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An Introduction to Hunter Talent Trees in the World of Warcraft, written for the Azeroth Advisor
You're quickly approaching level 10; congratulations! At level 10, you get your first look at talent trees, which allow you to specialize your character. Leveling is a great time to explore the talents and decide which kind of hunter you want to be. When you reach level 10, you'll be able to bring up your talent pane by pressing "n" or clicking the bullseye icon in your minimenu. There are three tabs in the talent pane, one for each tree: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, and Survival. The first tree, Beast Mastery (BM), is a popular option both for leveling and for endgame raiding. Most of the talents in this tree will make your pet stronger and its attacks more damaging. Many people like to take Endurance Training as their first BM talent; this increases your pet's health and your own. If you plan to send your pet in first, letting it take most of the hits, this talent is a sure bet. Improved Aspect of the Hawk can increase your damage output, but you may want to wait to put points into this talent since you'll probably end up using Aspect of the Viper more often as you level. Marksmanship (MM) is often considered the PvP tree, and is definitely worth a look if you enjoy player versus player combat. It provides the hunter with a number of specialized shots, enabling you to silence, stun, or otherwise incapacitate your enemies. The tree also contains some talents that increase the hunter's damage. Lethal Shots can be particularly nice even for PvE; this talent means your shots have a higher chance to critically strike the enemy, doing more damage with less ammunition. Improved Concussive Shot gives you a chance to stun your target; if you plan to participate in a lot of battlegrounds, this can be a lifesaver. Last but certainly not least, the Survival tree enhances the hunter's ability to stay far away from the target, and grants a few aces up the sleeve for close combat. Hawk Eye increases your range with a bow or gun, buying you extra time to kill your target before it reaches you. Monster Slaying and Humanoid Slaying are somewhat limited since they're only effective against certain types of enemies; you may want to see how often you encounter these types before spending points here. Finally, Savage Strikes improves your special melee attacks; this talent is good if you enjoy getting down and dirty in close combat. While many hunters will insist that BM is the best tree for leveling, the choice is yours. You can try any talent tree you'd like, and if it turns out to be a bad fit, well, it'll just cost a few gold to change -- at least the first time! It's all about having fun, and the more you tailor your talents to suit your style, the more you'll enjoy your character. Happy hunting!
