Survival Hunter DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — The War Within (11.0.7)
On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Survival Hunter in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.0.7).
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Survival Hunter rotation.
Survival Hunter Rotation Guide for The War Within
Welcome to our Rotation page for Survival Hunters. On this page, you will find everything you need to know about actually playing the spec in Raiding and Mythic+ scenarios.
How To Read A Priority List
The rotation here, aside from the more concrete Openers, is laid out in a conditional priority list. Essentially, for every single spell that you cast, you should cast the highest-priority spell you can, for which the conditions are met. After the spell is cast, you should start over from the top of the priority list, and repeat the process. Becoming competent at the rotation comes down to memorizing the priority list and its conditions, and always knowing what is the highest priority in any given situation. Mastering the rotation is being able to "see ahead" of the current global, and knowing what the best casts will be for the next 3-4 globals or beyond, based on your understanding of how the conditions will change as you move through the rotation and use different spells.
What is also worth knowing is that if something is not mentioned, it is not worth worrying about. What the priority guide doesn't say can be just as important as what it does say.
Survival Hunter Rotation
The buttons below can be used to select between curated Single-Target and AoE/Mythic+ loadouts. You can also use the switches below to add or remove individual talents you may also be using:
Talent Selections, etc. | ||
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Single-Target Rotation Goals for Survival Hunter
- Maximizing Focus and
Tip of the Spear stacks generated by casting
Kill Command on cooldown without ever letting it cap you on either resource.
- Maximizing Focus spent on
Mongoose Bite by never Focus capping.
- Ensuring that
Tip of the Spear stacks are spent on high-impact abilities and not fillers.
AoE Rotation Goals for Survival Hunter
- All the same goals as the single-target Rotation.
- Maximizing our
Wildfire Bomb charge generation and reducing wastage with
Butchery, and occasionally
Fury of the Eagle.
Single-Target Opener for Survival Hunter in The War Within
- Ensure
Hunter's Mark is active on the target from you or another Hunter in the group!
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb, and then
Harpoon to reach the target.
- Cast
Butchery.
- Cast
Raptor Strike to apply
Serpent Sting, for
Outland Venom.
- Cast
Explosive Shot.
- Cast
Coordinated Assault, as well as your on-use Trinket and Potion.
- Cast
Kill Command to get yourself 3 Tip stacks, thanks to
Relentless Primal Ferocity.
- Cast
Spearhead.
- Proceed with your normal Rotation according to the priority list below.
Single-Target Rotation for Survival Hunter
This priority list describes the optimal single-target Rotation for Survival Hunters. In short, you should press the highest-priority ability for which the conditions are met, every single cast.
A lot of the rotation revolves around Tip of the Spear, a buff generated by
Kill Command that buffs the damage of
other abilities. I will refer to this as "Tip", or "Tip stacks" throughout the rotation.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb if
Lunar Storm is able to be triggered. Track it using this WeakAura.
- Cast
Kill Command during
Coordinated Assault if you have no
Tip of the Spear stacks. Thanks to
Relentless Primal Ferocity, it will generate 3 Tip stacks to be used on other abilities.
- Cast
Spearhead on cooldown, if
Coordinated Assault is on cooldown. Try to generate some
Tip of the Spear stacks in reserve when it is about to come off cooldown — we want to really make the most out of our 10-second Spearhead window.
- Cast
Raptor Strike if
Serpent Sting is missing from the target, and it has at least 12 seconds left to live. We want to apply it because of
Venom's Bite +
Outland Venom.
- Cast
Butchery on cooldown. It is worth casting on single-target thanks to
Merciless Blows.
- Cast
Flanking Strike with 1 or 2
Tip of the Spear stacks. Not 0 or 3, as we both want
Flanking Strike to benefit from Tip, while also generating 2 stacks of it.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb with
Tip of the Spear active if it is about to hit 2 charges, and if you will get another charge of it back in time for
Lunar Storm to be available. You only ignore Tip for Bombs under the following circumstances:
- If Bomb is already on 2 charges;
- If
Lunar Storm is able to be activated;
- Use
Coordinated Assault on cooldown.
- Cast
Explosive Shot on cooldown. If
Tip of the Spear is up, great, but we do not go out of our way to Tip these.
- Cast
Kill Shot whenever possible.
- Cast
Kill Command to generate Focus if you have less than 77. You should also cast it if you have no
Tip of the Spear stacks right before
Flanking Strike.During
Coordinated Assault, use it aggressively whenever you have less than 2 Tip stacks, regardless of Focus.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb on cooldown with
Tip of the Spear if it is going to reach 2 charges before
Lunar Storm's cooldown is up. Otherwise, hold it.
- Cast
Raptor Strike if there is nothing else to do, as a filler.
- Use
Raptor Strike to refresh
Howl of the Pack when it is about to expire, if
Pack Coordination is up.
- Cast
Kill Command during
Coordinated Assault if you have no
Tip of the Spear stacks. Thanks to
Relentless Primal Ferocity, it will generate 3 Tip stacks to be used on other abilities.
- Use
Butchery if your
Scattered Prey buff is about to expire. This is basically a non-concern if you are generally pressing
Butchery on cooldown, as you should.
- Cast
Raptor Strike if
Serpent Sting is missing from the target, and it has at least 12 seconds left to live. We want to apply it because of
Venom's Bite +
Outland Venom.
- Cast
Butchery on cooldown. It is worth casting on single-target thanks to
Merciless Blows.
- Cast
Spearhead on cooldown, if
Coordinated Assault is on cooldown. Try to generate some
Tip of the Spear stacks in reserve when it is about to come off cooldown — we want to really make the most out of our 10-second Spearhead window.
- Cast
Flanking Strike with 1 or 2
Tip of the Spear stacks. Not 0 or 3, as we both want
Flanking Strike to benefit from Tip, while also generating 2 stacks of it.
- Cast
Kill Shot with
Tip of the Spear.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb with
Tip of the Spear active if you have more than 1.4 charges. You only ignore Tip for Bombs under the following circumstances:
- If Bomb is already on 2 charges;
- Cast
Explosive Shot on cooldown. If
Tip of the Spear is up, great, but we do not go out of our way to Tip these.
- Use
Coordinated Assault on cooldown.
- Cast
Raptor Strike when you have a
Furious Assault proc to consume. These procced Raptors will be free and deal extra damage.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb on cooldown, with
Tip of the Spear up.
- Cast
Kill Command under the following conditions:
- You have less than 77 Focus, and
Coordinated Assault is down.
- You have less than 77 Focus, and
Coordinated Assault is up, and you have 0
Tip of the Spear stacks.
- You have less than 30 Focus.
- You have less than 77 Focus, and
- Cast
Raptor Strike if there is nothing else to do, as a filler.
AoE Opener for Survival Hunter
- Ensure
Hunter's Mark is active on the target from you or another Hunter in the group!
- While the pull is being gathered and you are not comfortable doing a lot of damage left, you should pick a target and spam
Kill Command to build a few
Tip of the Spear stacks ahead of time.
- Cast all your
Wildfire Bombs. These are generally the only Bombs we will send on a fight that are not Tip-affected.
- Cast
Butchery. You may wish to skip this until all mobs are stacked up.
- Cast
Explosive Shot.
- Cast
Coordinated Assault, along with your Potion and on-use Trinkets.
- Cast
Kill Command if you have no
Tip of the Spear stacks.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb.
- Cast
Fury of the Eagle.
- Cast
Flanking Strike.
- Proceed with the normal rotation, according to the priority list below.
- Cast
Flanking Strike.
- Cast
Fury of the Eagle.
- Proceed with the normal rotation, according to the priority list below.
AoE Rotation for Survival Hunter
This priority list describes the optimal AoE Rotation for Survival Hunters. In short, you should press the highest-priority ability for which the conditions are met, every single cast.
A lot of the rotation revolves around Tip of the Spear, a buff generated by
Kill Command that buffs the damage of
other abilities. I will refer to this as "Tip", or "Tip stacks" throughout the rotation.
- Cast
Kill Command during
Coordinated Assault if you have no
Tip of the Spear stacks. Thanks to
Relentless Primal Ferocity, it will generate 3 Tip stacks to be used on other abilities.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb with
Tip of the Spear active, if it is about to hit 2 charges. You only ignore Tip for Bombs under the following circumstances:
- If Bomb is already on 2 charges;
- If
Lunar Storm is able to be activated. Trackable with this WeakAura.
- Cast
Butchery on cooldown. Send all of your
Wildfire Bombs before using it so that you do not overcap due to
Frenzy Strikes.
- Cast
Explosive Shot on cooldown. If we have
Tip of the Spear available for it, great, but we do not explicitly go out of our way to Tip Explosives for the most part. We should also look for other opportunities to Tip
Explosive Shot that will not delay its casting by more than 1 GCD, and will not unduly delay or cap other high-priority abilities. We usually want to prioritize this above Bombs because we want to maximize value from
Grenade Juggler resets. At the same time, we do not want to cap on our
Wildfire Bomb charges.
- Use
Coordinated Assault on cooldown.
- Cast
Kill Command to generate Focus if you have less than 77.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb with
Tip of the Spear on cooldown.
- Cast
Kill Command on cooldown, as a filler.
- Cast
Raptor Strike as a filler. Cycle it on different targets, especially on low-target cleave, to spread
Serpent Sting.
- Cast
Kill Command during
Coordinated Assault if you have no
Tip of the Spear stacks. Thanks to
Relentless Primal Ferocity, it will generate 3 Tip stacks to be used on other abilities.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb with
Tip of the Spear active, if it is about to hit 2 charges. You only ignore Tip for Bombs under the following circumstances:
- If Bomb is already on 2 charges;
- Dump all of your
Wildfire Bombs right before
Butchery comes off cooldown.
- Cast
Butchery on cooldown.
- Cast
Explosive Shot on cooldown. If
Tip of the Spear is up, great, but we do not go out of our way to Tip these.
- Use
Coordinated Assault on cooldown.
- Cast
Fury of the Eagle with
Tip of the Spear on cooldown.
- Cast
Kill Shot if you have a
Deathblow proc.
- Cast
Kill Command to generate Focus if you have less than 77.
- Cast
Wildfire Bomb with
Tip of the Spear on cooldown.
- Cast
Kill Shot.
- Cast
Kill Command as a filler.
- Cast
Raptor Strike as a filler.
Addons for Survival Hunter Rotation
Check out our Addons page below for some recommended Addons to get the most out of your Survival Hunter!
Macros for Survival Hunter Rotation
Check out our Macros page below for some recommended Macros to get the most out of your Survival Hunter!
Mythic+ Tips and Tricks for Survival Hunter
For information about Mythic+ as a Survival Hunter, please refer to our Mythic+ page.
WeakAuras for Survival Hunters in The War Within
WeakAuras can have a tremendously positive effect on your performance. Since this is a broad topic, we made a page dedicated to it.
Questions for the Author
Thanks for reading my Rotation Guide for Survival Hunter. If you have any questions about it that you would like to ask me directly, feel free to drop into my Discord Server and drop me (Azortharion) a ping at any time.
Changelog
- 15 Dec. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.7.
- 23 Nov. 2024: Small single-target opener clarifications and corrections.
- 20 Nov. 2024: Added more detailed explanations of the "Why" of several rotational nuances.
- 18 Nov. 2024: Expanded on the AoE rotation and added more detail.
- 30 Oct. 2024: Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 25 Oct. 2024: Updated the AoE rotations, simplifying them in the process.
- 23 Oct. 2024: Updated AoE Opener.
- 22 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 02 Oct. 2024: Added more specific Trinket usage information.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Preliminary update for The War Within Season 1.
- 26 Aug. 2024: Small, various fixes, mainly to pure ST build opener.
- 22 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
- 30 Jul. 2024: Updated the rotations and openers with small optimizations, primarily to do with holding Explosive Shot for Spearhead/Coordinated Assault.
- 29 Jul. 2024: Updated the single-target opener to apply Serpent Sting early on, for Outland Venom.
- 28 Jul. 2024: Implemented rotational DPS optimizations from the Survival Hunter Discord.
- 25 Jul. 2024: Updated and simplified the rotation.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Updated for Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 10.2.5.
- 12 Nov. 2023: Added missing Wildfire Bomb line to the ST rotation.
- 07 Nov. 2023: Fixed an issue where Wildfire Bomb would not appear in the ST rotation with the AoE build.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 17 Jul. 2023: Updated the AoE rotation and opener significantly in light of recent APL updates, and added on-use Trinkets to the rotation.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 29 Jun. 2023: Updated the Death Chakram line in the single-target rotation.
- 16 Jun. 2023: Significant rotational overhaul with new checkboxes, a new feature that lets you select checkbox presets, and a variety of changes to both the single-target and AoE rotations.
- 15 Jun. 2023: Removed the top line of the AoE Rotation, thereby reducing the priority of maintaining the 4PC Debuff on AoE.
- 13 Jun. 2023: Removed the FoTE Bloodseeker Macro as the bug was fixed and it is no longer needed.
- 03 Jun. 2023: Updated the AoE opener slightly.
- 26 May 2023: Updated the AoE opener significantly to better reflect the AoE rotation change.
- 25 May 2023: Important AoE Rotation Update, and updated the default checkboxes, and added information about an important Fury of the Eagle Macro.
- 13 May 2023: Small wording change in the 4PC Rotation Line.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Small rotational fixes.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated Harpoon's role in the rotation.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Rotational update for the Set Bonus.
- 30 Nov. 2022: Updated mentions of Kill Command having 2 charges in the priority to "cap charges" to encompass both situations with and without Alpha Predator.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Hunter Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Azortharion, a Hunter Guidewriter, Theorycrafter, and top player since 2014, who is widely considered one of the best PvE Hunters in the world. He is an accomplished player with hundreds of top parses across all Hunter specs. He is the Head Admin of Trueshot Lodge, the official Hunter Class Discord. You can find him on his stream on Twitch and his channel on YouTube. He also has his own, personal Discord server where you can freely ask him any Hunter questions you may have!
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