Marksmanship Hunter DPS Spec, Builds, Talents, and Pet Talents — Dragonflight 10.2.6

Last updated on Mar 19, 2024 at 18:50 by Azortharion 126 comments
General Information

On this page, you will find out the best talents for each tier for your Marksmanship Hunter in World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2.6. We also have default talent lists for various types of content, such as raiding or Mythic+. If you play with Warmode on, we have your PvP talents covered as well.

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Marksmanship Hunter talents.

1.

Best Dragonflight Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

Note that these builds are generic recommendations for various content. Check out the dedicated pages below for more specific recommendations for the Raid and Mythic+.

2.

Best Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

Single Target Talents Build Mythic+ Talents Build Raid AoE Talents Build Talents Explained
3.

Best Single-Target Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

This build is optimal for single-target scenarios. Given the huge cost of going for AoE builds as Marksmanship, you will be playing this most of the time in Raid.

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!

3.

Best Mythic+ Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

This is our recommended build for Mythic+ Dungeons.

You can get a bit more single-target for Tyrannical by swapping Light Ammo Icon Light Ammo, Salvo Icon Salvo for an extra point of Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots, and Target Practice Icon Target Practice.

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!

3.

Best Raid AoE Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

This is our recommended build for Raid Encounters with significant AoE requirements. Note that the single-target cost of playing this build is high, and that in many cases, you are better off playing a single-target build even if a fight has AoE.

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!

3.

Talent Explanations for Marksmanship Hunters

Note that we do not explain EVERY Talent in the tree on this page. We only explain Talents that are part of our optimal builds for single-target and AoE. For full details and explanations of every Talent, please visit our Spells page via the button below.

3.1.

Class Talents

3.1.1.

Row 1-4

Kill Shot Icon Kill ShotA strong DPS button and a mandatory pick.
Posthaste Icon PosthasteEssential as one of our strongest mobility talents.
Improved Kill Shot Icon Improved Kill ShotA passive, powerful increase to our Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot's damage.
Counter Shot Icon Counter ShotOur main interrupt.
Natural Mending Icon Natural MendingProvides incredible CDR to Exhilaration Icon Exhilaration and is a must-pick for survivability. If you are not using Exhilaration Icon Exhilaration very liberally, you can get away with dropping a point here for other utility.
Tar Trap Icon Tar TrapNot great, but it leads us on a path to better talents, as we need to get to the left side of the tree later on.
Survival of the Fittest Icon Survival of the FittestA strong defensive for both one-shots and powerful DoTs.
3.1.2.

Row 5-7

Tranquilizing Shot Icon Tranquilizing ShotUseful for many scenarios and leads us to better talents on the left side of the tree.
Nature's Endurance Icon Nature's EnduranceA must-pick, as it doubles the damage reduction of Survival of the Fittest Icon Survival of the Fittest.
Born To Be Wild Icon Born To Be WildA solid pick for lower Turtle and Cheetah cooldowns, making it strong for both survivability and mobility.
Improved Tranquilizing Shot Icon Improved Tranquilizing ShotA bit of an incentive to Tranquilizing Shot Icon Tranquilizing Shot when we can, and leads us nicely to the left side of the tree, which becomes important.
Intimidation Icon IntimidationHugely useful for add control in Mythic+ and some Raiding scenarios, but requires a pet which makes it useless.
Binding Shot Icon Binding Shot/Scatter Shot Icon Scatter ShotBoth viable options in this choice node are necessary to pick up other essential Talents. For most Mythic+, we recommend Binding Shot Icon Binding Shot, but Scatter Shot Icon Scatter Shot can be used as a single-target cast stopper, since we do not have Intimidation Icon Intimidation.
Rejuvenating Wind Icon Rejuvenating WindIncreases our maximum health and gives our Exhilaration Icon Exhilaration some extra power, which can be useful or weak depending on how liberal you are with Exhilaration Icon Exhilaration usage. This is mandatory for the maximum HP.
Camouflage Icon CamouflageUseful for skips and out-of-combat self-healing in Mythic+, but it has no use for Raiding.
Hunter's Avoidance Icon Hunter's AvoidanceA much-needed boost to our survivability on unavoidable mechanics.
Pathfinding Icon PathfindingA solid boost to movement speed, but you can drop a point here to pick up other utilities as needed.
3.1.3.

Row 8-10

Keen Eyesight Icon Keen EyesightA potent DPS increase and is a mandatory pick.
Master Marksman Icon Master MarksmanA substantial DPS increase and is a mandatory pick.
Serrated Shots Icon Serrated ShotsAffects Master Marksman Icon Master Marksman/Serpent Sting Icon Serpent Sting and is a potent DPS talent.
Arctic Bola Icon Arctic BolaA decent DPS increase for 1 point.
Steel Trap Icon Steel TrapAn unpopular, but potent pick for single-target.
Death Chakram Icon Death ChakramIntroduces a mini-cooldown to our rotation, enhancing our burst a little and focusing on amplifying other damage.
3.2.

Spec Talents

3.2.1.

Row 1-4

Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot and Crack Shot Icon Crack Shot Mandatory to get started with the build. There is not much to say about them.
Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire Another core ability of the spec.
Lone Wolf Icon Lone Wolf Requires us to not use a pet in all situations for optimal DPS, but is well worth it.
Streamline Icon Streamline A solid, passive DPS increase and leads us to multiple important talents.
Hunter's Knowledge Icon Hunter's Knowledge Has strong per-point DPS value for all situations.
3.2.2.

Row 5-7

Surging Shots Icon Surging Shots A huge DPS increase with the T31 Tier Set and also has some impact on the feel of the rotation.
Deathblow Icon Deathblow Turns Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot into a heavily featured button in the regular rotation. Not always used.
Focused Aim Icon Focused Aim Similar to Hunter's Knowledge Icon Hunter's Knowledge, providing a little more DPS per point.
Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot What enables our entire AoE kit and is mandatory when you need to AoE, even a little.
Razor Fragments Icon Razor Fragments Makes Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot a powerful cleave Talent, but is also powerful on single-target. Not always used.
Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots The second mandatory node for our AoE damage.
Volley Icon Volley A strong button in all situations, but especially on large amounts of AoE targets. It is worth using and pressing even in single-target situations and provides our single-target build with some on-demand AoE as well.
Tactical Reload Icon Tactical Reload Will give us more of our heavy-hitters, particularly in AoE situations.
Serpentstalker's Trickery Icon Serpentstalker's Trickery Pairs with Poison Injection Icon Poison Injection for a substantial DPS increase. Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot can be cycled between multiple targets to essentially multidot Serpent Sting Icon Serpent Sting this way.
3.2.3.

Row 8-10

Light Ammo Icon Light Ammo/Heavy Ammo Icon Heavy Ammo Used for specifically for 7+ target situations, and 4-target situations respectively. We replace Bulletstorm Icon Bulletstorm in these scenarios.
Trueshot Icon Trueshot Our main cooldown and mandatory, enabling our extremely powerful burst damage.
Lock and Load Icon Lock and Load Introduces a bit of powerful RNG to our rotation, but is a solid DPS increase.
Bullseye Icon Bullseye Enables amazing execute damage, especially paired with another talent talked about below.
Bulletstorm Icon Bulletstorm A strong AoE talent, but usually skipped for Light Ammo Icon Light Ammo. Highly target-count dependent.
Eagletalon's True Focus Icon Eagletalon's True Focus Enhances our Trueshot Icon Trueshot and improves our burst damage even further.
Wailing Arrow Icon Wailing Arrow Can be used for a DPS loss as an AoE silence. Useful in rare scenarios.
Legacy of the Windrunners Icon Legacy of the Windrunners Perhaps the most important talent of our tree, enabling high uptimes on Trueshot Icon Trueshot when paired with Windrunner's Guidance Icon Windrunner's Guidance below it.
Salvo Icon Salvo Can be macro'd to Volley Icon Volley for a massive, passive damage boost. The macro can be found in the Macros section of this guide.
Unerring Vision Icon Unerring Vision Enhances our burst by boosting our main cooldown. A must-pick in all situations.
Windrunner's Guidance Icon Windrunner's Guidance Enables higher uptimes on Trueshot Icon Trueshot when paired with Legacy of the Windrunners Icon Legacy of the Windrunners and is a must-pick.
3.3.

Mythic+

Depending on affixes and other variables, Mythic+ can require a mix of AoE and Single-Target talents. You should check out our page below if you want advice specific to Mythic+.

4.

Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter Talents

Some talents will require you to play in a particular way to get the most out of them. You can find more information on how your rotation will look after selecting your talents on our rotation page below.

5.

Best Pet for Marksmanship Hunter in Dragonflight

We have made a dedicated page for Hunter Pets information that we recommend you check out!

Note that most of the time, your best bet as Marksmanship is to not use a pet at all due to Lone Wolf Icon Lone Wolf, a must-pick talent.

6.

PvP Talents for Marksmanship Hunter in Dragonflight

War Mode offers several benefits for you in the open world.

  • PvP talents enabled in the outdoor world.
  • At least 10% increase in World Quest rewards at maximum level.
  • 10% more experience gained while leveling.
  • Earn Conquest Points, which can reward gear every week.

With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended to enable the feature to maximize your leveling and rewards at maximum level. However, you will be available for open-world PvP, and the possibility of being "ganked" while leveling or doing World Quests exists.

6.1.

PvP Talents (War Mode) for Marksmanship Hunter

In this section, we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of all PvP Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

6.2.

Best PvP Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

  1. Ranger's Finesse Icon Ranger's Finesse will give you far more Exhilaration Icon Exhilarations, saving you time and deaths in rough situations.
  2. Sniper Shot Icon Sniper Shot lets you attack mobs from farther away, saving time in the process.
  3. Hunting Pack Icon Hunting Pack is a valuable speed increase for leveling and open world content.

You can consider the other options essentially down to preference.

For details on how to play in Marksmanship Hunter PvP, please visit our Marksmanship Hunter PvP page.

7.

Changelog

  • 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 14 Feb. 2024: Updated the recommended default Mythic+ Talent Build.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 10.2.5
  • 04 Dec. 2023: Updated Talents for Mythic+.
  • 27 Nov. 2023: Updated Talents for Mythic+.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Restructured the page and updated for Patch 10.1.7
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 27 Jun. 2023: Additional Talent Change, and moved Steel Trap to be default for single-target.
  • 26 Jun. 2023: Updated the single-target build to account for new tuning.
  • 25 May 2023: Updated the recommended builds to assume the set bonus as default.
  • 19 May 2023: Updated the layout of the page and added an alternative, cooldown-less build.
  • 15 May 2023: Added note on Steel Trap and when you might want to use it.
  • 12 May 2023: Clarified talent changes for AoE as well as single-target with the 4PC Bonus.
  • 09 May 2023: Added note of how the build changes with the 4PC Set Bonus.
  • 08 May 2023: Updated the recommended single-target talent build to pick Steady Focus.
  • 04 May 2023: Updated the recommended AoE/M+ Talent Build. This is likely a temporary change, until the new Tier Set becomes more widespread.
  • 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
  • 21 Mar. 2023: Updated the talents for the 10.0.7 talent reshuffle.
  • 15 Feb. 2023: Updated the utility talents in the M+ Build.
  • 30 Jan. 2023: Small updates to talent swaps.
  • 25 Jan. 2023: Updated the Talent Builds again after the discovery of a sim bug. Added alternative to Steady Focus. Changed the "swap" talent for Wailing Arrow to Bullseye.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Updated the page for relevant changes in Patch 10.0.5.
  • 21 Jan. 2023: Fixed a wrong note about which talent to swap for Ammo Talents.
  • 17 Jan. 2023: Updated the recommended Single-Target Talent Build.
  • 23 Dec. 2022: Updated the recommended builds to reflect that Unerring Vision is fixed and worth using again.
  • 18 Dec. 2022: Updated the recommended talent builds to reflect that Unerring Vision is bugged.
  • 16 Dec. 2022: Added note that you do not need to use Serpent Sting manually with Hydra's Bite.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Updated the recommended single-target talent build in light of recent buffs.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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