Marksmanship Hunter DPS Easy Mode — The War Within (11.0.5)

This build is the highest possible pure single-target DPS build that we can access, leveraging the massively powerful single-target Wailing Arrow Talents.

Note that if you are not actually getting use out of the Sentinel Watch Hero Talent's cooldown reduction on Trueshot due to encounter timings, you should swap it to Eyes Closed for less frequent, but more powerful burst.

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

This build is my recommendation for anything AoE-centric, like Mythic+, Delves, and so on.

While I strongly recommend that you run the build exactly as listed, there are a few changes you could make to suit your personal preferences, though I cannot stress enough that significant deviations are likely to cost you significant performance. A lot of work went into every talent picked, combining simulations of single-target, pure AoE, and mixed dungeon simulation scenarios with a variety of pull sizes and durations.

• If you want Light Ammo for mob-dense dungeons with large pulls, swap out Hydra's Bite. This is worth considering for the more ambitious routes and pulls in The Necrotic Wake, The Stonevault, and Ara-Kara, City of Echoes.
• I include a wide variety of CC options, but if you find yourself not using Bursting Shot very much and would prefer to lean into your Binding Shot/ Implosive Trap combo, swap Bursting Shot for Tar-Coated Bindings. You can also swap Territorial Instincts.
• Some players like to sacrifice other talents in favor of Wailing Arrow-related Talents for more single-target. I do not recommend this, as while the single-target gains are substantial, the overall DPS lost is even bigger. Taking everything in an average dungeon into account, it is simply not worth it.
• If you really want to, you can play this build but with the Dark Ranger Hero Talent instead. This will perform significantly worse. You can find the best Hero Talent Tree build for Dark Ranger on our dedicated Hero Talents page. Simply combine those Hero Talents with this Marksmanship build, and you are good to go.

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

The goal of Marksmanship is simply to cast as many Aimed Shots and 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 as a spender and 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 off cooldown.
2. Use Volley on cooldown. Macro Salvo into Volley. This Talent is only picked in AoE builds.
3. Use Kill Shot on cooldown. In single-target builds, it will randomly proc due to the Deathblow Talent, so make sure to react to those procs! If you are a Dark Ranger, this becomes Black Arrow but is used in the same way.
4. Use Explosive Shot on cooldown.
5. Activate Trueshot on cooldown, or when it suits the situation.
6. Spend Precise Shot procs (which come from Aimed Shot) on Arcane Shot.
7. Use Aimed Shot. Do not ever let it reach 2 charges if you can help it. Your goal is to always keep it on cooldown. Note that it will sometimes turn into Wailing Arrow, which you treat normally. After Wailing Arrow, always cast Rapid Fire.
8. When you have more than 55 Focus and all of your abilities are on cooldown, spend excess Focus with Arcane Shot.
9. Use Steady Shot when you have nothing else to do, and you have less than 55 Focus.

There is only one extra thing you need to worry about for Marksmanship on AoE, and that is Trick Shots. This is a buff activated by Multi-Shot that causes your next Rapid Fire or Aimed Shot. It is extremely important to ensure this buff is active for all of your Aimed Shots and Rapid Fires. Note that Volley activates 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 for them!

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

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 is our most powerful defensive besides Turtle, a 30% damage reduction with 2 charges on a 1.5-minute cooldown each. Use it to reduce damage taken from hard-hitting mechanics. Optimal use of this ability entails using it proactively, before heavy incoming damage.

Fortitude of the Bear is an extra defensive that comes either from using a Tenacity Pet (more on that in the Pets section!), or the Lone Wolf talent. It increases max health by 20% and heals you for that amount too. This defensive can be used after heavy damage, or to survive things that might one-shot you.

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! It will also dispel all Poison and Disease effects from you.

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.