Beast Mastery Not for Solo Players in Cataclysm

WOW Insider claims that beast mastery won't be the best solo spec once Cataclysm hits.  Why not in the link below.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/04/scattered-shots-bm-not-the-premier-spec-for-cataclysm-extreme-s/

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The Rarest Hunter Pets

Zardoz has calculated the rarest hunter pets in his Armory data mining adventures.  These are not rare items, they are the least tamed pets and include one that is no longer tamable.  If you want something different, check the list.
http://www.aspectofthehare.net/2010/09/sixteen-rarest-hunter-pets.html

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Hunter Pets in Cataclysm

The foxes dance and there are buffs related to pets.  Plus there is some good info in this article.
http://www.wow.com/2010/09/13/scattered-shots-cataclysm-pet-design-pass/

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Today is Pet Day

Lissanna helps solo hunters whose pets aren't holding aggro.
http://dungeonplay.net/2010/08/making-sure-your-pet-holds-aggro-while-soloing/

Then she turns her attention to taming spirit beasts and stable slots for those who have dual specs on their hunters.
http://dungeonplay.net/2010/08/questions-about-taming-spirit-beasts-and-stable-slots/

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Cataclysm Beta Notes (Flying Mounts, Clients, Hunter Solo Runs)

I've been mostly ignoring Cataclysm beta information since it is all in flux. Who knows what will actually make it into the next expansion?  This is a reference site, after all, and linking to information that may or may not end up in an expansion that isn't even dated yet seems useless to me.  However, I have found a few articles I do want to mention because they are useful for beta players or have special relevance to solo players.

WOWHead has posted how to use their client to gather beta information for their database.  If you are in the beta, consider downloading their client to add to the Cataclysm database.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=163527

It looks like buying a faster flying mount will be quite expensive in Cataclysm, especially for players with a good number of characters they play.  Looks like players should start accumulating gold now.
http://wowalone.blogspot.com/2010/08/100000-gold-for-flying.html

Cold Weather Flying changes in Cataclysm.  Now you can buy it at Level 68 for less than in Patch 3.3.5.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/20/cataclysm-beta-cold-weather-flying-at-68/

The Warcraft Hunters Union has posted two articles about soloing Cataclysm, first as a Beast Master hunter--
http://www.warcrafthuntersunion.com/2010/08/cataclysm-beta-hunter-soloing-as-bm/

and secondly as a marksman hunter.
http://www.warcrafthuntersunion.com/2010/08/cataclysm-beta-hunter-preview-soloing-as-mm/

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Pet Builds for Hunters UPDATED

Information about beast mastery PVP pet builds.  This is part two of an article on beast mastery from last December.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/5459/bm-pvp-guide-pets.htm

I also found this website about hunter pet builds in general. It looks a little out of date to me.
http://hunterbuilds.com/petbuilds.html

UPDATE:  But this guide to the best hunter pets for PvP is current as of Patch 3.3.3.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/hunter-pvp-pets

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The Beast Mastery Hunter in Patch 3.3

A introductory guide to playing as a beast mastery hunter in Patch 3.3.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/01/scattered-shots-beast-mastery-101/

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Beast Mastery Hunter Specs (Patch 3.3)

Beast mastery hunter specs for Patch 3.3
http://huntsmanslodge.com/5431/assembling-a-raiding-beast-master.htm

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Hunter Pet Control Guide

Phyllixia at Hunters Rhok has posted a five part series about hunter pet control.

Part one talks about controlling your pet's attacks.
http://huntersrhok.blogspot.com/2009/07/pet-control-part-one-attack-follow-and.html

Part two talks about the pet "stances" of aggressive, defensive or passive spells.

http://huntersrhok.blogspot.com/2009/08/pet-control-part-two-aggressive.html

Part three covers the general abilities of pets (ferocity, cunning and tenacity, etc.).

http://huntersrhok.blogspot.com/2009/08/pet-control-part-three-general-pet.html

Part four covers species-specific abilities.

http://huntersrhok.blogspot.com/2009/08/pet-control-part-four-species-specific.html

Part five talks about organizing your pet bar.

http://huntersrhok.blogspot.com/2009/09/pet-control-part-five-organizing-your.html

Many thanks to WOW Insider for pointing me toward this series.

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Is Beast Mastery Dead as Hunter Spec?

Is Beast Mastery dead as a druid spec?  Here's a discussion incluidng quotes from Ghostcrawler, who's Blizzard spokesman on gameplay issues.
http://www.thehuntersmark.net/2009/09/22/is-beast-mastery-dead-ghostcrawler-says-no/

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