The Hunter’s Pet forms a core part of the Hunter experience in World of Warcraft: Forever, with much of their toolkit heavily relying on these partners in combat. In fact, the Hunter has become quite the iconic WoW Class for being able to tame a huge part of the MMO’s bestiary, giving players literally hundreds of options for Pets.
But for those still leveling their Hunters or curious for what other kinds of Pets are awaiting them all over Azeroth, there are indeed some creatures you should tame and fight with in specific situations.
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What changed for Hunter’s Pets so far
When Forever launched on Nov. 4, Blizzard was quick to roll out a patch two days later (Nov. 6) to strengthen the ability of Hunter’s Pets to become semi-tanks, at least for the Hunters and smaller groups. But on Nov. 10, Blizzard rolled out a quick hotfix that streamlined some things about the Class:
- Pets now have 115% Health instead of the 150% Health they got due to an earlier bug
- Hawks now deal 80% more melee damage
We’re keeping track of how these changes can affect the performance of Pets so far, and we’ll update this list as necessary.
Best damage Pets
| Pet Family | Special Ability | What it does | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat | Prowl | Transitions to Stealth but walks 40% slower, then gets a 50% damage boost to the first attack outside Stealth | Decent and consistent damage, great for leveling and dungeoning |
| Raptor | Savage Rend | Bleed for 156 damage across 18 seconds (or 26 damage every 3 seconds) | Good alternative for Cats |
| Gorilla | Thunderstomp | Deals 122-142 Nature damage to every enemy in an 8-yard radius | Threat generation and AOE |
| Scorpid | Scorpid Poison | Deals 25 Nature damage over 10 seconds (or 5 damage every 2 seconds), and can stack up to 5 times | Wars of attrition where it boils down to stacks |
Hunters are DPS characters by nature, and a lot of that damage is usually facilitated by their Pets. And there are just some Pets that stand out among the rest as better damage dealers than their other counterparts. Cats are a standout here, as they’re among the most common Pet Families you can find as you level up.
Some iconic Cats you could aim for would be Broken Tooth (Badlands) and The Rake (Mulgore), but even the Mountain Lions in Hillsbrad can perform well if you’re not gunning for a rare find. Raptors are a close second among recommended damage Pets as they share the same damage mod as the Cat, whereas the Gorilla has a decent AOE and the Scorpid has a stacking Poison.
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Best tanking Pets to hold the line
| Pet Family | Special Ability | What it does | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boar | Charge | Charges and immobilizes an enemy, and its next attack gets 490 melee Attack Power (25s cooldown, autocast only works in Assist Mode and you attack first) | Perfect for new Hunters and solo players |
| Bear | Swipe | Hit 3 nearby enemies for 20-22 damage (5s cooldown) | Hold down several mobs while leveling |
| Turtle | Shell Shield | 12s aura where it takes 50% less damage but attacks are 60% slower with increased damage | Elite and tricky solo fights |
| Crab | Pinch | Attack for 88-102 damage and a 50% slow that lasts for 9s | Elite mobs and challenging solo encounters |
| Fox | Trickster’s Dance | Get 50% more dodge and 30% faster attack for 12s | Get a defensive window as needed |
Hunter’s Pets don’t make good tanks, unlike traditional tanking Classes. With the right Pet Family, a Pet could still provide decent protection to your Hunter while you’re adventuring. Granted, they’re not as strong as we would want a “tanking” Pet to be, but these can take a beating and give a beating of their own.
Boars remain the best first Pets as they stun and give an attack boost to their next hit. If you level up Beast Mastery with the Boar, it might just be a long-term Pet. Meanwhile, Turtles and Crabs have the best defense stats among all Pets.
Best support Pets for party play
| Pet Family | Special Ability | What it does | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrion Bird | Demoralizing Speech | Deals 24-42 damage and reduces enemy melee Attack Power by 204 for 30s (10s cooldown, doesn’t stack with Demoralizing Roar) | Tanking packs or playing in groups with a Warrior |
| Wolf | Furious Howl | Give +82 melee Attack Power to all party and raid members within 15 yards for 1min. (30s cooldown, doesn’t stack with Battle Shout) | Dungeons and Raids where a lot of members are melee fighters |
| Tallstrider | Dust Cloud | Lower enemy armor by 505 for 30s (doesn’t stack with Faerie Fire) | Marksmanship Hunter builds and groups in general |
Say you want to tag along with a party but want to offer something other than having an extra member (your Pet) in tow. Then try to bring any one of these Pet Families in your dungeoning or leveling session. The idea here is that they’re not solely focused on dealing damage, but rather supporting the team in some capacity.
In this case, bring a Wolf to bolster everyone’s melee attack power. But if you feel you already have enough buffs, then a Carrion Bird to lower the enemy’s attack or a Tallstrider to lower the enemy’s armor could be more practical options.
Best control Pets for PvP
| Pet Family | Special Ability | What it does | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spider | Web | Immobilizes targets from 20 yards and deals 52 Nature damage over 4s (40s cooldown) | Stunning melee combatants and pesky runners |
| Crocolisk | Dismember | 50-58 damage and cuts healing received by 25% for 6s (15s cooldown, doesn’t stack with Mortal Strike) | Fighting healers |
| Bird of Prey | Mine! | 41-47 damage and Disarm them for 3s (1.5min cooldown) | Fighting melee combatants |
| Bat | Sonic Blast | Deal 77-91 Nature damage while spells take 30% longer to cast for 20s (1min cooldown, doesn’t stack with Curse of Tongues or Mind-numbing Poison) | Fighting spellcasters |
| Hyena | Tendon Rip | Dealsl 60 damage over 9s and inflict 50% slow for 9s | Perfect for slowing or kiting targets |
| Wind Serpent | Lightning Breath | 88-98 Nature damage to a single target from 20 yards | For fighting spellcasters from afar |
Contrary to popular belief, the Hunter’s Pet should not focus on tanking in PvP, but rather on some form of control. The ideal PvP Pet should usually fit your current target at the moment, or if you’re unequipped to deal with a particular threat that you feel your Pet could help with.
Spiders usually win, as the 4-second rooting can be debilitating for most rotations and setups. If you prefer chasing down targets, then Hyenas and Crabs can slow them enough to leave them vulnerable.
Lone Wolf is ideal for soloists
There might be situations when you prefer to not really play with a Hunter’s Pet. Maybe you feel they’re just bringing you down, or you prefer the damage numbers when you’re performing solo.
You can perfectly go solo as a Marksmanship Hunter, courtesy of the Lone Wolf Talent. Getting this Talent gives you a 20% boost to all attacks as long as you don’t have an active Pet.
