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Marksmanship Hunter guide

Ranged DPS · our guide of 13 Oct 2026 Recommendation

Talent trees, every tier list's rating and the sim: the Marksmanship tab.

In short

A ranged damage dealer who can fight without a pet: Lone Wolf makes all your attacks deal 20% more damage with no pet out. Sourced: Talent database
Number 6 of 20 damage specs in our newest sim run, at 724 DPS. Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
The longest reach: Sniper Shot has a 45-yard range since 1 Oct, and for 10 sec after it your next 3 Shots reach 10 yards farther. Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct, Talent database
Weak spot early: at 20 a pet still does more damage than Lone Wolf, so keep the pet while leveling. Sourced: Guide · 2 Oct

How it plays

Up to level 30. Hunter's Mark and Serpent Sting, then Aimed Shot and Arcane Shot on cooldown, with Auto Shot between them; Multi-Shot on packs. Lethal Attacks and Careful Aim come first: 5% more crit chance with every attack, and attack power equal to 100% of your Intellect. At 30 the build adds Efficiency and Mortal Shots, which needs Careful Aim 5 of 5 and makes the crit damage bonus of your ranged abilities 30% higher; your 21st point goes into Rapid Killing. Our PvP build takes Improved Concussive Shot instead, a 20% chance that Concussive Shot also stuns for 3 sec, and Scatter Shot with the 21st point: a close-range shot that disorients the target for 4 sec unless something damages it.

Sourced: Guide · 2 Oct, Talent database

At level 60. Theory Rapid Fire with your trinkets, then Sniper Shot, Aimed Shot, Multi-Shot and Arcane Shot. Trueshot Aura gives party members within 45 yards more ranged attack power, and Sniper Shot needs it. Barrage makes Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot and Volley deal 10% more damage, and Ranged Weapon Specialization makes ranged weapons deal 5% more. In raids, fight without a pet for Lone Wolf; in PvP keep the pet, and use Scatter Shot, Concussive Shot, Wing Clip and Feign Death.

Sourced: Talent database

Talents at a glance

Level 20: Lethal Attacks 5, Careful Aim 5, Efficiency 1
Lethal Attacks crit and Careful Aim — the two row-1/row-2 damage talents; one Efficiency.
Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator
Level 30: Lethal Attacks 5, Careful Aim 5, Efficiency 5, Mortal Shots 5, Rapid Killing 1
Careful Aim 5/5, Efficiency 5/5, Mortal Shots 5/5 (row 4 at 15, requires Careful Aim), then one Rapid Killing with the 21st point. Petless Lone Wolf is a row-3 choice you can test now at 30.
Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator
Level 60: Lethal Attacks 5, Careful Aim 5, Efficiency 5, Rapid Killing 2, Lone Wolf 1, Mortal Shots 5, Trueshot Aura 1, Rapid Recuperation 2, Barrage 3, Ranged Weapon Specialization 5, Sniper Shot 1, Improved Tracking 5, Survivalist 5, Savage Strikes 2, Surefooted 3, Predator's Edge 1
Sniper Shot requires Trueshot Aura; Rapid Recuperation requires Rapid Killing 2/2; Ranged Weapon Specialization 5/5 at row 6. Survival filler: Improved Tracking, Survivalist, Savage Strikes, Surefooted, one Predator's Edge. Run petless with Lone Wolf in raids.
Theory · See the trees · Open in the calculator

Rotation at level 30

Recommendation

Single target

Open with Hunter's Mark, Aimed Shot.

Aimed Shot on cooldown
Arcane Shot on cooldown
Serpent Sting on long targets
Auto Shot

Groups

Multi-Shot

Tips

PvP: Scatter Shot (row 5), back off, then Aimed Shot; Concussive Shot procs stun with Improved Concussive Shot.

Test Lone Wolf now: petless +20% vs. keeping a pet.

Stats

Each guide's stat order as it gives it, the sim's stat weights, then ours. Guides dated before the last big tuning are shown but not counted.

Guides differWeapon damage first on every guide; the order after it differs.

Where	Stat order
Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 Oct	Weapon damage › Hit › Agility › Crit › Intellect › Spirit › Stamina
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 Oct	Weapon damage › Agility › Spirit › Intellect › Stamina › Hit › Crit
Guide · 1 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct	Not ranked
Sim · stat weights level 60 · run 12 Oct, 5,000 iterations	Per 1%: Crit 4.95 › Hit 3.99 › Attack speed 2.14 Per point: Ranged weapon DPS 1.47 › Physical damage 0.818 › Mana every 5 sec 0.463 › Agility 0.416 › Intellect 0.377 › Ranged attack power 0.143 › Armour penetration 0.0444 No DPS change in this run: Strength, Attack power, Expertise. The DPS each stat adds, for a level-60 character on the engine's preset gear in a 2-minute fight on a beta engine: a direction, not a verdict. = marks a tie: stats within each other's margin. Not counted toward "Guides agree". Where they differ: ours puts Hit before Crit, which the sim weighs higher per 1%; ours puts Attack power before Intellect, which the sim weighs higher per point.
Ours Recommendation	Ranged weapon damage › Hit › Crit › Agility › Attack power › Intellect › Stamina Ours adds Attack power, which neither guide lists. Where ours differs: ours puts Crit before Agility, which both guides rank higher.

Race

Each guide's race picks for Marksmanship, then our pick for the Hunter.

Alliance

Guides agreeHuman on 2 guides.

Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctHuman
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctHuman
Guide · 1 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctDwarf, Night Elf
Ours, for the Hunter RecommendationDwarf S

Horde

Guides agreeTauren on 2 guides.

Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctTauren
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctTauren
Guide · 1 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctTroll
Ours, for the Hunter RecommendationOrc S

Professions

One guideOnly one guide names professions.

Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctSkinning, Leatherworking
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctNot given
Guide · 1 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot given
Ours, for the Hunter RecommendationSkinning + Leatherworking (while leveling); or Mining + Engineering (endgame)

Level 20: best and second best per slot

Slot	Best	Second best
Head	Brawler's Leather Hood Crafted: Leatherworking	—
Neck	Erudite's Amulet Quest: Friend of the Library	—
Chest	Tunic of Westfall Quest: The Defias Brotherhood (Westfall)	Trapper's Leather Armor Crafted: Leatherworking
Hands	Gloves of the Fang Wailing Caverns - Lord Serpentis	—
Waist	Deviate Scale Belt Crafted: Leatherworking	—
Legs	Leggings of the Fang Wailing Caverns - Lord Pythas	Trapper's Leather Pants Crafted: Leatherworking
Feet	Footpads of the Fang Wailing Caverns - Lord Cobrahn	—
Ring	Seal of Wrynn Quest: An Audience with the King (Stormwind)	—
Two-Hand	Bronze Dory Crafted: Blacksmithing	—
Ranged / Relic	Venomstrike Wailing Caverns - Lord Serpentis	—

Sourced: Guide · 26 Sep

Level 60: where gear will come from

Pre-raid: Alcaz Prison, Shaper's Terrace, the Drowned City, Krol'dok Stronghold and Hyjal quests; hit and crit are merged, so 'spell hit' and 'spell crit' items are the same stat budget as melee ones.
Crafted: Tailoring school-specific sets ('Flame', 'Shadow', 'Pearly' at L20 — expect the same lines at 60), Enchanting ring Spell Power, Alchemy trinket.
Wands lost spell-damage scaling on 24 Sep — treat the ranged slot as stats only.
Raids open 9 December; no level-60 BiS exists yet.

Theory

What changed for Marksmanship

8 Oct: Disengage now drops twice as much threat, as first planned; Beast Mastery's Unleashed Fury now raises pet damage; Marksmanship's Improved Concussive Shot procs at its intended rate.
Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct
1 Oct: Sniper Shot 45-yd range and the next 3 shots gain +10 yd; Survival's Deflection 1–5% parry (was 2–10%); pet Aggressive mode restored.
Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct
Furious Howl (Wolf) attack-power bonus −40%; Tame Beast no longer works on beasts above your level; Bat pets get Sonic Blast.
Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep
Marksmanship: talenting out of Lone Wolf no longer leaves −4% damage with a pet — respecs between BM and MM are clean.
Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep
Some guns/bows weren't consuming ammo — fixed.
Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep