WoW Classic Survival Hunter Leveling Guide 1-60

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Survival is a viable Hunter spec at level 60 for PvP, but is far worse than Beast Mastery for leveling. One of the main issues that you will run into is that you pet cannot hold threat well, and with Survival this problem becomes even more severe. For dungeons Survival can be good since you are not relying on your pet to tank, but your pet will be doing a large portion of your damage while leveling due to a lack of real stats, meaning Beast Mastery is also going to do the most damage. It is possible to level as a Survival Hunter, but know that it will be worse than Beast Mastery in almost every regard.

This is a rough build that you could follow while leveling as Survival, but for the most part you can choose whatever you want. Improved Concussive Shot is an excellent choice if you think you will be PvPing while leveling in place of Efficiency, and Survival specifically has some great survivability and PvP options if you want to go that route. The critical talents to pick up are Lightning Reflexes, Killer Instinct, and Wyvern Sting for the damage and control.

Survival also brings more melee options than the other two specs. Deterrence, Counterattack, and Improved Wing Clip all give you more things to do in melee range, which can help you out both for leveling and in PvP. Attacking in melee will still be significantly worse than just using your bow, but you have the option.

1. Command your pet to attack the target;
2. Hunter's Mark;
3. Aimed Shot;
4. Auto Shot;
5. Serpent Sting;
6. Auto Shot;
7. Aimed Shot if you are fine on Mana;
8. Arcane Shot if you are fine on Mana;
9. Multi-Shot if you are fine on Mana;
10. Auto Shot until the enemy is dead.

The key from 1-10 is getting as many auto shots off as possible before the target reaches you. The best way to accomplish this is by kiting backwards, moving in between each shot. At level 8 Concussive Shot can help with this.

Do your class quest to get your pet. Once you have your pet, your kill speed and efficiency should become much better. Make sure you are careful with your threat, and try to let your pet tank whenever possible.

Multi-Shot is a powerful attack, but can cause you to pull aggro off your pet if you use it on multiple enemies. It is incredibly powerful, but losing auto shots from enemies running into your dead zone will be a bigger damage loss.

Feign Death is a great way to drop threat while fighting enemies. You can combine this with Aimed Shot or Multi-Shot to deal a burst of damage right before dropping threat to ensure your pet keeps aggro.

While leveling, Hunters gain a huge power spike when they complete their Level 10 class quest and get a pet. This is incredibly important for leveling, and outlined in the following guide.

Leveling Information

Hunter Quests

Check out how to gain access to powerful upgrades for your Hunter by completing their class-specific questline!

Go to Guide

All Hunter specs benefit from upgrading the same skills, so our list of skills to buy from trainers is the same, regardless of the spec. For this reason, you will find that list in our general Hunter leveling page.

Endgame Information

Hunter Guides

Finished Leveling? Check out the rest of our Hunter Guide to learn how to maximize your gameplay!

Hunter Endgame Guides

Impakt

Guide Author

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This guide has been written by Impakt, an Officer in BDGG, the #2 North American guild on retail. In addition to live WoW, he has also been a classic theorycrafter and enthusiast for many years. You can watch him stream on Twitch, or follow him on Twitter.

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