Beast Mastery Hunter DPS Guide — Dragonflight 10.0.7

Last updated Today at 19:59 by Azortharion 100 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Beast Mastery Hunter guide for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.0.7. 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

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.

2.

Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
  • +Best utility of the Hunter specs.
  • +Easy to play.
  • +High mobility.
  • +Uncapped AoE.
  • +Good single-target DPS.
X Weaknesses
  • -Pet AI can sometimes be wonky or cause issues.
  • -Poor burst damage.
3.

Dragonflight Changes for Hunters

We are maintaining a list of changes for Hunters, so you can see what changes with every patch of Dragonflight.

4.

Beast Mastery Hunter Changes in Patch 10.0.7

4.1.

Neltharax, Enemy of the Sky Nerfed

The Epic Bow from Raszageth has been redesigned and is now significantly weaker. Instead of increasing auto-attack speeds, including that of your pet, it now increases auto-attack damage, and only affects your own shots. Instead of being worth 12% DPS, it is now worth 1-2%. We have been buffed to compensate.

4.2.

Compensation Buffs for the Neltharax Nerf

These buffs are a net 2% single-target and 5% AoE DPS increase for Neltharax users, and far larger for those who do not have it yet.

4.3.

Defensive Buffs

Rejuvenating Wind Icon Rejuvenating Wind (Class Talent) now also increases maximum HP by 4% per rank (up to 8% at two ranks).

This is a significant buff to our passive survivability, especially when it comes to negating oneshot mechanics from full HP.

5.

What is the Best Hunter Spec in Dragonflight?

Beast Mastery is simply the strongest single-target spec in the game, dominating the boss DPS charts on nearly every boss. The price it pays for this is mediocre AoE and little to no on-demand burst.

It is a bit worse in Mythic+ where its relatively low burst AoE damage holds it back. It is far better on Tyrannical weeks than Fortified weeks of Mythic+.

Burst damage is also rather low for Beast Mastery, meaning it cannot be relied on to push through chokepoints and damage phases in raid and Mythic+ encounters. The trade-off is that the average damage is rather high, and you will almost never find yourself without decent damage for an important moment.

5.1.

Hunter Spec Rankings in Dragonflight

This section aims to give you a quick overview of where each Hunter spec is strongest, and where Beast Mastery Hunter fits into the hierarchy of Hunter specs for different situations. This is based on simulations, and could differ slightly from real life observations.

5.1.1.

Single-Target DPS (in single-target build)

  1. Survival Hunter
  2. Beast Mastery Hunter (3% behind)
  3. Marksmanship Hunter (4% behind)
5.1.2.

Single-Target DPS (in Mythic+ build)

  1. Survival Hunter
  2. Marksmanship Hunter (4% behind)
  3. Beast Mastery Hunter (10% behind)
5.1.3.

Capped (6-Target) AoE DPS

  1. Beast Mastery Hunter
  2. Marksmanship Hunter (4% behind)
  3. Survival Hunter (17% behind)
5.1.4.

Uncapped (10-Target) AoE DPS

  1. Beast Mastery Hunter
  2. Marksmanship Hunter (20% behind)
  3. Survival Hunter (28% behind)
6.

Leveling a Beast Mastery Hunter in Dragonflight

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.

7.

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 Icon Cobra Shot and Kill Command Icon Kill Command, with Barbed Shot Icon Barbed Shot being used to maintain your pet's Frenzy Icon Frenzy buff, another big part of the spec. You will also regularly be using your main cooldown, Bestial Wrath Icon 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 Mode 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.

8.

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.

9.

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.

10.

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.

11.

Changelog

  • 23 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Updated the Onyx Annulet description since a new Gem combination was discovered.
  • 23 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Yet another update to the recommended Gemstones based on a slew of hotfixes.
  • 23 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated the recommended Gemstones after sim updates, and the discovery of a new, powerful combination.
  • 21 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated the Onyx Annulet Information in light of the March 21st buff.
  • 21 Mar. 2023 (this page): Updated with spec rankings for different types of damage.
  • 21 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Updated the Onyx Annulet Information in light of the March 21st buff.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (spells page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ 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.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (WeakAuras page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (Legendaries): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (talents page): Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 08 Mar. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Updated builds for Kurog and Raszageth.
  • 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.
  • 15 Feb. 2023 (stats page): Updated the generic stat priority.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Clarified that you should Barbed Shot Multidot with the mouseover macro offered on the guide.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (WeakAuras page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Added Barbed Shot Mouseover Macro.
  • 24 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 08 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Added a checkbox for the Neltharax Bow and appropriate rotational changes.
  • 08 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Removed Engineering from the recommended Professions as it does not have the Combat Benefits to warrant its recommendation.
  • 06 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Added page.
  • 04 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Updated the recommended Phial.
  • 12 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Added a note that you should not use Wailing Arrow for AoE fights in the raid.
  • 12 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated the recommended Embellished Crafts and Embellishments to add to them.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Page added.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Added a section that talks about the best Professions.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated the recommendation and description of the optimal Flasks/Phials.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (WeakAuras page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (rotation page): Fixed an issue where Dire Beast was missing from the opener.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated the Gear page with more specific information about how to think about Spark of Ingenuity.
  • 30 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Fixed an issue where the Mythic+ Talent Tree did not match the Talents Page.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (WeakAuras page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 28 Nov. 2022 (spells 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.
  • 04 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated the optimal Conduits back again, due to APL updates and the Alpha Predator bugfix.
  • 03 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated the best Conduit to use for Beast Mastery in Mythic+.
  • 03 Nov. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated the optimal Conduits.
  • 01 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Earlier changes reverted due to a simulation bug.
  • 01 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Earlier changes reverted due to a simulation bug.
  • 01 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated the recommended Mythic+/AoE Talents in light of recent 10% nerf to BM.
  • 01 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated the recommended Mythic+/AoE Talents in light of recent 10% nerf to BM.
  • 30 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated the optimal Mythic+/AoE Talents.
  • 30 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated the optimal Mythic+/AoE Talents.
  • 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.
  • 27 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated the recommended Covenant.
  • 27 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated optimal Class Tree talents.
  • 27 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated the general Covenant recommendation.
  • 26 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated Kyrian's description and competitiveness level.
  • 26 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated the BiS Single-Target Legendary.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (WeakAuras page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (how to improve page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (simulations page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (Torghast): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022 (spells 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 (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 (Uldir 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.
  • 13 Jan. 2020 (Crucible of Storms 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 (Crucible of Storms 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.
  • 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.
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