Marksmanship Hunter DPS Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. What Has Changed in 7.3.2 for Marksmanship Hunter?
    • 2.1. Set Bonus Simulation
  • 3. How Does Marksmanship Hunter Work?
  • 4. Viability of Spec Choices in Antorus
    • 4.1. T19 915 Gear | T20 - 930 Gear | T21 - 960 Gear
    • 4.2. Raiding — Single-Target Focus with AoE as a secondary objective.
    • 4.3. Mythic+ — AoE Focus with single-target as a secondary objective.
  • 5. Strengths
  • 6. Weaknesses
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. Talent Choices of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Stat Choices of Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Basic Rotation
  • 5. 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. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Marksmanship Hunter Talent Cheat Sheets
    • 1.1. For Raiding
    • 1.2. For Mythic+ (With )
    • 1.3. For Mythic+ (No )
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 9. Pet Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Marksmanship Hunter
    • 1.1. Early Progression
    • 1.2. Patch 7.2 Artifact Progression
  • 2. Marksmanship Hunter Artifact Ability
  • 3. Weapon Item Level Value of Marksmanship Hunter Relic Traits
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. Tier 2 — Weapon Item Level Values for Each Marksmanship Hunter Trait
  • 3. Tier 3 — Weapon Item Level Values for Each Marksmanship Hunter Trait
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Important Abilities, Procs and The General Rotation of Marksmanship Hunter
    • 1.1. The Simple Version
    • 1.2. The "Proper" Version — Vulnerable Cycles
      • 1.2.1. Standard Rotation
    • 1.3. Set Bonuses, Rotational Pointers and More
      • 1.3.1. Vulnerable WeakAura
      • 1.3.2. Rotation Example Video
  • 2. Opener Sequence for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Multiple Target Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 4. Short Guide to using Sidewinders as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 4.1. Trinket Usage
    • 4.2. Focus
    • 4.3. Auto-shots and Special Shots
    • 4.4. Positioning when using Sidewinders
  • 5. Talents and the Rotation
    • 5.1. Tier 1 Talents
    • 5.2. Tier 2 Talents
    • 5.3. Tier 4 Talents
    • 5.4. Tier 6 Talents
    • 5.5. Tier 7 Talents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Having High Downtime
  • 2. Overcapping Focus
  • 3. Not Saving A Murder of Crows for Execute
  • 4. Aimed Shot Casts Outside Vulnerable
  • 5. Not Casting Windburst Enough
  • 6. Not Knowing How To Sim Yourself
  • 7. Analyzing Your Mistakes as a Marksmanship Hunter
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Antorus, the Burning Throne as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 1.1. Garothi Worldbreaker
      • 1.1.1. Talents
    • 1.2. Felhounds of Sargeras
      • 1.2.1. Talents
    • 1.3. Antoran High Command
      • 1.3.1. Talents
    • 1.4. Portal Keeper Hasabel
      • 1.4.1. Talents
    • 1.5. Eonar the Life-Binder
      • 1.5.1. Talents
    • 1.6. Imonar the Soulhunter
      • 1.6.1. Talents
    • 1.7. Kin'garoth
      • 1.7.1. Talents
    • 1.8. Varimathras
      • 1.8.1. Talents
    • 1.9. The Coven of Shivarra
      • 1.9.1. Talents
    • 1.10. Aggramar
      • 1.10.1. Talents
    • 1.11. Argus the Unmaker
      • 1.11.1. Talents
  • 2. (Old) Tomb of Sargeras as a Marksmanship Hunter
    • 2.1. Goroth
      • 2.1.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.2. The Demonic Inquisition
      • 2.2.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.3. Harjatan
      • 2.3.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.4. Sisters of the Moon
      • 2.4.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.5. Mistress Sassz'ine
      • 2.5.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
      • 2.5.2. Single-Target
      • 2.5.3. Cleave Focus
    • 2.6. The Desolate Host
      • 2.6.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.7. Maiden of Vigilance
      • 2.7.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.8. Fallen Avatar
      • 2.8.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.9. Kil'jaeden
      • 2.9.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
      • 2.9.2. Mythic-only Sidewinders Build
      • 2.9.3. Other Difficulties
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics of Marksmanship Hunter Stats
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Marksmanship Hunter Stats
    • 2.1. Choosing Gear
    • 2.2. Stat Softcaps, Distributions & Other Clarifications
    • 2.3. 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 for Marksmanship/Beast Mastery
      • 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
      • 2.1.6. Pawn
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Marksmanship Hunters
  • 3. ChangeLog
• ×Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Antorus Best in Slot List for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 2. The Importance of "Simming Yourself" as a Marksmanship Hunter
  • 3. Stats
  • 4. Trinket DPS Rankings
  • 5. Set Bonuses and Their Worth
  • 6. Legion Hunter Legendaries
    • 6.1. Marksmanship Hunter Legendaries
      • 6.1.1. Marksmanship - Best in Slot
  • 7. Loot Competition
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Marksmanship Hunter Racial Bonus Simulation
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Battle for Azeroth
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. Basic Mechanics Changes for Marksmanship Hunter in BfA
    • 2.1. Lone Wolf Bonus
  • 3. Baseline Abilities & Changes for Marksmanship Hunter in BfA
  • 4. The BfA Marksmanship Hunter Talent Tree
    • 4.1. Level 15
    • 4.2. Level 30
    • 4.3. Level 45
    • 4.4. Level 60
    • 4.5. Level 75
    • 4.6. Level 90
    • 4.7. Level 100
  • 5. Azerite Traits for Marksmanship Hunter
  • 6. The Base Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter in BfA
    • 6.1. Multi-Target Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter in BfA
  • 7. Pet Families and Special Abilities for Marksmanship Hunter in BfA
    • 7.1. Ferocity Pets
    • 7.2. Tenacity Pets
    • 7.3. Cunning Pets
    • 7.4. Exotic Pets (Beast Mastery-only)
  • 8. ChangeLog

General Information

This page is a gear reference for Marksmanship Hunters. It lists your best items and Legendaries, gives you gearing advice, and shows you how you will be competing for loot with other classes.

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. He is also an accomplished player who raids in Solaris. You can also watch his stream on Twitch.

1. Antorus Best in Slot List for Marksmanship Hunter

Bear in mind that all of this is subject to change based on Warforging and Titanforging happening on gear, so this is absolutely a guideline and not a rule. Note that it is also just dealing with gear from raid environments, so this could change if you are spending a large amount of time in Mythic+ and gaining different, rarer pieces.

The Pantheon trinkets are better than all other trinkets and are considered BiS, but you can only wear one of them. We also list the best non-Pantheon trinket choices, so you know what to go for if you have not gotten ahold of a Pantheon trinket yet.

All items drop from bosses in Antorus unless otherwise noted.

Slot	Item	Source
Helm	Serpentstalker Helmet	Aggramar
Neck	Chain of the Unmaker	Argus the Unmaker
Shoulders	Serpentstalker Mantle	The Coven of Shivarra
Cloak	Wildstalker Cape	The Desolate Host (Tomb of Sargeras)
Chest	Wildstalker Chestguard	Maiden of Vigilance (Tomb of Sargeras)
Wrists	Wristguards of Ominous Forging	BoE Trash Drop from Antorus, the Burning Throne.
Gloves	Serpentstalker Grips	Kin'garoth
Belt	Depraved Tactician's Waistguard	Antoran High Command
Legs	Serpentstalker Legguards	Imonar the Soulhunter
Boots	Ullr's Feather Snowshoes, otherwise Greatboots of the Searing Tempest	Legendary Boots, otherwise boots from Aggramar
Ring #1	Soul of the Huntmaster, otherwise Sullied Seal of the Pantheon.	Legendary Class Ring, otherwise ring from Argus the Unmaker
Ring #2	Band of the Sargerite Smith or Loop of the Life-Binder depending on stat needs.	Kin'garoth and Eonar the Life-Binder
Trinket #1 (Pantheon, best choice)	Aman'Thul's Vision, or Golganneth's Vitality. The latter is generally worse.	Rare Argus the Unmaker Personal Loot Drop
Trinket #1 (Non-Pantheon)	Shadow-Singed Fang	Felhounds of Sargeras
Trinket #2	Unstable Arcanocrystal (910+)	Relinquished Trinket Random Drop (650x Veiled Argunite per Token)
Storm Relic	Conch of the Thunderer ( Marked for Death, extra item level)	Argus the Unmaker
Blood Relic	Cruor of the Avenger ( Deadly Aim, extra item level)	Argus the Unmaker
Life Relic	Fraternal Fervor ( Unerring Arrows)	Felhounds of Sargeras

2. The Importance of "Simming Yourself" as a Marksmanship Hunter

At this stage in the game, there are so many variables and so many layers of optimization that you can apply to your character, that there is no way for a guide or anything else to tell you exactly what gear you should wear. This is why we always recommend simulating your own character using RaidBots.com. The website can help you choose set bonuses, relics, trinkets, Legendaries and combinations thereof in a way that is tailored completely to your specific character. Learning to use this tool is essential to maximizing your potential, as there is simply no other way to take all the variables into account.

3. Stats

Many people have a tendency to overthink the distribution of their secondary stats. An important thing to remember is that a higher quantity of stats is nearly always better than a better quality of stats. Because of this, wearing higher item level gear with worse stats tends to be better than lower item level gear with great stats. Keep this in mind when considering gear.

4. Trinket DPS Rankings

Right-click the image and open in a new tab, or access the sheet directly with the link below to see it in full.

This trinket simulation spreadsheet is inherited from this spreadsheet, where you can also see the underlying data. Note that sometimes the spreadsheet on this link may be slightly broken as it is tinkered with by me. The screenshot above reflects the most recent, up-to-date version of the trinket sim.

Keep in mind that you should be simming yourself for trinket choices, and that sometimes the best choice for yourself may differ slightly from the sim above. You should always prioritize your own sims over this trinket sim, because your own sims will be based specifically on your gear, while the sim above uses a generic set of gear for the current tier and may not always reflect what you are wearing.

5. Set Bonuses and Their Worth

In Antorus, we will have 2 potentially viable set bonuses to use, both from the Tomb of Sargeras and from Antorus. Generally speaking, we will not be replacing Mythic T20 gear for single-target unless you have a full set of Mythic T21 gear. This is because the T21 set bonuses are generally weaker than the T20 one, so you need a certain amount of item level difference to make up for this gap. On AoE-centric fights, we recommend always using the T21 4-piece if you have it available, as this is its biggest strength. The Nighthold T19 bonuses are still decent if you have them, especially for Mythic+ or AoE fights where you can leverage the extra Trueshots of the T19 2-piece especially.

6. Legion Hunter Legendaries

This is a comprehensive list of the non-spec specific legendaries that are available to Hunters in Legion. Legendaries can drop from daily loot chests, the Class Order Hall Mythic+ loot chest, the PvP loot chest, 5-man dungeons of all kinds, world bosses, and raid bosses from all difficulties. The spec-specific Legendaries will be listed under their respective class guide.

The Shadow Hunter's Voodoo Mask is a Legendary helmet which heals you for 20% of your maximum health whenever you use Feign Death, as well as an additional 5% of your health every second for 10 seconds for as long as you remain feigned. This can be an extremely useful self-heal when needed during raid encounters and Mythic+ encounters.

Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus is a Legendary necklace which gives you an absorb shield for 25% of your maximum health for 30 seconds, every 30 seconds. This makes it the strongest survivability legendary, especially since you will passively benefit from it. From a progression raiding standpoint where damage output is often not the primary concern, it is an incredibly strong legendary from a survivability standpoint, and it gives a lot of secondary stats which is a significant boost to DPS as well.

Roots of Shaladrassil is a pair of Legendary leggings that cause you to gain 3% health every second for as long as you stand still. The first heal occurs 1 second after you stop moving. This is the weakest survivability legendary, since the healing done does not add up to nearly as much damage prevented as Prydaz does, although the high item level of a high-budget item like legs makes it decent as far as non-DPS legendaries go.

Sephuz's Secret is a Legendary ring that gives you 70% increased movement speed and 15% Haste for 10 seconds whenever you apply a crowd control effect (stun, roots, silenced and so on) to non-boss enemies. It also increases movement speed by 10% and Haste by 2% passively. It can act as a damage and mobility boost on add-heavy encounters where you have to slow enemies, and it is a decent legendary for most Mythic+ dungeons.

Kil'jaeden's Burning Wish is a Legendary trinket that gives you a ton of stats passively, and has an on-use proc with a 1:15 minute cooldown that deals heavy, critical AoE damage around the target it hits. This is a powerful burst AoE legendary, and its heavy base stats makes it very powerful in general. Because it always crits, it has good synergy with Marksmanship's Trueshot cooldown, which increases critical strike damage by 50%, and it should be used together with Trueshot as often as possible.

6.1. Marksmanship Hunter Legendaries

Soul of the Huntmaster is a Legendary ring that gives you the Lock and Load talent without having to choose it, meaning the value of its effects is the same as the value of this talent, which is very high.

Celerity of the Windrunners is a Legendary cloak that causes Windburst to give 15% increased Haste for 6 seconds.

Magnetized Blasting Cap Launcher is a pair of Legendary bracers that increase the damage done by Bursting Shot by 800%, and increases its range by 30 yards. This elevates Bursting Shot to being used in your rotation at all times when Vulnerable is not active, instead of only being used as a crowd control ability. It makes Bursting Shot very susceptible to ninjapulling in dungeons.

War Belt of the Sentinel Army causes each enemy hit by Multi-Shot and Sidewinders to increase the damage done by the next Aimed Shot by 10%, stacking up to 20 times.

MKII Gyroscopic Stabilizer is a pair of Legendary gloves for Marksmanship. It causes every second Aimed Shot to have a 15% increased crit chance, and also be castable while moving.

Ullr's Feather Snowshoes are Legendary boots that reduce the cooldown of Trueshot by 0.8 second each time you cast Arcane Shot, Multi-Shot, Marked Shot and Aimed Shot. On average, these boots will reduce the cooldown of Trueshot by ~45-55 seconds. This makes them the best all-rounder legendary as a general statement, and the most desirable legendary for Marksmanship due to its versatility.

Zevrim's Hunger is a Legendary ring that gives Marked Shot a 15% chance to not consume Hunter's Mark, allowing you to cast them back-to-back.

6.1.1. Marksmanship - Best in Slot

Single Target:

• Soul of the Huntmaster
• Ullr's Feather Snowshoes
• MKII Gyroscopic Stabilizer (T20 + T21 set bonuses are not available, as the Gloves take up a tier slot)

Multiple Targets:

• Ullr's Feather Snowshoes
• War Belt of the Sentinel Army
• Zevrim's Hunger is decent with the T21 4p if you do not have the belt.

Honorable Mentions:

• Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus for very good stats and an excellent survivability effect. It can rival Boots for a BiS slot in certain situations where you do not need the cooldown reduction.
• Insignia of the Grand Army can be a candidate for BiS legendary if you have very good Tier 2 Traits in your Netherlight Crucible, or if your item level is on the lower side.

7. Loot Competition

Regarding the loot you will get from raid or dungeon bosses, you will compete with other classes in the following cases:

Item Type	Competing Classes
Tier Tokens	Beast Mastery/Survival Hunters, Monks, Shamans, and Warriors
Mail Armor	Beast Mastery/Survival Hunters and Shamans
Amulets Cloaks Rings	Everyone
Trinkets	Havoc Demon Hunters, Feral Druids, Windwalker Monks Beast Mastery/Survival Hunters, Rogues, and Enhancement Shamans

8. ChangeLog

• 17 Jan. 2018: Added note about simming and stats.
• 28 Dec. 2017: Updated MM BiS trinket to Shadow-Singed Fang, as it is roughly equivalent to the Owl on single-target, but much better on AoE.
• 05 Dec. 2017: Updated trinket sims.
• 05 Dec. 2017: Updated BiS list to take into account the T21 set bonus buff.
• 02 Dec. 2017: Added Zevrim's to the AoE Legendaries, noting its usefulness when the Belt isn't available and with the T21 4piece.
• 01 Dec. 2017: Updated BiS bracers to be the BoE ones from Antorus.
• 27 Nov. 2017: Added small paragraph about tier gear decisions in Antorus.
• 26 Nov. 2017: Updated the Best in Slot list for Antorus.
• 22 Nov. 2017: Updated trinket rankings.
• 19 Nov. 2017: Updated trinket sims to include Antorus trinkets. It is based on a T20 4p + T21 2p build.
• 07 Oct. 2017: Focus on BiS legendaries in the ranking and simplify it greatly.
• 19 Sep. 2017: Swapped a Best in Slot Storm relic for the Mistress one, though the difference between this and the Goroth one is negligible.
• 05 Sep. 2017: Updated trinket simulations.
• 02 Aug. 2017: Updated BiS list to prefer Terror from Below instead of Engine of Eradication, in large part due to the movement penalty of Engine. Added note about Terror's ability to deal damage to the player.
• 28 Jul. 2017: Updated trinket sims.
• 13 Jul. 2017: Removed a mention of the Legendary gloves being "new". Added caveat about Engine's value in reality vs sims.
• 25 Jun. 2017: Updated trinket simulation as some trinkets - Tarnished Sentinel Medallion most notably - received tuning changes.
• 17 Jun. 2017: Updated trinket simulations for 7.2.5. Updated Best in Slot list for the Tomb of Sargeras raid.
• 15 Jun. 2017: Fixed wording on the gloves, as the boots are not BiS single-target anymore.
• 13 Jun. 2017: Added new Legendaries. Updated simulation. Removed "Trinket to look for section" and other sections that are now invalidated or no longer useful, to pave the path for something new in Tomb of Sargeras. Added note about Ullr's boots still being best for single-target with the T19 2-piece.
• 17 May 2017: Updated Legendary ranking to be in a tiered system.
• 17 Apr. 2017: Trinket sim updated.
• 27 Mar. 2017: No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 17 Mar. 2017: The trinket spreadsheet now also has legendary sims in it.
• 17 Feb. 2017: Trinket sims update.
• 25 Feb. 2017: Updated legendary items and trinkets.
• 18 Feb. 2017: Added more information on legendary belt.
• 14 Feb. 2017: Added text about the Tier 19 4-piece set bonus' mediocrity for meme build. Added link to trinket sim spreadsheet.
• 13 Feb. 2017: Added new trinket sims. These sims test trinkets at a ton of different item levels, color coded for easy comparison.
• 08 Feb. 2017: Updated BiS trinket, Fury of the Burning Sky is great for multitarget and more consistent.
• 07 Feb. 2017: Trinket sim update.
• 04 Feb. 2017: Fixed wording inconsistency.
• 28 Jan. 2017: Talked about some new trinkets in the "Trinkets To Look For" section.
• 26 Jan. 2017: Updated trinket sims with all the changes in hotfixes since 7.1.5. Updated BiS list accordingly. Added information about second-best tier item slots in case you have a Legendary that breaks the set. Updated legendary rankings.
• 19 Jan. 2017: Updated BiS trinket, as Draught of Souls damage has been nerfed for ranged.
• 17 Jan. 2017: Add BiS list. Trinket sims updated.
• 14 Jan. 2017: Add Legendary trinket to description (but not ranking yet).
• 13 Jan. 2017: Removed Aran's Relaxing Ruby as it was nerfed.
• 12 Jan. 2017: Fresh trinket sims.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Updated for Patch 7.1.5.

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