Launch in00Days00Hours00Min00Sec

CLASS GUIDE

WoW Forever Survival Hunter Class Guide

NavigatorBeta

Choose your faction

Survival starts out as the weakest Hunter spec, but your pet still holds mobs for you, so leveling stays fast. Survival's melee talents sit low in the tree, so until 30 you play a hybrid: shoot from range and weave in when a mob reaches you. From 10, take for crit, then move into the Survival tree for , and .

Leveling talents

Lv 30 · Survival0/5/16

Recommended professions

  • Skinning
    Skin every mob you kill to stock up on leatherworking materials. Learn it as early as possible.
  • Leatherworking
    The new rare leather recipes are very strong, and your level-30 belt, , is crafted too.

ROUTELevel-by-level route

  1. 1

    Levels 1–5

    Kite, then finish with Raptor Strike

    • has no cast time, so you can shoot on the move. Until you have a pet, keep backing away and shooting until mobs reach you.
    • Once a mob reaches you, finish it with . It now hits instantly instead of empowering your next swing (6 sec cooldown).
    • Restock arrows or bullets every time you pass an outpost, village or city. Without ammo you can barely do anything.
    • Learn Skinning as early as possible and skin everything you kill. The leather goes into Leatherworking gear.
    • From level 4, apply in every fight.

    Gear upgrades

    New abilities

  2. 6

    Levels 6–9

    Hunter's Mark and your first shots

    • You learn and at 6. Open with → → , then use once the mob reaches you.
    • At 8, use to slow mobs closing in so you get more shots off.
    • Keep skinning and raising Leatherworking. From 15 you wear gear you made yourself.

    Gear upgrades

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (8) · (8)

  3. 10

    Levels 10–12

    Tame your pet and Wing Clip

    • At 10, get the class quest from your hunter trainer. Finishing it lets you use and train pets.
    • Once you have a pet, it does most of your damage. Shoot while it holds the mob, and step in to finish with when the mob is nearly dead.
    • Melee crits easily pull mobs off your pet. When one comes for you, slow it with from 12, step out and keep shooting.
    • Visit the pet trainer for pet abilities and teach them to your pet. Get by taming a Clattering Crawler, Shore Crawler, Black Bear Patriarch or Den Mother.
    • Keep your pet fed with , and from 12 top it up with .
    • From 10, put points into to raise your critical strike chance with all attacks. Your pet gets your full crit chance, so its damage goes up too.

    Class quest · from level 10

    Taming the Beast (level 10)

    Given by your hunter trainer; each starting zone has its own version. Required to tame and train pets.

    Gear upgrades

    Talents

    • Lv 10–123/5

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (10) · (10) · (12) · (12) · (12)

  4. 13

    Levels 13–16

    First leather gear and Improved Tracking

    • When you head into Wailing Caverns, look for , wearable from 14.
    • At 15, craft and wear . The "Trapper's" leather pieces are all strong except the headpiece.
    • Finish at 14 for 5% more crit, then take from 15. Each point adds 1% to all damage you deal to the creature type you are tracking, so keep or on to match what you hunt.
    • at 16 can only be used after you dodge. Use it as soon as it lights up in melee.

    Gear to pick up

    Gear upgrades

    Talents

    • Lv 13–145/5
    • Lv 15–162/5

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (16) · (16)

  5. 17

    Levels 17–20

    Fang set and Dual Wield

    • In Wailing Caverns, aim for and at 17, and at 19.
    • At 18, craft and wear .
    • Finishing at 19 adds 5% to your damage against the tracked type. Against undead, switch to from 18.
    • From 20, raises the crit chance of your melee abilities such as and .
    • (18) and (20) share a cooldown. While leveling, is usually the better pick even on a single target.
    • You learn at 20. For melee, pick a slow two-hander, or a slow main hand with a fast off hand if you dual wield. damage scales with your weapon.
    • at 20 can now be placed in combat. If two mobs are on you, freeze one and kill the other first.
    • At 20, craft , and . For the head, the Brawler's hood beats the Trapper's one.
    • Use from 20 to travel faster. Taking damage dazes you, so switch back to near mobs.
    • If Legacy gives you extra talent points, just follow the same order a few levels earlier.

    Gear to pick up

    Gear upgrades

    Talents

    • Lv 17–195/5
    • Lv 201/2

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (18) · (18) · (18) · (18) · (20) · (20) · (20) · (20) · (20)

  6. 21

    Levels 21–24

    Survival talents and Blackfathom Deeps

    • Finish at 21 for 4% more melee ability crit, then take from 22 to 24 for 6% more total Health. You spend a lot of time in melee, so the extra health means less resting.
    • Melee weaving is mana-hungry and makes you stop to drink often. When mana runs low, save for finishing mobs.
    • at 22 lowers the target's chance to hit. Only one of your Stings fits on a target, so use normally and on hard-hitting elites and bosses.
    • In Blackfathom Deeps, go for (wearable from 23) and pick up the quest reward (Alliance only).
    • In Blackfathom Deeps, go for (wearable from 23) and pick up the quest reward (Horde only).
    • Dungeon quests now give half as much bonus experience, so run dungeons for gear rather than experience.
    • Your pet's Aggressive mode is back in the pet tab of your spellbook. Leave it off in dungeons so your pet doesn't pull extra packs.
    • At 22, craft and wear .

    Quest chain

    Cozy Sleeping Bag Quest (… and that note you found)

    A six-step quest chain that rewards the . You can start it from level 14 and follow notes left at burned-out camps through Westfall, The Barrens, Stonetalon Mountains, Loch Modan and Arathi Highlands. Along the way you also get two 12-slot bags, the and the . Alliance starts in Westfall and Horde in The Barrens; from the second quest on the route is the same. The quests cannot be shared.

    Every step with maps →

    Gear to pick up

    Gear upgrades

    Talents

    • Lv 212/2
    • Lv 22–243/5

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (22) · (24) · (24) · (24) · (24)

  7. 25

    Levels 25–29

    Rapid Fire and traps

    • From 25 to 27, take for 3% more hit and 30% shorter movement impairing effects on you. At 28 and 29, makes and last 30% longer and adds 30% to damage.
    • at 26 raises your ranged and melee attack speed by 40% for 15 seconds. It has a 5-minute cooldown, so save it for dangerous fights and bosses.
    • at 28 slows nearby enemies by 60%. Traps can now be placed in combat, and you can keep one Fire trap and one Frost trap out at once. When several mobs are on you, drag them over it and open up some distance.
    • At 28 you get new ranks of , , and all at once, so don't skip the trainer.
    • Pick up and the quest reward in Gnomeregan, and and the quest reward (Alliance only) in Razorfen Kraul. For your ranged weapon, (Alliance only) from The StockadeThe Stockade(Alliance only) is a great pick from 26.
    • Pick up and the quest reward in Gnomeregan, and in Razorfen Kraul.
    • The new Excavation Site: Wetlands dungeon opens at 26.
    • At 25, craft and wear .

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 25–273/3
    • Lv 28–292/2

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (26) · (26) · (28) · (28) · (28) · (28)

  8. 30

    Level 30

    Level 30: Predator's Edge and Scarlet Monastery

    • At 30, put your first point into for 6% more melee ability critical strike damage and 10% more off-hand weapon damage.
    • Once you hit 30, reset your talents. Drop the you took while leveling and stack the Survival tree down to , and .
    • You learn at 30. Use it when a melee crit pulls aggro onto you or to get out of a wipe.
    • At 30, all four Scarlet Monastery wings and Uldaman are open. Look for in Scarlet Monastery Graveyard.
    • Make , and with Leatherworking.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 301/5
    Open this build in the calculator →

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (30) · (30) · (30) · (30) · (30) · (30) · (30) · (30)

ROTATIONHow to fight

  1. 1Put on the target if you have time, and send your pet in first.
  2. 2Apply and fire . Use instead on hard-hitting elites and bosses.
  3. 3In melee range, use , and fire off whenever a dodge enables it.
  4. 4Slow the target with , step out and fire and , then move back in once your melee abilities are ready again.
  5. 5Pop for tough fights, and when several mobs are on you, lock one down with or peel them off with .

CAMPINGCamping

  • (Enchanting), and are the best camping pieces for Survival Hunters. All give strong combat buffs that make questing much easier. If you fight in melee, is useful too.