Hunter pets to have family skills
by Amanda Miller 
Jul 21st 2008 at 4:00PM
While we've known this since the release of the Beta patch notes, we now have some of the details, courtesy of Mania of Mania's Arcania and Petopia.
In fact, some of the pet skills are so enticing that I'm beginning to think I'm going to need about 8 more stable slots! Here is a look at some of the juicier talents:
- Bats will be able to stun an opponent for 2 seconds.
- Bears will be able to Swipe similarly to druids, hitting three enemies in melee range.
- Birds of Prey will be able to disarm opponents for 6 seconds.
- Hyenas will reduce movement speed.
- Moths will be increasing their own attack power, and healing themselves.
- Nether Rays will have a spellcasting interrupt, preventing any spells from that school for one second.
Tip: Don't confuse pet skills with pet talents! Read up on the new pet talent trees for more information.
Filed under: Hunter, Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Expansions, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Huntard Jul 21st 2008 4:08PM
Huntard pets are the new OP
Havitech Jul 21st 2008 6:18PM
My first instinct is to scream OP, but then I remember that every class is getting crazy buffs. It should all end up relatively balanced.
Marc Jul 22nd 2008 5:57AM
Hunter. L2spell.
Akussa Jul 21st 2008 4:09PM
I have to agree about the stable slot issue. I think it's completely silly for Blizzard to assume that just because three slots worked for me at level 20 that three slots will work for me now at level 70 or even 80 very soon. Blizzard's response to the lack of stable slots appears to be that loyalty is pretty much out and your pet will be tamed at 5 levels below your own. While I suppose this is some sort of compromise it really isn't in the end. I can already see my raid leader telling me to drop a pet and go out and tame X to help with Y boss/trash. Those five levels could be the difference between pass and fail for the pet or raid. Give us enough slots that I can keep one of every pet in the stable.
Kyudo Jul 21st 2008 4:12PM
Yea, seriously.
More stable slots, /please/.
Zep Jul 21st 2008 4:19PM
I think Blizzard wants to keep you attached to your pet, and since there's now instant leveling and no more loyalty, the only way to do that is to keep limited stable slots.
You shouldn't be able to change pets the way a druid changes gear.
anonymoose Jul 21st 2008 5:03PM
Referencing druids is a pretty poor choice--I can slap a full healing set on my feral specced druid and top healing in a BG without too much issue, and can even main heal regular instances like this. That seems quite imbalanced imho.
With that being the case, I see no reason that hunters couldn't at least have one extra stable slot for the "bring pet to raid tomorrow" that will surely follow.
Bulgr Jul 21st 2008 4:24PM
Hunters get imba pets, and the result of that is that hunters QQ about the fact that they can only have 3 of them? *sigh*
Guildenstern Jul 21st 2008 4:44PM
"Moths will be increasing their own attack power, and healing themselves."
What?! We get moths as Hunter pets in WotLK?! Finally, I've wanted a moth pet forever!
Huzzah!
Soifra Jul 21st 2008 6:24PM
That was exactly my reaction: we get to tame moths?! YAAAAYYYY!
Hua Jul 21st 2008 4:48PM
I AM attached to my 2 cats and a windserpent. If I want a new OP Pet, or one to try out, I'll have to abandon one of the pets I like so much....
Nuronv Jul 21st 2008 4:52PM
although this will vastly improve the varity of pets for it to be truely useful they need to allow you to call your pet from either of your 3 Stable slots whilst out in the field so you can pick the right tool for the job at hand rather picking the pet which is generally the best all rounder
RetPallyJil Jul 21st 2008 4:52PM
Great, just great.
Nether Rays get spell interrupt before Paladins do.
You suck, Blizzard.
p-diddy Jul 21st 2008 5:42PM
roll Horde, fool. BElf pallys have spell interrupt from lvl 1.
^_^
darian Jul 21st 2008 6:34PM
Silences are not the same as interrupts, though they often go hand in hand.
For example, Arcane Torrent will not work against Shade of Aran, but Counterspell will. The reason being that the former is a silence and the latter is an interrupt.
Jason Jul 21st 2008 4:57PM
Pin (crab pet type ability) seems insanely overpowered. A 6 second root on a 20 second cooldown? In addition to any other snares hunters have? I see crabs as being the next flavor of the month in the arena.
If I remember correctly, a lot of these skills sound like things that have been in the game for some time, yet were never implemented. I wonder if these things are going to see the light of day in Wrath, or if they're just relic abilities that continue to be datamined. There's an existing ability in the game's files right now called Tight Pinch that sounds something like the skill in Wrath. If you check the Wowhead Wrath site, there's as skill called Clenched Pinchers with a 1 minute cooldown that sounds a lot more reasonable for a Hunter pet ability.
Grimshod Jul 21st 2008 5:03PM
Good point about Pin. It could be OP, depending on how it works. Though isn't that one channeled? If damage to the pet could disrupt the root, it might not be OP. I don't know. I'd have to see it in use first.
Grimshod Jul 21st 2008 4:58PM
I fail to see how any of the pet skills described are even imbalanced on paper, let alone in practice. And unless you are in the beta, I doubt very much you have any experience with them being imbalanced in practice.
Now, as for the stable slot issue, the new system does give us the equivalent of 1 new slot. Previously we had 2 functional slots because 1 slot was basically saved for training. Now we can use all 3 slots. It's an improvement, certainly. Personally, I'd like to see 1 more slot for pets that opens up at 80, or maybe a talent in BM that opens up a slot. But I'll take what I can get.
Patrick Jul 21st 2008 5:01PM
WOW, check out all those snares and stuns. It should make for even better kiting them ever!
STereo Jul 21st 2008 6:13PM
Speaking of pets, WOW InsiderWebBlizzard cracks down on Arena pet naming exploit article came out Jan 1 and it is mid July with the exploit still going strong.