Within 2 hours, I managed to get nearly 20% of the way through level 81. I knew leveling in Cataclysm seemed like it was going to be pretty quick, but sheesh…
I chose to hit Vashj’ir first over Mount Hyjal, mainly because of Drach’s post. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
I’m not crazy about having to be fighting constantly underwater, but Blizzard has done an incredible job of “funning” it up. The increased movement speed, underwater breathing, and especially… my trusty sea-horsey mount, make the whole experience quite enjoyable.
The quests are quite amusing as well. Being eaten by a giant great white shark was quite comical, as was the “case of crabs” I obtained after visiting the chick in the cave.
So far, I’m really enjoying the 80-85 experience. I can’t wait until I’m all leveled up and able to go after some of the new beasties – namely Sambas and Ghostcrawler. Terrorpene‘s on my list as well, but based upon what I’ve read… I may want to bolster my HPs a bit before trying to get my tame on with him.
Oh! I want that rare-green-crazy-ass-alien-looking-bug-thingy too!
As far as which pet I’m using at the moment… Ashtail! Other than the minor annoyance of his Tailspin ability pulling additional neutral mobs, he’s been quite fun and unusual. It’s not caused me to bite it yet, so I’ll leave the ability on auto-cast for the moment, but I’ll most likely cycle through my stable as I level – giving many of my pets a chance to get out and stretch their legs, wings, etc… for a bit.
As far as my spec is concerned… I’m rocking a Marksmanship build at the moment. It seemed like the best way to go due to the insane amount of focus regen, along with some of the other little perks. So far it’s working extremely well. At my gear level, mobs are going down pretty easily – sometimes within two shots. Vashj’ir is my shooting gallery.
I like how they made Trueshot Aura passive! It’s not a huge deal, but still… one less thing to activate.
Tonight was my first go with MM since 4.0, so that’s been kind of fun too. As some of you know, I’ve been largely inactive the past few months, so I didn’t bother with too much “testing” of the new builds and what not. I played mostly as a Beast Master (still my 2nd spec), and dabbled a little in SV, but that was just before I went on my brief hiatus.
I think I’ll switch to Beast Mastery next time I get on and see how that goes. I can’t imagine it being more effective than MM, but at least it’ll give me a chance to level some of my exotic beasties.
Well… it feels good to get back to some huntering, along with experiencing the 80-85 Cataclysm content. =D
just wondering about your experiences with ashtail. I, and a couple of other people I have spoken with have found that he is permanently set to aggressive. whilst this can be convenient – it speeds up grinding quests no end, it is a problem in instances to have him constantly running off all over the place funding up loads of non aggroed mobs.
still … he does look cool!
thanks for the site and info
Grats and glad you’re enjoying it! I pushed to 85 quickly just so I could tame all those rare beasties. Christmas day, while everyone was playing with their Zep’s in SW/ORG, I ran out and tamed Sambas, Karoma, and King Krush!! I now have all the Cata rare spawns tamed! (though only the black version of Madexx) If anyone ever wants to check out my awesome stable, hit me up Horde side on Blackhand. Happy Hunting!! /salute
First off, I wanted to thank you for this awesome site/guide/blog/thingy. This is my first post here, but I’ve been a long time reader. I used your guide to acquire Loque’nahak back in the day, which is still my main pet.
I enjoyed my 80 – 85 leveling process immensely – I actually went through both Hyjal and Vash’jr before moving on, as I did not want to miss any content. There is some amusing quest stuff in Hyjal too (the bear toss comes to mind), and zone Uldum’s Harrison Jones line was immensely entertaining.
Anyway, I got lucky and nabbed Terrorpene last night… I was just stopping by to take a quick glance before logging for the night and there he was, wandering around, and nobody camping the area. Result: a new flaming tank has joined my menagerie. Woot!
Keep up the good work!
I’m still dedicated to Marksmanship spec. At my current gear level I can hit about 8500 dps on bosses that dont require movement. When there is movement my dps takes a big nose dive. I think things will pick up for MM though come the next patch.
As for soloing/leveling I can pretty much solo anything that a BM spec can. I’ve tested it myself as my secondary is BM. The new misdirect glyph is a great addition to solo play. If I got something hard to solo, I get out my trusty turtle and I’m good to go.
Long time reader, first time to comment though.
Glad to hear you’re back. Make sure to try soloing some old stuff as well when you hit 85. Nothing as fun as soloing Magtheridon without even breaking a sweat (and making 500+g in the process)
But now my question, is your UI self-made? Or is it a compilation? You don’t happen to feel like sharing it with your readers?
Ahem…
*crawls away in shame*
Can’t believe I missed that button on top….
*crawls a bit further*
HeHe… no worries. No shame in asking, that’s for sure.
Glad you found it though. If you decide to try it, let me know if you have any questions.
I’ll probably be making a few minor adjustments to it (again) in the coming weeks, so I expect I’ll have an updated version of it sometime later on next month.
Glad everything’s going well for you man! I laughed hard at that quest when you got crabs as well, totally great. Definitely the humor in the quests was great! Glad you’re back to huntering man!
I leveld as BM and loved it! My very first pet to 80 was of course my Loque 🙂 Who’s name is Redemption ( since I felt redeemed after my two weeks almost SOLID camp for him 😀 ) I have tried all three specs both leveling and at 85 and unfortunately at the moment as someone already said SV is HANDS DOWN the “top” spec for heroics, though I always keep my trusty core hound around just in case we need a bloodlust 🙂 I am totally loving this expansion, and have begun the raiding experience, which has been awesome! I’m glad you’ve been able to get back to the game and I look very forward to hearing about all your huntering adventures. I have been an avid member of this site for quite a while now and I LOVE IT! your guides have made my huntering escapades so much more enjoyable and have helped me get my huntering skills to a level where I get complimented on my abilities on occaision. Your BM PvP guide helped me tremendously, and made destroying alliance( sorry mate, but I’m Horde4Life 😀 😀 :D) in arenas a truly memorable experience during Wrath. Thanks for all your hard work and your true love of all things hunter!
-Wanaji
lvl 85 SV hunter
-Thrall
p.s. how do I get a cool picture next to my name when I post??? 😛
Garwulf:
Congrats on your leveling journey ahead! I have tamed Sambas and Ghostcrawler, and am camping Terrorpene’s spawn point part-time. Don’t be in a rush to get these tames, though… there is so much good content to spend your time on.
I personally chose to level as Beastmaster, because having a pocket tank to split aggro with is invaluable. I also run SV in instances for the Serpent Spread aoe damage, and the fact that I don’t have to worry about sequencing two steady shots in a row like MM does.
If I could offer some suggestions:
1) Level up at least one cunning pet for the Roar of Recovery spell. Having focus regen for burst damage is invaluable! Perhaps a wind serpent (spell damage buff) or a spider/silithid (web snare is so useful against melee npc’s nd pvp opponents).
2) Start saving up gold and/or mats for your Corded Viper Belt and Dragonkiller Tunic boe epics.
3) Do the Crucible of Carnage as soon as you ding 84.
4) Definitely complete the questlines in both Vashjir and Deepholm. This is for Earthen Ring rep and Therazane rep, and for seeing some very interesting content.
5) ‘Discover’ all the dungeon entrances as soon as possible, so you can queue for random instances… the xp is good, especially for Blackrock Caverns and the new on-the-run quest format.
6) When you do the Harrison Ford quests in Uldum (L83 or 84), definitely tame one of the phased beetles when they spawn after that 4 statues fall. The beetle colors available then are unlike other beetles in game, and those beetles vanish once you complete that particular questline.
7) Expect the levels to get slower as you go. Level 84-85 requires 9 million XP, compared to the 1.2 million of Level 80-81.
Enjoy!
have fun 😀 I did vashj’ir last (at lvl 85) and thought it was OK. I loved the lore aspect of Hyjal and the Dwarven quests in Twilight Higlands (IMO) are the best the game has ever had ( drunken brawls, singing and weddings, pants stealing FTW 😀 )
MM is great for the health regen but I find myself going back to BM and my trusty turtle for soloing. DPS has not really been an issue in any situation I have been in to this point. I have noticed however that tanks in randoms seem very “squishy” lately and about 1 in 4 go down regularly. Having Harry (turtle) ready to grab the boss has saved the PUG’s bacon many time lately. 🙂
Twilight Highlands sounds awesome. Can’t wait. 🙂
I’m going to try BM out next time I’m leveling and see how it feels. If I can nuke mobs just as quickly, then I’ll likely switch to it. MM just seemed awesome due to the instant 50 focus regen from RR, the heal from Chimera, along with the nice burst.
A BM build with Pathfinding may be a good call too. I shall see.
SV currently has the highest DPS, on a item level of 341 at 85 I can pull about 12k compared to 9K on BM in HC’s. But I still prefer BM as I just can’t get used to not using my spirits or devilsaurs! After all I’m loving Ghostcrawler!
However in the upcoming patch, BM will be having a DPS increase as they are aware of the vast difference between BM and SV and how underpowered Kill Command is. So by the time you hit 85 BM should be up to speed with SV.
Either way, I’ll be fine. BM has always been my favorite spec, but I quite enjoyed SV throughout WotLK.
Grats on GC!
You should check out a SV spec.. its actually quite amazing
I’m sure I will at 85.