Breakfast Topic: Pet shop, boys
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 19th 2006 at 9:07AM
Today's breakfast topic is for hunters, all other classes can take the day off. My hunter is 55, and needs a new pet (I accidentally dismissed my last one, it's why I haven't played my hunter in a while). I know there's a lot of good, new pets out since 2.0 (I've heard Snakes are awesome), but I haven't been a hunter in so long, I have no clue what's out there for me to choose, or what I (or a hunter at any other level) should pick. I'll be leveling for a little while, but to tell the truth I'd rather have a nice pet for PVP, since I'll probably just farm some honor at 59 or so.Sure, I could just go over and browse through Petopia. But I'd rather make your morning interesting, and hear your intelligent discussion on the subject: what pet should I get for my hunter and why?
Filed under: Night Elves, Hunter, Analysis / Opinion, How-tos, PvP, Quests
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Remil Dec 19th 2006 7:39PM
I hear gnomes make good pets.
Gritz Dec 19th 2006 9:32AM
Pink Flamingo.
One of my guildies has one that he took from lvl 11-60, it's definitely the most unique pet I've ever seen.
-Gritz
Eldre'Thalas
Deam Dec 19th 2006 10:18AM
Those frisbees in the pic are the only ones that my dog doesn't destroy in 2min.. gg.
Taifu Dec 19th 2006 9:37AM
I have a serpent I picked up from Sunken Temple. I was able to get mine by simply walking in a taming. You can get one from ZF but you have to Temple Killing spree part. The Serpent is great 175 poison DOT over 12 seconds and normal attack for 70. The Posion attack is a 30 yd range attack and it can spit on a off target without stopping its attack on the primary target. I'm BM specced at level 50, so it can lose aggro if I go bestial wrath. But Beast Within is great for pvp.
Prauche Dec 19th 2006 9:40AM
In my opinion, for PvP, you have two choices:
A - You get the (as yet un-nerfed) 1.0 attack speed ZG bat for the attack speed to partially interrupt casters and the huge wingspan to annoy everyone. The bat also has screech to hold aggro like glue and dive to chase down opponents. Great pet here.
and/or
B - You get Sian-Rotam, mate to Shy-Rotam (Horde-only quest). I know it's kind of a cliche pet to have, but he looks cool and he's got a 1.67 attack speed (at least mine does), and actually after 2.0.1 he's tank-worthy. He holds aggro well, takes MUCH more of a beating than he did pre-patch (part of that may be the new BM spec I tried since I got a free respec and I'd never done anything but MM).
I also, personally, tamed Ursius, a named bear in Winterpring in the mountains just northwest of Everlook because bears can take a pounding. The nice thing is that now that I'm BM spec post-patch, I have actually had 5-man groups ask me if I wanted to TANK through an instance with my pet. ("LF1 Scholo - need tank - BM Hunter pet acceptable.") I nearly fell outta my chair.
Of course, the new Ferocious Inspiration giving all party +3% damage for 10 secs proc'ing all the freaking time with my cat makes my pet(s) a little more useful in instances now.
I never bothered getting the ZG bat because I don't pvp enough (and because I don't want to take the time to get it's loyalty up just to have Blizz nerf the 1.0 attack speed which I think is supposed to be coming in TBC). I have a winterspring owl instead, which does the same things with a slower attack speed and smaller wings.
Just my two cents. HUNTERS FTW!!!
Profit Dec 19th 2006 9:57AM
Snakes currently are bugged. They move about 1 yard, check to see if they can spit, move another yard and so on...
If you go BM specced with the energy regen talent and combine that with 'go for the throat' from MM I've seen some wicked numbers generated by the Winged Serpent. It has a 50 energy lightning bolt that will get fired off every time you crit + every five seconds (with each energy tic). I have seen a hunter with one of those litereally blast a stream of lighting at his enemies...
I have stuck with my trusty Raptor since I've gotten him. He's a great tank and his DPS is on par with the cat.
Currently all the pets are still using their original attack speed, but come expansion day they will be normalized to 2.0 attack speed.
I really wish they would give us more pet skills, especially for those pets that only have one. Perhaps then they would be a bit better to choose.
Barrett Dec 19th 2006 9:47AM
If you are a night elf. I have seen many have a cat. You can shadowmeld and stealth your cat. I as a paladin stood at the Mines in AB to have 3 come and attack me. They didn't know 3 night elves with 3 cats were with me; as I was healing myself the hunters quickly tore down my attackers.
Asher Dec 19th 2006 9:57AM
This used to be a really interesting question. Since pet are a lot less unique across the board, I'd look at a Boar or an Owl/Bat. These are good for PvP and PvE. Boars have Charge/Gore and Bats/Owls have Screech, which is decent for PvP and great for PvE.
Personally, I like Hyenas and Spiders, but neither have enough skills for what you are looking for. But I like personality > all.
Zing (Duskwood) Dec 19th 2006 9:52AM
I used to be a fan of any of the flying pets that have the screech ability. They held aggro like nobody's business. Of course, held is the key word. Blizzard nerfed the aggro portion of screech in the last patch.
So, for the time being, I am a big fan of dps pets. Cats have more trainable abilities than any other pet in the game - 6 options for the 4 trainable skill sets. My favorite cats are the ghost saber and the Winterspring frost saber.
The ghost saber is a good pet to get if you are levelling up. It's incredibly rare, and it's the only translucent pet in the game. Part of the reason it's so rare is that player's have to spawn the pet from cat figurines, and it seems to only have a 10% spawn rate.
The Winterspring frost saber is much easier for a high level character to train. It's a cool cat becuase the frost saber and the named variants are the only cats in the game with the high shoulders like the riding cat models.
Those are my favs. Good luck finding a pet.
Lyta Dec 19th 2006 10:34AM
Our hunters are generally going with ZG snakes and Sons of Hakkar.
I'm using a kitty and a pig. Boar charge is very nice, and cats have relatively fast attacks which are nice. I'd love to get a Son of Hakkar though, they can tear stuff up.
Deafdumbandblind Dec 19th 2006 10:36AM
If you want a PVE tank then go for a turtle or scorpid.
For PvP you want dps and you want fast dps so really you need a bat or cat....that is until they nerf the hell out of the attack speeds (Blizzard u SUK!).
There's a named scorpid called "krellac" in Silithus who is 56th level. If i were you I'd level to 56th, get a healer and then tame him. Does stackable stings, high armour class. With BM spec he will be awesome.
Matt Dec 19th 2006 10:41AM
Where is the love for Gorillas. I love sending my monkey into a group of three or four mobs while enraged. The thunderstomp ability gains the added damage from bestial wrath and the big numbers just light up. Good dps and the ability to take damage make the gorilla my favorite pet.
Taifu Dec 19th 2006 10:54AM
I'm level 50. My Serpent is 50, my Jaguero Stalker is 50, but my Ghost Saber is 30. Should I get drop my Ghost Saber? It is hard has he77 to level him.
Afroloop Dec 19th 2006 11:02AM
I used a white wolf that I got at L19 all the way up to 60 and then after some time went to Winterspring and got a brown bear who was already L60 (but there are lower level ones there as well). I like the bear, he's a good tank and holds pretty good aggro. If I crit high and he looses aggro I will just feign death and the mob will go right back to him and I can get up and start to shoot again. In a few pinch situations I've used him as a tank for bosses in Strat and it has worked as long as there was a healer to keep him alive.
ihalo Dec 19th 2006 11:03AM
I personally have a Wind Serpent (Hayoc)(non-caster stats). If you have Go For the Throat Talent from the Marskmanship talent tree, every time you crit with your ranged attack your pet gains 50 focus. This means you get a free lightning breath attack (ranged shock 200dmg normal 400dmg crit). My pet has no issues holding aggro or killing stuff, but setting up for a shot sometimes is a little tricky. I usually send my pet in for attack and back up a little so the mob doesn't end up in my dead zone.
Vaar Dec 19th 2006 11:07AM
Spiteflayer (sp?) - rare spawn in the Blaster Lands. 1.2 attack speed, come with Dive 3. Eats casters alive, especially if you have a fast bow/xbow. He spawns north of the portal. Also hard ot target in PVP or gets int he way of others targeting you. With the added pet stats in the new patch, tanking pets are hardly needed.
Link Dec 19th 2006 11:46AM
Cats are great pets for higher damage and good trainable skills (dash, bite, claw). My cat is tougher and holds aggro better since patch. Boars are good too with their charge...nice for interrupting spell casters.
Belthasar Dec 19th 2006 11:14AM
Eh, you had it right on the "I could look through Petopia ..."
Pick out your own pet.
It also depends what spec you are, and whether you PvE or PvP mostly. If you do both you'll likely want two pets. You asked for advice without much info other than your level, which is rather insignificant.
But if I skip all that.
Assuming you PvP, you will want a pet with Dash or Dive. It'd be nice to choose one with faster than 2.0 attack speed (aka ZG Bat, etc) but that becomes normalized in less than a month, so don't even factor that in. Dash/Dive, and then the skin you want via petopia.
For PvE, you have to think of spec. If you are BM spec, you can choose any pet and it will be an effective tank and effective dps. If you aren't, then you may want a base-tank stat pet if you solo a lot, or a base-dps pet if you group a lot.
Funkbeard Dec 19th 2006 11:15AM
I love my gorilla. Have had a gorilla since lvl 40, just recently got a hold of an Un'Goro crater gorilla which looks just plain awesome!
My gorilla currently has 3300HP, 5k armor, 65dps. With thunderstomp (my favorite of all abilities) he can easily hold aggro from 3-5 mobs, even with multishot.
A bonus to PvP is when using bestial wrath the bloody monkey gets absolutely huge (impairs vision) and crits in the 200's. That is pretty damned good for a pet. Also, you send him to a player, or multiple players, that are trying to cap a flag and thunderstomp will interrupt their cap time. I've used that a ton.
I've tried a couple of different pets and just simply love my gorilla.
Lex Dec 19th 2006 11:17AM
As a nelf I will never give up my cat, for only this reason: alone at an AB node, my pet stealths up to ninja cappers and opens with a prowled bite, forcing himself as target. Aimed > arcane > multi > silencing > thud of a body hitting the ground.
I keep a boar for solo PVE because the charge + growl + bite opener means I can open with an aimed shot and not pull aggro unless I crit big. Also, if you keep them on defensive they will randomly charge a secondary target like the AV warmasters.
Wind serpents are teh awesome for raiding now for the reasons mentioned above. A cat will still more damage straight up, I think, but the 20 range on lightning breath means you can pull your pet back some from mobs who AOE or cleave and keep him alive.
So those are my three for now, at least until the warp stalker is available.