Review of Beast Mastery Hunter's Pack Leader Hero Talents - Solid Initial Impact But Hungry for More Pack

Hello there, fellow gamers! Today, we have an exciting new development to discuss - the Hero Talent Trees in the upcoming expansion, The War Within. Recently, Blizzard revealed 12 new Hero Talent Trees, offering players a unique opportunity to explore class fantasy with a third talent tree separate from their class and specialization. Our talented guide writer, Tarlo, has taken the time to review the Pack Leader Hunter Hero Talents, specifically tailored for Beast Mastery Hunters. So, without further ado, let's dive into the details!

Introducing the Pack Leader Tree

The Pack Leader tree focuses on enhancing the bond between you and your pets, enabling you to coordinate attacks and fight alongside them. It is an extension of the Beast Mastery identity, with elements of the Survival Hunter's "Coordinated Attacks with your pets" mechanic. Let's take a closer look at the main talents and abilities in this tree.

• The Main Talents

The core of the Pack Leader tree revolves around two talents: Vicious Hunt and Pack Coordination. These talents provide bonus damage for your main abilities - Kill Command and Barbed Shot. While the exact damage values and mechanics are yet to be revealed, these talents offer potential for strategic gameplay and rotation optimization. The talent Frenzied Tear adds valuable burst damage during cooldown windows, showcasing the versatility of this talent tree.

It's worth noting that the mechanics of Pack Coordination - making your pet strike alongside your next Barbed Shot - create opportunities for synergy and coordination between you and your loyal companion.

• Empowering Pet Attacks

In addition to the main talents, the Pack Leader tree introduces several talents that encourage generating more Pet Basic Attacks. Claw, Bite, and Smack are the basic attacks performed by your pet on a three-second cooldown. Talents like Howl of the Pack increase your critical strike damage when your pet's basic attacks crit, while Wild Attacks guarantee every third pet basic attack to be a critical strike, amplifying the damage output. These talents promote stacking Critical Strike as they provide significant Crit Damage modifiers.

The talent Frenzied Tear allows your pet's basic attack to trigger a second cast of Kill Command, amplifying your damage potential. It's essential to maximize your pet's basic attacks by ensuring you use Barbed Shot when it is empowered to generate more attacks.

Other Talents in the Pack Leader Tree

While the core talents in the Pack Leader tree augment your primary abilities and pet attacks, several other talents provide additional utility and mechanical enhancements. Let's take a quick look at them:

• Den Recovery: Offers healing over time effects when using defensive abilities like Aspect of the Turtle, Survival of the Fittest, and Mend Pet.
• Tireless Hunt: Extends the movement speed bonus granted by Aspect of the Cheetah.
• Cornered Prey: Increases the range of all your attacks for a brief period after using Disengage.
• Covering Fire: Increases the duration of Beast Cleave by 1 second every time you use Kill Command.
• Scattered Prey: Boosts the damage of your next Multi-Shot after using Multi-Shot itself.
• Cull the Herd: Amplifies the damage of Kill Shot and increases the bleed damage dealt by you and your pet to the target.
• Furious Assault: Enhances Barbed Shot, resetting its cooldown and increasing damage output when consuming Frenzied Tear.
• Beast of Opportunity: Summons a pet from your stable for a short duration during Bestial Wrath.

Conclusion

The Pack Leader tree introduces exciting new options for Beast Mastery Hunters, enabling them to strengthen the bond with their pets and coordinate attacks. While some talents are still awaiting balance tweaks and additional information, this talent tree offers potential for strategic gameplay and diverse rotations. The Pack Leader tree synergizes well with secondary stats such as Haste, Critical Strike, and Mastery, allowing for flexible playstyles and customization options.

However, it is crucial to note that not all talents in this tree directly interact with the main kit, and some of them might require further adjustments for optimal gameplay. As the expansion evolves, Blizzard may introduce baseline changes and utility enhancements that could further enhance the Pack Leader tree and its synergies.

About the Author - Tarlo

Hello! I'm Tarlo, and I'm the dedicated writer for the Beast Mastery Hunter guide here on Wowhead. With years of experience playing Hunter across various expansions and engaging in high-level Mythic raiding, I have devoted myself to helping fellow Hunters excel in the game. If you have any questions or inquiries regarding the guide or anything related to Hunters, feel free to reach out to me on the Trueshot Lodge Discord server where I serve as a moderator. I'm always here to assist you!