WoW newbie looking for advice

[nobbie]

I'm going to go against the flow here and say, on your first character, stick with leatherworking/skinning. Sure it's not the most profitable profession combo, but crafting gear you can use and finding recipes is a very fun and satisfying part of the game. There's a bit of pride that comes when you look at a piece of equipment that says <Made by Thrak>. :)

The best part of LW are currently i.e. the epic armor kits that you get from the Cenarion Expedition. But the pattern requires Exalted reputation plus a primal nether per crafted kit. They are definitely not a big money maker either, but they are much sought after and sell for about 350-400g per kit.

[TriggerHappy]

Well having gone Skinning/Mining on my Druid I've so far managed to collect 115 gold by level 30 (although 10 of that came from Mavfin, who also saved me a ton of money by providing free bags, and 25g came from another generous contributor outside the guild). And that's with me losing some money through experimentation at the auction house using Auctioneer (until I got it's settings right). Which is probably a few more gold.

But now I'm thinking of an alt, and getting curious about two professions: Engineering and Enchanting. I've done a bunch of research and yet still can't confirm which one of them allows the crafting of items that increase your character's haste rating (translating to attack speed, for my purposes). Do any of you high level players know? Or are items that increase attack speed just mostly random drops? 'Cause if they are, I'm just going with Herbalism/Alchemy on that alt.

[Taelas]

Haste rating items are "random" drops. It only occurs on specific items, hence the quotes, but they're not from Engineering or Enchanting. Enchanting only allows you to craft a select few items: Wands, the rod you'd be using for the profession, and various oils that enhance your weapon. Engineering allows for a whole host of items, but most of those are either non-equippable or trinkets. (There are exceptions, such as the rocket boots, but they are few and far between.)

115g by level 30 is very good for a first character, but you're going to blow a lot of them on your first mount (assuming you actually get one -- I know of druids who refused to pay as they felt Travel Form was enough). 90g for the training, 10g for the mount, adjusted by your reputation (5% friendly, 10% honored, 15% revered, 20% exalted).

[RTM]

If you haven't found it already, Wowhead.com is a great place to have all this stuff spoiled for you.:) It's got a comprehensive database of pretty much everything in the game.

Enchanting
Engineering

Take a look through those and see if anything catches your eye. Engineering is pretty good for hunters, since you can make ammunition and guns (along with explosives and a kickin' rad flying mount). Enchanting is useful on all characters since it allows you to enhance your gear with various attributes, such as +agility to boots or +stamina to bracers. There is a haste enchant IIRC, but it's not available until the high levels of the profession.

There is a blacksmithing item called the Iron Counterweight that can be attached to a 2-handed weapon which will increase the haste rating of that weapon. It's pretty useful at low levels. If you want some haste on your weapon then that's a cheap way of getting some.

[LochnarITB]

Enchanting is useful on all characters since it allows you to enhance your gear with various attributes, such as +agility to boots or +stamina to bracers. There is a haste enchant IIRC, but it's not available until the high levels of the profession.

Just thought I'd throw in a warning since you asked for newbie advice and I'm not sure if you would be aware of this. In most cases, you won't be able to enchant the equipment of your other alts. The only way you can is if it is not yet soulbound and you mail it to the enchanter before it has been equipped. You end up doing equipment enchants for the enchanter toon and for other players, but not your alts. Of course, you can still make things like oils to sell or give to alts. I really wish Bliz would have enchants written to a scroll that could then be applied by anyone. It would be huge for self sufficiency.

[TriggerHappy]

Yep I was told of Wowhead in game. Quite useful.

I went with Engineering on the Hunter. So far I've been making nothing but bombs and parts, but the skill is already at 82 or 83. The Wowhead guide to power leveling the skill came quite in handy.

Though I wish I had kept the tons and tons of materials that I now need instead of having my Druid sell them on the AH. Now I understand why people kept buying up my copper bars at seemingly crazy prices.

I've already had an option to make a gun, but I've been able to twink the character with better gear through the AH. And yes, I've made my Orc Hunter run to Thunder Bluff to learn guns. They're so much fun. Click ... BOOM! Awesome.:)
Although I'm doing so much damage I can't imagine how my pet will ever be able to hold aggro.

I tried a Tauren hunter (how I discovered the pleasure of using guns), but repeating the same areas again kinda turned me off. That and I couldn't even see the gun, the Tauren is so large. Tried a Troll, and gave up after a few levels. The way they run just drove me nuts. Something like a mix between a Kangaroo that refuses to jump and one of those beasts from Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back. The last option was a Blood Elf. The way they fire a bow is just ... wrong. So I figured I'd forgo that race until I get the itch to play a Paladin (and they're the only option on the Horde side). And the Orc racials and visuals are both acceptable.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting a helicopter with my Engineer eventually.:)

[TriggerHappy]

The Orc Hunter Engineer/Miner is now also level 30. And I'm still not bored, which quite an achievement, considering my short attention span and frequent restart-itis in RPGs.:)

In my insane zeal I managed to get Engineering to 210 at this level. But as a result this character has about 20% of the gold the Druid Skinner/Miner had. Got more toys than I know what to do with though. Since I'll need a mount at 40, from this point on it's just making money all the way. Further progress in the trade skill will have to wait.

Using a pure beast mastery spec. I had three points in Hawk Eye (+6 yards weapon range) in Survival, but respecced them out. I almost never engaged a target myself first. Rather my pet would always initiate combat in order to properly keep aggro. And I had to be within healing range of the pet anyway, so that extra range was constantly being wasted. On the rare occasions I need to pull something myself, the base 35 yards range is plenty. Perhaps I'll find out I'm very wrong on this issue as I go along, but so far that's my philosophy.:)

[Swiss Mercenary]

The increased range is most useful in PvP/Raids/5-mans/Kiting elite mobs in that order of importance.

Because you have a very buff pet to hold aggro from you, you don't need it nearly as much as would, say, a mage or a warlock.

[NiteFox]

I kinda disagree. Hawkeye should be an absolute requirement for any hunter, and worth the three points in Survival.

Your pet will die. Your pet will lose aggro. All of this will happen even as a full BM spec, and those six yards can help a hell of a lot when kiting or just getting in an extra shot providing you picked a fight at the very periphery of your range. It's a good safety net, and one that is excellently cheap as far as range-expanding talents are considered. At the very least, it's a six-yard headstart, and pretty useful if you take on a mob that can charge and chew out your pet in short time.

MM is the outright nuke of hunter specs, BM is a little more utility. Both have some issues with aggro (Less so during the mid game, but it starts to become an issue at 60+). Plus you really don't want to be caught short in a PvP situation:)

[TriggerHappy]

I find myself closing in anyway to heal my pet. When it loses aggro, I tend to rely on traps (freezing or frost), Concussion Shot and Wing Clip to kite and kill said mob. In really bad cases I also use Bombs with AoE 3 second stuns and really horrible situations; Advanced Target Dummy. Though that's an expensive way to avoid death (even if I get some of the parts back). There's also the Scare Beast when fighting those, though I don't like to use it as scared mobs tend to bring back some friends with them.

Often just freezing the mob, mending the pet and bandaging myself up during the 10 seconds the trap buys me, then sending in the pet to attack, is enough to get the mob to focus back on the pet. If it doesn't, I already have a second freezing (or Immolation, if it's low on HP) trap ready, since I tend to put down traps right as I fire my first shot (after the pet has drawn aggro) and thus eliminate most of the cool down.

Now at level 30 I also have Feign Death, which I'm hoping will make life even easier.

I just don't see at the moment where that +6 range is useful except when I pull myself. Which I really don't do unless the pet will draw multiple mobs if I send it in. Pulling draws aggro to me right away, which the pet then has to work to break as the mob is charging in on me.

As for PvP, I'll respec for that when I want to try it. So far though in low level duels I've won 'em all except against Rogues (don't have flare yet). Stealth + Sap is simply ridiculous. He gets caught by my freezing trap, sure, but his sap lasts 25 seconds while my trap only lasts 10. Result: I die.

[Mirajj]

Well, from a different perspective, I was MM for a long, long time. When I went BM, I thought that the thing I'd miss the most would be the 6 yard range. My first BM spec even had it in. Then I gave it a shot without the +range skill, and found that after a slight readjustment period, I didn't miss the extra range at all, and still haven't. The tightening up of the deadzone has also helped this, as I can get that one extra shot in before the mob closes to melee.

So it's more a YMMV thing, than a "required to have/required to skip" thing. Some folks swear by it, some don't. Find which one works best for you, and go from there.

[Kevin]

The increased range is most useful in PvP/Raids/5-mans/Kiting elite mobs in that order of importance.

Because you have a very buff pet to hold aggro from you, you don't need it nearly as much as would, say, a mage or a warlock.

I think you nailed it. I've had it and I've not had it on various builds. As Mirajj said, you miss it most after you've had it for a long time but you adjust and the deadzone changes really make it less valuable in many situations, the deadzone change was a massive playstyle change for hunters in many ways. But when I don't have it, I miss it the most in PvP and Raiding and the least in soloing. In 5 mans I do miss it but there are a lot of times in 5 mans where you simply can't get at max range anyway, but there is still stuff in raids that 41 yards lets you avoid but 35 doesn't. And there are times I miss it soloing but that is mostly when I'm competing for spawns while farming something and the extra range helps me get tags faster, there are other times, as mentioned, it helps with kiting but you can easily be happy without it.

I can't imagine doing serious PvP without it (casual PvP sure, but it's a big deal when you are really playing to win all the time). But I can see doing serious PvE without it (and have as the top DPS hunter spec is beast and doesn't use the extra range).

And I also miss not having the range talents way more on a mage, lock, and caster shaman than I ever did on my hunter and I missed it a lot on my hunter at times. I adore the S3 healing shaman gloves for that extra 5 yards on shocks I know.

[TriggerHappy]

Top DPS Hunter is Beastmastery spec? Hmm, is that because of Serpent's Swiftness? 'Cause that's why I went for it.:)

Also, I'm guessing it's because the pet becomes an absolute killing machine. Mine is already!

And yeah, I can definitely see the use of the extra range in PvP (I come from playing a Ranger in Guild Wars competitively in PvP). When it comes to that, which is a while away, I'll try out a bunch of specs including ones with Hawk Eye.

[Mirajj]

Top DPS Hunter is Beastmastery spec? Hmm, is that because of Serpent's Swiftness? 'Cause that's why I went for it.:)

Also, I'm guessing it's because the pet becomes an absolute killing machine. Mine is already.

There are a several reasons, actually. Serpents Swiftness is one. A BM Hunter's shot cycle is much more forgiving and sustainable. It's also quite easy to find a ranged weapon in the proper speed frame. While you will vastly outdamage your pet (you better...) the Kill Command and good Ferocious Inspiration procs (I can keep mine up pretty much 100% of a fight, these days) all add up to some pretty sweet damage out.

[Lissa]

I think you nailed it. I've had it and I've not had it on various builds. As Mirajj said, you miss it most after you've had it for a long time but you adjust and the deadzone changes really make it less valuable in many situations, the deadzone change was a massive playstyle change for hunters in many ways. But when I don't have it, I miss it the most in PvP and Raiding and the least in soloing. In 5 mans I do miss it but there are a lot of times in 5 mans where you simply can't get at max range anyway, but there is still stuff in raids that 41 yards lets you avoid but 35 doesn't. And there are times I miss it soloing but that is mostly when I'm competing for spawns while farming something and the extra range helps me get tags faster, there are other times, as mentioned, it helps with kiting but you can easily be happy without it.

I can't imagine doing serious PvP without it (casual PvP sure, but it's a big deal when you are really playing to win all the time). But I can see doing serious PvE without it (and have as the top DPS hunter spec is beast and doesn't use the extra range).

And I also miss not having the range talents way more on a mage, lock, and caster shaman than I ever did on my hunter and I missed it a lot on my hunter at times. I adore the S3 healing shaman gloves for that extra 5 yards on shocks I know.

There's only a couple raid/5 man fights I can think of where the additional 6 yards really helps. For me, the additional 6 yards really helps with kiting mobs (I'm a big fan of kiting things all over to kill them, it's how I soloed Banthar, Bachlor, the forge camps in Nagrand, and a few other fights). That additional 6 yards can really help, especially if the mob has a 30 yard power (I'm very, very tempted one of these times to try kiting Azuregos, Krator, and a couple other elites/world bosses just to see if I can do it).

So in my thought of order would be that Hawkeye really helps with BG PvP, Kiting, Arena PvP, Raiding/5 Mans.

[TriggerHappy]

OK, I know people are gonna hate me for this ... but alt-itis hits again. I just got bored out of my skull with the Hunter by level 36 (well, almost 37). All I did was cast Hunter's Mark, send in the pet and stand there firing auto-shot till the cows came home. Oh well I did hit Arcane shot once in an eternity. Well and a sting at the start of the fight. It became so ridiculously easy and boring that at level 36 I could solo level 41 creatures with very little trouble.
Combined with the guns (and all ranged weapons in general) getting slower and slower as the levels go by (from 1.7-1.8 speed to 2.5-3.0) I caught myself almost begging my character to fire the next shot already!
You must understand, if any of you guys remember Diablo 2, I come from being a huge Speedazon addict. And if you're familiar with Guild Wars, then you perhaps know of the Quick-shot Ranger. So ridiculously slow ranged weapons are almost physically painful to behold after those play styles.

So ... if some kind officer could add the Rogue named Anaesthetist ("Supernatural" didn't fit, unfortunately:D) to the guild, it would be greatly appreciated! I see people adding alts all the time, so I hope this isn't a major imposition.

And hey, maybe this one will get to 70. God knows I'm completely captivated by the game itself. Just got to find a character and play style that doesn't bore me after 30+ levels.

[Taelas]

At least you're not doing what I did and force yourself to play a character you don't really enjoy.;)I don't regret it now, as I have come to enjoy the character afterwards, but I resented myself for a good, long while.

[Crusader]

But now I'm thinking of an alt, and getting curious about two professions: Engineering and Enchanting. I've done a bunch of research and yet still can't confirm which one of them allows the crafting of items that increase your character's haste rating (translating to attack speed, for my purposes). Do any of you high level players know? Or are items that increase attack speed just mostly random drops? 'Cause if they are, I'm just going with Herbalism/Alchemy on that alt.

So ... if some kind officer could add the Rogue named Anaesthetist ("Supernatural" didn't fit, unfortunately biggrin.gif ) to the guild, it would be greatly appreciated! I see people adding alts all the time, so I hope this isn't a major imposition.

About Herb/Alchemy: I really, really recommend it. It's extremely easy to level compared to the other crafting skills, costs very little and can earn you a good buck. Added to that, making your own potions&elixers rules! A lot of people go squeemish on spending money on elixers or healing/mana pots and try to save them as much as possible, but once you can make them yourself you are under no such restraint. Added to that, if yu're a rogue, you have a lot easier time reaching herbs that are 'guarded' by just stealthing over and possibly doing a sap.

My most played chars exploit alchemy to the maximum, my lvl 70 Druid (herb/skinning) and 62 Shaman (herb/alchemy) both benefit because they're on the same server. My druid can stealth and fly to gather some of the trickier herbs while my Shaman makes all the potions and sells them for a good buck where I don't use them myself. Never again shall my resto druid show upto a raid without 20 mana potions and Elixirs of healing power.

Added to that, the most imba potion of all is available to my shaman: Mad Alchemist's potion. It is a rejuvenation potion (restores both mana and hp) that gives you a random elixer effect. In short, a mana potion, health potion and elixer in one. The insane cost? 2 ragveil and a vial. Dirt cheap! I love these things. Ragveil is gathered with ease or bought cheaply from the AH. (An hour of flying around with my druid nets me enough for 20 potions with ease). The random elixer is usually useful too for a shaman, as there isn't really a 'bad' buff where shamans are concerned.

Now, I may sound like a Microsoft Salesman, but Alchemy has a lot in it's favour. It remains extremely useful throughout your entire career and it can make you lots of money (transmuting arcanite still nets me 10g per transmute, and I haven't even looked at the primals yet). It's easily skilled up too. My first 60 (a rogue) had herb/alchy as well, and I never regretted it.

I have a 70 warrior (mining/Blacksmithing). I stopped bothering with blacksmithing as the cost involved to up the last few levels is insane, and the return virtually worthless now that you can easily gather equivalent epics from, say, PVP, which is a lot more fun then spending days prowling for mining nodes. My 61 mage has Enchantment/Tailoring, and at least that's a half-decent tradeskill combo, but so far it has only cost me money, not earned anything.

I never bothered with skinning/leatherworking, but I believe it ends the same as mining/blacksmithing; minimal return for maximum effort.

Well. That's my 2 cents on tradeskills. ^^

[LochnarITB]

Added to that, the most imba potion of all is available to my shaman: Mad Alchemist's potion. It is a rejuvenation potion (restores both mana and hp) that gives you a random elixer effect. In short, a mana potion, health potion and elixer in one. The insane cost? 2 ragveil and a vial. Dirt cheap! I love these things. Ragveil is gathered with ease or bought cheaply from the AH. (An hour of flying around with my druid nets me enough for 20 potions with ease). The random elixer is usually useful too for a shaman, as there isn't really a 'bad' buff where shamans are concerned.

Much love for these things. If there is any one reason to take alchemy it is now this potion. I don't carry healing and mana pots anymore as I replaced those stacks with stacks of these. A bump to both health and mana and, when soloing, usually a nice buff, all for previously throw away mats. Who wouldn't want it? I'm wondering when the nerf bat or mats pump is going to happen to them.

[Crusader]

Much love for these things. If there is any one reason to take alchemy it is now this potion. I don't carry healing and mana pots anymore as I replaced those stacks with stacks of these. A bump to both health and mana and, when soloing, usually a nice buff, all for previously throw away mats. Who wouldn't want it? I'm wondering when the nerf bat or mats pump is going to happen to them.

Yes! I'm surprised 75% of the population hasn't respecced alchemy yet.

But it gets better.... Mad Alchemist's potion + Alchemist's stone! *drooool*