Marksmanship Hunter DPS Gear and Best in Slot — The War Within Pre-Patch
On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Marksmanship Hunter in World of Warcraft The War Within Pre-Patch.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Marksmanship Hunter gear and best in slot.
BiS Gear Guide for Marksmanship Hunter
Welcome to our Gear and BiS Page for Marksmanship Hunter for Season 4. Check this page to learn everything you need to know about gearing a Marksmanship Hunter, including the BiS Gear from all sources, Raiding, and Mythic+, information on the best Trinkets, Tier Sets, and much more.
For discussion and information on Stats specifically, check out our Stats page below.
Best Gear To Spend Bullions On For Marksmanship Hunter in Season 4
Season 4 offers a way to target specific, powerful items with the new
Antique Bronze Bullion. Here are the best items to spend your Bullions
on in Dragonflight Season 4 as a Marksmanship Hunter
Neltharax, Enemy of the Sky — This weapon has a +7 iLvl advantage over all other weapons. Its passive effect does not hurt either.
- Next up are Trinkets. For Single-Target and most Mythic+:
Manic Grieftorch — Always optimal for single-target. Only gets better with party member deaths.
Augury of the Primal Flame — The Crit that this provides, and its Crit-based effect, is extremely strong for Marksmanship in the pre-patch.
- For Pure AoE, and perhaps heavy mob-dense Mythic+:
Neltharion's Call to Dominance — Boosts our
Trueshot cooldown and burst significantly.
Algeth'ar Puzzle Box — Pairs well with Dominance to buff our burst windows.
Seal of Diurna's Chosen — This Ring is not that special, but it is stronger than all other Rings, and very hotly contested. You might not want to spend a Bullion on this until you have a socket to put in it. Hunters can proc it via our
Tindral's Fowl Fantasia Head Enchant, and our
Completely Safe Rockets Weapon Enchant.
Voice of the Silent Star — Around ~0.7% better than all other Cloaks, but it has no Stamina. If you are doing high Mythic+ where survivability is paramount, you may want to skip this item entirely.
- At this point, consider
Seal of Filial Duty for the extra +7 iLvl (if you have a socket prepared) and the Absorb shield.
BiS Gear for Marksmanship Hunter
BiS List for Marksmanship Hunter
This list contains the highest DPS setup from most sources, for Marksmanship Hunter.
Slot | Item | Source/Note |
---|---|---|
Weapon | ![]() |
Raszageth, or spend 2 ![]() |
Helm | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Raszageth/Magmorax/Tindral |
Neck | ![]() ![]() |
Crafted by Jewelcrafting — See Crafted Section for more info. |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Broodkeeper Diurna/Echo of Neltharion/Smolderon |
Cloak | ![]() |
Sarkareth, or spend 2 ![]() |
Cloak (High Mythic+) | ![]() ![]() |
Crafted by Tailoring — See Crafted Section for more info. |
Chest | ![]() |
Gnarlroot |
Bracers (Raiding) | ![]() |
Crafted by Leatherworking — See Crafted Section for more info. |
Bracers (Mythic+) | ![]() ![]() |
Crafted by Leatherworking — See Crafted Section for more info. |
Gloves | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Dathea/Forgotten Experiments/Igira the Cruel |
Belt | ![]() |
Great Vault, or Uldaman (522) |
Legs | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Sennarth/Rashok/Larodar |
Boots | ![]() |
Great Vault, or Algeth'ar Academy (522) |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Eranog, or spend 2 ![]() |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #1 (Single-Target) | ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #2 (Single-Target) | ![]() |
Echo of Neltharion, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #1 (AoE) | ![]() |
Echo of Neltharion, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #2 (AoE) | ![]() |
Great Vault, or Algeth'ar Academy (522) |
Mythic+ Gear BiS List for Marksmanship Hunter
This list contains the highest DPS setup, with farmable gear from Mythic+ Dungeons. This is a great place to start on a relatively new character, as you can infinitely grind out these items from Mythic+.
Slot | Item | Source/Note |
---|---|---|
Weapon | ![]() |
Halls of Infusion |
Helm | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst any 522 Helm |
Neck | ![]() |
Brackenhide Hollow |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Broodkeeper Diurna/Echo of Neltharion/Smolderon |
Cloak | ![]() |
Neltharus |
Chest | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst any 522 Chest |
Bracers | ![]() |
Neltharus |
Gloves | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst any 522 Gloves |
Belt | ![]() |
Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr |
Legs | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst any 522 Legs |
Boots | ![]() |
Great Vault, or Algeth'ar Academy (522) |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Algeth'ar Academy |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Neltharus |
Trinket #1 | ![]() |
Neltharus |
Trinket #2 | ![]() |
The Nokhud Offensive |
Raid Gear BiS List for Marksmanship Hunter
This list contains the highest DPS setup, only using gear from the 3 Awakened Raids, Vault of the Incarnates, Aberrus, and Amirdrassil.
This list is mostly useful for informing your organized guild of what loot is optimal for you, for loot distribution purposes.
Slot | Item | Source/Note |
---|---|---|
Weapon | ![]() |
Raszageth, or spend 2 ![]() |
Helm | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Raszageth/Magmorax/Tindral |
Neck | ![]() |
Tindral |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Great Vault, or Algeth'ar Academy (522) |
Cloak | ![]() |
Sarkareth, or spend 2 ![]() |
Chest | ![]() |
Gnarlroot |
Bracers | ![]() |
Larodar |
Gloves | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Dathea/Forgotten Experiments/Igira the Cruel |
Belt | ![]() |
Magmorax |
Legs | ![]() |
Revival Catalyst, or Sennarth/Rashok/Larodar |
Boots | ![]() |
Forgotten Experiments |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Eranog, or spend 2 ![]() |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #1 (Single-Target) | ![]() |
Broodkeeper Diurna, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #2 (Single-Target) | ![]() |
Echo of Neltharion, or spend 2 ![]() |
Trinket #1 (AoE) | ![]() |
Echo of Neltharion, or spend 2 ![]() |
Best Gear Upgrades for Marksmanship Hunter
You will be able to upgrade your items via Crests such as
Aspect's Awakened Crest. Once you have upgraded a slot to a certain item
level, upgrading other items of that slot to that item level is free.
When you upgrade with Crests, you should think of it as upgrading slots and not items.
Additionally, since Crests are a limited resource, you will want to obtain the highest item-level possible before upgrading a given slot, as this means you will spend fewer Crests on that slot in total. If you are at all capable of doing a +9 Dungeon, for example, it would be a VERY bad idea to upgrade an item from a +8 Dungeon.
Below is the slot priority you should upgrade your items in.
- Weapons
- Trinkets
- Helm/Chest/Legs
- Shoulders/Gloves/Belt/Boots
- Rings and Necks
- Cloaks and Bracers
Note that exceptions are possible, such as special items that have more iLvl
scaling than their slot would imply. Think of things like
Voice of the Silent Star and
Seal of Diurna's Chosen.
"Simming" Yourself as a Marksmanship Hunter
Throughout this page, we will regularly refer to the importance of simming yourself on Raidbots, as it is an indispensable aspect of optimizing your character.
While we do offer generic sim charts for Trinkets, this should not be a replacement for simming yourself, at least not if you want to minmax sub-1%!
If you are new to simming and Raidbots, check out our detailed guide below.
Season 4 Tier Set for Marksmanship Hunter
The Tier Set is comprised of 5 items, all carrying the Stormwing Harrier's moniker. Unique DPS bonuses are unlocked when wearing 2, and 4 pieces from the set:
- 2 pieces:
Hunter Marksmanship 10.2 Class Set 2pc causes your
Rapid Fire to deal 20% more damage. Additionally, while
Trick Shots is up,
Rapid Fire will launch a
Volley on your target for 6 sec.
- 4 pieces:
Hunter Marksmanship 10.2 Class Set 4pc causes every 10 Focus you spend to have a 3% chance to reset the cooldown of
Rapid Fire, and to cause it to fire 100% additional shots during its channel.
The Tier Set Bonus is absolutely mandatory for competitive play, and you should prioritize obtaining it. You can use the Revival Catalyst to convert regular items (from Mythic+, for example) into Tier Items.
You only need 4 pieces out of 5 to get both set bonuses. We recommend you get all items except for the Chest, although even this does not particularly matter. Check out the BiS List for more information.
Best Crafted Items for Marksmanship Hunter
Best Crafted Items for Raiding for Marksmanship Hunter
This section focuses on Crafting for Raiding. The rankings differ because
some effects, like those on Adaptive Dracothyst Armguards, whch do not
proc as reliably in Mythic+.
Blue Silken Lining uptimes are also higher
in Mythic+ than in Raid, typically.
- Your first 2 Crafts should be getting your Embellishments sorted. The best
Embellishments for Raiding are the
Adaptive Dracothyst Armguards, and either
Blue Silken Lining (BSL). BSL can be crafted onto any item slot, and I generally recommend a
Torc of Passed Time for the stat customizability on a high-budget item.
- Once your Embellishments are sorted, you should chase raw Item Level on the biggest-budget items. What follows is a generic ranking of the highest-value items, to increase your Item Level with.
Signet of Titanic Insight and
Ring-Bound Hourglass are great early-gearing boosts, as they have a free socket each. They will eventually be replaced by special rings like
Seal of Diurna's Chosen/
Seal of Filial Duty, but until then, they are very hard to beat.
- From this point, I strongly recommend you sim yourself to work out future crafts.
Best Crafted Items for Mythic+ for Marksmanship Hunter
This section focuses on Crafting for Mythic+. Blue Silken Lining
generally has much higher uptimes in Mythic+ compared to Raiding, while
simultaneously, its competitors have relatively lower uptimes/efficiencies in
Mythic+.
- Your first 2 Crafts should be getting your Embellishments sorted. The best
Embellishment for Mythic+ is
Blue Silken Lining (BSL) in both of your Embellished slots. BSL can be crafted onto any item slot, and I generally recommend a
Torc of Passed Time to start with, followed by
Flame-Touched Cuffs.
- For Mythic+, the
Alchemical Flavor Pocket Embellishment can be a significant DPS increase, as Deaths are common in high keys. I recommend putting this on
Vibrant Wildercloth Shawl. Firstly, because the
Voice of the Silent Star Cloak means a large drop in Stamina, which is undesirable for high Mythic+, and secondly, because Cloaks lose the least DPS when dropping their item level.
- From this point, I strongly recommend you sim yourself to work out future crafts.
Best Trinkets for Marksmanship Hunter in Season 4
There are a number of strong options available for Marksmanship Hunter in Season 4 coming from a variety of different sources. Some relevant ones to look for in order of strength are:
Trinket | Note |
---|---|
![]() |
Gained a lot of value with the Crit-stacking of pre-patch. Excellent for single-target, particularly with player deaths. |
![]() |
Also stacks heavily with Crit (while providing tons of it as well). |
![]() |
Part of our old BiS pairing. Still immense for pure AoE, but is quite far behind for pure single-target, meaning you need an almost unrealistic amount of AoE to be using this, at least for Mythic+. |
![]() |
A good pairing for Dominance. |
Trinket Simulations for Marksmanship Hunter
These are generic simulations from Bloodmallet, giving you a rough overview of strong Marksmanship Hunter Trinkets. It is not a replacement for simming yourself, but can still offer a quick reference point.
Check out the BiS Lists if you just want to know the best Trinkets from M+ and Raid.
BiS Trinkets for Marksmanship Hunter
Best Raiding & Single-Target Trinkets for Marksmanship Hunter
Best Mythic+ & AoE Trinkets for Marksmanship Hunter
Changelog
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 24 Apr. 2024: Added section on how to upgrade your gear with Crests optimally.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 10.2.5
- 12 Dec. 2023: Added Ember of Nullification to Trinket discussion.
- 12 Nov. 2023: Updated formatting of the Crafting Section.
- 08 Nov. 2023: Updated with a special mention to the Allied Legguards for Raiding.
- 07 Nov. 2023: Updated for the Undulating Sporecloak nerf.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2
- 04 Sep. 2023: Restructured the page and updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 15 Jul. 2023: Updated the recommendation status of Traveler's Timesplitter again in light of recent nerfs.
- 12 Jul. 2023: Updated the recommendation status of the Traveler's Timesplitter Gun.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated with Dawn of the Infinite Items and Information, and made small changes to the BiS Lists.
- 25 May 2023: Further updates to Trinket Tier List in the light of recent nerfs.
- 24 May 2023: Updated the Matrix Restabilization Trinket's placement after sims were updated.
- 23 May 2023: Updated the Trinket Tier List, and added Trinkets from Cataclysm Timewalking.
- 12 May 2023: Updated the Trinket Tier List, specifically Naraxas' Spiked Tongue position.
- 09 May 2023: Updated the recommended Flightstone Upgrade order.
- 08 May 2023: Updated the Trinket Tier List and BiS List according to new item changes and tuning.
- 04 May 2023: Updated the BiS List, accounting for changes in tier stat allocation.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 23 Mar. 2023: Updated the Onyx Annulet description since a new Gem combination was discovered.
- 21 Mar. 2023: Updated the Onyx Annulet Information in light of the March 21st buff.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Updated the page for relevant changes in Patch 10.0.5.
- 08 Jan. 2023: Removed Engineering from the recommended Professions as it does not have the Combat Benefits to warrant its recommendation.
- 12 Dec. 2022: Updated the recommended Embellished Crafts and Embellishments to add to them.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated the Gear page with more specific information about how to think about Spark of Ingenuity.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Added a section that talks about the best Professions.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Hunter Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Azortharion, a Hunter Theorycrafter and Guidewriter since 2014 who is widely considered one of the best Hunters in the world. He is an accomplished player with hundreds of top parses for all Hunter specs throughout the game's history. He is also the Founder and Admin of Trueshot Lodge, the Hunter Class Discord. You can find him on his stream on Twitch and his channel on YouTube. He also has his own personal Discord server where you can freely ask him any Hunter questions you may have!
- World First Mythic Garrosh Solo in MoP Remix
- Druid Changes in the War Within Beta Build 55789
- Alysrazor Bugged in the War Within Pre-Patch
- The War Within Pre-Patch Early Mythic+ DPS, Tank and Healer Log Rankings
- The War Within and Season of Discovery Hotfixes, July 25th
- Game Time Incoming for Players on North American Realms
- Demon Hunter Changes in the War Within Beta Build 55789
- Molten Core Trash Mob Immunity Hotfix