Survival hunter tips/advice

[Vong]

Hi TS.
While my tank sits waiting for our raid team to catch up with gear I've dusted off my hunter and started him up again. Having just hit 85 I've got ds BM and SURV. BMs great for questing I've no probs there tbh but when I switch out to survival for heroics I'm having issues.
1. Rotation. I normally fire off SS BA and EXP shot as openers and then find all my focus is gone. Is there a better opener or a way of preserving focus to do more?
2. Primary stats. Is it still agi? If so what's our 2nd & 3rd and so on.
3. Reforging and mastery. Prob Inc in above question but nor sure if mastery is "good" for us yet.

On mob packs I do use MS after SS to get bonus stings so my dps is ok I reckon there but bosses I'm struggling. I'm a long time TS reader and would appreciate some advice.

Thanks.
EU Alonsus Jackfrost.

[Illidra]

1) ss up > explosive shot> black arrow for single target ( explosive trap for 2+ due to LnL procs) > arcane shot if you will have enough focus to ES and BA when they come off cd > cobrashot.

during LnL - its generally accepted that you use : ES, cobra, ES, cobra, ES as this lets you use both free explo without over writing the dot.
if you have very high focus when it procs replace one of the cobra shots with a kill command ( not arcane shot as this eats the LnL buff)

2: hit cap, AGI LIKE A BAWS, in general uinless hte socket bonus is a crzy amount of agi you're goign to be gemming pure agi in every socket.
crit and mastery work out abotu the same they scale well together.
haste is arguable - once you can fit 3 cobra shots between explosive shots haste is pretty useless until you can get enough to use 4 cobras between ES, and after that it's meh until you can hit 5.

on packs - traps are your best friend, if you're jsut aoeing a pack down no cc - set a forst trap explo and snake trap using camo.

then spam MS, if you get LnL procs fire 2 explos on different mo0bs so the buffs tick down in parallel while you continue to MS using cobras for focus.

[ascendedskater25]

Depending on your gear, and this isn't verified yet, you can actually drop arcane shot from your rotation and see more dps due to the major damage that cobra shot can deal with enough mastery.

[ascendedskater25]

I actually macro Rapid fire, trinks and any other racial bonuses to my shots so they are always up whaen they are available, I my opening priority actually looks something like this ES>SS>BA>CS KS>all when the target is under 20% My setup is mainly for raid bosses though so its whatevers your flavor.

[Vong]

Ty guys nice info :-)

Vong.

[Theotherone]

Depending on your gear, and this isn't verified yet, you can actually drop arcane shot from your rotation and see more dps due to the major damage that cobra shot can deal with enough mastery.

Very true, I've dropped Arcane shot and saw a big dps increase. Although, Mastery is not as good a stat as it should be, from what I've been reading, Agi is still top, followed by Crit then mastery (all assuming you're hit capped) and this seems to play out on my hunter.

[Dormond]

You should only use Arcane Shot when you have over 70 focus. Also Steady Shot should never be used if you are a survival hunter. I have an average item level of about 350 and can consistently maintain over 17k on raid bosses, even with moving depending on the dynamics of the current fight.

[Theotherone]

I tend to only use Arcane as a filler if I'm moving and don't have Exp Shot or Black Arrow up.

However, since taming Ghost Crawler I've been running as BM to use my newest pet and I must say, the dps is very good. Surprisingly good.

[Cyclonite]

I posted this earlier in another thread, but as Vong was kind enough to fire up a Survival Hunter discussion I'm reiterating here.

I start in Aspect of the Hawk and lead with Black Arrow to DoT and get my pet moving; followed by Ice trap (AoE) or Freeze trap (single target) to help proc Lock & Load:
- If Lock & Load happens I fire Explosive Shot twice - with Rapid Fire and/or Serpent Sting in between to fill up the CD space.
- If Lock & Load doesn't happen I'll either (a) hit Rapid Fire and setttle into a DoT + instant cast party mix with a trap thrown in, or (b) DoT up, launch a trap, then start looking for stray mobs who might benefit from a Concussion Shot or Wyvern Sting.

I realize that Arcane Shot is part of the Lock & Load proc with Explosive Shot. But I choose to substitute a 2nd Explosive Shot in the L&L rotation (with Rapid Fire and/or Serpent Sting as spacers) in place of Arcane Shot because of Essence of the Viper's elemental damage bonus. I find that Mastery actually means something to Survival Hunters.

To regenerate focus while still DPSing:
- If Serpent Sting is active, I hit Steady Shot followed by Cobra Shot.
- If Serpent Sting isn't active, I hit Steady Shot plus Serpent Sting followed by Cobra Shot.

Rinse and repeat to regen focus.

Like the warrior stance dance, I find switching back and forth between Aspect of the Hawk and Aspect of the Fox to be a necessary evil in long fights where I'm constantly having to strafe out of the stuff. I do what I can to remain stationary in Aspect of the Hawk as much as possible. But when I need to regen focus on the run, Aspect of the Fox is a butt saver.

[Theotherone]

For Survival, just drop Steady Shot completely; the rotation for sur is simple, SS, BA, Exp Shot, Cobra shot. Spam Cobra until Exp comes up; on LnL as Illidra said Exp Shot, Cobra, Exp Shot, Cobra, Exp Shot; unless you want to soak some focus then Kill command.

Arcane is pretty useless, unless you want to burn some focus while moving.

[galetj22]

KC is terrible for surv. With talents such as Thrill of the Hunt and Sic'em. Arcane shot>Kill command. You should not use kill command since it is on the global cd. If you are trying to dump focus arcane shot>KC, unless the target is below 20% then it is KS>ES>CS.

Greenarrows

[Theotherone]

KC/Arcane not going to make that much of a difference as a Focus soak; if you ever even use it. I can't remember the last time I had to use KC to soak off focus.

[galetj22]

For Survival, just drop Steady Shot completely; the rotation for sur is simple, SS, BA, Exp Shot, Cobra shot. Spam Cobra until Exp comes up; on LnL as Illidra said Exp Shot, Cobra, Exp Shot, Cobra, Exp Shot; unless you want to soak some focus then Kill command.

Arcane is pretty useless, unless you want to burn some focus while moving.

uh then why did you say that if you want soak up some focus use kill command

[sifuedition]

The most common time you need to soak focus is during a LnL proc. During LnL, arcane would consume one of the proc'ed shots so it should not be used. That is when you use a kill command to soak focus.

[Theotherone]

uh then why did you say that if you want soak up some focus use kill command

uh, because it's an option, reread it, it's an option along with arcane if one needs a focus soak. What is this the WoW forums.

[MadMax]

on LnL as Illidra said Exp Shot, Cobra, Exp Shot, Cobra, Exp Shot; unless you want to soak some focus then Kill command.

Arcane is pretty useless, unless you want to burn some focus while moving.

On my LnL procs I almost always see focus getting too high, and if BA is nowhere near on cd, I try to soak focus. The thing we are not seeing here is that only the first 2 ES in the string use up the LnL, the 3rd one is just 'on cd' and useable. So i handle my LnL procs as such : ES, CS, ES, AS, ES where I need to soak focus, the AS doesn't use up the LnL, since it has already been used up by the first 2 ES.