Hunter - Marksman

Updated for 3.3

Purpose

A Marksman hunter provides ranged DPS and redirects threat with Misdirection∞. She also provides additional Attack Power to the raid with Trueshot Aura∞.

Talents

Standard: 7/52/7∞ (Covers all core talents which should be used in most cases, leaving 5 spare points to adjust to individual circumstances) *
Survivability: 11/52/7∞ (An alternative build with higher survivability, leaving 1 spare points to adjust to individual circumstances)
High Armor Penetration: 7/54/7∞ (A build for hunters with high enough Armor Penetration rating to drop Arcane Shot∞ from their rotations, leaving 1 spare point to adjust to individual circumstances)

* Under normal circumstances the spare points are distributed over Trueshot Aura∞, Silencing Shot∞, Improved Barrage∞, Rapid Recuperation∞ and/or Focused Aim∞

Pet talents: 16 points Ferocity∞ (In raids a Ferocity∞ pet should be used. In most cases a pet of the Wolf∞ family is most effective.)

Ability Rotation

Aspects:

• Aspect of the Dragonhawk∞ (The primary DPS aspect of the hunter)
• Aspect of the Viper∞ (Switch to this aspect when you are about to run out of mana (10-20%) until you have regained sufficient mana to finish the fight. Switch back to Aspect of the Dragonhawk∞ at that point.

The Marksman Hunter uses a priority rotation. The hunter uses abilities as soon as they become available, and not in any specific order. If the hunter has a choice between two or more abilities, she should use the abilities with the following priority:

1. Kill Shot∞ (if available)
2. Serpent Sting∞ (use once at the beginning of the fight, after that Chimera Shot∞ will refresh the cooldown)
3. Chimera Shot∞
4. Aimed Shot∞
5. Arcane Shot∞ (once a marksman hunter gets more than 350 Armor Penetration this shot can be ignored)
6. Steady Shot∞

If mana is not a problem the hunter can use Silencing Shot∞ in their rotation. As the shot does not trigger the Global Cooldown it can be used whenever it's available without interfering with other shots.

Key Cooldowns

• Kill Command∞ (use whenever off cooldown)
• Rapid Fire∞ (use while in Aspect of the Viper∞ to increase mana regeneration)
• Call of the Wild∞
• Readiness∞ (use to reset the cooldown of Rapid Fire∞ and powerful shots)

Key Stats

Stats are listed in order of value per point of item budget. All these stats are useful, but look for gear with more stats from the top of the list.

1. Hit Rating (up to a cap of 8% or 263 Hit Rating)
2. Agility / Armor Penetration (the value of a single point of Armor Penetration increases as the total amount increases)
3. Critical Strike Rating
4. Attack Power
5. Haste (up to a cap of 16% or 523 Haste, this is will bring the cast time of Steady Shot∞ to 1,5 seconds)
6. Intellect

Recommended Glyphs

Major:

• Glyph of Chimera Shot∞
• Glyph of Serpent Sting∞
• Glyph of Steady Shot∞

Minor:

• Glyph of Feign Death∞
• Glyph of Mend Pet∞
• Glyph of Revive Pet∞

Recommended Enchants

Enchants are listed from best and most expensive to least expensive. If you have a crafting profession, you may have access to crafter-only enchants which are better than these recommendations.

• Head: Arcanum of Torment∞
• Shoulders: Greater Inscription of the Axe∞ or Lesser Inscription of the Axe∞
• Cloak: Major Agility∞ or Superior Agility∞
• Chest: Powerful Stats∞ or Super Stats∞
• Bracers: Greater Assault∞ or Striking∞
• Hands: Crusher∞ or Major Agility∞
• Belt: Eternal Belt Buckle∞
• Legs: Icescale Leg Armor∞ or Nerubian Leg Armor∞
• Feet: Superior Agility∞ or Icewalker∞ (if in need of hit rating) *
• Ranged: Heartseeker Scope∞
• 1H Weapon: Exceptional Agility∞ or Accuracy∞ (if in need of hit rating)
• 2H Weapon: Massacre∞ or Greater Savagery∞

* While not providing a significant amount of DPS Tuskarr's Vitality∞ is often used in raid settings for the speed increase.

Recommended Gems

• Meta socket: Relentless Earthsiege Diamond∞
• Red socket: Delicate∞
• Yellow socket: Deadly∞, Glinting∞ or Rigid∞ (if in need of hit rating)
• Blue socket: Nightmare tear∞ or Delicate∞
• Prismatic socket: Delicate∞

Recommended Consumables

• Flask: Flask of Endless Rage∞
• Food: Blackened Dragonfin∞
• Pet Food: Spiced Mammoth Treats∞

Additional Tips

• Always make sure to track an enemy type to make use of Improved Tracking∞
• Always make sure to apply a Hunter's Mark∞ to the enemy you're fighting prior to engaging in battle
• Always make sure to use Readiness∞ so that its effects are maximized, in addition to allowing the hunter to use two bursts of Rapid Fire∞ in sequence it can be utilized to fire additional Chimera Shots∞ and Kill Shots∞
• A Marksman Hunter is reliant on armor reducing debuffs from other classes to perform optimally

Sources and Other Resources

• Elitist Jerks' Hunter Forum∞ (Forum for hunter theorycrafting)
• Hunter DPS Spreadsheet∞ (Excel DPS Spreadsheet by Shandara & Cheeky)
• Female Dwarf∞ (Hunter DPS Spreadsheet adapted for web-browsers)
• Petopia∞ (All-encompassing pet-bible)