Shot Rotation for Wind SerpentFollow

Uh...survival hunters should be using a 1:1.X rotation instead of a 3:2 (unless you've got like 30% haste or so from gear). As to a wind serpent, you should just use lightning breath.
Oh, and you'll get some nice information by reading the STICKYS which one (or both, can't remember if it's one of them) have the rotations in them. Including the macros you spam for them.

Should also mention you'll find more DPS with a ravager if you're only 4/6 in ZA, you're probably not that geared yet that a WS would be better.

To be honest with the T6 4 Piece Bonus, an SV hunter is better off using a 2:1 rotation, with minimal haste. As you receive more haste you may eventually tone it down to a 3:2 and of course a 1:1 with Bloodlust/Hawk Proc/etc. With a 2:1 shot rotation, a 3.0 ranged weapon, and some minimal haste you will still clip your auto-shots but only by a small margin.

I've personally found that this has increased my DPS greatly rather then trying to weave in Arcane or Multi-Shots using the basic DPS macro's for a 1:1.5 shot rotation. The typical problem being that when the cooldowns line up, it will pump out these two shots in succession which will make your next Steady Shot greatly clip your next auto-shot, or it will just use up Arcane + Multi while waiting for your next Auto-Shot and completely ignore your Steady Shot all together until the next rotation. So a normal shot rotation would look something like this as the cooldowns line up: Steady > Auto > Multi > Arcane > Auto > Steady, rinse repeat. If you do nothing but spam the macro this happens more often then not, due to the cooldowns on both Arcane and Multi-Shot.

Course now that I think about it, I would say my shot rotation varies from most hunters. I use a basic 2:1 combined with a 1:1.5 meaning that I will typically use a 2:1 until I start to clip my auto-shots to much. To reset this I use an Arcane or Multi-Shot to get back in the rhythm and allow my next Auto-Shot to actually fire instead of being caught up on the Steady Shot. By using the Arcane or Multi-Shot it then turns into a 1:1.5 for the next rotation, then quickly reverts back to a 2:1. Sounds like a lot of work I know, but just takes timing is all and you just need to pay attention to the fact that your auto-shots are actually going off and you aren't just spamming Steady Shots.

But this is what currently works for me, everyone's shot rotations vary just slightly based on weapon speed, haste, lag, etc. Pretty soon this will change anyway, and we'll never have to worry about clipping steady shots again =)


If your crit % is 30% or higher you should switch to a Wind Serpent. If you're using the basic SV DPS Raid spec you will have the Go For The Throat talent which is where your Wind Serpent will receive their focus from, allowing you to spam the Lightning Breath in a macro. It just sounds like your macro needs a little tweaking is all.

Remember at most a SV hunter's pet will be doing about 10-15% Of their total damage. Average of 12-13% in most raiding situations. BM hunters typically reach anywhere from 23-28% DPS from their pets. I've experienced this first hand as well as read plenty of WWS reports from various guilds. When you're up against Brutallus you look for any tips you can to up your DPS, and I've been doing heavy research for just that reason =P

I tack it onto the Kill Command bit.

I think it's something like;
/cast [target=pettarget,exists] Kill Command, Lightning Breath

But unable to log in and check.

Oh and in case nobody else mentioned it already (only skimmed topic) untrain Bite, it's a waste of focus for a Wind Serpent.

Edited, Sep 2nd 2008 2:38pm by Rasen