Post by baradiel
Hello and Welcome to the Survial Hunter PvE guide, hope you like this guide and find this guide helpful, well... Lets begin!
IntroductionCurrently, the Survival specialisation is out-performed in terms of single target DPS by Marksmanship, and the two specialisations provide comparable results in most AoE heavy-encounters, though Survival may offer a slight advantage there.
Survival does, however, present other advantages, such as its ease of use in movement-heavy encounters, the relative simplicity of its rotation and its reduced reliability on gear.
Preliminary notesFocus,
Hunters and their pets use a unique resource, called focus. Focus works in much the same way as other class resources, like rage and energy, in the sense that some abilities grant focus, while others cost focus in order to be used.
A Survival Hunter's focus has a maximum capacity of 100, and regenerates at an innate rate of 6 focus per second. This rate is increased by Haste Rating. In addition to this, certain abilities such as and also grant focus.
Most of the abilities in the hunter rotation cost focus to use, and some talents decrease the focus costs, or offer other ways to gain additional focus.
Hunter pet focus works similarly, and is of no concern to you as you cannot do anything to modify it, nor will you be casting pet abilities manually.
As a general rule, you should aim to always have enough focus to cast your shots, but also to never have 100 focus, thus having any extra focus you generate going to waste.
Auto-shots and Special Shots,
Hunters do the majority of their damage through the use of shots. The rest of the damage is made up of pet damage and DoT damage.
Auto Shot is the default Hunter attack, which works similarly to melee classes' auto attacks or "white swings". It is affected by your Ranged Attack Speed, and it continues to work while moving.
The other hunter shots are of all varieties: instant cast or with a cast time, costing focus or granting focus and some are utility shots which cost no focus and deal no damage.
Aspects,
Lastly, hunter aspects are worth mentioning. These act like stances in which hunters place themselves, each granting different advantages (and some disadvantages, in certain cases).
A hunter's aspect will persist until removed by the hunter or until the hunter's death. Aspects can be changed in combat, but they cannot be changed while a cast is in progress. It is worth mentioning also that hunter aspects are on a different global cooldown, only affected by each other.
TalentsChoosing the Survival specialisation will not present you with any difficult decisions in terms of maximising DPS. The talent points you opt to place within the Survival tree are fairly fixed, with a single possibility for alternation. Choosing where to place the rest of your talents is slightly more varied, though ultimately the options are limited.
Talents and Optional Talents,
This section will present to you the core talents which you must take as a Survival Hunter, as well as the optional talents, which you should choose depending on fight mechanics or other factors.
A standard
talent build, with some emphasis on more AoE damage.
A
talent build boosting your pet's damage.
Core Talents Explained.3/3
: provides 3% ranged haste which translates into a direct DPS increase.
2/2
: provides substantial boosts to one of your DoTs, and thus offers a great DPS gain, not only in single target fights, but also in AoE thanks to
, which is covered below.
3/3
: this talent is chosen for the increase in damage done to your
.
3/3
: provides you with occasional focus-return, thus allowing you to cast more shots and do more damage.
2/2
: this talent provides you with Lock and Load, a proc which plays an important part in your rotation, and allows you to take another talent which further affects Lock and Load.
2/2
: gives your Lock and Load a 20% chance to proc off the periodic damage from
and
Explosive Trap, of which you should always be using one or the other.
3/3
: reduces the cooldown of one of your most important abilities by 6 seconds, translating into a direct DPS increase.
2/2
Toxicology: increases the critical strike damage of both your DoTs by 100% and is an unquestionable DPS increase.
1/1
Wyvern Sting: this talent does not provide you with any kind of DPS increase, but it does allow you to take two other talents which are both essential to competitive Survival DPS. In addition to this, it provides a moderately useful form of crowd control.
2/2
Noxious Stings: increases your damage done to targets affected by
by 10%, basically meaning a 10% increase to all of your damage done.
1/1
: increases your Agility by 2% and also provides your raid with a 10% increased melee and ranged attack speed buff.
3/3
: provides a 15% critical strike chance increase to one of your hardest-hitting abilities, and also increases damage done by one of the most used abilities after you remain stationary for at least 6 seconds.
1/2
: for single-target, this talent provides no benefit whatsoever. However, it is a key element in Survival AoE DPS, and has good synergy with Improved Serpent Sting, as each
Multi-Shot will also deal instant damage equal to 30% of the damage of Serpent Sting.
1/1
: this is one of your most important abilities and an integral part of your rotation
3/3
: another straightforward increase to your damage dealt, by reducing the focus cost of your shots
3/3
: increases your attack power while in
by 30% and provides some extra
focus regeneration while in
.
Optional Talents ExplainedThis section will cover each of the optional talents and provide a brief explanation
of why and when they should be taken.
2/2
: offers a cooldown reduction to
Disengage, which provides you with more mobility
2/2
Entrapment: roots targets affected by your Ice Trap for 4 seconds. May be useful on AoE fights where the targets are not normally stunnable. It should be mentioned that only targets which are in the Ice Trap area when it is triggered are affected, as opposed to any targets which become slowed by it later.
2/2
provides you with a 6% increased critical strike chance on targets affected by your Ice Trap, and may prove to be a DPS increase on AoE heavy fights.
2/2
: a straightforward increase to the damage your pet deals, by granting it more of its resource
2/2
: grants your pet focus-free attacks, increasing its damage output.
2/2
: greatly increases your critical strike chance with
on targets above 90% health.
2/3
: increases your pet's focus regeneration, but more importantly allows you to unlock the next talent tier
2/3
: provides a large attack speed increase to your pet.
RotationSingle target priority;
The single target rotation for a Survival Hunter is based on the following priority system:
- Hunter's Mark on the target.
- Apply and maintain on the target. Also, you can use Cobra Shot to refresh Serpent Sting on your target.
- Cast on cooldown.
- Cast Kill Shot.
- Cast on cooldown (if the target will live for the full duration of Black Arrow).
- Cast if you have sufficient focus to still execute steps 3 and 5 afterwards.
- Cast .
So, what does this mean in practice? In simplest terms, it means that you should apply Hunter's Mark on the target before the pull (ideally) or right as combat begins or the target becomes available. Once that is done, you should apply Serpent Sting. Your Serpent Sting will, under most circumstances, remain on the target for the rest of the fight, as it will be refreshed by all of your Cobra Shots. In addition to the damage that it deals, Serpent Sting also allows you to benefit from the 10% increased damage granted by
Noxious Stings.
ou should then make sure that neither
or
are ever delayed from being used on cooldown. This means not only that you should not prioritise a different cast over them, but also that you should ensure to keep enough focus in reserve to be able to cast them.
In between Explosive Shots, you should have no difficulty in firing off three Cobra Shots. Every so often, you should replace one of the three Cobra Shots with a Black Arrow, as it becomes available. When the boss is under 20% health, you should replace Cobra Shots in order to cast Kill Shot.
4 or More Enemies RotationWhen facing 4 or more enemies, you should abandon your normal shot priority and instead:
- Cast Multi-Shot as often as your focus allows.
- Cast when you benefit from a Lock and Load proc (triggered by Explosive Trap).
- Cast Kill Shot
- Cast whenever you have insufficient focus for Multi-Shot.
GlyphsGlyph choice as a Survival Hunter is very simple.
Prime GlyphsThe following two Prime Glyphs are mandatory:
Charred Glyph: grants your trademark ability an extra 6% critical strike chance.
Charred Glyph: allows you to use
Kill Shot twice as often during most boss fights.
For the third Prime Glyph, you should choose between
Charred Glyph and
Charred Glyph. Their value is very close, although in fights where AoE is required, the latter glyph is preferable.
Major GlyphsFor your Major Glyphs, we recommend you use any of the following:
Charred GlyphCharred GlyphCharred GlyphCharred GlyphCharred GlyphNone of the other glyphs provide DPS increases, though
Charred Glyph provides you with excellent damage reduction, something that Hunters otherwise sorely lack.
Minor Glyphs
I recommend that you use the following Minor Glyphs:
Charred GlyphCharred GlyphCharred GlyphGlyph of Lesser ProportionPetsAn integral part of a Hunter's performance in a raid is their pet. There is indeed a myriad of available pets in the game, any of which is usable during a raid, however some are more viable than others. This section will provide you with the necessary information to choose a suitable pet.
Choosing a Pet,
There are three types of pet families: Ferocity, Cunning and Tenacity. From a DPS standpoint, you should choose between either a Ferocity or a Cunning pet.
However it is important to note that most of the buffs and debuffs currently in the game can be provided in one form or another by pets, and if your raid is lacking a buff, you should choose a pet that provides it, whether that pet is a Tenacity, Ferocity or Cunning pet.
Assuming that all buffs are provided for you in your raid, your choice comes down to either a Ferocity or a Cunning pet. Ferocity pets will generally provide you with higher DPS because of their special ability,
, which should be used in conjunction with
.
Finally, when choosing between a Ferocity or Cunning pet, keep in mind that while the Ferocity pet buffs your own damage more, the Cunning pet does more damage on its own. This means that in a fight where you yourself have low uptime on the target, you should choose a Cunning pet.
For detailed information on what buffs and debuffs each pet provides, as well as a lot more information about how and where to obtain the pets, I recommend that you use
Petopia.Pet Talent Specialisation,
Just like your character, your pet also has a set of talents and a limited number of talent points to distribute. Luckily, this part is quite straightforward.
Ferocity Talent Specialisation,
I recommend this
Ferocity pet talent specialisation.Cunning Talent Specialisation,
I recommend this
Cunning pet talent specialisation.Tenacity Talent Specialisation,
Although we do not advise using a Tenacity pet while raiding,
I recommend this
Tenacity pet talent specialisation.StatsPriority
The stat priority for a Survival Hunter is:
- Agility
- Hit Rating until hit cap
- Haste Rating until soft cap
- Critical Strike Rating
- Mastery Rating
- Haste Rating
The Haste Ratingsoft cap represents the moment when you are able to cast three
in between two
(so within a 1.66 second window). This is 757 Haste Rating, considering all relevant raid buffs and your
talent.
Agilityis your most important stat, which provides the most benefit; you should look for this stat in all of your upgrades, as point for point it surpasses any other stat. It provides you with Ranged Attack Power and it increases your critical strike chance.
Hit Ratingis your second most important stat, as it determines your chance to miss a target with
Auto Shot or any other of your abilities. Your aim is to reach 8% chance to hit, thus ensuring that all of your attacks will land. Draenei players only require 7% because of their racial ability. 8% chance to hit requires 961 Hit Rating, and 7% chance to hit requires 841 Hit Rating.
Haste Rating,
up to a point, is crucial for maintaining your rotation as a Survival Hunter. Your aim is to be able to fit in three Cobra Shots in the space between two Explosive Shots. As mentioned, the required amount of Haste Rating, when not under the effects of the 4-part Tier 11 set bonus, is 757 Haste Rating. If you do have this set bonus, then much less Haste Rating is required, and it is safe to reforge out of all of it on your gear
Critical Strike Rating is your next best stat, once the above mentioned caps have been met.
Mastery Ratingis the next prefered stat for Survival Hunters. It increases the damage done by all your abilities, with the exception of your auto attacks and
Kill Shot.
Haste Rating, past the soft cap, provides increased attack speed, increased focus regeneration and reduced Cobra Shot cast time, but it is not a desirable stat, and should be avoided.
ReforgingBecause Agility is by far your best stat, you should avoid using gem sockets for anything other than Agility, with very few exceptions. This means you should reach both your Hit and soft Haste Rating caps through reforging.
When not under the effects of the 4-part Tier 11 set bonus, your reforging aims are 8% hit chance and 6% haste.
Hit Cap (8%, 7% for Draenei)Your first aim is to reach 8% Hit Chance. You will do this by reforging your items as follows.
- If an item has Haste Rating and Critical Strike Rating/Mastery Rating, reforge Haste Rating into Hit Rating.
- If this is not enough, and an item has Critical Strike Rating and Mastery Rating, reforge Mastery Rating into Hit Rating.
Soft Haste Cap (6%)If you are not using the 4-part Tier 11 set bonus, then your aim is to reach 6% haste, or 757 Haste Rating. You will do this by reforging your items as follows.
- If you are over the hit cap, and an item has Hit Rating and Critical Strike Rating/Mastery Rating, reforge Hit Rating into Haste Rating.
- If an item has Critical Strike Rating and Mastery Rating, reforge Mastery Rating into Haste Rating.
Further Reforging (When at Hit Cap and Soft Haste Cap)Because any excess Hit Rating on your gear should be turned into Haste Rating until the cap is reached, you should have very little, if any, not reforged Hit Rating still on your gear. For the sake of completeness, however, we will list all situations. Note that any time, in this section, that you are told to reforge out of Hit Rating and Haste Rating, it assumes you will not drop under the desired caps.
- If an item has Hit Rating and Haste Rating, reforge Hit Rating into Critical Strike Rating.
- If an item has Hit Rating and Critical Strike Rating, reforge Hit Rating into Mastery Rating.
- If an item has Hit Rating and Mastery Rating, reforge Hit Rating into Critical Strike Rating.
- If an item has Haste Rating and Critical Strike Rating, reforge Haste Rating into Mastery Rating.
- If an item has Haste Rating and Mastery Rating, reforge Haste Rating into Critical Strike Rating.
- If an item has Critical Strike Rating and Mastery Rating, do not reforge it.
GemmingGemming as a Survival Hunter is quite simple:
Old Gems
Meta gem sockets:
Agile Shadowspirit DiamondRed sockets:
Delicate Inferno RubyYellow sockets:
Deadly Ember TopazBlue sockets:
Glinting DemonseyeNew Gems
Red sockets:
Delicate Queen's GarnetYellow sockets:
Deadly Lava CoralBlue sockets:
Glinting Shadow SpinelDo note, you only want to buy the new gems if you have gold because these gems cost alot of money 5,000+ on the AH, well depends on your realm because some realm's AHs are screwed...
Do note, for yellow and blue sockets gem Red except if the socket bonus is + 20 Agi for each non red socket , or you require more Hit Rating or Haste Rating even after reforging.
Enchanting.Generic Enchants
- Head: Arcanum of the Ramkahen
- Shoulder: Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal
- Back: Enchant Cloak - Greater Critical Strike
- Chest: Enchant Chest - Peerless Stats
- Wrist: Enchant Bracer - Agility
- Hands: Enchant Gloves - Major Agility
- Waist: Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
- Legs: Dragonscale Leg Armor
- Feet: Enchant Boots - Assassin's Step
- 2H Melee Weapon: Enchant 2H Weapon - Mighty Agility
- Ranged Weapon: Flintlocke's Woodchucker