The hunter is the most mobile ranged class in Legion: it shoots on the move, keeps a pet and farms the open world solo with ease. The entry barrier is low (especially for Beast Mastery), and the depth shows up in Marksmanship and Survival, where damage windows and positioning matter.
Specializations
| Spec | Role | Artifact | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beast Mastery | Ranged DPS | Titanstrike | Agility → mastery → crit → haste → versatility |
| Marksmanship | Ranged DPS | Thas'dorah, Legacy of the Windrunners | Agility → crit → mastery → versatility → haste |
| Survival | Melee DPS | Talonclaw | Agility → mastery ≈ crit → versatility → haste |
The stat priority is a guideline for 7.3.5. With different talents and legendaries the order shifts, so check the final result with a sim.
Beast Mastery
- All of your damage goes through your pet, and almost everything can be cast on the move — the best spec for Mythic+ and the open world.
- Key buttons: Kill Command strictly on cooldown, Bestial Wrath and Dire Beast (or Dire Frenzy if you take that talent).
- Your filler is Cobra Shot, but never at the expense of your main button.
- Keep an eye on your pet: it has to be alive and in contact with the target, otherwise your damage simply disappears.
- Aspect of the Wild is your main burst — save it for the boss phases.
Marksmanship
- The classic archer: heavy casts, vulnerability windows and the highest single-target payoff.
- Key buttons: Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, Marked Shot on your marks and Windburst from the artifact.
- Watch the Vulnerable debuff: your Aimed Shots need to land inside it.
- Your burst is Trueshot; the spec likes standing still, so plan your movement in advance.
Survival
- The hunter's only melee spec: a spear, traps and your pet at your side. Rare, but solid in Mythic+.
- Key buttons: Harpoon to close the gap, Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite — your main single-target damage.
- Your AoE is built on Butchery and traps.
- Watch your Mongoose Bite stacks: you need to burn them inside a window, not one at a time across the whole fight.
Legendary items
- Mantle of Command — Beast Mastery shoulders, an extra charge of Dire Beast or Dire Frenzy.
- Roar of the Seven Lions — Beast Mastery belt: all of your abilities cost less Focus.
- Celerity of the Windrunners — Marksmanship cloak, Windburst grants haste.
- The Butcher's Bone Apron — Survival chest, it boosts your AoE after Mongoose Bite.
- Call of the Wild — bracers, 35% shorter cooldown on all of your Aspects. A universal option, and especially nice for Beast Mastery.
Until the spec-specific ones drop, feel free to wear Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus and Sephuz's Secret: they work in any spec.
Class Order Hall
The hunter order hall is Trueshot Lodge on top of Talon Peak in Highmountain, the base of the Unseen Path order. There you have the artifact forge, champion missions, the class campaign and a stable master who lets you keep spare pets and swap them to suit the situation.
Tips for newcomers
- Keep Counter Shot on a comfortable keybind: an interrupt in Mythic+ is worth more than a couple of percent of damage.
- Collect a couple of pets from different families — they give different raid buffs and different utility in dungeons.
- Level one artifact all the way: Artifact Knowledge on 7.3.5 is so high that a second spec catches up in a couple of evenings.