1% critical hit chance increase of Trolls (with bows) to be a nice boost. If you are uncertain which kind of hunter you want to be, Orcs are the best option. Their Blood Fury trait can be used more frequently, and the damage increase of Command does not rely on a specific weapon type.

Which Horde race is best for hunter?
Short answer: Orc.

If you are looking for the absolute fastest way to reach level 80, check out Joana's WotLK Horde Level Guide.

Date: May 12th, 2010 · Tags: Classes · Comments RSS