beast mastery, specs

The NEW Leveling Beast Master: A Sneak Peek

7 Comments

I recently had somebody ask in one of my comments what the new “leveling spec” will be for non-max-level Beast Master hunters.

Specs are currently a bit of a tricky question. People are still playing around with them and trying to determine what works best. I’m not even entirely sure on specs yet myself; I was having doubts about the usefulness of Invigoration but re-watching my Onyxia movie (which I am currently uploading to a couple different video hosting services– I have yet to find one that I am happy with, so toss me your suggestions) it actually seems to proc quite a bit so I think it’s staying for the time being anyway.

So for the most part, I am going to tell you to take my “old” preferred leveling spec and tack the new talents onto it. My old leveling spec was “Cookie-cutter 41/20/0” except two major tweaks in the form of Endurance Training and Thick Hide. So the new one is gonna look roughly like this:

Just like the “Old” Leveling Spec, you are foregoing Improved Aspect of the Hawk and Improved Revive Pet for Endurance Training and Thick Hide.

Just like the “Old” Leveling Spec, I’m going to suggest putting five points in Lethal Shots first, though I certainly wouldn’t dock you Pike Points if you jumped straight into BM.

Just like the “Old” Leveling Spec, it is adjustable for your current situation. If you never do instances or battlegrounds ever and are a pure grinding machine then Catlike Reflexes will make your pet a better tank at the cost of Ferocious Inspiraiton. You may also opt for Animal Handler here since your hit rating will be low or nil at lower levels.

This is not a 100%-best-leveling-spec ever, it is just what I would aim for right now as a lowbie hunter. I have already respec’d my level 33 hunter to follow something along these lines. Most important though, is to figure out what works for you. Don’t be afraid to test things!

Expect this post to be revisited in a few weeks or months when all the hunter community theorycrafting comes rolling in. Until then, go ye forth and level!

7 thoughts on “The NEW Leveling Beast Master: A Sneak Peek”

  1. Just real quick typo: Animal Handler no longer gives +Hit, that is now in Focused Aim on marks. (Your build is correct, but you seem to have misspoke… must be all that time in BC :P)

    Looks good otherwise, thanks for the advice!

  2. @ Kantaro – What I meant by the Animal Handler and your hit: Your pet’s hit scales off of yours now. So, if your hit is very low or nil, then Animal Handler will be a good choice to boost your pet’s hit if you feel like you need it. That is what I meant by that. Apologies if it caused confusion!

  5. I wouldn’t forgo the Aspect of the Hawk increase, but I agree on Improved Mend Pet. Thick Hide is nice, but if you’re leveling with a tank-like pet (bear, rhino, turtle, etc.) it’s not as important. I’d suggest leveling with a tank pet anyways as they make things a heck of a lot easier on you (I went from 10-60 with a bear and rarely had issues).

  6. Not sure why you would have Focused Aim in a leveling build as hit isn’t important leveling nor should you be getting hit often enough that you’d need the pushback lessened. I say the point should go into Aimed Shot personally. Also with it being a leveling build you should take a point out of invigoration or cobra strikes and bump up Spirit Bond a point.

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