And a ground-based pet can be used to flush out and scare targets into the open, or corral them into an advantageous position to shoot. That’s why we have used hunting dogs and similar historically.
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don’t know if that tactic works against raid bosses
You know that is a crap take on the change.
Swap specs to use pets…
Nah how about people can stay playing MM and have their pets they have collected.
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MM DR’s literally get to summon hounds as a part of class fantasy.
If you’re using lore as a means to justify it Dark Ranger isn’t it.
But using lore as an arguement in general isn’t a good point. They have changed it/retconned a lot since good ol Humans Vs Orcs and the game wouldn’t be where it is without them doing that.
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Ha that was funny so I will give you an upvote. 
What on earth is your pet targeting that you can’t in this game?
No one is taking your pets. Play BM for solo content if you feel you need a pet for whatever reason. I’m personally sick of the MM stagnation and welcome a shake up.
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I’m genuinely thrilled to see Hunters moving away from their pets. While pets have been an iconic part of the class fantasy, it’s refreshing to imagine Hunters embracing a more self-reliant, sharpshooting archetype.
For years, Hunters have felt like the wilderness “Boy Scouts” of Azeroth. tracking beasts, taming creatures, and surviving with an outdoorsy charm. I’m so done with that by now…
While pets are still an important part of the class identity for some players, I personally would love to see a more sniper-oriented specialization.
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“Don’t remove pets! Sentinels use owls!!”
Correct. Which is why Sentinel continues to use an Owl…?
“And Dark Rangers use hounds!!”
Correct. Which is why Dark Ranger still summons Hounds…?
“I love my pet!!”
Not enough to play Beast Mastery though, eh?
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Eggs will actually take on a light green tint if they are cooked too hot or cooled too fast, or sit in stainless steel.
Since I was working in a cafeteria we made lots of scrambled eggs that would sit in a stainless steel warming tray. But if you toss in a little tobasco sauce while cooking, they stay yellow longer.
They don’t taste different or smell different. Just eggs. But we used to get a giggle at letting them go green and watching people flip out.
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Me either, a purist ranger archetype is cool.
Don’t see Legolas running around with a bunch of pets eh
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Yes they have pets they are just a mechanic now. No lore ruined gg
My marksman hunter is a void elf who used to be a ranger of Silvermoon before taking interest in void and becoming a void elf…never used a pet and still doesn’t. Her whole lore is her idolizing Alleria so she’ll take the free owl but she’s not using a pet as Alleria doesn’t have one so she sees no point in them. If they forced marksman to use a pet it’d violate the story I got for them so if anything the pet should be optional and the free owl not count as them using a pet…as the second it ruins her damage it’ll wish it hadn’t
I hope they at least let us cosmetically summon our pets.
I agree that MM needed some gameplay improvements, but as an RPer, my characters generally do not change specs. Some of my MM hunters have always had their pet around, and some have gone without a pet since before Cata.
I know the number nerds don’t care, but the rp nerds would appreciate the love. 
I keep seeing this counterargument. The specs are nothing alike, playstyle-wise. If I had wanted to play BM, I would have specced BM 14 years ago when I started to play.
I like the MM toolkit, and I play hunter so I can run with my faithful companion at my side.
What I object to is being told, at this point, 14 (or 20, come to that) years down the line, that the way the devs envision the playstyle now is the only way to play, and I have no choice.
Please don’t counter my objections by telling me that if I want to play MM with a pet I just have to choose some other spec than MM.
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And aren’t you lucky that your particular backstory falls in line with what the devs envision for MM! YOU get a choice. I don’t.
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The copium is real. You can find “lore” justifications for anything you want in the game really. Fortunately that does not dictate spec design. This is the direction the spec is taking and it is better than the split paradigm that has plagued it for the last decade.
It’s not a negotiation.
And a bird pet makes no sense as a spotter against massive creatures we can see easily or within the halls of a dungeon like the Stonevault.
The logic you used to justify a forced bird pet can also be explained for non-bird pets as well. There is no logical reason MM has to use a bird, is all…
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They were claiming a spotting eagle let’s you see things more easily as an airborne aid. I was countering that we’ve also used dogs to do the same as well.
Don’t conflate attempts at lore justification with actual in game mechanics.
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I think I said more than needs to be said from my side but, hey, it has a lore spin to it. I’ll bite.
Sentinels didn’t use their owls for combat. They were scouts first and foremost. Sure they could probably sic them at folks but often didn’t unless owls are used for Elune magic tomfoolery.
(I’m not sure how else to describe magic such as Starfall.)
Dark Rangers do not use pets, Nathanos is the sole exception and it’s likely a carry over from his living days. Guess your pet selection is pretty limited when you’re hanging out in the Plaguelands all day. To my knowledge none of the Dark Rangers from WC3 forward used a pet in combat.
One could argue Nathanos was Sylvanas’ pet, which would be a fair argument.
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