Marksmanship Hunter DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

Precise Shots will sometimes be referred to as "PS" for brevity and clarity.

Note that the Dark Ranger opener is quite sensitive to Black Arrow procs, which should be used whenever you can. The opener assumes no procs except where noted.

1. Ensure Hunter's Mark is active on the highest-health target from you or another Hunter in the group!
2. Pre-cast Aimed Shot around 2.5 seconds before combat begins.
3. Cast Black Arrow.
4. Cast Rapid Fire.
5. Cast Black Arrow.
6. Use Volley.
7. Activate Trueshot.
8. Cast Black Arrow.
9. Cast Wailing Arrow.
10. Cast Black Arrow.
11. Cast Aimed Shot.
12. Volley should be used right before your next Aimed Shot which has a Sentinel's Mark proc affecting it, so that Double Tap gets the most value possible.
13. Cast Arcane Shot.
14. Continue your normal rotation, spending Black Arrow procs as you get them.

This priority list describes the optimal single-target Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter.

1. Trinket Usage We generally want to use stat-granting on-use trinkets with Trueshot.
2. Use Black Arrow whenever available. Since Rapid Fire guarantees a proc, anticipate casting Black Arrow immediately after every Rapid Fire.
3. Cast Wailing Arrow. This ability replaces Trueshot after you activate it, and can be used once. Treat it as a filler, weaving it between high-priority abilities without disrupting the flow. Remember that completing the cast grants a Black Arrow proc, so be ready to spend it, and be sure to spend any existing Black Arrow procs before casting it.
4. Activate Trueshot. This automatically applies Spotter's Mark, allowing you to ignore unspent Precise Shots. Trueshot grants an instant Black Arrow proc, use this immediately. Ideally, use Trueshot just before you would cast Aimed Shot, and preferably following a Rapid Fire to ensure a fresh Bulletstorm buff during your cooldowns. Avoid casting Trueshot and Volley back-to-back to prevent overwriting Double Tap. Always weave an ability like Aimed Shot between them.
5. Use Arcane Shot to consume Precise Shots stacks from Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire. Generally, you should follow every Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire with Arcane Shot.
6. Use Rapid Fire if the Bulletstorm buff is missing. Try to hold off on an Aimed Shot charge for a little if it it means that you can get Bulletstorm up before it. We want to mimize Aimeds cast without Bulletstorm.
7. Cast Aimed Shot if you have 2 charges or a Lock and Load proc. Ensure Precise Shots is consumed beforehand.
8. Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown.
9. Use Volley on cooldown. In single-target scenarios, this is primarily for raw damage and to trigger Double Tap. Do not use Volley immediately before or after Trueshot to avoid overwriting the Double Tap buff.
10. Use Aimed Shot with 1 charge remaining. Consume any Precise Shots stacks first.
11. Fill any remaining downtime with Steady Shot. This is crucial for Focus generation and reducing the cooldown of Aimed Shot.

1. Ensure Hunter's Mark is active on the highest-health target from you or another Hunter in the group!
2. Pre-cast Steady Shot around 2 seconds before combat begins. Or don't — it really does not matter.
3. Cast Black Arrow.
4. Cast Rapid Fire.
5. Cast Black Arrow.
6. Use Volley.
7. Activate Trueshot.
8. Cast Black Arrow.
9. Cast Wailing Arrow.
10. Cast Black Arrow.
11. Cast Aimed Shot.
12. Use Volley.
13. Cast Multi-Shot.
14. Continue your normal rotation.

This priority list describes the optimal AoE Rotation for Marksmanship Hunter.

1. Trinket Usage We generally want to use stat-granting on-use trinkets with Trueshot.
2. Use Black Arrow whenever available. Since Rapid Fire guarantees a proc, anticipate casting Black Arrow immediately after every Rapid Fire.
3. Cast Wailing Arrow. This ability replaces Trueshot after you activate it, and can be used once. Treat it as a filler, weaving it between high-priority abilities without disrupting the flow. Remember that completing the cast grants a Black Arrow proc, so be ready to spend it, and be sure to spend any existing Black Arrow procs before casting it.
4. Activate Trueshot. This automatically applies Spotter's Mark, allowing you to ignore unspent Precise Shots. Trueshot grants an instant Black Arrow proc, use this immediately. Ideally, use Trueshot just before you would cast Aimed Shot, and preferably following a Rapid Fire to ensure a fresh Bulletstorm buff during your cooldowns. Avoid casting Trueshot and Volley back-to-back to prevent overwriting Double Tap. Always weave an ability like Aimed Shot between them.
5. Use Multi-Shot to consume Precise Shots stacks from Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire. Generally, you should follow every Aimed Shot or Rapid Fire with Multi-Shot.
6. Use Rapid Fire if the Bulletstorm buff is missing. Try to hold off on an Aimed Shot charge for a little if it it means that you can get Bulletstorm up before it. We want to mimize Aimeds cast without Bulletstorm.
7. Cast Aimed Shot if you have 2 charges or a Lock and Load proc. Ensure Precise Shots is consumed beforehand. unless Spotter's Mark is already active on the target. Ensure Trick Shots is active before casting, which is mostly secured by casting the aforementioned Multi-Shot after every single Aimed and Rapid Fire.
8. Cast Rapid Fire on cooldown. Ensure Trick Shots is active before casting, which is mostly secured by casting the aforementioned Multi-Shot after every single Aimed and Rapid Fire.
9. Use Volley on cooldown. In single-target scenarios, this is primarily for raw damage and to trigger Double Tap. Do not use Volley immediately before or after Trueshot to avoid overwriting the Double Tap buff.
10. Use Aimed Shot with 1 charge remaining. Consume any Precise Shots stacks first. Ensure Trick Shots is active before casting, which is mostly secured by casting the aforementioned Multi-Shot after every single Aimed and Rapid Fire.
11. Fill any remaining downtime with Steady Shot. This is crucial for Focus generation and reducing the cooldown of Aimed Shot.