Survival Hunter Guide — Class Guides · WoW Classic

Agility, traps and survivability, with tools that keep enemies at range and talents that help in melee.

A ranged fighter in leather, and later mail, who fights at a distance with a bow, gun or crossbow, tames beasts as pets and controls enemies with traps and stings. More about the hunter

Class: Hunter
Roles: Damage
Used for: Raids and dungeons
Top talent: Wyvern Sting
Popular builds: 1
Version: WoW Classic

How to play

Survival is built for Agility and toughness: Lightning Reflexes raises Agility by 15%, Killer Instinct adds crit, Surefooted adds hit, and Deterrence, Counterattack and Entrapment help when enemies reach you. The usual build adds 21 points of Beast Mastery for pet damage and speed.

It plays like any hunter: Auto Shot, Multi-Shot and Arcane Shot between Auto Shots, Serpent Sting on long fights, and a pet adding steady damage. It shines in gear with lots of Agility, since Lightning Reflexes multiplies it.

In battlegrounds Survival's traps give hunters the control to deal with melee: Entrapment roots, improved Wing Clip holds, and the deep build's Wyvern Sting puts a target to sleep.

At a glance

Single-target damage
Damage to groups
Survivability
Utility for the group
Solo play and leveling
Ease of play

Rated 1 to 5 against the other specs in WoW Classic.

Rotation and priorities

1Hunter's Mark and send your pet.
2Serpent Sting on targets that will live; keep Auto Shot going.
3Multi-Shot when ready, Arcane Shot if mana allows.
4Rapid Fire and trinkets for burst.
5In melee: Raptor Strike, Mongoose Bite after a dodge, Wing Clip, then step out and shoot.
6Freezing Trap a second enemy; Feign Death to drop threat.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Lightning Reflexes makes every Agility upgrade worth more.
Pet damage on top of your own.
The best melee survival tools of any hunter.

Weaknesses

No Aimed Shot or Trueshot Aura in the usual build.
Lower damage than Marksmanship until your gear is good.
Mana runs out in long fights.

Stats and gear

Stat priority

Most valuable first. Bars compare each stat with the best one; a cap in the note means the stat drops off once you reach it.

1
AgilityLightning Reflexes adds 15%
2
Hitto 9%; Surefooted covers 3%
3
Critical strike
4
Ranged attack power
5
Intellect
6
Stamina

What to look for

Stack Agility: Lightning Reflexes raises it further.
Hit up to 9%, counting Surefooted's 3%.
A melee weapon with Agility helps both your stats and Raptor Strike.

Items worth chasing

Devilsaur LeggingsCrafted leather leggings with attack power and crit.
Blastershot LauncherA Molten Core gun, from Golemagg the Incinerator.
Blackhand's BreadthA trinket of critical strike chance.

Builds

Each bar splits the build's talent points by tree.

Beast Mastery
Marksmanship
Survival

Lightning Reflexes Survivalist
DamagePvE
2130
21/0/30
Agility-stacking Survival: Lightning Reflexes and Killer Instinct raise crit and damage, while Beast Mastery's Ferocity and Unleashed Fury power up the pet.
- Bestial Swiftness 1/1
- Ferocity 5/5
- Trap Mastery 2/2
- Killer Instinct 3/3
- Lightning Reflexes 5/5
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level

Key talents

Wyvern Sting · top talent, up to 1
A stinging shot that puts the target to sleep for 12 sec. Any damage will cancel the effect. When the target wakes up, the Sting causes 300 Nature damage over 6 sec. Only usable out of combat. Only one Sting per Hunter can be active on the target at a time.
Monster Slaying · tier 1, up to 3
Increases all damage caused against Beasts, Giants and Dragonkin targets by 3% and increases critical damage caused against Beasts, Giants and Dragonkin targets by an additional 3%.
Humanoid Slaying · tier 1, up to 3
Increases all damage caused against Humanoid targets by 3% and increases critical damage caused against Humanoid targets by an additional 3%.
Entrapment · tier 2, up to 5
Gives your Immolation Trap, Frost Trap, and Explosive Trap a 25% chance to entrap the target, preventing them from moving for 5 sec.
Clever Traps · tier 3, up to 2
Increases the duration of Freezing and Frost trap effects by 30% and the damage of Immolation and Explosive trap effects by 30%.
Survivalist · tier 3, up to 5
Increases total health by 10%.
Trap Mastery · tier 4, up to 2
Decreases the chance enemies will resist trap effects by 10%.
Surefooted · tier 4, up to 3
Increases hit chance by 3% and increases the chance movement impairing effects will be resisted by an additional 15%.
Killer Instinct · tier 5, up to 3
Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks by 3%.
Lightning Reflexes · tier 6, up to 5
Increases your Agility by 15%.

Survival abilities by level

When each ability arrives: trained abilities at the level a trainer first teaches them, talent abilities (gold frame) at the first level the talent can be taken.