PvE Survival Hunter Rotations & Cooldowns – WoW Classic

Survival Hunters have two main ways they can be played, ranged and melee. This guide showcases the ranged variant, displaying two different main Single-Target rotations based on two separate builds, an AoE rotation, and overall utilities & cooldowns. Keep in mind that the optimum way to play Survival Hunter is to track your Auto-Shots and weave-in abilities in between each Auto-Shot, based on Weapon Speed.

PvE Survival Hunter

Stat Priority

Best Professions

Talents & Builds

Rotation & Cooldowns

Pre-Raid & Best in Slot (BiS)

Enchants & Consumables

Survival/Marksmanship Single-Target Rotation

1. Pre-Cast Aspect of the Hawk
2. Cast Hunter’s Mark (Refresh if it expires)
3. Use Rapid Fire (Burst)
4. Pre-Cast Aimed Shot (Initial Engage)
5. Cast Multi-Shot (On Cooldown)
6. Cast Serpent Sting (Refresh & Upkeep)
7. Cast Aimed Shot (Main Ability)
   • Cast Aimed Shot on cooldown
8. Cast Immolation Trap (If you Melee Weave)
9. Cast Raptor Strike (Only if you Melee Weave)

Aimed Shot is the main ability for the Survival/Marksmanship Build, being used every 6 seconds as the primary damage source! Just like we mentioned at the beginning, the idea is to always weave in your abilities between your Auto-Shots, meaning that you will always want to start an encounter by Pre-Casting Aimed Shot after placing Hunter’s Mark on your target.

Multi-Shot is the next ability in terms of importance, used right after your initial Auto-Shot and used on cooldown every 10 seconds. Since WoW Classic Fresh removes the debuff limit on your targets, you will also want to use Serpent Sting and refresh its DoT every time it ends. However, you should never prioritize Serpent Sting over an Aimed Shot or Multi-Shot cast!

If you decide to Melee Weave, you should rotate between Melee and Range positions every 15 seconds and add a cast of Immolation Trap and Raptor Strike every time you do so. You may also choose to go in Melee range sooner while Aimed Shot and Multi-Shot are on cooldown for additional Raptor Strike casts.

Rapid Fire will always be used for Burst moments! Depending on the encounter, you may instantly want to use it or trigger it at very specific moments.

Survival/Beast Mastery Single-Target Rotation

1. Pre-Cast Aspect of the Hawk
2. Cast Hunter’s Mark (Refresh if it expires)
3. Use Rapid Fire (Burst)
4. Cast Serpent Sting (Refresh & Upkeep)
5. Cast Multi-Shot (On Cooldown)
6. Cast Arcane Shot (On Cooldown)
7. Cast Immolation Trap (If you Melee Weave)
8. Cast Raptor Strike (Only if you Melee Weave)
9. Make sure that your Pet is on target (Pet Build Priority)

The Survival/Beast Mastery works very similarly to the Survival/Marksmanship one, with the main distinction being that you will replace Aimed Shot with Arcane Shot! This build focuses more on pet damage, so you can expect your pet to provide a similar damage output to the damage lost by replacing Aimed Shot. The rotation works precisely the same with Arcane Shot, Multi-Shot, and Serpent Sting being your main abilities while Immolation Trap and Raptor Strike remain your Melee Weave options.

AoE Rotation

1. Cast Multi-Shot (On Cooldown)
2. Cast Volley (On Cooldown)
3. Cast Explosive Trap (On Cooldown)

The AoE Rotation is extremely simple for Survival Hunters, revolving around 2 main abilities and 1 long cooldown. Multi-Shot is the first cooldown spammed on cooldown, every 10 seconds, while Explosive Trap should be used every 15 seconds. The idea is to go into Melee range and place the trap while gaining distance to cast Multi-Shot, followed by Volley. Depending on the duration of the encounter, you may want to directly cast Multi-Shot, followed by Volley. If the encounter lasts for more than 12-14 seconds, you should simply start using your Single-Target rotation until the encounter ends.

Utility & Cooldowns

1. Deterrence (Semi-Invulnerability – If Speeced into)
2. Disengage (Reposition)
3. Feign Death (Iconic Get out of Jail Free Card)
4. Frost Trap (Slow)
5. Freezing Trap (Freeze)
6. Wing Clip (Slow)
7. Aspect of the Pack (Mobility)
8. Flare (Invisibility Remover)
9. Scorpid Sting (STR & AGI debuff)
10. Viper Sting (Mana Drain)
11. Distracting Shot (Taunt)
12. Concussive Shot (Daze)

While they may feel kind of lackluster when compared to other DPS specializations in terms of overall excitement, Survival Hunters have their kits packed with a lot of utility tools and major cooldowns for most scenarios. Among the most well-known cooldowns, we have Deterrence, Disengage, and Feign Death. Both Deterrence and Disengage work as defensive tools, the first acting as a semi-invulnerability from Melee attacks causing the Hunter to Dodge and Parry for a few moments while the second acts as a massive repositioning tool. Feign Death is the iconic Get out of Jail Free Card which allows them to play dead for a few minutes, causing them to drop Threat entirely. (If it does not get resisted)

Among their utility tools, they have Frost Trap and Wing Clip which act as their primary slows, with the foremost being AoE and covering a large zone whilst the latter is Single-Target. Freezing Trap is used to isolate powerful entities, including powerful Elites but does not work on bosses. Works fine on adds, however.

Aspect of the Pack sometimes known as: “WHICH HUNTER IS TROLLING???”, is an ability that increases the movement speed of all nearby allies by a substantial amount, working even in raids. However, if any target is hit while having Aspect of the Pack active, they receive a massive instant Daze effect, which gets reapplied with each hit. Hence, as a Hunter, this ability should be replaced instantly once combat begins, unless you wish to get yelled at.

Flare is a great tool to discover any hidden enemies using Stealth! Although this is better for Dungeons or Open-World PvE since raids don’t generally have Stealthed mobs.

Scorpid Sting acts as a great Strength & Agility reducing debuff, especially in the absence of a Demoralizing Shout or Demoralizing Roar while Viper Sting acts as a special shot against caster mob types, allowing you to drain their Mana. Distracting Shot works as a ranged Taunt that is amazing for repositioning bosses or mobs while Concussive Shot is a Daze that can affect a variety of mobs, being extremely useful for peeling for your teammates and safeguarding them while u place traps.