| Name | Pew Pew. The Everyday Hunter's Guide Part 6 |
| Category | Class |
Hyacintha here, and today I am interviewing the beautiful Night Elven Hunter Ohanraela. Although the Hunter class is one of the simplest to pick up and is a very popular choice when it comes to pure firepower, it has its share of complexities that not everyone understands. This guide is designed to show you over several parts what the class has to offer, how each ability is used, and how to improve yourself as a Hunter. Ohanraela will be my aid in doing so.
What will set you apart from every other Hunter are the talents you invest in your talent trees. These improve your current moves and give you access to new ones based on whatever tree your talent points into. In the following guides, we will be focusing on each of the three trees and how to play them, what talents to take and so on.
Hyacintha: Ohanraela, thank you for coming back to be interviewed, yet again. Today, we are going to be focusing on the Hunter’s talents, this time which ones to pick, and how to use them, yet again. Last time we looked at Survival, but today it is Beast Mastery, right?
Ohanraela: Correcty! I will break down the Beast Mastery tree for you and show you the pros and cons, just like I did with the other two. Then afterwards, we can tie up some loose ends and move onward!
# - - Beast Mastery - - >
The Beast Master relies on his loyal animal companion to fight by his side. By the gasp of his command, a tamed beast can become a destructive force. As they fight, their spiritual bond allows one to feel the rage of the other. It is certainly the most romantic of the trees.
Basic Sample Beast Mastery Builds
~ Beast Mastery Raid DPS ~
Beast Mastery Talents - 41 point(s)
Improved Aspect of the Hawk - rank 5 / 5
Endurance Training - rank 1 / 5
Focused Fire - rank 2 / 2
Improved Revive Pet - rank 2 / 2
Unleashed Fury - rank 5 / 5
Improved Mend Pet - rank 2 / 2
Ferocity - rank 5 / 5
Intimidation - rank 1 / 1
Bestial Discipline - rank 2 / 2
Animal Handler - rank 2 / 2
Frenzy - rank 4 / 5
Ferocious Inspiration - rank 3 / 3
Bestial Wrath - rank 1 / 1
Serpent's Swiftness - rank 5 / 5
The Beast Within - rank 1 / 1
Marksmanship Talents - 20 point(s)
Lethal Shots - rank 5 / 5
Efficiency - rank 5 / 5
Go for the Throat - rank 2 / 2
Aimed Shot - rank 1 / 1
Rapid Killing - rank 2 / 2
Mortal Shots - rank 5 / 5
This build offers the generic template for all raiding Beast Mastery hunters. Animal Handler is an essential raiding talent, and the loss of ONE POINT from Frenzy is not even noticeable, as your pet will still be under the affects of Frenzy most-to-all of the time. Finally, it is important to note that Serpent's Swiftness is the primary reason this build creates the highest Sustained DPS for Raiding Hunters. If this talent were removed, the spec would no longer be viable.
~ Beast Mastery Grinding / Farming Spec ~
Beast Mastery Talents - 41 point(s)
Endurance Training - rank 5 / 5
Focused Fire - rank 2 / 2
Thick Hide - rank 3 / 3
Bestial Swiftness - rank 1 / 1
Unleashed Fury - rank 5 / 5
Ferocity - rank 5 / 5
Spirit Bond - rank 2 / 2
Intimidation - rank 1 / 1
Bestial Discipline - rank 2 / 2
Frenzy - rank 5 / 5
Ferocious Inspiration - rank 3 / 3
Bestial Wrath - rank 1 / 1
Serpent's Swiftness - rank 5 / 5
The Beast Within - rank 1 / 1
Marksmanship Talents - 17 point(s)
Lethal Shots - rank 5 / 5
Efficiency - rank 5 / 5
Go for the Throat - rank 2 / 2
Aimed Shot - rank 1 / 1
Rapid Killing - rank 2 / 2
Mortal Shots - rank 2 / 5
Survival Talents - 3 point(s)
Hawk Eye - rank 3/3
This build, while not altogether very different from the Raid DPS build, is focused more on your ability to tag the target, and your pet's ability to kill it. Improved Aspect of the Hawk is not included because Viper is more commonly used for grinding. The points here are very flexible based on your grinding style and location (less competitive areas will not require the increased range).
~ Beast Mastery PvP ~
Beast Mastery Talents - 41 point(s)
Endurance Training - rank 5 / 5
Focused Fire - rank 2 / 2
Thick Hide - rank 3 / 3
Bestial Swiftness - rank 1 / 1
Unleashed Fury - rank 5 / 5
Improved Mend Pet - rank 2 / 2
Ferocity - rank 5 / 5
Intimidation - rank 1 / 1
Bestial Discipline - rank 2 / 2
Frenzy - rank 5 / 5
Bestial Wrath - rank 1 / 1
Catlike Reflexes - rank 3 / 3
Serpent's Swiftness - rank 5 / 5
The Beast Within - rank 1 / 1
Marksmanship Talents - 20 point(s)
Improved Concussive Shot - rank 5 / 5
Lethal Shots - rank 5 / 5
Go for the Throat - rank 2 / 2
Aimed Shot - rank 1 / 1
Rapid Killing - rank 2 / 2
Mortal Shots - rank 5 / 5
While similar to the Farming Beast Mastery Build, this spec is more survival oriented, and provides you with a more powerful Concussive Shot. Intimidate is also there, and is pretty awesome if you can time it correctly. Again, this spec is VERY flexible, but in arena, the Beast Mastery's utilities are limited as opponents with higher HP are able to break stuns, if not outlast the duration of The Beast Within. In addition, spending 41 points for The Beast Within sacrifices a vast plenum of abilities from the Marksmanship and Survival tree that might better serve an arena group.
# - - With Beast Mastery You Can expect these: - - >
Benefits
- Pet’s offensive power is greatly increased.
- The right pet can tank well if properly built.
- Both you and your pet attack much faster.
- Ferocious Inspiration benefits all classes, and effect can be sustained.
- Total damage contribution from both you and your pet is very high.
- May allow for a high dodge chance.
- A bit more lenient in the way of gear dependency than other builds.
Downsides
- Lower damage output without pet.
- Fewer options for handling melee range combat.
- Fewer crowd control features.
Beast Masters have the ability to cause heaping tons of damage, thanks to talents that augment a pet’s offensive power. Unleashed Fury, Serpent’s
Swiftness, and Ferocity greatly increase your pet’s damage output, while your pet’s critical strikes trigger Frenzy and Ferocious Inspiration. By throwing Bestial Wrath into the mix, your pet becomes powerful enough to shred your target to pieces. At the same time, talents that boost your pet’s Health and armor may allow your pet to turn into a viable tank.
Note that as your pet grows more powerful, you are not excluded. Several of the tree’s talents boost your damage output as well. In addition to Improved Aspect of the Hawk and Focused Fire, you gain benefits from Ferocious Inspiration and Serpent’s Swiftness. Once you get The Beast Within at the bottom of the tree, that is additional damage for you as well.
# -- Playing As A Beast Master - - >
As a Beast Master, you need to be able to control your pet with precision. The best way to do so is by getting used to using your Ctrl key with the numbers near the top of your keyboard. These correspond to the commands on your pet’s action bar. Since your pet is a vital source of damage, you need to be able to quickly direct it towards whatever you are targeting. You can just as easily click the buttons on the action bar but that delay time can be avoided by practicing with the Ctrl key. If using it is problem, you can also change the Key Bindings, preferably to F1 through F9. Look for the Secondary Action Bar bindings.
Beast Masters are very straightforward when it comes to their abilities. Thanks to the haste bonuses from Serpent’s Swiftness and Improved Aspect of the Hawk, Steady Shot quickly replaces Arcane Shot in your rotation. You can get away with nothing more than a back-and-forth rotation between Steady and Auto-Shot and still do incredibly amounts of damage, hitting Arcane Shot only when running or dispelling a buff.
Your other ability is Intimidation, which should be used defensively. The high threat is nice but the kicker is the stun effect, which can be used to interrupt spells. The stun time also gives you enough time to drop a trap if needed. Because the effect occurs on the next melee attack, be sure to watch your timing. Use it early if you have to. Try enhancing your pet with Cobra Reflexes and Serpent’s Swiftness to bring its attack speed to 1.27.
# - - Building the Right Pet for your Purpose- - >
Because your pet is such an important factor to you as a Beast Master, you have to choose your pet and its abilities more carefully than a Marksman or a Survivalist. To maximize your damage output, you will want an offense-oriented pet, which has high attack damage in exchange for Health or Armor. You will especially want one to get the most out of Kill Command. Cats are a popular choice because of their high damage and ability to Dash and Prowl. Be sure to also teach it Cobra Reflexes. When combined with Serpent’s Swiftness, your pet’s attack speed will reach 1.27, even higher if Frenzy kicks in.
If you prefer a tanking pet, you will need an animal with naturally high Stamina and armor. Bears have a decent mix of both but if you truly want a sturdy pet for elites, you need a turtle for its high armor and Shell Shield ability.
# - - Raiding As A Beast Master - - >
Raids will want you for two reasons. One would be your firepower. For your damage output, you simply need to do nothing more than use your Steady - Auto Shot rotation, remembering to use Rapid Fire and Bestial Wrath whenever they are both active. If you happen to be a leatherworker, you can also throw Drums of Battle into the mix. Mana is usually not an issue due to Steady Shot’s economically low mana cost. The only exception is if you wear a lot of PvP gear, which could affect your mana pool without a supply of mana potions to refuel it.
The other reason would be Ferocious Inspiration. It affects all sources of damage from everyone in your group, and it stacks. Throw five Beast Masters into a group, and you’re looking at 15% more damage for all five of you. To get the most out of it, your pet needs to land critical strikes as often as possible, and there are several ways to do just that. Focused Fire and Ferocity both give your pet an increased critical strike chance, while the haste bonuses from Cobra Reflexes, Frenzy, and Serpent’s Swiftness increases your pet’s chance of landing that key hit. Drums of Battle help as well.
# - - PvP As A Beast Master - - >
Cloth wearers will hate you for being what you are: a killing machine. Bestial Wrath allows you to quickly put an end to anything that has low armor. Both you and your pet has such a high attack speed that it will easily interrupt spells that have a casting time. Intimidation leaves an enemy player open for several seconds while you fire away. Of course, there is always Arcane Shot for those moments when you need to snipe off protective buffs.
Higher-armored players, on the other hand, is a different story. Your damage output is still absurdly high but most classes that have high armor tend to be classes that fight you at melee range, where your Steady Shot is useless. You will want to keep your distance, remembering to drop a Freezing or Frost Trap to slow down anything that tries to get near you. If needed, use Intimidation to pin your enemy down for a moment.
# - - Beast Mastery Itemization / Gear - - >
Since your pet gains a portion of your Ranged Attack Power, you will need to focus on Attack Power as your main stat. The configuration for Beast Lord Cuirass in the Marksman section is ideal for a Beast Master. Generally, whatever works for Marksmanship will work for this tree as well. There are some pieces of armor that specifically cater to your pet such as the Leggings of Beast Mastery, which boosts your pet’s Attack Power, armor, and Stamina, but such specific gear is very hard to come by.
Once you find yourself raiding, you will need to switch over to Agility. While it is true that your pet would benefit more from you having more Attack Power, your overall damage output in raids will be higher as a result of your higher rate of critical hits.
Hyacintha: Well thanks for the break down. Whew… On a side note, can you talk a little about attack speed? I have heard
Ohanraela: Yes, that would be a nice break.
# - - Managing Your Attack Speed - - >
Because of all of the haste bonuses that you can get, your ranged weapon can reach speeds well below 2.00, and the casting time of your Steady Shot is significantly lessened. What you will want to do is achieve a 1:1 speed ratio between Auto - Shot’s cool down and Steady Shot’s casting time, meaning that you would ideally want to get as close as possible to a 1.50 attack speed. Ranged weapons whose speeds vary from 2.60 to 2.80 are most ideal for reaching that point. It gets a bit trickier for weapons that are 2.90 and up. This is all about your rotation and getting the best damage output.
Hyacintha: Interesting. The next thing I want to go over is which spec is best for which purpose?
Ohanraela: This one can get sort of tricky, but I will try and break it down for you.
# - - Heroics - - >
In heroic instances a hunter is required to CC targets, forcing them to either excel at kiting, or spec into a build with clever traps and the reliance that those traps will work.
What you really want is:
Monster Slaying - rank 2 / 3
Humanoid Slaying - rank 2 / 3
Hawk Eye - rank 3 / 3
Entrapment - rank 3 / 3
Clever Traps - rank 2 / 2
Survivalist - rank 3 / 5
Trap Mastery - rank 1 / 2
Surefooted - rank 3 / 3
This build leaves 42 points open for whichever route the hunter wishes to take, either Beast Mastery, Marksman, or continuing Survival. Note that having 2 points in Trap Mastery is an option, but most sources believe it to be a waste.
# - - Raiding - - >
Beast Mastery is the first and foremost DPS raiding build. In fights where Pet Survivability is really difficult and with higher gear levels, Survival becomes about equal. Survival scales well with the Agility your gear has on it, increasing your personal DPS very much through high Crit percentages and high Attack Power. If a Survival Hunter with 800 Agility and a Beast Mastery Hunter were in the same raid on Leotheras, but the Beast Master Hunter's pet died, and sometimes more than once, the advantage of Survival on that fight becomes clear. While Marksmanship is also viable at high gear levels, Survival is likely the better alternative to Beast Mastery.
# - - PvP - - >
The Hardcore PVP Hunters are generally Marksmanship / Survival and may or may not take the health talent from the Beast Mastery tree. Marks was designed as the PVP tree for hunters, and the design holds true, as it offers more burst DPS, less crit-reliant DPS, and the very utile Silencing Shot and Scatter Shot. Improved Concussive Shot is also a must-have for PvP.
# - - Solo DPS - - >
Beast Mastery and Marksman builds are both very viable soloing specs. Survival not completely bad, but killing can be slower, since you miss out on the Improved Multishot damage. Scatter Shot is also very useful in soloing.
Hyacintha: Okay, I would say that breaks it down pretty well then. Thanks so much for going over all of this. Is there anything else you want to say before we close up this interview?
Ohanraela: Well, I would just like to say that you should always play what ever specialization you want to. When it comes down to it playing the game is all about enjoying it. So, do not play something that is going to make you miserable, you know? Some people may say that Survival sucks as a spec, but if that is what you want to play, then play it! Do not let other people control your game play, and always take advice with a grain of salt. Also, remember that when the expansion hits, many things, including the viability of the current talent trees is likely to change. For example, we know that Beast Mastery will allow the taming of new pets, so just imagine how Survival or Marksmanship could be strengthened. Maybe soon enough the Hunter will represent a much more Tolkien, role playing ultimate view to what an arrow slinging adventurer can do.
Hyacintha: Well said my friend. Thank you so much for the advice, and until next time, it has been fun.
In our next guide we will start to go over the pets that you will use as a hunter. It will be a brief glance of how pets currently stand before the release of Wrath of the Lich King, when many things about our game will change! We may just speculate on the changes to the Hunter class that will come about. Ready yourself for an extremely detailed interview as I try even harder than usual to get the facts, and get them right! Until next time, this has been your very own Skryer Enchantress. See you in Outland!
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