Survival Hunter DPS Guide — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

The Midnight Expansion brings huge changes for all Hunter specs, primarily focused on streamlining and simplifying aspects of the kit.

Note that the Apex Talents, and the last few Hero Talents Points are not available until the full launch of Midnight.

• Core Mechanic: Raptor Strike has a chance to proc Sentinel's Mark on the target, causing your Wildfire Bomb to deal increased damage to affected targets.
• Maximum Focus increased to 125.
• The chance of generating Sentinel's Mark procs is 10% higher during Takedown.
• After activating Takedown, the Takedown button becomes Moonlight Chakram which sends a glowy Chakram that deals heavy AoE damage as it bounces between enemies. Choice nodes can cause this Chakram to give us a charge of Wildfire Bomb and trigger Sentinel's Mark.

• The Bear has been nerfed by 40%, making it more balanced relative to the other Beasts. In the past, we often had to pay special attention to optimizing around the Bear, but now, the Beasts are much closer in terms of power.
• Our TWW S3 4PC mechanic, Stampede, is back, but it only triggers from your first Kill Command after activating Takedown. Which means that every minute, for around 8 seconds, you best hope that the mobs are not either moving, on a ledge, above you, below you, to the side of you, or behind you.

• Hatchet Toss replaces Arcane Shot as a sort of weak filler. It may only really be used for pulling things and is more flavor than it is a real rotational button.
• Takedown is a new 1:30 (baseline) cooldown that replaces and aims to take the best parts of Coordinated Assault and Flanking Strike in one ability. It deals heavy initial damage, gives you 50 Focus, charges you to the target, and then increases you and your pet's damage done by 20% for 8 sec. There are talents that can make this do increased and AoE damage and improve attack speed for its duration, or reduce its cooldown to 1:15/1:00.
• Wildfire Bomb now costs 10 Focus.
• Flamefang Pitch is a new 1-minute cooldown ability that throws down a firebomb of sorts on the ground that deals damage to targets within. Talents can give it an additional charge.
• Fury of the Eagle has been redesigned to Boomstick. Mechanically almost identical, but it fires shotgun blasts instead of hitting very fast with your Spear, and it has a far longer range. It has a 1-minute cooldown. There are talents that significant increase its single-target, dropping off its damage with more targets.
• The abilities Butchery, Flanking Strike, Mongoose Bite, Explosive Shot, Kill Shot, Spearhead, and Coordinated Assault are gone.
• The passive talents Alpha Predator, Bombardier, Born to Kill, Contagious Reagents, Cull the Herd, Sulfur-Lined Pockets, Tactical Advantage, Terms of Engagement, and Viper's Venom are gone.

• Hunters have +2% higher max HP than previous.
• Exhilaration's cooldown is now a 1-minute flat, instead of variable (and often lower).
• Aspect of the Turtle's cooldown is now 2:00 with talents, down from 2:30.
• Aspect of the Turtle can now be a 50% damage reduction with talents, up from 30%.
• Roar of Sacrifice is now an external defensive that can be used on yourself or any friendly target to reduce their damage taken by 15% for 10 sec, but 50% of their damage taken will be taken by your pet. It will end prematurely if your pet drops below 25% health.
• Fortitude of the Bear is now 3% passive damage reduction, instead of being an active defensive cooldown.

• Hunter's Mark is now a universal 3% damage increase against a single-target. This essentially guarantees Hunter a raid spot in every raid. It is also a boost to the group in Mythic+, though it is much less potent there.
• Muzzle now spell-locks the target for 5 seconds, up from 3.
• Freezing Trap can now slow the target by 70% for 4 sec after the trap breaks.
• Intimidation is now our sole stun/stop. A choice node either reduces its cooldown to 40 sec, or makes it a 1-second AoE stun. Implosive Trap, High Explosive Trap, and Bursting Shot are all gone.
• The slows from Wing Clip and Concussive Shot are 25% and 10% stronger, respectively.
• Horsehair Tether is now a Class Tree node and not attached to the Pack Leader Hero Talent. It is a choice node with Tar-Coated Bindings, which extends Binding Shot's stun by 1 sec.
• Ghillie Suit is gone.
• Scatter Shot is gone.
• Scrappy is gone.
• Binding Shackles is gone.

• Aspect of the Cheetah's initial "super" speed burst is now twice as long with talents.
• Kill Shot is gone and is a Marksmanship-tree exclusive.
• Successfully kicking with Muzzle/ Muzzle now grants 30 Focus, up from 10, but soothing/purging with Tranquilizing Shot no longer grants Focus.

Overall, we are gaining defensiveness and mobility, while in the utility department, we are losing some things (like the ability to move mobs) but gaining others (stronger Mark, streamlined AoE stun, stronger kick and more Focus return on kicking). I think the changes are broadly positive!