Core Talents – these skills are vital to the success of a survival build.

Survival Talents:

Improved Tracking - 5% extra damage just for having ANY hunter specific tracking up.

Trap Mastery – Increases damage done by Traps and Black Arrow.

Survival Instincts – 4% crit to Explosive Shot and Steady Shot.

TnT – 6% increased damage done by Explosive Shot, Immolation Trap and Explosive Trap. The 3 second stun has been removed from this talent along with the 9% crit to Explosive Shot. It also does not refresh Immolation Trap regardless of what you see written in patch notes.

Lock and Load – 2 free Explosive Shot from ticks of Black Arrow or Immolation Trap ticks (6%) or Frost/Freezing Trap activation (100%). Serpent sting no longer procs Lock and Load.

Noxious Stings – 3% more overall damage for having Serpent Sting active on a target.

2/3 Expose Weakness - Increases your AP by 25% of your Agility whenever you crit. More than 2 points are not necessary unless your crit rating is very low.

Resourcefulness – This talent reduces the cooldown on traps and Black Arrow. Since Black Arrow increases your damage by 6% while active as well as functions to proc Lock and Load, you will want Black Arrow active as much as possible.

Black Arrow – This is a new shot which deals Shadow Damage over 15 seconds and will be the main source of Lock and Load procs. Black Arrow also provides a 6% increased damage buff while it is active on a target which stacks with the 3% bonus from Noxious Stings if you also have Serpent Sting active.

Hunting Party – This is now a 3 point talent that increases your Agility by 1% per point as well as provides the Replenishment buff on your Explosive and Steady Shot crits.

Master Tactician – 10% chance to proc 2/4/6/8/10% crit for 8 seconds. With the increased uptime on this it averages out to 6-7% crit over the course of a long fight.

Survivalist/Hunter vs. Wild – Survivalist increases your Stamina by 2/4/6/8/10% and Hunter vs. Wild gives you and your pet AP equal to 30% of your Stamina. The AP awarded scales only with +Stamina buffs not +Health buffs (Commanding Shout, Blood Pact).

Sniper Training – Increased damage to Steady, Aimed AND Explosive Shot on top of increased 15% crit chance for Kill Shot. This talent has been changed in 3.1 and no longer requires a 30 yard range but rather is now a buff that becomes active when you stand still for 6 seconds. The buff remains active for 15 seconds and refreshes every 6 seconds.

Explosive Shot – This is the backbone of the SV spec. It deals Fire damage, is not mitigated by armor, and is on a 6 second cooldown. Explosive Shot should be the main priority of your rotation over almost any other shot.

Careful Aim – Increases your AP equal to 100% of your Intellect.

Lethal Shots/Mortal Shots – Increases your crit rating by 5% and critical strike bonus damage by 6/12/18/24/30% on all your special abilities (Auto Shot is not included).

Go For the Throat – Every time you crit this talent gives your pet 25 focus. With the lowered pet ability costs and extremely high crit rates in raids you will not need more than 1 point here.

Improved Aspect of the Hawk - 10% chance to increase your attack speed by 3/6/9/12/15% for 12 seconds. Use this talent to help maintain haste capped Steady Shots.