I think people recommend Ferocity beasts simply because they are very survivable with the leach. If your cunning pet is surviving and holding aggro, sure use that. I think Sporebat, Moth, or Water Striders* would be good cunning options since they also provide a “dispel”
Goats, Pterrordax*, Boars, Mechanicals**, and Shale Spiders* also have defensive abilities to help them be more survivable.
I don’t know about the move speed stacking. A quick google search shows people saying that Trailblazer and Pathfinding do stack. I don’t know about the Loa buff though.
* This is an exotic pet and you can’t tame those as BM until level 65 now.
** For non-goblins/non-gnomes, you’ll need to buy Mecha-Bond Imprint Matrix
Cunning is probably best when you are running old dungeons. Cunning pets can also work on most leveling content (as will any other pet). However, Clefthooves and Scalehides simply have the best survivability and can tank things that other pets would die on. If you are doing at level dungeons it is better to have either the extra survivability from Tenacity or Bloodlust if your group doesn’t have it and the soothe effect rather than the slight movement speed increase.
I agree with both of you, I think cunning is handy while moving from mob to mob, place to place. However ferocity will be good to swap to when facing a tougher challenge like an elite quest.
I was talking about movement speed on foot. I know trailblazer doesn’t increase mounted speed.
I’m still curious about the Embrace of Gonk though.
If a BM Hunter took trailblazer + aspect of the beast, then their foot speed would be at 142% (30+(8x1.5)). Would Embrace of Gonk (5) make this same BM Hunter run around on foot at 147% movespeed? To me that just seems like the life, lol.
I am using a Boar primarily for leveling because Trailblazer+Cunning=fast movement speed. The boar also had a shield you can macro with mend pet so he never dies. I tried a clefthoof but my boar is much sturdier so far due to being able to send him into packs with his shield up before hand.
Yes, the damage that the pet does (kill command, bite, beast cleave etc) heals the pet. The damage that the hunter does (cobra shot, chimera shot etc) heals the hunter.
What will speed up levelling the most is being able to pull handle large amounts of mobs (think 8+) and Ferocity pets are the best for surviving that. The leech really does make a huge difference.
This. Plus, while it’s a very small heal, your mend pet will heal you, so on fights where you take damage, you can usually heal up using mend pet, which means less time eating food.
You can pull an entire quest area easier with a ferocity pet, and master’s call typically doesn’t do much when leveling.
The movement speed can be a help, but overall it probably won’t matter if you’re using heirlooms. A scalehide is downright invincible even once you get to quest hubs that aren’t faceroll though.
I definitely get the clear benefit of leech. I guess from a time-spent scenario, I’m wondering what would be quicker over the long haul - moving faster from mob to mob, vein/herb node to vein/herb node, or mass leeching? Wondering if leech is even necessary when you’re decked in enchanted heirlooms.
I will try out using the cunning pet for the speed boost, but if I notice struggled in mass pulls, I’ll switch back to Ferocity.