Introduction
Welcome to the Method Marksmanship Hunter guide written by me, Qenjua. I've been a Hunter main for the past 6 years. I’m occasionally streaming both Progress as well as high Mythic+. If you want deeper insights into this class, that the guide might not be able to provide, you can find my coaching on: https://metafy.gg/@qenjua. Feel free to join my group as well on: https://metafy.gg/groups/qenjuas-hunter-hideout-FvPiEwA7TLa. There I will be sharing updates on my UI, as well as some tips and tricks.
Marksmanship Hunter has fairly high mobility since Aimed Shot is the only cast you have to stand in place for. This class also grants a bunch of unique utilities such as Implosive Trap, Binding Shot, Freezing Trap, Misdirection, and Primal Rage, as well as an immunity, Aspect of the Turtle. This spec is also known for its really strong AoE burst.
The weakness of this spec is that you need at least 3 targets for your Multi-Shot to trigger Trick Shots to start doing AoE damage, or alternatively, only be able to hit 2 targets at the same time without any required setup through Aspect of the Hydra. The spec is also very focussed around its cooldowns, making it comparably weak outside of these windows. Due to the absence of a pet and thus, missing Fortitude of the Bear as a defensive option, Marksmanship Hunter is also slightly more squishy than Beast Mastery.
What has changed
Patch 11.2 Changes
For Patch 11.2 Marksmanship has received changes on several talents, as well as Hero-talents. I will list the most important changes here:
Marksmanship changes:
- Several talents have changed positions.
- Precise Shots now decreases the global cooldown of the buffed ability by 50% making the rotation much smoother.
- Lock and Load has a much higher proc chance and added “bad luck protection”
- Light Ammo has been reintroduced, allowing Trick Shots to cleave 2 additional targets, or strengthen the power of Aspect of the Hydra.
- Shrapnel Shot has been redesigned to grant Lock and Load when casting Explosive Shot.
- Calling the Shots now simply reduces Trueshot’s Cooldown by a flat 30 seconds.
- Calling the Shots and Unerring Vision are now a choice node.
- Double Tap is no longer a choice node with Unerring Vision, allowing for easier access.
- Eagle’s Accuracy has been replaced by Unmatched precision, granting us more Precise Shots damage.
- Bullseye now only requires a single point to grant its full value, allowing for much easier and better execute damage.
Dark Ranger changes:
- The Bell Tolls now increases our damage every time we use Black Arrow, stacking up the more Black Arrows we use.
- Bleak Powder no longer requires Trick Shots to be active, automatically spreads the Black Arrow dot, and also grants us Trick Shots if you damage 3 or more targets through the new Umbral Reach node.
- Soul Drinker now increases Black Arrow and Bleak Powder damage.
Sentinel changes:
- Lunar Storm now automatically resets the cooldown of Rapid Fire, allowing for a much smoother rotation and less annoyance.
Patch 11.1.7 Changes
For 11.1.7 there are no significant class changes for Marksmanship Hunter, but we do get access to the new powerful D.I.S.C. Belt. To learn more about unlocking the DISC belt, you can read Method's DISC Belt Guide. For Marksmanship Hunter specific recommendations you can head to the gearing section in this guide.