Unleash Your Inner Beast: The Ultimate Race Guide for Beast Mastery Hunters
So, you want to command a loyal pack and dominate the battlefield as a Beast Mastery (BM) Hunter? Excellent choice! But before you unleash your furry (or scaly) fury, you need to pick the right race. There’s no single, universally “best” race; it depends on what you prioritize. However, for maximizing overall damage and utility in most current content, the Orc reigns supreme for Horde, and the Dwarf (Dark Iron Dwarf) takes the crown for Alliance.
Now, let’s break down why, and explore the various racial options available to you. We’ll dive deep into the strengths of each race, considering both their passive benefits and active abilities, and how these impact your performance as a BM Hunter in different aspects of the game. We’ll cover both Horde and Alliance options, ensuring you make an informed decision based on your preferred playstyle.
Horde Races: Unleash the Beast Within
Orc: The Powerhouse Choice
As mentioned earlier, the Orc is often considered the top-tier choice for Horde BM Hunters. Why? It all boils down to one incredibly powerful racial: Blood Fury. This active ability grants a significant boost to attack power, which directly translates to increased damage output for both you and your pets. This is especially potent during burst windows and when utilizing cooldowns.
Beyond Blood Fury, Orcs also benefit from Hardiness, which reduces the duration of stun effects. While not directly impacting your DPS, this is incredibly valuable in Player versus Player (PvP) situations and can even save your life in challenging Player versus Environment (PvE) encounters. Finally, Command increases pet damage, further synergizing with the Beast Master’s play style.
Troll: The Haste Master
If you’re looking to maximize your Haste, the Troll race is an excellent alternative. Their racial ability, Berserking, provides a sizable increase to your Haste stat, allowing you to cast spells and abilities faster, leading to more frequent Barbed Shots and other key BM Hunter abilities.
Trolls also have Regeneration, which slightly increases health regeneration, and Beast Slaying, which increases experience gained from killing beasts and increases damage dealt to beasts. While Beast Slaying is situationally helpful, the primary draw is Berserking’s Haste boost.
Tauren: The Tanky Option
Tauren hunters offer some unique advantages, particularly in survivability. Endurance increases your maximum health, providing a buffer against incoming damage. War Stomp, an area-of-effect stun, can be useful for crowd control in both PvE and PvP situations, giving you a moment to breathe or set up your attacks. The increased health pool also works well in soloing situations where you are tanking as the hunter.
While not focused on raw damage output, the Tauren’s survivability can be particularly appealing to players who prefer a more resilient playstyle, especially when soloing difficult content.
Blood Elf: The Arcane Disruption
The Blood Elf brings a unique utility with their Arcane Torrent racial. This ability silences enemies and restores some of your Focus. While not directly a DPS increase, Arcane Torrent can be incredibly useful for interrupting enemy spellcasts in both PvE and PvP environments.
Blood Elves also have Arcane Acuity, granting a minor increase to critical strike chance. While a nice bonus, it’s generally not enough to make them outshine other options for pure damage output.
Goblin: Rocket Jump to Victory
Goblins bring a unique flavor and mobility to the table. Rocket Jump provides a short-range burst of movement, allowing you to quickly reposition yourself or escape dangerous situations. This mobility can be invaluable in both PvE and PvP.
They also get Best Deals Anywhere, always receiving the best discount regardless of reputation with the faction and Time is Money, granting 1% increased haste. Goblins are a fun and versatile choice for players who value mobility and a unique playstyle.
Alliance Races: Embrace the Wild
Dwarf (Dark Iron Dwarf): The Versatile Powerhouse
The Dark Iron Dwarf stands out as the prime choice for Alliance BM Hunters due to their versatile and potent racial abilities. Fireblood is a powerful active that removes all harmful effects and increases your primary stat. This not only cleanses you of debuffs but also provides a direct damage boost, making it extremely valuable in a wide range of situations.
Furthermore, Dungeon Delver provides a slight movement speed increase while indoors, and Forged in Flames reduces fire damage taken. Their active racial, Mole Machine, gives you access to new locations and faster travel. All of these racial traits makes Dark Iron Dwarves an amazing pick for Alliance BM Hunters.
Human: The Jack of All Trades
Humans remain a solid and versatile choice. Will to Survive is a powerful PvP ability that removes stun and movement impairing effects, providing crucial counterplay against crowd control.
The Human Spirit passively increases your secondary stats, providing a slight boost to your overall damage output. While not as impactful as some other racials, the consistent stat increase is always welcome. Humans are a reliable and well-rounded option for players who value versatility and a strong PvP presence.
Night Elf: The Elusive Hunter
The Night Elf offers a unique playstyle centered around stealth and evasion. Shadowmeld allows you to instantly drop threat from enemies, providing an escape mechanism or allowing you to reset encounters.
Quickness increases your dodge chance, further enhancing your survivability. While Shadowmeld can be incredibly useful in specific situations, its effectiveness in sustained DPS situations is limited.
Gnome: The Nimble Competitor
Gnomes offer a strong defensive racial with Escape Artist, allowing you to break free from movement impairing effects. This can be particularly valuable in PvP and certain PvE encounters.
Arcane Resistance reduces arcane damage taken, and Nimble Fingers passively increases haste by 1%. Gnomes are a good pick if you would prefer to be harder to catch while having a small DPS buff.
Draenei: The Healing Touch
The Draenei offer a strong utility option with Gift of the Naaru, a heal-over-time ability that can be used on yourself or allies. This provides a significant boost to survivability and can be particularly useful in solo play or when supporting your group.
Heroic Presence passively increases your Strength, Agility, or Intellect, providing a small but consistent damage boost. While not as impactful as some other racials, the extra healing and stat boost make the Draenei a reliable choice.
Worgen: The Berserker Within
The Worgen race provides a solid combination of offense and mobility. Their active racial, Darkflight, grants a temporary burst of speed, allowing you to quickly reposition yourself or chase down fleeing enemies.
Viciousness increases your critical strike chance, while Aberration grants a bonus to Shadow and Nature resistance. Worgen offer a strong balance of damage and utility, making them a compelling choice for BM Hunters.
Kul Tiran: The Versatile Tank
Kul Tirans are a unique race focusing on raw power and damage. Brush It Off heals you a bit and increases Versatility when you are damaged, Child of the Sea allows you to breathe longer underwater and swim faster.
Haymaker is a racial that allows you to stun enemies by punching them in the face, which has synergy with your pets attacking the stunned target. Racial traits should not be the sole decider of a race, choose the race you like the most!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions to further assist you in choosing the best race for your BM Hunter:
- Does race REALLY matter for BM Hunter DPS? Yes, but the difference is often marginal. Skill and gear play a far larger role. However, optimal racial choices can provide a slight edge, especially at high levels of play.
- Which race is best for BM Hunter in Mythic+? Dark Iron Dwarf is a solid choice for Alliance, with their removal of negative effects, and Orc is great for Horde.
- Is Troll Haste bonus better than Orc Attack Power for BM Hunter? It depends on your gear and playstyle. Simulate your character to see which provides the greater DPS increase. However, generally Attack Power (Orc) is better.
- What is the best race for BM Hunter PvP? The Orc’s stun resistance (Hardiness) and the Human’s Will to Survive are excellent choices for mitigating crowd control. The Goblin’s Rocket Jump can also provide a valuable escape.
- Does my pet inherit my race’s racials? No, racial traits are specific to your character and do not directly affect your pet. However, increased stats (like Agility) will benefit your pet’s damage output.
- I really like the look of [Race X]. Should I just play them regardless of the “optimal” choice? Absolutely! Enjoying your character’s aesthetics is crucial for long-term enjoyment. The performance difference between races is often minor, so play what you find fun!
- Are there any races that are TERRIBLE for BM Hunters? No. All races are viable. Some are just slightly better than others in specific situations.
- Will racials change in future WoW expansions? It’s possible. Blizzard sometimes reworks racial abilities, so keep an eye on patch notes and PTR information.
- How can I simulate my character to determine the best race for my specific gear? Tools like Raidbots can simulate your character and provide accurate DPS comparisons between different races.
- Do racials matter for soloing content as a BM Hunter? They can help, but pet survivability and your own gear are more important factors. Tauren’s increased health pool, and Draenei’s heal are helpful.
- I’m new to WoW. Should I worry about min-maxing my race choice? No, focus on learning the class and game mechanics. Race choice becomes more relevant at higher levels of play.
- What is the best race for making gold as a BM Hunter? Goblins have a passive that makes prices better, so Goblin is generally the race to use for making gold.
- How do I reset dungeons and raids as a hunter? Hunters can reset dungeons and raids by right clicking on their own portrait, and then clicking “Reset Instance”.
- Can I change my race later if I’m not happy with my initial choice? Yes, you can purchase a race change service from the Blizzard Shop.
- Are there community resources for hunters like the Games Learning Society? Yes, the Games Learning Society (GamesLearningSociety.org) is a great resource for hunters and you can also check websites like Icy Veins and Wowhead to find in-depth guides.
Ultimately, the best race for your BM Hunter depends on your personal preferences, playstyle, and the specific content you plan to engage in. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of each race and choose the one that best aligns with your goals. Have fun taming beasts and dominating the world of Azeroth!