WoW Forever Marksmanship Hunter — Guide (Beta Test)
viewsAbout the Class
This guide is based on the World of Warcraft: Forever beta and covers gameplay up to level 20. The talents and combat tips are starting recommendations built on the spells and talents available in the beta. They will be refined as testing continues.
Marksmanship Hunter is the classic ranger who invests in their own ranged damage. The pet, the traps, and the rest of the toolkit are all still here, but your biggest asset is hard-hitting shots that reach farther than anyone else's.
In Forever, the specialization plays almost the same as in Classic, but it has gained a new capstone talent, Sniper Shot: a very powerful shot with a 4-second cooldown.
Strengths
- The highest ranged damage among Hunters and the longest shot range.
- Even at level 20 you already have the core of the class's power: your basic attacks and your pet.
- A flexible toolkit: traps, crowd control, and the freedom to start a fight when it suits you.
Disengage lets you shake an enemy off if you pulled threat off your pet.
Weaknesses
- Most of your damage comes from auto-attacks, so the rotation feels very simple in the beta.
- Mana runs out fast, and without it you are left with only basic attacks.
- Some of the strong talents and cooldowns are not available yet at level 20.
- There is a dead zone: if an enemy gets right up to you, you cannot shoot.
- Your pet is weaker than a Beast Mastery Hunter's, so keeping an enemy on it is harder.
Stat Priority
- 1Weapon Damage
- 2Agility
- 3Spirit
- 4Intellect
- 5Stamina
- 6Hit
- 7Critical Strike
There are no specific items for level 20 yet: stats on items have been completely reworked in Forever, and it is not yet known what exactly will be available. Pick up the highest-level items that match the priority above.
Talents
Talent Notes
- Lethal Attacks 5/5 — increases the Critical Strike chance of all your attacks.
- Careful Aim 5/5 — grants Attack Power from Intellect.
- Lone Wolf 1/1 — 20% more damage with all attacks while you have no active pet.
Lone Wolf and a pet are mutually exclusive: either you play without a beast for the damage bonus, or you stick with your pet so it can keep the enemy off you.
Ability Priority
The rotation at low levels is as simple as it gets and is built around 
Auto Shot. Always keep 
Aspect of the Hawk active, except when you are running away and need the speed from 
Aspect of the Cheetah.
- Apply
Hunter's Mark to the target before the fight starts - Send your pet in first and keep its abilities on autocast
- Once your pet has engaged the target, open with
Serpent Sting 
Aimed Shot on cooldown- After that, just keep firing Auto Shot
- If you pulled threat off your pet, use Disengage
- If you have Mana to spare, add
Arcane Shot; otherwise keep auto-shooting
Your main strength as a Hunter is your basic attacks and your pet's attacks. Even with no Mana, it is better to simply move on to the next target and regenerate Mana as you fight. Spend Mana first and foremost on 
Mend Pet and Serpent Sting.
Up to Level 10
You won't tame a pet until level 10. Until then, squeeze as many shots out of Auto Shot as you can while the target runs at you, and switch to 
Raptor Strike in melee.
Important Abilities
Mend Pet and 
Revive PetBest in Slot (BiS)
There is no BiS list in the beta: the choice of items at level 20 is small as it is, and stats on items have been completely reworked in Forever. Pick up the highest-level items available according to the stat priority above, starting with the weapon with the highest damage.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
ConsumablesBest Race
After the racial ability rework in Forever, there are no weak options, but two stand out.
A slight edge thanks to an active ability that removes stuns, which is valuable in PvP, and a steady 2% Critical Strike chance from Sword Specialization.
The strongest option for the Horde: an area stun, extra Health, passive Hit, and, most importantly, Plainsrunning. A Tauren builds up to 30% bonus movement speed while running continuously, which is perfect for a Hunter when retreating and keeping distance.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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