Explore the latest updates for Beast Mastery and Survival Hunters with insights from our expert guide writer, Azortharion.
Upcoming War Within Class Tuning: September 3
The latest class tuning, going live on September 3 in North America and on September 4 in Europe, introduces several changes to Hunters, focusing primarily on the Beast Mastery and Survival specializations.
Let’s break down what will change and how it might affect your playstyle!
Beast Mastery Hunter Changes: Improving Consistent Damage
Vicious Hunt damage has been increased by 10%.
This change strengthens your pet’s attacks, boosting your single-target damage.
Howl of the Pack critical strike damage bonus increased to 5% (was 3%).
The buff increases the Beast Mastery Hunter’s critical damage, which is always neat.
Survival Hunter: Balancing and Diversifying the Rotation
- Vicious Hunt damage has been decreased by 10%.
This nerf was Blizzard’s attempt to address the issue of Survival Hunters spamming 
Kill Command too often. While it may not have fully resolved them problem, it’s a step in the right direction.
- Howl of the Pack critical strike damage bonus increased to 11% (was 7%).
The buff to Howl of the Pack increases the Survival Hunter’s critical damage.
Furious Assault damage bonus increased to 60% for Survival (was 30%).
This makes your Focus spenders like 
Raptor Strike and 
Mongoose Bite hit harder.
Cull the Herd damage over time increased to 60% (was 30%):
This makes your DoT from 
Kill Shot hit harder, which results in a more powerful execution phase.
And that’s all the changes coming to Hunters in this week’s class tuning, from the BM buffs to Survival’s slightly more mixed changes. For more details on other class changes planned for September 3, be sure to check out the official notes.