Survival Hunter DPS Spell Summary — Shadowlands 9.2
On this page, we present you with all spells and procs that you need to understand as a Survival Hunter in World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Survival Hunter spells.
Spell Summary
This will cover synergies, cooldowns, and core concepts of the spec to get it working. If you already have experience and are very comfortable with Survival, it is okay to skip past this, otherwise this is a great point to get a base understanding before moving onto later sections of the guide that covers nuances of gameplay.
Main Resource of Survival Hunter
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 to be used.
A Survival Hunter's Focus has a maximum capacity of 100, and regenerates at a slow rate that varies by spec. In addition to this passive flow of incoming Focus, certain talents and abilities will amplify your Focus regeneration, or simply generate more of it.
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 always have enough Focus to cast your abilities as soon as they come off cooldown, but also to never have 100 Focus (as any extra Focus you generate would then go to waste).
Unlocking Abilities
Note that this page simply lists all the different abilities, assuming you are at max level. If you are leveling, check out our dedicated Hunter Leveling page, which has detailed information on when you unlock all of these abilities.
Basic Abilities of Survival Hunter
Kill Command is your primary Focus generator. It deals
low damage on a 6-second cooldown, and it generates 15 Focus. It also has a
25% chance to reset its own cooldown when you use it, allowing you to use it
multiple times in a row.
Raptor Strike is your big hitter. It deals heavy Physical damage
with no cooldown, and it costs 30 Focus. It is what you will be pressing the
most during a single-target encounter and it does a big part of your damage.
Carve is your signature AoE ability. It hits all targets around
you for moderate Physical damage, with reduced damage beyond 5 targets, and
reduces the cooldown of
Wildfire Bomb
by 1 sec for each target hit, up to 5.
Wildfire Bomb is a DoT ability with an 18-second cooldown. It
hits all targets in a cone in front of you and does instant Fire damage when it
hits, and then applies a DoT for 6 seconds to all targets hit.
Serpent Sting is an ability that applies a DoT for 12
seconds. It has no cooldown, but it costs 20 Focus. This is generally just
meant to be maintained throughout the fight, and refreshed when it is about
to expire. Its duration is reduced by Haste.
Kill Shot is an execute ability that is only available below 20%
health.
It deals heavy damage and has a 10-second cooldown. It costs 10 Focus.
For a detailed guide on how to actually put these abilities together in your rotation, check out our Rotation page below.
Talented DPS Abilities of Survival Hunter
Aside from the basic toolkit, you will come across new abilities via your Talents, depending on the ones you choose. We will outline the active abilities here.
Butchery replaces
Carve. It hits all nearby enemies
for heavy damage, with reduced damage beyond 5 targets, and has 3 charges. It
costs 30 Focus, and each charge has a
9-second
cooldown.
Steel Trap places a trap on the ground that will immobilize
the first target to walk into it, and deal heavy damage over 20 seconds.
Attacking the immobilized target will cause it to break free of the
immobilization, but it will still take damage.
A Murder of Crows applies a strong DoT to the target for 15 seconds.
If the target dies in this 15-second window, the cooldown is reset.
It has a 1-minute cooldown and costs 30 Focus.
Mongoose Bite replaces
Raptor Strike. Using it activates
Mongoose Fury, a 14-second buff that increases
the damage of successive
Mongoose Bites by 15%, stacking up to
5 times. It costs 30 Focus, like Raptor Strike.
Flanking Strike causes you and your pet to deal heavy damage to
the target. It generates 30 Focus for both you and your pet, and it has a
30-second cooldown.
Chakrams throws a pair of glaives at your target,
slicing all enemies in their path. Once they hit their target, they
will return to you, dealing damage once again to all enemies in their path.
Your primary target takes double the damage. It costs 15 Focus and has a
20-second
cooldown.
Wildfire Infusion causes your
Wildfire Bomb to give
you a random special effect for 5 seconds (which is the duration of the DoT
itself) every time you throw it. Whenever you use it, the special effect for
your next one changes randomly. You can see what effect your next Bomb will
have on the icon, so that you know what you will be casting. You will find a
detailed rundown of the different effects below.
Wildfire Infusion
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Description |
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Causes your ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Gives your
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Causes your bomb to explode for 50% additional damage on all targets
that are already affected by ![]() |
Movement Tools
Disengage is your primary mobility ability. It causes you to
leap backwards on a 20-second cooldown at no cost. Certain talents like
Posthaste amplify this ability, causing it to
give you increased movement speed for a few seconds. You can use this to
quickly go from one place to another — even in a forwards direction by
jumping, turning around and casting Disengage to catapult you forwards instead
of backwards.
Harpoon is Survival's unique gap closer. It flings a Harpoon
at the target, and then quickly flies you toward it. Certain talents
amplify this ability to make it do damage and generate Focus,
but its primary role is a
gap closer, both on the pull and when swapping targets mid-combat.
Aspect of the Cheetah is your second mobility ability, acting as
more of a movement cooldown. It increases your movement speed by 90% for
5 seconds, and then by 30% for another 9 seconds on a 3-minute cooldown. Note
it does not stack with
Posthaste, so you should make sure to use
Disengage and Aspect of the Cheetah separately for movement.
Important Procs and Passives of Survival Hunter
Mastery: Spirit Bond increases the damage of you and your pet's
Focus-spending abilities, and causes you both to heal slightly every 5 seconds.
The damage increase and healing per 5 seconds is all based on how much
Mastery you have.
Offensive Cooldowns of Survival Hunter
Coordinated Assault is Survival's primary DPS cooldown. It
increases all your damage done by 20%, and increases
Kill Command's chance of resetting its cooldown by 25% for
20 seconds. It has a 2-minute cooldown.
Aspect of the Eagle increases the range of your
Raptor Strike to 40 yards for 15 seconds, on a 1-minute and
12-second cooldown. This allows you to do most of your damage from range.
Additional Utility & Trap of Survival Hunter
Hunter's Mark is an ability that lets you mark a target, so that you
can always track it on your mini-map. Only one Mark can be applied at a time.
Eyes of the Beast lets you take direct control of your pet's model and
see through its eyes for one minute.
Muzzle interrupts your target's spell casting. It also prevents
any other cast in that school from being started for 3 seconds. It has a
15-second cooldown.
Aspect of the Turtle is the Hunter's primary defensive. It is an
8-second immune (from most abilities) and 30% damage reduction that makes you
unable to attack for its duration. As mentioned, it is an immunity from most
attacks, although many important encounter mechanics will still target you or
do damage to you when it is active. It has a 3-minute cooldown.
Exhilaration is the Hunter's self heal. It
heals you for 30% of your total health, and your pet for its full health on a
2-minute cooldown.
Intimidation stuns your pet's target for 5 seconds. It has a
1-minute cooldown.
Wing Clip is a 50% slow ability that lasts for 15 seconds on enemy
targets. It costs 30 Focus.
Scare Beast is an ability that lets you fear any Beast-type creature
for up to 20 seconds. Damaging it cancels the effect, and only one Beast can be
feared at a time. It costs 25 Focus.
Tranquilizing Shot is an ability that dispels 1 Enrage and 1 Magic
effect from an enemy target. It also generates 10 Focus when you successfully
do so.
Freezing Trap is a long-term crowd control for all Hunter specs. It
places a trap on the ground that encases the first enemy (not bosses or most
big encounter adds) to touch it in ice for 1 minute. The effect breaks on
damage. The trap has a 30-second cooldown, and the trap will exist for 1
minute after placing it.
Tar Trap is an AoE slow for all Hunter specs. It places a trap on
the ground that causes a patch of tar to appear on the ground in an 8 yard
radius around it when it is triggered, slowing all enemies in it by 50% for as
long as they are in it. The patch of tar persists for 30 seconds, and the trap
itself will exist for up to 1 minute before being triggered.
Flare places a flare on the ground that reveals stealthed
players and mobs nearby. It lasts for 20 seconds, and has a 20-second
cooldown.
Feign Death lets you pretend to be dead, dropping all
threat/aggro on all enemies. When not in raid or dungeon encounters, it is a
quick way to drop you from combat. In raids and dungeons, it can help you
survive a wipe by using it when everyone else is about to die.
Misdirection causes you to redirect all the threat you do to a
friendly target for 8 seconds, beginning with your first attack after activating
it. It has a 30-second cooldown. It is very
useful for aiding your tank in picking up enemies that are spread far apart,
such as wide-scale dungeon trash pulls. Note that this only applies to threat
you personally generate, not that of your pet(s).
Pet Specializations
There are 3 different pet specializations. These specializations are determined by your pet family and they cannot be changed. We recommend having a variety of pets of each spec, so that you can cover any situation.
Pet Spec | Passive Effect | Active Ability |
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Ferocity | ![]() |
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Tenacity | ![]() |
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Cunning | ![]() |
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Pet Families and Abilities
Every Pet Family has a special ability. We recommend having at least one of every special ability and spec combination.
Ferocity Pets
Special Ability | Description | Pet Families |
---|---|---|
Damage Reduction Cooldown | Reduces the damage taken of your pet by 50% for 12 seconds. This has a 1-minute cooldown. | Core Hound (Exotic), Scalehide. |
Self-Dispel | Removes 1 Disease, 1 Magic, and 1 Poison effect from your pet. 10-second cooldown. | Bat, Ray |
Healing Reduction | Reduces the healing taken of your pet's target by 25% for 10 seconds. This has a 6-second cooldown, which means that it will be active all the time. | Carrion Bird, Ravager, Scorpid, Wasp. |
Damage Reduction On Low Health | Reduces your pet's damage taken by 60% for 15 seconds when your pet falls below 40% health. | Gorilla. |
Dodge Chance Cooldown | This ability increases your pet's Dodge chance by 30% for 20 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown. | Cat, Wind Serpent |
Slow/Snare | Reduces the movement speed of your pet's target by 50% for 6 seconds. It has a 10-second cooldown. | Crocolisk, Spider, Tallstrider, Wolf, Chimaera. |
Tenacity Pets
Special Ability | Description | Pet Families |
---|---|---|
Damage Reduction Cooldown | Reduces the damage taken of your pet by 50% for 12 seconds. This has a 1-minute cooldown. | Krolusk (Exotic), Beetle, Turtle. |
Self-Dispel | Removes 1 Disease, 1 Magic, and 1 Poison effect from your pet. 10-second cooldown. | Spirit Beast (Exotic), Crane, Stag |
Healing Reduction | Reduces the healing taken of your pet's target by 25% for 10 seconds. This has a 6-second cooldown, which means that it will be active all the time. | Direhorn, Hydra, Riverbeast, Lizard. |
Damage Reduction On Low Health | Reduces your pet's damage taken by 60% for 15 seconds when your pet falls below 40% health. | Oxen, Bear. |
Dodge Chance Cooldown | This ability increases your pet's Dodge chance by 30% for 20 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown. | *Feathermane, Dragonhawk, Toad. |
Slow/Snare | Reduces the movement speed of your pet's target by 50% for 6 seconds. It has a 10-second cooldown. | Worm (Exotic), Crab, Mammoth |
*Feathermane pets also have Updraft, which enables Slow Fall for you and your pet, allowing you to fall safely from almost any height while the pet is active for 30 seconds.
Cunning Pets
Special Ability | Description | Pet Families |
---|---|---|
Damage Reduction Cooldown | Reduces the damage taken of your pet by 50% for 12 seconds. This has a 1-minute cooldown. | Shale Spider (Exotic), Boar, Mechanical. |
Self-Dispel | Removes 1 Disease, 1 Magic, and 1 Poison effect from your pet. 10-second cooldown. | Sporebat, Moth, Water Strider (Exotic) |
Healing Reduction | Reduces the healing taken of your pet's target by 25% for 10 seconds. This has a 6-second cooldown, which means that it will be active all the time. | Hyena, Rodent, Raptor. |
Damage Reduction On Low Health | Reduces your pet's damage taken by 60% for 15 seconds when your pet falls below 40% health. | Goat, Pterrodax |
Dodge Chance Cooldown | This ability increases your pet's Dodge chance by 30% for 20 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown. | Fox, Monkey, Serpent. |
Slow/Snare | Reduces the movement speed of your pet's target by 50% for 6 seconds. It has a 10-second cooldown. | Basilisk, Bird of Prey, Dog, Warp Stalker, Aqiri (Exotic). |
* Water Strider pets also have Surface Trot, a passive ability
that lets you and your pet walk on water while out of combat. Damage will
break this effect.
Exotic Pets (Beast Mastery-only)
Pet Family | Specialization | Special Ability | Exotic Ability |
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Core Hound | Ferocity | ![]() |
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Chimaera | Ferocity | ![]() |
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Devilsaur | Ferocity | ![]() |
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Clefthoof | Ferocity | ![]() |
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Quilen | Tenacity | ![]() |
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Spirit Beast | Tenacity | ![]() |
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Worm | Tenacity | ![]() |
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Krolusk | Tenacity | ![]() |
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Shale Spider | Cunning | ![]() |
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Aqiri | Cunning | ![]() |
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Water Strider | Cunning | ![]() |
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Changelog
- 01 Nov. 2021: Updated ability descriptions to reflect the Patch 9.1.5 Target Cap changes.
- 28 Jun. 2021: Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 23 Nov. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
More Hunter Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Azortharion, a theorycrafter of all things Hunter-related for many years. He is an accomplished player with dozen of top parses for all specs throughout the game's history. He is also the Admin of Trueshot Lodge, the Hunter Class Discord, and you can watch his stream on Twitch. He even has his own personal Discord channel where you can get notifications about when the guides get updated and have direct communications with him.
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