Improved Mend Pet
2 Point Talent
Description: Reduces the mana cost of your Mend Pet spell by 10/20% and gives the Mend Pet spell a 25/50% chance of cleansing 1 Curse, Disease, Magic or Poison effect from the pet each tick.
Overview
This talent not only reduces the mana cost of casting your mend pet spell, but it also gives a 25% or 50% chance (depending upon points invested) of removing a DoT or magic effect from your pet. This is the only means by which a Hunter can remove DoTs from their pet.
Why take it?
For Beast Mastery Hunters, this can be a pretty useful talent. Healers will often overlook your pet, leaving you in sole charge of keeping it up. The reduced mana cost of the spell is nice, but the main benefit from this skill is the chance to remove DoTs. The spell will tick 7 times while it’s up, which will give your talented Mend Pet a 25% or 50% chance to remove a DoT each time it ticks.
This spell will also remove cc effects that fall under those categories as well. It’s a good PvP talent for BM Hunters since it can help to keep your pet free of snares, roots, etc, while also helping to remove deadly DoTs that may otherwise kill it.
A lot of BM Hunters will invest one point in here mainly for the cleansing effect.
Why not take it?
This talent is really only practical for BM Hunters. MM and SV would be giving up way too much in order to pick up this talent.
Since the cleansing effect is based upon only a 25% or 50% chance, many Hunters will bypass this talent. DoTs applied in raids can likely kill your pet before this has a chance to proc.
In PvP, this talent may not be reliable enough to keep your pet alive through DoTs, plus it can have an adverse affect when used against Unstable Affliction.
PvPing BM Hunters can greatly improve pet survivability with 2/2 in Spirit Bond, along with the Glyph of Mending. Spirit Bond and the Glyph of Mending provide some excellent healing synergies, especially when used with a Tenacity Pet with 2/2 in Blood of the Rhino.
I’d opt for the guaranteed larger heals as opposed to the weaker heals with a chance to cleanse. This talent will do nothing when a Warrior decides to turn to your pet and beat its face in.
Ferocity
5 Point Talent
Description: Increases the critical strike chance of your pet by 2/4/6/8/10%.
Overview
This talents causes your pet to crit more often, which in turn causes certain other abilities to proc, as well as improving overall DPS.
Why take it?
Another must-have talent with 5/5 for BM Hunters. More pet crits equals more Ferocious Inspiration and Frenzy procs, and more damage overall.
Why not take it?
This talent is mainly for BM Hunters. MM and SV move along… nothing to see here.