Survival Hunter Leveling Guide (Level 1-30)

Overview

This guide takes a Survival Hunter from level 1 to 30 in WoW Forever. Ability levels, costs and talent values were checked against the beta client (build 1.60.1) and can still change before launch.

Forever rebuilt Survival around melee. The tree now adds parry, melee critical strikes, off-hand damage and new strikes, and the idea is to open with your ranged weapon and then finish the enemy up close, with your pet at your side.

How it compares. This is the hardest Hunter tree to level with, and the one we recommend last. Its best tools arrive late: Counterattack at level 25, Strider Kick at level 30, and the talents that tie it all together sit beyond a 21-point build. Play it because you like the idea, and expect Beast Mastery and Marksmanship to be faster.

What defines the spec

• Improved Tracking. 5% more damage against the creature type you are tracking, with any attack. It is the one Survival talent every Hunter envies.
• Parry as a resource. Deflection and Deterrence raise your parry chance, and each parry opens Counterattack, which roots the enemy for 5 seconds.
• Melee strikes. Raptor Strike, Mongoose Bite after a dodge, then Strider Kick at level 30. Every Hunter also learns Lacerate, a new melee bleed, at level 30.
• Predator's Edge. Stronger melee crits and up to 50% more off-hand damage, for those who dual wield.

The honest trade-offs: you take real damage, so you bandage and eat more than other Hunters, and your ranged attacks receive nothing from the tree except Improved Tracking and Surefooted.

Levels 1-9: you have no pet yet, and this is the hardest stretch of the class. Pull from maximum range with Serpent Sting (level 4), keep Auto Shot going, add Arcane Shot (level 6), and slow the enemy with Concussive Shot (level 8) to gain a few more shots. Finish in melee with Raptor Strike. At level 10 a class quest teaches Tame Beast, and everything gets easier.

Talents

All 21 points go into Survival, in an order that makes each new melee tool useful the moment you get it.

You earn one talent point per level from level 10, which gives 21 points at level 30. Learn them in this order:

1. Levels 10-14 — Improved Tracking (5): +5% damage against whatever you are tracking: Beasts, Humanoids, Undead and more. Switch your tracking when the zone changes.
2. Levels 15-16 — Savage Strikes (2): +4% critical strike chance on melee abilities.
3. Levels 17-19 — Deflection (3/5): +3% parry.
4. Level 20 — Deterrence: +25% dodge and parry for 10 seconds, every 5 minutes. Your answer to a pull that got out of hand.
5. Levels 21-23 — Surefooted (3): +3% chance to hit with everything, and snares on you last 30% less.
6. Level 24 — Deflection (4/5): one more percent of parry, and the 15th point.
7. Level 25 — Counterattack: after a parry, a strike that cannot be avoided and roots the enemy for 5 seconds.
8. Levels 26-29 — Predator's Edge (4/5): +24% melee critical damage and +40% off-hand damage.
9. Level 30 — Strider Kick: a full weapon-damage kick every 8 seconds that also gives you a short burst of speed.

Variants. Survivalist (+2% Health per point) can replace Predator's Edge points if you use a two-hander and die too often. Players who like traps can take Entrapment and Clever Traps instead of the parry talents, but that gives up Counterattack. Bonus points from the Legacy perk Talented go to Expose Prey and Resourcefulness.

Gameplay & Main Abilities

You are still a Hunter for the first few seconds of each fight. Use them.

1. Turn on the tracking that matches your target (Track Beasts, Track Humanoids from level 10, Track Undead from level 18) so Improved Tracking applies.
2. Hunter's Mark, pet in, then shoot: Serpent Sting, Auto Shot, and from level 20 an Aimed Shot.
3. Keep firing until the enemy turns toward you, or walk in when the pet has it settled. Either way, fight in melee from there with the pet beside you.
4. Raptor Strike every time it is ready, Wing Clip (level 12) if the enemy tries to run.
5. Mongoose Bite (level 16) after each dodge and, from level 25, Counterattack after each parry. Both only light up for a few seconds, so watch for them.
6. From level 30, Strider Kick on cooldown and Lacerate on enemies that will live through most of its 21-second bleed.
7. Deterrence (level 20) when two or more enemies are on you: you parry far more, which also means more Counterattacks.

Two-hander or dual wield? A slow two-handed weapon makes Raptor Strike and Strider Kick hit harder, and one weapon is easier to keep up to date. Predator's Edge improves the off-hand enough to make two weapons competitive once both are good. Until then, the two-hander is the simpler choice. At level 30, Aspect of the Beast adds melee Attack Power; before that, Aspect of the Monkey gives 8% dodge and more Mongoose Bites.

Choosing a pet

Every pet can tank for you while leveling, so you cannot choose badly. A few families bring something extra:

• Boar: Charge roots the enemy for a second and makes its next hit much stronger, which secures threat at the start of each fight. It also eats nearly everything. The safest first pet.
• Bear: sturdy, and from level 12 its Swipe hits three enemies, useful when you pull more than one.
• Tallstrider: from level 12, Dust Cloud lowers the target's armor, so your shots and your party's attacks all hit harder.
• Wolf: Furious Howl raises the melee Attack Power of nearby party members, a good dungeon pet.
• Carrion Bird: Demoralizing Screech lowers the Attack Power of enemies around it, so the pet takes less damage.

Ability milestones

• Level 1: Auto Shot, Raptor Strike, Track Beasts. Level 4: Serpent Sting and Aspect of the Monkey. Level 6: Arcane Shot and Hunter's Mark. Level 8: Concussive Shot.
• Level 10: Tame Beast and the other pet skills from your class quest, Aspect of the Hawk, Track Humanoids and your first talent point.
• Level 12: Mend Pet, Wing Clip, Distracting Shot. Level 14: Scare Beast and Eagle Eye. Level 16: Immolation Trap and Mongoose Bite. Level 18: Multi-Shot.
• Level 20: Aimed Shot, Aspect of the Cheetah, Freezing Trap, Disengage.
• Levels 22-28: Scorpid Sting (22), Beast Lore and Track Hidden (24), Rapid Fire (26), Frost Trap (28).
• Level 30: Feign Death and Aspect of the Beast. Most pets learn Dash or Dive.

Things to Remember

• See your trainer every two levels, and the pet trainer when your pet levels: it has its own training points to spend on Growl, Health and armor.
• Feed your pet. A happy pet deals more damage, and an unhappy one eventually leaves. Each family eats different things, so check before you stock up; Boars eat almost anything.
• Never run out of ammunition. Fill your quiver or ammo pouch at every vendor, and move to the next tier of arrows or bullets as soon as your level allows. It is a cheap, permanent damage upgrade.
• Keep a food buff active. In Forever, food that grants a buff also gives 5% extra experience.
• Learn First Aid. You are a melee class in mail with no heal of your own.
• Train your melee weapon skills. Other Hunters can neglect them. You cannot.

Stat Priority

1. Melee weapon damage — for this tree the weapon in your hands matters as much as the one on your back.
2. Agility — Attack Power for both ranged and melee, critical strike chance and dodge, which feeds Mongoose Bite.
3. Strength — melee Attack Power. Useful here, unlike for the other two trees.
4. Stamina — you stand in melee, so you need the Health.
5. Intellect — mana for your strikes and traps.

Group Play & Dungeons

In a party the tank holds the enemies and your job is steady damage on the right target. Between levels 13 and 30 you can run Ragefire Chasm, The Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, the Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, the Stockade, Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps. Level ranges and quests are in the dungeon guide.

• Turn off your pet's Growl. It is a taunt, and it pulls enemies away from the tank. Right-click it on the pet bar to stop the autocast, and turn it back on when you go back to questing.
• Pet on Defensive or Passive. Send it yourself to the tank's target and call it back before it follows a fleeing enemy into the next pack.
• Hunter's Mark on the kill target. Every ranged attacker in the party benefits from it.
• Wait before Multi-Shot. It hits three enemies and breaks crowd control. Let the tank establish threat, and never use it next to a sheep or a Freezing Trap.
• Traps are your crowd control. From level 20, Freezing Trap holds one enemy for up to 10 seconds; from level 28, Frost Trap slows a whole pack by 60%. Place them before the pull, where the enemies will run.
• Distracting Shot (level 12) pulls an enemy off the healer and onto you long enough for the tank to pick it up.
• From level 30, Feign Death drops your threat when you have pulled too much of it.

As Survival: stay at range in dungeons unless the group needs you in melee. Enemies there hit much harder than quest enemies, and from behind the tank your shots are safer than your strikes. Stand behind the target if you do go in, since enemies cannot parry attacks from behind.

Tips

• Shoot first, every time. The seconds an enemy spends running to you are free damage. A melee Hunter who walks up and starts swinging has given away the best part of the class.
• Use Immolation Trap (level 16). Place it at your feet before the pull: the enemy runs through it on its way to you.
• Mind the gap. Shots need at least 8 yards. An enemy standing closer than that can only be hit in melee, so either step back or use Raptor Strike and Wing Clip.
• Keep your pet on Defensive. On Aggressive it attacks everything it sees, which is how a quiet quest turns into a five-enemy pull.
• Let the pet share the damage. With Growl on, the enemy keeps switching between you and the pet, which halves what each of you takes.

Suggested Races

Eight races can be Hunters in Forever: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf and High Order Skyborne for the Alliance; Orc, Tauren, Troll and Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde. None is a mistake. These stand out between levels 1 and 30:

Both Skyborne orders bring 1% haste, 5% damage against Elementals and the Walk on Air glide. They are fine choices with less to offer against the Beasts of the early zones.

Macros

Auto Shot

One key that picks a new target when yours is dead and keeps shooting. The exclamation mark stops a second press from turning Auto Shot off.

#showtooltip Auto Shot
/cleartarget [dead]
/targetenemy [noharm]
/cast !Auto Shot

Melee strikes

Starts your melee swing and uses your main strikes as they come up.

#showtooltip Raptor Strike
/startattack
/cast Strider Kick
/cast Raptor Strike

Reactive strikes

Mongoose Bite needs a dodge and Counterattack a parry. With both on one key, pressing it uses whichever is available.

#showtooltip
/startattack
/cast Counterattack
/cast Mongoose Bite

Pet attack

Sends your pet at your target. Many players bind it to mouse wheel up. Keeping it separate from your shots lets you decide when the pet goes in.

/petattack

Pet back

Calls the pet off and brings it to you, for the moment it chases something it should not. Mouse wheel down is a common bind.

/petpassive
/petfollow

Mend Pet without losing your target

#showtooltip Mend Pet
/cast [@pet,nodead] Mend Pet

Frequently asked questions

What is the best spec to level a Hunter in WoW Forever?

Levels 1-9: you have no pet yet, and this is the hardest stretch of the class. Pull from maximum range with Serpent Sting (level 4), keep Auto Shot going, add Arcane Shot (level 6), and slow the enemy with Concussive Shot (level 8) to gain a few more shots. Finish in melee with Raptor Strike. At level 10 a class quest teaches Tame Beast, and everything gets easier.

At what level do I get my first talent point?

At level 10. You then earn one talent point per level, so you have 21 points at level 30.

How much does it cost to reset talents?

You respec at your class trainer in a capital city. During the beta it costs 1 Silver. Launch is expected to follow Classic, where a reset goes up to 50 gold.

Can I plan my Hunter talents before leveling?

Yes. Use the Hunter talent calculator to build your points, then copy the link to share the build.