Marksmanship Hunter Guide — Class Guides · WoW Classic

Ranged damage from shots: Aimed Shot, more crit and more range.

A ranged fighter in leather, and later mail, who fights at a distance with a bow, gun or crossbow, tames beasts as pets and controls enemies with traps and stings. More about the hunter

Class: Hunter
Roles: Damage
Used for: Raids and dungeons, Player versus player
Top talent: Trueshot Aura
Popular builds: 3
Version: WoW Classic

How to play

Marksmanship is the hunter's raid tree. Aimed Shot is a slow, heavy shot, Trueshot Aura raises attack power for your whole group, and Mortal Shots and Lethal Shots make your critical strikes common and large. Barrage strengthens Multi-Shot and Volley.

The core skill is shooting without delaying Auto Shot. Aimed Shot resets the Auto Shot timer, Multi-Shot and Arcane Shot fit between Auto Shots, and moving or casting at the wrong moment costs more damage than a gear upgrade. Learn to watch the Auto Shot timer and the rest follows.

Marksmanship also brings Scatter Shot for control, and in player-versus-player play its burst from Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot can drop a cloth wearer quickly.

At a glance

Single-target damage
Damage to groups
Survivability
Utility for the group
Solo play and leveling
Ease of play

Rated 1 to 5 against the other specs in WoW Classic.

Rotation and priorities

1Hunter's Mark on the target; Trueshot Aura always on.
2Aimed Shot when it is ready, straight after an Auto Shot fires.
3Multi-Shot when ready, between Auto Shots (careful near crowd-controlled enemies).
4Arcane Shot between Auto Shots if mana allows.
5Rapid Fire with trinkets at the start of the fight or in the burn phase.
6Feign Death to drop threat, then keep shooting.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

The best hunter raid damage in Classic.
Trueshot Aura helps your whole group.
Long-range burst for player-versus-player fights.

Weaknesses

Shot timing takes practice.
Mana runs dry in long fights.
Weaker solo than Beast Mastery.

Stats and gear

Stat priority

Most valuable first. Bars compare each stat with the best one; a cap in the note means the stat drops off once you reach it.

1
Agilityattack power, crit and armour
2
Hitto 9%
3
Critical strike
4
Ranged attack power
5
Intellect
6
Mana per 5 sec

What to look for

A slow, high-damage bow, gun or crossbow: Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot add their bonus to weapon damage.
The quiver or ammo pouch with the most attack speed, and the best ammunition you can buy.
A scope on the ranged weapon; Engineering's best adds hit.

Items worth chasing

Striker's MarkA raid bow.
Blastershot LauncherA Molten Core gun, from Golemagg the Incinerator.
Devilsaur LeggingsCrafted leather leggings with attack power and crit.
Blackhand's BreadthA trinket of critical strike chance.

Builds

Each bar splits the build's talent points by tree.

Beast Mastery
Marksmanship
Survival

Trueshot Marksman
DamagePvE
2031
20/31/0
The common raid hunter: Trueshot Aura for the group, Mortal Shots and Ranged Weapon Specialization for damage, and Improved Aspect of the Hawk procs.
- Aimed Shot 1/1
- Scatter Shot 1/1
- Barrage 3/3
- Ranged Weapon Specialization 5/5
- Trueshot Aura 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level
Surefooted Marksman
DamagePvE
3118
2/31/18
Marksmanship with Survival: Humanoid and Monster Slaying for crit damage, Surefooted for hit and Deterrence for safety in tough raids.
- Aimed Shot 1/1
- Scatter Shot 1/1
- Barrage 3/3
- Ranged Weapon Specialization 5/5
- Trueshot Aura 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level
Scatter Shot Skirmisher
DamagePvP
3120
0/31/20
Battleground Marksmanship: Scatter Shot and Improved Concussive Shot control the fight, while Deterrence and Improved Wing Clip keep melee off you.
- Scatter Shot 1/1
- Barrage 3/3
- Improved Scorpid Sting 1/3
- Ranged Weapon Specialization 5/5
- Trueshot Aura 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting

Key talents

Trueshot Aura · top talent, up to 1
Increases the attack power of party members within 45 yards by 50. Lasts 30 min.
Efficiency · tier 1, up to 5
Reduces the Mana cost of your Shots and Stings by 10%.
Improved Hunter's Mark · tier 2, up to 5
Increases the Ranged Attack Power bonus of your Hunter's Mark spell by 15%.
Lethal Shots · tier 2, up to 5
Increases your critical strike chance with ranged weapons by 5%.
Aimed Shot · tier 3, up to 1
An aimed shot that increases ranged damage by 70.
Mortal Shots · tier 4, up to 5
Increases your ranged weapon critical strike damage bonus by 30%.
Scatter Shot · tier 5, up to 1
A short-range shot that deals 50% weapon damage and disorients the target for 4 sec. Any damage caused will remove the effect. Turns off your attack when used.
Barrage · tier 5, up to 3
Increases the damage done by your Multi-Shot and Volley spells by 15%.
Ranged Weapon Specialization · tier 6, up to 5
Increases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by 5%.

Marksmanship abilities by level

When each ability arrives: trained abilities at the level a trainer first teaches them, talent abilities (gold frame) at the first level the talent can be taken.