Marksmanship Hunter Rotation Guide - Midnight

By TheAzortharion Updated: 2026/08/24

Marksmanship Hunter Rotation in

Precise Shots: These procs are guaranteed to happen from all Aimed Shots, and, depending on Talents, Rapid Fire as well. They are spent on Arcane Shot on single-target and Multi-Shot on 2+ targets, at least when we play Trick Shots. Every single proc must be spent, which in practice means following up every Aimed Shot with an Arcane Shot or Multi-Shot. Rapid Fire spends its own proc, because Unload fires an Arcane Shot as it starts and finishes.

Always Be Casting: Casting as many abilities as possible matters more than pressing the perfect button every time, and dead time is the single biggest thing holding most players back from their DPS goals. Steady Shot is how you fill it, and it is castable while moving, so there is no excuse for a dead global. The best Marksmanship Hunters will have way more Steady Shot casts than someone more average, in large part because they do not ever stop casting when moving or dealing with mechanics.

Movement: While not strictly a rotational concept, while the flow of Marksmanship is straightforward, managing your movement is a big part of mastering it. The core thing to remember is that you should try and reserve movement for when you are not casting Aimed Shot. Whenever you are not casting Aimed Shot, you can move freely without interrupting your rotation, and you should take advantage of this fact to always think "can I be positioned ever so slightly better" and to move accordingly. Standing still while not casting Aimed Shot is rarely the best move.

Best Marksmanship Hunter RotationHero Talent Master Switchesentire page's Best Marksmanship Hunter Single Target RotationAimed ShotRapid FirePrecise ShotsArcane ShotKill ShotBlack ArrowAimed ShotUnloadRapid FirePrecise ShotsAimed ShotRapid FireExplosive ShotVolleySteady Shot Please select a Hero Talent
option to generate a Single Target priorityThe builds used below are covered in the Talents page. Anywhere you see the icon, you can hover over it for additional notes.Priority

Trinket Usage. Use on-use trinkets inside Trueshot. Stat trinkets gain the most from the window, so they take priority when you have to pick one.

Cast Black Arrow if you have Precise Shots.

Cast Explosive Shot on cooldown. Thanks to Unstable Trigger, you can cast it twice in a row and should do so.

Cast Volley on cooldown.

Inside Trueshot, cast Aimed Shot without a Precise Shots proc when Black Arrow is available, or when Aimed Shot is close to capping at 2 charges.

Cast Trueshot on cooldown, saving your final use of the fight until Bullseye reaches 30 stacks.

Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown.

Cast Wailing Arrow on cooldown.

Cast Arcane Shot to spend Precise Shots.

Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown.

Cast Black Arrow.

Cast Steady Shot.

The builds used below are covered in the Talents page. Anywhere you see the icon, you can hover over it for additional notes.Priority

Trinket Usage. Use on-use trinkets inside Trueshot. Stat trinkets gain the most from the window, so they take priority when you have to pick one.

Cast Explosive Shot on cooldown. Thanks to Unstable Trigger, you can cast it twice in a row and should do so.

Cast Volley on cooldown.

Cast Trueshot on cooldown, saving your final use of the fight until Bullseye reaches 30 stacks.

Cast Moonlight Chakram once Trueshot has roughly 5 seconds left.

Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown.

Cast Kill Shot to spend Precise Shots.

Cast Arcane Shot to spend Precise Shots.

Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown.

Cast Moonlight Chakram.

Cast Steady Shot.

Best Marksmanship Hunter AoE RotationArcane ShotMulti-ShotTrick ShotsTrick ShotsMulti-ShotPrecise ShotsAimed ShotRapid FireTrick ShotsAimed ShotMulti-ShotTrick ShotsRapid FireMulti-ShotMulti-Shotmouseover Multi-Shot macroMulti-ShotTrick ShotsAspect of the Hydraalmost identical to the Single-Target rotationMulti-ShotArcane ShotPrecise Shots Please select a Hero Talent option to generate an AoE priorityThe builds used below are covered in the Talents page. Anywhere you see the icon, you can hover over it for additional notes.Priority

Trinket Usage. Use on-use trinkets inside Trueshot. Stat trinkets gain the most from the window, so they take priority when you have to pick one.

Cast Explosive Shot on cooldown. Thanks to Unstable Trigger you get two casts in a row, and they should land on two different targets so that Hunter Marksmanship 12.1 Class Set 4pc reduces your cooldowns twice instead of once.

Cast Volley on cooldown.

Cast Aimed Shot with Trick Shots up if it is about to reach 2 charges.

Cast Black Arrow if you have Precise Shots.

Cast Multi-Shot to activate Trick Shots if it is down.

Cast Trueshot on cooldown, saving your final use of the fight until Bullseye reaches 30 stacks.

Cast Rapid Fire with Trick Shots up.

Cast Wailing Arrow if Black Arrow is not ready.

Cast Multi-Shot to spend Precise Shots.

Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown with Trick Shots up.

Cast Black Arrow.

Cast Steady Shot.

The builds used below are covered in the Talents page. Anywhere you see the icon, you can hover over it for additional notes.Priority

Trinket Usage. Use on-use trinkets inside Trueshot. Stat trinkets gain the most from the window, so they take priority when you have to pick one.

Cast Volley on cooldown.

Cast Trueshot on cooldown, saving your final use of the fight until Bullseye reaches 30 stacks.

Cast Moonlight Chakram if Trueshot is about to expire.

Cast Multi-Shot to spend Precise Shots, or simply to put Trick Shots back up when it has dropped.

Cast Rapid Fire under Trick Shots, and clip its last tick with Multi-Shot on another target (ideally with a mouseover macro).

Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown with Trick Shots up.

Cast Moonlight Chakram.

Cast Steady Shot.

Best Marksmanship Hunter OpenerTrueshotAimed ShotHero Talent Please select a Hero Talent option to generate an Opener sequenceThe builds used below are covered in the Talents page. Anywhere you see the icon, you can hover over it for additional notes.Single-Target Opener TimelineAoE Opener TimelineSingle-Target Opener Sequence

Ensure Hunter's Mark is active on your primary target.

Pre-cast Aimed Shot around 2.5 seconds before combat begins.

Cast Black Arrow.

Cast Explosive Shot.

Cast Explosive Shot again.

Cast Volley.

Activate Trueshot, alongside your Potion, on-use Trinket and Racial.

Cast Aimed Shot.

Cast Black Arrow.

Cast Rapid Fire.

Continue with the priority list described above.

Ensure Hunter's Mark is active on your primary target.

Pre-cast Aimed Shot around 2.5 seconds before combat begins.

Cast Explosive Shot.

Cast Explosive Shot again.

Cast Volley.

Activate Trueshot, alongside your Potion, on-use Trinket and Racial.

Cast Rapid Fire.

Cast Aimed Shot.

Cast Arcane Shot.

Cast Aimed Shot.

Continue with the priority list described above.

AoE Opener Sequence

Ensure Hunter's Mark is active on your primary target.

Pre-cast Aimed Shot around 2.5 seconds before combat begins.

Cast Explosive Shot.

Cast Explosive Shot on a second target.

Cast Volley.

Cast Black Arrow.

Activate Trueshot, alongside your Potion, on-use Trinket and Racial.

Cast Rapid Fire.

Cast Aimed Shot.

Cast Black Arrow.

Continue with the priority list described above.

Ensure Hunter's Mark is active on your primary target.

Pre-cast Aimed Shot around 2.5 seconds before combat begins.

Cast Explosive Shot.

Cast Explosive Shot on a second target.

Cast Volley.

Activate Trueshot, alongside your Potion, on-use Trinket and Racial.

Cast Multi-Shot.

Cast Rapid Fire.

Cast Multi-Shot, clipping the end of the Rapid Fire channel.

Cast Aimed Shot.

Cast Multi-Shot.

Continue with the priority list described above.

Pre-Combat Check Marksmanship Hunter Major CooldownsTrueshotAimed ShotRapid Fire Trueshot TrueshotAimed ShotRapid FireAimed ShotTrueshotBlack ArrowPrecise ShotsTrueshotMoonlight ChakramWailing ArrowMoonlight ChakramTrueshot Marksmanship Hunter Advanced TipsalwaysSteady ShotAimed Shot Always Be Casting Steady ShottimeSteady ShotView ChangelogNavigation BarRelated GuidesTable of ContentsMulti-ShotRapid FireMulti-ShotSentinel's MarkPrecise ShotsUnloadNo Scope

Tags: PvE

Marksmanship Hunter Rotation Guide - Midnight

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