While Beast Mastery is no longer
the high end raid spec for Hunters, it's still
an effective and enjoyable spec. Hopefully Blizzard
will give us long-time Beast Masters some lovin'
again soon, huh?
Since being succeeded by Survival as the raid
DPS spec, Beast Masters have resumed their role
as the "Hunter Tank." Becoming a Beast
Master is the fastest, most efficient way to level
your Hunter. You have survivability, decent damage
and a very effective pet tank. As a Beast Master,
you rely heavily on your pet's abilities, especially
when it comes to obtaining and maintaining "aggro"
(threat). Beast Masters are great utilitarians
for solo questing as well as groups/raids.
As a Beast Master, I spec for the benefit of my
pet with a little tweaking to buff myself. It's
extremely important that I get the most use out
of my pet, which is why I choose to primarily
buff my pet. With the way that I spec, I can go
all out on DPS and my pet will keep aggro. It's
quick and easy to take down my target(s).
Even though I do go Survival for raids, I love
being a Beast Master and, therefore, have dual-specced.
To view my Beast Mastery spec, you can visit me
on the
armory. As a Beast Master, you should
be able to achieve 3,000+ DPS in top-end raids
with the appropriate gearing/gemming. You won't
be topping the damage charts but you will certainly
still be contributing to the raid without compromising
your desire to play a Hunter.
Beast Mastery is a fairly straight-forward spec
(unlike Survivalist). It's very clear what talents
you pick and why you pick them. Beast Masters
will use either a shot sequence (thumbs-up!) or
a shot rotation (thumbs down!). As similar as
they sound, they are not the same thing.
USE: A sequence: Sequences are based on the
priority of Hunter abilities and Hunters prioritize
by determining the most effective damage-dealing
abilities. If you are using abilities 1-4, you
will be focusing on their cooldowns rather than
the trap of 1... 2... 3... 4. Say you mark 1 as
your lowest damage ability and 4 as your highest,
you will be carefully watching your 3 and 4 cooldowns
and sacrificing your 1 and 2 abilities for a chance
to use your 3 and 4 abilities. So, instead of
1... 2... 3... 4, you may very well be doing 4...
3.... 2... 1... 3... 2... 4, etc.
DON'T USE: A rotation: With a rotation, you
use a planned out, prioritized set of abilities
that you stick to no matter what. Once again,
if you are using abilities 1-4 (on your main action
bar) in your rotation, you will go through the
rotation of 1... 2... 3... 4 without deviating
from it. While easy and mindless, this method
enables Hunters to ignore their cooldowns while
failing to use their highest damage abilities
- especially since, on average, Survivalists and
Marksmen will use around 7-8 abilities regularly.
When Beast Master, I have my hotbar set up this
way:
1: Autoshoot
2: Hunter's Mark
3: Multi-Shot
4: Volley
5: Kill Command
6: Kill Shot
7: Steady Shot
8: Bestial Wrath
9: Serpent Sting
0: Mend Pet
-: Trinket
=: Feign Death
It may seem a little hodge-podge and against a
flow but that's because I use Survival as my raiding
spec and I keep the two hotbars as close to the
same as I possibly can. The less time I have to
spend relearning my hotbar, the faster I can get
on track to my maximum DPS.
ON TRASH: I classify "trash" as any
mob that consists of 3+ targets which need to
be taken down at (roughly) the same time. I open
up with Multi-Shot, use Volley through 1 full
cast and about 50-75% through the second cast
before I go back to Multi-Shot. I weave in Kill
Command and Kill Shot whenever possible. If it
is a mob with a "big guy" and a bunch
of "little guys" (ie: Freya flower trash
in Ulduar), I will use my single-target sequence
on the "big guy" and move into my trash
sequence for the "little guys."
SINGLE-TARGET: My single-target sequence is significantly
more complicated. I prioritized my abilities (from
most damage to least) as Kill Shot, Black Arrow,
Serpent Sting, Explosive Shot and Steady Shot.
When I first open up on a target, the very first
ability I use is Hunter's Mark and then I blow
my trinket. After I've blown my trinket, I start
in with my sequence. While I don't have it on
my hotbar, I'm also sure to use Rapid
Fire after the first time I'm able to
use my Kill Shot. It can be a little challenging
and daunting at first; however, adjusting to an
effective sequence is key in achieving the most
DPS you can do.
Maxing out your DPS doesn't end at your spec,
shot sequence, gear or even all of those combined.
There's also raid awareness and Hunter
aids that help you, too. The type of
pet you choose is also a significant portion
of your DPS, too, and it matters how you spec
out its talents.
|
BEAST MASTERY TALENTS
(From Top and Left to Right in Your Talent
Tree)
|
|
TALENT
|
WHAT IT
DOES
|
NUKUMI'S
OPINION
|
| Improved Aspect
of the Hawk |
When active,
all normal ranged attacks have a 10% chance
of increasing ranged attack speed by [3%
/ 6% / 9% / 12% / 15%] for 12 seconds.
|
LIKE IT: While
the bonus itself isn't remarkable, any skill
that boosts your DPS is going to be your best
friend with this spec. |
| Endurance
Training |
Increases the
health of your pet by [2% / 4% / 6% / 8% /
10%] and your total health by [1% / 2% / 3%
/ 4% / 5%]. |
LIKE IT:
If you're interested in making your pet as
durable as possible, this is a great skill.
While it's more important that it increases
your pet's health than yours (in BM, your
pet is your tank and you're much less likely
to pull aggro), it's still beneficial that
you get a little boost yourself. |
| |
| Focused Fire |
All damage caused
by you is increased by [1% / 2%] while your
pet is active and the critical strike chance
of your pet's special abilities is increased
by [10% / 20%] while Kill Command is active. |
LIKE IT: Attack
power increases are nice but critical strike
chance increases are even better. The more
your pet (and you, for that matter) critically
wound your targets, the more DPS you will
end up doing in the long run. |
| Improved Aspect
of the Monkey |
Increases the
Dodge bonus of your Aspect of the Monkey and
Aspect of the Dragonhawk by [2% / 4% / 6%]. |
IT'S OKAY:
We don't necessarily concentrate on Dodge
for a stat so while the dodge bonus is nice,
it's sort of just a froo-froo filler talent
in my opinion. |
| Thick Hide |
Increases the
armor rating of your pets by [7% / 14% / 20%]
and your armor contribution from items by
[4% / 7% / 10%]. |
LIKE IT:
As much as I like every aspect of this talent,
I admit that I only took it because of the
DOT bonus it gave to Black Arrow. Everything
about this talent is great and useful but
the DOT aspect gaurantees and increase in
damage, which is what I look for in my Survivalist
spec. |
| Improved Revive
Pet |
Revive Pet's
casting time is reduced by [3 / 6] seconds,
mana cost is reduced by [20% / 40%] and increases
the health your pet returns with by an additional
[15% / 30%]. |
LIKE IT:
As much as I like every aspect of this talent,
I admit that I only took it because of the
DOT bonus it gave to Black Arrow. Everything
about this talent is great and useful but
the DOT aspect gaurantees and increase in
damage, which is what I look for in my Survivalist
spec. |
| |
| Pathfinding |
Increases the
speed bonus of your Aspect of the Cheetah
and Aspect of the Pack by [4% / 8%] and increases
your speed while mounted by [5% / 10%]. The
mounted movement speed increase does not stack
with other effects. |
LIKE IT:
This is a win/win situation right here: damage
reduction and critical strike chance.
You can't go wrong with such a straight-forward
talent. |
| Aspect Mastery |
A skill that
increases the bonuses you receive from the
following aspects:
Aspect of the Viper - Your damage penalty
is reduced by 10%.
Aspect of the Monkey - Damage done to you
is reduced by 5% when active.
Aspect of the Hawk - Increases your attack
power bonus by 30%.
Aspect of the Dragonhawk - Combines the bonuses
from Aspect of the Monkey and Aspect of the
Hawk. |
DON'T LIKE
IT: Hunters have far too many good
crowd control methods to use a risky liability
like Scatter Shot. Disorienting your target
could end up sending it into a neighboring
mob, defeating your attempt to control your
target. |
| Unleashed
Fury |
Increases the
damage done by your pets by [3% / 6% / 9%
/ 12% / 15%]. |
DON'T LIKE
IT: While the parry aspect of Deflection
is good, I find the disarm portion a little
too useless in current raiding instances.
In fact, I don't recall the last time I was
actually disarmed for a lengthy period. |
| |
| Improved Mend
Pet |
Reduces the mana
cost of your Mend Pet spell by [10% / 20%]
and gives the Mend Pet spell a [25% / 50%]
chance of cleansing 1 Curse, Disease, Magic
or Poison effect from the pet each tick. |
LIKE IT: As
a Survivalist, Explosive Shot and Black Arrow
are going to be two of your most frequently
used abilities. Increasing their damage -
even by a small percentage - is a huge benefit
to your DPS. |
| Ferocity |
Increases the
critical strike chance of your pet by [2%
/ 4% / 6% / 8% / 10%]. |
LIKE IT: With
the attack speed of most high-end bows, crossbows
and guns these days, you go through ammo like
crazy. Nah! That's just an extra side-bonus
to this talent. The meat of what makes this
talent great is getting in 2 extra shots with
Explosive Shot back-to-back simply because
you use Black Arrow whenever you can. |
| |
| Spirit Bond |
While your pet
is active, you and your pet will regenerate
[1% / 2%] of total health every 10 seconds.
It also increases healing done to you and
your pet by [5% / 10%]. |
LIKE IT: Easy,
permanent way to increase your and your pet's
Attack Power. If your Stamina is 1207, you're
increasing your own Attack Power by 362 (25.8
DPS) and your pet's by 72.4. Both are significant
increases. |
| Intimidation |
Command your
pet to intimidate the target on the next successful
melee attack, causing a high amount of threat
and stunning the target for 3 seconds. It
lasts 15 seconds. |
LIKE IT: Critical
strike chance is easily one of the most important
stats we Hunters have. Increasing it on all
of your attacks will make all your dreams
come true. |
| Bestial Discipline |
Increases the
focus regeneration of your pets by [50% /
100%]. |
IT'S OKAY:
The concept is nice but there's not a
lot of times where this is going to prove
useful in end-game or even questing to justify
spending the points in it. |
| |
| Animal Handler |
Increases your
pet's attack power by [5% / 10%] and increases
the duration of your Master's Call effect
by [3 / 6] seconds. |
LIKE IT:
I'm an Agility fangirl, what can I say? It
not only gives us attack power but also critical
strike chance. |
| Frenzy |
Gives your pet
a [20% / 40% / 60% / 80% / 100%] chance to
gain a 30% attack speed increase for 8 seconds
after dealing a critical strike.
This talent requires
5 points in Ferocity. |
LIKE IT:
Fast-paced combat can be an extreme drain
on our mana and this kind of decrease really
helps us out. |
|
| Ferocious
Inspiration |
When your pet
scores a critical hit, all party/raid members
have their damage increased by [1% / 2% /
3%] for 10 seconds. It also increases the
damage dealt by Arcane Shot by [3% / 6% /
9%]. |
LIKE IT:
Any increase in attack power is a plus, especially
since it's best to collect and stack Agility.
This talent is almost like having an added
bonus to focusing on Agility. |
| Bestial
Wrath |
Send
your pet into a rage, causing 50% additional
damage for 10 seconds. While enraged, the
beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear
and it cannot be stopped unless killed.
This talent requires
1 point in Intimidation. |
IT'S
OKAY: Good for crowd control but not remarkable
on its own. Unfortunately, it's required for
Noxious Stings so I do recommend putting the
1 point in Wyvern Sting. |
| Catlike Reflexes |
Increases your
chance to dodge by [1% / 2% / 3%] and your
pet's chance to dodge by an additional [3%
/ 6% / 9%]. It also reduces the cooldown of
your Kill Command ability by 10 seconds. |
LIKE IT:
Great way to help get past the mana crutch. |
|
| Invigoration |
When your pet
scores a critical hit with a special ability,
you have a [50% / 100%] chance to instantly
regenerate 1% mana.
This talent requires
3 points in Ferocious Inspiration.
|
LIKE IT:
This is a fabulous skill because it's guaranteed
that you'll be hitting things almost without
a miss so the chance to gain such an increase
is fairly significant. |
| Serpent's
Swiftness |
Increased
ranged combat attack speed by [4% / 8% / 12%
/ 16% / 20%] and your pet's melee attack speed
by [4% / 8% / 12% / 16% / 20%]. |
LIKE
IT: Your Serpent Sting is one of our two
DOT (Damage Over Time) abilities and any beefing
up of it will pay off big time in the long
run in terms of your DPS. |
|
| Longevity |
Reduces the cooldown
of your Bestial Wrath, Intimidation and pets'
special abilities by [10% / 20% / 30%]. |
LIKE IT:
This is a good skill. It's not one that will
come into play terribly often - it'll be as
often as you use your traps. Still, you will
use your traps from time to time and this
is an added bonus for when you do. |
| The Beast
Within |
Increases all
damage you deal by 10%. While your pet is
under the effects of Bestial Wrath, you also
go into a rage causing 10% additional damage
and reducing mana costs of all spells by 50%
for 10 seconds. When enraged, you do not feel
pity or remorse or fear and you cannot be
stopped unless killed.
This talent requires
1 point in Bestial Wrath. |
LIKE IT:
This is a huge damage bonus and hands-down
our best DOT ability. If you have 5000 RAP,
you'll be dealing an additional 500 damage
to your target over 15 seconds. This really
helps your DPS during lulls or times in a
fight where you can't do DPS. |
| Cobra
Strikes |
You
have a [20% / 40% / 60%] chance when you critically
hit with Arcane Shot, Steady Shot or Kill
Shot to cause your pet's next 2 special attacks
to critically hit.
This talent requires
5 points in Serpent's Swiftness. |
LIKE
IT: Can't lose - it's a critical strike
chance and a damage increase. |
|
| Kindred
Spirits |
Increases
your pet's damage by [4% / 8% / 12% / 16%
/ 20%] and you and your pet's movement speed
by [2% / 4% / 6% / 8% / 10%] while your pet
is active. This does not stack with other
movement speed increasing effects. |
LIKE
IT: Not only does it give you an Agility
bonus (*squeal*) but this is an ability you
can use to help out your fellow raiders/group
members. As Hunters, we don't get a lot of
utilitarian skills (aside from traps) so it's
nice to have one "buff" effect,
so to speak. |
| |
| Beast
Mastery |
You
master the art of Beast training, teaching
you the ability to tame exotic pets and increases
your total amount of pet skill points by 4. |
LIKE
IT: If you have 5000 RAP, you will end
up dealing between 1086-1164 with Explosive
Shot. This is a huge shot and one that you
can use rather frequently. |
Beast
Master Spec