PvE Survival Hunter DPS Stat Priority & Reforging

Survival Hunters in Mists of Pandaria have a fixed stat priority that may be altered depending on the stage of the expansion. Not much has changed since Cataclysm Classic, with Critical Strike Chance still being one of the best secondary stats they can acquire. Early on, they may choose to stack more Haste, but as the expansion progresses, their priority is set in stone.

Stat Priority

1. Hit (7.5%)
2. Expertise (7.5%)
3. Agility
4. Critical Strike Chance
5. Haste
6. Mastery
7. Weapon Damage 

Hit or Hit Chance is a secondary stat that ensures your attacks land against higher-level mobs. To prevent their Ranged Attacks from ever missing, Survival Hunters must always ensure they have 7.5 Hit Chance. However, Hit does not guarantee that their Ranged Attacks, which count specifically as Spells, will always hit the target, meaning they must also gain Expertise. Each 340 Hit grants you 1% Hit Chance!

Expertise is a secondary stat in Mists of Pandaria that increases Spell Hit Chance and reduces the chance of your attacks being dodged or parried. This stat is new to Survival Hunters, as they never had to care for it in previous expansions. Now, Ranged Attacks can also be dodged, while any Ranged Attack that might count as a Spell is automatically covered by Expertise in the form of Spell Hit Chance. Like Hit Chance, Survival Hunters need a 7.5% Expertise to ensure their attacks won’t be dodged or that any “Spell” may not miss. Each 340 Expertise grants you 1% Expertise!

Agility is a primary stat in Mists of Pandaria that increases Attack Power and Critical Strike Chance for Survival Hunters. The stat is still extremely valuable for Survival Hunters, even if they no longer benefit from a special passive that enhances all of their Agility by a percentage. You will want to stack as much Agility as possible without seriously dampening your other stats, such as Critical Strike Chance and Haste.

Critical Strike Chance is a secondary stat that has proven time and time again to be amongst the most rewarding for Survival Hunters! It allows their attacks to deal 100% increased damage. Besides their direct hit attacks, Critical Strike Chance can also influence DoT effects such as Serpent Sting, Explosive Trap, Explosive Shot, and Black Arrow. The more Crit you acquire, the more your DoTs will crit, being especially effective when considering the Lock and Load passive and how many times you can trigger Explosive Shot.  Early on, it will be considerably harder to stack Critical Strike Chance, but as the expansion progresses, you’ll be able to stack more and more until nearly all your attacks land crits.

Haste is a secondary stat that improves a Survival Hunter’s Attack Speed and Focus Regeneration. Survival Hunters may stack more Haste early in the expansion to ensure a decent Focus Regeneration. Still, it entirely depends on player preference, as Cobra Shot has a fixed cast time, no matter how much Haste you acquire, meaning it only affects the passive Focus gain. Most Hunters choose to begin the expansion by stacking Critical Strike Chance, even if the amounts are not very high. Once the progression starts, Survival Hunters will want to acquire Haste only after ensuring their Critical Strike Chance is very high! There is a common misconception that Haste affects a Survival Hunter’s Tick Rate for their DoT abilities in Mists of Pandaria Classic. The reality is that the feature where Hunter DoT abilities are affected by Haste, like Caster DoTs, was implemented in a different expansion, much later down the line.

Mastery is a secondary stat that increases all Magic Damage dealt by a Survival Hunter. The stat is somewhat controversial, with many Hunters claiming that it’s on par with Critical Strike Chance, while others think that it is completely inferior since the specialization has a mix of Weapon and Magic Damage. The reality is that the stat is very useful, but not on par with Critical Strike Chance when stacked. Mastery will be weaker at the beginning of the expansion, growing more useful as the expansion progresses and the overall stat values grow exponentially.

Weapon Damage is a specific stat only found on weapons, which is not usually specified whenever stats come up, but it does play an important role for Survival Hunters. Even if most of the damage dealt by Survival Hunters is Magic Damage, some of their core and talent abilities, such as Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Kill Shot, Scatter Shot, Multi-Shot, Glaive Toss, Powershot, Barrage, A Murder of Crows, and Dire Beast, scale directly with Weapon Damage. As such, always prioritizing the weapons with the best Weapon Damage pays off, even if the item’s stats are not the best in comparison. 

Reforging

Reforging is the act of transmuting secondary stats into different stats! Reforging can only be done on secondary stats, meaning you can’t use it to gain additional primary stats such as Agility or Stamina. Survival Hunters prioritize reaching their Hit and Expertise caps, followed by reforging their stats into as much Critical Strike Chance and Haste as possible. They will only prioritize reforging some of their stats into Mastery if they reach the respective efficient caps for Crit and Haste. 

1. Hit
2. Expertise
3. Critical Strike Chance
4. Haste
5. Mastery