Blizzard Entertainment / Jeffrey Hsu
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Having learned how to play video games before he could walk or read, Jeffrey is a gaming zealot. With a fixation on efficiency and details, he'll d... Read more
Reviewed by Sarah Arnold
A scent on the wind, a print on the ground, or a trail of destruction. No matter where prey goes, they leave a way to track them. No one can elude a hunter forever, especially one that knows the wilds of Azeroth better than even the native creatures.
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With their variety of traps and loyal beasts, the hunters of Azeroth stand ready to take down their foes. Leaving a monster to roam unabated, whether it be of this world or another, is something they cannot let stand. Below, I’m covering the best races for hunters in World of Warcraft, including all types of gameplay as well as all current versions of the game.
The hunt is on!
Best Race for PVE Hunters
Alliance: Dwarf
While multiple races compete for the best hunter race for the Alliance, we have to give it to the Dwarves. Their Might of the Mountain passive boosts the damage of all critical strikes by 2%. Given the crit focus for all hunter specs, you can’t really go wrong here. The Dwarves’ Stoneform ability also comes in handy for cleansing nasty debuffs.
Horde: Orc
Orcs win out by a large margin on the Horde side. Blood Fury is just pure, raw value for boosting your attack power when you pop your big offensive cooldowns. If you’re playing as one of the hunter specs that uses pets, the Command racial also gives them a nice damage boost. It’s hard for any other race to provide as much DPS value as orcs.
Best Race for PVE Hunters
Alliance: Dark Iron Dwarf
The Dark Iron Dwarves might seem like an odd choice for best races for hunters, but they offer some of the greatest burst potential if played properly. Many players will try to lock down a hunter with plenty of debuffs. Between Disengage and Frost Trap, you can escape and cleanse all of those debuffs with your racial Fireblood. This can give you a huge primary stat boost (600 per debuff cleansed), allowing you to nuke enemies out of existence if you pop all your offensive cooldowns. As a bonus, you also take 1% less physical damage.
Horde: Troll
As for the Trolls, I recommend them largely due to how much kiting you end up doing as a hunter. Having your movement impaired tends to be a death sentence, but Da Voodoo Shuffle reduces the duration of those effects by 20%. The sooner you can start running, the better. Additionally, Berserking is fantastic for boosting your Haste so you can get your combos off before the enemy can respond.
Best Race for Lore Hunters
Alliance: Night Elf
As an incredibly long-lived race with a deep connection to the forests, it’s only natural that the Night Elves would produce some of the finest hunters in Azeroth. Even their leader, Tyrande Whisperwind, has the makings of a hunter mixed with a priest.
However, the most notable pure hunter is Shandris Feathermoon, the general of the Night Elf sentinels. Having taken up the bow at an incredibly young age, she proved her worth by launching a rescue mission to save Tyrande when she was captured by Xavius. As the years passed, she quickly climbed the ranks to general and led the night elves to multiple victories. She even held out against the Legion during their assault in the Third War.
Since then, she has been involved heavily on the Alliance’s front lines, particularly during the Battle for Azeroth. As one of the co-leaders of the assault on Zandalar, she assisted greatly in sabotaging the Horde’s communications and eliminating one of the remaining blood princes. Most importantly, she was one of the few remaining tethers to Tyrande’s humanity when she evoked the power of the Night Warrior. Without Shandris’ tireless pursuit to help her adoptive mother reclaim her sanity, Tyrande would have been consumed by vengeance, and the Alliance would have lost one of its major leaders.
Horde: Blood Elf
As for the Blood Elves, their history is a bit more depressing in regards to their hunters. Distant cousins to the Night Elves, the Blood Elves produced some of the finest hunters through history. Of particular note are the three Windrunner sisters — Veressa, Alleria, and Sylvanas. However, fate is cruel. When Arthas attacked Quel’Thelas to seize the Sunwell, the family was torn apart. Sylvanas was slain and forced to serve Arthas in undeath, and, well… we know how that ultimately played out.
Alleria and Veressa were away at the time. The first was trapped on the other side of the Dark Portal when it was closed, traveling the stars to fight the Burning Legion. She learned of what had befallen her family only centuries later when she returned in Legion. Veressa’s path would lead her to the Alliance, where she’d ultimately to come to blows with the undead Sylvanas.
While the Blood Elves may have splintered into more factions, the history of the Windrunner sisters shows just how potent their hunters were. Had certain events not occurred, the Blood Elves would continue to possess the undisputed greatest hunters throughout Azeroth.
Best Looking Race for Hunters
Alliance: Draenei
Though the Draenei tend to be renowned for their martial prowess in melee combat, they do have an elite squad of hunters known as the Rangari. Serving as the “eyes of the prophet,” they scouted and undertook dangerous missions into the heart of enemy territory. With hooves like beasts, they were naturally suited for scouring the rough terrain and blending in with the wildlife. If you want to know what it’s like to be an alien hunter, the Draenei shall show you everything they’ve learned from being hunted across the stars.
Horde: Blood Elf
It should come as no surprise that, with such a rich history of legends, the Blood Elves look good as hunters. The Blood Elves make their race’s fiery colors look good with grace and prestige fitting a master marksman. This becomes even more evident considering how good the mail armor and ranged weapons look in the Sunwell raid. Plus, they basically look like the elves from Lord of the Rings, so the connection is fairly obvious.
Best Race for Hunters in WoW Classic
Night Elf
Unfortunately for the Alliance, there is no especially great race for hunter. While the Dwarves have Gun Specialization, it’s rather lackluster as guns never really were BiS as a weapon back in the day. The Draenei at least provide Heroic Presence to bolster the party’s hit chance, but we’re going to have to recommend the Night Elves. Why? Well, they have the highest base Agility stat, which translates into a slight DPS increase. I know, it’s not great.
Orc
As for the Horde side, rejoice! Orcs get a whopping 5% extra damage from their pets thanks to Command, have a decent chance to resist stuns due to Hardiness, and an attack steroid via Blood Fury. If you’re in Wrath of the Lich King Classic, it’s even more useful as Blood Fury will bolster your ranged attack as well! Alternatively, you can choose Troll for their Bow Specialization and attack speed buff from Berserking.
