Anyone care to share opinions on their ideal pet mix?
I just reached Level 85, primary spec MM, secondary BM
My pets, in order of acquisition, are:
Nighthawk
Spider
Turtle
Tyrant Devilsaur (main reason I secondaried in BM - only usable in that spec)
White Bear
The two used most often are the spider on offense and the turtle in dungeons.
Any other ideas?
Edited, Dec 30th 2011 8:24pm by Xsarus
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[Hunter] Ideal Pet Mix?Follow
I keep a wolf, a cat, and a ravager around to provide different buffs. They're all unique skins and high maintenance.
I use my boar for questing and soloing old content. He's the very first pet I ever tamed.
I use my boar for questing and soloing old content. He's the very first pet I ever tamed.
I keep a wind serpent, wolf, cat and fox on me at all times, but after switching to Survival, I tend to use my wind serpent before the wolf or fox.
If there's no Warrior/Death Knight in the group, I obviously use the cat, but I've found that my DPS drops when I switch from the wind serpent to the wolf, even if the wolf provides 5% crit and someone else covers the wind serpent buff.
Apparently it has something to do with the pet type being cunning instead of ferocity, but I haven't figured out why exactly yet.
Edit: Herp, wind serpent > dragonhawk.
Edited, Dec 20th 2011 4:51am by Mazra
If there's no Warrior/Death Knight in the group, I obviously use the cat, but I've found that my DPS drops when I switch from the wind serpent to the wolf, even if the wolf provides 5% crit and someone else covers the wind serpent buff.
Apparently it has something to do with the pet type being cunning instead of ferocity, but I haven't figured out why exactly yet.
Edit: Herp, wind serpent > dragonhawk.
Edited, Dec 20th 2011 4:51am by Mazra
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
I usually keep a cat, wolf and hyena with me for the buffs. The other two slots I just switch around depending on what I feel I might need.
Is the bleed buff really that important? Arms Warriors, Feral Druids and Subtlety Rogues bring their own version of it and those three classes are the only ones who would benefit from it.
I guess if you had a Fury Warrior or Assassination/Combat Rogue in the group, but would it still be better than the armor reduction from, say, a ravager or serpent?
I guess if you had a Fury Warrior or Assassination/Combat Rogue in the group, but would it still be better than the armor reduction from, say, a ravager or serpent?
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
You are right. I don't know why I got in the habit of bringing him along but I usually just pull him out if there is already a cat and wolf buff. The buffs you listed would be more useful, though. Maybe I bring him along to reminisce about the creepy hyenas from the Lion King. Who knows.
Edited, Dec 20th 2011 1:35am by folsomdog
Edited, Dec 20th 2011 1:35am by folsomdog
I've become a big fan of foxes in dungeons. They're relatively small, so they don't get in anybody's way. They don't have annoying sounds or animations. On top of all that, the only tanks that can keep up with with the attack speed debuff are warriors, and I don't seem to get grouped with them very often.
The Death Knight's Frost Fever applies the attack speed debuff as well and it can be spread via Pestilence. Bringing a fox if your tank is Druid or Paladin would help a lot in AOE fights, though. That's why I keep one on me.
Sometimes, survivability > damage output.
Most of the time, I just use my wind serpent since it looks cool (shut up, Aeth!) and it's a Cunning pet, which is reportedly a DPS boost over Ferocity for Survival.
Sometimes, survivability > damage output.
Most of the time, I just use my wind serpent since it looks cool (shut up, Aeth!) and it's a Cunning pet, which is reportedly a DPS boost over Ferocity for Survival.
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
What's the best way to use a pet in a dungeon or raid. I generally use a turtle but really just send him forward with the tank(s) to help occupy and hold the baddies. It may be my style of play, but I've found the damage pets like dragonhawks and cats to be less survivable in group melees and since I prefer to use marksmanship in groups, my beloved T-rex is not available.
Not sure how much you know about pets, but turtles are generally considered tank pets. They're good at taking a beating, but don't provide much in a group setting since you already have a tank there.
Cats provide 500-ish agility, which is considered the most important buff for Hunters. If you have a Warrior or Death Knight in the group, you may skip the cat pet as they provide the same buff.
Pet survivability 101:
1. Growl
Turn off Growl in groups. Growl has a tendency to pull aggro in AOE situations when the group's tank is collecting the mobs. This is likely the primary reason why your pet sometimes takes a dirt nap.
2. Pet stances
Keep the pet on Assist and it'll attack stuff you attack and run back to you when your target is dead. Passive can be used to bring your pet back to you and prevent it from suddenly running off to kill something that hit you.
Here's a "all in one" pet macro I use:
#showtooltip Call Pet 1
/cast [@pet,dead][mod:shift] Revive Pet
/cast [nopet,nomod] Call Pet 1
/petattack [@target,exists]
/petfollow [@pettarget,exists,nodead]
What is does:
Using this macro will send your pet to attack your current target, or call your pet back to you if the pet is already attacking something. If your pet is dead and visible (corpse), using this macro will revive it. Alternatively, if your pet is dead and not visible (corpse gone), you can hold down Shift and click the macro to revive it.
If your pet has been dismissed, it will call out your 1st pet on the list (change this by changing the number in Call Pet from 1 to whatever).
3. Misdirection
Use Misdirection a lot in groups. With the pet on Assist and Growl turned off, your pet should now survive most encounters as the only real threat left is AOE and pets only take 10% AOE damage. By using Misdirection every AOE pull, you can glue mobs to the tank. Get in the habit of using Misdirection before every AOE pull, provided the ability is ready. Your tank will love you for it.
Here's my Misdirection macro:
#showtooltip Misdirection
/cast [@focus,nodead,help] Misdirection
/stopmacro [@focus,nodead,help]
/focus [@target,help]
What it does:
Sets your current target as the focus target, provided you don't already have a focus target. Next time you hit it, it will cast Misdirection on your focus target without you having to switch targets manually.
This allows you to use Misdirection on the tank mid-fight without having to first select the tank and click Misdirection. Get in the habit of using this on the tank when you enter the dungeon to set your focus target and then hitting that macro every AOE pull.
4. Mend Pet
Don't be afraid to pop a Mend Pet if you see your pet is taking damage. The healers will often prioritize group members over their pets (since a dead Hunter despawns the pet), so your pet will die if the healer has to choose between the two of you. If your pet is taking more damage than Mend Pet can fix, call your pet back to you (using either the above pet macro or by clicking Follow or Passive in the pet action bar).
Your pet will survive most AOE stuff that would kill anyone else thanks to the 90% AOE mitigation, but some bosses will apply a DoT on melee or random characters in the fight, which includes your pet, and those DoTs might be strong enough to kill your pet.
Summary
When I read your post, the first thing that came to mind was Growl. A lot of Hunters, myself included, forget to turn off Growl when they go from questing to running dungeons. This is the main reason why your pet would suddenly get squished.
If you start using Misdirection and turn off Growl in dungeons, your pet should survive nine out of ten times. Once you master Mend Pet, you'll hardly ever lose your pet.
Oh, and one more thing. Check out Petopia for detailed information on pets, including a list of pet categories (or families). Ferocity and Cunning pets generally do more damage with the correct pet talent build, but you can build your Tenacity pet to do a lot of damage as well.
As a BM Hunter, I prefer a worm, for instance. They're Tenacity pets, but I built mine for damage dealing and the Burrow ability just makes tanks freak out. I love it.
Edited, Dec 20th 2011 5:14pm by Mazra
Cats provide 500-ish agility, which is considered the most important buff for Hunters. If you have a Warrior or Death Knight in the group, you may skip the cat pet as they provide the same buff.
Pet survivability 101:
1. Growl
Turn off Growl in groups. Growl has a tendency to pull aggro in AOE situations when the group's tank is collecting the mobs. This is likely the primary reason why your pet sometimes takes a dirt nap.
2. Pet stances
Keep the pet on Assist and it'll attack stuff you attack and run back to you when your target is dead. Passive can be used to bring your pet back to you and prevent it from suddenly running off to kill something that hit you.
Here's a "all in one" pet macro I use:
#showtooltip Call Pet 1
/cast [@pet,dead][mod:shift] Revive Pet
/cast [nopet,nomod] Call Pet 1
/petattack [@target,exists]
/petfollow [@pettarget,exists,nodead]
What is does:
Using this macro will send your pet to attack your current target, or call your pet back to you if the pet is already attacking something. If your pet is dead and visible (corpse), using this macro will revive it. Alternatively, if your pet is dead and not visible (corpse gone), you can hold down Shift and click the macro to revive it.
If your pet has been dismissed, it will call out your 1st pet on the list (change this by changing the number in Call Pet from 1 to whatever).
3. Misdirection
Use Misdirection a lot in groups. With the pet on Assist and Growl turned off, your pet should now survive most encounters as the only real threat left is AOE and pets only take 10% AOE damage. By using Misdirection every AOE pull, you can glue mobs to the tank. Get in the habit of using Misdirection before every AOE pull, provided the ability is ready. Your tank will love you for it.
Here's my Misdirection macro:
#showtooltip Misdirection
/cast [@focus,nodead,help] Misdirection
/stopmacro [@focus,nodead,help]
/focus [@target,help]
What it does:
Sets your current target as the focus target, provided you don't already have a focus target. Next time you hit it, it will cast Misdirection on your focus target without you having to switch targets manually.
This allows you to use Misdirection on the tank mid-fight without having to first select the tank and click Misdirection. Get in the habit of using this on the tank when you enter the dungeon to set your focus target and then hitting that macro every AOE pull.
4. Mend Pet
Don't be afraid to pop a Mend Pet if you see your pet is taking damage. The healers will often prioritize group members over their pets (since a dead Hunter despawns the pet), so your pet will die if the healer has to choose between the two of you. If your pet is taking more damage than Mend Pet can fix, call your pet back to you (using either the above pet macro or by clicking Follow or Passive in the pet action bar).
Your pet will survive most AOE stuff that would kill anyone else thanks to the 90% AOE mitigation, but some bosses will apply a DoT on melee or random characters in the fight, which includes your pet, and those DoTs might be strong enough to kill your pet.
Summary
When I read your post, the first thing that came to mind was Growl. A lot of Hunters, myself included, forget to turn off Growl when they go from questing to running dungeons. This is the main reason why your pet would suddenly get squished.
If you start using Misdirection and turn off Growl in dungeons, your pet should survive nine out of ten times. Once you master Mend Pet, you'll hardly ever lose your pet.
Oh, and one more thing. Check out Petopia for detailed information on pets, including a list of pet categories (or families). Ferocity and Cunning pets generally do more damage with the correct pet talent build, but you can build your Tenacity pet to do a lot of damage as well.
As a BM Hunter, I prefer a worm, for instance. They're Tenacity pets, but I built mine for damage dealing and the Burrow ability just makes tanks freak out. I love it.
Edited, Dec 20th 2011 5:14pm by Mazra
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
Mazra wrote:
The Death Knight's Frost Fever applies the attack speed debuff as well and it can be spread via Pestilence.
Sure does, but it costs GCDs. By the time the DK if finally getting to hit Pestilence and spreading his disease goodness, the fox is already happily chewing away on the mobs.
The Death Knight will be able to hit Pestilence by the time all the mobs are gathered up in a clump. Which is also when you would use Tailspin. Don't want to put it on auto-cast as the fox will use it the moment it gets within range of a single mob.
I mean, sure, if you're rocking some killer reflexes, you might be able to get the debuff up one or two seconds before the tank does, but after that, your pet's special ability becomes redundant for the rest of the fight.
It's still a very useful pet when you're running with a Paladin or Druid tank, though, as they can't spread their debuff to everything.
I mean, sure, if you're rocking some killer reflexes, you might be able to get the debuff up one or two seconds before the tank does, but after that, your pet's special ability becomes redundant for the rest of the fight.
It's still a very useful pet when you're running with a Paladin or Druid tank, though, as they can't spread their debuff to everything.
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
Ollamnh wrote:
What's the best way to use a pet in a dungeon or raid. I generally use a turtle but really just send him forward with the tank(s) to help occupy and hold the baddies.
First off, you definitely shouldn't be using a tank pet like a turtle in dungeons. The tank doesn't need, or even want your help with that. Use a ferocity or cunning pet instead. They do better DPS. Also try and bring out one that gives a buff that isn't already covered by someone in your group. (The Raid checklist addon is good for letting you know about missing buffs. Just turn on hunter pet mode.)
Ollamnh wrote:
It may be my style of play, but I've found the damage pets like dragonhawks and cats to be less survivable in group melees and since I prefer to use marksmanship in groups, my beloved T-rex is not available.
Rule number one of pet survivability in groups:
MAKE SURE GROWL IS TURNED OFF!
Assuming your pet isn't taunting or attacking random targets there's very little in a dungeon that can kill a pet under normal circumstances. Pets are immune (or at least nearly so) to AoEs so your pet shouldn't be taking much, if any damage at all, let alone getting killed. Just make sure you have growl turned off and are attacking the same target as the tank.
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat
Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat
Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
For more info on pets http://wow-petopia.com/ is a great resource for pets. You can look at all tameable pets, locations, abilities and more.
Petopia was one of the first things I found. Its kind of like a good fishing tackle department. Everything looks better than the one before and you wish you could have one of each.
I appreciate he advice, especially turning growl off. I seldom use it anyway. When questing, if I want to pet to open the ball, I prefer bite or thunderstomp.
I appreciate he advice, especially turning growl off. I seldom use it anyway. When questing, if I want to pet to open the ball, I prefer bite or thunderstomp.
Your secondary spec is BM, do you have a Core Hound for Ancient Hysteria?
Ollamnh wrote:
I appreciate he advice, especially turning growl off. I seldom use it anyway. When questing, if I want to pet to open the ball, I prefer bite or thunderstomp.
On the flip side, you should absolutely be using growl while soloing. It's entire reason for existing is to make things attack the pet instead of you. Basic attacks (bite/slaw/smack) generate relatively little threat and thunderstomp, while good, has a longer cooldown, costs focus, and is only available to tenacity pets. Growl is practically a must for solo (assuming you're fighting something that doesn't die in the 3 seconds before it gets to you.)
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat
Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat
Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
AstarintheDruid wrote:
Your secondary spec is BM, do you have a Core Hound for Ancient Hysteria?
No. I really wanted one, but I hate to take up two of my five slots with pets that can only be used with one spec.
You can store pets at a Stable Master. You can only carry five on you, but those five can be changed around with stored pets at any Stable Master.
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
Mazra wrote:
You can store pets at a Stable Master. You can only carry five on you, but those five can be changed around with stored pets at any Stable Master.
Couldn't help laughing at the picture this gave me.
Blood elf walks up to the stablemaster and says, I'd like to board my corehound and T. Rex with you for a while, please. Just try to avoid any sudden moves in their stall areas....
Ollamnh wrote:
Blood elf walks up to the stablemaster and says, I'd like to board my corehound and T. Rex with you for a while, please. Just try to avoid any sudden moves in their stall areas....
Also, I was kinda saddened that no one said "A boar, now go to petopia".
I love my boar, it is my most used pet
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