Here’s how I’ve been leveling as Survival.
It’s really just a continuation of your 1-9 leveling: Keep Aspect of the monkey up, set immolation trap, pull with serpent sting, pet on defensive.
That puts 2 dots on the mob. Talents increase trap damage, and lowers mob’s chance to resist. Wolf works great with furious howl. Keep howl and taunt turned off, and use howl right before you first hit the mob with melee: raptor strike.
Talents increase raptor strike crit chance. So howl will add damage to that raptor strike. Then you auto-attack to regen mana.
Leveling this way will keep your defense, ranged and melee weapon skills maxed. There are some weak points to this build.
First, you don’t do so well as ranged. Your pet has no talents (until after 40, if you choose), so makes a bad tank; and you don’t even have improved aspect of the hawk. Caster mobs are a pain.
Secondly, you don’t do so well in dungeons. Most of your damage will come from immolation trap. If the tank works with you, great. Otherwise, it’s tough to use it.
What’s great is, you’ll have a ton of dodge. Can get the increase agility talent, and, later, the improved aspect of the monkey. You’ll be the tank, not your pet. Your immolation trap will build more threat than your pet, even with growl (which is why I turn it off).
You’ll rip through mobs though, faster than BM, in my experience. Another problem is that, for hunter, 1 agility = 1 melee attack power = 1 strength. So your melee will suffer, and you won’t hit as hard as a shaman, warrior, paladin, feral druid.
Immolation trap makes up for this. And you can get straight attack power gear, and gear with BOTH strength and agility: 1 str + 1 agi= 2 melee attack power. You’ll still have high crit chance with agility.
My leveling build:
- 5 Deflection
- 2 Savage strikes, 3 humanoid slaying (for casters)
- 2 Clever traps, 3 Survivalist
- 2 Trap mastery, 3 Sure footed
- 3 Killer instinct, 2 Survivalist
- 5 Lightning reflexes
- 1 Wyvern sting
After that, up to you, but Improved aspect of the monkey, and building your pet up would be good.
This is really a soloing build, though it works great in small groups, if you pull to your trap. Beyond Deadmines, I haven’t done a single dungeon with it. Have fun. 