“I feel like I’m attending my first Huntards Anonymous meeting. I don’t think I belong here but then again, isn’t denial one of the initial stages of addiction? Let me give you some detail.

“When I first started playing, I dipped into the WOW collective subconscious and pulled out the ubiquitous Night Elf hunter…with white hair no less. I proceeded to level up quickly, as is the benefit and the bane of the soloing hunter noob. The benefit is obvious to any hunter. I’ll get to the bane in a moment. I tamed a pet (a lovely Ghostpaw Runner) and it got even easier. Soon, I was a killing machine with a killing machine as my best friend. I didn’t need help. In fact, I didn’t need much of anything.

“And that’s the bane of the hunter, at least the lazy ones like myself. It’s easy to put yourself on autopilot, with your pet as your wing man. It’s easy to knock out consistent dps numbers, as long as you don’t become a melee hunter, which I am fortunate enough to have avoided.

“So, I leveled and I leveled. And then I leveled some more. Now, as I prepare to hit 66, I realize I have so much yet to learn about being a hunter. It’s not so evident as I run around Outland killing beasts so stupid they’ll attack my pet with me standing next to them watching the bloodbath unfold. I am revealed as a candidate for huntard when I try my hand at PvP. Sometimes I hold my own. Sometimes I don’t. But most of the time I feel I’m not doing everything I could, even when I survive.

“When I first started playing my hunter, I had no idea how to spec the poor bastard. It wasn’t until I educated myself a little that I chose the MM route. It seemed like the thing to do if you want to inflict serious damage. However, I also found that my pet was not holding aggro and, well, you know the rest.

“Then, one day, I came across your blog and I respecced BM, and I never looked back. It was wonderful, as if a new world had opened before me. But my big crits are gone. And I fear PvP because of that.

“I guess I’m looking for a little encouragement my BM brother. Tell me everything will be alright. Tell me I’ll eventually be a PvP master. Tell me if I get ganked by a rogue I won’t be forced to watch as he slices me up. Tell me I just have a lot to learn. Lie to me if you have to but don’t tell me I’ll have to give up Bestial Wrath. I don’t think I could handle that. Kindestcut”

Do you know how much we love getting your emails? We get home at night and have 10-20 “Dear BRKs” waiting for us. Some are simple questions, some atta-boys, and some, like this, are heartfelt outpourings of consciousness. We believe that this is what makes BRK the Blog so special: You.

One cannot say stuff like this on the WoW Forums without be trolled to death, which is why we want this to be a place for all hunters to come, sit back, kick your shoes off, and just Be. :)

The root question of Kindestcut’s email is: Is BM viable in PvP.

D@mn right it is.

First, let’s separate PvP from Arenas, shall we? When one peruses the better arena teams, you’ll see they have very similar makeups. There are certain classes and specs of those classes that are very successful and others that are not. Holy paladins are big time in arenas, holy priests are not. Marksman hunters are, BM bunters are not.

It would be very inappropriate of us to comment on why some specs don’t fall into the realm of Arena Worthy because we don’t do arenas. We have neither the time nor the inclination to investigate that aspect of the game.

But for other PvP, we have truck-loads of experience as both a Survivalist and Beastmaster in battlegrounds and dueling. All three specs have fabulous characteristics that can be skillfully applied in PvP. The trick is to apply your spec to the job for which it is best suited. And that job depends on your gear, your experience, and your desire.

In Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin, we guarded flags. Beastmaster was incredible for this. BigRedKitty would destroy anybody one-on-one who tried to take our flag. Anybody. Those eighteen seconds of god-like power basically guaranteed our success.

In Warsong Gulch, we played the mid-field healer-killer. Find the healer and kill him was our raison d’etre. We thought of it as a chess game, sacrificing a pawn for a bishop. Yes, we’d wade into a pack of horde, target that priest, pop Bestial Wrath and that priest had no chance. If we had no backup we’d die too, but the trade-off seemed advantageous.

As a Survivalist, we were a crit machine. Back in the pre-BC days, when 2000 health for a mage was average, we’d still guard graveyards, but would also play defense with passion. Sitting high up on a hill over Stormpike Graveyard and holding that choke point, we’d find a squishy, Aimed Shot him and pray for a crit. Down goes the squishy, retarget, repeat. Fire through the mountain, concussive shot those bear-form druids and let the rogues eat them for lunch.

The current Beastmaster spec is nicely suited for all these tasks. The huge increase in health for all classes means that you must be able to keep range for greater lengths of time.

And if you do get ganked by a rogue, Beastmaster is your best chance for survival. His slowing poisons will have no effect and, since he wears leather, your pet will eat him alive. Use your Snake Trap on him and let him feel what it’s like to be poisoned.

PvP and Beastmaster? Yeah. You’re gonna be fine.