World of Warcraft is a giant game that has continued to expand over time, and while there are many roles that can be played in various classes, few are as beloved or long-standing as the Hunter Role. In a specialist position, hunters get a lot of fun points to their character from the arrow-based combat that allows them to take a step back from the brunt of the action to the pets they get to keep as incredibly useful companions.
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World of Warcraft is a huge game with a lot of options for roles that players can take on. Death Knight is an impressive role for any race to try out.
However, some races in World of Warcraft are better suited to this position than others. While choices between races are usually minor at best, it can still make a big difference in building a new character for either a beginner or a veteran looking for a new type of challenge and story.
Updated on January 17, 2024, by Chris Harkin: World of Warcraft has now been going strong for two decades, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Continuing to feature massive popularity, and still adding more roles and races to continue the marvelous lore built around the game, World of Warcraft is still a well-functioning machine. Roles like hunter can be played by a lot of different races, and each has different strengths and weaknesses associated with taking on the role. For that reason, the debate over which races make for the best hunters will continue changing, especially as new updates change the landscape of the game, for years to come.
8 Highmountain Tauren
Played By 0.7% Of Players
- Bull Rush racial ability for closing on enemies
- Great look and lore as hunters
Another race that has both the abilities and the feel of being a hunter race, the Highmountain Tauren are a nomadic people who are huge and imposing in any kind of armor. They look great as hunters, the lore and their world-building suits the role perfectly, and players love starting with the classic eagle pet they get.
Additionally, the Bull Rush racial ability is one of the best tools in all of World of Warcraft for quickly closing on enemies, which can be a big bonus for hunters. The Mountaineering passive ability also increases their versatility, which is a huge help for hunters, who need to be skilled in many different areas.
7 Dark Iron Dwarf
Played By 0.8% Of Players
- Can remove poisons & debuffs automatically
- Can stay in fights for longer when needed
A race of Dwarves who are different in several ways, the Dark Iron Dwarves come with the racial trait Fire Blood, which takes away bleeds, poisons, and magical debuffs. It also increases the player’s primary stat by an amount dependent on the number of debuffs it has cured. This is a major help that can increase the capabilities of any class but is particularly important for hunters to keep them in the fight as long as possible.
Debuffs are a huge danger, particularly in the case of hunters, who are vulnerable characters if enemies start to focus their attention on them for a longer period of time. But Fire Blood can also be used before a series of attacks in order to give the player the chance to do maximum damage to their opponents, which can be hugely important for hunters and the way in which they deal damage.
6 Dwarf
Played By 3.9% Of Players
- Boosted critical hit damage
- Stone flesh keeps them in fights longer
The Dwarves make for great hunters for a number of reasons. The main focus for any hunter’s damage is on hitting critical strikes, and the Dwarven passive Might of the Mountain boosts critical hit damage, which is a huge deal for hunter builds in World of Warcraft. They additionally have a great amount of lore and history in Azeroth that makes them a great choice for a new character.
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Besides all of that, Dwarven Hunters have other advantages in their abilities that help them like Stone flesh, which removes poisons and other negative effects that can take a hunter out of combat for a period of time. Removing these is hugely valuable for any combatant who can’t afford to leave the fight in a hurry.
5 Worgen
Played By 4.3% Of Players
- Use Darkflight to close gaps quickly
- Can skin prey faster
The Worgen are a fascinating race in World of Warcraft. Appearing similar to werewolves that walk upright, these creatures have great lore behind them, and their appearance and would make them perfectly aesthetic for becoming hunters. Additionally, they come with some of the best perks and abilities for hunting work in the game.
Worgen have a racial ability called Darkflight, which gives a huge 40% buff to movement speed for ten seconds. This makes it incredibly hard for prey to escape a hunter, or for enemies to keep up when a hunter has to back away from a dangerous situation. Additionally, Worgen can skin prey faster and have higher chances for critical hits due to their abilities.
4 Troll
Played By 5.8% Of Players
- Da Voodoo Shuffle racial ability
- Berserking can increase haste
The Troll faction is another Horde one that has a long history in Azeroth. They make for great hunters because kiting is hugely important to this class. They need to always be ready to move quickly, particularly in a PvP situation, as it can be a complete death sentence if a hunter is trapped and unable to move away at speed.
So, the Da Voodoo Shuffle ability of Trolls becomes worth its weight in gold for hunters, reducing the duration of effects that can hold them back. Trolls also have Berserking, which boosts haste and gives players the perfect chance to get more combinations off before they need to back away further. Hunters are generally more useful at the ranged attack format, so getting more attacks off quickly before enemies can close is vital.
3 Orc
Played By 7.6% Of Players
- Hardiness reduces any stuns
- Command increases pet DPS
The Orcs are one of the major factions in World of Warcraft, the origins of the Alliance and Horde factions being based on the long-standing conflict between Humans and Orcs. Being heavy-set and bulky, the Orcs are a race built for war and combat, and they are excellent at taking on roles like that of the Hunter.
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This is due to their racial traits like Hardiness, which is excellent for PvP due to it reducing stuns that have been set on the player. Orcs have generally strong stats for Hunting builds, but their ability to avoid taking long stuns is a vital one to keeping them in the fight and dealing as much damage as possible.
2 Human
Played By 15% Of Players
- Will To Survive racial ability
- Easy race to learn
One of the easiest pieces of advice to give in World of Warcraft is to start out by playing as a human. For beginners, but also a refreshing take for veterans, the human race has not only got some of the best lands and lore in Azeroth, but they have some traits that make them an appealing, or at least fairly reasonable, option when choosing the best races for any class.
Humans have the active trait Will To Survive which allows them to get out of being stunned. Any moment being taken out of the battle in this fashion is a huge negative and humans can actively escape it and stay in the fight. They also have the passive trait The Human Spirit, which boosts all of their character’s secondary stats. Both of these traits are great reasons to build a human character when looking at Hunters.
1 Blood Elf
Played By 15.2% Of Players
- Racials help teammates in PvP
- Excellent in stealth mode
Blood Elves also make for great hunters. On the Horde side, they are surely one of the best races in this role. Blood Elves have notable effects, particularly for PvP as hunters, so any players who think their character is likely to encounter a lot of other players may want to consider this as a great option for their new character.
Blood Elves have the active racial trait Arcane Torrent, which removes positive effects from enemies in range, meaning they can loosen up characters their friends are engaging in combat with. Arcane Torrent also allows them to restore resources based on their class specialization, which is hugely helpful for any class.
