Welcome to the PVE Survival Hunter Guide for World of Warcraft Cataclysm!
This guide will teach you how to play a Survival Hunter in a raid. It covers talents, glyphs, gems, enchantments, rotation, and gameplay tips.
Talents
This talent build takes the standard Survival Hunter talents.

Glyphs
Prime Glyphs
Major Glyphs
Minor Glyphs
Gems
Gems are situational and depend on the build and equipment. They are used to reach the required stat caps.
- Meta –
Agile Shadowspirit Diamond
- Red/Prismatic –
Delicate Queen's Garnet,
Delicate Inferno Ruby, or
Delicate Chimera's Eye (Jewelcrafting)
- Yellow
- If Socket Bonus is not at least +10 Agility –
Delicate Queen's Garnet or
Delicate Inferno Ruby
- Otherwise,
Deadly Lava Coral or
Deadly Ember Topaz
- If Socket Bonus is not at least +10 Agility –
- Blue
- If Socket Bonus is not at least +10 Agility,
Delicate Queen's Garnet or
Delicate Inferno Ruby
- Otherwise,
Glinting Shadow Spinel or
Glinting Demonseye
- If Socket Bonus is not at least +10 Agility,
Enchants
- Head –
Arcanum of the Ramkahen
- Shoulder –
Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal or
Swiftsteel Inscription(Inscription)
- Cloak –
Enchant Cloak - Major Agilityor
Enchant Cloak - Greater Critical Strike or
Swordguard Embroidery (Tailoring)
- Chest –
Enchant Chest - Peerless Stats
- Bracers –
Enchant Bracer - Agility or
Draconic Embossment - Agility (Leatherworking) with
Socket Bracer (Blacksmithing)
- Gloves –
Enchant Gloves - Major Agility with
Synapse Springs (Engineering) or
Socket Gloves (Blacksmithing)
- Waist –
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle or
Grounded Plasma Shield (Engineering)
- Legs –
Dragonscale Leg Armor or
Dragonbone Leg Reinforcements (Leatherworking)
- Boots –
Enchant Boots - Assassin's Step
- Rings –
Enchant Ring - Agility (Enchanting)
- Weapon –
Enchant 2H Weapon - Mighty Agility
- Ranged –
Flintlocke's Woodchucker
Stat Priority
- Agility
- Hit Rating (to 8% hit cap)
- Haste (to soft cap, which is 757 including raid buffs and Pathing)
- Critical Strike
- Mastery
- Haste
Rotation & Gameplay
Rotation & Cooldowns
Have Aspect of the Hawk up while DPSing, unless your raid requires Nature Resistance, in which case you can use
Aspect of the Wild.
Aspect of the Fox can be useful when you have to move a lot.
Single Target Rotation
Whenever you trigger a Lock and Load proc, fire three
Explosive Shot in a row, waiting .1 seconds between each one so they don’t override
- Use
Hunter's Mark
- Use and maintain
Serpent Sting (refreshed by
Cobra Shot, so generally only once is required)
- Use
Explosive Shot on cooldown
- Use
Kill Shot when target is below 20% health
- Use
Black Arrow on cooldown, assuming target will live through duration of
Black Arrow
- Use
Arcane Shot if you have focus to cast
Explosive Shot,
Kill Shot, and
Black Arrow afterwards
- Use
Cobra Shot
Multi Target Rotation
When facing 2-3 enemies, use the Single Target Rotation, but replace Black Arrow with
Explosive Trap. Use the following rotation vs 4 or more enemies.
- Cast
Multi-Shot on cooldown whenever you have enough focus
- Use
Explosive Shot when you get a Lock and Load proc
- Use
Kill Shot when target is below 20% health
- Use
Cobra Shot when you don’t have the focus for
Multi-Shot
Cooldowns
- Use
Rapid Fire with
Call of the Wild, but not with
Bloodlust/
Heroism/
Time Warp or
Bestial Wrath