TBC Classic Survival Hunter Guide (Phase 3)

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.

• 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 — Auto Shot and Steady Shot alternating. More often the weapon is slower (2.2–2.4 seconds with haste), in which case the 1:1.5 scheme is used — two Steady Shot and one instant shot for every two Auto Shot.

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

• Rapid Fire — the main cooldown for boosting shot speed
• Readiness — resets all of the hunter's cooldowns, primarily for a second Rapid Fire
• Kill Command — does not use the global cooldown, press it whenever it is available
• Misdirection — dumps threat onto the tank
• Explosive Trap — area damage, pays off from 7 targets; in TBC it can be placed mid-combat
• Hail of Arrows — weak, only on 10+ targets and when everything else is on cooldown
• Aspect of the Viper — switch from Aspect of the Hawk when you are short on mana

Orc

• Axe Specialization increases expertise rating by 5 when wielding an axe.
• Blood Fury increases attack power by 282 for 15 seconds, but during that time healing received is reduced by 50%. 2-minute cooldown.
• Command increases pet damage by 5%.
• Hardiness increases the chance to resist stun effects by 15%.

Troll

• Beast Slaying increases damage against beasts by 5%.
• Berserking increases attack and casting speed by 10–30% depending on how wounded you are. 3-minute cooldown.
• Bow Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a bow.
• Throwing Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a thrown weapon.
• Regeneration increases health regeneration by 10% and allows 10% of it to be restored even in combat.

Tauren

• Cultivation increases Herbalism skill by 15.
• Endurance increases total health by 5%.
• Nature Resistance increases Nature resistance by 10.
• War Stomp stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. 0.5-second cast, 2-minute cooldown.

Night Elf

• Nature Resistance increases Nature resistance by 10.
• Quickness increases dodge chance by 1%.
• Shadowmeld turns you invisible while you stand still. 10-second cooldown, does not work in combat.
• Wisp Spirit turns you into a wisp after death and speeds up the ghost's movement by 50%.

Dwarf

• Find Treasure marks nearby chests on the minimap.
• Frost Resistance increases Frost resistance by 10.
• Gun Specialization increases critical strike chance by 1% when wielding a gun.
• Stoneform grants immunity to bleed, poison, and disease effects and increases armor for 8 seconds. 3-minute cooldown.

Draenei

• Gemcutting increases Jewelcrafting skill by 5.
• Shadow Resistance increases Shadow resistance by 10.
• Gift of the Naaru heals the target over 15 seconds.
• Heroic Presence increases hit chance for the entire party within 30 yards by 1%.

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.