BM Viable for Raiding?

User avatar
Thornberry
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:31 pm
Realm: Stormrage-US Illidan-US
Gender: Male

BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Thornberry »

its been a while since I played the game maybe pre 3.0 was the last time I raided.

What I'm asking is BM a Contender in Heroic's 10's and 25's?

Ive saw a few top guilds with a few bm's but mostly SV and MM.
Image
User avatar
Kalasha
Apprentice Hunter
Apprentice Hunter
Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 4:01 pm
Realm: Karazhan, Terenas
Gender: male
Location: The Netherlands

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Kalasha »

Hmm well I do raid a lot, and I have been BM through most of my hunter career.

And I would have to say, no, BM isnt a contender.

I dual specced Kal as BM/SV, with SV tweaked for raiding. In a raid like ICC, I wouldnt go BM because as a dps class I need to crank out as much constant damage as I can. BM simply can't keep up with the other two specs in that regard.

However when it comes to the older content like Nax and maybe Ulduar you might be able to go BM. It kinda depends on the rest of the raid though. If it's new for everyone you wont have better geared dps classes to pick up the slack. Also, depending on your guild people might actually not invite you because you're BM.

Now my guild doesnt mind if I go BM for nax/uldu, they know I love to sick my Core Hound on Khel'Tuzad. But in a progress raid like ICC I wouldnt even consider going BM the enrage timers are pretty strict and some more dps WILL make alll the difference between everyone dying/the shiney loot.

But keep in mind if you plan to actively switch between BM vs SV you will spend lots of gold on regemming. BM/MM night be more viable since both benefit a lot from AP/crit/Arp. But as SV you ll need more Agi.

Now mind you I dont use spreadsheets as a rule, but this is just my two cents based on personal experience ;)
User avatar
Tahlian
Master Hunter
Master Hunter
Posts: 1091
Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 1:49 am
Realm: Feathermoon

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Tahlian »

I beg to disagree with the poster before me.

Beast Mastery as a raiding spec is perfectly viable. Whether or not a min-maxer will consider it optimal is an entirely different kettle of fish.

I raid Icecrown 25 as Beast Mastery, using a devilsaur pet. I am also currently the highest-dps hunter in my raid. However...I have to work harder to do what I do. I have to be right on top of cooldowns, have to anticipate when I'm going to have to move to make sure I can maximize my dps during my movement time. I have to watch when my cooldowns come available and pop all of them every time I can, and stack them with Bloodlust if it's coming up. I check femaledwarf.com frequently to see what gear I need to work towards getting next, and I make it a point of reading our raid's logs and check in with raid officers frequently to make sure they don't see something I need to improve.

Some people might consider it too much work, when you can spec SV or MM and do more with less. I enjoy raiding as BM, and my raid has no problems with it. If you find a raid that is fine with it...spec how you want. Just be aware that a)there are some fights that are not terribly BM friendly, not because they'll kill your pet straight off these days, but because they're extremely movement-heavy, and b)you may get some guff from people outside your raid about your choice of spec, and you will have to be more aware of things while playing that way.

My tuppence, of course. Your mileage, void where prohibited, etc.

Here there be dragons... http://dragcave.net/user/Tahlian

And here there be more dragons, too...http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=22415

User avatar
Kalasha
Apprentice Hunter
Apprentice Hunter
Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 4:01 pm
Realm: Karazhan, Terenas
Gender: male
Location: The Netherlands

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Kalasha »

I can't say I completely disagree wit'h you Tahl. Lord knows I dont like to min/max... a game should be fun after all.

It's true that you can raid as BM, I just ment to say if you want to do progress raids, SV/MM is the easier way to go. Now don't get me wrong easy isnt always better, but after a 8 hour work day I want to be able to fight a boss whilst having enough 'slack' to not have to concentrate 100% all the time. I need my coffee and cigarettes ;)

Also it's quite a big difference what gear you started ICC with. My guild is pretty organized, but my server is so devoid of capable allies that we never really got around to doing TOC hc. I need to be SV or I lose too much dps and make myself a liability during the progress bosses.

Sure after a few weeks/months i might have the gear to raid ICC as BM again, and tbh nothing would make me happier. But since Thorn already implied he just started again, Im guessing he doesnt have an ideal gear set yet (does anyone ever have one of those, btw?) so I would advise him to play it safe and stick to MM/SV for starters.

Also, your point about some raid encounters being BM unfriendly is very true. It sucks to invest so much in a well-loved pet just to see it get 1shotted by some bosses special attack. When I lose my pet as SV I dont worry to much about it, but if I lose my pet as BM thats a crippling blow indeed'.
Danielfboone
Master Hunter
Master Hunter
Posts: 1126
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:35 pm
Realm: Draka
Gender: Male for both
Location: If I'm somewhere else, I can't be here

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Danielfboone »

Kalasha wrote:Hmm well I do raid a lot, and I have been BM through most of my hunter career.

And I would have to say, no, BM isnt a contender.

I dual specced Kal as BM/SV, with SV tweaked for raiding. In a raid like ICC, I wouldnt go BM because as a dps class I need to crank out as much constant damage as I can. BM simply can't keep up with the other two specs in that regard.

However when it comes to the older content like Nax and maybe Ulduar you might be able to go BM. It kinda depends on the rest of the raid though. If it's new for everyone you wont have better geared dps classes to pick up the slack. Also, depending on your guild people might actually not invite you because you're BM.

Now my guild doesnt mind if I go BM for nax/uldu, they know I love to sick my Core Hound on Khel'Tuzad. But in a progress raid like ICC I wouldnt even consider going BM the enrage timers are pretty strict and some more dps WILL make alll the difference between everyone dying/the shiney loot.

But keep in mind if you plan to actively switch between BM vs SV you will spend lots of gold on regemming. BM/MM night be more viable since both benefit a lot from AP/crit/Arp. But as SV you ll need more Agi.

Now mind you I dont use spreadsheets as a rule, but this is just my two cents based on personal experience ;)
I have to disagree on a number of counts. First off, there are fights in ICC where BM can actually outdo MM. One in particular is the one with the tightest enrage timer, Festergut. I can always do at least 10% more damage in that fight as BM than I can as MM. The running back and forth for spores does not cost as much in damage because my pet keeps up his 3.2 k all the time. I also can break the puking debuff by popping Wrath or be immune to it if it hits while i'm already in Wrath thereby losing even less damage output. I would definitely say that yes, BM is viable in raids and I raided all the way through WotLK that way until I dual specced MM just about a month ago. It depends on the encounter as to which spec is better. Marrowgar is another fight where BM does very well.

Secondly, there is no need to regem anything when switching between specs. It used to be that AP was the way to go for BM but at the present time, Agi is just as good or even slightly better. You can gem and enchant for Agi now and be at your best in whichever one of the 3 specs you choose.

One more thing--
It sucks to invest so much in a well-loved pet just to see it get 1shotted by some bosses special attack. When I lose my pet as SV I dont worry to much about it, but if I lose my pet as BM thats a crippling blow indeed'.
My pet NEVER dies in a boss fight and I very rarely if ever use mend pet. The only time he dies is in trash pulls when multiple things start beating on him that may not be fully aggroed by someone else. I don't use the lick wounds , heart of the phoenix or increased armor or health talents either. Two points in Bloodthirsty keeps him going strong with no aid from me. Especially now since avoidance is passive and pets are almost immune from aoe .
Image
User avatar
Thornberry
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:31 pm
Realm: Stormrage-US Illidan-US
Gender: Male

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Thornberry »

Nope, I dont have the best set right now t7 gear and weapons from naxx but with the new dungeon finder wont be hard to pick up some t9 and a new set of weps.

I prefer BM to most but if I had to go another spec Its MM and I assume that rivals SV these days
Image
User avatar
Thornberry
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:31 pm
Realm: Stormrage-US Illidan-US
Gender: Male

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Thornberry »

I also see that alot of the MM hunters are stacking Armor Pen. over Agi or AP
Image
Danielfboone
Master Hunter
Master Hunter
Posts: 1126
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:35 pm
Realm: Draka
Gender: Male for both
Location: If I'm somewhere else, I can't be here

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Danielfboone »

Thornberry wrote:I also see that alot of the MM hunters are stacking Armor Pen. over Agi or AP
You can go either way with MM. ArP or Agi, both ways work. There is enough passive ArP on gear now that you don't need to add any more through gems. I also prefer not to lock myself into ArP since it won't be all that long before it gets removed as a stat in the next expansion.
Image
Makoes
Illustrious Master Hunter
Illustrious Master Hunter
Posts: 7066
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:03 pm
Realm: Arathor-Alliance / Nesingwary-horde / WrA-Alliance
Gender: Female foxen
Location: I am "here" or so the directory tells me.
Contact:

Re: BM Viable for Raiding?

Unread post by Makoes »

I'd have to say that BM is a viable spec for raiding, provided you know how to play the class. Like any other class, you need to know the ins and outs and all the little tricks, especially timing. I got lucky, my guild is alright with me raiding as BM, and have no issues about me bringing along any pet I want (usually Nanaki, my hyena). I am usually middle towards top on the dps chart. Once I did decide to try SV for an icc rep-run and pushed into 2nd dps slot...but wasnt happy cuz my pet kept going down. My guild was alright with me switching back to BM, its about having fun right.
I dont have duel-gear for my main and off spec, just use the same stuff, with agil/crit gems. Buffed up in guild raids I usually end up with around 70-80% crit chance which is nice.

I'd say, just use the spec your most familiar with and have fun, thats the point of a game.

Image

Silent as night, silent as death, silent as your last breath
~~~
Interested in HARPG? Check out Marandian's
~~~
(Closed)FR gems: (Click here for details)
My DeviantART/My Petopia art thread
~~~
I cry inside every day, as common courtesy withers away. Are you part of the problem or will you help it grow?

Post Reply