Hunter Macros & Tips

  • Hello, everyone. Sixx here - I've decided to recreate one of the most used forum posts created by the legendary Raziya, with his permission. This will be updated and maintained to remain relevant for Classic.

    Use the FIND command to skip to specific parts of the thread. The hotkey for this on my Windows computer is ctrl + F. Try this, and punch in the index number of the section you want.


    1.0.0 - Why hunters are awesome
    2.0.0 - Macros
    2.1.0 - The goal of macros
    2.1.1 - Why they're important
    2.1.2 - What they can do
    2.1.3 - How they pertain to hunters
    2.2.0 - Basic Hunter macros
    2.2.1 - Auto Shot
    2.2.2 - Melee attacks
    2.2.3 - General shots
    2.3.0 - Basic pet macros
    2.3.1 - Pet Attack
    2.3.2 - Pet Follow
    2.3.3 - Pet Stay
    2.3.4 - Pet Growl
    2.4.0 - Miscellaneous macros
    2.4.1 - Feign Death
    2.4.2 - Shadowmeld
    2.4.3 - Deterrence / Monkey
    2.4.4 - Friend or Foe
    2.4.5 - Flare/Volley
    2.5.0 - CC macros
    2.5.1 - Scatter Shot
    2.5.2 - Feign Death / Trap
    2.5.3 - Freezing Trap
    2.6.0 - Advanced macros
    2.6.1 - Combat Aspect Swap / Aspect Situational
    2.6.2 - Situational Sting
    2.6.3 - All-In-One pet maintenance
    2.7.0 - My personal macros
    2.7.1 - Multi-Shot
    2.7.2 - Wing Clip
    2.7.3 - Coordinates
    3.0.0 - Helpful resources
    3.1.0 - Addons
    3.1.1 - Attack Timers
    3.1.2 - Target Scanners
    3.1.3 - Value Meters
    3.1.4 - Equipment Addons
    3.1.5 - Quality of Life
    3.2.0 - Useful references
    3.2.1 - Petopia archive
    3.2.2 - Video tutorials
    3.2.3 - Hunter gameplay
    3.2.4 - Specializations
    3.2.5 - Kargoz PVE Field Manual
    3.2.6 - WatchYourSixx's Theorycraft/DPS Spreadsheet
    3.2.7 - Hunter Discord


    Welcome to the Hunter class!

    Why should you play a hunter? If playing a versatile class with lots of crowd control, burst damage, and a high skill cap appeals to you, you may want to try a hunter.

    Do you get tired of spamming Frostbolt endlessly on a mage? Is coughing up hundreds of gold or lots of time for mana potions on a priest annoying? Does not staying in melee to DPS on a boss like Shazzrah annoy you on a rogue? Play a hunter!

    The simplest reason to enjoy hunter is that they're engaging. Despite what you may have heard about 'huntards,' we have an awful lot to think about. Deadzone, ammo, unique rotation, pet micro and other management, delicate but potent CC... yes, it's simple to learn to play a hunter, but it's a class that's difficult to master.

    Hunters have a unique relationship with their auto attacks since, to optimize damage, they time their skill shots between Auto Shots, ensuring that you always have something interesting to do during a boss fight.

    Farming gold is made easier. Whether you want to farm an instance like DM Trib or Mara solo, or roam the open world for herbs or ore, a hunter's skills, and their pet, will make it easy to stake your claim.

    Since hunters have a complete threat drop on a 30 second cooldown, we can do DPS pretty much whenever we want. No sitting out of fights, no decursing everyone else... sure, we get asked to kite here or there, and a couple of fights require us to use Tranquilizing Shot, but kiting is exciting! At least during a boss fight. And there aren't too many Tranq Shot fights, and they're a lot easier to be aware of than watching for a fast Wing Buffet to kick or pummel. Tranq Shot can't even be launched until a Frenzy effect is up - no possible chance for error unless you delay!

    If getting invested isn't your thing, leveling is made easier on a hunter with our pet and strong physical attacks launched from range. Literally AFK and Auto Shot if you don't care for speed.

    There is a huge variety of unique pets with special abilities to suit your needs. PvP pets with 1.0 attack speed, scorpids with a stacking poison, wind serpents with a ranged attack, wolves that can buff your attack damage... the list goes on.

    We have a lot of potential in PvP with zone control abilities like Frost Trap and burst combos. Sniper and support.

    Hunters are also able to provide excellent support in general. If you need to peel for a friend, scatter and trap their assailant. We can CC two targets at once with Wyvern Sting and Freezing Trap. We can pull very effectively for our tanks in a dungeon where pulling is made tricky, and we have the longest range in the game, at 41 yards with Hawk Eye.

    Regardless about how you may feel about what I've said so far, if it seems daunting or exciting, I encourage you to give hunters a try with an open mind anyway. It's easier to gauge your feelings in practice over theory.

    2.0.0 - MACROS

    Even if you're not a hunter, you may benefit from this list of macros with a little bit of modification. So, browse at your leisure.

    2.1.0 - THE GOAL OF MACROS

    In this section, we'll go over what we aim to accomplish by studying and using macros.


    Macros essentially allow you to automate parts of your game. When you keep two keybinds which you could do through a single macro, you're wasting time by hitting a redundant keybind. They also allow you to act with precision in an intense situation, reducing the likelihood of human error. Whether you're new to the game or a veteran player, macros can improve your performance, often with little more hassle than copy + paste, and that is why they're important.

    2.1.2 - WHAT THEY CAN DO

    As stated, macros can reduce the number of keybinds you need, which can help to keep all your abilities within reach on a class that has a lot of abilities, like a hunter. They can make use of conditions to be situational, like only firing off in combat or when your enemy is a certain class, which saves you more time and thought. They can issue commands to pets so that you can coordinate your attacks with them. And, there's a lot more that macros can do, but let's just continue and get on to the specifics as soon as possible.


    As I said a moment ago, hunters have a ton of keybinds. Macros, being able to reduce keybinds, are thus great for hunters. They'll improve your efficiency without a doubt, enabling you to target enemies faster, control your pet better, and improve your crowd control.


    Here we'll go over some basic macros. The scripts below can be lumped into other macros, increasing their functionality. I'll try to explain what each part does so you know what to copy into other macros, if you wish to do so.

    2.2.1 - AUTO SHOT

    As strange as it might sound to have a macro for something as simple as Auto Shot, this is actually pretty important. Auto Shot is the core of your abilities, used for everything from initiating on a new target (before Aimed Shot) to doing most of your damage in dungeons and raids.

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /cast !Auto Shot

    This two-line macro will:

    • Automatically target anything in front of you if you don't have a target.
    • Begin using Auto Shot if you're at the appropriate distance to strike.
    • Prevent Auto Shot from being toggled off if you hit the key again.
    • Swap to melee auto attack if you're too close to Auto Shot.
      Note: you will get an error message when trying to cast auto shot while in melee, but it should let you melee when too close to a target.

    Two important functions in particular are added: The automatic targeting, which will allow you to basically point and shoot with your right mouse and Auto Shot keybind, and the function that prevents Auto Shot from being toggled off. Auto Shot is on its own cooldown, independent of the GCD, so it's important to be able to enable it on demand.

    2.2.2 - MELEE ATTACKS

    This is just a basic macro to lump all of your offensive melee skills onto one bind.

    /cast Raptor Strike
    /cast Counterattack
    /cast Mongoose Bite

    The first line stops auto shot if it is toggled on. The second line will begin your melee attack, regardless of distance to target. The next three lines cast abilities. Because Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite function differently, they can be used simultaneously. Counterattack and Mongoose Bite cannot be used simultaneously, but Counterattack is a priority, so it's listed first.

    2.2.3 - GENERAL SHOTS

    Consider the macro below to be a default for all of your skill shots. This example casts Serpent Sting.

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /cast Serpent Sting

    The first line is automatic targeting. The second line will cast your ability.

    If you also wish to initiate your Auto Shot alongside your other shots, as I prefer, use the following macro instead.

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /cast Arcane Shot(rank 1)
    /cast !Auto Shot

    Alternatively, the following shorter macro will attempt to enable your Auto Shot, but will not switch to melee attack if you're too close to your target.

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /cast Arcane Shot(rank 1)
    /cast !Auto Shot

    2.3.0 - BASIC PET MACROS

    Controlling your pet effectively is quite important. Your pet can aggro mobs, establish CC or break it, and ought to be doing damage on just the right target, or be in the right place to do that damage. So, this section will go over a few basic pet control macros and what you can do with them.

    2.3.1 - PET ATTACK

    The following macro is a simple macro that'll send your pet at your target.

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /cast Charge
    /cast Dash
    /cast Dive

    This macro's six lines do the following:

    • Automatic targeting.
    • Pet will follow you when disengaged from combat.
    • Pet will act passively when disengaged from combat.
    • Pet will attack the target specified.
    • If available, your boar will Charge the target specified.
    • If Charge isn't available or possible, Dash will be enabled instead.

    Since Attack is ordered after passive and follow, your pet will attack your target. The reason for setting your pet to follow and passive is that direct control over your pet's actions will help to prevent mistakes. When you need to give orders to your pet, it's best to have it under your complete control, so setting it to Follow and Passive every time you give an order is a safe default.

    The final two lines contribute to your control. If you leave Dash on auto cast, your pet will choose when it thinks the right time to use it is. It won't use dash if its already in range which is nice, but having this in the macro gives you a little more control over when your pet does it. You can leave those lines out optionally.

    2.3.2 - PET FOLLOW

    When you loose your pet on something, you're going to want some way to bring it back to you, for instance if the enemy flees and your pet will attract more enemies if it stays on that enemy. This macro does that:

    /cast Dash
    /cast Dive

    It's a very straightforward macro. The second line causes your pet to be passive. The third line will make your pet Dash/dive back to you, which is convenient if you need to pull it out of danger quickly.

    2.3.3 - PET STAY

    Telling your pet to stay has various uses. You can use it to guard a flag, or fool people by Shadowmelding in a different bush than the one your pet is in, or maybe you need to leave it behind while you go pull the acolytes out of a Ziggurat in Strath UD. Whatever the case, having a keybind for your pet to stay is useful. Here it is:


    The first line will tell your pet to stay. The second line will make your pet act passively.

    2.3.4 - PET GROWL

    You'll probably have your Growl turned off sometimes, like in a dungeon or for PvP. If an enemy rushes for your healer, you can send your pet at the enemy, order it to Growl, and then send it back at the mobs near the tank, effectively bringing the mob back to the tank spot without having to stop your DPS.

    /cast Growl
    /petautocaston Growl

    The first line commands your pet to Growl. The second line turns its auto cast on. If you want a script to turn Growl's auto cast off, one contributor posted this in the comments on this thread:

    /petautocastoff Growl

    Alternatively, you can have it toggle as well.

    /petautocasttoggle Growl

    These can be used for any ability you want to change whether it is toggled on or off using a keybind/macro.


    I've had a few requests lately to add this, so here it is. Some people want to be able to use the same keybind to attack or follow command the pet.

    /petattack [@pettarget, noexists]
    /petfollow [@pettarget, exists]

    This two line macro will turn on pet attack if the pet does not have a target, then if you press it again while it has a target the pet will return to your side.


    Here are just a couple of macros which don't fall under other categories. One of them is Night Elf-specific.

    2.4.1 - FEIGN DEATH

    This macro will ensure that the only time you ever use Feign Death is while you're in combat.

    /cast [combat] Feign Death

    On its own, it's nothing special, but this script will be used in combination with other abilities later.

    2.4.2 - SHADOWMELD

    Shadowmeld is a great skill that can help you stay alive or set up kills, especially as a hunter.

    /cast !Shadowmeld

    This will prevent you from toggling your Shadowmeld off. You can combine this with Feign death to drop combat and then stealth, or combine it with eat/drink. Alternatively, if you want to also have your cat Prowl, add this into it.

    /cast !Shadowmeld
    /cast !Prowl

    This enables you and your pet to vanish from sight if you have a cat. Useful for NE hunters guarding bases.


    /cast Deterrence
    /cast !Aspect of the Monkey

    This Deterrence macro will cast Aspect of the Monkey and Deterrence. Aspect of the Monkey will not be toggled off.

    2.4.4 - FRIEND OR FOE

    This script will cast one spell if your target is friendly. It'll cast a different spell if your target is hostile.

    /cancelaura Aspect of the Pack
    /cancelaura Aspect of the Cheetah
    /cast [@target, help] Aspect of the Pack
    /cast Aspect of the Cheetah

    This example will cast Pack if your target is friendly, but Cheetah under any other circumstances. That way, if you're in a group and you want to give Pack to people, just click an ally and you don't have to reserve another keybind for Pack!

    You can modify this to use items. For instance, here's my Scare Beast macro:

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead]
    /cast Scare Beast [@target, harm]
    /use 0 16 [help]

    If targeting an ally, this will use the item in the lower-right corner of my backpack. That's where I keep my bandages. the first number on the /use command is bag number (0-4) and bag slot (1-16). Alternatively you can use the name of the item in place of the 0 16.

    2.4.5 - FLARE/VOLLEY

    One thing Classic brings that vanilla didn't really have with the old API, is @cursor. You can utilize it for spells that require an area indicator to determine where to hit. You can create a macro though that automatically casts the spell/item where your cursor is.

    /cast [@cursor] Flare

    We can have Flare cast where we want without having to click it after pressing the key! Same with volley.

    /cast [@cursor] Volley

    2.5.0 - CC MACROS

    Hunters have incredible crowd control, but several of our abilities can be tricky to use, such as traps, which require we be out of combat. I put together these macros to help make CC more easily maintained.


    This macro is awesome for abilities like Scatter Shot or Wyvern Sting.

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /petstay [@pettarget, harm]
    /petpassive [@pettarget, harm]
    /cast Scatter Shot

    After auto targeting, this macro will check if your pet has a target. If so, your pet will be set to passive and stay at its current position. If not, your pet will remain in it's previous state. The only drawback is that if your pet is attacking a different target it will still be put on passive/stay.

    Just remember to give the attack order again after your enemy has recovered.

    2.5.2 - FEIGN DEATH / TRAP

    Since hunters can't use traps in combat, we need to rely on Feign Death to drop a trap in a pinch. This macro has proven to be very useful:

    /cast Immolation Trap
    /cast [combat] Feign Death

    You need to hit this macro at least twice regardless of script order.

    2.5.3 - FREEZING TRAP

    The Freezing Trap can be broken by your pet too, so I went ahead and did this to mine:

    /cast Freezing Trap
    /cast [combat] Feign Death
    /petstay [@pettarget, harm]
    /petpassive [@pettarget, harm]

    Feign Death will be used if you're in combat. If your pet is targeting something it will be put on passive/stay. The only drawback is that if your pet is attacking a different target it will still be put on passive/stay, but in a 1v1 this works nicely. So, world PvP.


    Here we get into some longer, cooler macros than the basic ones mentioned before this point. All of them will be focused on reducing keybinds based on situational parameters.


    Aspect of the Hawk and Aspect of the Monkey are both important abilities to have bound, especially for a PvPer or a Ravager, but you'd need two keybinds. The following macros put them in one keybind.

    The first solution I came up with was a swap macro:

    /cancelaura Aspect of the Cheetah
    /cast Aspect of the Hawk
    /cast Aspect of the Monkey

    This macro makes sure to cancel cheetah incase you press this while on a GCD, and then swaps between hawk and monkey. If you're in another Aspect it will apply Hawk to you.

    Unfortunately there is no way to make a distance check restrict which one is used, so your best bet is to just be able to swap between the two.


    Unfortunately I don't think this is possible, so I am leaving this section blank unless someone shows it is possible with a newer API.


    We have a lot of abilities that affect our pet. The following macro combines feed pet, call pet, dismiss pet, and revive pet.

    /cast [mod:shift] Revive Pet; [pet] Dismiss Pet; Call Pet
    /cast [nocombat][pet] Feed Pet
    /cast [nocombat][pet] 0 1

    If your pet is dismissed, this macro will call it. If you have a pet and stand still this macro will dismiss it. If you press this while moving it will attempt to feed your pet from the given bag/slot or alternatively a food name. If your pet is dead you can use shift and press this to revive.

    You cannot condition pet feeding by happiness, and you can't have call pet and revive pet in the same macro without giving one or the other a modifier key.


    Due to popular demand, I'm dropping a few of my own personal macros here. See details below:

    2.7.1 - MULTI-SHOT

    /targetenemy [noexists][dead][help]
    /cast Multi-Shot(rank 1)
    /cast Volley
    /cast !Auto Shot

    This is a simple fall-through macro. If you hit it once, you target anything up to 40 yards in front of you, cast Multi-Shot, and toggle your Auto Shot on. Hit it again while Multi-Shot is on cooldown, and you'll cast Volley. Alternatively, if Multi never goes off, Volley will be selected immediately.

    Unless your Flare is on cooldown and you have the mana to spare to take a rogue out of invisibility, I don't really think you'll have any urgency to use Volley until you're AoEing something, and Multi-Shot is often the priority, hence the use of this macro.

    2.7.2 - WING CLIP

    #showtooltip Wing Clip
    /cast Counterattack(Rank 1)
    /cast Wing Clip
    /cast Wing Clip(Rank 2)
    /cast Wing Clip(Rank 1)

    This is a fall-through macro for Wing Clip. If you happen to be super low on mana for some reason and can't use maximum rank Wing Clip, a lower rank will be used instead. Counterattack is a priority over all ranks of Wing Clip.

    If I get requests for any other macros, I will include them here.


    There are some addons and other web pages I'd strongly recommend looking into.

    3.1.0 - ADDONS

    Some of you love having tons of addons, and some of you are total minimalists. Personally, I don't like having my screen filled to the brim with crap, so I keep my addon use minimal, but I've selected a few that could really help you out.


    If you need something to extract the addons from their .zip files, I prefer 7-zip for the task.


    I will leave most of this section blank for now, until we get more information on what addons are being ported to classic.

    3.1.1 - ATTACK TIMERS

    Timers for your attacks.

    This first type of addon is absolutely mandatory, if you ask me. If there's ever a point where you need to move and DPS, whether you're kiting or just running out of Rain of Fire, if you want to do the most damage, you need to know exactly when to stop and shoot again. YaHT/WST is an addon that'll allow you to do just that. Not only that, but your DPS as a hunter depends on how well you can time your skill shots between Auto Shots. You may be able to do just fine firing off shots right after autos go out, but it's not always obvious, and you may want to time your Multi Shot at the end of Auto Shot's cooldown, not at the beginning.

    The main difference between the two is WeaponSwingTimer can track the melee swings as well as your auto shot timer, though YaHT has multishot and aimed shot casts integrated into the default cast bar UI.




    Very useful scanning addon for finding those rare pets.


    3.1.3 - VALUE METERS


    3.1.5 - QUALITY OF LIFE


    Important webpages/links you might want to have a look at.

    3.2.1 - PETOPIA


    Raziya the Ravager started a hunter tutorial series a few years back. The information is mostly still relevant so I'll keep this here unless told otherwise.

    Youtube Video






    "If you don't care about all this theory crap and just want to see some hunter gameplay, I started another video series on Kronos II that'll go through every dungeon up to 60. I don't always play optimally, so if you go have a look and want to learn something, spot my mistakes, learn from them before you make them, yourself. My goal is to see Naxxramas someday, but regardless of whether or not that happens, I'll do what I can." -Raziya

    Darkshore Mythic:

    Wailing Caverns:
    Blackfathom Deeps:
    Shadowfang Keep:
    Razorfen Kraul:
    Scarlet Monastery:
    Razorfen Downs:

    Not sure you want to watch? Have a short trailer for the series to get a better idea.
    Youtube Video

    "I started a new series on leveling. I mean, it MIGHT become a series, maybe not, depends, I guess. Anyway, here's Shadowglen:
    Youtube Video

    I came out recently with an update that contains a game of Alterac Valley. It's the only battleground video I have up right now, so if you want to see more, let me know and I'll go do some!"


    Below you'll find PvP Specs:
    Intimidate scatter, can mix some points around in BM and the 1 point in imp arcane but I personally use arcane shot a lot while moving

    TSA and slow resist, defensive CD, wing clip and entrapment. Can mix around some points as well

    Down to scatter, then deep surv for Killer instincts, counter attack, lightning reflexes

    Swap scatter for wyvern, solid for premades but removes the dependable scatter shot

    Deep BM for fun/early gear

    These specs aren't the only ways to play, and you can mix some of the middle points around in most cases.. Just ones that I have enjoyed using.



    3.2.7 - HUNTER DISCORD

    I think that's everything I wanted to say. Thanks to the Classic team for allowing me to finally return home, thanks to the community for reading through what I've had to say here, and thanks to everyone for helping make this a possibility. Thanks to everyone who helped me learn to play a hunter, and thanks to everyone looking to learn now, as I was long ago. I sincerely hope that this guide has helped you to enjoy playing hunter more, learn more about hunters, and/or play hunter more effectively.

    Please feel free to leave a comment and I would also love to know what y'all think. Any suggestions/feedback is greatly appreciated!

  • Founder Shaman Horde

    @WatchYourSixx Wow! Great stuff!

  • Hunter Alliance

    Awesome, thanks so much!

  • Initiate

    None of the simple macros worked correctly for me...
    Auto Shot macro didn't work. Re-read directions and carefully copy pasted it.

  • What issue are you having? does it do nothing? does it not turn on auto shot or melee?

  • Initiate

    The melee macro doesn't work at all. I can counterstrike and Raptor strike, but mongoose bite and/or wing clip are unable to be used