BM Hunter PVE Raid Guides and Rotation in Patch 5.0

Beast Mastery is leading the DPS for hunters in current Mist of Pandaria patch 5.0. Last night, I went into Mogu'shan Vaults (MSV) 10 man normal mode with another Survival Hunter, and as a BM hunter, I put up a much higher DPS, even though, I had missed a few of my rotations during some of the boss-kill attempts. The survival hunter was doing a solid 60k dps and I was above him in terms of damage done by 2% more even though recount stated I was pulling 48k dps (Refer the recount screenshot at the bottom of this post). In this post, I will explain about PVE Beast Mastery talents, rotations, pets, glyphs, stats, enchants and gems that will improve your gameplay as a hunter in raids.

Raiding Gara'jal the Spirit Binder in MSV 10-man normal mode

A. Talents

As you can see below, I'm specialized into Beast Mastery talent (http://us.battle.net/wow/en/tool/talent-calculator#Ya!001120!gbdMkm) and I'll explain in detail about my choices of talents that will maximize your capability in PVE situation.

Beast Mastery talents and glyphs for PVE raiding

Posthaste is a great PVE talent which let you free from any movement impairing effects during Disengage plus the increase 60% movement speed bonus for 8 seconds. If you need to get to a spot immediately, you can just face your back towards your destination, jump and then hit Disengage for maximum leap range and dash towards it. Silencing Shot is needed in certain PVE encounters where you need to interrupt a cast or channeling spells.

Next up, this is a compulsory talent for PVE which is Aspect of the Iron Hawk, your attack power will be increased by 10% and also any damage on you will be reduced by 15%. Next, choose Dire Beast talent for the extra burst and focus regeneration. Lynx Rush  is great for BM hunters especially during Beastial Wrath for the additional pet damage on the target. Finally, pick up Glaive Toss  it's instant cast and can provide good burst single target as well as multiple targets.

B. Rotations

As for BM Hunter 5.0 PVE rotation, start off with a Serpent Sting (make sure it is being macro with /petattack). Next, if your pet has not reach the target, cast Glaive Toss and spam Arcane Shot until your pet is nearby your opponent. When your pet is within range, cast Beastial Wrath, followed by Kill Command then Lynx Rush. While your pet is doing Lynx Rush, pop Dire Beast followed by Stampede and Rapid Fire (Do not use Rapid Fire during Bloodlust / Heroism as they don't stack), then keep spamming Arcane Shot until Kill Command is up again. Keep an eye on Serpent Sting debuff, when it is about to expire, refresh it with Cobra Shot. Use Focus Fire when it's at 5 stacks as it will increase your haste greatly. If the target is below 20% cast Kill Shot twice and repeat the rotation. Finally, use Readiness to bring back all you cooldown again (exception to only Stampede) and repeat all the rotation above to burst for the second time.

C. Glyphs

Lets move on to glyphs, I've chosen Glyph of Animal Bond and Glyph of Deterrence for extra survivability.
Glyph of Marked for Death is a must as you wont have to include Hunter's Mark into your rotation.

As for the minor glyphs, Glyph of Aspect of the Cheetah will remove the Daze effect when damaged which is good for kiting / moving away from bad stuff. Glyph of Aspect of the Pact will increase the radius of the aspect which is good to cover the entire raid when moving. Finally, pick up Glyph of Revive Pet in any case your pet gets killed.

D. Pets

Next is about choosing what pet to use for raiding. Basically, you need to look up at the new buff and debuff in Mist of Pandaria and ensure all or at least most of the buff is available for the raid team. In short, you will have to prioritize the list below:

1. Firstly, Check if the raid does not have Shaman or Mage, use your Corehound for Bloodlust / Heroism. This will benefit the whole raid DPS and is vital for any raid setup.
2. Then, check if the raid does not have a Feral Druid or Mage, use your Quilen (preferably because of the Battle Resurrection) or Devilsaur (For the reduce healing on target debuff) for the 5% crit buff. If you don't have a mage, lock or elemental shaman just use Water Strider as it will provide 5% crit as well as the 10% spell power buff.
3. Then, check if the raid does not have Paladin for Blessing of Might or Shaman for Grace of Air Totem, use your Spirit Beast (preferably for the extra healing ability) or a Cat for the Mastery buff.
4. If your raid does have all of the above (1-3) buff, check if your raid does not have a Shadow Priest, Boomkin or an Elemental Shaman, use a Spore Bat.
5. If your raid has everything above, identify whether your group is caster dps heavy or melee / physical dps heavy. For caster heavy raid setup without a warlock (Curse of Elements) or Rogue with Master Poisoner you might want to use a Dragonhawk or Windserpent for the 5% increase in magical damage. Usually for a melee heavy group, they will have all the 4% increase physical damage. In exception, if your group only has Rogue melee, use a Raptor, Gore, Ravager or Worm to cater this debuff. If you raid only has Retribution Paladin and Warrior, it's better to use the Hyena or Serpent to help them with 10% melee / range haste.

BM and Survival DPS in one of the boss attempt

E. Stats Priorities & Reforging

Agility > Expertise (7.5%) = Ranged Hit (7.5%) > Crit > Haste > Mastery

Your main stats is going to be Agility as it will increases all damage dealt and slightly increases critical chance. If you are below 7.5% Ranged Hit or 7.5% Expertise, you should reforge your weakest stats (see priority above) into Hit Rating or Expertise. Do this until you are at the caps for both stats. In Mist of Pandaria, hunters will need expertise as it will eliminate your attacks from being dodged.

Different from PVP which prioritize Mastery stats, on any gear without Crit, you might need to reforge the weakest stat (see priority) into Crit as available. If Crit is unavailable, reforge for Haste. Critical increases the chance for your attacks to critically hit for 200% damage. Also increases pet Focus generation thanks to Go for the Throat. More focus generation will result in more consistent damage.

Haste stats will increase the cast time of you Cobra Shot, causes you to shoot faster and increases your focus regenration. As for Mastery, it will increase your pet damage.

F. Gems & Enchants

Meta - [Agile Primal Diamond]

Blue - [Glinting Imperial Amethyst] [Rigid River's Heart]
Red - [Delicate Primordial Ruby] [Precise Primordial Ruby]
Yellow - [Deadly Vermilion Onyx]

Shoulders - [Greater Tiger Claw Inscription]
Cloak - [Enchant Cloak - Accuracy] [Enchant Cloak - Superior Critical Strike]
Chest - [Enchant Chest - Glorious Stats]
Bracers - [Enchant Bracer - Greater Agility]
Gloves - [Enchant Gloves - Superior Expertise] [Enchant Gloves - Superior Mastery]
Belt - [Living Steel Belt Buckle]
Legs - [Shadowleather Leg Armor]
Boots - [Enchant Boots - Blurred Speed]
Weapon - [Lord Blastington's Scope of Doom]

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