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Hunter leveling guide

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A leveling build for Beast Mastery, Marksmanship and Survival, point by point from level 10 to 60, and what changed for the class.

On this page7 sections

Recommended leveling builds

At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOne build per tree, read from the beta talent text.

Our pick is Beast Mastery: a tougher, harder-hitting pet is the simplest way to keep enemies off you from level 10.

Suggested build
Beast Mastery, 33/18/0 at 60
16-point milestone
Summon Hawk, level 25
Last Beast Mastery talent
Bestial Wrath, level 40
Races
8, new: Human

Beast Mastery leveling buildSuggested tree

33/18/0 at level 60Summon Hawk at level 25

Every row makes your pet tougher or deadlier. Endurance Training comes first and Unleashed Fury fills levels 20 to 24. Ferocity and Frenzy raise the pet's critical strikes and attack speed, and Bestial Wrath arrives at 40. The rest goes into Marksmanship for your own shots.

Open in the calculatorHow Beast Mastery plays Share

Key decisions

  • Endurance Training comes before the damage talents: a pet that survives keeps enemies off you.
  • Bestial Swiftness at 26 opens Intimidation, and Intimidation opens Bestial Wrath.
  • Fill Ferocity before Frenzy: Frenzy needs all 5 points in it.
  • In Marksmanship, Lethal Attacks comes before Mortal Shots because Mortal Shots requires it.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Endurance Training5/5
  2. 15–16Focused Fire2/2
  3. 17–18Pathfinding2/2
  4. 19Improved Revive Pet1/2
  5. 20–24Unleashed Fury5/5
  6. 25Summon HawkMilestone1/1
  7. 26Bestial Swiftness1/1
  8. 27–31Ferocity5/5
Show all 51 points · levels 32–60
  1. 32Intimidation1/1
  2. 33–34Spirit Bond2/2
  3. 35–39Frenzy5/5
  4. 40Bestial Wrath1/1
  5. 41–42Bestial Discipline2/2
  6. 43–47Careful AimMarksmanship5/5
  7. 48–52Lethal AttacksMarksmanship5/5
  8. 53–57EfficiencyMarksmanship5/5
  9. 58–60Mortal ShotsMarksmanship3/5

Marksmanship leveling build

13/38/0 at level 60Trueshot Aura at level 25

Your own shots do the work here. Careful Aim and Lethal Attacks raise Attack Power and critical strike chance from level 10, and Mortal Shots makes ranged critical strikes hit harder by level 30. Sniper Shot arrives at 40. The pet still holds enemies, so the last points go into Beast Mastery.

Open in the calculatorHow Marksmanship playsGear for Marksmanship Share

Key decisions

  • Lethal Attacks at 15 to 19: Mortal Shots needs all 5 points in it.
  • Rapid Killing's 2 points open Rapid Recuperation later, which keeps Mana regenerating while you fight.
  • Scatter Shot at 34 is the 25th point, and it disorients an enemy for 4 sec.
  • Lone Wolf is left out: it only works with no pet out, and this build keeps the pet.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Careful Aim5/5
  2. 15–19Lethal Attacks5/5
  3. 20–22Improved Arcane Shot3/5
  4. 23–24Rapid Killing2/2
  5. 25Trueshot AuraMilestone1/1
  6. 26–30Mortal Shots5/5
  7. 31–33Barrage3/3
  8. 34Scatter Shot1/1
Show all 51 points · levels 35–60
  1. 35–39Ranged Weapon Specialization5/5
  2. 40Sniper Shot1/1
  3. 41–45Efficiency5/5
  4. 46–47Rapid Recuperation2/2
  5. 48–52Endurance TrainingBeast Mastery5/5
  6. 53–54Focused FireBeast Mastery2/2
  7. 55–56PathfindingBeast Mastery2/2
  8. 57Improved Revive PetBeast Mastery1/2
  9. 58–60Unleashed FuryBeast Mastery3/5

Survival leveling build

0/18/33 at level 60Counterattack at level 25

Survival in this data is the melee tree: Savage Strikes, Counterattack, Strider Kick and Lacerating Strikes all work at close range. Improved Tracking and Survivalist are the safe opening, and Lacerating Strikes at 40 adds a Bleed to Mongoose Bite. It is the least conventional pick of the three.

Open in the calculatorHow Survival playsGear for Survival Share

Key decisions

  • Improved Tracking comes first: it raises damage against the creature type you track, whatever weapon you use.
  • Deterrence at 23 opens Counterattack.
  • Expose Prey comes before Strider Kick: Lacerating Strikes needs both points in it.
  • Lightning Reflexes fills levels 35 to 39 and is the Agility row that opens Lacerating Strikes.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Improved Tracking5/5
  2. 15–19Survivalist5/5
  3. 20–22Surefooted3/3
  4. 23Deterrence1/1
  5. 24Savage Strikes1/2
  6. 25CounterattackMilestone1/1
  7. 26Savage Strikes2/2
  8. 27–29Predator's Edge3/5
Show all 51 points · levels 30–60
  1. 30–31Expose Prey2/2
  2. 32Strider Kick1/1
  3. 33–34Resourcefulness2/2
  4. 35–39Lightning Reflexes5/5
  5. 40Lacerating Strikes1/1
  6. 41–42Predator's Edge5/5
  7. 43–47Careful AimMarksmanship5/5
  8. 48–52Lethal AttacksMarksmanship5/5
  9. 53–57EfficiencyMarksmanship5/5
  10. 58–60Mortal ShotsMarksmanship3/5

Compare the picks

Two builds side by side at level 60, with every talent where they differ.

The 3 Hunter trees

Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, Survival: the one-rank talents and their levels.

The one-rank talents in each tree, and the earliest level you can take them.

What changed for Hunters · 5

Changes from Classic, and what the beta showed.

  • Auto Shot fires sooner after you stop moving. You still stand still to fire, for much less time than in Classic. Beta

  • Pet numbers on the character sheet are unfinished in the beta. Pet Hit does not show your scaling and pet Expertise is not displayed. Beta

  • Queueing Raptor Strike turns off the spell queue window in the beta. Blizzard lists it as a bug. Beta

  • A new spell rank may not replace the old one on your action bar. Check your bars after each trainer visit: the spellbook hides lower ranks until you choose show all ranks.

  • Weapon-skill bonuses on individual items are being reduced. Read the tooltip before you chase an old favorite.

Dungeons and the 1-60 route · 9

Levels 13 to 60, the same for every class.

The same for every class. Run each dungeon once with every quest in your log.

Open the 1-60 route

Changes that apply to every class· 2

  • All 27 talent trees are meant to be viable for all content. They are not equal, and none should be strong enough to stack a raid with.

  • Hit and crit are one stat each for melee, ranged and spells. Hover a stat on the character sheet and it explains itself.

Races that can be a Hunter · 8

Human Hunter is new in Forever and needs no pack.

Human Hunter is new in Forever and needs no pack.

Alliance

Horde

The race and class table

In the patch digest · 2

Auto Shot and wands fire sooner after you stop

Keep reading

Sources and what isn't confirmed

Not announced

  • A leveling talent order from Blizzard
  • Dual specialization
  • Respec prices
  • Auto Shot timing: the exact duration
  • Spell ranks on the action bar: which spells are worth keeping at a lower rank
  • Most new quest names
  • Experience amounts for dungeon quests
  • Level ranges for Shen'dralas and Mount Hyjal

Sources

  • Wowhead, 21 Sep 2026: Auto Shot timing; Hit and crit
  • Kaivax, 17 Sep 2026: Pet numbers on the character sheet
  • Kaivax, 18 Sep 2026: Raptor Strike queue bug
  • Wowhead, 22 Sep 2026: Spell ranks on the action bar
  • Community beta data: Weapon-skill bonuses on items
  • Tim Jones, Windows Central, 22 Sep 2026: Talent tree balance

Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.