Marksmanship Hunter DPS Easy Mode — Shadowlands 9.1

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

Marksmanship is a relatively slow ranged spec with only a few fundamental mechanics that make it work well.

For a detailed explanation of all the abilities that Marksmanship Hunter has, check out our Spell Summary page.

The talents listed below are selected either for ease of use, or for more a more simple to understand gameplay style. Whilst in a number of cases there are alternatives on the tree that will provide more if played well, they create much more room to play incorrectly and reduce your performance. Due to this, treat this as a starting point and a primer.

You can find a more detailed guide on Talent choices that are designed for optimal DPS on our Talents page below.

• Level 15: Master Marksman
• Level 25: Careful Aim
• Level 30: Natural Mending or whatever suits your needs.
• Level 35: Streamline
• Level 40: Posthaste or whatever suits your needs.
• Level 45: Lethal Shots
• Level 50: Lock and Load

The general single-target stat priority for a Marksmanship Hunter is:

1. Mastery;
2. Critical Strike;
3. Versatility/Haste.

All the stats are very close in value, and item level should be the deciding factor in most gearing decisions. Do not overthink your secondary stats too much; the difference is nearly negligible.

For more information, please visit our dedicated page.

1. Activate Trueshot on cooldown. Try and use it together with Wild Spirits/ Resonating Arrow.
2. Use Kill Shot on cooldown. It is only available when the target is below 20% health.
3. Use Rapid Fire on cooldown.
4. Use Aimed Shot on cooldown. If Arcane Shot is glowing, do not use Aimed Shot yet.
5. Use Arcane Shot to spend Precise Shots. You can tell when you have Precise Shots stacks by the Arcane Shot icon glowing.
6. Use Arcane Shot to keep yourself from hitting 100 Focus. Try to stay below 60.
7. Use Steady Shot when you have nothing else to do.

When you get a Lock and Load proc, simply use Aimed Shot as you normally would, and remember to cast those Arcane Shots after it.

On our dedicated rotation page below, you can find a detailed rotation including cooldown usage and management.

No, Marksmanship Hunters do not use pets in almost any situation. You may choose to use a pet if you need it for Bloodlust/Heroism or survivability. In these rare cases, we recommend using a Ferocity pet.

The best Covenant for Marksmanship Hunters is Kyrian, with the Pelagos Soulbind for both Raiding and Mythic+.

Night Fae with Niya is also very competitive, and unless you are doing high-end competitive content, then you can choose either of these Covenants and be more than fine for all types of content.