Beast Mastery (WoW Talent Tree)  

See Hunter Talent Builds

Beast Mastery represents the hunter's focus on his/her connection to nature and the beasts that live within in. Most Beast Mastery abilities and talents are centered around the hunter's pet, and the rest are on the use of aspects.

Primary uses

Beast Mastery is generally considered the best leveling tree for hunters, who are already arguably the best levelers in the game. Additionally, Beast Mastery is capable of some very good damage output once you get down to Serpent's Swiftness, which makes them very desirable in raids. Although not the best PvP'ers, The Beast Within is certainly useful for keeping the hunter from being crowd controlled.

Talent Points Outside the Main Tree

Note: typical talents for Beast Masters are bolded in the descriptions below.

It is very rare that a Survival hunter will put points into Beast Mastery. If they do, it is normally only 5 points in Improved Aspect of the Hawk as part of a 5/20/36 build.

Marksmanship hunters might go deeper into the tree, but usually stop at Imp Hawk and Focused Fire. There aren't many high-yield damage talents in the earlier parts of the tree for a marks hunter.

Beast Masters' points outside the BM tree are usually put exclusively in the marksmanship tree, acquiring Lethal Shots, Go For the Throat, and Mortal Shots.

Tier 1

• Improved Aspect of the Hawk (5 points) - Has a chance to give the hunter 15% haste while using Aspect of the Hawk.
• Endurance Training (5 points) - Increases pet health by 10% and the hunter's health by 5%.

Tier 2

(5 points must already be spent in the tree)

• Focused Fire (2) - Increases hunter's damage by 2% when pet is active, and improves crit rate on Kill Command by 20%.
• Improved Aspect of the Monkey (3) - Increases hunter's dodge rate by 6% while using Aspect of the Monkey.
• Thick Hide (3) - Adds 20% to pet's armor and 10% to hunter's.
• Improved Revive Pet (2) - Makes reviving pet cheaper, faster, and return with more health.

Tier 3

(10 points required)

• Pathfinding (2) - Improves Aspect of the Cheetah's run speed bonus by 4%.
• Bestial Swiftness (1) - Pets pursue opponents 30% faster while outdoors.
• Unleashed Fury - Improves pet's damage by 20%.

Tier 4

(15 points required)

• Improved Mend Pet - Mend Pet heals more and will sometimes cure status effects.
• Ferocity - Improves pet's crit rate by 10%.

Tier 5

(20 points required)

• Spirit Bond - Hunter and pet heal slightly while pet is active.
• Intimidation - Activated ability that makes the pet stun opponent.
• Bestial Discipline (2) - Improves pet's focus regeneration by 50%.

Tier 6

(25 points required)

• Animal Handler (2) - Pet's miss rate is reduced by up to 4% and mount speed is slightly increased.
• Frenzy (5) - Pet attacks 30% faster after scoring a crit. (note: It is common to only spend 4 points in Frenzy since the return on the final point is questionable.)

Tier 7

(30 points required)

• Ferocious Inspiration (3) - Party damage is increased by 3% after pet scores a crit.
• Bestial Wrath (1) - Activated ability that makes the pet grow, deal 50% more damage, and be immune to all crowd control. AKA Big Red Kitty.
• Catlike Reflexes (3) - Increases dodge rate of hunter by 3% and pet by 9%.

Tier 8

(35 points required)

• Serpent's Swiftness (5) - Increases attack speed of hunter and pet by 20%.

Tier 9

(40 points required)

• The Beast Within (1) - Makes hunter immune to crowd control while Bestial Wrath is active.