Lethal Shots

Survival got quite the overhaul in 3.1, which means that the spec changed too. Even more talents in the tree that a player can’t live without. Below is a quick summary of my recommended build and glyphs. Click here to see it in WowHead for mouse-over pop-up goodness.

• Beast Mastery (0 points)
  • None
• Marksmanship (15 points)
  • 5/5 Lethal Shots
  • 3/3 Careful Aim
  • 5/5 Mortal Shots
  • 1/2 Go for the Throat
  • 1/1 Aimed Shot
• Survival (56 points)
  • 5/5 Improved Tracking
  • 3/3 Trap Mastery
  • 2/2 Survival Instincts
  • 5/5 Survivalist
  • 3/3 T.N.T.
  • 3/3 Lock and Load
  • 3/3 Hunter vs. Wild
  • 3/3 Killer Instinct
  • 5/5 Lightning Reflexes
  • 3/3 Resourcefulness
  • 2/3 Expose Weakness
  • 1/1 Wyvern Sting
  • 3/3 Thrill of the Hunt
  • 5/5 Master Tactician
  • 3/3 Noxious Stings
  • 1/1 Black Arrow
  • 3/3 Sniper Training
  • 2/3 Hunting Party
  • 1/1 Explosive Shot

Glyphs:

• Major
  • Explosive Shot
  • Serpent Sting
  • Steady Shot
• Minor
  • Feign Death
  • Revive Pet
  • Mend Pet

As with Marksmanship, you have two basic options to spec your pet. You can either go for Shark Attack or Wild Hunt. Also the same, you can only take one point in either. Pike suggested that Shark Attack is the better DPS alternative in the comments on my Marks spec post, but as I’ve still yet to test which is the best in terms of DPS I’m not going to stand behind it 100%.

The spec above is actually quite flexible. You can skip Hunting Part if your raid has other sources of Replenishment. You could also take a point out of T.N.T. (but only 1). Don’t like maintaining a sting? You can drop Wyvern Sting and Noxious Stings. (From a DPS standpoint, I don’t recommend dropping Noxious Stings. You will be hard pressed making up the DPS from it with the lower level talents in the other trees. I’m just saying it’s an option.) Aimed Shot could also be dropped if you don’t use it in your rotation. As for Glyphs, Explosive Shot is obvious. Steady Shot is still fired a lot, so why not glyph for it. And Serpent Sting is important for Noxious Stings and Steady Shot, so again, go ahead and glyph for it.

Again, the spec above is merely my recommendation. Play with it, tweak it, do whatever tickles your fancy. I do ask you to post your spec and glyph choices in the comments though. I’m always interested in seeing what other people have went with.

Ah Marksmanship, our friendly mail-wearing Mages (sorry Rilgon, I’m still not convinced otherwise). For their Trueshot Aura I love them. They got some changes in 3.1, definitely for the better. Below is a quick summary of my recommended build and glyphs. Click here to see it in WowHead for mouse-over pop-up goodness.

• Beast Mastery (7 points)
  • 5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk
  • 2/2 Focused Fire
• Marksmanship (57 points)
  • 5/5 Lethal Shots
  • 3/3 Careful Aim
  • 5/5 Mortal Shots
  • 1/2 Go for the Throat
  • 3/3 Improved Arcane Shot
  • 1/1 Aimed Shot
  • 2/2 Rapid Killing
  • 3/3 Improved Stings
  • 1/1 Readiness
  • 3/3 Barrage
  • 2/2 Combat Experience
  • 3/3 Ranged Weapon Specialization
  • 3/3 Piercing Shots
  • 1/1 Trueshot Aura
  • 2/3 Improved Barrage
  • 5/5 Master Marksman
  • 2/2 Rapid Recuperation
  • 3/3 Wild Quiver
  • 3/3 Improved Steady Shot
  • 5/5 Marked for Death
  • 1/1 Chimera Shot
• Survival (7 points)
  • 5/5 Improved Tracking
  • 2/2 Survival Instincts

Glyphs:

• Major
  • Chimera Shot
  • Serpent Sting
  • Arcane Shot
• Minor
  • Feign Death
  • Revive Pet
  • Mend Pet

For a pet spec, you have two basic options. You can either spec for Shark Attack or Wild Hunt. Regretfully, you can only take one point in either. I’ve yet to test which option is the best in terms of DPS, but once I have I will be sure to let you know.

There is very little flexibility in the spec. You could take the two points out of Improved Barrage and one point out of Barrage if you need to take Focused Aim or want to take Silencing Shot. If you need more points than that you would want to take them out of the Survival tree. The Chimera Shot and Serpent Sting glyphs no-brainers. Your third major glyph slot is open to debate. I chose Arcane Shot, though there are several other viable options. It really boils down to personal preference.

As always, the spec above is merely my recommendation. Feel free to play with it, adjust it, or completely redesign it. Leave a link in the comments to the spec you decided on for everyone to look at.

Maintenance today, might as well put my thoughts to screen while waiting for the servers to come back up.

• Dual specs are fun. Now Blizz just needs to give us triple specs to make me really happy.
• Not much WoW playing lately. But I have been playing Guitar Hero. Didn’t think I would like it, but it is actually pretty fun.
• I’m still on vacation, so the beach is taking up a lot of my time. But I’m ok with that.
• I think I finally have specs ironed out for my Hunter. I’ve been putting off spending any talents points on him until I had it all figured out.
• I’m liking the numbers the spreadsheet is showing from the changes in the patch. In-game testing is looking real promising too. I can’t wait to see what kind of numbers I do in a real raid environment.

That’s all for now, time for me to get back to the sand and the waves.

The Beast Master talent spec and glyphs didn’t change much in 3.1. While not very exciting, it does make for an easy transition into the patch. Below is a quick summary of my recommended build and glyphs. Click here to see it in WowHead for mouse-over pop-up goodness.

• Beast Mastery (53 points)
  • 5/5 Improved Aspect of the Hawk
  • 1/5 Endurance Training
  • 2/2 Focused Fire
  • 2/2 Improved Revive Pet
  • 1/1 Aspect Mastery
  • 5/5 Unleashed Fury
  • 2/2 Improved Mend Pet
  • 5/5 Ferocity
  • 1/1 Intimidation
  • 2/2 Bestial Discipline
  • 2/2 Animal Handler
  • 3/5 Frenzy
  • 3/3 Ferocious Inspiration
  • 1/1 Bestial Wrath
  • 5/5 Serpent’s Swiftness
  • 3/3 Longevity
  • 1/1 The Beast Within
  • 3/3 Cobra Strikes
  • 5/5 Kindred Spirits
  • 1/1 Beast Mastery
• Marksmanship (11 points)
  • 5/5 Lethal Shots
  • 3/3 Careful Aim
  • 2/5 Mortal Shots
  • 1/2 Go for the Throat
• Survival (7 points)
  • 5/5 Improved Tracking
  • 2/2 Survival Instincts

Glyphs:

• Major
  • Bestial Wrath
  • Serpent Sting
  • Steady Shot
• Minor
  • Feign Death
  • Revive Pet
  • Mend Pet

For your pet, you will want to spec it something like this (Ferocity pet assumed). The build focuses on pure DPS talents, taking both of the new 6th tier talents. Note that to do this it requires you to take the 51st talent, Beast Mastery.

There is some flexibility build into the spec. You could take Spirit Bond over Improved Mend Pet if you wished. If you are short on hit rating, you could drop some points from the Survival tree and take any needed points in Focused Aim. As for glyphs, other than Bestial Wrath your major glyphs are pretty flexible. There are some other solid choices you could use depending on your play style.

Remember, as I always say this spec is not a end all. It is merely a starting point for you to design a spec to suit you. Feel free to leave a link to the build you are using in the comments. I am always interested to see what other people are using.

Last week we covered choosing a spec. Next on the list is to pick a pet and get it ready for end-game.

I know that you already have a pet, but just because that pet was great for leveling and soloing does not mean that it will be great for end-game. Tenacity pets are great for solo work and Cunning pets can be fun, but they are far from optimal for heroics and raids. So leave the bears, boars, gorillas, sporebats, wind serpents, ect. in the stable and go out and get a Ferocity pet.

When looking for a Ferocity pet, you can choose from the following pet families. You can check either WoWHead or Petopia to see what skins are available and where to tame the different skins. The family skill is also listed after each family:

• Carrion Bird – Demoralizing Screech
• Cat – Rake
• Core Hound (Exotic – BM only) – Lava Breath
• Devilsaur (Exotic – BM only) -Monstrous Bite
• Hyena – Tendon Rip
• Moth -Serenity Dust
• Raptor – Savage Rend
• Spirit Beast (Exotic – BM only) – Spirit Strike
• Tallstrider – Dust Cloud
• Wasp – Sting
• Wolf – Furious Howl

One thing you need to keep in mind when choosing a pet is the family skill. Some, such as Furious Howl, provide a buff for the player and/or group. Others, such as Sting, apply a debuff to the pet’s target. Then of course there are the straight DPS skills such as Rake.

Once you have chosen and tamed your pet, you will need to level it to 80. If you don’t it will miss an insane amount of the time, seriously gimping its DPS, in turn gimping yours. And feel free to try out different pets. You have 5 stable slots, so there is no reason you can’t have different pets to suit your mood.

And Now you just need to spec your pet. As with your own spec, feel free to spec your pet however you want but keep in mind that some talents will be better for raiding. You are taking a Ferocity pet for their damage, so talents like Great Stamina and Natural Armor are not ideal, while Cobra Reflexes and Spiked Collar are. Here are a few example builds that you can use or modify to your liking:

• Build 1
• Build 2
• BM build (The 51-point BM talent gives your pets 4 extra talent points)

Also, one last thing. Don’t let some one tell you that you have to use a certain pet because it provides the highest DPS. Pick a pet you like, one that you enjoy playing with. After all, this is ultimately just a game. I raid with a Moth. When I first started raiding with my guild, they laughed at it. They absolutely could not believe that I had brought a Moth to a raid. But they stopped laughing when they noticed me and my Moth consistently come in no lower than third on the meters, if not top them completely.