Lethal Shots

Real life had me slammed last week, so I was unable to get this post out when I wanted to. But fear not, I am back to my regular posting schedule now.

So far we have covered both Beast Master and Marksmanship shot rotations. That leaves us with (arguably) the most complex rotation of all: Survival. Why, you might ask, do I consider Survival the most complex of the three? Simple, the Lock and Load mechanic. But before we go there lets go over the basic Survival rotation.

The basic rotation follows the same principles of priority as the other specs. It uses the following six shots, which should be fired in the priority listed:

1. Kill Shot
2. Explosive Shot
3. Black Arrow
4. Serpent Sting
5. Aimed Shot / Multi-Shot
6. Steady Shot

Some people would put Black Arrow and Serpent Sting above Explosive Shot in priority, but I don’t recommend it. Explosive Shot is Survival’s biggest hitting shot after Kill Shot. You want to fire it as often as possible and as much as possible. While Black Arrow and Serpent Sting both buff the damage, they are not worth delaying Explosive Shot. You can also omit Aimed Shot / Multi-Shot. Some people have reported a DPS boost including it, while others have reported a DPS drop. You will have to play with it to see which works for you.

Now the complex part of the rotation: Lock and Load. L&L is triggered by the periodic damage of Black Arrow (or alternately a freezing or frost trap). What it does is let you fire two Explosive Shots, neither of which cost any mana or triggers any cooldown, other than the global. So when L&L procs you will maintain your normal rotation until Explosive Shot is off cooldown. Then fire the following sequence of shots:

1. Explosive Shot
2. *any other shot*
3. Explosive Shot
4. *any other shot*
5. Explosive Shot

The third Explosive shot will trigger a cooldown, and you will resume your normal rotation. On steps 2 and 4 you will want to fire your highest priority shot (other than Explosive Shot) that is not on cooldown. The reason for this seperating shot is so that you don’t overwrite the last tick of damage from the previous Explosive Shot. Some people simply pause a second between Explosive Shots (which would lead to an increase in DPS), but in my experience the DOT gets clipped to often without the separating shot.

And as with the other specs, stay flexible. Don’t develop tunnel vision. Misdirect and Feign Death when needed. You know the drill.