Pros
- Great soloist
- Can offtank adds and handle multiple mob pulls easily
- Offers group enhancements
- Easy access to armor and mitigation buffs early in the tree
Cons
- Lack of diversity as prime soul
- Lower mobility than most other warrior souls
- Lack of PvP talents
- Dual wield itemization is lacking in certain level ranges
Overview
Fans of the Beastmaster in FFXI and the Beastlord in EQ1 will instantly be drawn to this soul, and with a bit of planning will find they can recreate that playstyle with ease. Masters of avoidance and hard hitting dual strike melee attacks, the Beastmaster is a wonderful pet class that offers tons of upside.
Solo Play
Beastmasters are master soloists, bringing their own backup with them in the form of a summoned spirit companion. Digging deep into the tree you will find a slew of potency and survivability upgrades, as well as some nice statistical enhancements. With a nice combo heal that effects the caster and the pet equally, the Beastmaster can handle the unexpected add with ease.
Group Play
Beastmasters bring quite a bit of utility to a group, via enhancements, buffs and damage. While there are better choices for damage output and group buffing, the Beastmaster is a great utility infielder that can handle both duties.
Pairs Best With
Champion
The Champion is the social butterfly of the warrior calling, fitting in anywhere and everywhere. At a measly 4 points into the tree you can pick up a 5% damage increase with Soldier’s Bearing, a root side bargain that packs a huge punch. Other damage modifiers abound in the tree, but players looking for a dual wield playstyle will need to navigate around the many two-handed talents in the tree.
Warlord
This pairing is one suggested at the in game tooltip and one that makes sense for most players.
The Warlord adds a measure of survivability and group enhancement that is a perfect complement to several builds and gives the Beastmaster the increased armor and avoidance they will need to stay viable. At 6 points into the tree you gain Call to Battle, a scalable battle cry that buffs a groups attack and spell power by 6 as well as unearthing a scaling health buff and a hefty dodge increase in the root system.
Riftblade
My personal favorite pairing for a third soul of a Beastmaster is the Riftblade. The Riftblade adds elemental damage and a couple ranged spells that give me the feeling of playing a Beastlord from EQ again. You can gain a decently powerful punch with as little as 11 points spent in this tree, gaining spell damage enhancements, dodge increases and a nice snare ability. One of the coolest upsides is found 2 points into the root in the form of Fiery Burst, a triggered ability that adds a DoT to weapon damage and is off the global cooldown timer.
