This is my 2nd entry in the 30 days of WarCraft series of articles.
Hmmm… favorite class… well, I guess that would be… Ta Da..! Hunter.
Why hunter..?
I chose to roll a hunter for a few reasons…
First off… the pets are what sold me. I loved the idea of taming a companion who would assist me on my adventures.
I liked the idea of being primarily a ranged class, yet still having a few abilities for close quarters combat. Of course, hunters had a couple more melee options five years ago, and I had mistakenly thought hunters could be somewhat viable in melee range.
I liked that hunters wore mail and weren’t as squishy as the other ranged classes.
Hunter seemed like the obvious choice for solo play, which was perfect for me. Plus, even though I figured I’d be playing solo most of the time, I knew I wouldn’t be alone because I’d always have my trusty pet. 🙂
The original cinematic was really what clinched it for me though. Seeing the dwarf with his musket and charging bear… I thought, now that’s the class I want to play! Bear was my second choice, however. My fist choice for a pet was… you guessed it… wolf.
I’ll likely elaborate on this post a bit more – tomorrow perhaps – but for now I mainly just wanted to throw up a quick answer so I can maintain my post-a-day-for-30-days routine.
The Hunter is my favorite class, though perhaps unfairly to the other classes. I’ve tried most of them but it boils down to the reason I ever started playing any kind of RPG in the first place, and what I’ve always enjoyed in MMO’s- being a ranger. I like being an archer, a scout, a beastmaster, a survialist, hunting prey across and through any and all terrains. The Hunter class gives me everything I want out of life in and beyond Azeroth.
I’ve tried being a magic-using caster and frankly, my Intelligence just isn’t high enough for it. I never have enough mana 😉 I like hearing the jangle of my ringmail armor rather than the rustle and fold of squishy cloth. I’d rather have nicks and cuts all over my hands from fletching my own arrows than the burns and blisters I’ve seen as a result of spellcasting.
I’ve done my share of tanking and fighting in the melee, and I’d just as soon not be weighed down with plate and shields and hammers and mauls. I’d prefer not to be underfoot when the feet are often wider than my entire person! This is not to say I don’t appreciate the heavy workload of those folks, just that I’m more comfortable outside the fray.
Hunters offer so much utility and with the wide variety of pets we can tame and bring to a fight, it’s just the perfect class for me.
When I first started lil over year and a half ago I rolled an Ironforge Guard NPC and had great fun telling all the warlocks that their nearest class trainer was in Exodar. Someone ratted me out to Blizzard so I had to switch servers and decided to roll a BM hunter and truly can’t imagine playing another class for many of the reasons already mentioned. The Hunter/Pet relationship is truly an interesting thing. I get very irritated with myself if I let a pet die. Interesting.
I’m a Lord of the Rings elves fan. So it was natural for me to go for a Night Elf hunter. Pets very much appealed to me too. I was so excited doing the pet quests and looked forward to tame my own. My first combat pet was a Strigid Owl … I loved the flying animation and how they’d attack my targets.
I’ve always gone solo yet I didn’t feel alone because of my pets.
My favorite class is a hunter and for pretty much EXACTLY the same reasons as Gar. I didn’t care as much about the damage dealing or being squishy (either that or I simply didn’t know enough about such things to know the difference).
What I like most about playing a hunter (and what some say is a bit wierd about me) is BONDING with my pets. I liked the idea of playing solo while never having to play alone and I have ALWAYS had very specific reasons to tame each pet. I put waaaaaay too much thought into naming them (I’m looking especially at you, DinosaurNeil, ToneLoque and FredBear). A little part of me dies each time my pet does despite the fact that I can rez him in a “no harm, no foul” kind of manner. I actually FEEL thankful whenever my pet takes that last blow that kills him but allows me to keep dealing long enough to take down the mob we’re after. It hurts when I have to abandon pets to make room for new ones. I can tell you with specifictiy where I tamed each one. I still get a MAJOR adrenaline rush when I tame rares.
What I have come to like most about the hunter class in-game, however, is how we treat each other. I have never been cocked off to by another hunter for asking “noob” questions as I leveled. Other hunters have always been great about sharing spawn times on rares. I could go on. The point is I have had the same experience with leveling any other class in-game. There’s always a bad apple in the barrell. The next bad hunter apple I come across will be the first. I guess all this “huntard” crap came from before my time when hunters flaunted their versatility by figuring out how every piece of loot was “hunter loot”. Ah well…that time is gone. I truly believe that we are in the golden age of hunting in the game.
Bonding with your pets – so true! When I accidentally deleted my main combat pet I could not help but feel a little sad… even after re-taming it still didn’t feel like the same pet!
And I also agree with what you say about fellow hunters helping eachother – perhaps we all know what it is like to be cocked off by other players that it perhaps, brings us closer together?
Thanks for sharing, Tak and Crim.
Yup, Hunter! I love the pets, but what really attracted me was the skill needed to solo. I learned very quickly as a Hunter you don’t rush a group with weapons blazing. As a hunter you have to come up with a plan, attack from the outside (almost like a sniper), and work your way in to what you really want. Sadly my friend that got me started had to take some time off just as I subscribed, so I was pretty much on my own for few lvls. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t even get a pet till lvl 20, my friend had gotten me to move to Eastern Kingdoms early, and I completely missed the pet quest in Dolanaar.
I chose a Hunter because I’ve always enjoyed the Ranger/Archer types in games from pen/paper Dungeons & Dragons on up to Neverwinter Nights (my introduction to MMORPGs). I love having an animal companion to watch my back. I also liked the idea of having traps when I first got in to WoW. I was pretty pumped when I saw a raptor for the first time and then found I could tame one.