Beast Mastery is a talent tree for the Hunter class. It was changed in Patch 1.7, along with a major revamp to the Survival tree and the addition of Pet Customization.
The Beast Mastery is a unique, interesting, and until recently, somewhat rarely-used in end-game raiding talent tree. It greatly empowers the pet of the hunter. It helps to make your pet stronger, and a formidable foe that is not to be ignored. A fully buffed pet has the tanking and damaging potential of feral druids (prior to TBC), can hold aggro well, tank and delivers lethal damage, especially to casters. Properly honed, a Beast Mastery hunter is very deadly in PvP and in PvE, making this a very useful talent tree for the hunter whilst he is levelling.
On the down side, this does not allow the hunter to take as many points in Marksmanship as is traditionally expected, thus making the hunter very reliant on his pet and makes his ranged damage somewhat less compared to other DPS classes. There is also no specific gear useful to such a hunter, with the exception of a few hunter-specific set bonuses. The Beast Mastery hunter therefore is not as desirable in some end-game raids and instances, as the pet is still often seen as a liability and not a help. However since 1.7 this is not the case.
The key to successful use of the Beast Mastery tree in raids and end-game parties is learning to use the pet to its full potential, which means learning to use it as almost a second character being played simultaneously. This style of play is not for everyone, but for those who like it, the result is an "extra man" on raids -- one that does not suffer repair costs when it dies, which it usually does. It does require feeding, and the hunter must be quick on the Stay and Dismiss Pet commands whenever the pet gains a contagious debuff or is likely to path into mobs. A vigilant Beast Mastery hunter, with his or her pet not only deals very respectable damage, but brings an extra element of aggro management assistance to a raid.
The pinnacle of this tree is the 36 point talent, Serpent's Swiftness, which adds 20% ranged attack speed to the hunter and an additional 20% attack speed to the hunter's pet. With unbuffed attack speeds as low as 1.45, properly timed auto shot, steady shot "weaving" can yeild damage far superior to the traditional Marksman spec. The 41 talent spec also adds a cooldown abiltiy to the hunter which provides an additional 10% attack speed and immunity to crowd control effects for a massive 18 seconds (cannot be stunned or held back by any means except for death). Here is a video of Hunter Burning Crusade PVP Clips - Beast Mastery Spec in action.
For detailed info, see Beast Mastery section of Hunter talents.
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