In order to make this website a resource for all Marksman hunters even when I don’t have the time to post every day, I’ve decided to compile a list of questions which people frequently ask me and list them here. I will, of course, answer them to the best of my ability. If there is something you notice isn’t listed and you think it should be, please feel free to email me at mmnassira@gmail.com or simply leave a comment on any one of my posts.

Q: Which is better – Agility or Attack Power?

A: Currently, in the 3.2 content, Agility is a better choice for gemming and enchants simply because it balances the benefit you receive from critical strike as well as attack power, and many of our important damaging abilities and talents are affected greatly by increased critical strike. You should be attempting to achieve a healthy balance of Crit and AP since both stats are equally as important for a Marksmanship hunter. Agility is a good way to do this, and remember that certain buffs and talents will help your Agility stack nicely.

Q: Which is better – Agility or Armor Penetration?

A: In the current 3.2 content, this question can only be answered by the individual. First, check your character to find out how much Armor Penetration you actually have. If it’s close to 500-600, then answer the next question: does your Steady Shot consistently out-damage your Arcane Shot? How do you figure this out? Simply look at your most recent WWS or Recount meter during a fight in which you fired BOTH shots throughout. Never compare between two separate fights, and make sure you take the average damage and not the crit damage. If you find, after your thorough research, that Steady Shot ALWAYS out-damages your Arcane shots, then you may gem for Armor Penetration and remove Arcane Shot from your rotation. This brings me to…

Q: Should I remove Arcane Shot from my rotation?

A: Again, do the above assesment of your character. If the answer is YES, your character’s Steady DOES out-damage your Arcane, then you may remove Arcane Shot from your rotation. However, keep in mind whether or not you have Improved Arcane Shot (you should if you are using Arcane at all) and whether the fighting you’ll be doing requires a lot of movement. Remember that Arcane is instant and can be fired while you run, whereas Steady requires you to stand still for long periods of time. If you’re constantly moving, removing Arcane from your rotation will hurt your damage and not help it. Also, even if you decide you will put Arcane into your rotation only in moving fights, remember that if you remove Improved Arcane from your spec, you will also lose a large amount of overall damage. Personally, I believe (and especially for the hardcore-casual player like myself) that removing Arcane Shot from your rotation is a mistake unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE of what you’re doing. Don’t let uninformed players trick you into it. You know that guy, the one who plays a mage and says “Why aren’t you stacking ArPen and losing Arcane??”. Yeah, ignore that fool.

Q: Should I have Improved Arcane Shot specced?

A: Yes. Absolutely.

Q: Should I have Improved Steady Shot specced?

A: Yes, but use those talents as filler talents. Even if you can only spare one or two points, it’s best to put them there instead of ignoring the talent all together simply because you can’t fill it.

Q: What about Improved Hunter’s Mark?

A: This talent is tricky. It depends very much on which instance you’re running, how many people you’re running with, and how many hunters are in your raid. If you’re running a full 25-man raid with three or more hunters, it MAY be beneficial, so long as you are very careful and make sure your buff is on and no one else’s is. In any other case, I will say no. Do not get Improved Hunter’s Mark unless you are in the above scenario.

Q: What is currently the best Priority Rotation?

A: Currently, the priority is Hunter’s Mark, Kill Shot, Serpent Sting, Chimera Shot, Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Silencing Shot. However, keep in mind that when you enter these into the hunter Spreadsheet, you will have to change the priority, because it behaves differently. Due to the fact that Silencing Shot does not trigger the Global Cooldown, technically you may fire that at any point between shots and it will not disturb your rotation. In the spreadsheet, you should enter that as having priority over Chimera, whereas if you were actually raiding, you wouldn’t stop everything just to fire a silly Silencing Shot, which is really what Priority means – highest or higher in importance, rank, privilege, etc. – a priority task. If you missed a split second before firing your Silencing Shot after its cooldown, it won’t hurt you nearly as much as if you missed the cooldown for Chimera shot. Hopefully that puts the idea into perspective. Be careful when using the term “Priority Rotation”, as some people are referring to spreadsheets, and others, like myself, are referring to how you would select your shots in a raid.