Hunter PvP Basics: Pets

PvP Hunter Pets: Cataclysm Edition (Accurate as of Patch 4.3)

PvP Hunter PetsThe care and feeding of PvP Hunter Pets

Keep ’em on a short leash

All three specs, not just Beast Masters, should exercise very careful control over their pets in PvP. If you’re serious about PvP, then you’re no doubt bringing a pet with you into battle that provides some sort of PvP utility. Obviously, should your pet die, you’d lose this ability, its talented pet family abilities, along with some added DPS. That’s no good.

In addition to the fundamental practice of keeping your pet alive, you also want to keep them relatively close. Don’t send your pet off willy nilly, chasing after some fleeing player, while you sit there blasting away at attackers, oblivious to where Fido’s headed. You absolutely need to have your pet nearby in the event you need Master’s Call. This is one of our greatest escape buttons, so be sure to keep your pet within a reasonable distance so that you can access it quickly when needed.

In addition to Master’s Call, there are also other key talented pet abilities such as Roar of Sacrifice and Intervene, which you may need at a moment’s notice.

Another reason to keep your pet relatively close is so that you can reach it with heals. Not exactly a revelation, but I’m just pointing that out because it’s important. When pet’s get focused, they often get slowed as well, which makes it that much harder to get a heal off if they’re too far away.

For PvP, I keep my pets on defensive mode most of the time. When I settle in for some burst, then I put them into assist. I have /petassist macro’d into a few of my abilities – ensuring that they’re always focusing the target I’m pressuring. If I need to pull them away from harm, then I put them in passive stance. Tying the pet stance commands in with macros is a very easy way to improve control over your pet. Have a look at my macros guide for examples of this.

In short, pet micro-management is a pretty important part of effective PvP huntering – especially if you’re a BM hunter. Take good care of your pet, and your pet will take good care of you.

Use a proper pet

Pet buffs aren’t all that important in PvP, where as PvP utility is huge. For this reason, choosing a pet for PvP is much different than choosing one for dungeons. A pet that can slow, snare, stun, heal, disarm, silence, etc… will be more effective than one that provides a slight DPS boost by way of a buff. Also note that many of those buffs will be overwritten with other class buffs anyway. The one exception… Core Hounds. If you’re a Beast Master, it’s a good idea to have one of these babies at the ready, so that you can call it into action for its Ancient Hysteria buff when needed.

Core Hounds for PvPI’ll often use my Core Hound early on in a battle, then stable it and bring out my Spirit Beast while Ancient Hysteria is on cooldown. If my group needs the buff for some offensive pressure, I bring out Lave Dog once again. For all-around duty however, I just can’t seem to stay away from GC for very long. He’s my best good friend. 😉

Best BM Hunter PvP Pets

Because a good portion of a Beast Master’s damage comes by way of the pet, I find it advisable to use a Ferocity pet. It’s not to say there aren’t other good options for different types of PvP situations, but generally speaking, I feel a Ferocity pet should be used. Other pets such as a Silithid or Shale Spider can be good options as well, but neither can provide the necessary DPS pressure to nuke opposing players. Ferocity pets provide higher DPS (Call of the Wild, Rabid, Shark Attack), have a higher crit rating, and also provide Charge – all huge benefits for PvP.

GhostcrawlerSince exotics benefit from having two special pet abilities as opposed to only one, to me they’re the clear choice. My go-to pet is the Spirit Beast, but I also use my Core Hound on occasion for the previously mentioned Ancient Hysteria buff. Their casting speed slow is nice as well, but nothing beats having a pocket healer, in my opinion. Also, their Roar of Courage provides a nice little added firepower when you don’t have a similar buff applied.

Because Spirit Beasts are rare, and it can’t be expected that every Beast Master has one already, I’d advise the use of a Core Hound as a first choice if you’ve no Spirit Beast(s) yet.

Other BM pets that are worth a mention…

Chimaera – This is a cunning family pet which provides a nice ranged slow, along with ranged nature damage.

Silithid – Silithids are also cunning pets, with a ranged root, as well as a pretty decent stamina buff.

Shale Spider – Shale Spiders are Tenacity pets, which means their DPS is lacking, but the utility they bring is the result of pure awesomeness. Shale Spiders have a ranged stun, a fantastic stat and resistance buff, great survivability, plus some great Tenacity talents, such as: Charge, Roar of Sacrifice and Intervene.

Another cool thing about Shale Spiders is they’re pretty low profile considering they’re exotic. It’s not like they’re easy to kill, but being that they don’t have the usual “Hey..! I’m a big bad BM pet… Kill me and my master will be instant weaksauce” sign around their neck… this means you don’t have to babysit them as much. Opposing players are a little less apt to focus these pets in other words.

At any rate… all of the above pets are decent choices as well, but I still recommend the use of Ferocity pets. Beast Masters need the improved DPS for pressure and burst. However, depending upon your play-style or group composition (if you arena or queue with a regular guild group), a Cunning or Tenacity pet such as the ones I’d mentioned, could be just the ticket.

After trying all of the PvP-worthy BM pets, I find the Spirit Beast stands head and shoulders above the rest, mainly due to Spirit Mend. This little heal is incredibly useful. If you want to PvP as a Beast Master, I highly suggest you go get a Spirit Beast if you don’t have one already. Ghostcrawler and Karoma may be a bit tough to get right now, but there are four SBs residing in Northrend – just waiting for you to claim one of them.

BM Hunter PvP Pet Builds

There isn’t really ‘best build’ for PvP pets. PvP pet builds can vary depending upon your play style, but there are some ‘preferred’ talents and best practices for speccing PvP pets. Here’s what I recommend…

BM Ferocity PvP Pet Build

BM Hunter PvP - Ferocity Pet PvP Build
Ferocity BM Pet Build

My ferocity build for PvP is essentially the same as a PvE build. The reason being, when I’m using a Ferocity pet – which is 99% of the time as BM – I want my pet to do as much damage as possible.

  • 2/2 Serpent’s Swiftness – Faster attack speed means more: chances to crit, pet DPS, and cast interrupts.
  • 1/1 Dash – Speed kills.
  • 1/2 Bloodthirsty – I like it for a tiny bit of added healing and pet survivability.
  • 3/3 Spiked Collar – 9% more pet damage. A must have talent.
  • 1/1 Boar’s Speed – Added pet speed is always needed, especially when Dash and Charge are on cooldown.
  • 3/3 Culling the Herd – 3% increased damage for you and your pet. More damage – plain and simple.
  • 1/1 Charge – Extremely important for PvP. It helps your pet close the gap, gives a 1 second root, and buffs your pet’s first hit.
  • 3/3 Spider’s Bite – A huge DPS boost, not just from the straight added crit damage, but also from the talents that benefit from pet crits.
  • 1/1 Rabid – Big pet DPS cooldown. Gotta have it.
  • 1/1 Call of the Wild – Huge DPS cooldown for you and your pet. Macro it with Bestial Wrath for maximum punishing power.
  • 2/2 Shark Attack – 6% more pet damage… yeah!
  • 2/2 Wild Hunt – More burst for your pet when they’re above 50% focus.

I have a few different BM Ferocity pets I use for PvP – most of them Spirit Beasts, with some minor variations between each build. Most of my Ferocity pets follow this same basic blueprint, but I have a few pets that I spec into Lionhearted, for example. This talent is useful for getting your pet out of CC quicker during the times when Bestial Wrath is on cooldown. I generally pull two points from Culling the Herd to talent Lionhearted.

Some notes on the talents not included in my recommended BM Ferocity PvP Pet Build

  • Great Stamina – More pet health is definitely a good thing, but I prefer Serpent’s Swiftness for a first tier talent.
  • Natural Armor – More of an extreme soloing talent. These points can be better used for additional DPS talents, or for better survivability talents, IMO.
  • Improved Cower – Removes the speed penalty from your pet’s Cower ability. I don’t have much trouble with my pet getting focused and killed, but I would definitely look into this talent if I did.
  • Lionhearted – A solid talent for keeping your pet ‘active’ by reducing the length of CC effects on your pet.
  • Heart of the Phoenix – I don’t use this much due to it being somewhat unreliable. A res’d pet is extremely vulnerable during the first couple of seconds after using this ability due to the time it takes fr the game to calculate the pet’s health. Pets can get easily one-shotted after using this, making it a wasted talent, along with the extra point of Bloodthirsty required to get it. Best bet… don’t let your pet die. 😉
  • Great Resistance – The resilience that my pet inherits from my gear takes care of most of the damage reduction that it needs – I find, anyway. Not a horrible talent, but I just can’t see borrowing from anyplace else to get it.
  • Lick Your Wounds – I like this talent, but since I don’t typically go with Heart of the Phoenix, it’s not one I usually take.

As I said, my build is not necessarily “the way to do it”, but it’s what I’d consider a preferred Ferocity BM PvP Pet Build.

Feel free to experiment a little with your BM Ferocity PvP Pet Builds, but I would consider the following talents mandatory:

  • 1/1 Dash
  • 3/3 Spiked Collar
  • 1/1 Boar’s Speed
  • 1/1 Charge
  • 3/3 Spider’s Bite
  • 1/1 Rabid
  • 1/1 Call of the Wild
  • 2/2 Shark Attack

BM Cunning PvP Pet Build

BM Hunter PvP - Cunning Pet PvP Build
Cunning BM Pet Build

This is the build I like for a Cunning BM PvP pet.

  • 2/2 Serpent’s Swiftness
  • 1/1 Dash
  • 1/2 Mobility – BM pets have a shorter cooldown on Dash/Dive due to Longevity. Only one point needed here.
  • 2/2 Owl’s Focus – More economical pet focus usage. Great for ensuring there’s ample focus for utility abilities, e.g., Venom Web Spray, Dash, Charge, etc.
  • 3/3 Spiked Collar
  • 3/3 Culling the Herd
  • 2/2 Lionhearted
  • 2/2 Cornered – Prerequisite for Bullheaded, plus it gives my pet a little added survivability  -especially when combined with Bullheaded.
  • 1/1 Wolverine Bite – Huge damage attack for Cunning pets.
  • 1/1 Bullheaded – Works like a PvP trinket and mini shield wall for your pet. Very handy for both maintaining pressure and for keeping your pet alive.
  • 2/2 – A little added pet survivability, but these points mainly go here in order to reach Roar of Sacrifice.
  • 1/1 Roar of Sacrifice – One of the main reasons to use a Cunning Pet. Protects you or a teammate from crits for 12 seconds.

BM Cunning PvP Pet Build (DPS version)

BM Hunter PvP - Cunning Pet PvP DPS Build
Cunning BM Pet Build (w/ added DeePS)

Cunning pets are in the middle in terms of DPS and survivability, so depending upon how you talent them, you can go either way. The build posted above is one that emphasizes utility and survivability. This build here is an example of a Cunning BM PvP pet build that brings more damage to the table.

This build drops Lionhearted and picks up Feeding Frenzy for a little added finishing power. Cornered and Bullheaded are sacrificed for a bit more speed with Boar’s Swiftness, and some more burst potential with Wild Hunt.

This build loses some damage mitigation and defense against pet CC, but adds a little speed and some killing power.

Personally, I prefer to just go all-in with Ferocity if I’m speccing for DPS, but if you want to dish out the DPS with either a Silithid or Chimera – for the added CC – then a build like this one is great.

Thanks to Kazador of Emberstorm for sharing this build. 🙂

BM Tenacity PvP Pet Build

BM Hunter PvP - Tenacity Pet PvP Build
Tenacity BM Pet Build

If you’re going to use a Tenacity pet for BM PvP, then there’s really only one choice… Shale Spider. Their 3 second ranged stun is simply awesome, plus they provide a valuable group buff (pet version of Blessing of Kings, Mark of the Wild).

If you plan on using a Shale Spider for the added survivability, utility and group buff, then here’s a decent build…

  • 2/2 Serpent’s Swiftness
  • 1/1 Charge
  • 3/3 Great Stamina
  • 1/1 Boar’s Speed
  • 2/2 Blood of the Rhino
  • 2/2 Lionhearted
  • 2/2 Grace of the Mantis
  • 1/1 Last Stand
  • 1/1 Roar of Sacrifice
  • 1/1 Intervene
  • 2/2 Wild Hunt

This build will provide for a very hardy pet with loads of utility. This pet will be very hard to focus down and will also provide you and your teammates with some added survivability by way of Roar of Sacrifice and Intervene.

An option to this build could sacrifice Last Stand and Wild Hunt for 3/3 Culling the Herd. Again, this will depend largely upon your play style and finding what works for you.

I’d avoid Thunderstomp for the most part due to its AoE effect that can end up being a liability if not used properly (i.e., broken CC). PvP is more about single target damage anyway, so I suggest saving Thunderstomp mainly for solo play.

Best MM and SV Hunter PvP Pets

Spiders for Hunter PvPFor MM & SV, pet DPS is less of an issue, so what’s preferred is a pet that applies some sort of stun, snare or slow – to your opponents. Wasps (2 sec stun) & dogs (4 second root) are both good choices if you wish to use a Ferocity pet. However, since pet DPS is of little consequence for MM & SV, having added pet survivability along with a talent like Roar of Sacrifice, is often a better option. Cunning and Tenacity pets both have some excellent PvP utility, with Tenacity having access to Intervene as well.

Good options for Cunning pets are: bat (2 sec ranged stun), spider (5 sec ranged root) and poop tossers (i.e., monkeys). Out of those choices, I’d suggest spider as the best overall. A 5 second snare, with a 30 yard range, on a 40 second cooldown, is just too awesome. The bat’s stun is great, but the cooldown is a bit long at one minute. The monkey’s blind is also nice, but again, the cooldown is a little long at one minute, plus any damage will break the effect.

If you want to PvP with a Tenacity pet, then I suggest using either a warp stalker (ranged 50% movement slow), crocolisk (50% movement slow, with 60% uptime) or a crab (4 second root).

There are other pets with some nice PvP utility (e.g., cast speed reduction, silences, disarm, etc), but I like to suggest pets which are effective vs all classes, and in most situations. A disarm will be of little use vs a caster, and a casting speed reduction will be of zero benefit while a rogue is stabbing you in your face. These types of specialty pets are best served by hunters looking to fill in some piece of missing utility in an arena comp. Even then, it’s tough to beat a pet like a spider, for example. Roots, snares and stuns are always valuable, plus they work equally as well for defensive purposes (eg: escape, protecting your healer, etc…), as they do for applying offensive pressure.

MM and SV Hunter PvP Pet Builds (17 point pet builds)

The following three builds are pretty solid for either MM or SV PvP. Again… you can make a case for swapping a few talents here and there – depending on what works best for you – but all of these configurations are pretty solid.

I’ve explained reasons for the talents in my BM pet section, so please refer to that portion of this guide if you need additional details pertaining to any of the talents.

MM and SV Hunter PvP Pet Builds in Cataclysm

More PvP goodness on the way…

Well I hope my little overview of pets was helpful to those of you wondering which beasts to use on the battlefield… I still have a lot more PvP-related discussion to discuss, much of which I haven’t discussed since the 4.0 patch, which disgusts me considering the disgusting workload this post-shattering-hunter-overhaul has imposed upon me.

I’m behind on lots of guide updates in other words. 😉 And yes… I am silly.

As always… if you have any additional questions or comments, please fill in the comment form below.

Other Helpful Hunter PvP Guides

38 thoughts on “Hunter PvP Basics: Pets”

  1. Hey! Im a level 85 Night Elf/MM Hunter. I was just wondering on how do I do well in arenas? I always get knocked out first whenever Im partnering with a warrior 🙁 & I already have a PvP pet which is a Spider. But then I mixed up with its talent specs xD Do you have any suggestions? Like a macro or on who to target first or who to avoid. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Spider, Monkey or Wasp would be good for the CC, but if you’re decently geared and know what you’re doing, a wolf can be beastly. Hunters are already a force in 10-19, and with the added 5% crit chance from Furious Howl, you can just sit back and nuke everyone.

      Reply
  2. Here’s one question. Im a MM hunter and i am in love with my monkey named mankey. Freakin beast in pvp. Has saved my arse on numerous occasion’s.Do you think a spider would be better. I use that Poop as a second scatter shot for healers. And for the MM build that i have. http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/queldorei/Huntorox/talent/primary . Do you have any suggestions. I have seen some people come across realms and yell at me For having Spirit Bond as a MM hunter saying theres better places i can put it. Just wondering if you have any pointers. It would be awesome for some idea’s / comment’s.

    Reply
    • I think both pets are great. Which one you choose is up to you and what sort of PvP’ing you’re doing, as well as your play style. each pet has their advantages in certain situations and against specific classes. I’d say the only real advantage might be in arena. In that case, I’d give the monkey the vote due to his ability to take someone out of the fight completely for a few seconds. Spiders are awesome, but affected targets can still cast spells when their webbed.

      I think this would be a better MM build for you: http://www.wowhead.com/talent#ccZfzGRhRMurohbM

      The only reason I can see to dip into the BM tree is for One With Nature. With GftT and Sic ‘Em you don’t really need Bestial Discipline, and Spirit Bond is more or less a convenience talent. You’ll get more use from Entrapment.

      I have a goofy MM build that I made awhile back to experiment with for BGs, but I seldom use it. I made a BM/MM build for BGs just to see how it would work out, but I just prefer my BM/SV build so much more. I mention this because I don’t recommend anyone should copy me if they do armory my toon. 😉

      Reply
  3. I rotate between my Devilsaur, Shale Spider, and spirit beast (whichever is my favorite at the moment — Magria currently) most of the time. As mentioned above, Devilsaur has an awesome crit bonus and the mortal strike can be really handy. But, yes, he’s huge and completely obvious. I love the web on the Shale spider, and the buff — not so useful in a battleground where there’s probably a druid, but still handy. The spirit beast comes out as soon as I start to rage that I’m not getting healed 😉

    Reply
  4. This site is awesome! But my problem is the best PvP pet build. I suppose certain talents will end up being obvious to grab, but I just can’t find any site that has a good go to pet build.

    Reply
  5. Wow… You are an amazing help. Happy to say That I have always rolled BM and now @ 85 I Own pvp… I have a build almost identical to what you suggest and I always roll either my Spirit Beasts or my Corehound in the bgs.. Just wanted to add a note for the hunters that get charged by a warrior or shadowstepped by a rogue (our two worst enemies). If the group is rogue heavy I always drop my freezing trap and step 1 step forward… that way if he shadowsteps you he is instantly frozen which gives you time to mark his ass and gtfo of range so he cant stealth without burning a c.d. With warrior heavy groups.. same thing only step behind your trap so when he charges he gets stopped b4 ever reaching you with that stun!

    😛 Great site.. Love the info. I’ll pass this site to the noobie hunters who always ask me “How do you do that in pvp?”

    Reply
  6. Really nice post here!

    I’m only asking myself why you don’t speak about the devilsaur: it’s a ferocity pet, and his ability is quite cool. As a hunter, there’s nothing i hate more than my target healing itself faster than i dps it. There comes the ferocious bite: with 25% less healing effect, that’s far easier to kill him. A counterspell is nice, but the cooldown is horrible. On the other hand, ferocious bite works 100% of the time on your target.

    Reply
    • Nothing wrong with Devilsaurs, really… I just don’t think they’re a best option. I’ll take Spirit Mend, Ancient Hysteria, Venom Web Spray and Web Wrap over Monstrous Bite. Widow Venom does the same thing, plus it can be cast from 40yds out. Monstrous Bite is only usable in melee range, plus it uses up a pet’s global cooldown for a non DPS ability.

      The other thing I dont like about Devilsaurs for serious PvP… they’re huge and easily targetable. I prefer to use more low profile pets without the… “kill me and my master’s worthless” sign around their neck.

      That said, I do like to take Krush out of his cage once in awhile just ’cause it’s fun…

      In fact, forget what I said… If you enjoy using a Devilsaur, then use him! 😀

      Reply
  7. In the original PvP pet guide, it was mentioned that you prefferred the ravager as your pet of choice, however, in the updated post here, I don’t see any mention of them. Is this because it’s been replaced by the bat in its utility? After 3 years playing (mostly on a prot warrior) I just starting to get into PvP, and trying to figure it out with my hunter and this site has sort have become my PvP bible of sort, and I pass it on to any hunters I run into inquiring about pvp. So thank you for that! Any further info on MM pvp I will keep a keen eye to!

    Reply
    • Ravagers used to be a great choice back when they had their stun, but Ravage has since changed to a 4% increased physical damage buff, making it less attractive for PvP.

      The Wasp has sort of become the new version of the Ravager.

      Oh, and glad you like the site. I’m pleased you’ve found it to be helpful. 🙂

      Reply
      • Ok Ok ok, so I’ve read everything on this site & I have a few questions of my own. First, I’m new to WoW, first character, level 49 Orc/BM hunter. So be easy on me. I’m learning a lot given I’ve been playing 2 weeks. My questions: I’m BM, 49, I BG a lot with my friend who is a priest healer, so what pets should I have because I’m not a level 69? Currently I’m using a Mastiff because it looks cool, lol. I just kinda scrambled my talent points together… Oops. Point me in the right way, although I’m doing ok in the BG’s always top 3 in damage… But I want #1! (dang bear Druid’s always get me, stupid invisible peeps too!)

        Reply
        • Hi Jim,

          A mastiff isn’t bad at all for a 49 hunter. Good call on that one. 🙂

          Anyway… here would be my recommendations for a 49 Orc hunter who wants to have some fun in BGs -and- drop some insane DPS in the process. I’ll recommend two builds, with suggested pets for each. Which ever one you decide to go with is up to you and your play style.

          Beast Mastery
          http://www.wowhead.com/talent#cfhfcohz:zZcZM
          Pet: Mastiff or Wasp
          Pet Build: http://www.wowhead.com/petcalc#mRbo0co0o
          Beast Mastery is a good spec for orcs due to the 5% pet damage bonus gained from their Command racial, plus you can macro Blood Fury in with Bestial Wrath for some serious big-red-pet-burst. Intimidation is a nice ability for BGs as well. As for a pet, I’d probably go with a Wasp for the 2 sec stun, but a dog would be alright too, for the 4 second root. Personally, I like the stun because it’s a total lockdown, where as the dog’s root only stops movement, and enemies can still cast when under its effect. Regardless, I recommend a ferocity pet no matter what if you go BM.

          Marksmanship
          http://www.wowhead.com/talent#cZfzGRhR0z:zZVZM
          Pet: Spider or Monkey
          Pet Build: http://www.wowhead.com/petcalc#VMd0zooM
          Marksmanship offers some great PvP benefits at this level — Silencing Shot, Bombardment, Readiness, plus some nice burst damage. I like the spider best for this build, but a monkey could work as well. The spider applies a ranged snare, which doesn’t break on damage. Monkeys apply a ranged blind effect, but it will break on damage. I recommend the spider for the chaos that is BGs.

          I’m going to leave out SV because I don’t feel it’s as viable as the other two builds.

          A bit of advice… being that you’re new to the game and the hunter class, I’d recommend you go with the BM setup. You’ll have less abilities to keep track of, allowing you to concentrate more on what’s happening on-screen (i.e., movement, positioning, etc…). That build will probably be more ‘fun’ for you.

          I hope some of that helps. Good luck and happy killing!

          Reply
          • Thank u. This is the direction I need. When I advance to level 69+ I’ll revisit this all to get a core hound & other cool pets that are better for pvp. Once again, I’m new, where could one find a wasp? Most importantly, where could one ‘reset his pet talent points’ & reset his talent abilities as well? I messed up on my duel spec options, I have 2 BM instead of BM & marksmanship… Noob move. Who can I see to fix it!

            Reply
            • Jim,

              Tanaris is teeming with wasps. I’d head over there to grab one. Other options are Thousand Needles and Feralas. There are a few other places, but I imagine any of those 3 should be readily accessible by a strapping 49 orc.

              You can visit a hunter trainer to reset your talent points, then visit a pet trainer to reset your pet’s. The pet respec is free, but yours will cost a few G. Also note that the respecs go up in price depending upon how frequently you change your talents. If you only respec once in a great while then I think it’s only about 10G.

              Reply
              • Heaven sent. I’ve got it all down. Now I looked into Glyphs a little, 281 gold for Arcane shot at the auction? Too expensive for me!!! What’s better option?!

                Reply
                • For BM, I’d go:

                  – Glyph of Arcane Shot (best)
                  – Glyph of Kill Shot (better)
                  – Glyph of Kill Command (good)
                  – Glyph of Steady Shot (good)

                  For MM:

                  – Glyph of Arcane Shot (best)
                  – Glyph of Kill Shot (better)
                  – Glyph of Chimera Shot (good)
                  – Glyph of Steady Shot (good)

                  Choose one each from those lists for your Prime slot. When you hit 50 grab another from the list, as you’ll have unlocked another prime slot.

                  For your second major glyph(s), I’d choose from this list:

                  – Glyph of Bestial Wrath (must-have for BM)
                  – Glyph of Disengage (BM or MM)
                  – Glyph of Master’s Call (BM or MM)
                  – Glyph of Deterrence (BM or MM)
                  – Glyph of Raptor Strike (BM or MM)
                  – Glyph of Mending (BM or MM)

                  I hope this helps. If you still have questions, please start a thread in the forums. https://huntsmanslodge.com/forum/

                  Reply
  8. i was doing a little pet hunting today and stumbled across your blog. all i can say is great blog man! i have been in pvp mode since bc, so i am familiar with your logic and choice of pets, however, i always looked past my 5 spirit beast because i rolled mm or surv. i hadn’t really used bm since bc, but it is actually my favorite spec. garwulf, you have given me motivation to dust them off and send them into battle again!
    thanks again for the best hunter post i have seen to date. -dthugg

    Reply
  9. I’ve always been interested in PvP but realized some of my downfalls after watching some YouTube vids. The first thing I had to learn was proper movement which you discussed in an earlier post. I’m better now, but still need to keep working on it.

    The other thing I -really- need to work on is pet micro-management. You’ve mentioned it here and in another post but I was wondering if you could go more in depth with this. Is it even possible to write it all out or is it so simple that I should be able to figure it out on my own? I’m just having trouble wrapping my head around it. I’ll get on my character and tell myself I’m going to keep my pet on defensive/passive and control it manually, but it just never happens lol. It’s pretty brutal…and then I end up going back to my old bad habits. Any advice would be great.

    And, of course, I have to tell you that I loved the article! I decided to take out my Core Hound and onf of my Spirit Beasts later tonight and see how that works out for me. Looking forward to reading more from you. 🙂

    Reply
  10. but since now we have a stable at our disposal, i ussually just wait for the arena doors to open then choose my pet accordingly. caster heavy team= silence or spell haste reduction. mele team= disarm. but what you said about the monkey having too long a cd, i totally agree. blizz should balance that in my opinion. because the ability is a nice one. its just too short in comparison to others.

    Reply
  11. i understand some of your logic. But, the comment where you said, “what good is a disarm against a caster”, well, what good is a 5 second root? he can still fear, arcane blast, throw down aoe and heal. With a disarm you’re atleast removing a large portion of their stats. And seeing as how warriors and rogues and pallies and DK’s love to make hunters public enemy number 1… i always go with bird of prey. you can always sick your bird on tha warrior while your team gos after the caster. it at least saves you from 10 seconds of the most deadly mele damage in the game. and if a rogue happenst to get an ambush on you, your bird if still at your side will effectively remove his weapon the minute he pops saving you from half your life bar dissapearing. IMO, bird of prey for the win.

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  12. See you write this stuff and it always seems to cross types of play. Since I am a BM and do not play PVP much anymore. To old and slow, it’s a young huntar sport. Your advice is right on even for BG’s where I rein King..lol. Don’t have to move fast just stand and pound. Anyway I always try to keep my pet Karoma close and focused on my target with me. At 25% extra from mastery I rely on him and if he dies, well since I can’t run, I am dead. I just hadn’t thought much about how important it is until you wrote about it. Nice read as always.

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  13. I have actually started over on my Hunter from level 1. I want to level him through nothing but PvP. The changes in the mechanics have left me frustrated with the Hunter class. A toon I once knew like the back of my hand that I had no problems with in dealing with any class toe to toe with….is now foreign to me. I loved my NE Hunter Perceuss #1. I am retaking the reins over now with Percëuss the Human. We’ll see how it goes. I wouldn’t have any knowledge whatsoever in being a Hunter if it wasn’t for this site. You taught me alot Gar and I look forward to learning more. I kinda look at it as retaking a class in college because you have an awesome professor.

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    • Wow Perceuss… that has to be one of the most flattering compliments I’ve been paid — ever.

      Glad to see you’re picking up hunters once again. Welcome back. 🙂

      Reply
  14. I keep a bat and a spider in my stable at all times, giving me the ability to grab whichever is best for the specific BG that pops.

    If, for example, a Shadow Priest rides up and fear-bombs us at the Lumbermill flag, a 5-second snare does little to no good. But a bat that has it’s own trinket (Bullheaded!) and a ranged stun can help us keep that flag.

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  15. Always a pleasure. As SV I have a wind serpent, a spider and a monkey all on hand to do what needs doing, and haven’t found any of them wanting in PvP. And you’re absolutely right – losing track of a pet during a BG can be calamitous. I actually leave mine on passive most of the time, with a macro to mark and attack current target as and when necessary (typically when they’re beating down on someone – usually me!). As you say, tight leash required!

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      • If it’s the macro I use it’s very simple just:

        /cast Hunter’s Mark
        /petattack

        Because the pet is on passive after the player is taken down the pet will come back to you! Super helpful for a tight leash.

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        • Oh my, if you only knew how effective and efficient that macro is. My lovely monkey, named after my childhood hero, Guybrush Threepwood, finds himself invincible in battlegrounds.

          Even though the macro itself doesn’t do anything that incredible, it gives me those few hundreds of a second extra to focus on my nuke on enemy targets!

          Thanks again! 😀

          Reply

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