Marksmanship Hunter Leveling Guide From 1 to 70 for TBC Classic

Marksmanship is the worst Hunter spec at Level 70 in addition to being worse than Beast Mastery for leveling. One of the main issues that you will run into is that your pet cannot hold threat well, and with Marksmanship this problem becomes even more severe. For dungeons Marksmanship can be good since you are not relying on your pet to tank, but your pet will be doing a large portion of your damage while leveling due to a lack of real stats. This means Beast Mastery is also going to do the most damage. It is possible to level as a Marksmanship Hunter, however, but know that it will be worse than Beast Mastery in almost every regard. Below is a link to our Beast Mastery leveling guide.

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• Levels 10 to 14 — 5 points in Lethal Shots
• Levels 15 to 19 — 5 points in Efficiency

Both Lethal Shots and Efficiency are the obvious choices here if you are playing solo. You could also choose to go with Improved Concussive Shot if you are on a PvP server just in case. Similarly, you could pick up Improved Hunter's Mark if you are going to be in a group with melee players but neither talent is worth it while just solo leveling.

• Level 20 — 1 point in Aimed Shot
• Levels 21 & 22 — 2 points in Go for the Throat
• Levels 23 & 24 — 2 points in Rapid Killing
• Levels 25 to 29 — 5 points in Mortal Shots

Aimed Shot is a huge pickup, and will be how you start each pull from now on. Go for the Throat is a solid DPS increase for your pet, and Rapid Killing gives you a nice damage increase on your first Aimed Shot after killing an enemy. Mortal Shots is very valuable, and worth the 5-point investment.

• Level 30 — 1 point in Scatter Shot
• Level 31 to 33 — 3 points in Barrage
• Level 34 — 1 point in Improved Stings
• Levels 35 to 39 — 5 points in Ranged Weapon Specialization

Scatter Shot is a nice button to have, but will not be part of your normal rotation here. Barrage as a solid damage increase for Multi-Shot. Improved Stings is optional here, and you can put the 1 point wherever you want otherwise. Ranged Weapon Specialization is another solid DPS increase and worth the 5-point investment.

• Level 40 — 1 point in Trueshot Aura
• Levels 41 & 42 — 2 points in Combat Experience
• Levels 43 & 44 — 2 points in Careful Aim
• Levels 45 to 49 — 5 points in Master Marksman

Trueshot Aura is one of the most valuable abilities you will pick up as a Marksmanship Hunter and is particularly strong in groups. Combat Experience and Careful Aim are, again, both solid DPS increases but Master Marksman is more valuable point-for-point and worth going into as soon as possible.

• Level 50 — 1 point in Silencing Shot
• Level 51 — 1 point in Careful Aim
• Levels 52 to 54 — 3 points in Improved Barrage
• Levels 55 to 59 — 5 points in Improved Aspect of the Hawk

Silencing Shot is not a particularly useful rotational ability, but having a silence is nice just in case. After taking it, pick up the remaining point in Careful Aim, take the 3 points in Improved Barrage for the DPS increase on Multi-Shot, and then go straight into the Beast Mastery tree for Improved Aspect of the Hawk. Improved Aspect of the Hawk is a huge damage gain when it procs, making it a solid choice for both leveling and at Level 70 regardless of spec.

• Levels 60 & 61 — 2 points in Improved Revive Pet
• Levels 62 & 63 — 2 points in Focused Fire
• Levels 64 — 1 point in Thick Hide
• Level 65 — 1 point in Bestial Swiftness
• Levels 66 to 70 — 5 points in Unleashed Fury

Improved Revive Pet is highly important for those times your pet ever dies during combat. It also helps to make it easier to cast in general. Focused Fire is just a solid damage gain. Thick Hide will reduce the damage your pet takes. Endurance Training is a mediocre alternative, but increased Max Health is worse than reducing damage taken. Bestial Swiftness will improve your pet's ability to engage enemies and run to new enemies as you need it to, reducing the amount of time you need to wait before you can attack new enemies. Unleashed Fury is a solid damage increase for your pet which will also increase its threat generation.

1. Command your pet to attack the target;
2. Hunter's Mark;
3. Aimed Shot;
4. Kill Command whenever available;
5. Auto Shot;
6. Serpent Sting;
7. Steady Shot;
8. Auto Shot;
9. Aimed Shot if you are fine on Mana;
10. Arcane Shot if you are fine on Mana;
11. Multi-Shot if you are fine on Mana;
12. Auto Shot until the enemy is dead.
13. Alternate Auto Shot and Steady Shot until the enemy is dead.

The key at any level is getting as many Auto Shots off as possible before the target reaches you. The best way to accomplish this is by kiting backwards, moving in between each shot. At Level 8 Concussive Shot can help with this.

Do your class quest to get your pet. Once you have your pet, your kill speed and efficiency should become much better. Make sure you are careful with your threat, and try to let your pet tank whenever possible.

Multi-Shot is a powerful attack, but can cause you to pull aggro off your pet if you use it on multiple enemies. It is incredibly powerful, but losing Auto Shots from enemies running into your dead zone will be a bigger damage loss.

Aimed Shot is a powerful attack, but faces the same issue as Multi-Shot. Use it for bursts of damage, but be careful with your threat.

Feign Death is a great way to drop threat while fighting enemies. You can combine this with Aimed Shot or Multi-Shot to deal a burst of damage right before dropping threat to ensure your pet keeps aggro.

Steady Shot is a spammable ability, and is one of your best DPS spells. This will be most of your damage from here on out. Just make sure to weave in Auto Shots in between your casts.

All Hunter specs benefit from upgrading the same skills, so our list of skills to buy from trainers is the same, regardless of the spec. For this reason, you will find that list in our general Hunter leveling page.