WoW Hunter Talent Builds for 3.3
The Spec - WoW Hunter Talent Builds
The spec detailed at https://www.wowhead.com/talent#ceb0ztxRwu0estZh is considered to have the necessary ingredients for a great Beast Mastery Hunter specialization. In the first few tiers, you can pick up Improved Aspect of the Hawk (IAotH), Focused Fire, and Unleased Fury, all of which concern or enhance the the dps of your pet. In the 6th tier, Animal Handler and Frenzy also contribute to additional pet dps and Bestial Wrath, in the 7th tier, is one of the signature talents for this spec.
In the final three tiers, picking up Longevity, Kindred Spirits, and Beast Within are enhanced by the 51-point talent for the BM tree, Beast Mastery. Taking this skill allows you to tame Exotic pets will also providing your pet with an additional four talents points of his own.
The spec is usually rounded out by allocating the remaining 17 points to the Marksmanship tree, although dipping into the Survival tree instead is not unheard-of.
The Pet
The Devilsaur family of pets of particularly suited to the BM spec and playstyle, and is in fact only available to those Hunters who take the Beast Mastery 51-point talent. As a Ferocity pet, they will bring some of the highest dps to groups and raids and when properly specced, they can also be used with great success for soloing and PvP.
The Spirit Beast family, members of which are also both Exotic and Ferocity pets, are also great choices for all styles of play with a Beast Mastery spec. The most famous of these, Loque-nahak, is a rare spawn Spirit Leopard found in the Sholazar Basin zone.
Regardless which pet you choose, the pet talents you should look into include Bloodthirsty for lessened downtime, Culling the Herd and Spider’s Bite for increased dps, and Wild Hunt for the pet Stamina and Attack Power bonuses.
The Rotation
Rather than having a set rotation, Beast Mastery Hunters instead use a “shot-priority” system for their abilities. This means that abilities are used as their respective cooldowns expire and they become available, and not in any particular order. If there is a choice between two or more abilities, the following priority ranking provides the Hunter with the correct ability to activate:
Is Kill Shot available for use? If yes, do so. If not, has Serpent Sting expired? If yes, use Serpent Sting; if not, Is Arcane Shot available for use? If yes, do so. Fill all remaining gaps in cooldowns with Steady Shot.
The Kill Command ability should be used early, often, and again at each opportunity that it becomes available, and the same can be said for both Bestial Wrath and Call of the Wild. Save Rapid Fire until you need to switch to Aspect of the Viper; using both abilities at the same time will substantially increase your mana regeneration.
In raid situations, there are two abilities that Hunters often neglect which can greatly increase both personal and raid-wide dps: Improved Tracking and Hunter’s Mark.
The Glyphs
The major glyphs which are best suited for the Beast Mastery spec include Steady Shot for increased dps, Serpent Sting to reduce the need to reapply, and Bestial Wrath for a shorter cooldown on that ability. While none of the minor glyphs are particularly helpful in raid scenarios, they can lessen downtime and be helpful while soloing.
This post is part of the series: WoW Hunter Talent Builds for 3.3
WoW’s 3.3 build brought some new focus to the Hunter class, and with tweaks to all three specs you can find a great build for your Hunter however you like to play.
