by Byron Mudry on Jan 31, 2008
This Beast Mastery Talent Guide goes over each of the talents in the Hunter;s pet focused talent tree. The beast mastery talent tree has traditionally been for hunters that are spending most of their time grinding or leveling. However due to several key talents it became the raid and group damage talent tree of choice after patch 2.4. This specialization has lessened slightly with the release of Wrath of the Lich King, but this tree still puts out more damage than the other two in any fight where you can have your pet out and survive.
Tier 1 is available at level ten, when your first talents open up.
Improved Aspect of the Hawk - Max 5 points, provides a 10% chance to add up to a 15% attack speed increase to all your normal ranged attacks for the next 12 seconds while Aspect of the Hawk or Dragonhawk is active. This can proc quite often, and proc's off of shots while it is active. This means that you can expect it to be active almost 1/2 the time. 15% speed increase can provide a big DPS boost, and is nothing to ignore. Recommended Endurance Training - Max 5 points, increases the health of your pet by up to 10% and your health by up to 5%. While grinding and leveling your pet is your tank, and any health increase is highly recommended. In the end game where your pet is not taking as much damage, it can be replaced. Great for PvP as your pet will be their prime target. Must have while leveling or soloingTier 2 talents are available as soon as you have 5 points in that talent tree.
Focused Fire -Tier 3 talents are available as soon as you have 10 points in that talent tree.
Pathfinding - Max 2 points, increases the speed bonus of your aspect of the cheetah and aspect of the pack by up to 8% and increases your speed while mounted by up to 10%. Marginally useful, however most players don't run enough using the aspects to be worth 2 talent points. The mounted speed increase is nice, but since it does not stack with other speed increases, and speed has more to do with utility than damage, it is best to spend the points elsewhere. Skip it Aspect Mastery - 1 point talent that provides a boost to each of your aspects as follows.Tier 4 talents are available as soon as you have 15 points in that talent tree.
Improved Mend Pet - Max 2 point talent that reduces the mana cost of your Mend Pet spell by up to 20% and gives it up to a 50% chance of cleansing once curse, disease, magic or poison effect from the pet per tick. This is a very good talent while you are leveling or grinding as it will help keep your pet alive much longer by removing bad effects. Great PvP talent as your pet will be a target and keeping it alive and well will help keep your opponents off of you or your healer. One point is not worth it, put both points into it. Recommended, Strongly recommended for PvPFerocity - Max 5 points, provides up to a 10% bonus to your critical strike chance. Another big increase to your pet damage and worth taking. A prerequisite for frenzy which makes this a... Must have talent
Tier 5 talents are available as soon as you have 20 points in that talent tree.
Spirit Bond - Max 2 points, while your pet is active you will regenerate up to 2% of your total health every 10 seconds.Tier 6 talents are available as soon as you have 25 points in that talent tree.
Animal Handler - Max 2 points, increases your pet's expertise by up to 10 and reduces the cooldown of your Master's Call ability by up to 10 seconds. This talent helps your pet do more damage by having their target avoid fewer attacks. Master's Call is an extremely useful ability especially in PvP and having it available more often will probably be enough to have PvP players grab this talent. Recommended Frenzy - Max 5 points, gives your pet up to a 100% chance to gain a 30% attack speed increase for 8 seconds after dealing a critical strike. The 30% attack speed increase can add up to a lot of extra damage. Attacks that re proc the ability while it is already active can reset the 8 second counter. An amazing talent to keep spell casters pushed back when casting quick spells, as your pets attack speed will likely be way less than 1 second while this is active. Must have talentTier 7 talents are available as soon as you have 30 points in that talent tree.
Ferocious Inspiration - Max 3 points, provides up to a 3% damage increase for all party members for 10 seconds after your pet scores a critical hit. This can be a big increase to your parties damage output as it will add to everything they do. Provides a real group buff and a reason to take Beast Master Hunters with a group. Recommended for raidingTier 8 talents are available as soon as you have 35 points in that talent tree.
Invigoration - Max 2 points,Tier 9 talents are available as soon as you have 40 points in that talent tree.
Longevity - 3 points max talent that reduces the cooldown of your Bestial Wrath, Intimidation and Pet Special Abilities by up to 30%. Bestial Wrath is a key ability and any time it is up it should be used, this allows that use far more often. Allows pet abilities to be used far more often. This talent is considered a steal at only 3 points. Strongly Recommended The Beast Within - 1 point skill, when your pet is effected by bestial wrath, you also enrage doing 10% additional damage and reducing the mana cost of your abilities by 20%. While enraged you can not be stopped unless killed. A nice boost in damage, but more importantly you can not be feared or CC'ed in any way. This is what being a beast master is all about! Must Have Talent Cobra Strikes - 3 points max talent that grants you up to a 60% chance when you critically hit with Arcane Shot, Steady Shot or Kill Shot to cause your pet's next 2 special attacks to critically hit. Provides a boost in damage from your pet after you critically hit with one of your main attacks. Can have some benefit especially teamed with Invigoration, however few Hunters have the points for both of these abilities. Skip itTier 10 talents are available as soon as you have 45 points in that talent tree.
Kindred Spirits - 5 points max.Tier 11 is the top tier talent and is available as soon as you have 50 points in that talent tree.
Beast Mastery - 1 point talent that allows you to master the art of Beast training, teaching you the ability to tame Exotic pets and increasing your total amount of Pet Skill points by 4. Many players look at this talent as a way to gain access to exotic pets, however that is not the real power behind it. The real power with this talent is the 4 extra pet skill points that allow you to significantly upgrade your pet's abilities. This is another talent that defines what a Beast Master Hunter is. Must have talentComments or questions? Email us (wow-admin@tentonhammer.com) or post on our forums!