Killer Instinct: The Beastmaster Compendium

Increasing Pet: Max HP also helps. :)

Is a "bit of both" worth it, or is it better to focus on one?

There's only a handful of pieces with Pet: TP Bonus stat on it (I think alluvion skirmish axes, empyrean hands, and mythic axe?). I don't know how many Pet: HP+ gear there is, can't be that many. Path D Emicho Body is the only piece I can recall.

Does Feral Howl "reasonably" land on end game NMs?
Omen bosses, Sheol Gaol and Sortie nm?
Description on bg-wiki says "It can be resisted", but i couldn't find any testing (sorry Falkirk if you did one), can we translate this sentence in "it always fails in end game"?
Would you unlock it if it had, i don't know, 1 minute recast?

You asked this in 2023.


It was a terrible move then, it's a terrible move now ;3. Maybe it will land on some Dynamis-D mobs. Maybe the "lesser" floor NMs in Sheol upstairs.

I recall using a Hippogryph pet in Sheol B vs the Fly NM, and I could have sworn Jettatura landed on both of them (it spawns a copy at 50%), but that just could be because they are coded as "lesser NMs". Terror works on Sinister reign bosses for sure; I have done it as BLU just terroring and killing as soon as they spawn and it lasts for 30+ seconds, enough time to kill them. But I don't seem to recall anything modern that this works on. Could try it on a Sheol C UNM, but I highly doubt you'd land it on anything, nor would it matter, as Feral Howl lasts a few seconds then wears off, much less than BLU's Absolute Terror.

I used to have one merit in it to unlock, but couldn't find any instances to use it. I guess you could use it in Sheol C farming vs a fodder here or there to interrupt an annoying sleepga or something. Idk, try it out on stuff and let us know if it works :)

Hey there was a time when Feral Howl was awesome!
When?

When BST/DNC was solofarming old Dynamis with the Ladybug pet.
Feral Howl was an additional potential JA proc during the JA windows, which also stunned mobs for several seconds.

Aaaand, that's it I think, really lol. Back then I think I had 5/5 beast affinity to power up pet healing food and 5/5 Feral Howl for that xD
It wasn't game changing but it was a small help, I guess.
Can't think Feral Howl ever made a huge difference in any other content. Not like its difference was huge in Dyna either, but it was something at least, I suppose!

With it's current land rate, it honestly should be 1 minute recast on it. That's fifteen seconds longer than a 3-charge Ready move anyways, so it's not like you'd abuse it on anything since it's mostly a fodder stun button

I had the feeling i did lol, sorry.
Ok, i will completely forget about it haha.
I just hate it having it there and not using it (as like, not even unlocking it)

Out of curiosity has anyone tried oozing for def/attk down in sortie? Was wondering if its viable , we have a friend who is back and only has a select few jobs he enjoys playing, and his BST is what he settled on. Was wondering if its an effective strat and since the ooze is water based will it enrage A - E bosses?

Yes, it will. Any time a monster absorbs water Ooze is guaranteed to land and it will definitely cause enrage. Swooping Frenzy, Rhinowrecker, and Sweeping Gouge are all viable defense down alternatives for A/E, although I haven't personally tested any of them.

Why do I feel like beastmaster tp's so slow lol. Without SAM roll... bleh.

No natural MA or STP traits, and axes have the highest delay for 1 handers, with only some heavy clubs matching it. Thankfully BST has a decent enough set of gear to TP in

yeah, I get that... just feels painfully slower than many other jobs I play and I am always reminded of it whenever I have some fun with it.

Need that Aymur to go brrrrrrrrrrrr I guess lol

PUPs not much better, better MA options but lower delay leads to a similar problem, sucks if you're solo but that's where bouncing off pet comes in depending on what you're doing.

I commented exactly the same thing when I played it in Segs a long time ago. Felt noticeably slower even with sam roll. R15 Ternion Dagger +1 or Blurred Knife +1 is what I used before I used Kraken club, and both of the former OHs "felt" slow. If you decide to use "Fight" every mob to activate tandem bonus for acc, you lose a small amount of dps as well. I've had more fun with Dolicheus mainhand over Naegling, since I can abuse Rage and pop off some pretty high Decimations as soon as I get TP, as opposed to Savage Blade where I need to over TP a bit to see decent numbers.

Crazy idea: Tandem bonuses should give a haste samba/JA haste-like effect for you and your pet.

yeah that's true, I play PUP a bunch and it does tp slower than I would like.

I'm trying to find a sweet spot of MA and STP on BST that seems optimal, but so far without sam roll, it doesn't seem to make a huge difference when I test out other slots is what I was finding out more or less before I posted lol.

Like buukki suggested, low delay OH with either OaT or just additional MA "help" but atleast to me in playing around on both there isnt really that sweet spot, you either get buffed and it feels normal(in the sense that you're at WS usable TP at similar rates as the other jobs, they will still have better TP speeds and more overflow) or you dont and it's miserable.

Yeah I'm a fan of Tri-Edge/Ikenga r30, that 1250 tp with moonshade is damn strong with calamity/mistral.

Just the price I pay with that combo I suppose.

guttler using nukimi set
more of a novelty build can see 8,000dmg single axe swings on a nukumi + relic proc

guttler /war no nukimi
very strong 18k onslaught is about average

aymur/ridill using 2300% tp calamity
with acc gear ridill has enough acc to land most hits tp gain very high 23k calamity is around what I get
personally I prefer ridill offhand to kc making use of dyna bubrumu sword skill ring

pdt pangu aoe
at the bat room in dho can keep killing for hours using generous
very high chains or can pull 11+ bats and ooze them down
do need the full 97% pdt set to make work properly

aymur/skullrender for pet atk
krt charm hecteyes fight worms or ghosts another novelty build still fun to have options

drepanum /war max attack and str in gear don't worry about multi or stp idea is to hit so hard that stuff doesn't matter anymore
dho bats very fun build
I like to use voodoo cap in tp set
my idea is to slow attacks to concentrate on hits landing where I want with jokushu still keep 26% haste
50k spiral hell is common

max axe skill build
looking for 505 axe skill in the skills list doesn't show skill on axe puts you over 700 skill
very fun build nothing special to comment much higher acc and atk
dmg doesn't really show you feel it though 1,800 swings is very common on dho bats

that's the builds I switch around with to not get complacent
just posting what I use
ml 27 bst

IMHO, don't bother with MA. I tried to make a set with it and it's janky. Just go with Malignance and for main slots and use blurred +1 for the OaT if you can't get with a kraken or ternion +1. This is if you're soloing with trust buffs. Your melee dps doesn't matter, it's really your speed to WS. Plus, Qultada gives Fighter's Roll sometimes so you get some.

For what it's worth I have experimented with several different sets and variations, this particular set has recorded the highest dps by a few hundred with all other things being as equal as possible during my testing. No sam roll, just trusts buffs and 45-60 minutes worth of killing bats in each set for comparison. Tri-Edge/Ikenga. This was just my personal findings and might mean nothing with sam roll up.

Playing around with BST again after having not really touched it that much in the iLvl era. What are the go-to jugs these days? I know it will be situational, but looks like:

Vivacious Vickie and Generous Arthur used for buff/debuffs. Tiger and Sheep general all-purpose white damage? What are your all's thoughts?

I'm a big fan of Swooping Zhivago, whether it be solo or in a party. 25% Defense down and 25 MDB down is really nice, especially in places like Dyna, you can do some nice magic WS numbers.

Fatso Fargan is pretty much the cheese master. Random pets for KI against mobs like the tree or bird are never a bad choice.

Pondering Peter can cure if you're interested in that. Bouncing Bertha and Energized Sefina can do ok damage but really need buffers to shine.

Can fatso hit 119 cap?

Technically yes, i think with all the pet +level stuff it can, but its just as behind as before as all the other pets are 122+

The Lynx (Gaston) has an attack buff that does not come with a defense penalty, so he's cool to keep around. Also stacks with Rage from Sheep if you want to go crazy.

For those like me who don't have access to Ikenga R30 and probably won't have it any time soon... what's next best offhand for that use case? Ikenga R25 (TP Bonus +300)? Fernagu TP Bonus +1000? Agwu?

And I've always viewed Ikenga R20 or less as fairly irrelevant for BST for most purposes, correct?
(up to R20, Agwu and Ikenga are same DMG/delay/DEX/Acc/Atk/WSD, so the differences break down to Agwu getting Store TP+10 CHR+15 and pet stats, and Ikenga getting Crit rate+10 STR+15 and no pet stats)

Maybe still niche uses for Ikenga R20 like a crit build for Empy AM white damage set, or maybe Savage offhand if magian isn't viable.

You can beat Xevioso V25, Capuchin! Persevere

Maybe one day lol. The bigger challenge might be motivating others, unless you have a good solo strategy ;) Sure would be cool to upgrade the axe and katana to v30 for offhands though!


Aside from Slug for Def-/HP- Oozes, or Leech for TP Drainkiss shenanigans, my most used group would include:

* I still use Bouncing Bertha a ton, great for AoE on any lower difficulty stuff where BST often shines. Great for Einherjar, Nyzul, Omen.

* Seconding the Zhivago suggestion, nice all arounder with some good SC synergy and good TP move effects (DEF/MDB-, Dispel).

* Also seconding Gaston. That's what I use in Dynamis Divergence waves 1-2 in an alliance: don't want the large def- from Sheep rage, and Slug is way less useful when mobs are dying fast (and AoE can be a problem). Gaston can just stick a nice long Atk+ on myself for some benefit, silence/paralyze from Blaster/Chaotic Eye can be helpful for utility, Charged Whisker isn't a bad magical AoE.

In the tier below that (for how often I use them):
* Daring Roland is pretty good for all purpose white damage, and has some nice additional perks with Jettatura terror being very useful to really lock down some mobs. Good Unleash spam pet too.

* Sultry Patrice and Jovial Edwin are nice defensive pets. Patrice more for the pet being the tank, and Edwin for its buffs that help master too (Scissor Guard DEF+100%, Bubble Curtain -50% MDT)

* Blackbeard Randy - I keep a stack around as a cheap jug for disposable offensive pets (normally use Roland or Zhivago on Bestial Loyalty though).

* Warlike Patrick still has uses as a cheap NPC jug for magical AoE on lower stakes stuff.

Other comments:
I don't really get Vivacious Vickie for most situations these days. Slug Ooze is a better conal AoE Defense Down than Sweeping Gouge, and Zealous Snort's Haste is largely unnecessary in most situations with trusts or party members able to cap your haste (especially so when Cornelia is available).

Re: Sheep rage - personal choice, and situationally useful when you know you aren't at much risk of taking damage, but I often avoid it due the significant defensive penalty. Has its niches though, and Sheep Song is a nice tool.