WoW Forever

    Beast Mastery Hunter build and talents in WoW Forever

    The key Beast Mastery talents, which stats to collect, and how to play with your pet and hawks. A ranged damage build for dungeons and raids, explained for new players.

    Based on betaChecked Patch Launch (Nov 4)

    At a glance

    RoleRanged DPS with a pet
    Stat priority
    1. Agility (Attack Power and critical strike for you and your pet)
    2. Hit, until your shots stop missing
    3. Critical strike
    4. Attack Power
    5. Haste
    Key gear
    • The best ranged weapon you can find. Most of your damage comes from it.
    • A melee weapon with good stats. You rarely hit with it.
    • A better quiver or ammo pouch, for faster ranged attacks.
    Tips
    • Keep your pet alive. In WoW Forever it scales with your gear, so it does a big share of your damage.
    • Keep two hawks up on long fights.
    • Stand still briefly before Auto Shot. It only fires after half a second without moving.

    Talent plan by level

    The level-by-level talent order is being written.

    Is Beast Mastery right for you?

    Beast Mastery is the Hunter spec built around your pets. Your pet fights next to you, and in WoW Forever it takes its stats from your gear, so every upgrade makes both of you stronger. The spec also summons hawks to attack your target.

    It suits players who like ranged damage and don’t mind looking after a pet. It is also the usual way to level a Hunter, because your pet can hold enemies while you shoot. See the Hunter leveling guide.

    Key talents

    These are the talents experienced players build Beast Mastery around. For the exact points, use the Wowhead talent calculator until we add a full order.

    • Summon Hawk (16 points). Deals instant damage and calls a hawk to attack your target for 18 seconds. You can have two at once. Since November 10 the hawk deals about 80% more melee damage, and Summon Hawk costs 11% of your base mana.
    • Focused Fire. A new talent that boosts you and your pet together, so it pays to keep your pet alive.
    • Unleashed Fury, Ferocity and Frenzy. Core talents for your pet’s damage. The wow.gg guide says Unleashed Fury and Ferocity also help your hawks.
    • Bestial Wrath. A big cooldown for your pet’s damage that also stops it from being crowd controlled.
    • Bestial Discipline. Helps your mana during long fights.
    • Endurance Training, Improved Mend Pet and Improved Revive Pet. These keep your pet alive and get it back faster. The guides suggest them if your pet or hawks die often.

    The Warcraft Tavern build also takes damage talents from Marksmanship, such as Lethal Attacks and Mortal Shots.

    How to play

    On a single target, the credited guide uses this order:

    1. Before the pull, place a trap and start with Aimed Shot.
    2. Keep Serpent Sting on the target.
    3. Use Summon Hawk whenever it’s ready, and try to keep two hawks up.
    4. Use Aimed Shot whenever it’s ready.
    5. Use Arcane Shot once both hawks are up.
    6. Use Rapid Fire and Bestial Wrath whenever they are ready.

    Against groups, use Multi-Shot whenever it’s ready, spread Serpent Sting, and drop an Explosive Trap where enemies stand.

    Tips for new players

    • Mind the dead zone. Your ranged attacks don’t work within 8 yards. Step back, or let your pet hold the enemy.
    • Traps work in combat. They go down at your feet, and all traps share one 30-second cooldown.
    • Send your pet in first. Give it a moment to build threat before you shoot hard.
    • Use Bestial Wrath when your pet can attack. Don’t waste it while your pet is running or dead.
    • Keep a few pets in the stable. Every pet family has its own ability, so pick one that fits the group.
    • Get hit chance. A missed shot does no damage.

    Sources

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