3.1 Spec & Glyphs: Survival
by Santyn on Apr.23, 2009, under Hunter
Survival got quite the overhaul in 3.1, which means that the spec changed too. Even more talents in the tree that a player can’t live without. Below is a quick summary of my recommended build and glyphs. Click here to see it in WowHead for mouse-over pop-up goodness.
- Beast Mastery (0 points)
- None
- Marksmanship (15 points)
- 5/5 Lethal Shots
- 3/3 Careful Aim
- 5/5 Mortal Shots
- 1/2 Go for the Throat
- 1/1 Aimed Shot
- Survival (56 points)
- 5/5 Improved Tracking
- 3/3 Trap Mastery
- 2/2 Survival Instincts
- 5/5 Survivalist
- 3/3 T.N.T.
- 3/3 Lock and Load
- 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
- 3/3 Killer Instinct
- 5/5 Lightning Reflexes
- 3/3 Resourcefulness
- 2/3 Expose Weakness
- 1/1 Wyvern Sting
- 3/3 Thrill of the Hunt
- 5/5 Master Tactician
- 3/3 Noxious Stings
- 1/1 Black Arrow
- 3/3 Sniper Training
- 2/3 Hunting Party
- 1/1 Explosive Shot
Glyphs:
- Major
- Explosive Shot
- Serpent Sting
- Steady Shot
- Minor
- Feign Death
- Revive Pet
- Mend Pet
As with Marksmanship, you have two basic options to spec your pet. You can either go for Shark Attack or Wild Hunt. Also the same, you can only take one point in either. Pike suggested that Shark Attack is the better DPS alternative in the comments on my Marks spec post, but as I’ve still yet to test which is the best in terms of DPS I’m not going to stand behind it 100%.
The spec above is actually quite flexible. You can skip Hunting Part if your raid has other sources of Replenishment. You could also take a point out of T.N.T. (but only 1). Don’t like maintaining a sting? You can drop Wyvern Sting and Noxious Stings. (From a DPS standpoint, I don’t recommend dropping Noxious Stings. You will be hard pressed making up the DPS from it with the lower level talents in the other trees. I’m just saying it’s an option.) Aimed Shot could also be dropped if you don’t use it in your rotation. As for Glyphs, Explosive Shot is obvious. Steady Shot is still fired a lot, so why not glyph for it. And Serpent Sting is important for Noxious Stings and Steady Shot, so again, go ahead and glyph for it.
Again, the spec above is merely my recommendation. Play with it, tweak it, do whatever tickles your fancy. I do ask you to post your spec and glyph choices in the comments though. I’m always interested in seeing what other people have went with.
2 Comments for this entry
-
Welcome to Lethal Shots!
Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments, and stay updated by subscribing to the RSS feed.
You can also subscribe by email by filling the field below:
April 23rd, 2009 on 3:30 pm
My spec is a little different, so I’ll try to explain my reasoning
BM – 1 pt, Improved Aspect of the Hawk
Autoshot is still a pretty hefty portion of my DPS, and I’m still not _quite_ Haste capped. 1 pt with my gear is plenty for most times.
MM – No Aimed Shot
With the addition of Black Arrow into the mix, the DPS gains from including Aimed Shot were being completely offset by the relearning I need to rebind for 7 primary shots. It’s great for burst and I may still spec back into it, but not in the cards right now.
SV – Master Tactician 4/5, Hunting Party 3/3
Objectively, MT > HP for DPS, but raid composition > my DPS.
I usually can only raid in 10-mans, and am often either the only or one of two source(s) of Replenishment in the group
Oddly enough, the EJ Spreadsheet Best DPS for Survival is a 1/15/55 build, using IAoTHx1, Aimed Shot and 3/5 MT
April 23rd, 2009 on 9:55 pm
I don’t include Aimed Shot either, though many people have told me I should. I also don’t worry about being “haste capped”. I take haste if I get it, but I don’t consider it a primary stat.
One thing I think you should reconsider is taking 3 points in Hunting Party. 2 points gives you a 66% chance per crit to proc Replenishment. In a 10-man raid you should be seeing upwards of 35% crit chance (if not higher). Except for the start of a fight while waiting on the first proc, you should be experiencing almost 100% up-time on replenishment. If nothing else, try a run with only 2 points and see what happens. I’m confident you will be happy with the results.