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WoW Forever 1-60 Forever Solo Hunter (Weapon Progression, Pets, Macros, Talents)

Hunter

Beast Mastery

Updated on Nov 9, 2026

Nov 9, 2026

Overview

Hunter is the best solo class in WoW Forever. Pets are tankier, they inherit 100% of your crit and your hit chance, and the new Summon Hawk turns Beast Mastery into a small army. This guide takes you from level 1 to 60: which race to pick after the final pre-launch racial pass, which pet to Tame Beast and when, where to learn every pet ability rank including the new ones (Demoralizing Screech, Swipe, Mine!, Tendon Rip, Dismember, Pinch, more...) talent builds for soloing and for raw damage, the best weapon at every level (quest [Truthseeker's Bow], crafted (Hyper Deluxe Sniper Rifle Mk XVII) and dungeon routes (Calibrated Blunderbuss)), and a full Engineering and Leatherworking leveling path. It finishes with macros and tricks I use to solo dungeons. Pick the Solo variant if you want to take on anything alone, or the Damage variant if you group up and want to top meters while leveling.

Guide Variants

A durable Beast Mastery build that lets you and a tanky pet solo world content, elites and even dungeon bosses with almost no downtime. Carrion bird pet, quest and crafted weapons only, no group required.

Talents

Points spent51

35/16/0

Leveling Path

Beast Mastery

1/5

5/5

2/2

0/3

2/2

1/1

5/5

1/2

5/5

1/1

2/2

1/1

2/2

4/5

1/1

Marksmanship

0/3

0/5

5/5

3/3

0/5

5/5

2/2

0/5

0/1

1/1

0/5

0/2

0/3

0/1

0/5

0/1

Survival

0/5

0/2

0/5

0/3

0/2

0/3

0/1

0/2

0/5

0/1

0/2

0/2

0/1

0/5

0/1

Leveling Path

10
Endurance Training
11
Endurance Training
12
Endurance Training
13
Endurance Training
14
Endurance Training
15
Improved Revive Pet
16
Improved Revive Pet
17
Focused Fire
18
Focused Fire
19
Deadly Aspects
20
Bestial Swiftness
21
Pathfinding
22
Pathfinding
23
Unleashed Fury
24
Unleashed Fury
25
Summon Hawk
26
Improved Mend Pet
27
Ferocity
28
Ferocity
29
Ferocity
30
Intimidation
31
Ferocity
32
Ferocity
33
Unleashed Fury
34
Unleashed Fury
35
Frenzy
36
Frenzy
37
Frenzy
38
Frenzy
39
Unleashed Fury
40
Bestial Wrath
41
Lethal Attacks
42
Lethal Attacks
43
Lethal Attacks
44
Lethal Attacks
45
Lethal Attacks
46
Careful Aim
47
Careful Aim
48
Careful Aim
49
Careful Aim
50
Careful Aim
51
Rapid Killing
52
Rapid Killing
53
Improved Stings
54
Improved Stings
55
Improved Stings
56
Trueshot Aura
57
Bestial Discipline
58
Spirit Bond
59
Spirit Bond
60
Bestial Discipline

This is the build I level with. Every point makes you and your pet harder to kill, then adds damage through your pet and hawks.

Endurance Training 5/5. +15% health and armor for your pet. Your pet is the tank in this build, so this comes first.
Deadly Aspects 1/5 NEW**. For leveling we are treating this as a 1 point wonder. Opening up the opportunity for this to proc at full value with 1 point is tremendous for only having to spend a single point.
Focused Fire 2/2 NEW**. Small damage bump to you and your pet. Respectable. Nothing crazy.
Improved Aspect of the Monkey 0/3 CHANGED** We are saving this for max when we solo dungeons. During leveling, Endurance Training is doing more than enough for keeping your pet alive. Monkey is overkill in this regard.
Improved Revive Pet 2/2 Makes it much easier to get a revive off mid-fight, and your pet comes back with a big chunk of health.
Bestial Swiftness 1/1 Your pet reaches the target faster. Only boars have Charge, so this is how every other pet starts fights quickly.
Unleashed Fury 5/5 +15% damage for your pet and your hawks.
Summon Hawk New in Forever. Each hawk lasts 18 seconds and you can summon a new one every 6 seconds. Hawks count as pets, so they get every pet talent in this tree. Lots of damage for the mana.
Improved Mend Pet 1/2. A one-point wonder: Mend Pet now dispels curses, diseases, magic and poison from your pet.
Ferocity 4/5. Don't need 5/5 with faster attack pet. Faster pet will maintain
Intimidation. An on-demand stun every minute that always crits. Use it to stop heals and casts.
Spirit Bond 2/2. Passive regen helps with keeping your pet healthy
Ferocity 5/5. +10% pet crit at max rank.
Bestial Wrath 1/1 Big damage cooldown and the heart of our spec. Use this on CD
Spirit Bond 2/2 On paper, doesn't sound like much but this constant tick on your pet is useful especially through your mend pet cycles and handling damage throughput. Scaling with health % makes it great for bears too.
Bestial Discipline 1/2 great to help with focus on pet but the mana regen is really nice too. If you aren't a Spirit Bond, you can allocate points here instead if you would prefer. Having focus pooled means you can make more use of Claw without getting starved as quickly. Also, helps you save up mana for the Mend Pet cycles
Lethal Attacks 5/5 who doesn't like some more crit?
Careful Aim 5/5 this makes intellect even nicer for us. Already, we don't mind seeing this stat because it is more useful to us than spirit. Spirit mana regen is really bad for hunters. Intellect increases our mana pool, crit, and now attack power with this.
Rapid Killing 2/2 nice to have to get more use out of Rapid Fire with its long CD
Improved Stings 3/3 we are going to be using our stings a lot. More damage for Scorpid Poison and duration for Scorpid Sting. Best option for us here since we don't use Arcane Shot due to Summon Hawk sharing CD with it
Trueshot Aura some more AP for us all

You can play around with points in Hunter talent calculator tool.

Gameplay & Rotation

A typical pull:

Hunter's Mark the target and send your pet in (see macro section). Bestial Swiftness gets it there fast.
Let Growl and Demoralizing Screech build threat before you open up.
aimed shot on cd or multi if fighting more than one target (they share cd)
Summon Hawk every time one is about to expire to ensure you always have 2 up.
Keep Scorpid Sting on hard hitters or serp sting for more damage (only 1 can be active at a time). In Forever, Scorpid Sting lowers the target's chance to hit instead of its stats, which stacks with your pet's extra dodge and Screech.
Save Intimidation for heals and dangerous casts.
Mend Pet whenever your pet is low or picks up a curse, disease, poison or magic debuff.

Traps: You can have one fire trap and one ice trap active at the same time, and fire traps now scale with your attack power. Lay a Freezing Trap on extra adds before they reach you.

Auto Shot: *Adjusted* Auto Shot has a 0.5-second invisible channel, so you must stand still for each shot. Instant spells like Arcane Shot, Concussive Shot and Scorpid Poison/ Scorpid Sting still work on the move. Turn on the swing timer (Options, search "swing") so you know exactly when you can move between shots.

When things go wrong:

Troll: Let your pet taunt off you or Freezing Trap, then channel Rapid Regeneration to regenerate 50% of your health.
Pet died against a beast: Freezing Trap it, then chain Scare Beast. Scare Beast's cooldown is back before the trap ends, so you can loop them indefinitely while you regen mana, bandage and revive your pet.
Feign Death drops combat and resets fights unless they resist.

Gear

Every weapon in this path comes from a quest, a vendor or a crafting recipe, so a solo player never needs to enter a dungeon. Dungeon XP is weak in Forever, so farming runs for a drop wastes time. Dungeon quests still give good XP, so check the Damage variant's gear list for weapons you can pick up when you're already in a dungeon.

Quests are listed by the earliest level you can accept them. A quest is doable for a hunter once it's orange, and comfortable once it's yellow.

Levels 1 to 10 (by race)

Human: Militia Bow End of an 8-quest chain finishing with Rare Books. It starts from a Nibbled-On Book that kobolds drop. Quest level 1.
Dwarf: Rough Boomstick. Craft it with Engineering or buy it on the Auction House (pricey at launch).
Night Elf: @Ashewood Bow (3.81 DPS). Crown of the Earth chain (7 quests), starting with Tenaron's Summons from Gilshalan Windwalker in Teldrassil. A big upgrade comes at 11.
Skyborn: Bow of Hours Catching Wind, the end of The Missing Scholar chain (6 quests). Starts from a Bloodstained Satchel on the Zephyr Isles.
Orc and Troll: Kolkar Bow, then Orcish Battle Bow (2.68 DPS, then 5.53 DPS, +1 Str). Lost in Shadows from Palia in southern Durotar, then Centaur Bracers (level 9) in the Barrens, east of the Crossroads.
Tauren: Rough Boomstick or Skorn's Rifle (rifle: 5.0 DPS, +1 Agi). Craft the Rough Boomstick at level 5 or buy it. The rifle quest opens at 6 but needs you to kill Ghost Howl, a level 12 rare (most hunters will tame him instead).

Alliance, levels 10 to 30

Level 11: Daryl's Hunting Rifle or Daryl's Hunting Bow (rifle 6.4 DPS, +1 Str; bow 5.87 DPS, +1 Agi). Quest from Daryl the Youngling in Loch Modan. It has a 15-minute timer, so level 14 is comfortable.
Level 16: Deadly Blunderbuss (8.27 DPS, +2 Agi). Engineering 105: 2 Copper Tube, 4 Handful of Copper Bolts, Wooden Stock, 2 Medium Leather. Or buy it on the AH.
Level 17: Owlsight Rifle (7.88 DPS, +2 Agi). Alternative if you skip Engineering. Escort quest The Sleeper Has Awakened: walk Kerlonian Evershade from Darkshore into Ashenvale.
Level 22: Raptor's End (12.07 DPS, +2 Agi, +2 Sta). Ormer's Revenge (3 parts) from Ormer Ironbraid in the Wetlands. Finish before 29.

Horde, levels 10 to 30

Level 9: Orcish Battle Bow (5.53 DPS, +1 Str). Centaur Bracers in the Barrens. Finish before 14.
Level 10: Fine Shortbow (6.18 DPS, +1 Agi). Optional. Sold by most weapon vendors, but only about 2 are in stock at a time. Hard to find at launch, so check the AH.
Level 14: Walton's Second-Favorite Gun (7.95 DPS, +2 Agi). Unwelcome Guests from Walton in the northern Barrens. Your best quest weapon until 20.
Level 19: Lovingly Crafted Boomstick. Engineering: 2 Bronze Tube, 2 Handful of Copper Bolts, Heavy Stock, 3 Moss Agate.
Level 19: Bow of Plunder (11.35 DPS, +2 Agi, +2 Sta). Dangerous! from the quest board outside the Tarren Mill inn. Keep it until 24.
Level 24: Cliffrunner's Aim (11.96 DPS, +2 Agi, +2 Int). The Sacred Flame (3-quest chain) from Rau Cliffrunner in Thousand Needles. Opens at 20, finish before 29.

Both factions, levels 28 to 60

Level 28: Master Hunter's Rifle or Master Hunter's Bow (rifle 19.42 DPS, +4 Agi, +4 Str; bow 19.38 DPS, +6 Agi). Hemet Nesingwary's elite quest. Opens at 28, turns yellow at 41 (soloable), finish before 43. Lasts you to 40.
Level 40: Truthseeker's Bow (23.75 DPS, +7 Agi, +3 Sta). Collect 25 library books and documents from around Azeroth. Turn them in at the mage tower in Stormwind or the Magic Quarter in Undercity.
Level 47: Thorium Rifle. Engineering 260: 2 Mithril Tube, 2 Mithril Casing, 2 Thorium Widget, 4 Thorium Bar, Deadly Scope. Bind on equip, so the AH works too.
Level 50: Dark Iron Rifle (28.33 DPS, chance on hit for 21 to 31 Shadow damage). Engineering 275: 2 Thorium Tube, 6 Dark Iron Bar, 2 Deadly Scope, 2 Blue Sapphire, 2 Large Opal, 4 Rugged Leather.
Level 56: Flawless Arcanite Rifle (31.17 DPS, +9 Sta, +10 Ranged AP). Engineering 300: 10 Arcanite Bar, 2 Thorium Bar, 2 Essence of Fire, 2 Essence of Earth, 2 Azerothian Diamond, 2 Enchanted Leather. Bind on equip.
Level 60: Hyper Deluxe Sniper Rifle Mk XVII. Engineering 300: 4 Malleable Essence of Nature, 2 Legionite Bar, 10 Heavy Thorium Bar, Azerothian Diamond. Your crafted capstone before dungeon and raid loot.

**The beta only went to level 30, so anything past 30 may change after launch.**

Stat Priority

Agility

Suggested Races

Top picks: Dwarf or Night Elf for Alliance, Troll or Orc for Horde. These reflect the devs' final racial pass before the November 4 launch, which changed every hunter race. Pick what you enjoy playing; racials are the cherry on top, not the whole sundae.

Alliance

Dwarf: Went from worst to a top race contender. @Artisan's Precision gives +1% hit with spells and attacks (it replaced the crit damage bonus), and hit is scarce early. Find Treasure gives extra items from chests, which is great for soloing dungeons.
Night Elf: Best Beast Mastery pick, and a strong solo pick. Elune's Light is a cooldown for 10% extra crit, Shadowmeld is great utility, and the extra run speed now stacks with Aspect of the Cheetah.
High Order Skyborne: Good for Marksmanship and Survival. 2% haste (down from 3%). Read Ley Line gives 50% regen normally, or 100% for an hour after you touch a ley line, and their sprint gets stronger the same way. Haste doesn't reach your pet, so it's weaker for Beast Mastery.
Human: A big drop for hunters. Crit was cut to 1%, and Human Spirit now gives +10% spirit, which does almost nothing for us.

Horde

Troll: Best solo race. Rapid Regeneration Regenerate 50% of your max health over a short channel, Berserking for 10% attack speed, and +5% damage to beasts. Untouched through every balance pass, so it's a safe bet.
Orc: Best Horde damage pick, especially for Beast Mastery. Savage 1% crit was removed, but the new @Command racial gives +5% pet damage. Also get damage CD Blood Fury
Tauren: No PvE damage racials. Plainsrunning now gives 2% speed per stack up to 60% in combat but no longer affects mounted speed, Endurance is now health only (+5%), and War Stomp has a shorter cooldown. Great for PvP kiting, otherwise pick it for the looks.

My pick for solo play: Dwarf on Alliance for +hit (artisan's precision) and Find Treasure, Troll on Horde for the self-heal (Rapid Regeneration).

Forever is a live game, so expect more racial tweaks after launch. I'll update this section if they change.

Consumables

Keep a Fish Bowl buff, food and a camp buff up at all times, and carry Engineering bombs (Rough Copper Bomb) for emergencies. Anything that buffs your stats also buffs your pet, because pets inherit your stats.

Fish Bowl: A Blessing of Kings-style buff for +8% to all stats. You only need Fishing 20 to get it (about 20 fish). See Professions.
Food buffs: Always keep a well fed buff (like Hot Lion Chops). With the Resourcefulness Legacy node, food buffs last 30 minutes.
Camp buff: With the Permanence Legacy node, your camp buff lasts 90 minutes.
Bombs and explosives: Even the short stun from a Rough Copper Bomb is enough to interrupt a heal or spellcast. You'll make Rough Copper Bomb, Coarse Dynamite and Explosive Sheep while leveling Engineering, so keep some in your bags.
Ammo: Engineers can craft their own ammunition. Otherwise make sure you have the highest for your level
Pet food: Feed your pet one item, then let the 15-second feeding buff run out before the next. Keep it happy (green face) for bonus damage and faster loyalty gains.
Bandages: Use them while you wait for mana during a Scare Beast and Freezing Trap loop.

Professions

Run Engineering and Leatherworking, and level Fishing to 20 for the Fish Bowl. Engineering is the hunter's bag of tricks: your own guns, ammo and stun bombs. Leatherworking makes gear for you as you level. Both cap at 200 to 210 until you hit level 35 and can train Artisan. A gathering alt (Mining and Skinning) that mails you materials makes this much cheaper.

Engineering

Trainers

Apprentice (bring 10 copper). Orc and Troll: Mukdra in Razor Hill. Tauren: Twizwick Sprocketgrind in Mulgore (behind level 8 to 9 mobs, so Orgrimmar may be easier). Human: Sprite Jumpsprocket in the Dwarven District of Stormwind. Dwarf and Gnome: Bronk Guzzlegear in Kharanos. Night Elf: Jenna Lemkenilli in Darkshore. Skyborn: Strange Hermit on the Zephyr Isles.
Journeyman (skill 50). Horde: Nogg in Orgrimmar. Alliance: Lilliam Sparkspindle (Stormwind), Trixie Quikswitch (Ironforge) or Finbus Geargrind (Darkshire).
Expert (skill 150). Horde: Roxxik in Orgrimmar. Alliance: Springspindle Fizzlegear in Tinker Town, Ironforge.

Leveling path (1 to 200)

1 to 30: Rough Blasting Powder. 60 Rough Stone.
30 to 50: Handful of Copper Bolts x30. 30 Copper Bar.
50 to 51: Arclight Spanner. 6 Copper Bar.
51 to 75: Rough Copper Bomb x30. Your bolts and powder, 30 Linen Cloth, 30 Copper Bar.
75 to 90: Coarse Blasting Powder x60. 60 Coarse Stone.
90 to 100: Coarse Dynamite x20. Your Coarse Blasting Powder, 20 Linen Cloth.
100 to 105: Silver Contact x5. 5 Silver Bar. Cheaper alternative: Flying Tiger Goggles (30 Light Leather, 10 Tigerseye).
105 to 125: Bronze Tube x25. 50 Bronze Bar, 25 Weak Flux (vendor).
125 to 135: Standard Scope x10. Your Bronze Tubes, 10 Moss Agate.
135 to 150: Heavy Blasting Powder x30 and Whirring Bronze Gizmo x15. 30 Heavy Stone, 30 Bronze Bar, 15 Wool Cloth.
150 to 160: Bronze Framework x15. 30 Bronze Bar, 15 Medium Leather, 15 Wool Cloth.
160 to 175: Explosive Sheep x15. Heavy Blasting Powder, Whirring Bronze Gizmos and Bronze Framework, 30 Wool Cloth.
175 to 194: Solid Blasting Powder x60. 120 Solid Stone.
194 to 195: @Gyromatic Micro-Adjuster (Craftsman's Writ: Gyromatic Micro-Adjuster). 4 Steel Bar.
195 to 200: Mithril Tube. 15 Mithril Bar.

Leatherworking

Trainers

Apprentice. Orc and Troll: Kamari in Orgrimmar. Tauren: Chaw Stronghide in Bloodhoof Village. Human: Adele Fielder in Elwynn Forest. Dwarf: Gretta Finespindle in Ironforge. Night Elf: Nadyia Maneweaver in the house on the road to Darnassus. High Order Skyborne: Emari Tallgust.
Journeyman (skill 55). Orc: Karolek in Orgrimmar. Tauren: Tarn in Thunder Bluff. Human: Simon Tanner in Stormwind. Dwarf: Fimble Finespindle in Ironforge. Night Elf: Faldron in Darnassus.
Expert (skill 130). Horde: Una in Thunder Bluff. Alliance: Telonis in Darnassus.

Leveling path (1 to 210)

Salt, Coarse Thread, Fine Thread and Silken Thread are sold by the reagent vendor next to the trainers.

1 to 30: Light Leather x33. 100 Ruined Leather Scraps.
30 to 55: Cured Light Hide x27. 27 Light Hide, 27 Salt.
55 to 75: Embossed Leather Gloves x21. 63 Light Leather, 42 Coarse Thread.
75 to 85: Medium Leather x8. 32 Light Leather.
85 to 90: Cured Medium Hide x10. 10 @Medium Hide, 10 Salt.
90 to 100: Fine Leather Belt x19. 114 Light Leather, 38 Coarse Thread. Keep 10 belts and the Cured Light Hide for later.
100 to 115: Light Leather Pants x24. 240 Light Leather, 24 Cured Light Hide, 24 Fine Thread.
115 to 125: Dark Leather Belt x10. 10 Fine Leather Belt, 10 Cured Medium Hide, 20 Fine Thread, 10 Gray Dye.
125 to 130: Heavy Leather x7. 35 Medium Leather.
130 to 155: Hillman's Leather Gloves x30. 420 Medium Leather, 120 Fine Thread. Buy the Hillman's Leather Gloves recipe from a trade supplies vendor: Jandia (Thousand Needles) or Keena (Arathi Highlands) for Horde, Hammon Karwn (Arathi Highlands) or Lardan (Astranaar) for Alliance.
155 to 170: Barbaric Leggings x17. 170 Heavy Leather, 34 Fine Thread, 17 Moss Agate.
170 to 175: Barbaric Harness x5. 70 Heavy Leather, 10 Fine Thread, 5 Iron Buckle.
175 to 195: Guardian Gloves x26. 104 Heavy Leather, 26 Cured Heavy Hide, 26 Silken Thread.
195 to 210: Nightscape Headband x21. 105 Thick Leather, 42 Silken Thread.

Fishing

Level Fishing to 20 (about 20 fish) to use the Fish Bowl, a Blessing of Kings-style buff for +8% to all stats. Your pet inherits your stats, so the buff pumps your pet too: 30% of your armor and your melee or ranged attack power, whichever is higher.

For more detailed guides on professions follow the links below:

Tips & Tricks

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Pet basics for new hunters

Two places to learn pet skills. The pet trainer (next to every capital city hunter trainer) sells general skills like Growl, Natural Armor and Greater Stamina. Family skills like Bite, Claw and Demoralizing Screech are learned by taming a wild beast that knows them and watching it use the ability until chat says you learned it.
The Beast Training manual is in the General tab of your spellbook (P). Everything you learn lands there, and you train it to any pet of the right family and level that has enough training points. Buying from the trainer alone doesn't teach your current pet.
Training points come from loyalty, about 15 per loyalty level (6 levels, starting at Rebellious). Keep your pet happy (green face) with Feed Pet and fight mobs that are green or higher to gain loyalty. Training a higher rank only costs the difference in points.
Feed Pet: one item at a time, and let the 15-second feeding buff finish before the next.
Stables: Park pets at a stable master before taming a new one. You get 3 slots (5 silver, then 5 gold). Tame with an empty slot or a pet you don't mind releasing.
Easy tames: Drop a Freezing Trap, hit the beast with Concussive Shot, then start Tame Beast. It's slowed on the way in, then frozen for 9 seconds.
Pet XP only comes from mobs green or higher to you. To level a new low pet fast, set it to passive and kill things yourself.
In groups, right-click Growl so it stops sparkling (autocast off). Your pet will steal aggro from the tank otherwise.

Pet ability ranks: where to tame them

Your first pet comes at level 10 from the hunter class quest. Grab Bite 2 right away (skip Bite 1).

Bite

Rank 2 (level 10): Dwarf: Starving Winter Wolf. Night Elf: Webwood Silkspinner. Human: Prowler (east Elwynn). Tauren: Prairie Wolf Alpha. Orc and Troll: wait for Bite 3.
Rank 3 (16 to 17): Alliance: Wood Lurker (Loch Modan). Horde: Deepmoss Creeper (Stonetalon).
Rank 4 (24 to 27): Alliance: Leech Widow (Wetlands) or Black Ravager (Duskwood). Horde: Giant Moss Creeper (Hillsbrad) or Ghostpaw Alpha (Ashenvale).
Rank 5 (32): Plains Creeper (Arathi Highlands) or Sparkshell Snapper (Shimmering Flats).
Rank 6 (40): Drywallow Daggermaw (Dustwallow Marsh) or Deathstrike Tarantula (Swamp of Sorrows).
Rank 7 (49): Saltwater Snapjaw (Hinterlands) or Felpaw Ravager (north Felwood).
Rank 8 (50s): Bloodaxe Worg (Blackrock Spire). Tell your group first.

Claw

Rank 3 (16 to 19): Black Bear Patriarch (16) or Clattering Crawler (Ashenvale, 19).
Rank 4 (around 27): Elder Ashenvale Bear (Ashenvale), best for both factions.
Rank 5 (34 to 37): Scorpashi Slasher (Desolace) or Drywallow Snapper.
Rank 6 (40): Scorpid Hunter (north Tanaris) or Silt Crawler (Swamp of Sorrows).
Rank 7 (48 to 49): Ironfur Patriarch (north Feralas) or Angerclaw Mauler (Felwood).
Rank 8 (50s): Winterspring Screecher or Elder Shardtooth (Winterspring).

Demoralizing Screech

Rank 1: Horde: Taloned Swoop (Mulgore, level 10). Alliance: Greater Fleshripper (Westfall, level 16).
Rank 2 (32): Salt Flats Vulture (Shimmering Flats).
Rank 3 (50s): Carrion Vulture (west Western Plaguelands).

Other abilities

Swipe 1 (12 to 13): Giant Grizzled Bear (Silverpine) or Grizzled Black Bear (Loch Modan).
Furious Howl 1 (10): Worg (north Silverpine) or Coyote Packleader (Westfall). Rank 2 (24 to 27): Black Ravager Mastiff (Duskwood) or Ghostpaw Alpha (Ashenvale).
Dive 1 (30): Kraul Bat (Razorfen Kraul) or Young Mesa Buzzard (Arathi). Dive 2 (41): Vale Screecher (Feralas) or Roc (north Tanaris). Dive 3 (48): Ironbeak Owl (Felwood) or Carrion Vulture.
Dash 1 (32): Stranglethorn Tiger. Dash 2 (40): Longtooth Runner (Feralas). Dash 3 (50s): Frostsaber Huntress (Winterspring), Scarshield Worg (Blackrock Spire), or the rares Grunter and Ravage.
Prowl (32): Mountain Lion (Alterac Mountains). Prowl 2 (40): Ridge Stalker Patriarch (west Badlands). Prowl 3 (50): Jaguero Stalker (island off southeast Stranglethorn).
Cower 1 to 6: Fleeting Plainstrider or Moonstalker Runt (1), Savannah Patriarch (2, level 15), Crag Stalker (3, Thousand Needles, 25), Ridge Stalker (4, level 36), Jaguero Stalker (5), Frostsaber Cub (6, Winterspring, 55).

Dive works on all flying pets (carrion birds, bats, birds of prey). Carrion birds' Demoralizing Screech can't be taught to bats or owls.

Macros I use

I keep all pet control on the mouse so I never have to think about it.

Pet attack (bind to scroll up). Sends your pet at your target.

/petattack

Pet follow (bind to scroll down). Calls your pet back to you.

#showtooltip Dismiss Pet
/petfollow

Move pet (bind to middle mouse). Click the ground to move your pet there, so you can drag it out of a patrol's path.

/petmoveto

Mouseover Hunter's Mark. Marks whatever you're hovering over without targeting it, and sets your pet to passive and calls it back at the same time. Falls back to your target if you're not hovering over anything.

#showtooltip Hunter's Mark
/petpassive
/petfollow
/cast [@mouseover, harm][] Hunter's Mark

Manual taunt. Fires Growl on demand so you and your pet can trade aggro. (This one wasn't shown in the render. Check it against your own.)

#showtooltip Growl
/cast Growl

Freezing Trap. Sets your pet to passive so it runs back to you, then drops a freezing trap. Your pet drags the mob into the trap without breaking it.

#showtooltip Freezing Trap
/petpassive
/cast Freezing Trap

Set your pet back to defensive (/petdefensive) once the trap is up.

Eagle Eye hop. Recast Eagle Eye while already in it to jump further instead of returning to your hunter. Only loads mobs in your current zone. Great for scouting rares like Broken Tooth.

#showtooltip eagle eye
/cast !eagle eye

Attack speed check. Prints the attack speed of any beast you target, so you can decide on a rare tame instantly. Works on your own pet too.

/run mainSpeed, offSpeed = UnitAttackSpeed("target") print(format("%s: attack speed = %.2f", GetUnitName("target"), mainSpeed))

Soloing tricks

Scare Beast and Freezing Trap loop: Against a beast, trap it, then Scare Beast. Each cooldown comes back before the other runs out, so you can juggle it forever while you regen, bandage and revive your pet.
Split a boss from its adds: Feign Death resets the boss, which despawns while its adds stay. Kill the adds, and when the boss respawns it comes alone.
Scorpid Sting on bosses: It now lowers the target's chance to hit. Stack it with Screech and your pet's Aspect of the Monkey dodge and a green boss can barely touch your pet.
Horde trip to Westfall: Not needed anymore because you can get a taloned swoop from north mulgore that has Demoralizing Screech.