Originally Posted by
Sagenod
I don't play hunter at all (so this might be cringe) but I've got a very simple idea that would make me personally a bit more interested in playing a survival hunter.
Replace the 45 talent Tip of the Spear with Lone Wolf. It would retain the effect of the Marksmanship version, granting a damage buff and Survival of the Fittest. However for Survival it would also replace Kill Command with Killing Blow (shit placeholder name) a melee ability that does the same thing as Kill Command, only the hunter does the attack animation obviously since there is no pet to do it. The Kill Command-related talents Alpha Predator and Bloodseeker could be left the same.
Doing it like this, the survival hunter would be incentivized to use their pet for the majority of levelling, which I think is good gameplay-wise and thematically. Instead of allowing a brand new hunter to get Lone Wolf at a low level and ignore one of the core aspects of the class, they will use their pet until the talent becomes available at 45, at which point they can choose. Also, it makes sense that an inexperienced hunter would rely on their pets to help them survive until they become capable enough on their own.
Is this dumb or what? You tell me.