Hunter main a couple life times ago. Lost my account info and haven’t touched a Hunter since. Planning on going BM. Watched a few videos that are either horribly out of date or that only address TWW end game Hunter Pets.
Looking for a few unique pets to pick up as I level. I mean this is a lot of the fun for Hunter at least for me. Any special pets I should keep an eye out for at say level 20, 30, 40, etc.
I’m just running a wolf right now and it seems pets don’t get their 2 new special talents via Cunning, Ferocity and the Tanky one(I can’t recall) abilities until i’m level … I HAVE NO IDEA… lol. What level are those unlocked for Hunter btw?
I used to mostly run the Boar for the charge/stun/interrupt in PVP and the Bat for silence. I never ran pets in instances or 40 man raids because back then it was mostly VERBOTEN. But again, that back when the max level was 60 and 80. Planning on getting a Gorilla as soon as I can, then the Cliffstomper at level ?? I don’t know. Can’t find any info.
The good news is hunter is in a good spot right now. Also pets all do the same amount of damage regardless of pet spec so pick whichever pet you enjoy the most of the family ability. Petopia has a good list for all pet family abilities here:
The only time I worry about a pet ability is for PvP and I prefer the Mortal Wounds abilities which reduces healing. Also has some niche use in certain PvE encounters.
BM is fun as always, MM doesn’t use a pet generally, and SV is melee.
There are quite a few unique pets to look out for, especially Spirit Beasts (requires BM to tame) and they are generally easy to get in Chromie Time with War Mode on as they are often contested (such as Skoll). Petopia has a good list here:
You need to go to a stable to change your pet’s spec from Cunning/Ferocity/Tenacity.
Also you may want to buy some portable stables, I personally always have a stack of 20 on me:
As for any other pet information Petopia is an amazing resource. Do note a few pet families and Undead pets requires specific items to unlock the ability for your hunter to tame those pets.
Cunning, Ferocity, and Tenacity. A Hunters pet will specialize, or ‘spec’ in one of these three areas. The spec. can be changed at any Stable-Master.
It seems to me I had to be lvl 10, maybe 20-25 before I could actually control my first pet. I don’t recall what, but there was a level. Catching a pet, roughly anything I was equal to or close was worth a try, especially if I could use Freezing Trap.
To me, over the last several years, Hunters pets have been simplified, made less important, made less than they were. You may find it hardly matters what your pet specs as. I used to capture Rares as my pets, others will look for something to match their armor.
The main thing you’ll notice 10 years later, is that levelling is irrelevant - it doesn’t require planning or effort as in the past. You’ll have levelled up before you can notice it. Which pet you play will be irrelevant.
Do Timewalking whenever it comes up. The exp you get from a single run is pretty ludicrous. You never have to leave the Starting Zone. Which is Valdraken now. Just fly around and pick up herbs and rocks while waiting for TW to pop.
We just had a TW week so it might be a few more before the next one.
When I namedropped Rip Van Winkle, that was supposed to be figurative. I never knew there would be literal RVW’s.
There should be a specialized guide for you, because you missed out on WAY too much development.
You should probably get on Classic, which is at Cata right now, and main Hunter there, you know, for all the “good times” you missed. Thankfully, you can do that concurrently with Retail. However, until Classic runs until about Shadowlands or Dragonflight you won’t be able to see it all.
I’m going to be on Mists for the 1st time as a Hunter main, so you and me can share that in common. I got through Wrath and Cata at max level as a Hunter, so despite that I’m 2 xpacs ahead of you in the past, if I make it to Classic WoD I will have played a Hunter in all max levels except Vanilla-60 and TBC-70.
As I said in a different thread moons ago, the real leveling experience starts at max level with gear progression and ends at season BiS. You’ll need to study and theorycraft talents.