Marksmanship Hunter DPS PVE Guide – WotLK

Welcome to the PVE Marksmanship Hunter DPS Guide for World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King!

This guide will teach you how to play a Marksmanship Hunter in a raid. It covers talents, glyphs, gems, enchantments, rotation, and gameplay tips.

When allocating your Talent Points, make sure to review your stats. Achieving Hit Cap is crucial, so if you haven’t reached it, prioritize the Focused Aim talent. If you’ve attained sufficient Hit from your gear, you can then invest those points into Improved Hunter’s Mark.

The first build is more suitable for players who haven’t reached the Armor Penetration soft cap. This build incorporates Arcane Shot, which deals non-physical damage.

The second build is for players with better gear. Arcane Shot is not used in the rotation with this build.

Major Glyphs

• Glyph of Kill Shot
• Glyph of Serpent Sting
• Glyph of Steady Shot

Minor Glyphs

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

Gems are situational and depend on the build and equipment. They are used to reach the required stat caps.

• Meta – Relentless Earthsiege Diamond
• Red – Delicate Cardinal Ruby or Fractured Cardinal Ruby
• Yellow – Smooth King’s Amber x1
• Blue – Nightmare Tear x1

Notes

• Fill every slot with red gems. Prioritize Armor Penetration. Only invest in Agility after reaching an Armor Penetration soft cap.

• Head – Arcanum of Torment
• Shoulder – Greater Inscription of the Axe
• Cloak – Enchant Cloak – Major Agility
• Chest – Enchant Chest – Powerful Stats
• Bracers – Enchant Bracers – Greater Assault
• Gloves – Enchant Gloves – Major Agility
• Waist – Eternal Belt Buckle
• Legs – Icescale Leg Armor
• Boots – Enchant Boots – Tuskarr’s Vitality
• Weapon
  • One Handed – Enchant Weapon – Superior Potency
  • Two Handed – Enchant 2H Weapon – Massacre
• Ranged Weapon – Heartseeker Scope

1. Use Kill Shot when the target’s health is at 20% or lower. Always use it when available, and interrupt your rotation if necessary.
2. Maintain Serpent Sting on the target at all times. It enhances the effectiveness of Chimera Shot.
3. Use Chimera Shot – This is your second most powerful damaging ability. Apply Serpent Sting before using Chimera Shot for increased damage.
4. Use Aimed Shot if you’ve invested in Armor Penetration and related talents. If you use Aimed Shot then don’t use Arcane Shot.
5. Use Arcane Shot this spell if you have talents to enhance it and a small amount of Armor Penetration. It is not utilized in the second build.
6. Use Steady Shot when all other abilities are on cooldown.
7. Use Silencing Shot to interrupt enemy spellcasting.

Notes

• Use Aspect of the Dragonhawk.
• Maintain Hunter’s Mark.
• Use Rapid Fire, Call of the Wild, Kill Command, and Furious Howl (if you have a wolf).
• Use Multi-Shot, Explosive Trap, and Volley for AoE

In terms of PVE and raiding the top 3 pets are:

• Tyrant Devilsaur
• Wolfs, including Skoll
• Cats, including Gondria

Pet Talents

The talent tree for the pet is Ferocity. Unlike Beast Mastery Hunters we can’t tame Exotic Creatures and don’t have those extra 4 talent points.

• Helm – Sanctified Ahn’Kahar Blood Hunter’s Headpiece
• Necklace –Sindragosa’s Cruel Claw
• Shoulder – Sanctified Ahn’Kahar Blood Hunter’s Spaulders
• Cloak – Vereesa’s Dexterity or Sylvanas’ Cunning
• Chest – Sanctified Ahn’Kahar Blood Hunter’s Tunic
• Bracers – Scourge Hunter’s Vambraces
• Gloves – Sanctified Ahn’Kahar Blood Hunter’s Handguards
• Waist – Nerub’ar Stalker’s Cord
• Legs – Leggings of Northern Lights
• Feet – Returning Footfalls
• Rings
  • Ashen Band of Endless Vengeance
  • Frostbrood Sapphire Ring
• Trinkets
  • Sharpened Twilight Scale
  • Deathbringer’s Will
• Weapons
  • Ranged – Fal’inrush, Defender of Quel’thalas
  • Melee – Oathbinder, Charge of the Ranger-General