(taken from here)
Some acronyms are used in the following article that might not be familiar to you, for reference, here are the acronyms and their meaning.
PvP - Person versus Person (fighting real people)
PvE - Person versus Environment (fighting computer controlled monsters)
NPC - non-player character (controlled by a computer)
PC - Player Character (controlled by a real person)
DPS - Damage Per Second
DoT - Damage over Time
AoC/AoH/AoM - Aspect of the Cheetah/Hawk/Monkey
FD - Feign Death
Introduction
The first thing to remember when engaging in PvP is that the other person is just that, a person. People make mistakes, but they also utilize techniques that are beyond a simple computer's ability to execute. In this case, that computer program is World of Warcraft. For example, an NPC controlled Rogue won't try to run behind you to use the backstab ability, but a player controlled Rogue will, making the task of defeating your opponent all the more difficult.
If you're a first time PvPer, it's important to put everything you know about PvE combat out of your mind. Think of it this way, PvP and PvE are like apples and oranges, relatively similar on the outside in terms of shape, but extremely different on the inside. Just standing there and blasting away in PvE just won't work in a PvP situation.
The following strategies are useful for levels 1-55, and perhaps till 60. I'm not necessarily claiming that these strategies will work beyond level 55, because I'm only a level 55 Hunter myself! The below techniques are utilized by my peers and I to great effect. I'm hoping they'll benefit you as well.
Pets - A Hunter's Best Friend
Hunters primarily use their pet as a tank when engaging in PvE, but in PvP your pet is used for pure damage, since taunting doesn't work against PCs! With this in mind, I'd advise getting a pet that is high in DPS to use solely in PvP. Cats are usually the best choice for damage, and although cats may die faster than say a bear, the damage output is well worth it. Most of your opponents will not go for your pet instead of you, unless you're in a duel. Personally, I have a bear and a cat, the bear is for tanking in PvE, and the cat is for damage in PvP.
Aspects - You Are What You Activate!
Aspects are arguably the strongest set of abilities a Hunter has. In melee, always activate AoM, EXCEPT against Warriors! They have an ability called Overpower, which "Instantly overpowers an enemy, causing weapon damage plus X. Can only be used after the target dodges. Overpower cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried." Even worse, there's a Warrior talent that can cause Overpower to have a 50% critical chance! Against any other melee combatant though, activate AoM! In ranged combat, use AoH (of course!).
Tracking - Like Radar, Only Better
Tracking is an invaluable skill, both in PvE and PvP. Your most valuable tracking skill is Track Humanoid, as it can alert you to an opponent long before they reach you. You might be asking "What about Track Hidden?" Personally, I find Track Hidden to be nearly useless, the range of tracking is so limited that by the time a Rogue (for instance) shows up on your mini-map he's already within striking range! Besides, Freeze Trap and Flare are much more useful against stealth opponents. I'd recommend keeping Track Humanoid on at all times in a hostile area, unless you feel the need to see where beasts are with Beast Tracking. You might have noticed that I didn't mention Track Undead, which many Alliance players may mistakenly use to track an Undead PC, however, Undead PCs are considered Humanoids, only NPC Undead are tracked using Track Undead! Rendering Track Undead useless in a PvP situation.
The Importance Of Traps
Traps have countless uses, from slowing an enemy to causing awesome AoE damage. Frost traps are absolutely devastating to melee classes, and Explosive traps are excellent for AoE damage when opponents are grouped close together. Immolation Trap is useful, but I rarely find myself using it since I'm hardly ever fighting against only one opponent. Freeze Trap, however is the most useful trap you have. For example, say you know a Rogue is around, of course he's going to ambush you, so set down a Freeze Trap and stand right on it, when he gets close, BAM, he's frozen and helpless! One of my favorite tricks is laying down a Freeze Trap and opening up with Aimed Shot, it's even better when your land a critical hit! Freeze Trap is useful for multiple Horde too, just make sure you set it down before you get in combat! If you find yourself in combat and in dire need of a trap, there's a useful little trick to get yourself out of combat to slap one down. The trick is much more useful in PvE, but I utilize it every once in awhile in PvP.
First, you need to make sure you aren't being attacked, which is rare, but every once in a while happens if opponents are concentrating on your allies. Make your pet passive and FD, if you don't have DoTs on you you'll effectively be taken out of combat! Run up into your opponents and slap down an Explosive Trap! It's great fun!
Utilizing Your Skills Effectively
Conserving your mana and using your skills in the most effective manner is key to winning any PvP battle. Nothing is worse that being in the heat of battle and suddenly running out of mana! Keep in mind that most of the Hunter's skills are instant, meaning you can use them on the move. Jumping and turning around to use a skill is very popular and very effective among Hunters. Despite the fact that you have to be standing still to use your Auto Shot, blasting an opponent with Serpent Sting, Arcane Shot and Concussive Shot can give you the needed advantage. Concussive Shot is much more useful in PvP than PvE, especially when fighting a primarily melee character. Serpent Sting is devastating against almost any class, I can't count how many times a Rogue or Mage has run away from me only to meet their maker at the hands of Serpent Sting. However, don't forget the importance of Viper Sting and Scorpid Sting! Viper Sting on Shamans, Mages, Paladins and even other Hunters are especially devastating. Scorpid Sting is especially useful against Rogues and Warriors. Rapid Fire is effective if your opponent decides to concentrate on your pet or is affected by Concussive Shot.
Remember though, and I can't stress this enough, jumping and turning around to use an ability is one of the most effective techniques Hunters have. Once you get the hang of it, you can even jump, turn around, use ability, and turn back around to continue running! It's called a 'Jump Shot'. The gist of the tactic is to jump, turn approximately 180 degrees (using either your mouse or keyboard interface) and fire one of our instant shots (this will not work with Auto Shot). It sounds complicated, but practice makes perfect. Once you master the Jump Shot, you'll wonder how you ever did without it, especially with angry enemies hot on your trail!
Some Hunters also have a habit of "spamming" shots, or using abilities when they aren't needed. I often see Hunters using Concussive Shot and/or Stings when either it's already in effect or it's simply not needed. Concussive Shot is useful for slowing your opponent, and Stings should only be renewed when they wear off, rather than every time they're available. It's especially critical to pay attention to who you're fighting as some classes can remove our stings for far less mana than it will cost the Hunter to cast them - in these cases, you'll need to use your best judgment, which will improve the more you engage in PVP combat.
Talents
Talent selection depends a lot on your playstyle. What might work for some people may not work for you. However, this build, supplied by Kaian of Cenarius, is just one version of what a PVP build might look like.
Beast Mastery Talents (0 points)
Marksmanship Talents (21 points)
[*]Improved Concussive Shot - 5/5 points Gives your Concussive Shot a 20% chance to stun the target for 3 seconds.
[*]Efficiency - 1/5 points Reduces the mana cost of your Shots and Stings by 2%.
[*]Lethal Shots - 5/5 points Increases your critical strike chance with ranged weapons by 5%.
[*]Aimed Shot - 1/1 point An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 600 (at maximum level, there are 6 ranks).
[*]Hawk Eye - 3/3 points Increases the range of your ranged weapons by 6 yards.
[*]Mortal Shots - 5/5 points Increases your ranged weapon critical strike damage bonus by 30%.
[*]Scatter Shot - 1/1 point A short-range shot that deals 50% weapon damage and confuses the target for 4 seconds. Any damage caused will remove the effect.
Survival Talents (30 points)
[*]Humanoid Slaying - 3/3 points Increases all damage caused against Humanoid targets by 3% and increases critical damage caused against Humanoid targets by an additional 3%. (yes, this does work in PVP).
[*]Deflection - 3/5 points Increases your Parry chance by 3%.
[*]Entrapment - 2/5 points Gives your Immolation Trap, Frost Trap, and Explosive [*]Trap a 10% chance to entrap the target, preventing them from moving for 5 sec.
[*]Savage Strikes - 1/2 point Increases the critical strike chance of Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite by 10%.
[*]Improved Wing Clip - 5/5 point Gives your Wing Clip ability a 20% chance to immobilize the target for 5 sec.
[*]Survivalist - 5/5 points Increases total health by 10%.
[*]Deterrence - 1/1 point When activated, increases your Dodge and Parry chance by 25% for 10 sec.
[*]Surefooted - 1/3 points Increases hit chance by 1% and increases the chance movement impairing effects will be resisted by 5%.
[*]Killer Instinct - 3/3 points Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks by 3%.
[*]Counterattack - 1/1 points A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. This attack deals 110 damage and immobilizes the target for 5 sec. Counterattack cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried. (at maximum level, there are 3 ranks).
[*]Lightning Reflexes - 5/5 points Increases your Agility by 15%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do you run far enough away after using Scatter Shot to use ranged attacks again before they are too close for range attacks? They always seems to get me.
A. Scatter Shot confuses your target for 4 seconds, which is more than enough time to get quite a distance away, however, any damage caused cancels the effect (i.e. your pet!) Make sure your pet is set passive when you use Scatter Shot, it will allows the ability to be used to the fullest. I had that problem for a while too, I couldn't figure out why Scatter Shot never "worked", then I realized any damage caused, including damage by your pet, interrupts the effect!
Q. Does Disengage truly work? Especially for Trap laying?
A. Disengage has no effect in PvP, it's only useful in PvE. Disengage reduces your threat (aggro) level, but any ability that reduces or increases threat is useless in PvP. The Warrior's taunt ability, for example, is also one of these abilities that is useless in PvP. Blizzard deemed skills that effect threat would be much too powerful in PvP, so they rendered them ineffective.