The Marksmanship Hunter in WoW Classic is the master of damage with ranged weapons, timing the perfect shot to execute foes.
The Marksmanship Hunter is the master spec for Hunter in PvE, it brings all the utility of the group including the Trueshot Aura (detailed below) whilst also bringing a large amount of DPS. You'll fit right in within any raid or dungeon.
On the other hand, it is rather weak in PvP and is not as strong as Beast Mastery for solo content and/or farming.
Talents
The Trueshot Aura Build is the Hunterss purely DPS-focused build of the Marksmanship spec. It gives access to the important Attack Power buff aura, Trueshot Aura. The build will see you placed in groups with Rogues and Warriors during raids. All other talents in this build are designed to perform a maximum of DPS, both with the pet and without
Note: This is the build dedicated exclusively to the Molton Core and the Blackwing Lair, the talent of the Monster Slaying in the Survival tree being specifically chosen for these raids.
The Surefooted Build is designed for Hunters who do not have their Hit Chance at 9%. In order to get it, most of the previous Beast Mastery Tree skills have been removed, greatly reducing the pet's damage, to the benefit of many talents in the Survival tree to get the Surefooted talent and Reach Hit Cap more easily. This build is not intended to be used at a very high level, it is only a transition before the Trueshot Aura Build.
Stats to prioritize
Agility> Attack Power> Hit (9% Cap)> Critical Strike> Stamina> Intelligence
Rotation and key abilities
BM & MM
The rotation of the Marksmanship/Beast Mastery Hunter is rather simple but requires to understand a little-known rotation: reloading the Auto Attack. Indeed, your objective is to launch a spell, followed by an Auto Attack, then another spell then Auto Attack. The Auto Fire CD varies according to the speed of your weapon: the faster it is, the shorter the cooldown. Most Hunters favour slower weapons because it allows them to inflict heavier damage and time their rotation better.
- Auto Attack,
- Aimed Shot,
- AA,
- Multi-Shot,
- AA,
- Aimed Shot,
- AA
- Rinse and repeat
Trueshot Aura
Trueshot Aura allows all players in the nearby group to gain a large bonus to Attack Power. The Hunter must, therefore, be placed in a group consisting of Rogues and Warriors primarily to maximize their DPS. This is one of the greatest assets of Hunter.
Rapid Fire
Rapid Fire is one of your major offensive CDs. Simple and effective, it simply boosts your ranged attack speed.
Feign Death
Feign Death at first glance might seem like a pointless ability. But when you use it in PvP when you get low HP and make your opponent think you're dead, only to strike them with a well time ability, then you'll learn to love Feign Death. It also acts as an aggro reset in PvE
Note: Be careful though, it does not work all the time, do not get carried away pulling everything just relying on it to get you out of it.
Traps and Aspects are among the greatest assets of the Hunter. Although traps cannot be used in combat, placing them at strategic locations gives you a serious advantage over your opponents. Regarding aspects, it is the Aspect of the Monkey that will be most often used by Survival because it allows the use of the Mongoose Bite more regularly.
Pets
General
The Hunter has the unique ability to tame pets with many different appearances and skills. However, we are only interested in the most powerful of them, but also the most difficult to obtain: King Bangalash.
This formidable white tiger can be found in Stranglethorn Vale, in the Eastern Kingdoms. It is elite so you will probably have to go there with allies in order to tame it, but it's worth it since it is currently the best available pet.
Note: According to our records, Lupos does not inflict Shadow damage on the current version of WoW Classic and is therefore not the best pet. Should this be changed, however, we will modify this guide accordingly as Lupos was the best pet until the exit of Ahn Qiraj as all his attacks ignored the armour of the target.
Best Race For Marksmanship Hunter
Horde
The Orc is great in PvE as in PVP thanks to its racial Blood Fury. Finally, Hardness gives them a clear advantage over other races in PvP. Special mention goes to Command, which will see a small increase in pet damage.
The Berserker is rather powerful for Hunter, but what sets the Troll apart is Bow Specialization the only race to offer such a key racial to the Hunter class. Special mention to Beast Slaying which is useful for leveling or farming.
Alliance
In addition to Quickness giving them a slight gain in survival, SPEC benefits from being Night Elf especially thanks to its Shadowmeld which lets you dip into stealth.
The Dwarf's Stoneform is a serious asset in PvP, especially against Rogues. Frost Resistance is also great against your nemesis: the Frost Mage. Special mention for Gun Specialization, whilst not as good as the Troll bow racial, it will serve as a useful alternative for Alliance.
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of races to choose from, and making that choice has long-term consequences. You don't want to regret your choice later, so we've broken down the races in our tier list for WoW: Classic.
Professions
If you follow our advice for the choice of trades, Skinning is an excellent choice because if you choose Leatherworking you can be almost self-sufficient. And, even if you do not choose Leatherworking, it allows you to farm components for high-level craftable armour.
The Engineer is the best choice by default as it's great in both PvE and PvP. From Goblin Sapper Charge to the Arcanite Dragonling to the Dense Dynamite, everything about this role will always be useful!
The real interest of Leatherworking is in the craftingof high-level pre-raid armour, including the Devilsaur Armour set.
Discover our guide to the classes in World of Warcraft: Classic. We take a look at each class, including Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock and Warrior, and look at what you can expect from each and how they match up.
