Marksmanship Hunter DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Viability of Specs
    • 3.1. Spec Viability in Practice, Strengths and Weaknesses
      • 3.1.1. Beast Mastery
      • 3.1.2. Marksmanship
      • 3.1.3. Survival
    • 3.2. What Is The Best Spec?
  • 4. Contents
  • 5. Changelog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Talent Choices of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Stat Choices of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 5. Basic Rotation
  • 6. Azerite Traits
  • 7. Changelog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resource of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Basic Abilities of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Movement Tools
  • 5. Important Procs and Passives of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 6. Offensive Cooldowns of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 7. Additional Utility & Traps of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 8. Pet Specializations
  • 9. Pet Families and Abilities
    • 9.1. Ferocity Pets
    • 9.2. Tenacity Pets
    • 9.3. Cunning Pets
    • 9.4. Exotic Pets (Beast Mastery-only)
  • 10. Changelog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Lone Wolf
  • 2. Marksmanship Hunter Talent Cheat Sheets
    • 2.1. For Raiding
    • 2.2. For Mythic+
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 10. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 10.1. Marksmanship Hunter War Mode Talents
      • 10.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 10.1.2. Marksmanship Hunter PvP Talents
  • 11. Pet Talents
  • 12. Changelog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Choosing Azerite Gear as a Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. Choosing Azerite Traits as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.1. Reorigination Array
    • 2.2. Outer Ring
    • 2.3. Middle Ring
    • 2.4. Inner Ring
  • 3. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes and Details for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Relative Strength of Azerite Traits for Marksmanship Hunter
    • 4.1. DPS Azerite Trait Ranking for Marksmanship Hunter
    • 4.2. Single-Target
    • 4.3. 3 Targets (Mythic+, etc)
  • 5. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 6. Changelog
• ×Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Important Abilities, Procs and The General Rotation of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. Marksmanship Hunter Single-Target Rotation
  • 3. Marksmanship Hunter "Machine Gun Hunter" Rotation (Steady Aim)
    • 3.1. Azerite Traits
  • 4. Multi-Target Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 5. Cooldown Usage for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 6. Opener Sequence for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 7. Talents and the Rotation
    • 7.1. Tier 1 Talents
    • 7.2. Tier 2 Talents
    • 7.3. Tier 4 Talents
    • 7.4. Tier 6 Talents
    • 7.5. Tier 7 Talents
  • 8. Changelog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Unique Challenges of Mythic+
  • 2. Marksmanship Hunter Mythic+ Build
    • 2.1. Level 15 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.2. Level 30 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.3. Level 45 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.4. Level 60 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.5. Level 75 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.6. Level 90 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.7. Level 100 Talents for Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Rotational Considerations for Marksmanship Hunter in Mythic+
    • 3.1. Trueshot
    • 3.2. A Murder of Crows
    • 3.3. Double Tap
  • 4. Key Abilities for Marksmanship Hunter in Mythic+
  • 5. Azerite Traits for Marksmanship Hunter in Mythic+
    • 5.1. The Best Traits
    • 5.2. Traits to Avoid
  • 6. Trinket Considerations for Marksmanship Hunter in Mythic+
  • 7. Changelog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Having High Downtime
  • 2. Overcapping Focus
  • 3. Not Knowing How To Sim Yourself
  • 4. Analyzing Your Mistakes as a Marksmanship Hunter
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions
    • 1.1. Is It Better To Use A Pet?
    • 1.2. What Pets Should I Use?
    • 1.3. What Piece is Better, X or Y?
    • 1.4. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?
  • 2. Changelog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Marksmanship in Uldir
    • 2.1. Talent Cheatsheet
  • 3. Taloc
    • 3.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on Taloc
    • 3.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on Taloc
  • 4. M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 4.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 4.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 5. Fetid Devourer
    • 5.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on Fetid Devourer
    • 5.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on Fetid Devourer
  • 6. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 6.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 6.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 7. Vectis
    • 7.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on Vectis
    • 7.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on Vectis
  • 8. Zul, Reborn
    • 8.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on Zul, Reborn
    • 8.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on Zul, Reborn
  • 9. Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 9.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 9.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 10. G'huun
    • 10.1. Suggested Talents for Marksmanship Hunter on G'huun
    • 10.2. Marksmanship Hunter Playstyle on G'huun
  • 11. Changelog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Marksmanship Hunter
    • 1.1. Single-Target Stat Priority
    • 1.2. Multi-Target Stat Priority
  • 2. How To Choose Gear For The Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.1. Statistics Explanations
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. Enchants for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Consumables for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Changelog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros for Marksmanship Hunter
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Hunters
      • 1.1.1. Aspect of the Turtle Cancelaura Macro
      • 1.1.2. Misdirection Mouseover/Focus Macro
      • 1.1.3. Trap Macros for Survival
      • 1.1.4. Petattack Macros
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Marksmanship Hunters
  • 2. Addons for Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Hunters
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.3. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.4. Details!
      • 2.1.5. GTFO
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Marksmanship Hunters
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. The Importance of "Simming Yourself" as a Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. Best Dungeons for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Stats
  • 4. Trinket Simulation for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 5. Changelog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Marksmanship Hunter Racial Bonus Simulation
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

On this page, we list your Marksmanship Hunter core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1. We also explain when to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing a Marksmanship Hunter.

The other pages of our Marksmanship Hunter guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Azortharion, the main theorycrafter of the spec for many years. He is an accomplished player with dozen of top parses for all specs throughout the game's history. He is also the Admin of Trueshot Lodge, the Hunter Class Discord, and you can watch his stream on Twitch.

1. Important Abilities, Procs and The General Rotation of Marksmanship Hunter

To play Marksmanship, there are a few basic mechanics you must understand to fully unlock the potential of the spec.

Precise Shots is a buff that is activated whenever you cast Aimed Shot. It causes your next 1-2 Arcane Shots after casting Aimed Shot to do 100% more damage. You do not want to waste this buff by casting Aimed Shot when you have it active. You always want to spend the charges first.

Trick Shots is the primary AoE mechanic. When you cast Multi-Shot on 3 targets or above, your next Aimed Shot will cleave up to 5 additional targets for 50% of its original damage or your next Rapid Fire will hit up to 2 additional targets for full damage. You simply want this buff to be active when casting Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire while dealing with more than 3 targets.

2. Marksmanship Hunter Single-Target Rotation

The Marksmanship rotation is focused on not wasting a few valuable resources: Aimed Shot charges, Precise Shots stacks, and time. "Time", in the sense that you always want to be casting something, with Steady Shot providing an active way of generating Focus. You never want to stop casting and gaps between casts should be minimized. The following is a priority list that describes how to play the Marksmanship rotation.

1. Cast Trueshot in accordance with the recommendations we have in the Cooldown Usage section further below.
2. Cast Arcane Shot to spend Precise Shots stacks. Try to cast them immediately after Aimed Shot.
3. Cast Aimed Shot when Lethal Shots is up, or when it is about to reach 2 charges.
4. Cast Rapid Fire when Lethal Shots is up, and Aimed Shot is not available. Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown if you have either Focused Fire or 2 traits of In The Rhythm.
5. Cast A Murder of Crows on cooldown.
6. Cast Aimed Shot when you have 70 Focus and you are not specced into Steady Focus. If you are specced into Steady Focus, ignore this step and wait until Step #2 is true. If you are not specced into either Steady Focus or Lethal Shots, simply cast Aimed Shot on cooldown.
7. Cast Arcane Shot when Lethal Shots is up, Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire are unavailable, you have 5 Steady Aim stacks (if you have this Trait) and you are near maximum Focus. This is almost never the case.
8. Cast Steady Shot to proc Lethal Shots, generate Steady Aim stacks and to generate Focus.

3. Marksmanship Hunter "Machine Gun Hunter" Rotation (Steady Aim)

"MGH" is a Marksmanship Hunter single-target rotation and build that revolves around and requires 2 traits of Steady Aim and the Steady Focus talent. If you have 2 Steady Aim traits, then you should use this build for single-target.

1. Cast Trueshot in accordance with the recommendations we have in the Cooldown Usage section further below.
2. Cast A Murder of Crows on cooldown.
3. Cast Arcane Shot to spend Precise Shots. Try to spend them immediately after Aimed Shot.
4. Cast Aimed Shot when Lethal Shots is up, or if you have 5 Steady Aim stacks and either Lock and Load is procced, or Aimed Shot is about to reach 2 charges.
5. Cast Steady Shot to try and get Lethal Shots procs that will allow you to cast Aimed Shot.

3.1. Azerite Traits

• With no traits, you should follow the single-target rotation above.
• With 2 Steady Aim traits, follow the MGH rotation.
• Focused Fire and In The Rhythm make Rapid Fire worth casting on cooldown in the standard single-target rotation, but not the MGH Rotation.

Beyond this, there are a few important rules to keep in mind when trying to play the spec optimally. Following these guidelines will also help make the spec feel easier when learning and practicing.

• Focus capping is a smaller concern than maximizing the amount of Lethal Shots procs that you get. This is why casting Steady Shot is better than casting unbuffed Arcane Shots if you are trying to proc Lethal Shots.
• It is not worth casting Rapid Fire unless Lethal Shots is active, and you are unable to use the proc with Aimed Shot. The exception is if you are not using the Lethal Shots talent at all, which makes it worth using Rapid Fire on cooldown. You also use Rapid Fire on cooldown if you have Focused Fire or In The Rhythm, but as mentioned above, Steady Aim cancels out those 2 traits.
• If you are using Double Tap, then you should always spend its proc on Rapid Fire.

4. Multi-Target Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter

Your general rotation is the same, but there are a few changes to keep in mind.

On 2 targets, you do not change your rotation at all.

On 3 targets and above, the following rules apply.

• Lethal Shots procs are best spent on Rapid Fire, but you should not sit on them for a long time in order to make this happen. You should also not delay Rapid Fire to line it up with a Lethal Shots proc. Half the time you will be forced to spend procs on Aimed Shot, and that is fine.
• You should always have your Trick Shots buff active before casting Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire, by casting Multi-Shot whenever there are 3 or more targets active.
• Multi-Shot completely replaces Arcane Shot. Arcane Shot might as well not exist when you are fighting 3 or more stacked enemies.
• You should always cast Rapid Fire on cooldown with Trick Shots active.
• Casting your AoE-focused talents such as Barrage and Explosive Shot is your highest priority.
• If you are using Double Tap, then you should always spend its proc on Rapid Fire.

5. Cooldown Usage for Marksmanship Hunter

Trueshot is your main cooldown. It instantly refunds 1 charge of Aimed Shot, and it increases your Haste by 30% for 15 seconds.

To conceptualize how to use Trueshot, we will list the different situations where it is best to use it in order of priority. In other words, it is best to use it with Bloodlust, but if that is not possible, you move on to the next line in the priority and so on.

1. More than anything, you want to use Trueshot as many times as possible. It is not worth waiting for the things below to be true, unless you are sure that you will not lose a cast because of it.
2. Use Trueshot when Bloodlust/ Heroism is up.
3. Use Trueshot when the boss is under 20% health (only with Careful Aim) and Lethal Shots is up.

You may have to break the rules above if you are using Trueshot for heavy AoE in Mythic+ or similar scenarios where burst damage on a certain target is more important than having a perfectly set up Trueshot.

6. Opener Sequence for Marksmanship Hunter

This section describes the recommended way to start the fight as a Marksmanship Hunter. It assumes you are using the recommended single-target talents for the spec.

1. Make sure to apply Hunter's Mark before the pull.
2. Just before the encounter starts, use your combat potion.
3. Start casting Aimed Shot roughly 2 seconds before the fight begins.
4. Cast A Murder of Crows.
5. Cast Steady Shot until Lethal Shots procs, or you reach 90 Focus, whichever comes first.
6. Spend your 1-2 stacks of Precise Shots on Arcane Shot.
7. Activate Trueshot.
8. Cast your second charge of Aimed Shot.
9. Cast Steady Shot until Lethal Shots procs, or you reach 90 Focus, whichever comes first.
10. Spend your 1-2 stacks of Precise Shots on Arcane Shot.
11. Cast your third Aimed Shot.
12. Cast Steady Shot until Lethal Shots procs, or you reach 90 Focus, whichever comes first.
13. Spend your 1-2 stacks of Precise Shots on Arcane Shot.
14. Proceed with your normal rotation.

7. Talents and the Rotation

7.1. Tier 1 Talents

Master Marksman does not change your rotation in any fundamental way. You should be aware of when it is up so that you know when your Arcane and Multi-Shot will not cost any Focus, as this helps manage your Focus correctly.

Serpent Sting is a DoT that should be kept up at all times. You can refresh it with 3 seconds remaining and not waste any of its duration.

A Murder of Crows should be cast on cooldown. You can get even more damage out of it by casting it on targets that are about 10 seconds from dying. When they die, this will reset the cooldown of the ability and allow you to use it again for a large damage boost.

7.2. Tier 2 Talents

Careful Aim does not change anything fundamental in your rotation, although you do want to try and use Trueshot when it is active.

Volley does not change anything in your rotation.

Explosive Shot should be used on as many targets as possible. If you are only fighting one target, it should be used on cooldown and delayed as little as possible. It has a lower priority than Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot. It is worth it to delay it significantly if you can hit multiple targets.

7.3. Tier 4 Talents

Steady Focus encourages casting Steady Shot in multiples that are grouped up together. Instead of going Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, you would always move the Arcane Shot either in front of or behind the two Steady Shots to ensure you benefit from the buff as much as possible.

Streamline essentially increases your Rapid Fire Focus regeneration by 3. This means that instead of 75 Focus being your cut-off for casting Rapid Fire, it should be 69 Focus instead. The same goes for all other Rapid Fire-related Focus breakpoints — you simply subtract 6 from all of them.

Hunter's Mark should be applied to the primary target you are fighting. It is on the Global Cooldown, meaning that if you are swapping targets, you must be doing a significant amount of damage to it before it is worth spending your Hunter's Mark on it. It is generally worth re-marking anything that you are going to attack for more than 15-20 seconds. This can also depend on how important the target is to kill.

7.4. Tier 6 Talents

Lethal Shots procs from Steady Shot every so often. It buffs Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire. In most cases, it is best to spend Lethal Shots procs on Aimed Shot. However, if you have the Focused Fire Azerite trait, then Rapid Fire becomes the better choice again.

Barrage should not be used on a single target if you have chosen the talent, unless you are in a situation where you need to burn a lot of Focus quickly for any reason. It should be used on cooldown if you are fighting 2 targets or above.

Double Tap should be used right before Rapid Fire, as it is by far the best ability to spend it on.

7.5. Tier 7 Talents

Calling the Shots does not have a fundamental effect on your rotation.

Lock and Load procs should be used as soon as possible, but you should always attempt to spend any Precise Shots procs that you have already before using the procced Aimed Shot.

Piercing Shot should be used on cooldown. It is worth delaying it if you can hit multiple targets with it however. If you can hit 2 targets, it is worth delaying up to 7 seconds to make that happen. If you can hit 3, it is worth delaying even more.

8. Changelog

• 19 Oct. 2018: Various updates.
  • Updated Trueshot criteria slightly.
  • Added note about Careful Aim affecting Trueshot usage.
  • Changed Trueshot's position and criteria in the opener.
• 17 Oct. 2018: Rotational updates.
  • Updated the rotations and split it into 2 builds.
  • Updated the Trueshot section vastly.
• 04 Oct. 2018: Rotational updates.
  • Added a note of Aimed Shot's high priority when it is about to reach 2 charges.
  • Added a clarifying note that Lethal Shots procs on AoE are best spent on Rapid Fire, but that will not always be possible.
• 28 Sep. 2018: Cut down the size of the rotation and altered the format.
• 30 Aug. 2018: Edited the rotation slightly, mostly for ease of understanding.
• 29 Aug. 2018: Added a rarely used line to the Lethal Shots rotation.
• 25 Aug. 2018: Updated the opener sequence to be easier to react to and execute.
• 24 Aug. 2018: Added Trueshot to the rotation priority list.
• 21 Aug. 2018: Added checklists to the rotation, to make it easier to distinguish between the playstyles of different talents.
• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated the Marksmanship Hunter rotation to be more clear on single-target priorities, and multi-target changes to the playstyle.
• 12 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth release.
• 07 Aug. 2018: Significant updates to the general playstyle with Lethal Shots, and updated the rotation with a new format.
• 23 Jul. 2018: Updated multi-target rotation.

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