Do I really need x, y, z pet to to have a chance at winning or can I just play any combination of pets? In other words, is there a meta (which I hope there isn’t)?
Why do pets have 6 abilities? How do I know which ones to use?
It depends entirely on the battle you’re trying to win. With a lot of the wild catch battles, your pets will be going up against grey quality pets and any 3 green-quality or better level 25 pets will work.
In many cases, however, it’s much more difficult and much trickier.
There are classes with class abilities. There are class abilities that are stronger against some classes and weak against others. There are special abilities that counter other special abilities. There are rare, epic, and legendary boss battle pets out there, and some of the strategies are very specific and complex.
Pets have 6 abilities because you can use 3 abilities in a battle, and choosing which 3 is often important.
If you want to get started, I highly recommend looking at Warcraft Pets and a few “How to get started” videos that explain it.
It’s a much, much bigger game than many think it is when they get started. There is a lot to consider and there are lots of layers and many different ways to approach your first serious forays into it.
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That’s going to depend on the fight. A lot of the introduction tamers you get sent to are beaten easily enough with pets that do strong damage against their pets. Once you get into certain zones and/or if you’re trying to do certain achievements, yes, you’ll probably need specific pets.
What’s nice is BfA & SLs WQs scale to the highest level pet on your team, so if you’re trying to get pet items like charms, bandages, & stones, you can fight them with a team of level 1s, making it easier.
For PvP, yes. Right now there’s a weather meta, and it sucks.
I imagine pets have 6 abilities for variety’s sake.
I slowly learned what to use following others’ strategies, then expounded on that by making my own. Like anything else, the more you do it, the more you learn and get acquainted with why & how to use abilities.
Some good sources for people getting started in pet battles:
- Getting started
- Most Used Pets & Pets to focus on getting first
- General links to great pet battle sources
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Thank you so much! I’m a little bored so I figure I’d give this a try:)
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Getting involved in battle pet collecting and achievement hunting really gets me through the content droughts when my raiding guild scatters to other games between tiers or expansions.
If you have any questions, I have to say this forum is the nicest and most helpful place in any part of the WoW forums. 
Someone here will always be able to help or point you to a good link.
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Anubsinth Idol. Best pet in the game. Gotta have one. I use 3 against most pet tamers quests.
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And the SECOND - Void-Scarred Anubisath. The regular one is absolutely necessary, as Cranjis said, and the second is almost identical except it offers Spiritfire Bolt instead of Crush, which is an advantage in many fights.
Definitely work on getting both.
You also want a THIRD - Iron Starlette, which can be purchased on the AH, but it is a quest reward, so you can get one for free by doing the short and easy quest chain that starts in the Blasted Lands, WoD phase.
To round out my top 5 recommends, I’d say go to Tiragarde Sound and get yourself a FOURTH - P/P Parasitic Boarfly in the wild. They have Drain Blood and Lift-Off available together, and that makes them both unique and excellent survivors. Mine is called Nigel, and he is hands down my favorite pet for battling.
Finally, get a FIFTH - Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling. You can build one with MoP engineering or buy one from the AH.
If you get those five pets at 25, you’ll be able to start collecting and leveling in earnest.
For capturing pets, I highly recommend you get a pet with Weakening Blow. There are only three in the game:
1.) Terrible Turnip - available from MoP farm garden or from the AH
2.) Snobold Runt (my personal favorite) - from Trial of the Crusader or the AH
3.) Stemmins - from the Court of Night quartermaster in Ardenweald
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