WoW Hunter Pets

WoW Hunter Pets are a feature unique to hunters. Warlocks can cast minions, but they never have the wide variety available to them that Hunters have with their pets. Whether you play a hunter specced in Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, or Survival, your choice of pet is of vital importance. Choosing the right pet is more important that what armor or weapons you carry in determining how fast you will level.

Pets, like toons in WoW, have roles. There are three primary roles for a pet. Your furry friend can either DPS, tank, or provide a more balanced role. A DPS pet is probably best if you plan to PvP extensively. Whereas if you are going to level primarily solo, a tank might be better so you can keep the mobs off you. Or perhaps you'd prefer a DPS pet so they can kill the mobs more quickly. If you want to be prepared for anything, a balanced companion might be more to your liking.

If you want a DPS pet, the Cat is the best choice. She will do the most damage and has the Prowl ability. The Raptor would be my second pick but not just because it looks cool. The Cat probably does a bit more damage, but not by much. Finally, my third option would be the Ravager. The Ravager does some nice damage, but not as much as the Cat or the Raptor.

Tanking pets in WoW are around to keep you from getting hit. Their damage is small compared to a DPS pet, but they should hold the mobs attention so you can fire away with your bow or gun. I'd rank bears number one since they have the best survivability and still manage good damage. Boars come in second. The charge ability is nice and they can also take a lot of punishment. Your third tanking option is the Scorpid. Their poison ability makes up for less survivability than the boar or bear, and makes them the best tanking choice if you plan to PvP a lot.

Perhaps you'd prefer a more balanced approach in which case you can train a balanced pet. This provides you with versatility in case you like to group, solo, PvE, and PvP. The balanced pet will be ready for anything. The best balanced pet is the Wolf. Their damage and survivability are both pretty good, but their biggest asset is their small group buff from Howl. It will buff your whole party's damage. Dragonhawks, like the Wolf, also provide decent damage and survivability and have a strong special ability. They have a nice area effect attack. Lastly, the Serpent is my final choice for balanced pets. The Serpent, like the Scorpid, has a nice poison attack.

Those are the top nine WoW Hunter Pets that will fill whatever role you need. Remember to keep your pet happy. Always keep lots of food she likes with you. Your pet is not only your best friend, but also your best weapon. Choose your pet wisely and if you aren't happy with the results, try something else. But most importantly, Happy Hunting!

For more information on Hunters, view my World of Warcraft Leveling Guide blog. Also, please rate this lens and provide feedback in the Guestbook below. Much of the information for this article was gathered from The Unofficial World of Warcraft Hunter Guide which is reviewed in its entirety on my blog.