DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

A general priority guide for Survival Hunter abilities and cooldowns. Helpful for understanding the spec's fundamentals and getting comfortable with core synergies. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: Midnight (12.0.1).

Single Target

Ensure Hunters Mark is applied to the target and your pet is summoned.

• Kill CommandView detailsUse to generate Tip Of The Spear stacks without overcapping.
• TakedownView detailsUse at 0 Tip Of The Spear stacks for max Twin Fangs benefit.
• BoomstickView detailsUse if you have a Tip Of The Spear stack to spend.
• Wildfire BombView detailsUse if Fury Of The Wyvern can be extended and you have a Tip Of The Spear stack.
• Raptor SwipeView detailsUse if you have a Tip Of The Spear stack to spend.
• Raptor StrikeView detailsUse with or without Tip Of The Spear stacks.

Maintain Tip Of The Spear stacks with Kill Command, using Takedown at 0 stacks for max benefit. Spend stacks with Boomstick, Wildfire Bomb, or Raptor Swipe, and use Raptor Strike as a filler.

AoE

Position yourself to maximize cone abilities like Wildfire Bomb and Boomstick.

• Kill CommandView detailsUse to generate Tip Of The Spear stacks without overcapping.
• BoomstickView detailsUse to hit multiple targets.
• Wildfire BombView detailsUse with Tip Of The Spear stacks or when charges are near full.
• TakedownView detailsUse if you have a Tip Of The Spear stack to spend.
• Raptor SwipeView detailsUse if you have a Tip Of The Spear stack to spend.
• Raptor StrikeView detailsUse with or without Tip Of The Spear stacks.

For AoE, prioritize Kill Command to build stacks, then use Boomstick and Wildfire Bomb for multi-target damage. Spend stacks with Takedown or Raptor Swipe, and use Raptor Strike as a filler.

Cooldowns

• TakedownView detailsUse with Tip Of The Spear stacks for max damage.
• Flamefang PitchView detailsUse during Takedown for synergy.
• BoomstickView detailsUse in AoE or with Tip Of The Spear stacks.

Use Takedown with Tip Of The Spear stacks for burst, Flamefang Pitch during Takedown, and Boomstick for AoE or when stacks are available.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.