Hunter Hero Talents — The War Within (11.2.5)

This page is specifically about Hero Talents in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents for Marksmanship Hunter, check out our Talents page:

Dark Ranger has by far the best single-target DPS and defensive kit of our two Hero Talents, and should be used for practically all raid encounters. For AoE, it is similar to Sentinel, but retains the better single-target, so we also prefer it for Mythic+.

Sentinel is far behind for single-target, but is a bit easier to play. Still, for most players, Dark Ranger will perform better, even relative novices.

Dark Ranger is our Hero Talent of choice for Mythic+. The two Hero Talents largely do identical AoE damage, but Dark Ranger has a huge single-target and priority target damage advantage, and a better defensive kit (when used properly!).

2.

Best Hero Talent Builds for Marksmanship Hunter

Dark Ranger Build — Single-Target Dark Ranger Build — Mythic+/AoE Sentinel Build — Single-Target Sentinel Build — Mythic+, Delves, Open-World

3.

Best Dark Ranger Single-Target Build for Marksmanship Hunter

Dark Ranger only changes between Ebon Bowstring and Phantom Pain for Single-Target vs AoE, the former being used for Single-Target.

3.

Best Dark Ranger AoE Build for Marksmanship Hunter

Dark Ranger only changes between Ebon Bowstring and Phantom Pain for Single-Target vs AoE, the latter being used for AoE and Mythic+.

3.

Best Single-Target Sentinel Build for Marksmanship Hunter

Sentinel is very straightforward to build. For single-target, we prefer Crescent Steel for the reliable execute damage boost.

3.

Best Mythic+ Sentinel Build for Marksmanship Hunter

Sentinel is very straightforward to build. For AoE/Mythic+/Delves and open-world content, we prefer Overwatch as it helps ensure that we get as many Sentinel ticks off as possible, particularly when mobs die in a staggered fashion.

Sentinel has no appreciable impact on your rotational priorities, it is a completely passive Hero Talent.

Dark Rangers replace Kill Shot with Black Arrow. For the most part, it occupies the same role in the rotation where you use the procs as they come. We typically run Headshot, but it only matters that all Black Arrows are used with Precise Shots on single-target. On AoE, Black Arrow will apply Trick Shots in place of Multi-Shot, though since we do not have infinite Black Arrow procs, we will still regularly have to Multi-Shot.