Disclaimer 04/15/09
Since this subject has gotten a decent amount of attention, I just want to make a few things clear. I am not stating that the Chimera is “The Top DPS Pet”. I am saying that I believe it to be an excellent choice for both PvP and PvE based on my experience and from the testing I’d done on the PTR.
So far, most are claiming that some Ferocity pets such as the Devilsaur and Wolf are top dps in 3.1. This is probably correct in theory, so don’t assume that because I sing the praises of the Chimera for DPS that it is what you should raid with. Use what you want, and if min-maxing is your thing, then head over to the EJ Forums.
Many people are assuming that because I posted about the Chimera providing more DPS while target dummy testing in 3.1, that I was claiming it to be the top DPS pet for BM Hunters. I was merely demonstrating that it outperformed my other pets, and was worth taking to raids. Now that the patch is live and I get a chance to actually raid with the new pet changes, the results may prove to be different.
I just wanted to edit this post so that some impressionable readers don’t blindly grab a Chimera thinking it’s the sauce, just because I said so. I would never make a statement as to which pet is the best, but I will say what works best for me. Does that make sense?
Good.
Carry on then.
04/14/09: I edited this post at 9pm PST to reflect the new 16% Feeding Frenzy buff in 3.1, up from the previous 12% figure I had been using. Chimera still comes out on top. 🙂
Checking out my site stats this morning, I peeped this inbound link: http://forums.tkasomething.com/showthread.php?t=15168. It is a forum thread over at TKASomething.com concerning my praise of the Chimera.
Skybluesky says,
“The entire ‘test’ was conducted on a training dummy with less than 35% health, giving 100% uptime to Feeding Frenzy, and making me wonder why he bothered posting his ‘results'”.
Now I had stated before that the test was “a bit skewed”, however, let’s look at the tape. Before you throw my tests out the window, disregarding them as rubbish due to the <35% health on the target dummy, hear me out.
I’ll tell you why Chimeras are a good choice for raiding BM Hunters. We already know they’re great for PvP, and are about to be even better.
If we consider my most accurate measurement of Chimera DPS to be around 818.8, we can assume that without the Feeding Frenzy buff he would have done around 706DPS. He creamed the Spirit Beast who only had 644DPS, and trailed the Devilsaur by about 40DPS. With that said, without the Feeding Frenzy buff, the Chimera was 40DPS behind my Devilsaur.
Now, let’s take a look at how the Chimera improved my DPS with Roar of Recovery.
During my tests with Loque’nahak and Krush, I averaged about 1098DPS. With the Chimera, my DPS averaged 1157 throughout 5 tests. That amounts to roughly a 59DPS net increase thanks to RoR.
So, the Chimera trails the Devilsaur by around 40DPS by not taking Feeding Frenzy into account, but my DPS improves by 59. That equates to about a 19DPS improvement overall vs my other top pet.
Now…. consider that the Chimera is doing 16% more damage for 35% of the boss’s remaining health.
It’s this Hunter’s opinion that Chimeras are going to be leet in 3.1. The figures and screenshots from the tests were posted. Based on that info you can decide for yourself. Also, don’t forget that Froststorm Breath is head and shoulders above any other 51 point BM Hunter pet’s special attack. Anyone fore a 30yd ranged slow on a 7 second cooldown that does base crits at around 2k..?! Sign me up.
So that my friends, is why I posted my “results”.
Yeah, that’s really bizarre Grimstrider. There’s really no way a gorilla should even be close, let alone above a Chimaera in DPS. Cunning pets have 3 DPS talents available to them that tenacity doesn’t have. All of which would make a difference in training dummy DPS. Plus… Pummel doesn’t even do damage.
Even if you had Froststorm Breath turned off the Chimaera should still smoke the gorilla. Interesting…
PS: I had all ablities but cower and growl active (double-checked). I had HM, AotD active and fired only Arcane and Steady + BW (glyphed).
There must be something wrong with either recount or the training dummies. I got these results after a2 min test (these are just the ones i recorded for this purpose, I had the same results over and over before):
Chimera 390 DPS (29%)
Gorilla 539 DPS (35%)!
Hyena 789 (45%)
Strange, huh?
Hmmm…. half the DPS sounds a bit too much. A lot would depend upon the talent placement.
My Chimaera is still really doing nice damage, so either your talents could be a little off for max DPS, or you’re just getting some bad pet RNG.
Also, keep in mind that the pet dps should be lower. It’s the overall damage, Hunter + Pet, that counts here.
I haven’t done too many in-depth pet dps comparisons for awhile now. Mainly since I decided to raid as MM. However, for BM, Devilsaur is still the reigning champ, with wolves not far behind.
Chimareas are a good pet, but if you’re not having mana issues, a Cunning pet is going to hurt your DPS.
Did they nerf chimeras now? My chimera only does half the DPS compared to my hyena on a training dummy 🙁
It’s great that synergy, we help us a lot. Two greats blogs from
two great players. =)
Yeah, I understand. Real world testing (even on target dummies) is something that is beneficial to everyone. The deeper understanding of a class is very important. And discussion and controversy is what makes blogs and topics more interesting.
I understand what you’re saying about top dps pets and spreadhseets. My intention wasn’t to claim that Chimeras were going to be the end-all-be-all of DPS pets for BM Hunters. I was mainly sharing my experience, as I never use spreadsheets or spend much time with theorycrafting. In fact, that test was probably the closest thing to theorycrafting I’ve done.
I know the target dummies aren’t intended to be a truly accurate gauge for DPS. Aside from lacking raid buffs, target dummy testing is an “ideal dps” situation. However, it is a way to test things nonetheless. I pew-pewed one while using a different pet each time, and the Chimera just happened to outperform the others. Results may vary, and I wasn’t exclaiming that every Hunter should raid with one, just that I was going to based on what I’d witnessed.
The titles of my posts are intended to garner attention and possibly stir controversy. One of my goals is to get people to think for themselves, as opposed to just following the herd. Most Hunters do just that and end up sucking balls, because they go with what’s supposedly the top DPS spec/pet, but don’t know the first thing about using the combo effectively.
I try things based on what I think is an effective use of talents, synergies, etc. So far it’s worked for me. 🙂
I’ll definitely check out your pet DPS chart though. Thanks for the link.
With raid buffs the Chimera is not the best pet for PvE.
Every single Ferocity pet will out DPS the Chimera. Chimera is the best Cunning pet though.
I would believe Shandara’s Spreadsheet before some testing done on a target dummy, no offense.
The Ferocity tree still has the most DPS talents available to it, so as long as you do not get sidetracked with PvP talents, Ferocity pets will outperform.
If you want to see the DPS of each pet, go to the bottom of my BM PvE page, linked below.
http://thehuntersrefuge.blogspot.com/2009/04/beast-mastery-hunter-pve.html
My spec right now in live is this:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#ctbMzttRfu0est0eVso
When I tested my pets on the PTR I wasn’t specced into IAotH. Ultimately I’ll probably go back to this spec as BM:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#cVbRztgRwu0ekt0eVso
I really like that spec for PvP.
“Can you link your spec and actualize your Macros session ??????”
I wasn’t using any macros when I tested my pets, if that’s what you’re asking. If you’re curious about any of the macros I use, I list them on another page in the site.
https://huntsmanslodge.com/macros
Can you link your spec and actualize your Macros session ??????
I have a Nuramoc too, after 5 days hunting him alone. It´s a surprise to see what you are discussing. It’s the first hunter to put Chimera at top DPS beast. Do you thing there is possible to be a pure BM Hunter at PVE and PVP using a Chimera??? What would be the spec for any one??? And the talents for Chimera in any condition too??
P.S have Loque’nahak too =)
Blizz uses both spellings, but the true spelling is “Chimera”, like the 51pt MM talent. Chimaera is how they’ve labeled the flying exotics, but it’s incorrect.
A “Chimaera” is this:
Chimaeras are related to both sharks and rays. They are jawed fish with paired fins, paired nostrils, scales, two-chambered hearts, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. Chimaeras grow up to two meters long, are found in the ocean floors and have a venomous spine which they use for defense purposes.
http://www.bountyfishing.com/blog/images/black-chimaera.jpg
Is it
Chimera
or
Chimaera
In my language (italian) is Chimera. What’s the true answer? 🙂
I used a chimaera on Live while leveling and it was easy as pie. I was doing well in instances too.
Of course, we won’t really know until we try it out on live, but in my tests the wolf was last. My DPS went up a decent amount, but overall it was less. The Wolf will be a top choice for SV and MM do doubt, but for BM maybe not.
Due to the huge percentage of overall damage that the pet puts out for BM, the exotic’s 10% increased damage from specials makes a difference. Not to mention that the exotic special skills like Froststorm Breath do a $hit-ton of damage.
Again, there will be no way to really know until there’s a lot of actual raid testing done on live. This stuff I’ve posted is just what I found to be the case on the PTR. Actual results may vary.
Question: wont wolves be superior to chimera and other pets anyway? Just asking as I did not directly test wolves under BM spec on PTR. What’s your experience so far?