I'm so happy with it I'm going to be maining it.
I think that the healing from the mastery should be a passive with a flat percentage because it's one of our worst secondary stat.
I enjoyed ranged version. But melee is meh...
bloodseeker/kill command dot also does not crit, and serpent sting duration scales with your haste instead of adding partial ticks
Very well done guide. I agree on the talent opinions, especially on the proposed changes to Wildfire Infusion. Talents like Exotic Munitions, when implemented correctly, can be some of the most fun systems in the game, and I wish that both Survival and Marksmanship could have tools like it.
I liked Legion version. Well, it was a melee spec, now, its a weird hybrid melee/ranged that's not a proper melee or ranged spec. It feels like something is missing from it. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not as good as it was during Legion.
BFA Survival is a weird copy of Enhancement but with Focus as a resource. Also why do Hunters need to have Stealth and Heroism? They're fine without stealing utility from all the other classes.
Our stealth works just for a minute with another minute cooldown, so it's not like hunters are always invisible. Btw we had this spell since Cata, therefore it's quite old.
It's such a shame that Terms of Engagement got nerfed so many times throughout the beta, it was a fun talent and did really fit with the specc thematically albeit feeling like a lock-on momentum DH. Survival, as well as the other Hunter speccs, are in a really good spot at the moment in terms of playstyle. While I'll miss maximizing Mongoose Bites for a high risk/high reward playstyle it's certainly a specc I'll play in BfA. All the Hunter specc's are fast to pick up now, and after playing some of my Elemental shaman on the pre-patch it's safe to say that Hunter is a good choice for anyone who's wanting to quickly main a class for a patch or two until some classes get their rightful rework
I like the current Survival setup much more than the Legion version, which had way too many components of which to keep track. While this is a bit too simple and linear, I still prefer it to having to keep track of 5 different cooldowns/debuffs at all times.
I disagree with the point about Wildfire Infusion, if it would be like the munition it would be too predicatble and I like the fact that players have to adopt to the next Bomb (so like spending all focus and having KC ready when we get Pheromone, capping Focus when we get Shrapnel Bomb and care to have Seprent Sting spread before using Volatile Bomb (and not spend focus for refreshing seprent sting unless it expires before the bomb is ready since it refreshes the time)... it maybe would be more balanced, but less engaging.
Legion Survival was not "fun" it was a clusterfudge of buttons.
You should have asked for reviews from the Survival Hunters who's spec was deleted to make room for this niche idea. The way this spec was introduced absolutely killed one of the best communities in the game.
I sorta like the current Survival, but I also miss the Cata-WoD Ranged Survival madly, especially when playing other ranged Hunter specs. For the duration of BFA, I am probably going to hang my bow and switch to a different character as I can barely recognize my main.
I was not a fan of the iteration in Legion. I was very much into the Survival should be ranged, why do we have another melee spec, but after trying out the new changes for BfA, I was pleasantly surprised. I personally find it more engaging than Beast Mastery, especially with the Kill Command. My pet and I work together and it's just nice.Also bombs...the bombs are also nice.
Somehow my comment was eaten, so i will try again:As a Survival Main for more than 14 years i was shocked in 6.2 to watch my dmg drop below the tanks, and after a hotfix with a 25% dmg buff to EVERYTHING to end up just a little above them. Then Blizzard revealed the reason for this nerf to the ground: Legions spec overhaul into melee.At first i was skeptical, but i gave it a try...and it turned out to be really fun! While not as smooth in the beginning, it was very playable since tomb of sargeras from a pure gameplay perspective. Now with BfA i was again skeptical, as i feared my spec again completely changed, but with every single betapatch it felt and looked even better. Talent choices really make a difference in playstyle AND more then one build is viable, if you want, you can even recreate the late legion playstyle.I have just some minor complaints:First: Kill Command needs a different name and symbol. It is and always will be BMs signature spell. Especially because both have not much in common except for the pet attacking. One is a weak hitting focus builder, the other one is a heavy hitting focus spender.Second: Like Kill Command, change the visuals of Coordinated Attack. A big red glowing pet with its hunter just screams BM, it is iconic for Bestial Wrath.Third: I am torn with this one. I like the idea for being totally crazy that you throw eagles FROM YOUR MELEE WEAPON onto your enemy...but if you think about it, it is just ridiculous! Maybe give us a glyph to change the eagles to something more toned down, like a saber slash, or just spears.Forth: Likewise, it sometimes looks odd to shoot poison darts from a tiny little crossbow in melee range. Again, maybe a glyph to actually throw darts or a melee swing if in melee range would help.Fifth: Why are we still forced to use a two-handed weapon? We have the ability to dual wield, let us use two one-handed ones!But overall i am very happy with my SV.
It's =/= its.The same grammar mistakes. In. Every. Single. Article.No proofreading.Sigh.
Survival hunter is my favorite spec in wow at this moment.
