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TBC Classic Survival Hunter Guide (Phase 3)
by FourenUpdated 8 minutes read views
About the Class
Survival Hunter is a ranged fighter in mail armor. They shoot with a bow, crossbow, or gun and fight alongside a pet. In terms of damage the specialization falls behind Beast Mastery, but it remains valuable in a raid thanks to its unique debuff 
Expose Weakness, which increases attack power for all physical attackers hitting that target. In TBC the pet scales off the owner's stats and deals a noticeable share of the total damage.
Strengths
- High damage at any stage of the expansion.
- Unique raid debuff Expose Weakness.
- Strong utility:
Misdirection and 
Feign Death. - One of the most sought-after classes in a raid, so finding a spot in a group is easy.
- Easy to gear up at the start of the expansion.
- Fast leveling and confident solo play out in the world.
Weaknesses
- Damage is lower than Beast Mastery's, and a raid usually brings only one such hunter — for the debuff.
- The class relies on a pet, which requires constant attention.
- The rotation is more complex than that of most classes.
- Weak area and multi-target damage.
- Almost no defensive cooldowns and no self-healing.
Stat Priority
Hunter Survival Stats Priority
- 1Agility
- 2Critical Strike Rating
- 3Hit Rating
- 4Armor Penetration
- 5Attack Power
Talents
Talents
Ability Priority
Abilities Priority
Kill Command — on cooldown, off the global cooldown, available after a crit
Volley — on cooldown, instead of 
Steady Shot: its damage per cast is even higher
Auto Shot — the foundation of the rotation, with the other shots woven in between- Steady Shot — filler
Arcane Shot — instant, if there is no Volley
Serpent Sting — instant, while moving
The ratio of shots is tuned to your weapon speed. At a haste-adjusted speed of about 1.5 seconds the 1:1 scheme works —
Opener
Hunter's Mark — if you are assigned to place the mark- Misdirection — on the tank, so you don't pull threat
Aimed Shot — time the cast so it finishes at zero on the pull timer
Distracting Shot — optional, gives the tank maximum threat
Blood Fury or other racial cooldowns
Rapid Fire
Readiness — reset cooldowns and repeat Rapid Fire- Then the normal rotation
Key Abilities
Key Abilities
the main cooldown for boosting shot speed
resets all of the hunter's cooldowns, primarily for a second Rapid Fire
Rapid Firedoes not use the global cooldown, press it whenever it is available
dumps threat onto the tank
area damage, pays off from 7 targets; in TBC it can be placed mid-combat
weak, only on 10+ targets and when everything else is on cooldown
switch from 
Aspect of the Hawk when you are short on mana
Aspect of the Hawk when you are short on manaBest Gear (BiS)
Best Gear (BiS)Slot
Recommended Gear
Source
Head
Coif of Alleria
Kil'jaeden — Sunwell Plateau
Neck
Clutch of Demise
Brutallus — Sunwell Plateau
Shoulders
Gronnstalker's Spaulders
Mother Shahraz — Black Temple
Back
Cloak of Unforgivable Sin
Kil'jaeden — Sunwell Plateau
Chest
Bladed Chaos Tunic
Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple
Wrists
Gronnstalker's Bracers
Lady Sacrolash and Grand Warlock Alythess — Sunwell Plateau
Hands
Thalassian Ranger Gauntlets
Kil'jaeden — Sunwell Plateau
Waist
Gronnstalker's Belt
Brutallus — Sunwell Plateau
Legs
Leggings of the Immortal Night
Felmyst — Sunwell Plateau
Feet
Gronnstalker's Boots
Mother Shahraz — Black Temple
Rings
Hard Khorium Band
Jewelcrafting
Angelista's Revenge
Vendor for Badges of Justice (60 badges)
Trinkets
Blackened Naaru Sliver
M'uru — Sunwell Plateau
Berserker's Call
Zul'jin — Zul'Aman
Melee Weapon
Shivering Felspine
Trash mobs — Sunwell Plateau
Ranged
Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury
Kil'jaeden — Sunwell Plateau
Tier 6 Set — Gronnstalker's Armor
Tier 6 Set — Gronnstalker's ArmorSlot
Recommended Gear
Drops From
Head
Gronnstalker's Helmet
Archimonde — Mount Hyjal
Shoulders
Gronnstalker's Spaulders
Mother Shahraz — Black Temple
Chest
Gronnstalker's Chestguard
Illidan Stormrage — Black Temple
Hands
Gronnstalker's Gloves
Azgalor — Mount Hyjal
Legs
Gronnstalker's Leggings
Illidari Council — Black Temple
Wrists
Gronnstalker's Bracers
Kalecgos — Sunwell Plateau (exchange via Sunmote)
Waist
Gronnstalker's Belt
Brutallus — Sunwell Plateau (exchange via Sunmote)
Feet
Gronnstalker's Boots
Felmyst — Sunwell Plateau (exchange via Sunmote)
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
EnchantsHead
Arcanum of Ferocity
Shoulders
Might of the Scourge
or
Greater Inscription of the Blade
or
Greater Inscription of Vengeance
Back
Enchant Cloak - Greater Agility
Chest
Enchant Chest - Exceptional Stats
Wrists
Lesser Assault
Hands
Superior Agility
Legs
Nethercobra Leg Armor
Feet
Enchant Boots - Dexterity
One-Handed Weapon
Enchant Weapon - Greater Agility
Two-Handed Weapon
Enchant 2H Weapon - Major Agility
Ranged Weapon
Stabilized Eternium Scope
GemsSlot
Recommended Gear
Comment
Meta gem
Relentless Earthstorm Diamond
requires 2 red, 2 yellow, and 2 blue gems in your gear
Red
Delicate Crimson Spinel
Yellow
Deadly Pyrestone
Blue
Jagged Seaspray Emerald
covers both the yellow and blue meta requirement at once
ConsumablesFlask
Flask of Relentless Assault
Battle Elixir
Elixir of Major Agility
or
Elixir of Demonslaying
Guardian Elixir
Elixir of Major Mageblood
Food
Spicy Hot Talbuk
or
Grilled Mudfish
Potion
Haste Potion
Sharpening Stone
Adamantite Weightstone
or
Adamantite Sharpening Stone
Rune
Demonic Rune
or
Dark Rune
Drums
Drums of Battle
Races
Orc
Increases expertise rating by 5 when wielding an axe.
Increases attack power by 282 for 15 seconds, but during that time healing received is reduced by 50%. 2-minute cooldown.
Increases pet damage by 5%.
Increases the chance to resist stun effects by 15%.
Troll
Increases damage against beasts by 5%.
Increases attack and casting speed by 10–30% depending on how wounded you are. 3-minute cooldown.
Increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a bow.
Increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a thrown weapon.
Increases health regeneration by 10% and allows 10% of it to be restored even in combat.
Tauren
Increases Herbalism skill by 15.
Increases total health by 5%.
Increases Nature resistance by 10.
Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. 0.5-second cast, 2-minute cooldown.
Night Elf
Increases Nature resistance by 10.
Increases dodge chance by 1%.
Turns you invisible while you stand still. 10-second cooldown, does not work in combat.
Turns you into a wisp after death and speeds up the ghost's movement by 50%.
Dwarf
Marks nearby chests on the minimap.
Increases Frost resistance by 10.
Increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a gun.
Grants immunity to bleed, poison, and disease effects and increases armor for 8 seconds. 3-minute cooldown.
Draenei
Increases Jewelcrafting skill by 5.
Increases Shadow resistance by 10.
Heals the target over 15 seconds.
Increases hit chance for the entire party within 30 yards by 1%.
Best Professions
Leatherworking
The best profession for a hunter. It provides 
Drums of Battle and Greater Drums of Battle, as well as the Primalstrike set — three pre-raid BiS pieces at once and several near-BiS options.
Engineering
The second most useful profession. It provides items that add damage and help in tricky situations both in PvE and in PvP.
Skinning
A good choice at the start if you don't want Engineering: it supplies materials for leveling Leatherworking and crafting the level 70 set.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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