newcomer questions (go easy!)Follow

hey all, I picked up WoW about 3 weeks ago, and now am pushing a lvl 50 hunter around. Compare that to, say, Eq1, where 3 weeks into my subscription, I was still about lvl 10 or so and still rocking the lowbie zones. In any event, as lvl 80 gradually draws into the horizon, I wanted to start thinking about endgame content and that got me thinking. I have a few questions, I was hoping to get a little insight from those more experienced than I, I'd be most gracious if I could get some feedback. Or you could just laugh at the little n00b dwarf flailing his arms and his corpse getting a face full of Tauren sack in the PVP zones.

btw, I know all about the philosophy of doing what you enjoy. Let's just pretend that I enjoy winning ;)

anyway...

It seems to me that BM = PVE, MM = raiding, SV = PVP. Presumably, MM doesn't have much utility in PVP areas where the player is going to run up on you regardless, and It seems that SV hunters can out-DPS BM ones. Am I right?

pets... it seems like in terms of DPS, it's get a Wolf or hit the road. I was looking around Petopia, and it seemed like crabs would make a good PvP companion due to it's ability to pin. There also seem to be a number of pets with stun (Gorillas, Bats, Ravagers, etc). It's a little overwhelming, TBH. I've had a wolf since about lvl 20 which has served me very well, but I'm curious what kind of pet is most highly recommended for instances besides PVE. How much of it comes down to personal preference and how much comes down to World of Mathcraft?

While on the subject, what happens to, say, my exotic pets if I spec out of a BM mastery? Are they even worth getting? I want a T Rex (and name it something cutesy like Fluffy or Poops), but if my trusty wolf is the way to go, then cest la vie.

Am I going to be ok sticking with my gun, or should I get a bow? I've seen it in some games where one type of weapon just can't stack up to the others, so I want to make sure that I am covering all of my bases

Are there any sites that show quality talent tree builds? It seems that certain guilds are really particular about that. I.E "this is a solid MM build" or "this is a solid SV build"

What stats should I be focusing on? Obviously one would assume having different gear for different situations, but what should I be looking for in, say, pvp gear vs. raid gear?

I haven't joined a guild yet because I'm trying to feel out the quality guilds vs the scrubs. It also seemed pretty redundant to join a leveling guild due to the fast pace of lvling in this game. Any tips for what to look for when picking one?

thank you kindly, in advance.

cool! thanks for the heads up!