Spirit Beasts and BM

Unread post by **Kraxxe** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:25 pm

I'm completely new to hunters and never cared to learn about them in all my time playing WoW. Highly fascinated with the idea of taming spirit beasts and know you have to spec BM to tame them. I just tamed Arcturis this evening and had NO idea i couldn't use my much preferred MM spec (powerhouse dps spec atm and extreme soloing preferred spec). So as a pet lover and chaser of spirit beasts, what spec do you use at 85? I hate the idea of not pumping out the best possible dps during raids, but even more so not being able to use my pets! What do YOU do? Is there anything in the future that may change this?

/derp

My Dragon Cave · Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:57 pm

There's a LOT of talk about BM in raiding. If you do a few searches, you should be able to find the posts. In short, I personally play BM. But I play it because I like the spec. I might spec some of my other hunters differently. But my main is BM, and always will be.

I haven't raided much yet, but I've done some heroics (I just nearly gave my group a heart attack, apparently, by hitting 40k dps on Zanzil... Might have been helped by getting in acouple multishots on the zombie swarm, and I MAY have seen a crit close to 60k from KC too...) and have NEVER had anyone complain about my dps, even when not really trying.. When I do try, I've been offered raid spots in more heavier raiding guilds.

I'm not a min/maxer, but I say go with what you WANT. You could always use BM for soloing and stuff if you really don't want to risk screwing up your guild by raiding BM, though I don't see it being a problem. As I said, there's several posts around about raiding as BM, and how to make the most of it.

It also comes down to personal preference. I have a feeling that if my guild DID try to "force" me to go MM for raids (don't see that happening though as we're just gonna raid casually, and everyone KNOWS my conditions/specs for raiding, heh), that my dps would suffer BADLY, especially for the first little while.. as I don't even know MM... BM on the other hand.. I had one of those zen moments the other day in ZA... Wasn't even really seeing the screen, but hit all my abilities just as they came off CD... Probably wasn't my best dps.. but it was this... incredible moment.. Like my fingers just knew what they were doing... I could pretty much play BM in my sleep

Unread post by **Kraxxe** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:04 pm

Well this was very insightful. You bring up very valid points. I just can't see how one spec would be dramatically different from another. I don't raid like I used to, but i like to uphold a certain image (...i know) I initially rolled a hunter after coming acrossed Warcraft Hunters Union and several extreme soloing posts/vids. Another reason was obviously the choice of pets. I love all things vanity in WoW and this class is the creme de la creme. So I just wanted to get some opinions. I'll stick with BM for heroics, questing, and hanging out in orgrimmar ofc

Thank you very much for your input

Pokefarm · Unread post by **Lisaara** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:57 pm

I agree with Crystal. :3 i wrote an article for Mania's Arcania if you want some other information. I raid as BM and more often than not, I can either beat an MM/SV hunter or come neck n neck with them.

http://forums.wow-petopia.com/viewtopic ... 11&t=10791

Unread post by **Splaticus** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 7:29 pm

Spirit beasts are beautiful, but there are just as many beautiful non-bm only pets. Assuming you don't just log onto raid then immediately log off and do NOTHING else in game you could find a happy medium where you can show all your pets some love by doing things in both specs.

Unread post by **Sarantha** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:54 pm

Regardless of what others say, I am mostly BM in raids. Its my $15 and I can play however I like. I can ALSO come in at least 2nd on every damage meter as BM, sometimes first. You just need to know the spec very well and get your rotation set up. I've been BM on Sarantha since vanilla. That isn't changing just because people say MM or Surv is "better DPS". I love BM, and I'm staying BM. Not just because of the pets. I was BM BEFORE there were exotic pets.

Unread post by **Monica Gems** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:30 pm

Oh, the BMs are going to kill you. It's their shiny trophy and how dare you let other specs use it. I agree that MM/Surv should have access to the pet, but not the ability; i.e. spirit mend.

We are in the minority though =\

Unread post by **Schwert** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 3:59 pm

Beast Mastery? Bad in raids?

Back when I raided we loved having a BM hunter around for Corehounds because finding a Shaman or Mage turned out to be ni-impossible on this server for PuGs.

Min/Maxing only really matters for extremely nit-picky stuff. Heroic Firelands? I think that's it, really...

Unread post by **Slapperfish** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:42 pm

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Unread post by **Raziya** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:21 am

BM is what I really prefer, but I have gone MM for raiding in FL because a lot of the fights are SO unfriendly for pets.

It really comes down to personal preference. I don't like MM as much, but I do care about getting our raid the correct buffs so I give 10% AP and 4% physical DPS increase because I am the only one who can bring it in our 10 man set up. That is really what you should care about if you are raiding, IMO.

Monica - do you think BM should have access to Aimed Shot, but without any increased benefit? I understand wanting to use pets through all your specs but BM doesn't get much beyond exotics and a clunky Kill Command...what incentive would there be to play BM at ALL if the pets were all the same through each spec?

Unread post by **Shade** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:14 am

Monica Gems wrote:Oh, the BMs are going to kill you. It's their shiny trophy and how dare you let other specs use it. I agree that MM/Surv should have access to the pet, but not the ability; i.e. spirit mend.

We are in the minority though =\

Yes you are a minority. >_< Having that pretty 'trophy' pet is what makes BM worthwhile. Besides you have access to the pet if you put BM as your second spec. There is no saying that a MM can't have a spirit beast in their stable. But that is a merry go round argument so I won't go any further then that.

----

BM is very viable in raids these days, as long as you know how to play your buffs well. I admit I've not done much raiding, as I am no longer in a raid guild and don't care for the times that most groups raid during-but I've done some pugs here and there. Equally geared with others in the group, I'm usually in the top three for dps in those pug runs. And I'm not the best raiding hunter in the world.

I will say out of all my pets-even with things evened out stat wise among pets these days, I still prefer to use my devilsaur over my spirit beast in a raid, just for that little extra crit to the party.

If you want to raid as a BM, it is just a matter of knowing your spec. A well played BM can out dps the other hunter specs easily.

Unread post by **Novikova** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:42 pm

Monica Gems wrote:Oh, the BMs are going to kill you. It's their shiny trophy and how dare you let other specs use it. I agree that MM/Surv should have access to the pet, but not the ability; i.e. spirit mend.

We are in the minority though =\

How dare a spec have something unique to it! I mean, how dare they not be number one DPS and get something unique for it.

I wouldn't mind terribly if MM or SV hunters got spirit beasts, however I want BM to get another ability or buff to make up for it which is not very likely.

But I really dislike that 'BMS WILL ATTACK YOU' mentality while you attack someone. :/ Seriously?

Unread post by **Comett** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:03 am

At the end of the day, regardless as to what the spreadsheets say, as individuals everyone will play a class and spec differently (even when said class/spec has what seems to be a really simple rotation, etc). That's why my boyfriend's arcane mage can and DOES still outstrip most/all other arcane mages despite their gear levels - and most of what an arcane mage is, in essence, is 111111111 (I say this in respectful jest, arcane mages. I come in peace.). *grin*

Recently I've been raiding with a guild which has an MM hunter. My mainspec is SV. While he does tend to peak me on the first phase of the fight, in straight tank-n-spank periods, I generally overtake him when the fights get inevitably more movement orientated, particularly in the cases of ads. I have found in the past for BM to also be very strong in certain fights, and when played well, certainly a very viable raidspec. It comes down to this: no, I may not be able to peak 30k in a 5man, but I can manage a steady 20k+ no problems and my damage will be immediate and consistent. That is, I personally feel, a greater value to *me* than 30k peaks which tapers off to 18-20k or less, movement, ads etc pending. I don't know about many other hunters, but I play a spec that I am good at and that I enjoy, and I don't think I have ever done disgraceful dps numbers (because if you're doing 22k dps and you're listed at 5th highest dps in a 10man, well, kudos to your team, hey?). While I do find the occasional hunter that gives me a run for my money, I've come to the conclusion that as long as I'm not letting the rest of the raid down, a bit of friendly competition can never hurt.

If you really don't want to raid BM though (I don't enjoy using it tooooo often), don't forget heroics - you can really spice up those awful Zandalaris with a respec and a shiny pet. You should be managing quite well in BM even if it does not hold the same utility as your favoured spec, certainly well enough to still speed through heroics. BM is great for questing, farming, grinding or other dailies (tank pet + glyph of misdirect and you'll have gold farmers shaking their fists at you).

Personally I really do prefer SV so I play that. But if I feel like it, I'll give BM a run (usually for less intent content, like BoT etc) and yeah... the one time I got (playful) slack for it, I replied with "Well, my pet alone did more damage than you" - that shut them up.

It's all about the player, not the spec, not the class, and certainly not everyone else's misguided stereotypes!

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