Marksmanship Hunter DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Dragonflight 10.0.7

Last updated on Mar 20, 2023 at 14:16 by Azortharion 112 comments
General Information

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Marksmanship Hunter in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.0.7.

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

1.

Marksmanship Hunter Rotation for Dragonflight

Welcome to our Rotation page for Marksmanship Hunters. On this page you will find everything you need to know about actually playing the spec in Raiding and Mythic+ scenarios.

1.1.

Easy Mode

If the rotations below seem overwhelming to you, you might benefit from visiting our Easy Mode page which outlines a close-to-optimal rotation in simpler terms.

1.2.

PvP

The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvP Rotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.

Important Abilities, Procs and The General Rotation of Marksmanship Hunter

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

Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots is a buff that is activated whenever you cast Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot. It causes your next 1-2 Arcane Shot Icon Arcane Shots or Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shots after casting Aimed Shot to do 75% 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, provided that Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot is not going to reach 2 charges.

Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots is the primary AoE mechanic. When you cast Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot on 3 targets or above, your next Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire will cleave up to 5 additional targets for 55% of its original damage. You simply want this buff to be active when casting Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire while dealing with 3 or more targets.

2.

Dragonflight Tier Set Impact on Rotation

Our tier set has no impact on our rotation in any way. It will passively increase your damage in the background, and your priorities are the same.

2.1.

Talent Switch

Use the buttons below to select your talents to see how that changes the rotation. This affects both the single-target and multi-target rotation.

Note that we have automatically checked recommended talents from our single-target and AoE builds to save you some time. Feel free to experiment with the checkboxes to see how the rotation changes with and without certain talents.

Active Talents Passive Talents
Barrage Icon Barrage Bombardment Icon Bombardment
Chimaera Shot Icon Chimaera Shot Bulletstorm Icon Bulletstorm
Death Chakram Icon Death Chakram Careful Aim Icon Careful Aim
Salvo Icon Salvo Hydra's Bite Icon Hydra's Bite
Explosive Shot Icon Explosive Shot Poison Injection Icon Poison Injection
Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot Pouch of Razor Fragments Icon Pouch of Razor Fragments
Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots
Serpent Sting Icon Serpent Sting Serpentstalker's Trickery Icon Serpentstalker's Trickery
Stampede Icon Stampede Steady Focus Icon Steady Focus
Steel Trap Icon Steel Trap Streamline Icon Streamline
Trueshot Icon Trueshot Surging Shots Icon Surging Shots
Volley Icon Volley Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots
Wailing Arrow Icon Wailing Arrow
3.

Pre-Combat Checklist for Maximum DPS

4.

Best Dragonflight Marksmanship Hunter Single-Target Rotation

The single target rotation for a Marksmanship Hunter is based on the following priority system.

  1. Use Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot to apply and maintain the Steady Focus Icon Steady Focus buff. Refresh when it drops below 5 seconds and you would have cast one Steady Shot regardless, or apply it if it is down. Do not bother refreshing or applying during Trueshot Icon Trueshot.
  2. Cast Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot when it is available.
  3. Cast Steel Trap Icon Steel Trap on cooldown. Remember to throw it at your target's feet.
  4. Use Explosive Shot Icon Explosive Shot on cooldown.
  5. Use Death Chakram Icon Death Chakram on cooldown.
  6. Use Volley Icon Volley on cooldown. Macro Salvo Icon Salvo into it as well. You can find the Macro on our AddOns and Macros page.
  7. Use Trueshot Icon Trueshot, your main cooldown, as many times as possible during the fight. Save it for important add spawns and damage amplification phases.
  8. Use Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire on cooldown.
  9. Use Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot on cooldown at all times. You should always spend all of your Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots stacks first, provided that Aimed Shot is not about to reach 2 charges.
  10. Use Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot twice to refresh Steady Focus Icon Steady Focus if it drops below ~3 seconds.
  11. Use Arcane Shot Icon Arcane Shot to spend your Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots stacks or when you have over 55 Focus.
  12. Use Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot when you have nothing else to do, as a filler.
5.

Best Single-Target Opener for Marksmanship Hunter

This Opener assumes that you are using the recommended Single-Target Talents for Marksmanship Hunter, which you can find on our Talents page.

  1. Pre-cast Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot when there is 2.5 seconds left on the pulltimer.
  2. Throw your Steel Trap Icon Steel Trap on the enemy's feet.
  3. Cast Explosive Shot Icon Explosive Shot
  4. Cast 2x Steady Shot Icon Steady Shots
  5. Use Death Chakram Icon Death Chakram.
  6. Use Volley Icon Volley at your enemy's feet.
  7. Activate Trueshot Icon Trueshot
  8. Cast Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot
  9. Cast Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire
  10. Cast Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot
  11. Continue with your normal rotation, according to the priority list above. Remember to react if Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot becomes available due to Deathblow Icon Deathblow procs!
6.

Best AoE Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter

The AoE rotation is almost entirely similar to the single-target rotation. The main difference is that you want to activate Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots for every Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire that you do, including during Trueshot Icon Trueshot.

The AoE rotation for a Marksmanship Hunter is based on the following priority system.

  1. Use Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot to apply and maintain the Steady Focus Icon Steady Focus buff. Refresh when it drops below 8 seconds and you would have cast one Steady Shot regardless, or apply it if it is down. Do not bother refreshing or applying during Trueshot Icon Trueshot.
  2. Cast Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot when available to spend Pouch of Razor Fragments Icon Pouch of Razor Fragments procs.
  3. Use Explosive Shot Icon Explosive Shot on cooldown.
  4. Use Death Chakram Icon Death Chakram on cooldown.
  5. Use Volley Icon Volley on cooldown. Macro Salvo Icon Salvo into it as well. You can find the Macro on our AddOns and Macros page.
  6. Use Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire on cooldown. Make sure that Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots is active before casting it.
  7. Use Trueshot Icon Trueshot, your main cooldown, as many times as possible during the fight. Save it for important add spawns and damage amplification phases.
  8. Use Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot on cooldown at all times. You should always spend all of your Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots stacks first. The only exception is if Trueshot Icon Trueshot is active, where you ignore Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots. You should cycle it between multiple targets to spread the Serpent Sting Icon Serpent Sting DoT. Make sure that Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots is active before casting it.
  9. Cast Multi-Shot Icon Multi-Shot to apply Trick Shots Icon Trick Shots if it is down. You should also cast it to spend your Precise Shots Icon Precise Shots stacks and you should also cast it if you have 10 stacks of Bulletstorm.
  10. Cast Steel Trap Icon Steel Trap on cooldown. Remember to throw it at your target's feet.
  11. Use Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot when you have nothing else to do, as a filler.
7.

Best Dragonflight AoE Opener for Marksmanship Hunter

This Opener assumes that you are using the recommended Mythic+/AoE Talents for Marksmanship Hunter, which you can find on our Talents page.

  1. Pre-cast Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot when there is 1.75 seconds left on the pulltimer.
  2. Cast a second Steady Shot Icon Steady Shot to activate Steady Focus Icon Steady Focus.
  3. Throw your Steel Trap Icon Steel Trap on the enemy's feet.
  4. Cast Explosive Shot Icon Explosive Shot.
  5. Use Death Chakram Icon Death Chakram.
  6. Use Volley Icon Volley at your enemy's feet.
  7. Activate Trueshot Icon Trueshot
  8. Cast Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot
  9. Cast Rapid Fire Icon Rapid Fire
  10. Cast Aimed Shot Icon Aimed Shot
  11. Continue with your normal rotation, according to the priority list above. Remember to react if Kill Shot Icon Kill Shot becomes available due to Deathblow Icon Deathblow procs!
8.

Marksmanship Hunter Tips and Tricks for Mythic+

For information about Mythic+ as a Marksmanship Hunter, please refer to our Mythic+ page.

9.

Best WeakAuras for Marksmanship Hunters in Dragonflight

WeakAuras can have a tremendously positive effect on your performance. Since this is a broad topic, we made a page dedicated to it.

10.

Rotation Help for Marksmanship Hunter

Thanks for reading my Rotation Guide for Marksmanship Hunter. If you have any questions about it that you would like to ask me directly, feel free to drop into my Discord Server and drop me (Azortharion) a ping at any time.

11.

Changelog

  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 26 Jan. 2023: Added Salvo to the rotation and referenced the macro for it.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Updated the page for relevant changes in Patch 10.0.5.
  • 21 Jan. 2023: Small opener fix concerning Explosive Shot.
  • 12 Dec. 2022: Rotational fix concerning Bulletstorm in AoE.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Updated the recommended opener, and Double Tap usage on Rapid Fire.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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