SURVIVAL HUNTER ADVANCED TIPS

COORDINATED ASSAULT

In this next segment of our course, we're going to be meticulously dissecting each of your key offensive cooldowns. We're going to give you a comprehensive breakdown on how they work and the rules behind using them.

Starting off with the Survival Hunter's main offensive cooldown, Coordinated Assault. Coordinated Assault is a powerful ability with a baseline two-minute cooldown that boosts both you and your pet's damage by 20%.

But there is a bonus to this too, in that it also charges you directly towards your target. This means you can use it not just for the damage buff, but also to close the gap and start your burst right away.

Now let's talk about the talents that buff Coordinated Assault in the Survival Tree. First, we've got Symbiotic Adrenaline, which reduces the cooldown of Coordinated Assault by one whole minute.

This effectively gives you a 50% cooldown reduction on your main offensive ability, which is pretty dang amazing. Next is Bombardier.

Activating Coordinated Assault resets the cooldown of Wildfire Bomb, and when Coordinated Assault ends, it resets Explosive Shot. Finally, there is Sic'Em.

This talent doubles the chance for Kill Command to proc Death Blow during Coordinated Assault. The Sentinel Hero Tree takes Coordinated Assault to the next level, though, with the Sentinel Watch talent.

This talent can reduce the cooldown by up to 15 seconds, bringing your best cooldown to just 45 seconds. Given that it's a very powerful ability, it's a good idea to use it to your advantage.

And if you can get it to last for 20 seconds, you're looking at an incredible 45% uptime on a 20% damage buff. Now, as a general rule here, you want to use Coordinated Assault as close to off cooldown as possible.

With the reduced cooldown baked into the Survival Talent Tree and further reductions from Sentinel Watch, using this ability frequently ensures you its maximum value. We can see this in action right here in this VOD.

Just a few seconds after Coordinated Assault comes off cooldown, the Hunter uses it immediately. And that's it.

Immediately after landing a trap on the Evoker. Pairing Coordinated Assault with your trap setups is the best way to use the cooldown.

The idea is that you maximize your damage output during the buff instead of wasting that precious time trying to land the trap which may get peeled in the first place. Now, there is a caveat to all this.

Remember that part about Coordinated Assault charging you into melee? Well, if you don't want to go into melee range, you need to be really careful with using Coordinated Assault.

In this clip, we can see that the Hunter's under heavy pressure, so instead of diving into the enemy team with the Coordinated Assault, they play it a little bit smarter.

They wait to be healed up before committing their cooldowns, which will help them avoid the risk of getting stunned behind a pillar and dying without a trinket. Patience?

Definitely going to be important when you're behind on cooldowns, as this could have easily cost them the game.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR RANGE

Survival Hunter is a melee, right? Well, not so fast there.

While Survival Hunter does have melee abilities, what if I told you that nearly your entire rotation can be done from range? Survival is one of the best specs for a hit-and-run playstyle.

Now, when utilized effectively, this playstyle can make it incredibly challenging for the enemy team to secure a win. So let's dive into how you can fully capitalize on your range to outmaneuver and outplay your opponents.

Being in melee range is a luxury for Survival Hunters. As a relatively squishy class, it is crucial to capitalize on our ranged abilities to avoid dying.

Abilities like Wildfire Bomb, Kill Command, Explosive Shot, and Kill Shot can all be used from a safe distance and still allow you to deal a significant amount of damage. We only need to step into melee range for Raptor Strike or Butchery if talented.

So, with all of that, you might be wondering, when should you avoid melee? Well, the best time to stay out of melee range is when you're at risk of dying.

If you're out at defensives or you have no trinket, it's smarter to hang back near a pillar, tossing those Wildfire Bombs and using Kill Command rather than diving into melee and becoming an easy target.

Now, if you do have defensives or a trinket ready, you can afford to play a little bit more aggressively and stay in melee range. Knowing when to push in and when to retreat is going to be key to staying alive and really climbing the ranks as a Survival Hunter.

So many Hunters overlook Aspect of the Eagle, but it's an incredibly valuable tool for dealing damage on the move. This ability extends the range of Raptor Strike to 40 yards, which allows you to maintain pressure even while running.

Whenever you're closing in on your target or retreating to safety, Aspect of the Eagle lets you dish out your full damage from range. Now, keep in mind that three of our abilities Flanking Strikes, Coordinated Assault, and Harpoon will pull you straight into melee.

While these can be powerful tools, you need to use them strategically. Before using any of these abilities, ask yourself, Do I really want to be in melee range right now?

Always assess the situation and ensure you're prepared for the risks before diving in.

TRAP LIKE A PRO AS SURVIVAL

We get it, landing traps, it can be pretty tough. But don't worry, we got some tips you can use to make it a little bit easier.

Now as you probably know, landing traps is going to be crucial to your win condition. Without them, you lack strong crowd control to close out the game.

So everyone knows the typical intimidation into trap. But did you know that you can use binding shot paired with high explosive trap?

This is going to trigger the binding shot and stun the healer, allowing you to get a trap. Now, any knockback effect will work for this.

If you're playing with a druid, you could have them typhoon, or even a mage can blast wave for you. Really, our goal is just to use binding shot as another way to stun the healer for a trap, since intimidation isn't available for every trap.

As survival, harpoon can be a versatile tool for setting up traps in two ways. You can harpoon to root the healer and then use a knockback.

This isolates the healer in the root, which makes it easier to land your trap without needing it. Second, you can simply harpoon directly to the healer to land your trap.

Now, while this is straightforward, you do want to be careful here. If you don't pair it with a knockback, enemies might stack on top of the healer to deny your trap.

You can also use tar trap to root the healer to land your freezing trap, but do be careful when trapping off a root. The healer might try to immune the trap with abilities like phase shift, or they might dispel themselves out of the root and just run away.

If you want to trap off a root, it's best to do so when you're standing, right on top of the healer, rather than trying to trap from max range. This gives you a better chance of landing the trap successfully.

There is one more trick up your sleeve though, and that is scatter shot. Now, you might think, why would I even DR my trap?

Well, sometimes the game winning play is right in front of you. However, all your stuns and all your roots are on cooldown.

So what do you do then? Go for a scatter shot into a trap.

It's not ideal. We understand that.

But in those clutch moments, it could be exactly what you need to close out the game.

DON’T WASTE YOUR PROCS

Survival Hunters, are you making the most of your Explosive Shot reset procs? Missing these can mean leaving massive damage just right there sitting on the table.

Every time you throw a Wildfire Bomb, you have a chance to reset the cooldown of Explosive Shot. Now if you aren't paying attention, you could be wasting procs here.

So let's talk about Grenade Juggler and why this is so important for maximizing your damage as a Survival Hunter. This talent gives Wildfire Bomb a 25% chance to reset Explosive Shot.

When you get an Explosive Shot reset, you need to make sure you actually use that proc. It's too easy to get caught up in the action, waiting for the cooldown, and accidentally just ignore the proc.

But doing that means wasting valuable damage potential. Now, let's take it a step further here.

While it's important to use Explosive Shot resets, it is just as important not to waste the potential for more resets. If Explosive Shot is just a few seconds away from coming off cooldown, you should definitely hold off on throwing your Wildfire Bomb.

Instead, wait for Explosive Shot to be ready, use it, and then throw your Wildfire Bomb. Why?

This strategy could instantly reset Explosive Shot's 30 second cooldown, letting you maximize your damage potential. Timing is everything.

SURVIVAL MOBILITY TIPS

Did you know that Survival Hunter is actually one of the most mobile melee specs in the game? But here's the thing, how you use that mobility is so, so important.

It's not just about running around, it's about using your mobility to survive, to kite, and to land those traps. So let's dive into how to master this balancing act of mobility.

Let's kick things off with offensive mobility. Now as we've covered in earlier videos, abilities like Flanking Strike and Coordinated Assault is going to charge you into melee.

These abilities should almost always be used offensively as they are not really great escape tools. You should focus on using these abilities to deal damage rather than trying to run away.

Disengage is another button that can be used offensively. Now, in this clip, the Hunter uses Disengage right out of the starting gate to gain the movement speed buff from post-haste.

This is a good way to use Disengage. This extra speed makes it easier to land an early trap and get into combat quickly to avoid being sapped.

With its short cooldown, Disengage can be a smart choice for gaining early momentum. Our final offensive mobility tool is Harpoon.

Here's a great example. The Hunter uses Harpoon to quickly reconnect with the Mage, closing the gap instantly.

While Harpoon is one of your best tools for landing traps, in this scenario, the Priest is in Spirit of Redemption, making a trap impossible. This frees up Harpoon for an aggressive play.

Now let's shift gears though and talk about using your mobility defensively. Your most reliable form of movement defensively is also Disengage.

With the post-haste talent, it becomes even more powerful, as it's going to remove all slows and roots while giving you a 50% movement speed boost. When you need to get away from a dangerous situation, Disengage should be your go-to escape option.

As a general rule, you want to use Disengage to counter an enemy. Disengage is a good way to get away from a dangerous situation.

Disengage should be your go-to escape option. As a general rule, you want to use Disengage to counter an enemy.

Disengage should be your go-to escape option. Disengage should be your go-to escape option.

This means using Disengage in response to abilities like Charge, which make it harder for the enemies to close the gap and stay on you. Against classes without consistent gap closers though, like Warlocks, you have a little bit more freedom to use Disengage whenever you need to create distance to escape.

It has a different arc, however. Aspect of the Cheetah and Master's Call work best, when paired together.

Now, on it's own, Aspect of the Cheetah can feel pretty underwhelming. While it briefly boosts your movement speed, it doesn't really provide a freedom, freedom, meaning you're likely to be re-sload right away.

That's where Master's Call comes in. By granting you freedom, it ensures you can fully capitalize on the speed boost from Aspect of the Cheetah.

Outside of Aspect of the Cheetah, Master's Call is an excellent tool for breaking routes or creating distance from an enemy. The great thing about Master's Call is that it only requires pet line of sight, not hunter line of sight.

This gives you a little bit more flexibility in how and when you can use it. You can also use it to support your teammates though.

For instance, you can use this to free your healer from a root beam. The final and most important use of your mobility is landing traps.

Typically, you'll use your mobility to close the gap on the healer and set up a trap as soon as it's off cooldown. Harpoon is ideal for this because it not only gets you to the healer quickly, but also roots them in place, which makes it easier to land your trap.

Alternatively, you can disengage toward the healer and apply a trap to the healer. This is a great way to get your healer to land a trap.

Apply a slow before trapping them.

ASPECT OF THE TURTLE SURVIVAL TIPS

In this course, we are going to be diving deep into defensive play and cooldown management. Surviving is just as important as dealing damage.

Rotating defensives properly means more uptime, more pressure, and more chances to secure the win. So Aspect of the Turtle, which is often just called Turtle, is one of the most misunderstood hunter cooldowns because people mistake it for a true immunity.

While it does prevent incoming attacks, any projectiles already in the air will still hit, and bleeds or damage over time effects will continue ticking. Area of effect abilities like Blade Flurry can also go through it, making it far less reliable than actual immunities like Ice Block or Divine Shield.

It's a powerful defensive tool, but knowing its limits can mean the difference between surviving and just getting deleted. With a Hefty 3 minute cooldown, Aspect of the Turtle is not something you can just throw out whenever.

It needs to be used strategically. There are two key situations where you're going to want to pop it.

First, when you're at low health and you know your healer won't be able to save you time. This is more of a last resort play since you're already low, damage over time effects can still finish you off.

Second, when you use it preemptively to avoid dying in a go, especially if you or your healer don't have a trinket. So let's break these down.

The first situation is when Aspect of the Turtle becomes your absolute last resort cooldown when you have no other way to survive and your other defensive cooldowns just won't cut it. Take this clip as an example here.

The hunter is taking heavy damage and their healer is struggling to keep up. The moment their healer gets caught in a full trap, the hunter pops Turtle.

Even though they're sitting at about 20% health, they're not too worried about dying to the dots. Now you really want to be careful when using Turtle low.

Because you can still die through it if there are any casts in the air. We can see this here where the hunter uses Turtle immediately out of a stun, but because Chaos Bolt was already in the air, they die anyway.

You cannot forget, this is not an immunity. Turtle isn't a full immunity.

It stops new attacks from hitting you, but anything already in the air is still going to hit you. Just because you have Turtle, it doesn't mean you always have to use it.

In fact, it's not a good idea to use it when you're on combat to go multiple games without pressing it once. Turtle is your last line of defense, the cooldown you hit only when everything else is gone.

If you have other ways to survive, it's often better to hold on to Turtle rather than just use it too soon.

EXHILARATION & SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST SURVIVAL TIPS

So let's dive into two cooldowns that are often used in similar situations, Exhilaration and Survival of the Fittest. Survival of the Fittest reduces the damage you take by 30% for 6 seconds.

Meanwhile, Exhilaration instantly heals you for 30% of your health and with the Rejuvenating Wind talent, also applies a small hot to keep you topped off. Together, they are an awesome combo for staying alive when things get tough.

So let's dive into how and when to use Exhilaration, starting with the basics. Exhilaration is your self-heal, instantly restoring 30% of your health plus 100% of your pet's health while also applying a small hot.

Pretty straightforward, right? The trick is using it at the right moment, and that's what separates good hunters from great ones.

And as a general rule, you want to pop Exhilaration when you're around 40-50% health and you notice your healer is either struggling, struggling to keep up with the damage, or is about to be crowd controlled. If you wait until you're almost dead, well, chances are you're still gonna die, even with Exhilaration.

Exhilaration is a fantastic ability to use when kiting. It gives you a little extra breathing room, buying time for your healer to get out of crowd control, all while making it harder for the enemy team to land a kill on you.

It's also great as a burst damage response. If you're taking heavy damage, popping Exhilaration can save you from dying.

This means your healer doesn't have to waste more crucial cooldowns like Spirit Link or Void Shift. Survival of the fittest works best when you're still at high health.

Let's face it, a 30% damage reduction isn't what it used to be. So using it when you're at 10%, 20%, or even 30% health isn't going to cut it.

You're still likely to die. When you see the enemy team popping their big cooldowns, do not wait until you're on the brink of death.

Pop your wall early to negate their burst, and with two charges, you can rotate Survival of the Fittest for nearly every go, ensuring you're always prepared for the damage. Survival of the Fittest can also be used preemptively as well.

If you know that you're about to be stunned, you can go for a pre-wall, using the cooldown right before you get stunned. This can save your trinket and might even save your healer's trinket, giving your team more options to react.

If your healer is really struggling, you can pair both cooldowns together for a powerful survival combo. Ideally, you're going to want to use Survival of the Fittest first, especially if you're about to take a lot of damage.

After that, if your healer is still having trouble or you feel like you might die, you can also follow up with Exhilaration to give yourself that instant heal and extra time to recover. But if you're already low on health, you can use Exhilaration first, and then immediately follow up with the wall.

ROAR OF SACRIFICE SURVIVAL TIPS

Today we're going to be taking a closer look at Roar of Sacrifice. We're going to walk you through how Roar of Sacrifice works, when to use it, and the strategies to ensure that you're going to be getting the most out of this ability when you do.

Roar of Sacrifice has gone through some significant changes and now it's part of the standard hunter tree rather than being a PvP only talent. Alright, so what does Roar of Sacrifice actually do though?

It's an ability that's cast by your pet that lasts for 12 seconds. It has a relatively short 1 minute cooldown and makes the target immune to critical strikes, redirecting 10% of their damage to your pet.

However, keep in mind that this doesn't mean the target is receiving a 10% damage reduction, it just means that 10% of the damage they would normally take is now being absorbed by your pet instead. The cool part is since it's a pet ability, you can use Roar of Sacrifice while you're crowd controlled.

Roar of Sacrifice can be traded for a pet that can be used to attack your pet. Pretty much any cooldown to help reduce damage, which makes it especially useful for mitigating those random, spiky hits that can catch you off guard.

If you're up against a class with critical strike based cooldowns like a Fury Warrior with Recklessness or maybe a Fire Mage with Combustion, it's really going to be a good idea to hold onto Roar of Sacrifice for those cooldowns.

Since it has such a short cooldown, you can usually time it between these cooldowns, but do try to pair it up with major offensive cooldowns first to really maximize its value. Roar of Sacrifice is most effective when it's used at the start of a burst phase rather than at the end.

By using it early, you can help reduce the incoming damage right from the beginning, which is going to be key for surviving those big bursts. Waiting until you're at 10% health or your teammates are near death, it really isn't going to do much since crit immunity at that point is not going to save you.

While you can still use it in a pinch if you have no other options, it won't provide nearly as much value as it would if you were to use it in a rush. Timing it right is crucial.

Since Roar of Sacrifice redirects 10% of the damage to your pet, it's important to keep an eye on your pet's health after using it. If your pet takes too much damage and it dies, Roar of Sacrifice is going to end early.

To prevent this, it's a good idea to toss out a min pet at the same time you use Roar of Sacrifice. This helps keep your pet alive longer and ensures the full duration of your pet's life.

If you're using it early, you can also use it in a rush. The ability is a good idea to toss out a min pet at the same time you use it.

If your pet takes too much damage and it dies, Roar of Sacrifice is going to end early. To prevent this, it's a good idea to toss out a min pet at the same time you use it.

If your pet takes too much damage and it dies, you can also use it in a rush. To prevent this, you can also use it in a rush.

FEIGN DEATH SURVIVAL TIPS

The last defensive cooldown we're going to explore in detail for this course is Feign Death, along with the various interactions that it has. Feign Death is one of those deceptively powerful abilities that every hunter should be making the most of.

With a 90% damage reduction for 2 seconds, it's essentially a mini-immunity, letting you survive huge bursts of damage when timed correctly. For that 2 whole seconds, you are almost untouchable, and the best part?

This ability is only on a 30 second cooldown, meaning you get to use it pretty dang often. Feign Death is incredibly versatile, and there are a ton of creative ways to use it.

So let's go over a few key scenarios here. First, you can use it to stop enemy casts.

Let's say you're about to take a massive hit from a Chaos Bolt, and your healer's stuck in CC. Instead of just waiting to get blasted, you can Feign Death.

Not only does it provide you with that huge damage reduction, but it also stops the cast entirely. It's not just for spellcasters either, though.

You can use it against melee and pets to force them to de-target you, even if it's just for a second. That brief moment of de-targeting can absolutely be enough to buy you time to survive.

For short CCs on your healer, like Storm Bolt or Paralysis, Feign Death can actually serve as a substitute for Survival of the Fittest. Since these crowd control effects don't last long, Feign Death can actually serve as a substitute for Survival of the Fittest.

Since these crowd control effects don't last long, Feign Death is often enough to survive the go and avoid the damage. But here's the trick.

You can chain another defensive off of it. After using Feign Death, you can immediately follow up with something like Roar of Sacrifice or Exhilaration, ensuring you stay alive and keep your team in the game.