Hunter's Mark 5e: Damage, Concentration, and Tracking

I like the clear purpose of Hunter’s Mark: pick a quarry and make repeated hits against it count. The interesting decisions start when that creature falls, another spell would help more, or the chase continues after the fight. Its damage is straightforward; its concentration and bonus-action costs deserve just as much attention.

This guide uses the 2014 spell, with a separate 2014 vs. 2024 comparison. The main damage examples do not assume revised Ranger class features.

Hunter’s Mark 5e — Quick Spell Reference

Mark a Visible Creature, Then Add Damage to Weapon Hits

Choose one creature you can see within 90 feet. Casting the spell needs no attack roll and gives the quarry no saving throw. While the spell lasts, your weapon attacks that hit that creature deal an extra 1d6 damage. It also helps you find that quarry through specified Wisdom checks.

The Ranger list grants normal spell access; other classes need a feature that actually provides it, such as a relevant subclass or another spell-selection feature. Being a Paladin does not by itself put Hunter’s Mark on the class’s ordinary list. See the Ranger guide for the surrounding class choices.

The verbal component still matters. It is not a silent, component-free targeting ability simply because casting uses a bonus action. You can cast it and take the Attack action on the same turn. The 2014 bonus-action spellcasting restriction limits other spellcasting that turn, not ordinary weapon attacks.

Hunter’s Mark does not add to your attack roll, lower the quarry’s AC, or grant advantage on attacks. Its advantage applies to the tracking checks described below. A miss gets no extra damage.

Is Hunter’s Mark Once per Turn or Once per Hit?

The 2014 spell adds damage on each qualifying hit, with no once-per-turn limit in its text. Extra Attack can therefore produce the bonus more than once on a turn, and a qualifying weapon opportunity attack against the same quarry can benefit on another creature’s turn.

Qualifying hits against the quarry	Extra damage	Average before criticals or defenses
1	1d6	3.5
2	2d6	7
3	3d6	10.5

These totals assume the hits have already happened. They are not expected damage per round: accuracy, available attacks, critical hits, and defenses change the result. Nor does the mark make attacks against other creatures carry the bonus.

A critical hit doubles the mark’s damage die as part of the attack’s damage dice. For example, a longbow attack with a +3 damage modifier normally deals 1d8 + 3 + 1d6 to the marked target. A critical hit rolls 2d8 + 3 + 2d6. The modifier is not doubled, and this example assumes no other damage features or magic items.

What about spell attacks, thrown weapons, and companions?

The 2014 trigger is a weapon attack. A melee weapon hit or thrown-weapon hit can qualify; an ordinary ranged spell attack does not. Damage from a save-only spell also does not trigger the mark. The revised spell changes this eligibility, as explained later.

The benefit belongs to you, not every ally attacking the quarry. Your party’s Fighter, a companion, or a summoned creature does not receive an extra die merely because you marked its target. A specific class feature could say otherwise; that is separate from the spell’s baseline effect.

Moving the Mark after a Target Drops to Zero HP

If the quarry reaches 0 hit points before the spell ends, the 2014 text lets you use a bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours to mark another creature. This is a transfer of the existing spell: it costs no additional slot, does not restart its duration, and does not mean you can mark several living enemies at once.

You cannot freely move it just because a different enemy becomes more convenient while the quarry still has HP. Casting a fresh Hunter’s Mark is a separate option, spending a slot and replacing your current concentration.

Keep the subsequent-turn wording in mind. If your marked enemy drops during your own turn and you still have another attack, that does not make the legacy spell’s transfer timing disappear. The later attack may need to target someone without the mark. If the quarry drops before your next turn, you can move the mark with that next turn’s bonus action and then attack the new eligible quarry.

Moving the existing mark is not casting the spell again. It therefore does not itself trigger the rule restricting other spells on a turn when you cast a bonus-action spell. It still consumes your one bonus action, competing with other uses of that action.

Concentration and the Cost of Your Bonus Action

Hunter’s Mark requires concentration for its entire duration. Damage can force a concentration save. Becoming incapacitated or starting another concentration spell can end the mark. A long maximum duration does not protect it from those rules.

This is the main tradeoff with 2014 Hail of Thorns, Ensnaring Strike, or Pass without Trace: the same caster cannot maintain both concentration effects. Casting Hail before a shot drops an existing mark before you know whether the shot hits. Sometimes the new spell’s control, area damage, or party utility is worth that cost.

Bonus actions also have an opportunity cost. Casting or moving the mark uses the bonus action you might otherwise spend on a two-weapon attack. Against one durable enemy, that setup may support several later hits. Against a succession of fragile enemies, repeatedly transferring the mark may displace many of those bonus-action attacks. Count the attacks you actually expect to make instead of treating every extra damage die as free.

An original example: a Ranger attacks twice and also has a legal two-weapon bonus attack available. On the turn they cast Hunter’s Mark, the two Attack-action attacks can benefit, but the bonus-action weapon attack is unavailable. On a later turn, if the mark stays on a living quarry, all three qualifying hits could benefit. Accuracy and survival still determine how many hits occur.

Tracking Advantage Is Not Magical Radar

The spell gives you advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks you make to find the marked creature. It does not grant advantage on every Wisdom check, every Survival task, or every attempt to track an unrelated creature.

It does not automatically reveal exact coordinates, provide an arrow pointing toward the quarry, see through walls, or defeat invisibility. Ask what evidence or senses permit a check and what a success establishes. Advantage helps resolve an applicable check; it does not invent information the spell never grants.

The 90-foot range and visibility requirement apply when choosing the original quarry. Under the general spell range rules, the existing effect does not end merely because the creature later moves beyond that initial range, unless a spell says otherwise. That can help during a pursuit, but does not extend your weapon range or remove the need for a clear shot.

Upcasting Increases Duration, Not the Damage Die

In 2014, a 1st- or 2nd-level slot permits concentration for up to one hour. A 3rd- or 4th-level slot extends that maximum to eight hours; a 5th-level or higher slot extends it to 24 hours.

The extra damage remains 1d6 per qualifying hit at every slot level. A second-level slot does not improve the duration, and a higher slot does not grant more simultaneous marks. See upcasting before committing a scarce slot to a duration you may not need.

A long-duration mark can survive multiple encounters if you maintain concentration and meet its transfer conditions. It does not become permanent or survive sleep-induced unconsciousness. Plan around the duration actually remaining, not a fresh hour every time a quarry falls.

Hunter’s Mark: 2014 vs. 2024 Rules

The revised spell retains its 90-foot range, verbal component, bonus-action casting, concentration, 1d6 baseline die, tracking-check advantage, and higher-slot duration thresholds. Its important changes are:

Point	2014 spell	Revised spell
Damage trigger	Your weapon attack hits the quarry	You hit the quarry with an attack roll, so eligible spell attacks can benefit
Damage type	Does not name a separate damage type for its bonus	Explicitly Force damage
Transfer after the quarry reaches 0 HP	Bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours	Bonus action; no subsequent-turn restriction is stated

The published 2024 spell applies its damage on each qualifying hit. Earlier playtest versions used different damage triggers and scaling, so use the published wording rather than an old preview.

Revised Ranger class features are additional rules, not universal properties of the spell. For example, Relentless Hunter at Ranger 13 protects its concentration from damage, Precise Hunter at 17 improves attacks against the marked quarry, and Foe Slayer at 20 changes its die. A low-level character casting the spell does not automatically gain those features. The Ranger guide’s comparison discusses that progression.

Hunter’s Mark FAQ

Can two Rangers mark the same creature?

They can each cast it and maintain their own concentration. Each benefits from their own qualifying hits; the marks do not give one Ranger both casters’ extra damage dice. The same spell’s effects do not stack into extra benefits for one attacker.

Is Hunter’s Mark a curse that hinders ability checks like Hex?

No such penalty is in Hunter’s Mark. Its tracking-check advantage belongs to the caster; it does not impose disadvantage on the quarry’s checks or saves.

Do I need to keep spending spell slots every round?

No. The existing spell keeps working while its duration and concentration continue. Transferring it under its stated conditions costs a bonus action, not another slot.

Rules sources: 2014 Basic Rules spell descriptions and 2014 spellcasting rules; 2024 rules for the revised spell (p. 141) and Ranger class features. Calculations and tactical examples are original advice.