Unparalleled tamers of the wild, Beast Mastery Hunters share a potent bond with their ferocious companions. These Hunters command an array of exotic beasts, each more fearsome and loyal than the last. Empowered by their deep connection to the animals, Beast Mastery Hunters focus on the bond between themselves and their companion to unleash a symphony of claws, fangs, and primal rage.
This guide will teach you how to play a Beast Mastery Hunter in PvE encounters, no matter if they are difficult dungeons or terrifying raids. We will be covering everything from enchants and consumables, to talents, rotations, macros, and addons.
Beast Mastery Hunter in Cataclysm
Hunters are one of the few classes that received a complete overhaul when it comes to their resource system! They get to say “goodbye” to Mana and welcome their new Focus resource. Focus is now used in Cataclysm for the majority of their abilities, with most abilities acting as Focus spenders and two abilities acting as Focus generators. Beast Mastery Hunters will use Steady Shot as their main Focus generation tool until they unlock Cobra Shot, with the latter ability replacing the former entirely upon acquisition.
Additionally, Hunters no longer require any ammo to fire their weapons, whether we talk about Guns or Bows. This is a huge quality-of-life improvement for Hunters, as they no longer need to clutter their bags with endless stacks of ammo!
In terms of actual gameplay, Beast Mastery Hunters in Cataclysm are a simple specialization. Focus on maintaining [Focus Fire] while keeping [Kill Command] on cooldown. Don’t forget your ABCs though! Always Be Casting. You don’t even have to worry about Serpent Sting, because your new filler, Cobra Shot, keeps it up for you.
Beast Mastery Hunter Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Easy Rotation For Both Single-Target & AoE Damage
Beast Mastery may very well be one of the easiest specs in the game to play effectively, allowing players to focus on things like raid mechanics instead of juggling timers.
- Provides [Ferocious Inspiration], an important raid buff
This 3% damage boost is shared with several other classes, but in a 10-man raid you will generally always want to have a Hunter for [Misdirection] and the various traps.
Weaknesses
- The Weakest of the 3 Specializations
People will tend to gravitate towards the stronger specializations, and with Hunters sharing gear and a lot of gameplay between all three specs, it can be hard to justify bringing a Beast Mastery Hunter when a Survival Hunter is very likely to outperform them.
Best Races
Horde
The horde has the better races from a PvE point of view, with most of their racial abilities providing direct damage-enhancing effects. The strongest available race for Beast Mastery Hunter is Orc as it has access to Blood Fury and Command, followed by Troll with Berserking and Bow Specialization, and Goblin with Time is Money and Rocket Barrage.
- Troll: Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Regeneration, Beast Slaying, Bow Specialization, Throwing Specialization.
- Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, Hardiness, Command.
- Goblin: Time is Money, Rocket Barrage, Rocket Jump, Best Deals Anywhere, Better Living Through Chemistry.
- Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Affinity.
- Tauren: Endurance, Cultivation, Nature Resistance, War Stomp.
- Undead: Will of the Forsaken, Cannibalize, Shadow Resistance, Underwater Breathing.
Alliance
The Alliance has stronger PvP racial effects than PvE racials, with most PvE racial effects being represented by passive effects. Worgen is the strongest option due to Viciousness, followed by Dwarf with Gun Specialization, and Draenei with Heroic Presence.
- Worgen: Darkflight, Flayer, Viciousness, Abberation.
- Human: Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Will to Survive, The Human Spirit, Diplomacy.
- Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Gun Specialization, Frost Resistance.
- Night Elf: Elusiveness, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit, Nature Resistance.
- Draenei: Gift of the Naaru, Heroic Presence, Shadow Resistance, Gemcutting.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has been able to help you decide if PvE Beast Mastery Hunter is the class/spec for you. Make sure to check out our other sections, such as talents, gear, gems, etc, to get more information on how to improve your performance as a Beast Mastery Hunter in Cataclysm!
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