The World of Warcraft Hunter is called, by most people, the easiest class to play in the game. It's also one of the, if not the fastest leveling class. Of course, it's the pet that makes the Hunter, otherwise she's just a weak melee character with a bow.

The choice of pet is up to you. Unlike Warlocks you can pick from any beast in the entire game. Your style of play will determine which pet best works for you. A lot of people pick one or another of the cats, but bears have better armor and health and will hold the target's attention better than a cat. That is, they're better tanks. Certain other critters have unusual abilities or characteristics.

One of the cool things in PvP is using a bat or dragonhawk type beast. Their large wingspan obscures the vision on the other player. In PvE If you pick a low slung beast, like a scorpion, it's easy for you to see over it when combat gets close. Lots has been written about the Hunter pets, just google it and you'll find stuff.

If you really want to know Hunters, in depth, then you should look into a full guide. Here's a review of the Killer Guide's WoW Hunter Guide. Check it out and see it it's a good fit for you.

I always though it weird that Humans can't be Hunters, but that Draenei can. Otherwise, pick what looks good to you. The racials are nice, but not game braking. The Night Elf meld ability is nice on PvP servers, since you can hide while resting and the Troll berserking ability can help in certain tight situations. Otherwise? Player skill matters far more.

Which profession to take? That's always a question. If you want to grind money get skinning and mining (or maybe herbalism, especially if you have a pet alchemist) and sell everything you gather on the auction house.

Skinning's pretty much a must since you'll be killing tons of beasts anyway and youi might as well skin then and use or sell the skins.

Leatherworking is good because you'll be able to make your own armor for a lot less money that you can buy it for on the auction house. Since you'll be making your own you'll be able to make a matched set and so you'll look cooler than the rest of the crowd.

Most of them will be wearing the random bits they find along the way, but you will look good. You can also make a good chunk of change selling the nicer pieces that you'll make.Just keep in mind that leatherworking, like all the WoW crafting professions, is very expensive to level up.

If you have an alt (alternate character) with enchanting then that one can disenchant all the unwanted green items you'll be making and you can sell the resulting pieces on the auction house.

All of the other professions have their virtues, but tend to work better with other classes, such as Blacksmithing for the heavy metal (armor) crowd.

Since the Hunter is so popular you may find that it's a little hard getting into teams, especially for dungeons and raids. When there are hundreds of Hunters available the team builders can be picky.

The solution? Start your own teams and start makijng connections. If you're the type of player people want to add to their friend's list you'll find teaming easier. If you're an active, participating member of an active guild then you'll be able to zip past the competition and get your groups, raids, etc.

While a Hunter is superb solo don't make the mistake of staying 100% loner throughout your leveling career. The hot gear and toys are in the areas that can't be soloed, not even by you. Check out the hot gear in the WoW Armory and see how you get it, mostly through dungeon bosses and raids.

Then there's the PvP (Player Vs Player) gear, if you're into Pvp. It's pretty sweet, and easier to get than the raid gear if you're not in a good raid guild, but you will have to work for it.

One of the interesting remarks found in Joana's Horde Hunter Leveling Guide is that you shoudn't worry about gear very much, especially if you're just working on leveling. In fact, there's at least one troll hunter who got to level 60 naked! No armor at all. (Google naked troll.) It's not recommended that you try this on a PvP server...

Obviously for arena teams, certain raids, etc. you're going to want some hot gear. But for leveling? Save your money. The quest rewards are good enough, especially in Outlands. But if you have a ton of cash or guild help then get the nice gear. Every little bit does help, even if it isn't essential.

For the gear that you DO get, look for Agility first, then Stamina, and maybe some Int if it doesn't cost you any Ag or Stm to get. While you do have a mana pool you don't use it in the way that a Mage does. You don't need Strength since, ideally, you will rarely engage in melee. While Spirit helps with your out of combat regeneration it's not enough to offset the need for bandages and food, so I suggest ignoring it.

Gear that adds to crit rating or hit rating or ranged attack power is nice.

Which is best? If you're usually fighting mobs of lower level you're going to hit pretty much with every shot, so get crit rating. Higher level mobs, expecially boss mobs, are harder to hit. Hit rating will server you better in that case since with more hits you'll get more crits anyway.

People contantly argue Hit Vs Crit rating. If you get the chance do some experimenting and see which is a better fit for your style of play. If you're missing too often, go for hit rating.

Work on your reputation with various factions. Since you probably won't be taking much damage, if you're using your pet properly, you won't have a need for tons of bandages. Save the cloth and donate it to the cities that you want rep with.City rep is mostly for mounts, so you might want to skip it and just sell the cloth.

If you find a faction, especially in Outlands, that has gear that you like take some extra time to grind out some extra reputation quests (for example: Scyers in Shattrath City.) There's some sweet gear at some of those vendors which you can work for, but look into it first, before you gain rep and find that it has no value to you.

There's some decent PvP gear available through rep vendors around Outlands. Look that up and if it's a fit then earn that rep. WoWwiki.com has some good stuff on how to grind rep with the various factions.

Hunters rock and I hope you have a blast playing yours. If there's anything you want to add then drop it into the comments box, below.

Obviously a complete Hunter guide woiuld be a lot longer than this one. If you want a killer all-inclusive guide that takes you from "Which race do I pick?

If you want an all-inclusive guide that takes you from "Which race do I pick?" to PvP tips Vs all classes then check out this review of the Killer Guides Hunter Guide, or click here to nab a copy of the Hunter Guide for your immediate use.