WoW Forever: Beast Mastery Hunter
About the Class
A Beast Mastery Hunter fights from range while their pet holds the enemy and deals a large share of the damage. The spec is comfortable for solo leveling, handles single strong targets well, and brings traps, slows, and a stun to the group.
In Forever, the pet gains bonuses from its master's stats, so it grows stronger along with the Hunter's gear. Another key tool is 
Summon Hawk: the talent is available from level 25 and lets you keep two extra attackers up.
The Hunter's main resource is Mana. Even when it runs out, 
Auto Shot and your pet keep dealing damage. To get good results, though, you have to watch your pet's positioning, Health, and buffs, and switch between single-target shots and multi-target attacks at the right time.
Where does Beast Mastery Hunter rank? See the WoW Forever tier list
Strengths
- Easy solo leveling: the pet takes the hits while you shoot from a safe distance.
- Steady single-target damage and a strong pet buff from
Bestial Wrath. - Useful crowd control tools:
Freezing Trap, 
Frost Trap, and 
Intimidation. 
Feign Death helps drop threat and survive a bad pull.- Your pet benefits from your gear upgrades.
Weaknesses
- The pet needs to be managed: a bad path or an accidental attack can pull extra enemies.
- AoE damage options are limited, and the pet struggles to hold a large group of targets at once.
- In melee range, it is harder to use your main ranged attacks.
- You have to buy ammo, feed your pet, and keep track of training its abilities separately.
Stat Priority
- 1Ranged Weapon Damage
- 2Hit
- 3Critical Strike
- 4Agility
- 5Attack Power
Compare not only the damage per second on a weapon but also its single-shot damage: it feeds into attacks like 
Aimed Shot. While leveling, a good weapon and Agility gear are usually more useful than trying to reach the full Hit cap early.
Critical Strike matters for your pet too: its critical hits trigger 
Frenzy, which increases its attack speed. Intellect adds damage too if you have learned 
Careful Aim: at max rank, the talent converts 100% of your Intellect into Attack Power. Intellect also increases your Mana pool.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Hunter's Mark - 2
Serpent Sting - 3Aimed Shot
- Hunter's Mark — apply it at the start of the fight
- Serpent Sting — keep it up on any enemy that will live long enough for the damage over time to pay off
- Aimed Shot — use it on cooldown; Auto Shot keeps firing while the shot is being prepared
Arcane Shot — use it between Aimed Shot casts, saving Mana to refresh Serpent Sting
Important Abilities
Ability | When It Helps |
|---|---|
| Summon Hawk | One of the spec's main damage sources; two hawks can be kept up at once |
| Intimidation | Stuns the target and adds extra threat for your pet |
| Feign Death | Drops threat and gets you out of a dangerous fight |
| Freezing Trap | Crowd control on a single enemy; damage breaks the effect |
| Frost Trap | Slows enemies in an area |
 Concussive Shot | Slows the selected target |
 Disengage | Reduces threat in melee; in Forever it is not a backward jump |
 Aspect of the Cheetah | Fast travel; keep in mind the risk of being dazed when you take damage |
 Tranquilizing Shot | Removes applicable frenzy effects from an enemy |
Best in Slot (BiS)
Best in Slot (BiS)Enchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants and Enhancements
ConsumablesBest Race
Orcs pair especially well with Beast Mastery. 
Command increases pet damage by 5%, and 
Blood Fury grants 10% Attack Power for 15 seconds. The buff is easy to line up with your active damage abilities.
Wind Blessed grants 2% attack and casting speed. 
Skysight helps you get around faster, 
Walk on Air lets you descend from heights more safely, and 
Read Leyline speeds up Health and Mana regeneration.
For the Alliance, this is a strong all-round option. That said, the other races available to Hunters are also fine for PvE: weigh the convenience of racial abilities alongside the small differences in damage.
Best Professions
Skinning and 
Leatherworking are a convenient pair for a first Hunter. You gather materials from beasts along the way and use them for your own armor. While you skin a defeated target, you can send your pet to the next enemy if it is safe.
Engineering gives you devices, explosives, and weapons. 
Mining supplies some of the crafting materials. This pair suits you if you are interested in extra gadgets and PvP.
Among secondary professions, 
Cooking is useful for buff food and 
First Aid for restoring Health.
FAQ
Is Beast Mastery good for a first character?
Yes. Your pet holds regular enemies, and Auto Shot lets you keep fighting when you are low on Mana. The most important thing is learning to control your pet and not pulling extra groups.
Do you need ammo and pet food in Forever?
Yes. Stock up on suitable ammo and pet food before dungeons. The pet system still requires you to look after hunger and happiness; the bonus from your stats does not replace feeding.
Which abilities form the core of single-target combat?
Hunter's Mark, Serpent Sting, Aimed Shot, and Summon Hawk. Keep two hawks and your pet's attacks going; add Arcane Shot without delaying the next summon.
Where do you get gear at level 60 before raids?
From dungeons, set upgrade quests, and professions. Start with the table above and check your own Hit: whether an upgrade is worth it depends on which stats you are currently missing.
What has changed for Hunters compared to the Classic version?
Pets benefit from their master's stats, Aimed Shot is learned from the trainer at level 20, and Beast Mastery gets Summon Hawk. Traps can be placed in combat. Mana, ammo, and pet care are still part of the game.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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