Klinderas posted a comment asking me how I specced as BM. Rather than just link it to him in a comment reply, I thought why not use this as an opportunity for a new post. I always like checking out other players’ specs, but it’s nice to know why they chose those builds. I’ll start off the round table discussion.
My spec is not the cookie-cutter variety BM spec (if one even exists at the moment), but rather a DPS-centric PvP type build. When dual specs hit I’ll most likely be changing things up, but I absolutely love this spec at the present time. It allows me to top damage meters in raids when playing with mere mortal players, have a strong showing in BGs, and even win some arena matches.
Here she is:
Beast Mastery Talents
5/5 Endurance Training: I go with this over IAotH mainly for pet survivability. The 5% HP bonus to me is nice, but it’s mainly there to help my pet out. I don’t use Improved Revive Pet, so this talent is important for keeping my pets hardy. IAotH is not as attractive for BM anymore, and since it’s really only useful when fighting stationary targets in dungeons, I’ve just never been that fond of it. This talent helps keep my pet and I alive – plain and simple.
2/2 Focused Fire: No brainer.
3/3 Thick Hide: This helps my pet and I out vs. melee, but mainly these points are here to get to tier 3. I don’t opt for Improved Revive Pet, because those points only benefit you when your pet dies, where as the passive 20% armor bonus is always in effect. I manage my pet pretty well, so I’ve never relly seen a need. Chances are if my pet ever goes down in an arena, I’ll never be able to get it back in time anyway. Even if I do, it just gets FF’ed back down anyway. In my opinion, Improved Revive Pet usually is only useful if you raid a lot or have a Druid for an arena partner.
1/1 Aspect Mastery: Mandatory.
5/5 Unleashed Fury: Needs no explanation.
1/2 Improved Mend Pet: Very useful for cleaning off those nasty DoTs from your pet.
5/5 Ferocity: Must have.
2/2 Spirit Bond: I’ll admit it, I love this talent. I’ve gone without it a few times and it absolutely sucks not having it. It’s amazing how effective it is for BGs. I very seldom have to bandage. Not to mention, it can come through very clutch in arena. A 450HP tick every 10 seconds is nothing to turn your nose up at. This + 2/2 Blood of the Rhino rocks for Tenacity pets. In the end, I choose this talent for a super-ghetto (but at times clutch) HoT for PvP, and to reduce downtime in general. It also helps your pet out a tiny bit when your partied with lazy healers who think your pet’s a mirage.
1/1 Intimidation: Can’t be BM without it.
2/2 Bestial Discipline: A great passive focus regeneration for pets. I’ve never not had this. Very important for every aspect of Huntering.
2/2 Animal Handler: Good talent now for raiding, but meh for PvP. It’s going to be getting buffed somewhat in 3.1, so will be an even better all-around talent. Although pets always attack from behind, raid bosses still have a chance to dodge attacks that come from their backside. Animal Handler helps to mitigate that. More pet hits = more dps.
4/5 Frenzy: 80% chance is all we need here. For PvE, 3/5 in this talent along with 3/3 Cobra Strikes is a good call. I prefer the passive chance from Frenzy rather than relying on my crits, since I’m not always in a position to cast Steadies while I’m running for my life in battlegrounds. 😉
3/3 Ferocious Inspiration: Gotta have it.
1/1 Bestial Wrath: Recommended talent 😉
5/5 Serpent’s Swiftness: 20% increased attack speed for my pet and I. Where do I sign up!?
3/3 Longevity: My favorite WotLK talent. No BM Hunter should pass on this one. When coupled with the Glyph of Bestial Wrath, this talent is amazing.
1/1 TBW: Quite possibly our best talent.
1/3 Cobra Strikes: I put one point in here for lack of a better place. It’s a great talent for raiding, but for PvP and solo play the procs aren’t always reliable. I’ve tried it with 2/3 and 3/3, but 1/3 is enough for me. With ~35% crit fully raid buffed, this goes off plenty with 1 point.
5/5 Kindred Spirits: 20% increased pet damage. What BM Hunter wouldn’t want that..? 10% movement speed increase is aweosme for PvP, and allows me to get a non-speed buffed enchant for mah boots. While 10% is not as nice as 30%, it’s enough to enable me to take the point I’d put into Boar’s Speed for my pet and stick it elsewhere. Charge and Dash provide the get up and go, but the extra 10% bonus from Kindred Spirits allows my pets to stay on them once they’re there.
1/1 Beast Mastery: I love this talent because I get to go out and tame exciting beasties like King Krush and Loque’nahak. The 4 extra pet talent points gained from it are great, but after 3.1 they will be outstanding.
Marksman Talents
5/5 Lethal Shots: 25% additional ranged crit chance… hello?
5/5 Mortal Shots: 30% increased crit damage = more burst = more headshots.
3/3 Careful Aim: All Hunters need this.
1/2 Go for the Throat: With 2/2 in Bestial Discipline, 1/2 here gets the job done. My pets always have enough focus in PvE.
3/3 Improved Arcane Shot: Since the change to Ferocious Inspiration, Arcane Shot has now become the BM Hunter’s new bread and butter, so buff it up baby.
1/1 Aimed Shot: I take this because I PvP a lot. It’s also nice to have an extra insta-cast shot when having to kite or move in raids. Still, mainly a PvP talent.
So there ya have it… my spec broken down.
It’s not the ideal spec for raid DPS, but it allows me to do 3.2K on Patchwerk in a Naxxramas 10 man, then turn around and wreck some people in battlegrounds.
As far as what I’m going to do in 3.1… I’m not sure yet. I love BM so much, I may end up dual speccing it. 😛
Without a healer in arena, it makes the most sense for me as a PvP spec. But on the other hand, I also love it for raiding as well. However, I’m thinking that with the changes to Furious Howl, I could go MM or SV for PvE to break things up depending upon what kind of DPS those trees will be putting out.
I’m pretty committed to BM at the moment due to having 3 exotic pets. The beauty though, is that both of my non-exotics are getting buffed in 3.1. My gorilla is getting the new PvP-friendly Pummel talent and my Wolf is getting the buffed Furious Howl. I guess my options will be pretty wide open. I can’t wait!
Do you have Loque? If so, can you please share his spec and why you chose the abilities? And if you have Gondria … grrrrrrrrrrrrr … superhate on you! jkjkjkjk =D
WOW! Thank you so much. I’ll take you up on that offer of the legguards once I find out the mats. 🙂
Victor,
Pick up some Eaglebane Bracers, a Razorstrike Breastplate and a Belt of Tassled Lanterns. You could fill out the rest with a few Swiftarrow pieces. That stuff has pretty decent DPS stats for PvP gear. Definitely save your G for that gun.
If you can gather the mats, I could make some Giantmaim Legguards for you. Those should get you by until T7. In fact, send me a tell or in-game mail if you need some LW items made. I’ll gladly craft up some armor for you.
You’ve already got the Whale-Stick Harpoon, so you’re set for a 2h until you get the Runeblade from KotEB. I’d make that your next priority for rep grind. Also, Argent Crusade has a nice cloak which is pretty easy to get.
Once you hit 80, just start running heroics and you’ll be geared enough to start 10 man Naxx in no time.
For raiding, you could go with a raptor, cat or wolf (after 3.1). Some people don’t like Devilsaurs, but I’ve yet to have a problem with mine. The larger hit box refers to their tendency to accidentally pull aggro from other mobs, but again, I’ve yet to have a problem with that. Just grab Loque’nahak while you’re in the Basin, and there you go. 🙂
As far as your spec goes, this could be a decent build for you: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=cxbRztgRfu0est0eVs
I don’t know what the end-all-be-all top damage spec currently is for BM, but you could probably find it in the Elitist Jerks forums. However, that spec would be a noticeable DPS improvement over my spec and would turn your pet into a killing machine.
Cheers!
Good day,
I recently made my way to your site via WoW Headlines, and was reading up on your posts regarding character composition. It’s been quite informative.
That said though, I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m already at level 79, and I’ve yet to get to Sholazar Basin to do quests… which means my gear is probably woefully underpowered for anything like Naxxramas and the like.
I’m on Kul Tiras as well, and well, I suppose you know the general makeup of the economy there. If I had 1500 Gold to spend on gear from the AH, what should I buy to help bump myself up a few notches? I’m planning on buying some of the mats for a Nesingwary 4000 though once I get to that point. 🙂
Also, I don’t PVP very often, so I was wondering if you had ideas for a raid-centric BM build and pet? I’m currently using a moth, but i do have a devilsaur… however, ive been told that they have a large hitbox, and im not sure what that means.
Anyway, I do apologize if I’m being a bit overbearing. I’m just excited to hit 80 and get on the ground running.
In any event, below is a link to my Armory for further information.
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-talents.xml?r=Kul+Tiras&n=Stillwater
I really only used aimed if I’m moving, or if I’m under TBW and still sitting alright with mana.
My pet is a Devilsaur.
here’s his build: http://www.wowhead.com/?petcalc=cubc0fczzhoo
Also forgot to ask, what pet do you use the most and how do you do its talent build (tryin to see what i can do DPS wise in PvE gear)
You dont weave in an Aimed-Shot in there anywhere?
My armory is posted on the side bar, but I’ll post it here as well:
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Kul+Tiras&n=Garwulf
I’m logged out in PvP gear atm. I’m glad you mentioned the Glyph thing, because after I posted this I realized I should have added glyphs. I’ll update it later.
But for you,
Major Glyphs:
Monkey
Steady Shot
BW
Minors:
Feign Death
Revive Pet
Scare Beast
After 3.1 I’ll drop the monkey glyph for Kill Shot most likely. Monkey rocks for PvP right now, so that’s why I use it.
My rotation is typically:
Arcane Shot, Serpent Sting, Steady, Steady, Arcane….
I also weave in Multi-Shot when available.
I went into it pretty in-depth on my macros page. That is, why I don’t use a macro for my shots and what it is that I do.
3.2k on 10man patch? wowsa! Can you link your char on the armory and share your secret for your attack rotation and the glyphs you employ? (‘besides glyph of BW)
No problem. Food for thought is my intention. I don’t suggest anyone try and copy what I do, because everyone’s play style is different.
It’s just think it’s nice to know what talents players choose and why, so I figured I’d share.
Cheers!
Well, thanks for showing me what you have!
I’ll be posting on my blog shortly about how I’d spec BM for PvP… and this post has given me some food for thought.
Thanks again!