In a previous discussion I started about a rash of good luck I’d been experiencing in pet collection. But the discussion changed to various methods that you all use to level pets. And the discussion ended with one person recommending what sounds like a good place and strat to level pets, as it’s apparently very fast and you can complete four battles without having to heal your pets.
I also noted that one of the participants seemed to think that the only way to truly level a bunch of pets in one day was to wait for Squirt. And Squirt is certainly an excellent way to level pets, with free heals right at hand. But it’s not the only solution. And a potential downside is that using Squirt requires a Level three Garrison. And she only shows up about once every two weeks. And you’ll certainly want other solutions if there’s no Squirt during Pet Experience Bonus week.
So, I wanted to ask, what’s everyone’s favorite NPC and strat to use for leveling pets?
Nowadays, I usually just use stones. I’ve accumulated hundreds, if not thousands of the various family leveling and rarity stones over the years.
But when I do have a bunch that I want to level, I look for the Legion family tamers, especially during pet week. Also when I’m leveling alts and want a change of pace from going through the zones of a current expansion again, I’ll do rounds of the Pandaria trainers, you can usually get 3 or 4 pets leveled that way and get 50-60% of a level on a character too.
Another thing I’ll always do are the Feasels at the Darkmoon Faire. They both have reliable level one carry strats and the Faire is always good for some extra profession leveling.
When I needed to level a bunch of pets, it was either Squirt, or Snail Fight WQ, if it was up.
But now with how easy it is to get pet charms from WQs, I just buy stones. Having great teams for all the WQs and a ton of toons to run those WQs multiple times. It’s quite easy to get charms.
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These days, I have so few pets to level that I actually don’t rush to level them. I wait until I’m in the mood for a round of Pandaria or something and bathe in the nostalgia. 
(Not that I enjoyed flying all round Pandaria doing a round of Tamers every day during Mists, but it’s a luxury now.)
When I still had pets to level, I twice got a queue together and waited for Squirt, but if it was only a few, I’d pop in on one of the Legion Family Tamers when they showed up - preferably in Dala, or Snail Fight if it was available.
If the math brings the pet to 22 or 23, I won’t bother with the final battle, but just cast a couple of Stones from my absurd stockpile.
I guess this discussion is of no benefit to anyone except me.
I’m in the hoarding phase. I have to save my stones for now, in case there’s a situation like a dungeon when I really, really need to get a pet and get it to 25 right away.
While I appreciate the Be Prepared mindset, never forget that you can level … um, four, five? - pets on any given day with Pandaria and Draenor Tamers.
True, but it’s nice to have leveling stones if you don’t have time to run the circuit, and you really need a particular pet levelled right then and there.
For me, a lot of it is the old fashioned way, by using a team of a leveling pet, Emerald proto-whelp and grumpy. Then head out to Draenor. Either the shoreline just north of the Temple of Karabor in Shadowmoon Valley for an alliance character, or just outside the garrison in Frostfire Ridge for horde toons. Tons of wild pets in each area so you never run out of spawns (although my leveling team probably isn’t the best duo to use against said wild pets). With the revive battle pets spell cut down to 4 minutes with a lvl 3 pet menagerie, it means you can level non-stop without needing bandages (for the most part).
Definitely not the most efficient way to level pets (especially compared to Squirt days), but it’s a nice way to pass the time.
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You know, I like the old-fashioned way, too, sometimes. If I get a pet that I’ve quested for or tried many times to get, then I finally get it, I wanted to enjoy the leveling process and I just group it with other level 1s/2s and build them all up, going from zone to zone and doing the various pet tamers along the way (who give out the crappiest rewards in the entire game).
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I’ve said it here and other places many times before - alts
I have alts parked at various tamers and use them to level pets and gather stones. Especially ones like Crysa and Anthea because they have a chance to drop pets. Although I have had a Porcupette drop from Obalis. I also do the DMF daily when it’s up, although the Darkmoon Eye NEVER drops.
Other than that, I make sure to do the Garrison weekly (10 levelling stones) and WQ if they will level any pets I currently have.
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