Hogger

Hogger is a level 11 elite named Riverpaw gnoll chieftain in Southern Elwynn Forest. A quest exists offering a reward for his killing from the Westbrook Garrison in Elwynn Forest, near the border with Westfall. He is an indirect agent of the Defias Brotherhood along with the rest of his Riverpaw tribe.

Hogger has a reputation as a particularly dangerous foe, primarily because he is one of, if not the first, elite mobs a human will meet. Thus, new players will sometimes, not knowing what the elite tag indicates, horribly underestimate him and be killed extremely quickly.

For most classes it is a fact that he can be soloed relatively easily from level 14 onwards. Adventurers below that level are advised to find some friends before attempting to slay him. Strategies to solo him with any class is shown below. Another way to solo him is by kiting him to the nearby tower and let the two guards kill him. You must make sure to do most of damage though because if you do not then you will not get to loot him. Mages and other cloth wearers should usually group because Hogger hits fairly hard on cloth. You should watch out for any Gnoll mobs nearby.

He was one of a very few old-world elite mobs who kept his elite status after Patch 2.3.

He can play the role of Flat Tusk for Alliance players.

Strategy
Any class can solo Hogger without the need of kiting him to the guards or making a group to kill him. Some classes require more skill than others. All classes should be level 12 when soloing Hogger, but it is possible at level 10 as well. No class should attempt to kill Hogger before level 10. (However, a paladin with skill and luck may have a chance to solo hogger starting from level 8.)

Druid
Start the battle with entangling roots, then use Moonfire and two Wrath spells. Then use Rejuvenation, and, if you have it, Regrowth, and morph into bear form. Keep Demoralizing Roar up and you will be fine. NOTE: Enrage lowers your armor, so refrain from using it if possible or take the buff off after the initial increase in Rage.

Hunter
Before starting the battle, make sure your pet is a tenacity pet, its growl is on and its cower is off. Also make sure you are using Aspect of the Hawk.

Send your pet at Hogger and let it use growl once or twice before you start attacking. Unload all you've got, meaning Hunter's Mark, Serpent Sting, Arcane Shot right at the beginning, then shoot regular arrows/bullets until Arcane Shot is off cooldown. Use it again, and remember to also keep your Serpent Sting up. If your pet dies during the battle or if he loses aggro and Hogger goes towards you, switch to aspect of the monkey, use Concussive Shot, and back away. Remember special arrows can be cast while moving.

Mage
Make sure your mana is full. It is a good idea to spend some money on mana potions, as this will leave a big dent in your mana. Start the battle at maximum range by casting Frostbolt. You can even cast this twice if you want, but it is good to only cast it once here. Back away (or turn and run), and when you see Frostbolt's effect on Hogger about to go away, cast Frostbolt again and keep backing away. The key is to make sure Frostbolt's slow effect is up at all times. If Hogger gets to you at any point, use frost nova, back away, use Frostbolt, and continue normally.

Paladin
Make sure you have Devotion Aura and Blessing of Might on you before you start. Start the battle with a Judgement of Light and use Hammer of Justice whenever possible. If you are low on health (the notifier that tells you about damage, buffs, etc on you shows Low Health) there are two ways out, and you might even have to use both here. The first is Lay On Hands, restoring you to full automatically, and the second is to use Hand of Protection and then heal yourself with Holy light a few times. Note that it is better to use Lay on Hands.

Priest
Keep both Power Word: Shield and Inner Fire as much as possible on you, keep Shadow word: Pain on him as much as possible, use Mind Blast whenever off cooldown, and use Smite everywhere else. A good idea is to start with a mind blast at maximum range.

Rogue
Start the battle by stealthing in and using Sap, then Backstab. Pop Evasion and wait until your energy is full, then use Gouge, go behind Hogger, and use Backstab. While waiting for Gouge's cooldown to end, feel free to use Sinister Strike once or twice. Only use Eviscerate when you have 5 combo points on him.

Shaman
Start the battle with a Lightning Bolt, then set Searing Totem. When Hogger reaches you, set Stoneclaw Totem and back away, then use flame shock and possibly a Lightning Bolt. Soon, both Searing Totem and Stoneclaw Totem will be dead, so, where you are now, set Searing Totem and Stoneskin Totem, then use Earth shock. Remember to have Lightning Shield on you the whole time, Earth Shock on him and Searing totem on the ground the whole time. Healing yourself will be a life saver here.

Warlock
Send your Voidwalker in to attack Hogger first and let him use Torment once or twice, then use Immolate, Curse of Agony, Corruption, and a Drain Soul channel. When your Drain Soul finishes, refresh Immolate, Curse of Agony and Corruption and channel Drain Soul again. If your voidwalker dies during the battle, a Fear spell is a good idea.

Warrior
Battle Hogger in Defensive Stance. Keep Rend, Thunder Clap, and at least two, if not more, applications of Sunder Armor on him at all times, and Battle Shout on you at all times, and you should be alright.

Objective of

 * Drops for the quest.

"Hogger raid"
A "Hogger raid" is where many level 1 characters (a full 40-man raid back in the day, nowadays usually no more than 25 persons) attempt to kill Hogger by zerging him. Level 1 players can no longer form a raid group.

Hogger is also used as a joke when it comes to where loot drops. Many people will jokingly say that items such as, and are rare drops from Hogger. Keep in mind that Hogger has no extraordinary loot, and these claims are false. Hogger is also often referred to as an extraordinarily difficult mob on par with other raid bosses, which has no basis in fact and serves only to glorify him.

Wrath of the Lich King
Hogger is a "memory" in the fight against Argent Confessor Paletress in the Trial of the Champion encounter of the Crusaders' Coliseum. This was introduced in patch Patch 3.2.0, "Call of the Crusade".

Cataclysm


In the upcoming expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Hogger as leader of the Riverpaw gnolls now has his own hill named after him, Hogger Hill, that he is restricted to. Getting him too far from it will cause him to reset. After being defeated he is arrested and taken to the Stockade in Stormwind City.

Trivia

 * He has exactly 666 health, the number of the beast, just like Old Icebeard and Flat Tusk (NPCs similar to Hogger).
 * In a PC World article, Hogger was voted as #24 of the 47 "most diabolical videogame villains of all time".
 * The upcoming Character Battle VII of GameFAQs includes Hogger as an entry in Division 7. His description reads: "An unbeatable 40-man raid boss in World of Warcraft. No guild can take him down."
 * During the BlizzCon 2009 live raid by the raiding guild Premonition, the final boss they fought was a level 80 heroic version of Hogger which they were not able to defeat.
 * Since World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, many player stats are tracked, including deaths to various things (mobs, lava, drowning, etc). One such way of dying recorded is deaths to Hogger.
 * On rare occasions, Hogger appears as level 8 or 10. The cause of this is unknown.