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2:26 pm
Grunt
July 5, 2009
Offline
Lions, tiger and Bear Oh My!
First off I would like to say “Hello!”
Secondly I want to explain a few things about hunter pets that sometimes newer players don't realize when it comes to hunter pets. Later I will also explain how it may benefit you more to go with a pet that you may not even think of.
There is a misconception that a ferocity pet like a cat, will out damage a ferocity pet like a wolf. However all pets in the Ferocity tree have their damage equalized. The same goes for both Cunning, and Tenacity. A wolf pet will do the same amount of damage as a cat, or even wasp will.
Woh, woh! Don't get ahead of me now. While all pets in their respective “catagories” may be equalized that still doesn't mean there isn't a useful pet that may be better for you. Keeping an open mind when it comes to raiding, as a hunter you should be prepared to bring in that “odd” or “unusual” pet that you have sitting in your stables. Lucky you, some pets overlap their special abilty like a dragonhawk, and a wind serpent. Even regular serpents and raptors overlap. ( There are multiples, and I will not name them all. )
Now keeping that in mind you want to put the group first. Overall damage from pet buffs may reduce your damage by mere 100 dps to up to 1000 dps, which is unlikely. But it may benefit other raider's / groupie's damages by 1000 or more for every person.
So what are useful pet abilities? That are specifcally for buffs?
Ferocity –
Core Hounds(exotic) > “Increases melee, ranged, and spell casting speed by 30% for all party and raid members. Lasts 40 sec. Allies receiving this effect will become Sated and be unable to benefit from Bloodlust or Time Warp again for 10 min. “
Cats > “The beast lets out a roar of courage, increasing the Strength and Agility of all party and raid members by 549 within 100 yards. “
Wolves > “The wolf lets out a furious howl, increasing the critical strike chance of all party and raid members by 5%.” (Also provided by Devilsaurs(exotic) in the Ferocity Group)
Raptor > “Tears at the enemy's armor with the raptor's talons, reducing it by 4%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.” (Also provided by Serpents)
Hyena > “Tears at an enemy's legs, increased damage taken from bleed effects by 30% for 15 sec. “
Cunning –
Wind Serpent > “Breathes lightning, increasing magic damage taken by 8% for 45 sec. ” (Also provided by Dragonhawks)
Ravager > “Violently attacks an enemy, causing the enemy target to take 4% increased physical damage for 25 sec. “
Serpents > “Spits poison at an enemy, corroding their armor, reducing it by 4%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec. ” (Also provided by Raptors)
Silithid (exotic) > “Increases party and raid members' Stamina by 584 [at level 85]. “
Tenacity – (Just because there is one buff no other family provides.)
Shale Spider (exotic) > “Fills all friendly party and raid members with the Shale Spider's embrace, increasing Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intellect by 5%. “
==
Now we get to the extremely tricky parts. While some raid groups have all buffs / debuffs covered. It is unrealistic to have every single one covered in 10mans.. That is where you come in.
So having a buff you are missing in very important. If you are caster heavy without a caster that can cover the 8% magic damage debuff, then a wind serpent is very good for you, and even buffs your survival spec damage. However being a big buff, it is likely that a caster already does provide it.
There are debuffs like “sunder” that is applied by warriors, rogues, druids, and us. This is a buff that is likely forgotten about, and under rated. Unless you have a dps druid, the druid won't do it. It is wasteful for rogues to do it because it costs them combo points. Then that leaves warriors and us. If a warrior can do it then find another pet that provides another buff / debuff. However if you do not have a warrior that can do it. Use a Raptor or Serpent.
Another one is the “Physical Vulnerability” that the ravager does. Warriors depending on their spec can provide it. Frost Death Knights provide it, and combat rogues do as well. Therefore if you are without a Frost Death Knight or an Arms Warrior. You get to provide this buff.
There are many situations that play into affect when choosing a pet. While classes like Rogues and Warriors provide a buff. It completely depends on what specialization they play.
My suggestion is go to http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/# and put your raid group in. By doing that you can see what buffs are being left open. While there are certain buffs that reduce the damage a boss may do. Tanks usually provide them, so if for some reason you are missing them having a pet that covers it is not a bad idea.
If you are missing more then just one buff then I suggest talking to your raid leader about the best course of action. Which buff is more beneficial to your group.
Using a Ravager might be better and that unusual pet that helps the raid group more then not, or even using a Wind Serpent.
So now you need to forget about the Cunning / Ferocity differences. Depending on your gear level it is possible for a Cunning to do more then Ferocity. Because of Call of the Wild it is likely that Ferocity will do more damage. The differences though are just a couple hundred dps.
Keep this in mind. When choosing your pet. If the Hunter is having a high uptime on the boss, and the pet is have a lower uptime. Ferocity is better. However if the hunter is having a lower uptime on the boss, and your pet is have a high uptime. Cunning is better.
Cunning = Bosses where hunters aren't attacking as much.
Ferocity = Bosses where hunters are attacking a lot.
So choosing between both of them may be tricky. My last suggestion is to take a pet like a Raptor and Serpent and going against the training dumby. (You're attacking also.) Whichever pulls you the better numbers will be the better type of pet to go with. ( After supply the buffs you need to for the raid.)
So if you want to look more into the buffs / debuffs pets provide. http://www.wow-petopia.com/ is a great site to. You can also pick the pet family you want and use it to hunt down the skin.
Anyhow, this is Necras from US-Hyjal signing off!
Rawr. Me huntard. Me send pet.
4:32 pm
Officer
Moderators
September 8, 2010
Offline
Nice info Necras, that should be very useful for newer hunters deciding on what pets to use, thanks for putting that all together 
12:04 am
Beast Master
Moderators
March 3, 2010
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Great guide Necras. Insert Spirit Beasts in there too. They can also cast Roar of Courage and Spirit Mend as well.
12:42 am
Veteran
September 26, 2010
Offline
Hi Necras, welcome to the Lodge.
Another point to mention might be to actually look up the beast being considered for taming, because all cats are not the same, as all bats are not the same as all spiders are not the same etc
Within each species of beast there are subtle differences that just may make a big difference to playstyle. Rare, elite and quest-only beasts may have special abilities as well as the basic ones common to their species. An example I can talk about right now is bats. As I said earlier, there are bats and bats. Early on, my hunters tame the redwinged bat common to Tirisfal Vale (Vampiric Duskbat). They have an ability called Sonic Blast which is a 2 second stun on a cooldown, and I use it as whenever my pet is chasing a fleeing target, or if I get jumped and while Concussive Shot is on cooldown.
Long story short, I needed to dismiss a pet today as I needed the active slot for a rare spider I encountered, and as my bat is a normal beast (not rare, elite or only tameable on a quest), I dismissed him. Now I have an opportunity to get a bat for my stable again. I chose to tame a different bat this time because I liked the abilities I read about on Wowhead. Unfortunately, once tamed he had the same 2 second stun (which is still alright) that my lower level bat had. This isn't always the case though.
That's just one example, so I encourage all hunters to put some research into their choice of companions as well as their species and classification, and how they might fit their playstyle.
Cheers
D
6:13 am
Grunt
July 5, 2009
Offline
Darrwyn I am quite confused with your post. If I may interject.
Pets of the same family have different sizes, looks, models even, but their abilities are always the same.
A ferocity level 10 cat that you tamed at level 15 will have the same abilities as if you tamed Skarr.
Even their talents are the same. You said that he did indeed have the 2 second stun your original bat had. Then you said “This isn't always the case though.” But it is. All bats that you tame will have the 2 second stun and forget any of their old abilities.
You may of leaked through and saw some of the Burning Crusade / Vanilla abilities.
But remember, all cat's damages are equalized, and same with bats.
Rawr. Me huntard. Me send pet.
12:55 pm
Veteran
September 26, 2010
Offline
Necras said:
Even their talents are the same. You said that he did indeed have the 2 second stun your original bat had. Then you said “This isn't always the case though.” But it is. All bats that you tame will have the 2 second stun and forget any of their old abilities.
I must say, I stand corrected, and bitterly disappointed.
I always realised that pet a hits for the same damage as pet b of the same classification, but I never realised pets lost their individuality when tamed. I spend a lot of time sifting through a species looking at their abilites and thinking how I can best utilise them, when all the time they get a “standard” set of abilities once tamed. I might as well just pick what color I like!
However, I'm not shooting the messenger, but thanking you for the education, and for all my would-have-been-wasted time in the future I shall now devote to something else. (I always told my teachers research was a waste of time!)
Cheers
D
9:15 pm
Soldier
August 17, 2011
Offline
I often pug these days–I returned to my paid account after a two-month long hiatus only to find that my guild is basically dead. So there's often no telling what kind of pet I need to bring.
I find, though, that as a pugger it's helpful to keep a variety of pets on hand at all times. I brought a Wind Serpent once when my team was caster-heavy (Locks and Mages), but often I have Humar along for the ride, making him a boon to Ret Pallies, Enh Shammys and Rogues. Unless there's a Warrior with us, which sort of makes his presence moot.
A Gorilla can also be useful if you can macro his interrupt, assuming you're fighting a caster boss. However, he's pretty situational. Turtle for those times when your tank isn't…doing particularly well.
If a Tauren Hunter and a Tauren Druid marry and have children, you will end up with BraveStarr and Thirty-Thirty.
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