New Raider's Guide

Start here

Three rules apply in every mode:

1. Stay alive. A dead hunter does zero damage. Any damage you lose moving out of fire is tiny next to dying.
2. Keep casting. Marksmanship is a turret spec. Aimed Shot has a cast time, so every second you are running without a plan is a lost shot.
3. Never let Aimed Shot sit at 2 charges. It is your biggest hit and your Precise Shots engine. Method puts it in one line: "Aimed Shot should never hit 2 charges."

What to check in your logs

Open your character on Warcraft Logs after a raid night and look at these five things, in this order. They tell you more than the big DPS number does.

Fix these in order. Deaths first, then active time, then Trueshot count, then Aimed Shot charges, then Precise Shots. Parse percentile climbs on its own once those are right.

Marksmanship 101: the five ideas behind every button

Marksmanship is a resource loop with two currencies. You build Focus with Steady Shot and Rapid Fire, spend it on Aimed Shot, and Aimed Shot in turn gives you Precise Shots that make Arcane Shot hit hard. Trueshot makes the whole loop spin faster. Learn these five ideas and every priority list below will make sense.

1. Aimed Shot is the heartbeat. A long cast, 2 charges, your biggest regular hit. Every Aimed Shot gives you Precise Shots. The spec is built around casting it the moment a charge is ready and never letting it reach 2.
2. Precise Shots are the second currency. Aimed Shot grants them. Arcane Shot (and Kill Shot in the Sentinel build) consumes them for a much bigger hit. Spending them has a chance to grant Sentinel's Mark, which empowers your next Aimed Shot. Do not cast Aimed Shot while Precise Shots are sitting unused.
3. Focus is the fuel. You hold up to 100. Steady Shot and Rapid Fire refill it. Aimed Shot and Arcane Shot spend it. If you are at 100 Focus, Steady Shot was wasted. If you are at 0, the Aimed Shot waits.
4. Trueshot is the burst window. Your abilities cost less Focus and come back faster while it lasts. Explosive Shot and Volley go in right before it. Press it on cooldown, with your trinket and potion.
5. No pet, and Trick Shots for packs. Marksmanship in Midnight hunts with an eagle, not a pet. All your damage comes from your own buttons. Against 3 or more targets, Multi-Shot or Volley grants Trick Shots, and your next Rapid Fire or Aimed Shot hits the whole pack.

Easy Mode: six buttons, one order Mode 1

This is the whole rotation. Read the list top to bottom every time a cast finishes and press the first thing that is true. It uses the Sentinel build from the setup section. If you took Dark Ranger instead, press Black Arrow wherever it says Arcane Shot and otherwise follow the same list.

1. Trueshot if it is off cooldown. Press it the moment the fight starts and every time it lights up again.
2. Explosive Shot if it is off cooldown. It has charges, so press it twice in a row when both are up.
3. Rapid Fire if it is off cooldown. It is a channel. Stand still for it and let it finish.
4. Arcane Shot if you have Precise Shots. Look for the buff icon. Spend it before you cast another Aimed Shot.
5. Aimed Shot if it has a charge. This is the big one. Two charges on the button means you are late.
6. Steady Shot. When nothing above is true, cast this. It is your filler and your Focus builder.

That is it. Ignore Volley, Kill Shot, Moonlight Chakram and Multi-Shot for now. They are a bonus, not the foundation.

The opener

During the pull timer, put Hunter's Mark on the boss. At about 2.5 seconds, start casting Aimed Shot so it lands as the timer hits zero. Then Explosive Shot, Explosive Shot, Trueshot, Rapid Fire, Arcane Shot, Aimed Shot, and fall into the list above.

When you have to move

Arcane Shot and Steady Shot are instant, so press them while you run. Do not try to finish an Aimed Shot while standing in something that will kill you. If you have to cancel one, Method's advice is to fire Arcane Shot or Steady Shot on the move and start again when you stop.

Pet

Marksmanship has no pet in Midnight. An eagle flies with you instead and you do not control it. Maxroll's FAQ says never to summon a pet as Marksmanship. This also means you have no Mend Pet, no Primal Rage and no pet defensive, so the utility kit below is a little shorter than a Beast Mastery hunter's.

Intermediate Mode: three bonus buttons and a second target Mode 2

Same skeleton as Easy Mode, with Volley, Kill Shot and Moonlight Chakram slotted in. Each one is worth a few percent of your damage, and together they are the gap between a passable hunter and a solid one.

1. Explosive Shot on cooldown, usually back to back.
2. Volley on cooldown. Drop it on the boss with the cursor macro. It also gives Trick Shots for 6 seconds, which matters for packs.
3. Trueshot on cooldown. Do not hold it for Volley. Both are pressed when they come up and they drift together often enough.
4. Moonlight Chakram near the end of Trueshot. It is a free Aimed Shot you can fire instantly, so it belongs inside the window.
5. Rapid Fire on cooldown if you have no Precise Shots to spend. During Trueshot, press it on cooldown regardless.
6. Kill Shot if the boss is low or it has lit up, to consume Precise Shots. It hits harder than Arcane Shot.
7. Arcane Shot to consume Precise Shots.
8. Aimed Shot on cooldown.
9. Steady Shot.

The opener

Hunter's Mark during the pull timer. Pre-cast Aimed Shot so it lands at zero. Then Explosive Shot, Explosive Shot, Volley, Trueshot with your on-use trinket and potion, Rapid Fire, Arcane Shot, Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, Aimed Shot. From there, use the list.

Multi-Shot: your second target

Import the Cleave string from the setup section for any fight with two targets that live more than 10 seconds, such as a boss plus a big add. It takes Aspect of the Hydra, which makes every shot you fire also hit a second nearby target with no setup. The rule of thumb:

• Everything in the list stays the same.
• Multi-Shot replaces Arcane Shot whenever there are 2 or more targets. It consumes Precise Shots the same way.
• Keep Hunter's Mark on the target that matters most.
• Three or more targets is a different build, covered in Full Send.

Planning movement

Before the pull, ask the raid leader or read the boss guide for the two or three moments when everyone has to move. Walk into those moments with Precise Shots up and some Focus so you can Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot while you run. Save Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot for when you stop. Disengage covers a long run in one press.

Full Send Mode: the complete priority Mode 3

This is the Sentinel single-target list as the top guides write it, plus the habits that separate a 70th-percentile parse from a 95th. Nothing here is new. It is the Intermediate list with tighter timing.

Single target

1. Explosive Shot on cooldown, usually back to back.
2. Volley on cooldown.
3. Trueshot on cooldown.
4. Moonlight Chakram near the end of Trueshot.
5. Aimed Shot during Trueshot if you have no Precise Shots.
6. Rapid Fire on cooldown if you have no Precise Shots. During Trueshot, on cooldown regardless.
7. Kill Shot to consume Precise Shots.
8. Arcane Shot to consume Precise Shots.
9. Aimed Shot on cooldown.
10. Moonlight Chakram when you are low on Aimed Shot charges.
11. Steady Shot as the filler.

Precise Shots discipline

The whole Sentinel loop is: Aimed Shot gives Precise Shots, spending Precise Shots can give Sentinel's Mark, Sentinel's Mark empowers the next Aimed Shot. Every time you cast Aimed Shot with Precise Shots still up, you break that chain and waste the buff. So the rule is simple: Precise Shots up, press Arcane Shot or Kill Shot; Precise Shots gone, press Aimed Shot. Steady Shot is only for when both are true and Focus is low.

Do not clip Rapid Fire

Rapid Fire is a channel. Pressing Aimed Shot or Arcane Shot while it is running cancels it and throws away the rest of the damage and Focus. The "no channeling" macro in the setup section makes that impossible. The one exception is AoE, where Multi-Shot during Rapid Fire is intended.

Lining up the burst window

On-use trinket, Potion of Recklessness, and racial all go into Trueshot. Explosive Shot and Volley go right before it so their damage lands inside. Maxroll puts Trueshot at a 2-minute base cooldown, reduced to 90 seconds with Calling the Shots, so a 6-minute fight gives you four windows. Ask the raid leader when Bloodlust is coming and, if it is within 20 seconds of your next Trueshot, hold for it. Method lists Light's Potential as a second potion for the end of the fight.

AoE (3 or more targets)

Import the Trick Shots string from the setup section. Trick Shots makes your next Rapid Fire or Aimed Shot hit the whole pack, and Method's rule is to reapply it "before every single Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot!"

1. Explosive Shot on cooldown, ideally onto different targets.
2. Volley on cooldown. It grants Trick Shots for 6 seconds.
3. Trueshot on cooldown, and Moonlight Chakram near its end.
4. Multi-Shot to activate Trick Shots when it is not up, or to consume Precise Shots.
5. Rapid Fire with Trick Shots up.
6. Aimed Shot with Trick Shots up.
7. Steady Shot as the filler.

Two targets is still the Aspect of the Hydra game from Intermediate, not Trick Shots. Trick Shots is only a 3-plus answer.

Fight-specific habits

Before a progression night, open the boss guide and write down three things: when adds spawn (plan which string to import and where Volley lands), when the raid has to move (hold Precise Shots and Focus), and when Bloodlust is called (hold or drift Trueshot). Those three notes are worth more than any sim. Maxroll also notes that on Coiled Altar you should hold cooldowns for the Phase 2 intermission.

Talents, consumables and setup

Import one of these talent strings and the guide above matches your bars. Open the talent window, click Import, paste, and save as a loadout. All three are from Method's talents page, updated 13 Oct 2026 for patch 12.1.5.

Method lists two AoE tools. Aspect of the Hydra (with Light Ammo) passively cleaves a second target with every shot and needs no setup, so it is the two-target pick. Trick Shots makes Multi-Shot cleave Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot onto 3 or more targets and is the Mythic+ pick. Neither is taken for pure single target.

Stat priority

Weapon damage and Agility first, so take the higher item level piece. Then Critical Strike, then Mastery, then Versatility, Haste last. That is Method's order. Maxroll defers to a sim and gives no order, so once you are comfortable, run a Raidbots Top Gear sim with your own gear. Until then, take the higher item level piece.

Consumables checklist

Bring these to every raid. Half of them are provided by the raid, but a new raider should carry their own.

• Flask: Flask of the Shattered Sun (Crit) or Flask of the Magisters (Mastery)
• Food: Hearty Royal Roast, or eat the raid feast (Harandar Celebration or Silvermoon Parade)
• Combat potion: Potion of Recklessness if Crit is your highest stat, one per pull; Light's Potential as a second potion at the end of the fight
• Health potion: Concentrated Silvermoon Health Potion
• Weapon oil: Thalassian Phoenix Oil
• Augment rune: Void-Touched Augment Rune
• Hunter's Mark: on the boss before the pull timer ends
• Enchants: Mark of the Worldsoul (chest), Forest Hunter's Armor Kit (legs), Eyes of the Eagle (rings), Acuity of the Ren'dorei (weapon), Lynx's Dexterity (boots)

Addons that matter

BigWigs for boss timers and Method Raid Tools for raid notes. Method's hunter guides do not yet recommend a spec addon for Midnight and suggest using more of the default UI. A tracker for Aimed Shot charges and the Precise Shots buff, such as a WeakAura or the default cooldown manager, is the only thing worth adding to start.

Macros

Put these on your bars. The first fires Trueshot together with your trinkets and racial from one button. The second stops Aimed Shot from cancelling Rapid Fire; Method suggests the same pattern on Arcane Shot and Steady Shot, but not on Multi-Shot. The third interrupts whatever you have set as focus.

#showtooltip
/cast Trueshot
/use Berserking
/use 13
/use 14

#showtooltip Aimed Shot
/cast [nochanneling:Rapid Fire] Aimed Shot

#showtooltip
/cast [target=focus] Counter Shot

Method also lists /cast [@cursor] Volley so Volley lands where your mouse is without a targeting circle, and a Misdirection macro: /cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][@focus,help,nodead]Misdirection.

Your utility kit

Damage is only half the job. Raid leaders remember the hunter who interrupts, misdirects the tank on the pull, and uses defensives, not the one who parses 5% higher. Cooldowns below are the base values. Talents shorten some of them, so trust your tooltip over this table.

Two habits to build now:

1. Set a focus target. Before the pull, target the tank and press your focus keybind so Misdirection lands on them. In dungeons, focus the caster you are assigned to interrupt instead, and the Counter Shot macro works without ever leaving the boss.
2. Put Hunter's Mark on the boss during every pull timer. It is a flat damage increase for the whole fight and it is free. Make it part of your ready-check routine.

Reading your logs and what to practice next

After each raid night, open your character on Warcraft Logs and spend five minutes on one boss. Pick the longest single-target fight. Check the five items from the logs section, then do the one drill below that matches your mode.

Three things to compare against a top log of the same boss (Warcraft Logs, Rankings tab, filter to Marksmanship):

1. Count their Aimed Shots and yours. If theirs is 20% higher on a fight of the same length, your charges are sitting at 2 or you are cancelling casts to move.
2. Count their Trueshot casts and yours. The gap is almost always one missed cast at the start or end.
3. Look at their Deaths and yours. If they have zero and you do not, that is the whole gap.

The Venomous Abyss is the current Midnight Season 2 raid, with eight bosses from Nek'zali the Soulcoiler through Ula'tek. Read the Icy Veins page for each boss before the night you first see it, and write down the three notes from Full Send Mode: when adds come, when you move, when Lust is called.