The Marksmanship Hunter is, sadly, not the best-performing ranged DPS spec in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. After repeated buffs, MM Hunters can dish out some serious single-target damage. They're lacking, however, in group utility and don't always perform well on longer fights, hence their lower ranking on our DPS tier list. Some people prefer the playstyle of MM and its priority rotation system over the "whack-a-mole" playstyle of BM hunters. If you're looking to do the best damage you and do as a Marksmanship Hunter, our Best in Slot guide has you covered!

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MM Hunter Best in Slot Stat Criteria

Our Best in Slot suggestions will focus on if an item has the most important stats for your spec. It's pretty clearcut which stats are best for MM hunters, which makes it a little easier to recommend gear to obtain. Still, there's no such thing as a true best in slot list due to diminishing returns on having too much of a stat. We always recommend that you sim your gear upgrades to ensure it's better than what you're wearing. We'll go over how to sim at the end of this guide.

Stat Priority

1. Weapon DPS
2. Agility
3. Mastery
4. Critical Strike
5. Versatility
6. Haste

In terms of secondary stats, Mastery and Crit are miles ahead of Versatility and Haste. You should always prioritize items with those stats.

Important Notes For All BiS Lists

It is important to note that any jump in ilvl by more than 10 points almost always results in the higher ilvl item being better. If you have an upgrade of 5 ilvl or less, compare the stats based on the stat priorities to decide the better item.

When weighing options of other items not listed below, refer to the stat priority of the class and spec. Keep in mind that stats eventually have diminishing returns, so it is not required to have absolutely every slot stack the same 2 stats. For simplicity, we offer the best per slot assuming you have not capped out these stats.

The calculations for diminishing returns are as follows:

• 0 to 30% in a stat - no penalty.
• 30% to 39% in a stat - 10% penalty.
• 39% to 47% in a stat - 20% penalty.
• 47% to 54% in a stat - 30% penalty.
• 54% to 66% in a stat - 40% penalty.
• 66% to 126% in a stat - 50% penalty.

In the case where you have reached 30% in a secondary stat, an item that has a secondary stat that is lower on priority may be a better upgrade. This is why it is always important to sim your gear. For simplicity, we offer the best per slot assuming you have not capped out these stats.

The amount that is optimal always depends on the situation. You can also use a simulator, such as RaidBots, to see what you specifically should focus on. We have a section at the end of this guide to learn how to sim your gear.

Marksmanship Hunter BiS Gear

The items appearing in these lists may come from Mythic+, Raids, or The Vault. Their item level will depend on the instance's level of difficulty (Normal, Heroic, Mythic, Mythic+ 1-20). This list does not include Renown or Crafting items as it is meant as a guide on what dungeons or raids to attend to get your best gear from these sources.

Item tooltips will show the Mythic Level 9 version and Normal Raid iLevel of the item to easily compare. Obtaining the highest ilvl version of the item is, however, the ultimate goal.

Best Head

Tier piece will most likely be your best bet.

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Best Neck

Make sure you focus on getting the best stats while also accounting for diminishing returns. We list a couple of options, but there are more, even if they're not ideal.

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Best Shoulders

You'll probably use the Shoulder even if it has a subpar stat. It's still better than Haste!

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Best Back

You will have a lot of options available for the back slot, make sure your stats line up with our priority list and you sim to ensure you get the best upgrade.

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Best Chest

Tier chest has your two worst stats: Versatility and Haste. Most likely, you'll skip out on this tier piece.

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Best Wrist

Your wrists in raid are just okay. You'll likely have the best upgrade in Mythic+.

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Best Hands

Tier will most likely be your best option here. There are a lot more options than the ones listed below. As always, sim for your best gear!

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Best Waist

You've got a decent option in raid. Mythic+ will likely be better though.

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Best Legs

Your tier has Crit and Haste, which are a good and bad stat respectively. Double check sims to make sure you have the best upgrades.

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Best Feet

Your one option in raid is not ideal, so we look to Mythic+.

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Best Rings

You're going to have a lot of options, so sim the best bets. Mythic+ options are better than what's in raid when it comes to raw stats, but the raid options have interesting procs, and Explosive Shot does deal fire damage.

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Best Trinkets

The jury is still out on the trinkets, so we're listing the best pre-season trinkets. Once we have a good idea of the best performing options, we'll let you know. For now, these are your best options.

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Best Weapons

Neltharax will most likely be the best bet due to its socket and proc, even with your worst stat on it.

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Best in Slot Gems for Marksmanship Hunter

Here we list the best gems you can socket your gear with for MM Hunter. As always, it is best to sim to ensure you're using the best options available. These gems are chosen given consideration to your best stats.

• Epic unique gem - Skillful Illimited Diamond
• Remaining gems - Sensei's Neltharite

Best in Slot Enchants for Marksmanship Hunter

Here are the best enchants available for MM in Dragonflight.

• Cloak - Graceful Avoidance
• Chest - Graceful Avoidance
• Bracers - Devotion of Avoidance
• Legs - Fierce Armor Kit
• Boots - Plainsrunner's Breeze
• Rings - Devotion of Mastery
• Weapon - High Intensity Thermal Scanner

How To Simulate To Determine Your Best Gear

Raidbots is a tool that World of Warcraft players can use to figure out if the gear they just looted is an upgrade. As mentioned earlier, there are so many nuances and diminishing returns as certain points in the game, that determining an exact set of bis gear is impossible. With the ilvl scaling of Mythic+ loot on higher keys and utility different gear has for different fights, there just isn't a pure "this is the absolute best for the entire Season" list. It's even something that certain classes have come across in Classic Wrath!

Don't worry, because we're still here to help. We highly recommend using raidbots to determine if an item you just acquired is an upgrade. Here's a quick guide to help you run simulations to see if your new item is an upgrade:

• Make sure you have the Simulationcraft add-on installed.
• With your new loot in your inventory, open your chatbox and type /simc.
• A window will open up. Copy the entire text and paste it on the Raidbots Top Gear page. I included my Simulation craft window for my personal character below

• This step is important. On the Top Gear page, scroll down and make sure you're selecting the gear you want simmed. If you do not select the gear you're wearing, as well as the gear in your inventory you just acquired, you won't know if you picked up an upgrade.
• Raidbots will then let you know which items allow you to maximize your DPS!

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