Marksmanship Hunter leveling guide
Bigger shots, weaker pet. Pick this if you like Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot more than managing a pet. How the Marksmanship talents play from level 10 to 60.
On this page7 sections
At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOur reading of the Marksmanship talent text, not a tested rotation.
- Build at level 60
- 13/38/0 (13 Beast Mastery, 38 Marksmanship)
- 16-point milestone
- Trueshot Aura, level 25
- Last Marksmanship talent
- Sniper Shot, level 40
- In a group
- Damage
- Our first choice for leveling a Hunter
- Beast Mastery
How Marksmanship plays
- Marksmanship makes your own shots the damage. Careful Aim adds 100% of your Intellect to your Attack Power.
- Lethal Attacks adds 5% critical strike chance, and Mortal Shots raises the critical strike damage bonus of ranged abilities by 30%.
- Arcane Shot comes round sooner with Improved Arcane Shot.
- Kills feed the next fight. When a non-trivial enemy dies to you, or dies with your Serpent Sting on it, Rapid Killing adds 20% to your next Shot within 40 sec.
- Barrage raises Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot and Volley by 9%, and Scatter Shot is a short-range shot that disorients a target for 4 sec.
What to press first
Most important first. Not a rotation.
- 1
Use Arcane Shot whenever it is ready
Improved Arcane Shot shortens its cooldown.
- 2
Keep Serpent Sting on the target
Rapid Killing counts an enemy that dies with your Serpent Sting on it, even when the pet lands the last hit.
- 3
Start the next fight quickly
Rapid Killing adds 20% to your next Shot within 40 sec of a kill.
- 4
Lean on Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot
Barrage adds 9% to both, and to Volley.
- 5
Use Scatter Shot when an enemy reaches you
Scatter Shot disorients it for 4 sec. Any damage removes the effect, and the shot turns off your own attack when used.
- 6
Keep Trueshot Aura up
Trueshot Aura lasts 30 min and adds 30 Ranged Attack Power.
Talents that change how you play · 10
From Careful Aim at level 10 to Efficiency at 41.
The level is when our build first takes the talent.
- Levels 10–14
Intellect starts adding to your Attack Power, so caster-looking gear is no longer wasted on you.
- Levels 15–19
More critical strikes on every attack.
- Levels 20–22
Arcane Shot is ready more often.
- Levels 23–24
Each kill sets up the next fight's first Shot.
- Level 25
Trueshot Aura16-point milestone
An aura for you and your party.
- Levels 26–30
Critical strikes with ranged abilities hit harder.
- Levels 31–33
Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot and Volley all hit harder.
- Level 34
A way out when something gets to you.
- Level 40
The last talent. Its text is one line: a steady snipe that increases ranged damage by 160. The data does not say how it fits a fight.
- Levels 41–45
Shots and Stings cost less Mana.
Gear to look for
What the talents reward on items, and items that carry it.
- Intellect: Careful Aim adds 100% of it to your Attack Power.
- The ranged weapon itself: Ranged Weapon Specialization adds 5% to the damage you deal with ranged weapons at five points.
- Critical strike chance, which Lethal Attacks adds to and Mortal Shots makes worth more.
Opinion, not confirmed by BlizzardItems that carry what these talents name.
Levels 10-20
The Hall of Thanes, levels 13-18 Alliance
Cloth hands · 6 Intellect, 3 Stamina
Quest: Important Heirlooms, choose 1 of 2
Gun · 9.6 DPS, 3 Stamina
Quest: Old Ironforge Incursion, choose 1 of 3
Groups and dungeons
In a group: damage. New group talents before 2 dungeons.
In a group these talents support damage.
- Trueshot Aura gives party members within 45 yards 30 more Ranged Attack Power.
- Scatter Shot is a 4 sec disorient that any damage removes, so it buys a moment and no more.
New group talents by the time each dungeon opens
Strengths and trade-offs
2 strengths, 3 trade-offs.
Strengths
- Damage from range that you control, shot by shot.
- Chain-pulling is rewarded: every kill raises the next Shot.
Trade-offs
- The pet gets no talent until level 48, so in our view it holds enemies less well than a Beast Mastery pet at the same level.
- Efficiency, the Mana talent, waits until level 41 in this order.
- The build keeps a pet, so it gives up Lone Wolf, which adds 20% to your damage while you have none.
Compare this build
Keep reading
Sources and what isn't confirmed
Unconfirmed: reported, not confirmed by Blizzard
- The Hall of Thanes being open to the Alliance only
- The items under Gear to look for, and their stats, as public coverage reports them
Not announced
- Stat weights
- A leveling talent order from Blizzard
Sources
- Beta 1.60.1 talent data: every sentence about how the tree plays is read from the Marksmanship talent text. Nothing here is a published guide or a tested rotation
- Warcraft Tavern, 19 Sep 2026: the items under Gear to look for, and where each comes from
- Warcraft Tavern's Forever Hunter guide: which armor and weapons a Hunter can use, and from what level
Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.