Survival Hunter DPS Easy Mode — The War Within (11.0.5)

This is the strongest pure single-target build for Survival and should be used for practically all such scenarios. Its main weakness is downtime, caused especially by your pet being unable to attack for prolonged periods of time. In practice, this is rarely an issue, however, and there is no single-target boss in which I recommend another build.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

This build is our default recommendation for Mythic+, as it does not suffer from downtime between pulls like Pack Leader does.

While I strongly recommend that you run the build exactly as listed, there are a few changes you could make to suit your personal preferences, though I cannot stress enough that significant deviations are likely to cost you significant performance. A lot of work went into every talent picked, combining simulations of single-target, pure AoE, and mixed dungeon simulation scenarios with a variety of pull sizes and durations.

The main change you can make is swapping Flanking Strike for Sulfur-Lined Pockets. This saves a keybind and is simpler to play while still being competitive. The main drawback is that because Sulfur-Lined Pockets can "munch" the Explosive Shot procs granted from Bombardier, you cannot control when that powerful triple- Explosive Shot gets fired, even in situations where you would actually rather save it for an upcoming add phase, or larger pack. Still, I recommend this swap if you are new to Survival.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

The goal of Survival is chiefly to maximize your Tip of the Spear coverage on all of your abilities. Ensure that the buff is up whenever you cast a Flanking Strike, Wildfire Bomb, Explosive Shot, Kill Shot.

Beyond this, use Raptor Strike/ Mongoose Bite as a filler and Focus spender, with Kill Command being your Focus and Tip generator.

On AoE, we focus far more on Wildfire Bombs, which deal amazing AoE damage. We reduce their cooldown by using Butchery on cooldown. If single-target is about maximizing Mongoose Bites, AoE is all about throwing as many Bombs as possible!

It is still extremely important to ensure that Tip of the Spear is active for all of your special abilities.

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 30% damage reduction with 2 charges on a 1.5-minute cooldown each. Use it to reduce damage taken from hard-hitting mechanics. Optimal use of this ability entails using it proactively, before heavy incoming 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! It will also dispel all Poison and Disease effects from you.

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.

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 4% Leech which is better for prolonged self-sustain!