Beast Mastery Hunter DPS Guide — The War Within (11.0.5)
Welcome to our Beast Mastery Hunter guide for World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.0.5). Here, you will learn how to play as a Beast Mastery Hunter in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons: from the very beginning to maximizing your DPS.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Beast Mastery Hunter guide.
- 1. Beast Mastery Hunter Overview
- 2. Strengths and Weaknesses
- 3. What Is The Best Hunter Spec in The War Within Season 1?
- 4. Beast Mastery Hunter Spec and Guide Changes for the War Within
- 5. Changes to Beast Mastery Hunter in The War Within Patch 11.0.5
- 6. The War Within Patch 11.0.5 Changes to Beast Mastery Hunter
Beast Mastery Hunter Overview
Is Beast Mastery Hunter Fun?
Beast Mastery Hunter is a highly mobile ranged DPS spec. It is the only Ranged spec in the game that is able to fully execute its rotation while moving. This makes it incredibly useful for dealing with mechanics in raids and dungeons, as it can do these things with no damage penalty. It is also relatively easy to pick up and play. If you enjoy a simple, but effective ranged playstyle that is virtually unrestricted on movement, you will probably find Beast Mastery fun!
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Strong DPS in all scenarios.
- Straightforward to play.
- Can do its full rotation on the move.
- Pet AI can sometimes be wonky and cause issues.
What Is The Best Hunter Spec in The War Within Season 1?
This section is not specific to Beast Mastery Hunter, but serves as a general overview of the strongest Hunter specs in the current meta in The War Within. It should go without saying that if you are not especially interested in the hardcore, competitive side of WoW, you need not worry about this section. The game is meant to be fun, and you should play whatever spec you enjoy the most. It just happens that for a lot of people, "the most fun spec" and "the best-performing spec" are one and the same.
Best Hunter Raiding Spec in The War Within Season 1
Despite this ranking, there really is no such thing as a singular, best Raiding Spec for Hunters. In other words, if you want to be the best Hunter you can be, you will almost certainly have to be able to play different specs for different encounters. Think of this particular ranking as "If I could only bring one Hunter spec to Raid, which would it be?". Despite this, each Hunter spec is likely the best for at least one encounter, even the "worst" spec, so take this with a grain of salt.
Note that this description is based on Heroic-Mythic gear, and is intended for serious Raiding.
- Survival Hunter (SV) — The strongest single-target, the second-strongest outright AoE, and the strongest single- target/priority damage in its AoE build by far. Survival's only disadvantage is being melee, and while it may not be able to reach its single-target potential as BM, it makes up for this in other departments and is an excellent all-rounder.
- Marksmanship Hunter (MM) — MM is competitive for single-target, but a chunk behind Survival still. While it does have the highest peak AoE, its single- and priority-target damage in its AoE build is rather poor.
- Beast Mastery Hunter (BM) — A decent all-rounder, but ultimately falls short of the other specs in all departments when push comes to shove.
Best Hunter Mythic+ Spec in The War Within Season 1
- Survival Hunter (SV) — SV does not have the strongest outright AoE, which belongs to Marksmanship, but it has substantially more single-target and priority-target damage while doing very respectable AoE at the same time. It also has 6% built-in damage reduction, and a shorter cooldown on its interrupt.
- Marksmanship Hunter (MM)/Beast Mastery Hunter (BM) — Both specs are strong in different departments, with MM having the strongest AoE, but relatively weak single-target and priority-target damage, and BM sacrificing some AoE to do better than MM in single-target and priority-target terms.
Best Hunter Delves Spec in The War Within Season 1
- Beast Mastery Hunter (BM) — While BM does not have a ton of AoE, it still has the best ability to make large pulls without taking breaks in-between by using its pet to tank things. BM Hunter Pets survive solo-content much better thanks to Ferocity Pets having 4% Leech, and all of that Leech going into healing itself. A disadvantage in most other forms of content, but a distinct advantage for solo content. This is more of a benefit when actually soloing Delves, and for group Delves you will likely prefer Survival.
- Survival Hunter (SV) — SV has the best damage outright, but lacks the ability to make and live through large pulls that Beast Mastery has. If you are doing group delves, which are pretty similar to Mythic+, then SV is the best.
- Marksmanship Hunter (MM) — MM has the worst self-sustain and while its AoE damage is good, it frequently has to stand still to cast and has very poor ability to live through large pulls, since everything will probably be attacking you.
Hunter Spec Utility/Defensiveness
The Hunter Specs are broadly similar in this department, but there are a few ways in which the specs stand out from each other.
- Survival Hunter has 3% damage reduction built into its Mastery: Spirit Bond, and while some of its damage is pet-based, most if it is not, and Leech generally does well for Survival Hunter, allowing it to use a Ferocity Pet for the +4% Leech, giving it the most self-sustain of the Hunter specs. With a lot of Hunter Utility being melee-based, like Bursting Shot, or trap-based, like Implosive Trap, Survival tends to have an easier time making good use of this utility in practical situations.
- Beast Mastery Hunter has access to Spirit Beast Pets, which offer Spirit Mend. It is a pretty small, close-to-free heal that can be used on any target, on a 30-second cooldown. As for downsides, Beast Mastery tends to run very low Versatility, resulting in higher damage taken on average than the other two specs. It also barely benefits from Leech, because most of its damage is pet-based, Leech for Beast Mastery Hunters tends to heal the pet more than the Hunter, which is not very useful in most PvE environments. With BM Hunters usually running Tenacity pets, they innately have 5% more max HP than the other two specs, most of the time.
- Marksmanship Hunter gets the short end of the stick in many ways. Due to its near-mandatory Lone Wolf Talent, it usually does not run a pet, which locks it out of some pet-based survivability, because it has no easy access to either Tenacity's 5% Max HP buff, or Ferocity's 4% Leech buff. It has Fortitude of the Bear as baseline, even without a pet.
Beast Mastery Hunter Spec and Guide Changes for the War Within
Changes to Beast Mastery Hunter in The War Within Patch 11.0.5
The War Within Patch 11.0.5 Changes to Beast Mastery Hunter
Hunter Class Changes
Hunter's Class Tree has had one key adjustment.
- Improved Kill Shot has been replaced by Deathblow, which gives Kill Command a 10% chance to give you a free Kill Shot, usably on any target regardless of health.
- Steady Shot now generates 10 Focus at baseline. Do not worry, we still will not use it.
Beast Mastery-specific Changes
Beast Mastery's Talent Tree has had significant adjustments, with some whole new Talents, and others having been redesigned.
- New Talents: Snakeskin Quiver, Serpentine Rhythm, and Barbed Scales. These Talents shift more power into Cobra Shot, and, along with Barbed Shot's cooldown and damage increase below, makes it a more impactful and less "automatic" button to press, especially as it pertains to Frenzy management.
- Cobra Senses now reduces the cost and increases the damage of Cobra Shot. Choice node with the new Snakeskin Quiver.
- Hunter's Prey now causes Kill Shot to hit two targets and do 10% increased damage for each active pet, up to 5. This change was necessary because the old effect of the Talent was made baseline in the new Deathblow described above.
- Barbed Shot had its base cooldown increased to 18 seconds, its duration increased to 12 seconds, and its damage doubled. Frenzy's duration was also increased to 12 seconds. This may reintroduce some active Frenzy management for non- Barbed Scales builds.
- Thrill of the Hunt's duration was also expended to 12 seconds.
- Pack Tactics replaces Steady Shot and increases Focus regen by 125%, up from 100%. Effectively, this just means 12.5% more Focus regeneration.
- Animal Companion no longer reduces main pet damage by 35%, but pet damage has been normalized and this change has a net-zero effect.
Dark Ranger Hero Talent Changes for Beast Mastery Hunter
Dark Ranger got a ground-up redesign, with nearly all of its Talents being brand new or redesigned.
- Black Arrow has been redesigned and now replaces Kill Shot.
- Withering Fire now causes every 3rd Bestial Wrath to grant you a buff that causes Black Arrow to auto-fire when you gain a Deathblow proc. It will also auto-fire two additional Black Arrows for 50% effectiveness.
- Bleak Arrows gives your auto-shots a chance to gain Deathblow procs, and also makes your auto-shots do Shadow damage, effectively buffing them by ~30%.
- The Bell Tolls means that Black Arrow can also be used above 80% HP.
- Bleak Powder causes Black Arrow to deal splashing damage when used during Beast Cleave.
- New Choice Node: Phantom Pain/ Ebon Bowstring. The former causes very minor splash damage when using Kill Command on a Black Arrow-affected target. The latter gives Black Arrow itself a chance to generate further Black Arrow procs. We always pick Ebon Bowstring.
- Shadow Hounds now also has a 25% chance to summon a Dire Beast when a Shadow Hound is summoned. They will also Beast Cleave.
- Soul Drinker is a new choice node alongside Shadow Hounds. It gives you a 10% chance of a Deathblow (aka Black Arrow) proc when a target dies while affected by Black Arrow. We never use this.
- Shadow Dagger is a new talent that causes Disengage to do an AoE slow on nearby targets for 30% for 6 seconds.
- Shadow Surge now simply causes Black Arrow to have a chance to explode for AoE damage.
Leveling a Beast Mastery Hunter in The War Within
If you want to play a Beast Mastery Hunter, but currently do not have one at max level, you can check out our leveling guide for tips on your journey.
Once you reach max level, it can be somewhat overwhelming to completely change the way you play by suddenly implementing a large number of addons in a short space of time, especially if they have a heavy visual impact on your UI. We recommend using some of the more basic addons recommended on our Addons page below while leveling, so that you have more time to get used to them during the easier phases of playing your class.
Basics of Beast Mastery Hunter Gameplay
Beast Mastery Hunter is a spec about buff, cooldown, and pet management all at the same time. The fundamental rotation is simple, focused on spending Focus exclusively, since you have no active Focus generators.
Most of your time will be spent casting Cobra Shot and Kill Command, with Barbed Shot being used to maintain your pet's Frenzy buff, another big part of the spec. You will also regularly be using your main mini-cooldown, Bestial Wrath.
If you are an absolute beginner to the spec, but would like to learn the basic fundamentals of the class, recommend looking through the Spell Summary first, as well as the Easy/Beginner page linked below.
If you are already somewhat familiar with Hunters, you can head straight to the Talents and Rotation pages to jump right into the more complex, detailed information.
How to Gear Up as a Beast Mastery Hunter
Despite the fact that gearing has become more challenging, due to the huge number of variables that depend on your character, you can find information on how best to gear as Beast Mastery on our dedicated gearing page, which includes the current Best in Slot from this tier.
Once you have started to gear, you will need to make sure that you have the appropriate consumables, gems, enchants, and more. We have a dedicated page for exactly this, as shown below, as well as the stats page, where you can find more information on the possibility of a changing stat priority and the necessary changes you may need to make for consumables.
End-Game as a Beast Mastery Hunter
Starting off as Beast Mastery can look very different from the absolute end-game raiding and progression as one. Our Mythic+, Raiding, and PvP guides can guide you to performing as well as possible, regardless of your focus in end-game content.
Improving as a Beast Mastery Hunter
If you are finding your performance lackluster, but are not sure where you are going wrong, you can check out the pages below for potential tips, or answers to questions you may have.
Changelog
- 30 Oct. 2024 (hero talents): Updated Hero Talent recommendations.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (WeakAuras page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (how to improve page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (simulations page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (gear page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (addons page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (stats page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Small Barbed Shot AoE Priority change.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Added Dark Ranger Single-Target Build and re-tested all builds for latest hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (spells page): Updated for October 29 Hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for the latest hotfixes.
- 30 Oct. 2024 (this page): Updated Best Spec Section for hotfixes.
- 26 Oct. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Updated Talent Builds per Boss.
- 26 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Updated Hero Talent Order.
- 26 Oct. 2024 (this page): Reinstated the Best Spec section.
- 25 Oct. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated Hero Talent recommendation and information.
- 25 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Updated both rotations slightly.
- 25 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Updated the single-target build slightly for a ~0.5% DPS gain.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (hero talents): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (WeakAuras page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (stats page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (spells page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 22 Oct. 2024 (this page): Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
- 09 Oct. 2024 (talents page): Further updated Talent Builds for the October 8th Hotfixes.
- 08 Oct. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated Talent Builds for the October 8th Hotfixes.
- 08 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Updated default talent selections.
- 08 Oct. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated Talent Builds for the October 8th Hotfixes.
- 08 Oct. 2024 (this page): Updated the "Best Hunter Spec" section for the updated October 8th Hotfixes.
- 02 Oct. 2024 (rotation page): Added more specific Trinket usage information.
- 27 Sep. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated Ara-Kara Tips.
- 24 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Updated a BiS Ring.
- 13 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Added note about double-Dawnthread Lining not working and how to fix it.
- 13 Sep. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated and clarified some tips.
- 10 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Streamlined Crafting recommendations, split them by Raiding and Mythic+, and reformatted. Removed Disclaimer. Fixed some BiS List discrepancies.
- 10 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Updated the Dark Ranger Single-Target Opener slightly.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (hero talents): Updated for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (Leveling): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (WeakAuras page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (gear page): Updated for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (addons page): Preliminary update for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (stats page): Added separate Stat Priorities for Pack Leader on AoE and Single-Target.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (Nerub-ar Palace page): Guide added.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (mythic+ page): Updated for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (rotation page): Single-Target Opener update.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (talents page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (spells page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (easy mode page): Preliminary update for The War Within Season 1.
- 09 Sep. 2024 (this page): Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 31 Aug. 2024 (hero talents): Updated in light of recent Pack Leader buffs.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (hero talents): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (Leveling): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (FAQ page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (WeakAuras page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (FAQ page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (how to improve page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (simulations page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (gear page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.27 Aug. 2024: Added a note about Crafted gear to the Pre-Season BiS List.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (addons page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (enchants page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (stats page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (mythic+ page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for The War Within Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (talents page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (spells page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (easy mode page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 30 Aug. 2024 (this page): Preliminary update pass in preparation for Season 1.
- 26 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Updated the Kill Shot priorities in the Single-Target Rotation based on APL updates by Yanix, +0.5% DPS.
- 24 Aug. 2024 (talents page): Added a recommended Delves build.
- 23 Aug. 2024 (this page): Re-introduced a section talking about the Best Hunter Specs in the War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (hero talents): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (WeakAuras page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (gear page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (addons page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (stats page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (talents page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (spells page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for The War Within.
- 22 Aug. 2024 (this page): Updated for The War Within.
- 02 Aug. 2024 (hero talents): Page added.
- 01 Aug. 2024 (rotation page): Simplified Dire Beast rotation use. Small opener changes.
- 24 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Updated the rotation and openers based on the latest APL updates.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (MoP Remix): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (Leveling): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (WeakAuras page): Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (simulations page): Reviewed for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (addons page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (stats page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (talents page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (talents page): Updated the M+ Talent Build.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (spells page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 23 Jul. 2024 (this page): Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 26 Jun. 2024 (The War Within): Updated for the June 25th changes.
- 18 Jun. 2024 (The War Within): Page added.
- 29 May 2024 (MoP Remix): Updated Tinker Gem recommendations.
- 20 May 2024 (MoP Remix): Updated Tinker Gem rankings based on live server power levels.
- 17 May 2024 (MoP Remix): Updated Tinker and Cogwheel Gem recommendations in light of recent changes and new information.
- 16 May 2024 (MoP Remix): Updated recommendations in light of recent nerfs to some Tinker Gems.
- 14 May 2024 (MoP Remix): Page added.
- 11 May 2024 (addons page): Added a macro to assist when you have forgotten, or simply need to summon your pet on the fly.
- 07 May 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 07 May 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (easy mode page): Updated for Season 4.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 19 Mar. 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (FAQ page): Updated for Patch 10.2.5
- 15 Jan. 2024 (addons page): Updated for Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (enchants page): Updated for Patch 10.2.5
- 15 Jan. 2024 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 06 Dec. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated the Mythic+ build.
- 04 Dec. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated with new builds accounting for recent changes.
- 18 Nov. 2023 (easy mode page): Small update to the AoE/Mythic+ Build. Same DPS, but nicer to play.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (FAQ page): Updated for Patch 10.2
- 06 Nov. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2
- 06 Nov. 2023 (enchants page): Updated for Patch 10.2
- 06 Nov. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated for Patch 10.2
- 04 Sep. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 16 Aug. 2023 (easy mode page): Restructured the page.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 22 May 2023 (enchants page): Updated the recommended Leg Enchant, as it was found that the Lambent Armor Kit does not provide Stamina as it was assumed.
- 13 May 2023 (enchants page): Updated the recommended food and Leg enchant.
- 01 May 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 23 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated the recommended Gemstones after sim updates, and the discovery of a new, powerful combination.
- 23 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Yet another update to the recommended Gemstones based on a slew of hotfixes.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated the Onyx Annulet Information in light of the March 21st buff.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Legendaries): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 22 Feb. 2023 (enchants page): Updated and clarified optimal Gems and Enchants.
- 20 Feb. 2023 (enchants page): Added information about a DPS-increasing Glyph for Beast Mastery Hunters.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Added Barbed Shot Mouseover Macro.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 04 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Updated the recommended Phial.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated the recommendation and description of the optimal Flasks/Phials.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 04 Nov. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated the optimal Conduits back again, due to APL updates and the Alpha Predator bugfix.
- 03 Nov. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated the optimal Conduits.
- 27 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated the general Covenant recommendation.
- 27 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated recommended Covenant and Soulbinds.
- 27 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated recommended Covenant and Soulbinds.
- 27 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated recommended Covenant and Soulbinds.
- 26 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated the BiS Single-Target Legendary.
- 26 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated Kyrian's description and competitiveness level.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Torghast): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 24 Oct. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Added information about how the set bonus affects the Ferocious Appetite Conduit.
- 15 Jan. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Page added with initial thoughts and information.
- 01 Nov. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.5.
- 13 Jul. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Updated thoughts on all of the Covenant-specific Legendaries, and added the July 13th Hunter Buffs to the changes.
- 10 Jun. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Added information about the Venthyr-specific Legendary.
- 12 May 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Added information about 4 new Covenant-specific Legendaries.
- 10 May 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Page created with initial information.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (Ny'alotha page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 Jan. 2020 (The Eternal Palace page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.3 and no changes are necessary.
- 23 Aug. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Added tips for more bosses.
- 10 Aug. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Updated some tips and added two very important ones for Orgozoa and Queen's Court.
- 13 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Added tips for most bosses on Heroic difficulty.
- 08 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Page added.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 24 Jun. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 13 May 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Added Beast Mastery tips for Uu'nat.
- 01 May 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Added Beast Mastery tips for The Restless Cabal.
- 14 Apr. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for Crucible of Storms and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Apr. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for Crucible of Storms and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Apr. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide added.
- 21 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Added boss tips for Beast Mastery Hunter in Battle of Dazar'alor.
- 10 Dec. 2018 (Uldir page): Added tips for Mythic G'huun.
- 18 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Added more tips for the first 5 bosses, now with a Mythic focus for some of them.
- 07 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Added much more specific content to all bosses except for G'huun.
- 02 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Added content.
- 12 Aug. 2018 (Uldir page): Empty page for now.
More Hunter Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Azortharion, a Hunter Guidewriter, Theorycrafter, and top player since 2014, who is widely considered one of the best PvE Hunters in the world. He is an accomplished player with hundreds of top parses across all Hunter specs. He is the Head Admin of Trueshot Lodge, the official Hunter Class Discord. You can find him on his stream on Twitch and his channel on YouTube. He also has his own, personal Discord server where you can freely ask him any Hunter questions you may have!
- Infinite Headless Horseman Farm: The Quickest Route to the Mount Drop
- Mayhem Map Unveiled: Track the Epic Boss Battles Across Azeroth!
- War Within, SoD and Cata Classic Hotfies: October 30th
- Nerub-ar Palace Lag Fixes Are Underway
- 11.0.7’s Siren Isle Is Actually a Scrapped Battle for Azeroth Map
- Visual Bug Shows MASSIVE Bronze Token Rewards, With Hundreds From a Quest!
- Patch 11.0.7’s Newest Mounts: Meet Thrayir & Goblin Surfboards!
- Patch 11.0.7’s New Best-in-Slot Ring: How Cyrce’s Circlet Could Change Your Gear Strategy!