Marksmanship Hunter DPS Spec, Builds, Talents, and Pet Talents — The War Within (11.0.7)

Dark Ranger is by far our strongest Hero Talent option for pure single-target scenarios, with Black Arrow alone able to contribute upwards of 35% of your single-target damage from just one button.

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

This build is competitive for single-target, but currently behind Dark Ranger by a few percent. It is somewhat easier to play, however, but not by much.

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 Dark Ranger recommendation for anything AoE-centric, like Mythic+, Delves, and so on. It does less damage in AoE scenarios compared to Sentinel, but has substantially more single-target and priority-target damage, on top of a better defensive kit via Smoke Screen.

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.

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

This build is what I recommend for Sentinel in Mythic+, Delves, and AoE-centric encounters. Compared to Dark Ranger, it has more AoE damage, but less single-target and priority-target damage. It is a bit easier to play, as well.

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!

This build grabs our AoE essentials like Multi-Shot, Trick Shots, and Volley for the smallest possible single-target DPS loss. This build is ideal for fights that have a primary, single target, as well as add spawns that need to be burst down quickly.

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

This build grabs our AoE essentials like Multi-Shot, Trick Shots, and Volley for the smallest possible single-target DPS loss. This build is ideal for fights that have a primary, single target, as well as add spawns that need to be burst down quickly.

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