Blizzard wants your feedback on the new Pet defensive
by Eliah Hecht 
Nov 7th 2008 at 8:00PM
If you play a hunter at all, you've probably noticed a change to pets' Defensive behavior since patch 3.0.2. Ever since the dawn of time, or at least since I started playing (my first character was a hunter), pets on Defensive mode will attack anything that attacks you, the hunter (barring bugs). In this new world, though, pets attack anything that attacks you and anything that you attack. The idea here was just to make things a little more convenient for the hunter; typically, if you're attacking something, you want your pet to attack it as well. And if not, you can use Passive.
It's a nice idea, but it's not been entirely popular. Part of the resistance comes from the fact that it's hard to switch off years of habit. Hunter's Mark, pet attack, I attack. That's how I've done it forever. And part of it is that players want more control; there's no longer any way to attack without your pet attacking if your pet is in defensive. It also really doesn't save much work; a single keystroke per fight, at most (many players have /petattack macroed to things like Hunter's Mark anyway).
Blizzard has noticed that many Hunters have not been happy about this change to Defensive, so they're taking a look at it. If you have any feedback on the new Defensive mode, such feedback is being collected in this thread on the official forums, so you might want to drop by and let them know what you think. Personally, I don't love it, but it might just be fear of change. Skimming through the comments I do seem to be in the minority; most hunters report being quite happy with it. What do you think?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Leigh Nov 7th 2008 8:10PM
I like this new change; it's good for PvP where an instant could make a difference.
But on the other hand now the pet feels as uncontrollable as it is on Agressive mode.
I think the solution is to add a 4th stance in addition to the 3, and make clear distinctions between them, so you can still have this new tactic but also keep the old defensive mode.
garuktaag Nov 7th 2008 9:44PM
In PvP your pet should be on Aggressive. Good for getting the jump on any stealths or gnomes hiding behind cover. Plus, if they attack before you do then that target has your pet targeted, not you, and you've got a few seconds more time to crush them and hear the lamentation of their women.
Serpigo Nov 7th 2008 10:24PM
I agree. Something like sentry stance would be nice.
Jane Gray Nov 8th 2008 8:19AM
Yes, passive, aggressive, defensive and..... I'd call the current defensive stance "assistive"
AJ Nov 7th 2008 8:11PM
Personally i like it, but i also like the old defensive mechanic for certain situations. So my question is, does anyone really use aggressive? I know i never do. When you are in dungeons or raids you never do, and if you are questing and your pet runs off and kills something b4 you get a chance to attack it, you cant loot it. IMO aggressive should be changed to how defensive works now, and defensive should be changed back to the old defensive.
Leigh Nov 7th 2008 8:26PM
I use agressive in Battlegrounds. It's good if an enemy is behind a tree or in a building.
DruidGuard Nov 7th 2008 8:28PM
This. I don't ever really remember a time aggressive was better than defensive/passive, perhaps in a pvp standpoint only.
Eldrinn Nov 9th 2008 7:15AM
I use Agressive stance for Escort quests - my pet generally spots attackers before me and I find that this really helps.
LiT Nov 7th 2008 8:11PM
Hunters are not the only class with pets. Lock's have pets too and I'm pretty happy with this change. If I want to sent my pet in early I just order it to attack. But it's useful to also auto attack the target I'm just starting to shoot at!
Evi Nov 8th 2008 9:55AM
Yes, it's worth noting this change also affects warlock pets, as well.
Darkharmony Nov 8th 2008 2:29PM
Agreed, I'm a lock and I'll tell ya I find my self actually changing from passive to defensive a lot now.
Perch Nov 7th 2008 8:12PM
It's awesome for soloing, however due to the nature of habit, it can be difficult to get used to in raids/grouping situations.
For Example: if you right click on a boss that you are too far away from to attack, your pet will automatically go in for the kill. Thus perhaps causing an unnecessary wipe.
Marc Nov 8th 2008 5:42AM
As the only class with a ranged autoattack, you shouldn't be attacking the boss from any distance until you are ready.
Ash Nov 8th 2008 12:00PM
I will add that in a raid or dungeon, your pet should be on *passive* as well.
Magebleck Nov 7th 2008 8:14PM
I think habit is something hard to break, but once people get use to it they will like it more.
It comes in handy in those rare instances where you are alone, if you can stand back enough and let your pet keep attacking the mob will generaly change their focus to your pet, letting you heal or whatever.
Munky Nov 7th 2008 8:15PM
It worried me at first. Sometimes I want to pull a mob before letting the pet go after it. So, yes I have had to change my habit and put him on passive and then change to defensive. But, overall I think that it is more convenient.
AJ Nov 7th 2008 8:17PM
Another thing, i was going to put my comment on the forum thread, but i can't for the life of me get a post interface up, wtf
Tennerock Nov 7th 2008 8:25PM
I haven't decided if I simply fear change, if I just have to get used to the new mechanic or if I genuinely want the old way back.
I guess my thinking leans toward reversing the change. It's easy enough to replicate the new Defensive with a macro, but I don't believe there's any way to recreate the original functionality. I think it's better to preserve our flexibility.
peon47 Nov 7th 2008 8:28PM
Gah, how I wish I could post on the US forums.
I'm in the EU and I absolutely hate this change. Since day one, /petattack has been macroed to the button just above the tab key and to the left of the 1.
It was so simple. If there was a mob a little to close to some others, I'd fire at him, then once he was pulled to a safe distance, I'd send the pet in to tank him. Now, there's no way to stop the pet running in and aggroing everything near him without switching his stances constantly.
peon47 Nov 7th 2008 8:29PM
An addendum:
Why not add a console command to disable it? Like the druid auto-unshift 1 or 0 command?