PS. Sry for the long reply, I tend to make them that way 
So lovely to hear 
The current iteration has a select number of players who like/love it. No doubt in that. I get why they did what they did when changing it.
I just hate that they decided to remove an entire playstyle in order to make way for a different one. Neither the current melee survival nor the prior ranged version are similar to one another, or to any of the other 2 hunters specs that we have. Essentially, you can have a base of these 4 specs for the hunter class existing at the same time and they would all carry their own unique identity.
All of them caters to the core of the class’ fantasy as well, in their own way.
A little while back I decided to bring this suggestion post onto the US forum to see what they though about it. I choose to include some additional arguments/motivation for why the spec deserve to be in the game. You can find that below here:
Motivation/arguments
First:
In an interview(this has been referenced in other topics as well), we were told that one of the reasons that led to the decision to rework the Survival spec from ranged to melee was the view on the ranged spec and it’s “similarities” to that of Marksmanship.
Interview: https:// www.gameaxis. com/interviews/interview-wow-legions-lead-class-designer-senior-producer/
And then Survival Hunter…
Travis: It was another one that was missing its niche. It’s kind of like Marksman except more traps? Or different arrows? So it was kind of missing that “what is the core fantasy?”
Now this was ofc the opinion of one person within the development team, or maybe it was the general opinion of the entire team. I don’t know.
But if you ask me, as someone who played that spec continuously from the moment we got it for Cata up until it being removed for Legion. I loved that playstyle and I certainly did not feel that it was similar to MM.
If they were similar then I wouldn’t have minded to play them both. But I did mind.
Besides, the thing that, IMO makes the above a non-argument is the fact that this was done at the same time as every single spec in the game saw changes being made to it/them, some more extensive than others, to the point of overhauls. The main theme was now going to be “Spec Identity” and “Spec Fantasy”.
So…if Survival at the time was to similar to MM, then this would’ve been the perfect time to iterate on them both to make them more unique?
Second:
We have seen comments in the past where it has been stated that giving classes additional specs is not warranted. 3 specs for each class is more than enough(with some exceptions…).
Sure, in some cases this might very well be true. But if you look at the Hunter class and the three existing specs, how they play and what their intended fantasy is.
Would you not agree that adding in a 4th spec that focus on DoT-management as a core, would this not actually fit?
Beast Mastery - the spec that is meant to really embrace the bond between the hunter and his/her companion.
Marksmanship - the true ranger. He/she does not rely on a pet. They make it their mission to murder anything in their path by focusing on hitting that perfect spot with a well aimed shot. (You can still play with a pet, but the spec does not promote that gameplay in any way).
Survival(melee) - you master the style of fighting alongside your pet, getting into the thick of it, fighting as one. With some extra tricks up your sleeve ofc.
Survival(ranged, new name perhaps?) - a rugged tracker that is aided by a loyal companion. His/her main focus is the enhancement of ammunition/arrows. To make it/them as deadly as possible. You know that even if the enemy escapes temporarily, it will not get very far.
Back to the initial subject…we have seen a 4th spec addition once before. This was when the Druid class saw Feral being split into Guardian/Feral Combat.
So that you had 1 spec focusing on the Bearform while the other focused on the Catform and what each meant thematically.
Imagine if at the time, the decision was made to scrap either one of them instead of keeping both? Imagine what those who loved either would’ve thought?
The bottom line is, can the DoT-style for a hunter spec have it’s own Identity? Can it be unique, enough to warrant implementation? I think it can!
Now, for your own suggestions. Yeah, I can see, sort of, a way for this to work out as well. For us to get it through talents within the MM spec. I posted my own suggestions for it a while back: We Miss Old Survival hunter and Why it should be back - #69 by Briz-zenedar
I’ve since chosen to not push for that approach for a few reasons.
-
I think there’s a sizeable pool of players that want MM to be what it currently is. They might not like having certain talents altered in favor of what we would want instead. They want the focus of MM to be on large hits as well as burst damage.
-
I also think that, despite getting the very core of what the old Survival playstyle was about. It wouldn’t do it justice. It, if you ask me, deserves to be in the form of it’s own separate spec. Not a sub-spec you get through a few talent choices. Because there’s only so much you could do with that.
-
The current base model design of MM wouldn’t work well together with abilities and effects coming from the old RSV spec.
You and me both mate, you and me both(…and hopefully a few others as well).
I’ve heard extreme differences in opinions towards the class for quite a while. Some love BM, some MM, some Survival. While others hate them all. The thing here is, we are all very different, we all have our preferences.
There will always be those that hate aspects of each spec. And vice versa. Which is also the main reason as to why I’m pushing for the return of that past DoT-playstyle/Survival spec to in the form of it’s own spec. So it wouldn’t affect the existing ones. Along with, as I’ve said before, the fact that it can bring it’s own identity. It can be different enough compared to the other specs(not just hunter specs).
The general feedback I’ve gotten on my suggestion for a design(across multiple platforms/forums), is that they like it. The only real negative feedback have been focused on the talents that involve your pet in any way. Based on that feedback, I’ve altered several of those talents to be less focused on the involvement of your pet and what you tell it to do. It’s now more focused on how your pet can help/empower you as the hunter.
Ofc some players don’t want to be forced to focus on their pet at all really. Which is why my design only involves pet management through optional talent choices rather than having anything there baseline.
Why?
Well…
Beast Mastery - is all about the pet(s).
Melee Survival - is a bit of a mix. It does have part of it’s core/baseline abilities that involve the pet.
Marksmanship - does not promote pet use in any way.
So adding in some middle ground for this proposed spec, I think is justified. With this design, you have nothing there baseline that involves pet management. But you can so choose if you want to, to further include elements of that playstyle. Which also happens to be closer to what the original core fantasy of the Hunter class was about. Again, we all have our opinions.
The spec that is perfect for everyone, does not exist. Nor will it ever do so.