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HomepageWorld of WarcraftClassesSurvival HunterEasy Mode

Survival Hunter DPS Easy Mode

Last updated on Mar 15, 2018 at 06:31 by Azortharion 373 comments

Table of Contents

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

1. The Basics of Survival

Survival is a versatile melee spec capable of quite powerful single-target and sometimes very powerful AoE. It also has great crowd control capabilities for a melee. It is a relatively complex, but rewarding DPS spec with many buttons to press, but only a few that are actually important.

2. Talent Choice

The talents listed below are selected either for ease of use, or for more a more simple to understand gameplay style. Whilst in a number of cases there are alternatives on the tree that will provide more if played well, they create much more room to play incorrectly and reduce your performance. Due to this, treat this as a starting point and a primer.

3. Gearing, Stats & Legendaries

Currently, you will want to prioritize secondary stats as follows:

  1. Haste;
  2. Critical Strike;
  3. Versatility;
  4. Mastery

Critical Strike, and Versatility are all very close in value, with Haste being a bit better than both of them, but you should usually just pick the item with the highest item level when considering upgrades.

The optimal Legendaries for Survival are generally quite clear-cut.

Single Target:

Multiple Targets:

Honorable Mentions:

4. Basic Rotation

Remember to read and treat this rotation as a priority list. If the top option is not available (no charges of Mongoose Bite left), move on to the next and so on.

  1. Cast Mongoose Bite Icon Mongoose Bite when it is available with 2 charges or more.
  2. Cast Flanking Strike Icon Flanking Strike on cooldown.
  3. Cast Spitting Cobra Icon Spitting Cobra on cooldown.
  4. Cast Explosive Trap Icon Explosive Trap on cooldown.
  5. Cast Lacerate Icon Lacerate just enough to keep the DoT up on the target. (No Frizzo's Fingertrap Icon)
  6. Cast Mongoose Bite Icon Mongoose Bite when it is available with less than 2 charges.
  7. Use Lacerate Icon Lacerate when there is nothing else to do, as a last-resort filler.
  8. Cast Raptor Strike Icon Raptor Strike to refresh Serpent Sting (No Frizzo's Fingertrap Icon), and when there is nothing else to do.

4.1. Cooldowns

Use Aspect of the Eagle Icon Aspect of the Eagle when there is ~10 seconds left on Mongoose Fury Icon Mongoose Fury to fully cover the end of the Mongoose Fury buff with the cooldown.

Use Fury of the Eagle Icon Fury of the Eagle with 6 stacks of Mongoose Fury Icon Mongoose Fury.

Use Carve Icon Carve instead of Raptor Strike when fighting multiple enemies (with Frizzo's Fingertrap Icon you always use Carve instead of Raptor Strike, however).

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Azortharion, the main theorycrafter of the spec. He is also an accomplished player who raids in Solaris. You can also watch his stream on Twitch.

⋘Introduction
Spell Summary⋙

5. ChangeLog

  • 15 Mar. 2018: Removed Pumpo references for the Easy Mode build and instead went with a more traditional build, but with Lacerate removed from the rotation at a surprisingly modest DPS loss over an optimal rotation.
  • 05 Dec. 2017: Slight Aspect of the Eagle usage update.
  • 09 Oct. 2017: Dubbed the easy mode build "Pumpo" and expanded on its use of the Frizzo's Fingertrap Icon Frizzo's Fingertrap Legendary, though it is also usable without.
  • 05 Sep. 2017: Updated trinket simulations.
  • 18 Aug. 2017: Updated stat weights and removed obsolete mentions.
  • 13 Jun. 2017: Changed some talent recommendations.
  • 07 Feb. 2017: Updated stat priority and rotation slightly.
  • 12 Jan. 2017: Updated stat priority and talent recommendation to be even easier.
  • 09 Jan. 2017: Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
  • 18 Dec. 2016: Added easy mode for Survival Hunters.
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