Beast Mastery Hunter DPS Easy Mode — Midnight (12.0.1)

This build is our best Pack Leader single-target build, used for most raid encounters.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

This is the optimal Pack Leader build for all things Mythic+, Delves, and other AoE-focused content. It is based on extensive simulation and analysis of Mythic+ performance across a wide variety of scenarios, and has an optimal blend of both single-target and AoE. There are builds that do more AoE, but they all lose more single-target than they gain in terms of AoE, and vice versa.

Not all Utility Talents are relevant for every dungeon. I have created these Talent builds under the assumption that you are not going to be very dilligent about swapping talents on a per-dungeon basis, however, the goal being to never be screwed over by not lacking a super impactful Talent for a particular dungeon. This means I do omit some occasionally useful picks.

• Your "flexible" Talent points are, in my recommended order of "most disposable":
  • Misdirection — Only affects your personal threat, so it is quite weak for us.
  • Kodo Tranquilizer
  • Emergency Salve is only useful in certain dungeons, and is worthless in others.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

Treat this as a priority list of the most important spells to cast. When in doubt, simply cast the highest priority spell. You should aim to have no "downtime" in your rotation. It is better to cast the wrong spell immediately, than to "think" for 1 second and then cast the right spell. As you improve, this priority should become second nature to you.

1. Cast Black Arrow whenever possible. Only seen in Dark Ranger builds.
2. Cast Bestial Wrath whenever possible. It buffs all your damage massively and does good damage on its own, too.
3. On 2 targets and up, use Wild Thrash whenever possible. Never use it on just 1 target.
4. Cast Kill Command whenever possible.
5. Cast Barbed Shot whenever possible.
6. Cast Wailing Arrow whenever possible. Only seen in Dark Ranger builds. It will always proc Black Arrow, so always follow it up with Black Arrow.
7. Cast Cobra Shot as a "filler", an ability you only use when none of the more important things are available.

Your Apex Talents have virtually no impact on how you play. One thing you can look out for if you want to, but really is not required, is to try never to cast two Kill Commands in a row. By simply following that rule, you always take advantage of Nature's Ally.

Exhilaration is your primary self-heal with a 1-minute cooldown. Use this when you drop below 50% HP to help out your Healer!

Aspect of the Turtle is your immunity. It can be used to completely negate the damage and effects of most spells targeted on you. Use it if you are assigned to, or in a pinch if you worry that an upcoming mechanic will kill you! It is also a 30-50% damage reduction, though it is not so commonly used for simple damage reduction purposes.

Survival of the Fittest is our most powerful defensive besides Turtle, a 30-40% damage reduction with 2 charges on a 1.5-minute cooldown each. Use it to reduce damage taken from hard-hitting mechanics. Optimal use of this ability entails using it proactively, before heavy incoming damage.

Feign Death is a very unique Hunter ability. It can be used to drop aggro and combat, and it can also be used to stop casts on you — mobs will usually stop casting mid-cast if you appear to be dead! It will also dispel all Poison and Disease effects from you.

This is just some of the key utility of Beast Mastery Hunter. We highly recommend checking out the fully detailed Spell Glossary page below to see everything explained in detail.

The most important thing to say about Pets is that they all deal the same DPS. The only difference is in utility and defensive capabilities!

First of all, you need to find out if you need to be using Bloodlust/ Heroism in your group. Only Hunters, Mages, Evokers, and Shamans can use Bloodlust, so if there is no one else of those classes in your group, then it is on you!

If you do need to Bloodlust, you need to use any Ferocity Pet, since these come with the Primal Rage Bloodlust Ability. Use this website to find a cool Ferocity Pet for Lusting purposes!

If you do not need to Bloodlust, then the best Pet is a Spirit Beast, as these come with the Fortitude of the Bear Defensive Ability (from Tenacity), and Spirit Mend which is unique to Spirit Beasts.

With that said, Spirit Mend is a pretty small bonus and if you do not need to Bloodlust, you can basically use any kind of pet that you want. Tenacity is ideal for its defensive ability.

The game offers the option of an in-game "Combat Assistant", which has two modes; A Rotation Helper that will suggest spells to cast next, and a "One-Button Mode", that automatically performs this rotation for you if you simply press one button repeatedly.

These tools can be worthwhile for beginners, as they provide a reasonable "minimum" level of performance. For Beast Mastery Hunter, using just the Rotation Helper is a ~1-15% DPS loss compared to playing perfectly (which almost nobody does), the lower bound being single-target and the upper bound being AoE. Using the one-button mode adds another ~15-18% to this DPS loss, with the lower bound being for single-target and the upper bound being on AoE.

Obviously, peak performance cannot be obtained using these tools, but it is something worth considering if you are happy to take the DPS losses above for the sake of ease of play. Do not let anyone in-game or on a forum or Discord tell you that there is something inherently wrong with using these tools! Blizzard created them for a reason, and the game is about having fun, whatever that means for you.