Not Pictured: Running screaming Alliance.
Wasps.
Who knew they were so deadly in PvP?!
As I’ve said before, I’ve found out that for Beastmasters a ferocity pet is a really big advantage and a really big help; but to the extent to which I saw, I had no freakin’ idea. I was truly astounded.
1. Talenting a Ferocity pet for PvP is a cinch. It sacrifices a minor DPS loss for a substantial amount of HP. Cello, at level 80(yeah, that took awhile), has 18 000 hp when I’m in my PvP gear. 18 000. 18 000. That’s more HP than what I have in my PvE gear!
2. On the topic of that DPS loss, it’s hardly noticeable. Cello is constantly hitting for 500-600 damage on plate without Bestial wrath. He hits clothies for up to 800 without Bestial Wrath. Priests run away in fear. He’s like a rogue, but half the size and twice as hard to run away from. With Bestial Wrath, I can burst down 2 clothies in the space of 18 seconds with Call of the Wild on. I didn’t bother to look at numbers, Cello and I were killing too fast.
3. Ferocity brings one of the most helpful little things I’ve seen: Heart of the Phoenix. Retadin thought it would be funny to see my wasp die. Took him 2/3 of his HP. Oh hey, human? Look behind you. Cello is angry.
4. Wasps are unique from other ferocity pets in that they have Sting, which is a little bit of damage wrapped in a faerie fire. There are 2 fun parts to this: first, it’s nature damage. Because it’s spell damage, it goes through armor. Secondly. it has a 4.2 second cooldown. 4.2. Why is this good? It means that the chances of Sting falling off are nil, and more importantly… more chances to crit. Many more chances to crit. Crits cause Ferocious Inspiration. Ferocious Inspiration causes me to deal so much more damage it’s not funny, which in turn causes me to giggle devilishly with glee.
5. Wasps are so inconspicuous that most people aren’t going to kill the little thing. Non-beastmasters use wasps, so the pet musn’t be that big of a deal. Well, you guessed wrong punk. I hope you feel better about your bad decision, but remember this: never underestimate something with a stinger the size of your torso.
6. Did I mention this guy soloed a Priest? The extra 9% crit chance helps. Just saying.
7. There are 2 problems with using a Ferocity pet as BM. The first problem is you can’t benefit from Roar of Sacrifice, an incredibly fun and useful ability that allows you to take 30% less damage, which is re-directed towards the pet. This is an especially good ability for a Beastmaster since it only has a 10 second period where it isnt active. Secondly, I normally use a Cunning pet. Cunning pets have Roar of Recovery, which essentially extends our mana pools by an additional 30% every 2 minutes. There have been a few times where I would normally have mana with a cunning pet, but I didn’t because Cello can’t use Roar of Recovery. However, both of these issues are neglected in a BG setting for one very good reason: death comes on wings of focus fire. If you are targeted, chances are you are dead. Secondly, if a fight takes so long that you run out of mana, chances are that you can jump into Aspect of the Viper for 4 seconds, or that you’re able to drink, or that you’re going to die.
All things considered, I’m very happy with Cello in a battleground setting! It’s harder to kite things around, but I kill them that much faster so I’m not too worried.
Move like a butterfly, sting like a bee? Yeah, I can understand that now. I wouldn’t have imagined me liking a wasp this much in my life ever, but Cello managed to impress me in every way.
Encore mon ami, your wings beat a beautiful music.
Slow Wolf 