How Hunter's Mark Works in 5e
Hunter's Mark is a level 1 Ranger spell, cast as a Bonus Action, that marks one creature within 90 feet. Until it ends, every attack roll that hits that creature deals an extra 1d6 Force damage. It needs Concentration and lasts up to 1 hour. A Ranger always has it prepared and casts it twice a day without a spell slot from level 1 (Favored Enemy), rising to six free casts by level 17. When the target drops to 0 Hit Points, a Bonus Action moves the mark. Below: the spell quoted, the free casts by level, and what it adds against a goblin and an Ogre.
The rule
You magically mark one creature you can see within range as your quarry. Until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 Force damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack roll. You also have Advantage on any Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check you make to find it.
If the target drops to 0 Hit Points before this spell ends, you can take a Bonus Action to move the mark to a new creature you can see within range.
Casting Time: Bonus Action. Range: 90 feet. Components: V. Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour. A level 3–4 slot stretches it to 8 hours, level 5+ to 24 hours.
Three things follow from the wording:
- Any attack roll counts. Melee, ranged, a thrown dagger, an Unarmed Strike. Only the hit matters, not the weapon.
- Every hit adds the die. With Extra Attack you roll it twice a turn. It isn't once per turn like Sneak Attack.
- A Critical Hit doubles it. The 1d6 is the attack's damage dice, so a crit rolls 2d6.
Free casts by level
You always have the Hunter's Mark spell prepared. You can cast it twice without expending a spell slot, and you regain all expended uses of this ability when you finish a Long Rest.
| Ranger level | Free casts per Long Rest | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | 2 | Favored Enemy |
| 5–8 | 3 | |
| 9–12 | 4 | |
| 13–16 | 5 | Relentless Hunter (13) |
| 17–20 | 6 | Precise Hunter (17), Foe Slayer (20) |
It doesn't count against your prepared spells, so your other picks stay free. Once the free casts run out you can still cast it with a spell slot.
What it adds at level 1
A level 1 Ranger with Dexterity 16 shoots a Longbow at +5 for 1d8 + 3. The target is a Goblin Warrior: AC 15, 10 Hit Points. One arrow, crits included:
| Average damage | Goblin dropped | |
|---|---|---|
| Longbow | 4.35 | 16.3% |
| Longbow + Hunter's Mark | 6.45 | 39.3% |
The mark adds 2.1 damage per arrow and more than doubles the one-shot chance. Casting it costs your Bonus Action, not your attack. You lose something only if your Bonus Action already had a job (the extra attack from a Light weapon, say).
What it adds at level 5
At level 5 the Ranger has Extra Attack, Dexterity 18 and +3 proficiency: two arrows at +7 for 1d8 + 4. The target is an Ogre: AC 11, 68 Hit Points. Each arrow hits on a 4 or better, 85% of the time, for 7.45 on average, or 10.6 with the mark.
| Per round | Ogre down, round 3 | Round 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longbow ×2 | 14.9 | 0.5% | 24.5% |
| + Mark | 21.2 | 40.1% | 86.5% |
The mark cuts the fight by about a round: by round 5 it's 71.9% without the mark, 98.3% with it. A Hunter Ranger who takes Colossus Slayer (1d8 once per turn against a creature missing Hit Points) adds more: 24.6 on the first round, 25.9 on every round after.
Keeping Concentration
Hunter's Mark is a Concentration spell, so damage forces a save:
you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to maintain Concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage taken (round down), whichever number is higher, up to a maximum DC of 30.
A goblin's Scimitar does at most 8, an Ogre's Greatclub at most 20, so the DC is 10 either way. A Ranger with Constitution 14 has no Constitution save proficiency, so they need an 8: they keep the mark 65% of the time per hit. Casting another Concentration spell also ends it, which is why Ensnaring Strike and Hunter's Mark don't run together. At level 13, Relentless Hunter fixes the hits: "Taking damage can't break your Concentration on Hunter's Mark."
The high-level features
- Hunter's Lore (Hunter, level 3): while a creature is marked, "you know whether that creature has any Immunities, Resistances, or Vulnerabilities". Force damage is rarely resisted, so the 1d6 nearly always lands in full.
- Superior Hunter's Prey (Hunter, level 11): once per turn when you damage the marked creature, you deal the spell's extra damage to a second creature within 30 feet of it.
- Precise Hunter (level 17): "You have Advantage on attack rolls against the creature currently marked by your Hunter's Mark."
- Foe Slayer (level 20): "The damage die of your Hunter's Mark is a d10 rather than a d6."
A level 17 Ranger with Dexterity 20 shoots at +11 for 1d8 + 5. Against AC 17, per round of two arrows:
| Per round | |
|---|---|
| No mark | 14.7 |
| Hunter's Mark | 20.3 |
| + Precise Hunter (Advantage) | 25.9 |
| + Foe Slayer (d10, level 20) | 30.1 |
At level 20 the mark doubles the Ranger's damage.
Odds are exact d20 and dice counts. Rules and stat blocks from the SRD 5.2.1: Hunter's Mark, Ranger, Hunter, Concentration and the Monsters chapter.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
