Overview

Beastmaster is getting a fairly large rework, shifting from a Shaman-based hybrid to a beast-taming berserker theme. The spellbook is going away, but mana as a resource is staying. Mana now represents the shared bond with your chosen beast and, for the most part, is only used for abilities that interact with them. New melee abilities and pet-focused utility are replacing the shared Shaman spells.

Let’s jump right into this deep dive with the reason most of you are playing a Beastmaster - the pets!

Pets

Beastmaster pets are still obtained through the use of Bestial Bond, leveled up through an experience system, and fed based on a specific diet. This update lowers the experience needed to level your pets, making it easier to maintain multiple and supporting the practice of swapping between them via the Kennel Master.

Sharks are currently still tameable, but this will be going away soon and made unlockable via a quest during Early Access. The ability to tame more mythical beasts is likewise planned as a future quest unlock.

Pet Roles

Beasts are now split into DPS, Tank, and Balanced roles, and have variations in their stats to support this. Expect some iteration on the exact stat variations as we go from this patch into the next. DPS pets deal increased damage, and Tank pets have increased AC and health. Balanced pets deal slightly more damage and have slightly increased health.

• DPS - Jackal, Snake, Wasp, Wolf

• Tank - Bear, Beetle, Crocodile

• Balanced - Bat, Rat, Spider

We know that pet damage and survivability are key issues for players, so we’re working hard to nail the tuning on those. We’ll share the goals we're working toward, even if the rework patch (0.26.0) doesn’t quite get the pets into their final state.

We want Beastmaster to be a competitive DPS class, with their damage coming from both their own abilities and their pet’s. Expect to deal comparable damage to other DPS classes when using a DPS pet, with your pet making up a little less than half of your total damage. When using a Tank pet and the Guardian Spirit buff, expect your pet to be able to tank for solo and small group encounters.

Pet Abilities

Your choice of pet should matter more than just a skin and a few stat points. In this rework, each pet family will be getting a unique, utility-focused ability. For example, Spider pets will be able to root opponents in place with a web. We’ll save the details of the rest so you can discover them once you get your hands on the update.

Pet Buffs and Heals

Many abilities that previously required your pet to be targeted, such as the Spirit buffs or the Patch Companion line, no longer have this requirement, making them easier to use.

Swarm Pets

As mentioned in the initial update post, Swarm pets as they existed are going away. For the most part, you’ll be adventuring with a single companion, but new Kinship abilities will let you call upon the services of other animals for more specific situations.

Kinship: Bat is a placeholder until a proper bird model exists in the game. This ability briefly summons a bat pet to blind your target, without impacting your primary pet.

Kinship: Rat is a planned future ability that summons a controllable stealthy rat for scouting. Sadly it didn't make it into the initial rework patch, but we hope to make it available soon.

As the world grows and new beasts are added, you may find more to recruit into your service in this manner.

Abilities

Companion-Focused Abilities

The update sees several new and improved abilities to help the Beastmaster support their pet.

• Bestial Bond - Appeal to the senses of a target beast, bonding it to your side.

• Revive Companion - Rally your pet, returning it to life.

• Mend Companion (changed) - Mend your pet, restoring Health over 12 seconds. (This spell line is now a heal over time and significantly more powerful, though at the cost of more mana. You won’t be spamming heals on your pet anymore, freeing you up to deal more damage yourself.)

• Shrink Companion - Shrink your pet, reducing their overall size.

• Cleanse Companion (new)- Cleanse your pet, removing Disease and Poison effects.

• Invigorate Companion (new) - Reinvigorate the bond with your pet, instantly resetting their abilities and your Command: Kill and Command: Protect abilities.

• Savage Spirit - Awaken a savage spirit within your pet, increasing their Attack Speed, Agility, and granting them a chance to activate Rip on melee attacks. (This is your offensive “Spirit” buff. Pets can only have one Spirit buff at a time.)

• Guardian Spirit (new)- Invoke your pet's guardian spirit, reducing their Physical Damage received and the cooldown of their Provoke ability. (This is your defensive “Spirit” buff.)

• Command: Kill - Command your pet into action, calling on them to perform a devastating attack. (“Command” abilities share a cooldown.)

• Command: Protect (formerly Resource Guarding) - Command your pet to protect you, reducing all damage received while transferring some of it to your pet.

Auras

Beastmasters retain their group buffing aura, albeit with a slight rename, and gain another useful group buff. Though they've lost Speed of the Wild, Prowler’s Instinct offers a unique alternative with the advantage of being usable indoors.

• Predatory Instinct (formerly Pack of the Predator) - Awaken a predatory instinct in your group, increasing their Offense and Agility.

• Prowler’s Instinct (new) - Awaken the prowler's instinct in your group, increasing their Movement Speed and rendering them undetectable to targets while behind them. (This ability grants the benefits of Sneak while increasing your movement speed, enabling a cautious group to skirt around some encounters they’d rather not engage in.)

Buffs

• Sight of the Beast (new) - Imbue your sight with bestial clarity, enhancing your vision in darkness. (This ability grants you an Infravision equivalent.)

• Sight of the Predator (new) - Imbue your sight with predatory clarity, greatly enhancing your vision in darkness while reducing it in bright light. (This ability grants you an Ultravision equivalent.)

• Hunter’s Chase (formerly Speed of the Predator) - Embody a predator in relentless pursuit, briefly increasing your Movement Speed.

• Aquatic Affinity (new) - Attune yourself to aquatic beasts, increasing your Swimming skill and greatly decreasing your air consumption.

Melee Abilities

Strike has been replaced with several new attacks, most of which have a bias toward slower, two-handed weapons. For the claw / dual wield enthusiasts, Maul is a solid option.

• Enraging Strike (new) - Strike your target in a furious rage, dealing Weapon Ratio Damage and increasing the Strength, Dexterity, and Agility of both you and your pet. This ability shares a cooldown with other Might abilities.

• Savage Strike (new) - Savagely strike your target, dealing Weapon Ratio Damage plus Physical Damage. Additionally, this ability gains a damage bonus if the target is bleeding. This ability shares a cooldown with other Might abilities. (Bleed effects can be applied by your pet when buffed with Savage Spirit, or by Rogues and Archers.)

• Chop (new) - Viciously chop your target, dealing Weapon Ratio Damage plus Physical Damage, and creating an opening that causes your pet to land Critical Hits. This ability requires a two-handed weapon, and shares a cooldown with other Martial abilities.

• Maul (new) - Violently maul your target, dealing Weapon Ratio Damage per equipped weapon and decreasing their Physical Damage dealt. This ability shares a cooldown with other Martial abilities.

• Mangle (new) - Mangle your target, dealing Weapon Ratio Damage and reducing incoming healing effects. This ability requires a two-handed weapon and shares a cooldown with other Martial abilities.

Other Abilities

• Pounce (new) - Leap toward your target, dealing Weapon Ratio Damage and increasing the Movement Speed of your pet. (The movement speed component here helps your pet keep up with you.)

• Howl of Dominance (new) - Exert dominance over your target, decreasing their Physical Damage dealt and increasing yours by the same amount.

• Call of the Faithful (new) - Call out to your stowed pets from a great distance, summoning one to replace your current pet. (This is a late game utility that allows you to change your current pet without visiting a Kennel Master.)

• Bestial Glimpse (new) - Bind your vision to that of a target beast, granting you the ability to see through their eyes.

• Lick Wounds (new) - Pause to mend your wounds, restoring Health at the cost of Mana every second. This ability is channeled. (This self-heal is best used out of combat to quickly get you back in action after a difficult fight.)

• Beastmasters also share the Lull Beast and Preservation (mount resurrection) line of spells with the Druid.