TBC Classic Marksmanship Hunter Guide (Phase 3)

Marksmanship Hunter is a ranged fighter in mail armor. It shoots with a bow, crossbow or gun and fights alongside a pet. It is the weakest of the hunter's three specializations: its talents synergize worse with the class's strengths in TBC. It gives the group Trueshot Aura, but in terms of damage and buff value it falls behind Beast Mastery and Survival. The core of the rotation is Steady Shot.

• Kill Command — on cooldown, off the global cooldown, available after a crit
• Volley — on cooldown, in place of Steady Shot: its damage per cast is even higher
• Auto Shot — the core of the rotation, with the other shots woven in between
• Steady Shot — filler
• Arcane Shot — instant, if Volley is unavailable
• Serpent Sting — instant, while moving

The shot ratio is tuned to your weapon speed. At a haste-adjusted speed of about 1.5 seconds, a 1:1 pattern works — Auto Shot and Steady Shot alternating. More often the weapon is slower (2.2–2.4 seconds with haste), in which case a 1:1.5 pattern is used — two Steady Shot and one instant shot for every two Auto Shot.

Opener

• Hunter's Mark — if you are assigned to place the mark
• Misdirection — on the tank, so you don't pull threat
• Aimed Shot — time the cast so it finishes right as the pull timer hits zero
• Distracting Shot — optional, gives the tank maximum threat
• Blood Fury or other racial cooldowns
• Rapid Fire
• Then the standard rotation

• Rapid Fire — the main cooldown for boosting shot speed
• Kill Command — does not take the global cooldown, press it whenever it is available
• Aimed Shot — the strongest shot, but its cast is too long: only before the pull
• Misdirection — dumping threat onto the tank
• Explosive Trap — area damage, pays off from 7 targets; in TBC it is placed right in combat
• Volley — weak, only on 10+ targets and when everything else is on cooldown
• Aspect of the Viper — switch from Aspect of the Hawk when you are short on mana

Orc

• Axe Specialization increases expertise rating by 5 while wielding an axe.
• Blood Fury increases attack power by 282 for 15 seconds, but reduces healing received by 50% for that duration. 2-minute cooldown.
• Command increases pet damage by 5%.
• Hardiness increases the chance to resist stun effects by 15%.

Troll

• Beast Slaying increases damage dealt to beasts by 5%.
• Berserking increases attack and casting speed by 10–30% depending on how wounded you are. 3-minute cooldown.
• Bow Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% while wielding a bow.
• Throwing Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% while wielding a throwing weapon.
• Regeneration increases health regeneration by 10% and allows 10% of it to continue while in combat.

Tauren

• Cultivation increases Herbalism skill by 15.
• Endurance increases total health by 5%.
• Nature Resistance increases Nature resistance by 10.
• War Stomp stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. 0.5-second cast, 2-minute cooldown.

Night Elf

• Nature Resistance increases Nature resistance by 10.
• Quickness increases dodge chance by 1%.
• Shadowmeld puts you into stealth while standing still. 10-second cooldown, does not work in combat.
• Wisp Spirit turns you into a wisp on death and increases ghost movement speed by 50%.

Dwarf

• Find Treasure marks nearby chests on the minimap.
• Frost Resistance increases Frost resistance by 10.
• Gun Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% while wielding a gun.
• Stoneform grants immunity to bleed, poison and disease effects and increases armor for 8 seconds. 3-minute cooldown.

Draenei

• Gemcutting increases Jewelcrafting skill by 5.
• Shadow Resistance increases Shadow resistance by 10.
• Gift of the Naaru heals the target over 15 seconds.
• Heroic Presence increases the hit chance of the entire group within 30 yards by 1%.

Leatherworking

The best profession for a hunter. It provides Drums of Battle and Greater Drums of Battle, as well as the Primal Intent set — three pre-raid BiS items at once and several near-BiS options.

Engineering

The second most useful profession. It provides items that add damage and help in tricky situations in both PvE and PvP.

Skinning

A good choice at the start if you don't want Engineering: it supplies the materials for leveling Leatherworking and crafting the level 70 set.