Hunter Leveling Guide 1-120 Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.1
Table of Contents
1. General Battle for Azeroth Leveling Tips
Welcome! While this leveling guide is specifically made for the class and specialization(s) listed, we also have a general Battle for Azeroth leveling guide that focuses on the specific features of the Battle for Azeroth expansion including preparation of your mission table that will be used to unlock new areas, progressing on your faction's War Effort to save time at Level 120, and a reminder to keep ALL of the gear you find for the Scrap-o-Matic 1000 or Shred-Master Mk1, which will greatly increase your resource generating capabilities. Please visit our 110 to 120 leveling guide for this information and more (including Heirloom and War Mode advice that also applies to players who are not yet Level 110.
2. Leveling 1-120 as a Beast Mastery Hunter
2.1. Gear Options
When leveling up, you should always choose the piece of loot with the highest item level. The only exception to this rule is if you have a Ring or Necklace with a slightly lower item level, but 2 secondary stats on it instead of 1.
2.2. Level by Level Rotation and Talents
Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!
2.2.1. Talents to Level Up as a Beast Mastery Hunter
Your first talent row unlocks at Level 15.
Your talent set up should be as follows.
- Level 15:
Killer Instinct - Level 30:
Chimaera Shot - Level 45:
Trailblazer - Level 60:
A Murder of Crows - Level 75:
Posthaste - Level 90:
Barrage - Level 100:
Aspect of the Beast
2.2.2. Rotation to Level Up as a Beast Mastery Hunter
Starting at Level 1, you only have one main attack
ability: 
Cobra Shot.
- Cast Kill Command when it comes
off cooldown, and open all your fights with it to send your pet in.
Bestial Wrath is your first damage cooldown.
Use it as often as you can right before entering combat.- A Murder of Crows is our recommended talent.
You should use it to open all your fights, especially with bigger mobs.
If you kill a mob before the 15-second debuff expires, the 1-minute cooldown
will reset. When leveling in dungeons, you can rotate A Murder of Crows
between multiple targets in this way.
Aspect of the Wild is your second cooldown.
Use it alongside Bestial Wrath right before entering combat, as
often as possible.- Barrage is our recommended Level 90 talent.
It costs a lot of Focus, but it can do high AoE damage in a massive cone in
front of you. Use it alongside
Misdirection to gather a bunch of
spread mobs together when leveling, so that you can
Multi-Shot them down. - Cast
Barbed Shot on cooldown, but only when
Kill Command is already on cooldown. - Chimaera Shot is your second choice of
talent. Use it on cooldown, especially when you are low on Focus as it
generates it.
- Cast
Cobra Shot as much as you can. - Cast Multi-Shot when there are a
lot of targets active, so you can hit them all.
Wild Call will cause the cooldown of
Barbed Shot to sometimes reset itself. Simply react to this by
using Barbed Shots as they come.- At Level 50, you unlock
Beast Cleave. It
causes Multi-Shot to make your pet hit all targets
around it for 4 seconds after using it. You should start using Multi-Shot
whenever there is more than 2 targets up to maintain this buff. - At Level 54, your Barbed Shot will reduce
the remaining cooldown of Bestial Wrath by 12 seconds when you use
it.
2.2.3. Summary of Unlocked Abilities for Beast Mastery Hunter
You unlock your first ability of interest at Level 4.
- At Level 4, you unlock
Concussive Shot.
It is free to cast and has a short cooldown. By casting it on cooldown on
a target, you can keep its movement speed slowed down. This is useful
when trying to avoid getting hit by a mob. - At Level 8, you unlock
Disengage. This
is your primary movement tool, as it launches you backwards when it is used. By
jumping, turning around mid-air and using it, you can use it to propel yourself
forwards as well, helping you get to mobs and quest objectives more
quickly. - At Level 13, you unlock a number of abilities that expand your ability to control your stable of Hunter pets.
- You unlock
Tame Beast as well as your
second pet slot, allowing you to tame a new beast and have 2 pets to choose
from. - You unlock
Beast Lore. By using
it on a Beast mob, you will be able to see some information about it, including
whether it is tameable or not. - You unlock
Mend Pet which heals your
pet for 35% of its maximum health over 10 seconds. - Finally, you unlock
Feed Pet which
allows you to feed your pet with meat, fish and more, depending on the pet
family. There is no actual benefit from doing this, however. - At Level 16, you unlock
Eagle Eye. This
lets you place a targeting reticule on the ground up to thousands of yards
away, which will let you see what is happening at that point. You can use
the ability again to move around the zone with the ability, allowing you to
see all around the zone without actually moving. - At Level 18, you unlock
Freezing Trap
which is a long-term crowd control for all Hunter specs. It places a trap on
the ground that encases the first enemy (not bosses or most
big encounter adds) to touch it in ice for 1 minute. The effect breaks on
damage. The trap has a 30-second cooldown, and the trap will exist for 1
minute after placing it. This is useful when you are feeling overwhelmed by
too many mobs, for temporarily taking out a powerful mob from the fight. - At Level 22, you unlock
Aspect of the Cheetah which is a movement cooldown. It increases your
movement speed by 90% for 3 seconds, and then by 30% for another 9 seconds,
on a 3-minute cooldown. Note that it does not stack with the
Posthaste Level 45 talent, so you should make sure to use
Disengage and Aspect of the Cheetah separately for movement. - At Level 24, you unlock
Exhilaration.
It is a self-heal that heals you for 30% of your maximum health, on a 2-minute
cooldown. - At Level 26, you unlock
Intimidation.
It is a pet-based ability that stuns your target for 5 seconds, on a 1-minute
cooldown. - At Level 28, you unlock
Feign Death. It
lets you pretend to be dead, dropping all threat/aggro on all enemies. When
not in raid or dungeon encounters, it is a quick way to drop you from
combat. - At Level 32, you unlock
Counter Shot. It
is a ranged ability that interrupts whatever spell or ability your enemy is
casting, provided that it is interruptible. This is particularly useful for
caster mobs. - At Level 34, you unlock a third pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 3 different pets to choose from in the open world.
- At Level 36, you unlock
Tar Trap. It
places a trap on the ground. When triggered by an enemy, it becomes a large
pool of tar that slows all enemies inside of it by 50%. The trap will exist
for 1 minute after placing it, and 30 seconds after being triggered. - At Level 38, you unlock an additional pet ability.
The ability you unlock depends on the spec of your pet. Ferocity pets gain
Primal Rage, which is a 
Bloodlust/
Heroism
effect that increases the Haste of you and all party members by 30% for 40
seconds. Tenacity pets gain 
Survival of the Fittest which
reduces you and your pet's damage taken by 20% for 6 seconds on a 3-minute
cooldown. Cunning pets gain Master's Call which removes all
movement-impairing effects from your pet and a friendly target, and makes them
immune to movement-impairing effects for 4 seconds. The friendly target can be
you. It has a 45-second cooldown. - At Level 38, you unlock
Flare. It
allows you to put down a flare that covers a small area on the ground. It
reveals any stealthed or hidden mobs within that area. It is also useful for
dealing with stealthed enemy players. - At Level 42, you unlock Misdirection.
It causes all your generated threat to be redirected to a friendly target (or
your pet) for 8 seconds. It has a 30-second cooldown.
- At Level 44, you unlock the
Kindred Spirits passive effect. It increases the maximum Focus of
you and your pet to 120. - At Level 48, your Exhilaration ability
gets upgraded. It now also heals your pet for 100% of its maximum health.
- At Level 57, you unlock a fourth pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 4 different pets to choose from in the open world.
- At Level 65, you become able to tame Exotic Beasts. These pets have additional, unique abilities to them and are often rarer and more prestigious.
- At Level 70, you
unlock
Aspect of the Turtle, which is a powerful defensive ability.
It puts up a shield around you that deflects all attacks and reduces your
damage taken by 30% for 8 seconds. It has a 3-minute cooldown. You cannot cast
while it is active. - At Level 80, you unlock a fifth pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 5 different pets to choose from in the open world.
2.3. Beast Mastery Hunter War Mode Talents for Leveling
In this section we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of both General PvP Talents and Beast Mastery Hunter-specific PvE talents.
2.3.1. General PvP Talents
Relentless is a passive ability, but it does not
automatically remove crowd control abilities. Instead, it reduces the
duration.
Gladiator's Medallion is an on-use ability that removes all
movement impairing effects and all loss of control effects.
Adaptation is recommended; it is likely your most passive
choice since it will automatically remove loss of control effects over 5
seconds.
2.3.2. Beast Mastery Hunter PvP Talents for Leveling
Dire Beast: Hawk causes a hawk to circle around a target area,
dealing damage to all targets within. This is a great supplement
to your AoE damage when doing big pulls in the open world.
Dire Beast: Basilisk is a powerful choice for bursty
single-target damage. It is useful for world PvP if you can keep your
opponent slowed enough for the Basilisk, and it is very powerful for rare
mobs and quest mobs with a lot of health.
Hunting Pack is a useful mobility option, allowing you to use
Aspect of the Cheetah much more often.
Wild Protector reduces the damage taken of all allies
near your pet by 10%. Since you are often close to the targets
you encounter in the open world, this is very useful for survivability.
The Beast Within, 
Interlope,
Survival Tactics, 
Dragonscale Armor,
Viper Sting, 
Spider Sting, 
Scorpid Sting,
and 
Hi-Explosive Trap have limited use in PvE content in terms of
increasing your damage in the open world, but they can be situationally
useful.
2.4. Legendary Options
If you are just coming out of Level 110, you will probably have a number of different Legendary items to choose from. Your Legendaries' special effects will stop working at Level 116, but until then they can be a very powerful addition to help you level up quickly. These are our Legendary recommendations for leveling as a Beast Mastery Hunter in Battle for Azeroth:
Sephuz's Secret is a must, giving you passive movement speed.
Intimidation and Counter Shot will allow you to proc its
special effect constantly in the open world. It is by far the best
leveling Legendary.
The Apex Predator's Claw gives you the passive bonuses of all 3 pet
specs. Both the Ferocity Leech and Cunning Movement Speed bonuses are extremely
useful for leveling. We recommend using this with a Silithid pet, which have
30% increased movement speed by default.
Vigilance Perch is essentially an automatic mount when out of
combat. Despite its tooltip, it only allows you to fly in flying zones, so you
will not be able to fly in Battle for Azeroth zones. This is a great Legendary
to pair up with Sephuz's Secret. Choosing between this and Apex will
come down to personal preference and how you prefer to level. When
speed-leveling with consumables, you will not get full value out of the
mount ability of this Legendary. If you are just leveling normally, try them
both out and see what works best for you.
2.5. Pet Choice
If you are using 
The Apex Predator's Claw, we
recommend a Silithid pet by default. It has 30% increased movement speed on
top of all the other passive abilities and is great choice for fast
leveling.
We also recommend having a Ferocity pet, which should
be your default when not using The Apex Predator's Claw. Ferocity pets
are able to heal themselves when they attack using their Leech passive, and
they also provide you with the 
Primal Rage Bloodlust/Heroism effect,
which you should use as often as possible, especially on big pulls.
2.6. Quest Rewards
You should equip new quest rewards when their item level starts beating out your previous set of gear. If you are currently wearing Tier 21 gear, it is best to let the quest rewards significantly beat your existing item level before using them. With that said, you will unlock Azerite pieces early on, which are worth using over Tier gear in most circumstances.
If possible, we recommend holding on to all Quest Rewards you do not use. They can be scrapped at Level 120 for material resources for profession crafting.
2.7. Consumables
There are several consumable items that can be purchased that will help you with your leveling speed.
Skystep Potion increases your movement speed by 150% (more than
a mount!) for 8 seconds. It has a 1-minute cooldown. This is extremely
useful and should be used often and aggressively for any
travel that is more than ~100 yards long.
Gunshoes are an Engineering item that increase your movement
speed by 200% for 25 seconds. These will make you almost as fast as a Flying
mount. We recommend having a lot of these, and using them whenever you are
traveling more than ~250 yards.
Goblin Glider Kit is very useful for covering long distances from
high places.
2.7.1. Gunshoes Macro
The Gunshoes will not let you stop moving for as long as they are active. Using this macro twice will click the buff off and allow you to stop.
- #showtooltip
- /use Gunshoes
- /cancelaura Gunshoes
2.8. Congratulations!
Congratulations on reaching Level 120! Now that you have hit Level 120 we recommend looking at our Easy mode page and Talents section to learn how to play at max level. To get yourself prepared for the end-game content ahead, we strongly recommend this Battle for Azeroth Raiding Lexicon/Spreadsheet by Medivh. It is a gold trove of information that will help you when gearing up in Battle for Azeroth and more.
3. Leveling 1-120 as a Survival Hunter
3.1. Gear Options
When leveling up, you should always choose the piece of loot with the highest item level. The only exception to this rule is if you have a Ring or Necklace with a slightly lower item level, but 2 secondary stats on it instead of 1.
3.2. Level by Level Rotation and Talents
Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!
3.2.1. Talents to Level Up as a Survival Hunter
Your first talent row unlocks at Level 15.
Your talent set up should be as follows.
- Level 15:
Terms of Engagement - Level 30:
Guerrilla Tactics - Level 45: Trailblazer
- Level 60:
Steel Trap - Level 75: Posthaste
- Level 90:
Tip of the Spear - Level 100:
Chakrams
3.2.2. Rotation to Level Up as a Survival Hunter
Starting at Level 1, you only have one main attack
ability: 
Raptor Strike.
- Cast Harpoon to quickly engage new
enemies.
- Cast Kill Command when it comes off
cooldown, and when you are lacking Focus.
- Cast
Serpent Sting to apply it to
the target, and maintain it by refreshing it when it is close to expiring. - Cast
Wildfire Bomb on cooldown, especially
when there are multiple targets up. - Cast
Carve when there are more than 2
targets active for you to hit. 
Coordinated Assault is your main damage
cooldown. Use it as often as possible and right before entering combat.- Cast Steel Trap when it is off cooldown.
- Cast Chakrams when it is off cooldown.
- Cast
Raptor Strike as much as you can. - At Level 50, you unlock Rank 2 of
Kill Command. This gives it a 25% chance to instantly
reset its cooldown when used.
3.2.3. Summary of Unlocked Abilities for Survival Hunter
You unlock your first ability of interest at Level 4.
- At Level 4, you unlock
Wing Clip.
It costs 30 Focus and has a short cooldown. By casting it on cooldown on
a target, you can keep its movement speed slowed down. This is useful
when trying to avoid getting hit by a mob. - At Level 8, you unlock Disengage.
This is your primary movement tool, as it launches you backwards when it is
used. By jumping, turning around mid-air and using it, you can use it to
propel yourself forwards as well, helping you get to mobs and quest objectives
more quickly.
- At Level 13, you unlock a number of abilities that expand your ability to control your stable of Hunter pets.
- You unlock Tame Beast as well as your
second pet slot, allowing you to tame a new beast and have 2 pets to choose
from.
- You unlock Beast Lore. By using
it on a Beast mob, you will be able to see some information about it, including
whether it is tameable or not.
- You unlock Mend Pet which heals your pet
for 35% of its maximum health over 10 seconds.
- Finally, you unlock Feed Pet which
allows you to feed your pet with meat, fish and more, depending on the pet
family. There is no actual benefit from doing this, however.
- At Level 16, you unlock Eagle Eye. This
lets you place a targeting reticule on the ground up to thousands of yards
away, which will let you see what is happening at that point. You can use
the ability again to move around the zone with the ability, allowing you to
see all around the zone without actually moving.
- At Level 18, you unlock Freezing Trap
which is a long-term crowd control for all Hunter specs. It places a trap on
the ground that encases the first enemy (not bosses or most
big encounter adds) to touch it in ice for 1 minute. The effect breaks on
damage. The trap has a 30-second cooldown, and the trap will exist for 1
minute after placing it. This is useful when you are feeling overwhelmed by
too many mobs, for temporarily taking out a powerful mob from the fight.
- At Level 22, you unlock
Aspect of the Cheetah which is a movement cooldown. It increases your
movement speed by 90% for 3 seconds, and then by 30% for another 9 seconds, on
a 3-minute cooldown. Note that it does not stack with the
Posthaste Level 45 talent, so you should make sure to use
Disengage and Aspect of the Cheetah separately for movement.
- At Level 24, you unlock Exhilaration.
It is a self-heal that heals you for 30% of your maximum health, on a 2-minute
cooldown.
- At Level 26, you unlock Intimidation.
It is a pet-based ability that stuns your target for 5 seconds, on a 1-minute
cooldown.
- At Level 28, you unlock Feign Death. It
lets you pretend to be dead, dropping all threat/aggro on all enemies. When
not in raid or dungeon encounters, it is a quick way to drop you from
combat.
- At Level 32, you unlock
Muzzle. It is
a ranged ability that interrupts whatever spell or ability your enemy is
casting, provided that it is interruptible. This is particularly useful for
caster mobs. - At Level 34, you unlock a third pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 3 different pets to choose from in the open world.
- At Level 36, you unlock Tar Trap. It
places a trap on the ground. When triggered by an enemy, it becomes a large
pool of tar that slows all enemies inside of it by 50%. The trap will exist
for 1 minute after placing it, and 30 seconds after being triggered.
- At Level 38, you unlock an additional pet ability.
The ability you unlock depends on the spec of your pet. Ferocity pets gain
Primal Rage, which is a Bloodlust/ Heroism
effect that increases the Haste of you and all party members by 30% for 40
seconds. Tenacity pets gain Survival of the Fittest which
reduces you and your pet's damage taken by 20% for 6 seconds on a 3-minute
cooldown. Cunning pets gain Master's Call which removes all
movement-impairing effects from your pet and a friendly target, and makes them
immune to movement-impairing effects for 4 seconds. The friendly target can be
you. It has a 45-second cooldown.
- At Level 38, you unlock Flare. It
allows you to put down a flare that covers a small area on the ground. It
reveals any stealthed or hidden mobs within that area. It is also useful for
dealing with stealthed enemy players.
- At Level 42, you unlock Misdirection.
It causes all your generated threat to be redirected to a friendly target (or
your pet) for 8 seconds. It has a 30-second cooldown.
- At Level 48, your Exhilaration ability
gets upgraded. It now also heals your pet for 100% of its maximum health.
- At Level 54, you unlock Aspect of the Eagle.
This ability lets you use Raptor Strike from a 40-yard range for 15
seconds. It has a 2-minute cooldown.
- At Level 57, you unlock a fourth pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 4 different pets to choose from in the open world.
- At Level 70, you unlock
Aspect of the Turtle, which is a powerful defensive ability. It puts
up a shield around you that deflects all attacks and reduces your damage taken
by 30% for 8 seconds. It has a 3-minute cooldown. You cannot cast while it is
active.
- At Level 80, you unlock a fifth pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 5 different pets to choose from in the open world.
3.3. Survival Hunter War Mode Talents for Leveling
In this section we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of both General PvP Talents and Survival-specific PvE talents.
3.3.1. General PvP Talents
- Relentless is a passive ability, but it does not
automatically remove crowd control abilities. Instead, it reduces the
duration.
- Gladiator's Medallion is an on-use ability that removes all
movement impairing effects and all loss of control effects.
- Adaptation is recommended; it is likely your most passive
choice since it will automatically remove loss of control effects over 5
seconds.
3.3.2. Survival Hunter PvP Talents for Leveling
- Hunting Pack is a useful mobility option, allowing you to use
Aspect of the Cheetah much more often.
Mending Bandage is a useful self-heal in a pinch, saving you
time when recovering health, as it is much faster than eating food.- Sticky Tar causes your Tar Trap to significantly
reduce the attack speed of enemies within it. This effect is more powerful
than its tooltip implies, and some enemies' damage can be reduced to nearly
zero, which is very useful for large pulls.
Most other choices have limited use in PvE content in terms of increasing your damage in the open world, but they can be situationally useful.
3.4. Legendary Options
If you are just coming out of Level 110, you will probably have a number of different Legendary items to choose from. Your Legendaries' special effects will stop working at Level 116, but until then they can be a very powerful addition to help you level up quickly. These are our Legendary recommendations for leveling as a Survival Hunter in Battle for Azeroth:
- Sephuz's Secret is a must, giving you passive movement speed.
Harpoon, Steel Trap, Intimidation and
Muzzle will allow you to proc its
special effect constantly in the open world. It is by far the best leveling
Legendary.
- Vigilance Perch is essentially an automatic mount when out of
combat. Despite its tooltip, it only allows you to fly in flying zones, so you
will not be able to fly in Battle for Azeroth zones. This is a great Legendary
to pair up with Sephuz's Secret.
Kil'jaeden's Burning Wish is very good as well, particularly at the
early levels. It allows you to do very high AoE damage on a 1-minute and
15-second cooldown. This one is a more damage-focused alternative to Vigilance
Perch, which is mobility-focused.
3.5. Pet Choice
We recommend having a Ferocity pet, which should be
your default when not using The Apex Predator's Claw. Ferocity pets
are able to heal themselves when they attack using their Leech passive, and
they also provide you with the Primal Rage Bloodlust/Heroism effect,
which you should use as often as possible, especially on big pulls.
3.6. Quest Rewards
You should equip new quest rewards when their item level starts beating out your previous set of gear. If you are currently wearing Tier 21 gear, it is best to let the quest rewards significantly beat your existing item level before using them. With that said, you will unlock Azerite pieces early on, which are worth using over Tier gear in most circumstances.
If possible, we recommend holding on to all Quest Rewards you do not use. They can be scrapped at Level 120 for material resources for profession crafting.
3.7. Consumables
There are several consumable items that can be purchased that will help you with your leveling speed.
- Skystep Potion increases your movement speed by 150% (more than
a mount!) for 8 seconds. It has a 1-minute cooldown. This is extremely
useful and should be used often and aggressively for any
travel that is more than ~100 yards long.
- Gunshoes are an Engineering item that increase your movement
speed by 200% for 25 seconds. These will make you almost as fast as a Flying
mount. We recommend having a lot of these, and using them whenever you are
traveling more than ~250 yards.
- Goblin Glider Kit is very useful for covering long distances from
high places.
3.8. Congratulations!
Congratulations on reaching Level 120! Now that you have hit Level 120 we recommend looking at our Easy mode page and Talents section to learn how to play at max level. To get yourself prepared for the end-game content ahead, we strongly recommend this Battle for Azeroth Raiding Lexicon/Spreadsheet by Medivh. It is a gold trove of information that will help you when gearing up in Battle for Azeroth and more.
4. Leveling 1-120 as a Marksmanship Hunter
4.1. Gear Options
When leveling up, you should always choose the piece of loot with the highest item level. The only exception to this rule is if you have a Ring or Necklace with a slightly lower item level, but 2 secondary stats on it instead of 1.
4.2. Level by Level Rotation and Talents
Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!
4.2.1. Talents to Level Up as a Marksmanship Hunter
Your first talent row unlocks at Level 15.
Your talent set up should be as follows.
- Level 15:
Master Marksman - Level 30:
Explosive Shot - Level 45: Trailblazer
- Level 60:
Streamline - Level 75: Posthaste
- Level 90: Barrage
- Level 100:
Piercing Shot
4.2.2. Rotation to Level Up as a Marksmanship Hunter
Starting at Level 1, you only have one main attack
ability: 
Steady Shot.
- Cast
Rapid Fire on cooldown. - Cast
Aimed Shot on cooldown. - Cast
Arcane Shot to spend excess Focus. - Cast Multi-Shot instead of
Arcane Shot when up against 3 or more targets.
- Piercing Shot is best used when there are multiple targets around, as a button
to press when your other powerful AoE buttons have been used already.
- Barrage costs a lot of Focus, but it can do high AoE damage in a massive cone in
front of you. Use it alongside Misdirection to gather a bunch of
spread mobs together when leveling, so that you can
Multi-Shot them down.
- Use Explosive Shot on cooldown whenever you are fighting more than 1 target.
Keep in mind that you must press it twice; once to fire it, and once again to
make it explode for damage. Spend your leveling time learning how it works!
- Cast
Steady Shot as much as you can. 
Trueshot is your first cooldown. You should
use it whenever you are dealing with a large cluster of mobs. It is best to use
when you have run out of Aimed Shot charges, but when leveling this
is usually not the case.
Precise Shots causes Aimed Shot
to increase the damage of your next 1-2
Arcane Shots by 100%. You can see when it is active when your
Arcane Shot button glows, and you should always use Arcane Shot when it
does.
Trick Shots is your primary AoE mechanic. It causes your main damage abilities,
Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire to hit multiple targets
after using Multi-Shot on 3 targets or more. So, when you are
fighting 3 or more targets, you should always use Multi-Shot to apply
Trick Shot before using your 2 signature abilities.
4.2.3. Summary of Unlocked Abilities for Marksmanship Hunter
You unlock your first ability of interest at Level 4.
- At Level 4, you unlock Concussive Shot.
It is free to cast and has a short cooldown. By casting it on cooldown on
a target, you can keep its movement speed slowed down. This is useful
when trying to avoid getting hit by a mob.
- At Level 8, you unlock Disengage. This
is your primary movement tool, as it launches you backwards when it is used. By
jumping, turning around mid-air and using it, you can use it to propel yourself
forwards as well, helping you get to mobs and quest objectives more
quickly.
- At Level 10, you unlock
Lone Wolf. This
passive effect increases your damage done by 10% when you do not have a pet
active. We recommend leveling with a pet, but the option is there! - At Level 13, you unlock a number of abilities that expand your ability to control your stable of Hunter pets.
- You unlock Tame Beast as well as your
second pet slot, allowing you to tame a new beast and have 2 pets to choose
from.
- You unlock Beast Lore. By using
it on a Beast mob, you will be able to see some information about it, including
whether it is tameable or not.
- You unlock Mend Pet which heals your
pet for 35% of its maximum health over 10 seconds.
- Finally, you unlock Feed Pet which
allows you to feed your pet with meat, fish and more, depending on the pet
family. There is no actual benefit from doing this, however.
- At Level 16, you unlock Eagle Eye. This
lets you place a targeting reticule on the ground up to thousands of yards
away, which will let you see what is happening at that point. You can use
the ability again to move around the zone with the ability, allowing you to
see all around the zone without actually moving.
- At Level 18, you unlock Freezing Trap
which is a long-term crowd control for all Hunter specs. It places a trap on
the ground that encases the first enemy (not bosses or most
big encounter adds) to touch it in ice for 1 minute. The effect breaks on
damage. The trap has a 30-second cooldown, and the trap will exist for 1
minute after placing it. This is useful when you are feeling overwhelmed by
too many mobs, for temporarily taking out a powerful mob from the fight.
- At Level 22, you unlock
Aspect of the Cheetah which is a movement cooldown. It increases your
movement speed by 90% for 3 seconds, and then by 30% for another 9 seconds,
on a 3-minute cooldown. Note that it does not stack with the
Posthaste Level 45 talent, so you should make sure to use
Disengage and Aspect of the Cheetah separately for movement.
- At Level 24, you unlock Exhilaration.
It is a self-heal that heals you for 30% of your maximum health, on a 2-minute
cooldown.
- At Level 26, you unlock
Bursting Shot. It
knocks back all enemies in front of you and slows them for 4 seconds, dealing
a tiny bit of damage in the process. - At Level 28, you unlock Feign Death. It
lets you pretend to be dead, dropping all threat/aggro on all enemies. When
not in raid or dungeon encounters, it is a quick way to drop you from
combat.
- At Level 32, you unlock Counter Shot. It
is a ranged ability that interrupts whatever spell or ability your enemy is
casting, provided that it is interruptible. This is particularly useful for
caster mobs.
- At Level 34, you unlock a third pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 3 different pets to choose from in the open world.
- At Level 36, you unlock Tar Trap. It
places a trap on the ground. When triggered by an enemy, it becomes a large
pool of tar that slows all enemies inside of it by 50%. The trap will exist
for 1 minute after placing it, and 30 seconds after being triggered.
- At Level 38, you unlock an additional pet ability.
The ability you unlock depends on the spec of your pet. Ferocity pets gain
Primal Rage, which is a Bloodlust/ Heroism
effect that increases the Haste of you and all party members by 30% for 40
seconds. Tenacity pets gain Survival of the Fittest which
reduces you and your pet's damage taken by 20% for 6 seconds on a 3-minute
cooldown. Cunning pets gain Master's Call which removes all
movement-impairing effects from your pet and a friendly target, and makes them
immune to movement-impairing effects for 4 seconds. The friendly target can be
you. It has a 45-second cooldown.
- At Level 38, you unlock Flare. It
allows you to put down a flare that covers a small area on the ground. It
reveals any stealthed or hidden mobs within that area. It is also useful for
dealing with stealthed enemy players.
- At Level 42, you unlock Misdirection.
It causes all your generated threat to be redirected to a friendly target (or
your pet) for 8 seconds. It has a 30-second cooldown.
- At Level 48, your Exhilaration ability
gets upgraded. It now also heals your pet for 100% of its maximum health.
- At Level 57, you unlock a fourth pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 4 different pets to choose from in the open world.
- At Level 70, you
unlock Aspect of the Turtle, which is a powerful defensive ability.
It puts up a shield around you that deflects all attacks and reduces your
damage taken by 30% for 8 seconds. It has a 3-minute cooldown. You cannot cast
while it is active.
- At Level 80, you unlock a fifth pet slot, allowing you to tame another beast and have 5 different pets to choose from in the open world.
4.3. Marksmanship War Mode Talents for Leveling
In this section we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of both General PvP Talents and Marksmanship-specific PvE talents.
4.3.1. General PvP Talents
- Relentless is a passive ability, but it does not
automatically remove crowd control abilities. Instead, it reduces the
duration.
- Gladiator's Medallion is an on-use ability that removes all
movement impairing effects and all loss of control effects.
- Adaptation is recommended; it is likely your most passive
choice since it will automatically remove loss of control effects over 5
seconds.
4.3.2. Marksmanship PvP Talents for Leveling
Sniper Shot is an ability that deals 20% of the target's maximum
health from up to 55 yards away, and increases the range of all your other abilities
by 40% for 6 seconds. It has a 10-second cooldown. This is extremely
useful for pulling mobs from afar before others can get to them, and
finishing them off before they can get close.- Trueshot Mastery refunds all your Focus when you use
Trueshot, and reduces its cooldown by 20 seconds.
- Hunting Pack is a useful mobility option, allowing you to use
Aspect of the Cheetah much more often.
- Ranger's Finesse is a good default choice as it will
passively reduce the cooldown of your Aspect of the Turtle
and Exhilaration abilities significantly.
Most other options have limited use in PvE content in terms of increasing your damage in the open world, but they can be situationally useful.
4.4. Legendary Options
If you are just coming out of Level 110, you will probably have a number of different Legendary items to choose from. Your Legendaries' special effects will stop working at Level 116, but until then they can be a very powerful addition to help you level up quickly. These are our Legendary recommendations for leveling as a Marksmanship Hunter in Battle for Azeroth:
- Sephuz's Secret is a must, giving you passive movement speed.
Counter Shot and Freezing Trap will allow you to proc its
special effect constantly in the open world. It is by far the best
leveling Legendary.
- Vigilance Perch is essentially an automatic mount when out of
combat. Despite its tooltip, it only allows you to fly in flying zones, so you
will not be able to fly in Battle for Azeroth zones. This is a great Legendary
to pair up with Sephuz's Secret.
- Kil'jaeden's Burning Wish is very good as well, particularly at the
early levels. It allows you to do very high AoE damage on a 1-minute and
15-second cooldown. This one is a more damage-focused alternative to Vigilance
Perch, which is mobility-focused.
4.5. Pet Choice
We recommend using a Ferocity Pet such as a Scalehide for leveling. Ferocity pets give you a Leech bonus, which heals you whenever you do damage. Scalehide pets have a 50% damage reduction effect on a 1-minute cooldown, allowing it to sustain its health even when doing large pulls in the open world.
4.6. Quest Rewards
You should equip new quest rewards when their item level starts beating out your previous set of gear. If you are currently wearing Tier 21 gear, it is best to let the quest rewards significantly beat your existing item level before using them. With that said, you will unlock Azerite pieces early on, which are worth using over Tier gear in most circumstances.
If possible, we recommend holding on to all Quest Rewards you do not use. They can be scrapped at Level 120 for material resources for profession crafting.
4.7. Consumables
There are several consumable items that can be purchased that will help you with your leveling speed.
- Skystep Potion increases your movement speed by 150% (more than
a mount!) for 8 seconds. It has a 1-minute cooldown. This is extremely
useful and should be used often and aggressively for any
travel that is more than ~100 yards long.
- Gunshoes are an Engineering item that increase your movement
speed by 200% for 25 seconds. These will make you almost as fast as a Flying
mount. We recommend having a lot of these, and using them whenever you are
traveling more than ~250 yards.
- Goblin Glider Kit is very useful for covering long distances from
high places.
4.7.1. Gunshoes Macro
The Gunshoes will not let you stop moving for as long as they are active. Using this macro twice will click the buff off and allow you to stop.
- #showtooltip
- /use Gunshoes
- /cancelaura Gunshoes
4.8. Congratulations!
Congratulations on reaching Level 120! Now that you have hit Level 120 we recommend looking at our Easy mode page and Talents section to learn how to play at max level. To get yourself prepared for the end-game content ahead, we strongly recommend this Battle for Azeroth Raiding Lexicon/Spreadsheet by Medivh. It is a gold trove of information that will help you when gearing up in Battle for Azeroth and more.
5. Changelog
- 10 Dec. 2018: Updated the Sniper Shot PvP Talent Description for Patch 8.1. No other changes are necessary.
- 22 Aug. 2018: Recommend Sticky Tar for Survival instead of Survival Tactics.
- 12 Aug. 2018: Consistency updates to give all leveling guides a similar feel.
- 11 Aug. 2018: Changed the recommended level 100 talent for Survival. Added Chakrams and Steel Trap to the Survival rotation.
- 10 Aug. 2018: Changed the Level-By-Level unlocks to disappear at Level 110, to reduce clutter for people starting at Level 110.
- 07 Aug. 2018: Added Survival part.
- 04 Aug. 2018: Updated Leveling guide for BfA.
CONTENTS
IN THE SAME CATEGORY
- Transmog Hunter Sets
- Transmog Hunter Models
- Beast Mastery Hunter Guide
- Marksmanship Hunter Guide
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