Hunters are acctually a much faster path to level to 70, once you get a little deeper in the BM tree you just have your pet and while you pewpew. Hunters can solo much more than mages can.
Although endgame, the famous term huntard comes around. This is a term for a hunter who most likely solo quest ALL the way to 70 and has little to no experience in 5 man instances. If you learn to play your class well and learn to work well in a group environment(IE trapping mobs and not breaking them at lower levels) you have the opportunity to be a great hunter. I also notice as a hunter its much easier to gear up, as you only have enhancement shamans in competition for you gear, and you can wear leather even past level 40, ,as its DPS(damage per second) benefits can be greatly increased through rogue gear. Though you lose mana efficiency by doing this.
The first 10 levels are tough to play, but it gets better as you progress. The first 10 you have no pet, so its a little annoying.
Hunter was my first class and I loved it. Pets are Awesome, and with the new expansion hunters abilities are getting a great PVP boost.Hunters are often considered EASY to play and raid, but still many other classes do not understand hunter mechanics. I personally love hunters, and find their cc, ICE trap, to be more versatile than polymorph, as it can be used on all types of mobs, whereas polymorph is more reliable and easier to keep up, but can only be used on beasts and humanoids.
If you play a hunter I don't think you'll regret it.
Edit: Heres a video of a Night elf hunter Soloing Heroic Slave Pens. Heroic simply means a much more difficult version of the instance, and meant for lvl 70's. This would normally take 5 people to take down the bosses in here, but this hunter is skilled and well geared, plus utilizes a very clever game mechanic to beat the bosses and necessary mobs.
Hunter Vs. World 7 - Solo Slave Pens Heroic By Dysphoria
Linear Mode
