Hunter Pet Guide

Choosing the right hunter pet can oftentimes be frustrating and confusing. Some hunter's don't realize the science that is behind choosing the right pet in order to ensure the hunter is operating at max efficiency depending on the characters main focus and objectives in the game. This guide will go over all of the different hunter pet types, the modifiers, and help you understand what type of pet you would optimally choose to increase or max your operational capacity as a hunter and save you time and increase your enjoyment level while playing a hunter. Every hunter pet class has been normalized to have the same attack speed, base attributes, and run speed. The only difference between pets now are the models and the modifiers with those models which separates them into 3 easily identifiable categories: DPS, Balanced, and Tanking. Below is a list of where each model falls into as well as the attribute modifiers for that model of pet. Think of it as every hunter pet having a standard 100 DPS 1000 Armor and 500 Hit points; so that if a Cat has a damage modifier of 10%, no armor modifier, and -2% hit point modifier the new base statistics of a cat would be 110DPS, 1000 Armor, and 490 Hit points. There are talents and gear that can further enhance your pets but this basic guide will help you understand the full effects of talents and gear.

Best Pets for Leveling - Beast Master

Hands down, the best hunter pet for grinding mobs and soloing is one from the DPS Pet List. When I level a new hunter I usually spec myself towards Beast Mastery. Using a DPS hunter pet will allow you to balance out the DPS distribution between the hunter and the pet which will also allow for better threat/aggro control. There's nothing more annoying when leveling then having the enemy come running at you right away until your pet growls and then having him consistently aggro you throughout the fight. Using a DPS in beast mastery spec will cause your pet to produce enough damage that you will be able to even turn off growl on your pet because his DPS output will out aggro that of the hunters. The armor bonuses, hit point bonuses, and other bonuses from beast mastery spec will easily offset the lack of tanking abilities you may think your DPS pet will have. My favorite hunter pet choice for chain grinding enemies 1 at a time is the cat or ravager, mainly because they have instant attack abilities and dash later on allowing them to use the extra energy they have from not using growl to cause more DPS with their instant attacks and dash gets them to the enemy faster. If I am clearing instances or farming multiple mobs at a time then I prefer to use a bat or owl with screech. If used properly screech will not only cause an area aggro effect but allow you to sneak in a few multi-shot's without the hunter out aggroing the pet. This allows for you to keep your range DPS going and distribute the DPS with your multiple target skills while soloing.

Best Pets for Leveling - Non-Beast Master

If you for some reason choose to level without using the Beast Mastery field you will definitely be at a disadvantage for soloing. Your pet will not be causing bonus damage from the beast talent tree and your hunter will be causing more damage which throws off the damage output distribution causing the hunter to gain more aggro than the hunter pet. You will most likely have to use growl on your pet and that may or may not be enough. I still recommend a DPS pet for leveling but either the Raptor or Ravager because they also have an armor bonus. As a hunter you have poor pet healing abilities. The armor bonus on your pet will cause the pet to take less damage making it easier to heal during fight. Nothing is more disturbing to me then seeing a hunter who is trying to level fast using a tanking pet with high hit points because they take a lot of damage from lack of positive armor enhancements, therefore when they try to heal their pet they find their heals are just not enough and their pet will die a lot causing unnecessary down time; not to mention the lack of DPS output from the pet causing longer fights.

Best Pets for Soloing Elites or Red Enemies

In the later game it will be oftentimes possible for a beast mastery spec'd tanking pet to tank bosses or elite mobs. In the beginning game this task is a lot easier but the choice of the pet depends on the mob type you are fighting. For melee mobs you will want a high armor pet; preferably the turtle, scorpid, crab, or crocolisk. Any added armor modifications will help when the bosses are hitting your pet for 500 or more. With just the 10 percent armor modification that is up to 50 less hit points per enemy attack. Imagine having thick hide from the beast mastery tree, a 30% bonus on top of the 10% bonus. Using the numbers above a base stat of armor, 1000 would become 1100 armor from the 10 percent and then 1430 armor with 30% more on top of that coming to an actual total of 43% armor modification. 43% LESS DAMAGE PER HIT! Now those 500 damage hits are consistently hitting for 285 or less. Do you see the difference armor can make with how weak the hunters heal is.

If you are fighting a caster enemy then you will want a pet with higher hit points because its' magical attacks will not take armor into consideration. I usually have a pet that is 120+ on all resistance's and as high on natural stamina as I can get for tanking hard caster mobs. The Nether Ray or Bear are your best two choices for tanking a caster mob. The more hit points your pet has the longer it will last in a fight against a caster. Most of the time casters are low on hit points themselves so you can finish them off before they finish off your pets health.

Best Pets for Instances

If you are grouping in an instance try not to use a hunter pet that has a similiar model as the enemies you are fighting. I used to get yelled at for using a bat in Stratholme because it looks like the gargoyles or other mob types. You will generally want to choose the pet you take along based off the group setup. If you need an off tank, use your off tanking pet high in armor or hit points depending on the instance. If you have a lot of casters you may want to consider an area of effect aggro pet; like the gorilla, owl, or bat. I prefer the owl or bat because the area aggro is also an attack power buff leaving the enemies hit with it causing less damage. The area of effect can sometimes break traps, saps, and other incapacitating effects if you are not careful. If you lack experience playing a hunter you may just want to use a cat, ravager, or raptor for single target DPS in the instance.

If you are going to be taking your high level hunter through a lower level instance to farm then you will want to use an Area of Effect aggro pet to clear faster. If you are going to be soloing a harder instance then you will want a tank pet.

Best Pets for PvP

For battleground PvP with a lot of group battles an Area of Effect bat or owl will do wonders to turn the battle. Not only will it flap around annoyingly in the faces of your opponents but it also has an attack debuff and DPS enhancement modifier. If you find yourself commonly in 1v1 PvP you will want either a cat to sneak up on your opponent and cause a lot of DPS or a Boar for the initial warrior charge it does. Hunter pets are completely situational and dependant on the hunters focus.

Summary

Hunter pets are the most underrated and under studied utilities a hunter has available to them in game. Some hunters will go all into the Marksmanship tree and not even bring a pet around. This is okay for Hunter's that are on raids and the pets are an added risk but I commonly see this in 5 man instances or just out grouping with friends which I feel is a complete waste. I hope this guide has helped you understand the importance of hunter pets. Thanks for reading!