Post-update PvE Beast Master build...

I tried this PvE build last night and I am happy to say that since the last update with skill buffs, the beast master is a very legitamate profession that works very well. For this build I used:

Ferocious Strike {E}
Disrupting Lunge
Predator's Pounce
Brutal Strike
Call of Haste
Comfort Animal
Charm Animal
Rez skill of choice

I'm not completely sure how I have attributes set. I did have a beast mastery mask with a sup rune and I do run with a major rune. I know I had about 10 in marksmanship, just to meet the req for my longbow, I had 16 in beast mastery, and I think about 10 in expertise which includes a major expertise rune.

Basically using this build requires a bit of practice in order to understand how the pet AI really works. Enemies may be close, but often your pet won't attack unless you are being attacked or start attacking a foe. When you start attacking, it is good to commit to single target because if you switch after begining to attack one target, your pet may still be attacking your previous target.

Once your pet starts to attack your target, spam the hell out of your skills, but make sure to give a little time between each one in order to give your pet time to finish the previous attack. This again, requires you to watch your pet. Disrupting lunge can really shutdown a target, but it is admittedly a bit harder to pull off than something like distracting shot. the spammability of this skill with a 5 energy cost and 5 second recharge time however makes it much easier to try again if you miss the first time. Using Call of Haste before sending out your pet increases your pet's attack speed and thus makes him more likely to land an interupt as well. Even if your purpose is not to interupt, Disrupting Lunge still is a good way to cause extra damage.

At first I thought something like Call of Protection or Otygh's Cry would be a good idea to help protect my pet, but since he was almost never targetted I dropped that skill.

I really fell in love with this build after playing last night and I expect to put more time into learning more about and tweaking this build. I also think that multiple beast masters teaming together could really do some damage efficiently since the shout BM skills effect all allied animal companions. With this new update, I think that over time beast masters will begin to gain more credit after people start trying them out.

Keep us up to date on this one. I think beastmasters are highly underrated in the game, and sometimes for good reason. I know there have been other build posts for beastmaster builds around here, but it's nice to see a fresh string. Keep at it!

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