Marksmanship Hunter Guide

📊 Stat Priority

Priority: Item Level / Agility > Critical Strike ≈ Mastery > Versatility > Haste. Crit and Mastery are wanted in roughly equal measure; Versatility and Haste are well behind. This holds for both single-target and AoE, so you don't have to maintain two gear sets.

• Critical Strike — flat chance to double your damage; scales hard with Trueshot's crit window.
• Mastery (Sniper Training) — raises damage on all abilities and extends your maximum shot range.
• Versatility — small all-round damage up plus a little damage reduction; the safe filler stat.
• Haste — faster Focus regen, lower GCD, slightly faster Aimed Shot; useful but the dump stat for MM.

🎁 Tier Set, Trinkets & Consumables

Tier set (via Catalyst): 2pc — Precise Shots damage increased by an additional ~20%. 4pc — spending Precise Shots has a chance to release a volley of arrows at your target that also hits nearby enemies. Both bonuses reward the rebuilt Precise Shots economy, so completing the 4pc is a real throughput gain — prioritize Helm, Chest, Gloves, Legs to finish it.

Top trinkets: on-use Algeth'ar Puzzle Box is BiS in both raid and M+ (line it up with Trueshot — that's why it's pre-cast in the opener). Passive picks: Umbral Plume and Gaze of the Alnseer (raid), Solarflare Prism (M+).

Consumables: Flask of the Shattered Sun · Potion Light's Potential · Food Harandar Celebration or Hearty Royal Roast · Thalassian Phoenix Oil (weapon) · Void-Touched Augment Rune. Gems: Flawless Deadly (Peridot/Lapis/Amethyst) + a Powerful Eversong Diamond. Enchants: weapon Arcane Mastery, chest Mark of the Worldsoul, rings Eyes of the Eagle, boots Shaladrassil's Roots.

🚀 Opener

Pre-cast to bank a free Aimed Shot, then chain Volley → Rapid Fire to enter Trueshot with Bulletstorm stacks already built. Sequence below is single-target Sentinel; for AoE, lead with Multi-Shot and weave Multi-Shots to keep Trick Shots up. Hunter's Mark should be on the target.

1. Pre-cast Algeth'ar Puzzle Box (~4.5s before pull)
2. Pre-cast Aimed Shot (~2.5s before pull)
3. Black Arrow (Dark Ranger) — or skip on Sentinel
4. Aimed Shot
5. Volley (grants Double Tap)
6. Rapid Fire (spends Double Tap, builds Bulletstorm)
7. Trueshot + Potion + racial (Berserking / Blood Fury)
8. Aimed Shot
9. Arcane Shot to spend Precise Shots
10. Rapid Fire
11. Aimed Shot, then continue the single-target priority

⚔️ Single-Target Priority

Conditional priority — each GCD, cast the highest entry whose conditions are met, then restart. The golden rule: never let Aimed Shot waste a charge, and always spend Precise Shots with Arcane Shot (or Kill Shot) right after Aimed Shot.

1. Volley if Double Tap is unavailable
2. Trueshot if Double Tap is unavailable (hold the last cast for Bullseye stacks in execute)
3. Rapid Fire on cooldown (don't refresh Bulletstorm at low stacks)
4. Aimed Shot at 2 charges to avoid capping
5. Arcane Shot immediately after Aimed Shot to spend Precise Shots
6. Kill Shot after Aimed Shot if it's up (Sentinel) — or Black Arrow (Dark Ranger) with Precise Shots
7. Moonlight Chakram (Sentinel) when Trueshot is about to expire
8. Aimed Shot on cooldown
9. Fillers: Rapid Fire, Explosive Shot, Steady Shot to pool Focus

💥 AoE / Cleave Priority

Needs 3+ targets to shine. The core change vs single-target: spend Precise Shots with Multi-Shot (not Arcane) to activate Trick Shots, and make sure Trick Shots is up BEFORE you cast Aimed Shot so it ricochets. Keep Bulletstorm rolling with Rapid Fire.

1. Multi-Shot after Aimed Shot to spend Precise Shots and activate Trick Shots
2. Arcane Shot after Aimed Shot at 2 targets (spend Precise Shots)
3. Rapid Fire to build/maintain Bulletstorm
4. Trueshot if Double Tap is unavailable
5. Volley if Double Tap is unavailable
6. Explosive Shot outside Trueshot when you have no Aimed Shot charges (Sentinel)
7. Aimed Shot on cooldown — only with Trick Shots active
8. Fillers: Multi-Shot, Arcane Shot, Explosive Shot, Steady Shot

⏱️ Cooldowns

MM is a burst spec — almost all your damage is concentrated in the Trueshot window. Line Trueshot up with the pull or boss-damage phase that matters; between windows your output is intentionally lower.

Trueshot~2 min (90s w/ talent)

Your defining cooldown. Big crit chance/damage boost for ~15s (19s on Sentinel), reduces Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire cooldowns, and massively raises Spotter's/Sentinel's Mark proc rate. Enter it after a Rapid Fire so Bulletstorm is already stacked. Pair with potion + racial.

Rapid Fire~20s (reduced by Trueshot)

Channeled burst and your Bulletstorm engine. With Take Aim it generates Precise Shots; the channel also shaves Aimed Shot's cooldown. Use on cooldown — but don't refresh Bulletstorm when it's already high.

Volley~45s (30s talented)

Ground AoE that also grants Double Tap (empowering your next Rapid Fire). Insert an Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire between Trueshot and Volley so you don't waste the Double Tap.

Aimed Shot2 charges, ~12s recharge

Your hardest-hitting cast (2.5s hardcast). Treat charges like a resource: fire at 2 charges so you never cap, and follow every Aimed Shot by spending Precise Shots. Pre-cast it before the pull.

Black Arrow / Wailing Arrow (Dark Ranger)rotational

Dark Ranger only. Black Arrow is a heavy hit usable freely above 80% or below 20% HP; during Trueshot it becomes Wailing Arrow, which itself refunds a free Black Arrow proc. Sequence: Trueshot → Black Arrow → Wailing Arrow → Black Arrow.

💚 Defensive Toolkit

Hunter defensives are strong and flexible — a full immunity, a big self-heal, and the best ranged mobility in the game. Mobility IS survival for MM: you only have to stand still for Aimed Shot, so kite everything else.

Aspect of the Turtle3 min

Full damage immunity for 8s (you can't attack while it's up, except Feign-style). Your panic button and a hard mechanic-soak — saves you and your healer in raid and keys alike.

Exhilaration2 min

Instant self-heal for a large chunk of max HP (also heals your pet). Use proactively after a spike rather than waiting to be near death.

Survival of the Fittest~3 min (reduced by talents)

Personal damage-reduction cooldown for you and your pet. Pre-press it for known incoming raid hits.

Smoke Screen (Dark Ranger)~1 min

Dark Ranger defensive — short damage-reduction window; one reason Dark Ranger is the tankier M+ pick.

Feign Death30s

Drops you from combat/threat, can negate certain casts targeted at you, and (in M+) removes some poisons/diseases. Also resets aggro if you over-pull.

Disengage / Aspect of the Cheetah20s / 3 min

Mobility as mitigation. Disengage leaps you back out of danger; Cheetah is a big sprint for kiting and orb collection. The whole reason MM can dodge mechanics other ranged can't.

🧰 Utility & Crowd Control

🗝️ Mythic+ Tips

• Trueshot is everything in keys — its ~2-min window obliterates a pull, but between windows your damage drops off. Plan routes so Trueshot hits the biggest/most dangerous pack.
• Play Dark Ranger in M+: it's tankier (Smoke Screen) and does more priority-target damage; there's virtually no reason to run Sentinel here.
• Spend Precise Shots with Multi-Shot to keep Trick Shots up so Aimed Shot ricochets — Aimed without Trick Shots on a pack is wasted AoE.
• Counter Shot is your #1 utility — focus-macro it. Stack Binding Shot + Intimidation + Freezing Trap to chain-stop dangerous casters (remember Freezing Trap's travel time).
• Kite with Disengage and Aspect of the Cheetah; you only stand still for Aimed Shot, so dodge swirlies between casts. Tar Trap slows packs for the tank.
• Aspect of the Turtle soaks lethal mechanics, Feign Death drops threat and some debuffs, and Tranquilizing Shot purges enrages — MM brings real utility, not just damage.

⌨️ Macros & Addons

WeakAuras is not supported in Midnight (12.0) — MM tracks fine on Blizzard's built-in Cooldown Manager, so no extra rotation addon is needed. Recommended: BigWigs/DBM, Plater (debuffs), ElvUI, and the TankMD addon for Misdirection.

#showtooltip Counter Shot
/cast [@focus,exists,nodead,harm][] Counter Shot

#showtooltip Trueshot
/use Trueshot
/use Blood Fury
/use Berserking
/use 13

#showtooltip Tranquilizing Shot
/use [@mouseover,exists,harm,nodead][] Tranquilizing Shot

#showtooltip Misdirection
/click TankMDButton1

🚫 Common Mistakes

• Capping Aimed Shot charges — sitting at 2 charges with the cooldown ticking on a 3rd is lost damage. Fire at 2.
• Not spending Precise Shots — letting the buff fall off instead of following Aimed Shot with Arcane (ST) or Multi-Shot (AoE) tanks your throughput.
• Casting Aimed Shot into a pack without Trick Shots up — it won't ricochet, so you lose most of the AoE value.
• Misusing Trueshot — pressing it on a trash filler pull in M+ or holding it through a key boss-damage phase. Line it up with what matters.
• Refreshing Bulletstorm at low stacks with an early Rapid Fire, or wasting Double Tap by casting Volley right after Trueshot.
• Standing still to hardcast Aimed Shot through a mechanic — you only have to plant for Aimed Shot; weave movement and kiting around it.