Here We Go

After a bit more testing, I’ve settled on this build and I’m enjoying it immensely for BGs.

My BM PvP Talents for Patch 5.0.4
My updated BM PvP build for Patch 5.0.4

My specialization is still Beast Mastery, of course, and I’m running with a Ferocity specced Spirit Beast…of course. Old habits die hard. ๐Ÿ˜‰

OK, so I really need to try Narrow Escape, but I’m having a hard time letting go of Posthaste. The CC removal (root and snare, anyway) + run speed buff is so useful in so many different situations.

I’ve found that heals and caster DPS are just redonk since the patch, so I elected to drop the new Binding Shot for the tried and true Silencing Shot. This has helped me burn down casters a bit easier and keep those pesky healers under control, plus it’s free (costs zero focus).

Although I did find it fun to play around with, Binding Shot just doesn’t feel as useful to me as Silencing Shot – for what I’m doing. It has a fairly long cooldown (45 seconds, as opposed to 20), the 5yd radius seems exceptionally limited in-game, it costs 20 focus, and I don’t like that it uses a target circle – especially since its range is a bit short. Personally, I’d prefer if it were a standard shot with a 40 yard range, with the offset being that it only affects one target. I feel it’d be more reliable this way, plus it’d be easier to cast while kiting.

I still need to try Exhilaration and Aspect of the Iron Hawk, but Spirit Bond is right there with Posthaste, as one of the talents I’m pretty attached to.

I switched from Dire Beast to Thrill of the Hunt yesterday and haven’t looked back. I can pretty much remain in Aspect of the Hawk – spamming Arcane and Kill Command all day long. The proc rate is just stupid, so I very seldom find myself focus starved. I also like that it’s a passive ability, which means one less button to push. That’s always a plus!

Bestial Wrath + Blink Strike -and- Blink Strike + Intimidation are just too good. I am loving Blink Strike for PvP and doubt I’ll be removing it from my spell book.

Here’s a really good macro you may want to try if you’re a Beast Master with the Blink Strike talent. It pops your on-use DPS trinket, casts Big Red & Rabid, then sends your pet on its target to deliver the pain. This opener can drop a poorly geared level 85 to about 50% health. Follow this up with a Kill Command + Intimidation, Arcane, Arcane, Arcane, and that should put you on the winning end of things. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Bestial Wrath + Blink Strike Macro

/petattack
/use 14
/cast Bestial Wrath
/cast Rabid
/cast Blink Strike
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()

Here’s a screenshot showingย my pet dropping over 90K on a target dummy in less than a second.

Blink Strike + Bestial Wrath
An enraged Blink Strike crit will get an opponent’s attention.

Glyph Changes

I dropped the Camouflage glyph in favor of Mirrored Blades. I like being able to move around while in stealth, but I think it’s something that’s probably more useful for arena. Mirrored Blades is great – especially if you monitor your enemy’s spell casts. It’s nice for throwing a CC or huge damage spell right back in a caster’s face.

My other two major glyphs are still the same as before. Animal Bond for the small buff to healing -and- Master’s Call for double the freedom from roots and snares.

Alright, so if you’re a BM Hunter struggling to have PvP success post-patch, apply some of the info from this post and see if it helps. Your mileage may vary, but I’ve found this setup to be very effective for me.

34 thoughts on “Here We Go”

  1. Fantastic web site. A lot of helpful info here. I am sending
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    obviously, thank you for your sweat!

    Reply
  2. these the macros i use

    /cast Rapid Fire
    /use The burst Trinket

    the other macro i use

    /Bestial Wrath
    /cast Intimidation
    /cast Kill Command

    Reply
  3. I’m currently the same talent build as u have and for level 90 i’m currently using PowerShot ….. I find it very fun . It crits 140k to a player…. and knock back players…. Major Glpyhs i used atm are Glpyh of animal bond, Camouflage and glpyh of mirrror blades. Mirror Blades is very fun especially when versing in arena againts Far range such as Warlocks , Mages and Priest…

    You should try Glyph of stampede it gives 5 spirit mends if using SB pets….
    I’m also gonna try using Ferocity as i used to use Cunning just because of SoS basically……

    Reply
  4. Here is a good burst macro i use in arenas.
    /cast petattack
    /hunters mark
    /beast wraith
    /rapid fire
    /blink rush
    Then my pvp dps trinket

    Reply
  5. Wow. I had settled on this exact setup, including the macro, before reading this. Feels validating. BM got a lot of new tools so I am favoring passive skills when I can and blink strike feels like a second kill command. Keep up the good work. In PvP using a smaller set of tools well counts for a lot.

    Also noticed when opening with this macro+kill Command +arcane to be ready with the silencing shot as many people will try for a heal quickly after this treatment and a good silence can assure a kill.

    Reply
  6. I just love this site and all the posts here and enjoy reading them.I dont have anything new to add but would like to say that I use narrow escape from t1 talents and I am so happy with it.The situation in wich you can web all enemies within 8 yards is priceless esp in SoA where you can web demos ( I webbed 2 in the same time last night and it is excellent defense tactic).Ok I know it is situational but it is sooo fun:)

    Reply
  7. Gonna have to give this build a shot, especially if it’ll let me stay in Hawk. I’ve been really happy with the damage I’ve done in BG’s thus far, aways first or second, but it never hurts to try new things.

    Reply
  8. Now that a week has passed and the other classes have for the most part figured out THE hunter PvP spec, my 26.3 cents of uninformed opinion as a decidedly mediocre BM PvP’er who has run quite a few war game arenas past couple days. Duels too but they mean dick.
    I’ve heard quite a bit of sniveling from other classes about how OP we are at the moment-that’s funny on so many levels and also, as I think it’s been mentioned here and elsewhere this patch is geared towards L90 so a lot of this is meaningless. If you’ve looked at our L90 abilities, we’re in trouble. Actually, compared to the other classes, we at L90 will be, as previously, low class on the totem pole so best enjoy our greatness now. I hope Blizzard changes these abilities, at least make one useful for PvP. I’m glad they are changing the Aspects back to previous so we can dance tho Focus Fire now sucks as it isn’t macroable s’far as I can tell and I had it macroed in all shots-meh, like I needed another bind.
    No minimum range is hard to adjust to but is a big deal. How many times have you had a player down to dick health and not been able to fire off a shot to end ’em as they were in your face? Well, that’s gone now-thank you Blizz. That being typed, I don’t recommend standing toe to toe with a meleer or the insane casters ๐Ÿ˜‰
    Our signature ‘shot’ Kill Command still sucks as a ‘shot’. I really wanted Blizzard to change the mechanic of Kill Command-ya ya we can whack em from 25yds with more kaboom BUT it’s still not a ‘shot’, it’s a spell our pet casts and as before it’s easily mitigated with a cc, fear etc.(which now seem to last an hour or so) leaving us gimped. Much more of a problem in Arena than in a BG.
    When you know who you are going up against in Arena two new talents in the 1st tier are fantastic. For example, against Warriors (speaking of OP) Narrow Escape is great. Seemingly as this sticky isn’t dispellable. Freedom, disengage and unload-however decent warriors ( one of my Arena pards is one of those, can fear the pet so timing this is interesting) but it’s still great. As Garwulf mentioned for all around utility I think Posthaste is the best.
    In the 2nd tier, BInding shot looks cool on paper until you use it. Not at all pleased that it’s basically a trap. Awkward when you’re on the move, very, so I’m using silencing at the moment. Should’ve been a real shot. We have enough traps.
    In the 3rd tier, while Exhilaration is a great boost that we did need the cd on it is so long PLUS it’s another damn bind which makes it somewhat of a pain. In this I think compared to the insane heals of the other classes we got screwed. It’s nice but for now I’m using Spirit Bond as I like the guaranteed heal plus it’s passive. I’m short on keyboard real estate as it is. Besides I’ve gotten used to the small heal from my Spirit Beast while running like hell in an Arena.
    In the 4th tier I’ve no use for Dire Beast-it’s a cool gimmick but as Gar mentioned, the beast is easily feared or killed and the burst is not that big of a deal. In BG’s I love TotH, a 30% proc is huge and it seems to proc a lot. In Arena I prefer the guaranteed focus boost of Fervor.
    In the 5th tier we again have two tough choices but they are both very nice. I like Blink Strike a lot, especially bound to Intimidation-oh much hurt you can lay on a player. The no focus cost is great, cd is fine and given you can macro it, it saves me space. Lynx Rush is impressive, especially in a duel or 2’s as it only targets the one player and inflicts incredible damage. One of my other Arena pards is a Balanced Druid. For her I’m happy they got the ridiculous heals plus damage but good God, hard to kill much? And a holy pally or priest now? Oy. For these types of fights, Lynx Rush is exceptional macroed with Big Red BUT the CD is incredibly long and if we don’t (ok, if I don’t finish them off in the initial burst) it’s a seriously tough uphill battle. Again here I think Gar has nailed it as per, for all around utility Blink Strike given the much lower cd etc. I feel more comfortable with it. Besides a crit with that followed by a KC is impressive.
    S’far as Glyphs, while I think some are totally useless for either PVP or PvE, Blizzard achieved what they intended. Us making situational choices and becoming addicted to Dust of Disappearance-the new high grade crack for hunters. I’m buying that crap by the kilo at the moment;)
    It’s interesting; in many ways Blizzard dumbed it down but made it overly complex. If you’d never seen the game before and that is Blizzards target, new players (players who like WoW all bitchin aside are still gonna play it as the alternatives suck), the new set-up would look really simple though for hunters (I don’t count other classes) it’s still quite complex.

    Reply
    • Hey Gar,

      Glad you’re liking the new Posthaste – a one time snare/root freedom plus an effective 8 second sprint is too good to pass up especially in BG or dueling, but I wanted to ask if you’ve had a shot at Crouching Tiger yet?

      Basically with CTHC, Hunters get a 15 second Disengage and a 1 MINUTE DETERRENCE. I don’t think I can stress how important that last one is, especially with all the new self heals we have (being the sexy Engineer I am I’ve ditched my Invisibility Cloak and Force Field belt tinkers for the Mythical Potion Injector, healing me for 34-36k a pop every 30 seconds. That plus my Spirit Beast + Spirit Bond + Glyph of Animal Bond heals meant an impressive amount of uptime vs. a Blood DK in 1v1, something I didn’t think possible–I certainly hope we get a nice equivalent for level 90!).

      I personally see CTHC as a good all-rounder for that tier. Whereas Posthaste allows us a better reset and faster maxrange while Narrow Escape gives the enemy one more thing to possibly Trinket out of, CTHC gives me more uptime on my defensive CDs, and coupled with Mirrored Blades could be a lifesaver in many situations for both high end PvP and PvE. I personally tested it in 3 BGs and I loved how I could turn the tide of battle more consistently, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.

      Reply
      • Gryzor my man! You should reply to me, I’m teh newb. Gar is your professional tester, I reperesent the masses of mediocrity.
        From my decidedly average standpoint we have 3 good abilities in that tier, none of which currently counter the insane heals and casting of the hybrids. I did try CTHC but found in Arena games and duels that I preferred Posthaste or Narrow Escape. Narrow Escape is really only good against melee classes so I end up, for the most part staying with Posthaste. Course keep in mind this is me, not some actual real PvP’er.
        I’m using Mirrored Blades atm and have found it very handy in all situations, BG to Arena etc. I think I’ll give the combo of CTHC and Mirrored Blades a whirl in BG’s.
        Now a quick snivel. I’ll admit at the moment given our L90 tier talents(the suck), my heart isn’t going pitty patter for the new expansion. Hunters are as per going to be low dawg on the totem pole in PvP unless there are some huge nerfs. Try killing a ret or boomkin lately?

        Reply
        • Ret Pallies are definately a pain to kill. I do manage to kill one here and there. Boomkins I aren’t much more of a problem for me then they used to be. Tranq off their buffs and burn them down still seems to work. Feral druids on the other hand, OUCH.

          Reply
          • Tak
            I should’ve clarified on the boomers. Find em way harder to kill in 1v1 or Arena 2 War Games then before the patch. Course they were broken prior. One of my Arena buds played the class and died on demand. Now if I don’t whack her with the big burst, it’s a tough slog. Mirrored Blades comes in very handy at that point. In BG’s all the hybrids got a 50% heal nerf so I’m finding them less hard in that environment. Pretty much all the other hybrid casters are , to me, insane. Over @ WoW Hunters Hall Zumio has a vid up @ L90 against these classes. Least I know it’s not just me.
            Ferals took a pretty good nerf. What I’ve had some success with is FD or Deter on the initial charge, Scare Beast then Intimidation, pop the BW macro Burst. If they get on me as they are prone to do I save the FD & Deter CD, use Scare beast and unload. Using Blink Strike in BG’s and Lynx Rush in 1’s and 2’s. Might be worth a try.

            Reply
            • Ahh…ok. I don’t do arenas and can’t find a team to do rated battlegrounds with, so I wasn’t aware of the healing thing. I think the biggest join I have been getting since the patch is being able to take down Mages and them not being able to stand in my face and laugh at me.

              Reply
  9. RE: Hunter healing. Zumio has a video out that shows how a pet switching macro and multiple spirit beasts can bring a hunter up to full pretty quickly.

    Reply
  10. I watched my hunter friend tear up every class in duels. She was using Binding Shot, which know one was familiar with. They would try to pursue her only to get stunned for 3 seconds. She went with the Posthaste + Exhilaration combo which, healed her more than the Pally could heal for, as one yelled at her. She opted for Dire Beast which only caused confusion b/c people didn’t get why there were two pets. Not to forget that many people forgot that Hunters can now shoot point blank. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I love all these hunter changes!

    Reply
    • Hi Wulfers. ๐Ÿ™‚ I’ve felt pretty powerful this expansion vs most classes, with the exception being the caster/healer hybrid classes. A well played Balance Druid and especially Elemental Shaman can be a nightmare. I see where Exhilaration would be a benefit for 1v1 and arena, but I still like the slow sustained regen of Spirit Bond for BGs. I agree, so far the new abilities and mechanics are pretty fun. The class overhauls may leave some players a little disgruntled, but I think it’s rejuvenated things in many ways.

      Reply
  11. I have retired my pvp set for this expansion, getting ready for the levelling rush. However, I have also macro’d BW with Blink strike. I find that the 0 focus cost allows BW to be the perfect keybind for it. Pet is on the way to the target? no sweat – pop that sucker and watch the numbers explode.

    I have been playing around with it in LFR, and on certain fights (burst mechanics or increased dmg take instances) it seems to be preforming quite well.

    Reply
    • I have not, but it’s actually been at the top of my list for new pets to play around with. In each expansion, I usually get attached to one pet. In Cata, it’s been Ghostcrawler. But, with all of the diversity pets enjoy now, I am probably going to bring a few others out of the stable and play around a bit.

      Web Wrap followed by Intimidation seems like it’ll do wonders. ๐Ÿ™‚ Throw Silencing Shot into that mix and I can see burning casters down pretty quick.

      Reply
    • The cooldown on the Shale spider just seems too long to be as useful as the spirit mend ability. I’ve just been stacking spirit beasts and swapping them out every chance I can get to LOS the other player. Tons of heals + HOTs… yes, please.

      Reply
  12. It’s interesting that you dropped Dire Beast for Thrill of the Hunt. I went the opposite direction and noticed that once I went Dire Beast I’ve been landing a lot more kills on casters/healers than before. In addition, it’s made killing DKs and other melee easier than ever. The cooldown on Dire Beast is short enough that it’s up for nearly every new kill target (unless I’m in a huge group that’s doing a good job focus firing and insta-gibbing players). In addition, with resto druids/ret pallies able to kite the way they do having your Dire Beast stay on them providing constant pressure even when you’re out of range is amazing. A resto druid who pops stampeding roar in travel form is going to take off like a bat out of hell. Having Dire Beast on him will force most to switch forms temporarily to heal (especially if you’ve done a good job bursting them with your offensive CDs), which should be just long enough to catch up and burst them some more. Having the Aspect of the Cheetah glyph works well there. I like the idea of staying in Aspect of the Hawk all the time with Thrill of the Hunt, but I’m finding with all the high burst from caster classes I’m having to stay crazy mobile all the time staying max to beyond max range to prevent them from casting on me.

    With spriests and ele shammies hitting like trucks if you stay within range of them and us not having enough interrupts/stuns/silences to compensate for their high damage output/heals I’m finding it very difficult to kill any competent hybrid caster class. I find it better to stay mobile enough to get in your burst and thus staying in Aspect of the Fox most of the time skirting with max range. For these classes it’s easy enough to switch to Hawk when you’re out of range, then closing within range to cast your Silencing Shot or Intimidation to land your burst (Dire Beast + Blink Strike + Kill Command + 2-3 Arcane Shots) before going back out of range. From there it’s back to popping in and out of range in Aspect of the Fox until your CDs are back up.

    I’ve been saving Bestial Wrath for those times where you get CC’d when you’ve either missed an interrupt or somebody other than your target CCs you. With warrrior stuns and Lock insta-fears being so plentiful post-patch saving that Bestial Wrath has been a god-send. In addition, rets/DKs/rogues/ferals have been able to close the gap much more easily post-patch, so it’s good to keep BW for those times as it allows one to instantly turn the tables on them or to allow for a quick getaway. Using BW more defensively has helped me survive quite a bit better, and I’ve found my survivability nearly as good as pre-patch (i.e. not dying ever during BGs and perhaps once or twice per match against decent premades).

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    • I find that I’m far less focus-starved with TotH, as opposed to Dire Beast. Dire Beast provides me with only 40 focus over 15 seconds, and if my beast is snared and unable to stay on its target, then it’s even less. With TotH I very seldom switch to Aspect of the Fox, allowing me to maintain the added AP bonus from staying in Hawk. I say go with whatever works, but for PvP, I’d recommend Fervor and TotH over Dire Beast. Both are more reliable and predictable means of focus regen for shorter bursty fights, IMO. If BM hunters received a bonus to Dire Beast damage, then I’d reconsider it, but the damage is the same regardless of spec.

      Reply
      • The focus regen is nice, however, I’m talking more about the sustained dps burst that is controllable through Dire Beast. With TotH, it really is RNG dependent whether you get those free Arcane Shots, whereas with Dire Beast, you know you’ll get that steady dps burst for 15 seconds every 30 seconds. This is especially useful when you’re outranging the other player, which I find that I’m trying to do quite often now with other classes hitting so hard. I know that TotH procs pretty often however, it’s not a reliable burst on demand which is what’s needed in pvp. I can’t say for sure which if either choice would be better and considering that it will surely scale differently at level 90 with MoP gear, I am definitely going to keep an open mind. I decided to give Dire Beast a go after noticing a lot of the high level PVP hunters using it – glads and duelists. A fair number of them also opted for the Lynx Rush talent, which I’m still testing out for my playstyle.

        Reply
        • I think there are advantages to both. Dire Beast allows you to maintain some pressure during LoS, where as TotH supplies more focus (no comparison, really) – enabling you to stay in AotH longer.

          The problem I have with Dire Beast is that the extra DPS is really minimal. I get 8 hits during Dire Beast – averaging about 52K over 15 seconds on a target dummy. vs a player with adequate resistance, you can knock that in half. 25K over 15 seconds isn’t really that bursty – especially considering the focus deficit. Dire Beast grants me 40 focus max over 15 seconds. Another problem is that the beast can be killed, slowed, rooted, etc.

          As I said, results can vary, but I find myself often being able to cast no fewer than 20 Arcanes/KC in succession without needing to got to Fox or Cobra Shot. Also, keep in mind that more Arcanes = more Cobra Strike procs.

          As you said, though, all these changes aren’t really well balanced for level 85, so there’s no sense in looking at them too hard over the next few weeks.

          Reply
  13. Glad to have you back to active duty, especially now that BM is the go to spec for hunters!

    Since the patch, I’ve been topping the damage boards in BG’s but often ended up with very few kills. Support class heals are insane right now (I’m looking at SPriests especially), so it’s almost impossible for me to finish them off. Would love to hear your thoughts on how to approach these guys.

    I’ve been using basically your same talent spec, but with Lynx Rush instead of Blink Strike. The bigger burst damage (combined with BW, Rabid, and Trinket) has allowed me to eat through a few healer’s shields while pounding them with Kill Command and Arcane Shot.

    Reply
    • Lynx Rush provides some nice sustained burst, but I prefer Blink Strike for BGs. The cooldown is pretty short, so I can use it constantly, plus it costs zero focus. If I was heavily into dueling or arenas, then I’d look at Lynx Rush, but in BGs where I’m constantly moving onto the next target, Blink Strike is working out great.

      Reply

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