Hunter Traps: Ranks, Talents and Tactics in Vanilla

◆General trap rules in 1.12.1

Before learning the traps, understand the basic limitations that set Vanilla apart from later expansions:

• traps can be placed only out of combat, and the whole playstyle is built around this rule;
• a trap stays on the ground for 1 minute and triggers on the first enemy that approaches;
• only one trap can be active at a time;
• every trap has a 15 second cooldown, and traps of the same school share it: fire traps (Immolation and Explosive) and frost traps (Freezing and Frost).

All traps belong to the Survival tree and are bought from the hunter trainer. For the full list of class spells see the hunter abilities reference.

All traps and their ranks

Freezing Trap

The most valuable hunter trap. The target is fully removed from the fight, but any damage breaks the ice. Never hit a frozen enemy and make sure your allies' area spells do not touch it. At max rank the freeze lasts up to 20 seconds, and even longer with the Clever Traps talent.

Frost Trap

Creates an ice slick that slows every enemy inside by 60%. It is the foundation of kiting: the hunter places the trap, drags enemies through the ice and shoots them from range.

Fire traps

Immolation Trap damages a single target, Explosive Trap hits every enemy around. While leveling it is free extra damage on the mob your pet is holding, and in dungeons Explosive Trap helps finish off packs of weak enemies.

Trap talents

The Survival tree has three talents that directly improve hunter traps:

• Clever Traps, 2 ranks — increases the duration of Freezing and Frost Trap and the damage of Immolation and Explosive Trap by 15% / 30%;
• Entrapment, 5 ranks — gives Immolation, Frost and Explosive Trap up to a 25% chance to root the target for 5 seconds;
• Trap Mastery, 2 ranks — lowers the chance enemies resist trap effects by 5% / 10%.

Ready-made specs with these talents are in the Survival build guide and the general hunter talent builds collection.

◆The trick: Feign Death into a trap

Since traps cannot be placed in combat, experienced hunters combine them with Feign Death, which is learned at level 30:

1. You are in combat and a dangerous enemy or a second mob is running at you.
2. Press Feign Death to drop combat.
3. Stand up immediately and drop a Freezing Trap at your feet.
4. The enemy runs in and freezes, while you keep fighting your main target.

Note that Feign Death may fail against mobs higher level than you, and your pet keeps fighting during the trick. It is convenient to put the sequence on a macro; examples are in the hunter macros section.

◆Traps in PvE

In a group the hunter is responsible for controlling one target. The typical routine: place Freezing Trap before the pull, pull the chosen mob with a shot and step back so it walks through the trap. When the ice fades the trap comes off cooldown, and with luck you can refresh it via Feign Death. In raids traps are used less often, but freeze and slow still help on trash packs. More on where traps fit in combat is in the hunter rotation guide.

Traps in PvP

In PvP hunter traps are especially dangerous against melee. Freezing Trap lets you take one enemy out and focus another, while Frost Trap stops a warrior or rogue from catching the hunter. In battlegrounds traps work well on flags and in narrow passages. For matchups and combos see the hunter PvP guide.

◆Related guides

• Hunter guide
• Hunter aspects
• Hunter leveling
• Kiting in WoW Classic
• Survival build

Want to try traps in practice? Register on the WoW x5 server and connect to the game: the faster leveling lets you unlock Freezing Trap and all the key talents quickly.