Tame Solo Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace (pre-Patch 4.0.1)

Everyone on the Internet seems to think that Patch 4.0.1 will hit next Tuesday, without any reason for the rumor that I can find.  If they are right, solo hunters need to get a move on because they will not be able to tame two beasts (King Krush or The Beast) without help after the pre-Cataclysm patch changes everything.  Garwulf pointed this out in a new blog entry.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/8091/last-call.htm

But fortunately, he's written solo hunter guides to taming these two critters.  Here they are.  Once again, after Patch 4.0.1, these strategies won't work.

King Krush Solo Taming Guide
http://huntsmanslodge.com/841/gather-round-children.htm

The Beast Solo Taming Guide
http://huntsmanslodge.com/8014/taming-the-beast.htm

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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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The Return of Big Red Kitty?

The most famous and beloved Beast Mastery Hunter of them all, Big Red Kitty, retired from the game and blogging a year ago.  Recently folks who still visit his blog for hunter tips and insight discovered the content has disappeared, replaced by a cartoon hinting that he might be returning.  Speculation is that he is in the Cataclysm alpha and will soon be posting over the summer about his experiences.  In anticipation of this, I've added a link to Big Red Kitty in Favorite Links.  In the meantime, you can read BRK's other blog which pretty much confirms what is going to happen in the BRK Universe.
http://www.dphowell.com/

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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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Hunter Rotations for the New Level 80

Advice for the new Level 80 hunter, especially on casting sequences.
http://www.thehuntersmark.net/2010/03/22/running-scared-ding-80-and-join-the-fray/

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For the Solo Hunter

This article focuses on the beast mastery hunter build as it is best suited for soloing in the author's opinion.  There are tips and videos, builds for hunters and their pets, and consumables and glyphs that are recommended to help hunters and their pets solo a variety of content. There are also links to guides and videos to help solo hunters.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/15/scattered-shots-extreme-soloing/

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Can Beast Mastery Hunters Raid?

Scattered Shots says no.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/11/scattered-shots-can-beast-mastery-raid/

A rebuttal by Lassirra at The Hunters Mark.
http://www.thehuntersmark.net/2010/02/11/the-beast-mastery-debate/

And one from Eddie at The Hunting Lodge.
http://www.brigwyn.com/2010/02/11/dear-frostheim-sorry-sir-but-beast-mastery-is-raid-viable-just-not-raid-optimum/



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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 PvP Guide UPDATED

Huntsmans Lodge has started a beast mastry hunter PvP guide.  Part one (glyphs and talents) is up now.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/5318/bm-pvp-guide-talents-and-glyphs.htm

Part two (pets)
http://huntsmanslodge.com/5459/bm-pvp-guide-pets.htm

Part three (shot priorities)
http://huntsmanslodge.com/5479/bm-pvp-guide-part-3-shot-priority.htm

UDPATE:  A guide to the best PvP hunter pets as of Patch 3.3.3
http://huntsmanslodge.com/hunter-pvp-pets

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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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Icecrown Resources

WOW Insider is writing many articles about the new Icecrown Citadel inside Patch 3.3.  Here's a short list. First, the lore.
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/the-lore-of-patch-3-3/

Raid boss resources and info.
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/patch-3-3-icecrown-citadel-raid-boss-informaiton-and-resources/

Attunement and gating in Patch 3.3
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/wrath-101-attunement-and-gating-in-patch-3-3/

How to find Frozen Halls.
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/patch-3-3-how-to-find-the-frozen-halls/

Frozen Halls Walkthrough (attunement)
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/frozen-halls-5-man-dungeon-attunement-walkthrough/

How Dungeon Finder (that's the Looking for Group function) works.
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/patch-3-3-the-dungeon-finder-guide/

Guide to the first four bosses of Icecrown Citadel's lower citadel for resto druids.
http://dreambound-druid.blogspot.com/2009/12/ic10-lower-citadel-for-resto-druids.html

Guide to the introductory Ice Crown Citadel quests.
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/13/ready-check-icecrown-citadel-introduction-quests/

Hunter tips for ICC
http://outdps.com/2009/12/14/icecrown-tips-for-hunters/

http://www.wow.com/2010/01/28/scattered-shots-hunting-the-plagueworks-in-icc/

Hunters tanking Keleseth--
http://outdps.com/2010/02/01/tanking-keleseth/

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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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Soloing Steamvault in the Coilfang Reservoir

Darth Solo tackles Steamvault as a Beastmaster Hunter which I believe is a Level 80.  He talks strategy which makes this of interest to any solo player.
http://wowalone.blogspot.com/2009/09/solo-ing-coilfang-reservoir-steamvault.html

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