Survival Hunter DPS Easy Mode — Dragonflight 10.2.5
On this page, we explain how to easily play Survival Hunter in World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2.5, using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.
Foreword
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.
The Basics of Survival Hunter in Dragonflight
Survival is quite simple in its execution and it is an ideal spec for someone new to raiding, or just WoW in general. It is one of the most popular specs in the game's history and has seen use in many World First kills.
If you are completely new to Survival and need more information on the abilities available to you, you can check out our Spell Summary page.
Beginner's Guide to Survival Hunter in Dragonflight
Single-Target Talents for Survival Hunter
This build is optimal for pure single-target situations.
Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Mythic+ Talents for Survival Hunter
This is our recommended build for AoE scenarios. This works well for AoE Fights in Raids, as well as most Mythic+.
Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!
Beginner Survival Hunter DPS Rotation
The goal of Survival is to maximize Mongoose Bite count, by maximizing Focus spent with Kill Command by always casting it on cooldown, but without Focus capping. Then, we have some abilities to keep on cooldown, namely Wildfire Bomb, Fury of the Eagle, Kill Shot, and Flanking Strike.
AoE Rotation for Survival Hunter
On AoE, we focus far more on Wildfire Bombs, which deal amazing AoE damage. We reduce their cooldown by using Butchery on cooldown, and Fury of the Eagle will also reduce their cooldown. If single-target is about maximizing Mongoose Bites, AoE is all about throwing as many Bombs as possible!
Defensive Spells for Survival Hunter
Exhilaration is your primary self-heal and it has a rather short cooldown thanks to the Natural Mending Talent. Use this when you drop below 50% HP to help out your Healer!
Aspect of the Turtle is your immunity. It can be used to completely negate the damage and effects of most spells targeted on you. Use it if you are assigned to, or in a pinch if you worry that an upcoming mechanic will kill you!
Survival of the Fittest is our most powerful defensive besides Turtle, a 40% damage reduction thanks to Nature's Endurance. Use it to reduce damage taken from hard-hitting mechanics. Remember that this ability is only good if you use it before heavy damage! Do not use it in a panic after taking a lot of damage.
Fortitude of the Bear is an extra defensive that comes from using a Tenacity Pet (more on that in the Pets section!). It increases max health by 20% and heals you for that amount too. This defensive can be used after heavy damage, or to survive things that might one-shot you.
Feign Death is a very unique Hunter ability. It can be used to drop aggro and combat, and it can also be used to stop casts on you — mobs will usually stop casting mid-cast if you appear to be dead!
This is just some of the key utility of Survival Hunter. We highly recommend checking out the fully detailed Spell Glossary page below to see everything explained in detail.
Best Pets for Survival Hunter
The most important thing to say about Pets is that they all deal the same DPS. The only difference is in utility and defensive capabilities!
First of all, you need to find out if you need to be using Bloodlust/ Heroism in your group. Only Hunters, Mages, Evokers, and Shamans can use Bloodlust, so if there is no one else of those classes in your group, then it is on you!
If you do need to Bloodlust, you need to use any Ferocity Pet, since these come with the Primal Rage Bloodlust Ability. Use this website to find a cool Ferocity Pet for Lusting purposes!
If you do not need to Bloodlust, then the best Pet is a personal choice Tenacity Pet or the aforementioned Ferocity Pet. Tenacity Pets come with the Fortitude of the Bear defensive and 5% Max Health, but you lose out on the 10% Leech which is better for prolonged self-sustain!
Best Talents for Survival Hunter in Dragonflight
This is the Easy Mode page which presents things in a simplified manner with simplified builds. For our detailed, fully-fledged Talent and Rotation guides, click below!
Stat Priority for Survival Hunter in Dragonflight
The general stat priority for a Survival Hunter is:
- Haste, to around 30%;
- Critical Strike, to around 44;
- Versatility;
- More Haste and Crit;
- Mastery.
While the stat priority for classes is normally the same for both the Easy Mode page and our full guide, subtle differences can still occur. If you want to see the full explanation of the stat priority, as well as the absolute top choices for the priority, head to our full stats page below.
Changelog
- 29 Jan. 2024: Updated the default M+ build to a No-CD Build.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 10.2.5
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 13 Jun. 2023: Updated the Easy Mode rotation and builds to be easier to follow.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Hunter Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Azortharion, a Hunter Theorycrafter and Guidewriter since 2014, and considered one of the best Hunters in the world. He is an accomplished player with dozen of top parses for all specs throughout the game's history. He is also the Founder/Owner/Head Admin of Trueshot Lodge, the Hunter Class Discord. You can find him on his stream on Twitch and his channel on YouTube. He also has his own personal Discord server where you can freely ask him any Hunter questions you may have!
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