Marksmanship Hunter DPS Easy Mode — Dragonflight 10.2.5

Last updated on Feb 14, 2024 at 15:34 by Azortharion 126 comments
General Information

On this page, we explain how to easily play Marksmanship Hunter in World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2.5, using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.

1.

Foreword

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.

2.

The Basics of Marksmanship Hunter in Dragonflight

Marksmanship is perfect for those who enjoy the sniper playstyle, with a longer range than most specs, and tons of bursty AoE damage.

If you are completely new to Marksmanship and need more information on the abilities available to you, you can check out our Spell Summary page.

3.

Beginner's Guide to Marksmanship Hunter in Dragonflight

Single-Target Talents Mythic+/AoE Talents Basic Rotation Defensive Spells
4.

Beginner 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!

4.

Beginner AoE Talents for Marksmanship Hunter

This is our recommended build for AoE scenarios. This works well for AoE Fights in Raids, as well as most Mythic+.

For extremely heavy AoE scenarios and Mythic+ dungeons, swap Bulletstorm Icon Bulletstorm for Light Ammo Icon Light Ammo. The same goes for Heavy Ammo Icon Heavy Ammo, but almost no dungeons have small pulls enough to justify this.

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

4.

Beginner Marksmanship Hunter DPS Rotation

The goal of Marksmanship is simply to cast as many Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shots and Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fires as possible. To do this, you need to cast them on cooldown. Aimed Shot costs 35 Focus, while Rapid Fire generates it. Aside from this, you will need to regulate your Focus, making sure never to cap it, by using Arcane Shot Icon Arcane Shot as a spender and Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot as a builder.

The basic rotation of Marksmanship is best summarized as a priority system. On every global, you simply want to cast the highest priority spell, if its condition is met:

  1. Above all, cast Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire off cooldown.
  2. Use Volley Icon Volley on cooldown. Macro Salvo Icon Salvo into it.
  3. Use Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot on cooldown. It will randomly proc due to the Deathblow Icon Deathblow Talent, so make sure to react to those procs!
  4. Use Explosive Shot Icon Explosive Shot on cooldown, if chosen.
  5. Use Death Chakram Icon Death Chakram on cooldown.
  6. Activate Trueshot Icon Trueshot on cooldown, or when it suits the situation.
  7. Spend Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots procs (which come from Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot) on Arcane Shot Icon Arcane Shot on single-target, or Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot for 3 targets and above.
  8. Use Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot. Do not ever let it reach 2 charges if you can help it. Your goal is to always keep it on cooldown.
  9. When you have more than 55 Focus and all of your abilities are on cooldown, spend excess Focus with Arcane Shot Icon Arcane Shot.
  10. Use Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot when you have nothing else to do, and you have less than 55 Focus.
5.

AoE Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter

There is only one extra thing you need to worry about for Marksmanship on AoE, and that is Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots. This is a buff activated by Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot that causes your next Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire or Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot. It is extremely important to ensure this buff is active for all of your Aimed Shots and Rapid Fires. Note that Volley Icon Volley activates Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots for 6 continuous seconds. This means that in a "Volley Window", you can fit 3 or even 4 AoE'ing spells without having to activate Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot for them!

6.

Defensive Spells for Marksmanship Hunter

Exhilaration Icon Exhilaration is your primary self-heal and it has a rather short cooldown thanks to the Natural Mending Icon Natural Mending Talent. Use this when you drop below 50% HP to help out your Healer!

Aspect of the Turtle Icon Aspect of the Turtle is your immunity. It can be used to completely negate the damage and effects of most spells targeted on you. Use it if you are assigned to, or in a pinch if you worry that an upcoming mechanic will kill you!

Survival of the Fittest Icon Survival of the Fittest is our most powerful defensive besides Turtle, a 40% damage reduction thanks to Nature's Endurance Icon Nature's Endurance. Use it to reduce damage taken from hard-hitting mechanics. Remember that this ability is only good if you use it before heavy damage! Do not use it in a panic after taking a lot of damage.

Feign Death Icon Feign Death is a very unique Hunter ability. It can be used to drop aggro and combat, and it can also be used to stop casts on you — mobs will usually stop casting mid-cast if you appear to be dead!

This is just some of the key utility of Marksmanship Hunter. We highly recommend checking out the fully detailed Spell Glossary page below to see everything explained in detail.

7.

Best Talents for Marksmanship Hunter in Dragonflight

This is the Easy Mode page which presents things in a simplified manner with simplified builds. For our detailed, fully-fledged Talent and Rotation guides, click below!

8.

Stat Priority for Marksmanship Hunter in Dragonflight

The general stat priority for a Marksmanship Hunter is:

  1. Haste, to around 30%;
  2. Critical Strike, to around 44%;
  3. Mastery;
  4. Versatility;
  5. More Crit and Haste.

All Stats are close to equal for Marksmanship, and even Versatility can compete with the other three depending on your exact amounts. Item Level and Agility really are king for Marksmanship.

While the stat priority for classes is normally the same for both the Easy Mode page and our full guide, subtle differences can still occur. If you want to see the full explanation of the stat priority, as well as the absolute top choices for the priority, head to our full stats page below.

9.

Changelog

  • 14 Feb. 2024: Updated the recommended default Mythic+ Talent Build.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 10.2.5
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 27 Jun. 2023: Updated the Talent Builds.
  • 04 May 2023: Updated the recommended AoE Talent Build. This is likely a temporary change, until the new Tier Set becomes more widespread.
  • 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Updated the page for relevant changes in Patch 10.0.5.
  • 17 Jan. 2023: Updated the recommended Single-Target Talent Build.
  • 23 Dec. 2022: Talent updates.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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