Hunter pet

The hunter pet is a hunter's constant companion as they travel across Azeroth and other worlds. When fighting solo or in small groups, a hunter's pet may act as a tank, preventing the hunter from taking too much damage in combat. Pets are also a source of damage and debuffs, working together alongside the hunter's own attacks to bring a target down.
==Types of pets==
===Pet families===
Each hunter pet belongs to a specific family of beasts, based on its species. Some families are fairly specific, like the crocolisk family; others are looser groupings, like the scalehide family, which contains kodos, thunder lizards, mushan, and ankylodons.
===Pet specializations===
Each pet has one of three specializations, determined by its pet family. This specialization grants the pet a passive ability and an active ability:
*Cunning: Pathfinding and Master's Call
*Ferocity: Predator's Thirst and Primal Rage
*Tenacity: Endurance Training and Fortitude of the Bear
Prior to Battle for Azeroth, pet specialization could be changed after taming, and it had a more profound effect on a pet's role in combat. Cunning pets, for example, did less damage than Ferocity pets but offered a variety of PvP-oriented abilities. Now, each specialization deals the same amount of damage, and the two spec-specific abilities are the only difference.
==Obtaining pets==
===Starter pets===
As of patch 9.0.1, Call Pet and other pet utilities aren't learned until level 5; as a result, level 1 hunters no longer start with a pet. Only Class Trial characters and allied races receive a starter pet upon creation.
;Class Trials
Class Trial hunter characters start with a brown-and-gray classic worg. Its internal name is Generic Hunter Pet.
;Allied races
Allied race characters, on the other hand, begin with a pet specific to their race. Although the pets shown for some races on the character creation screen were changed in patch 9.0.1 (for instance, void elves are now shown with a panthara), none of the allied races' starter pets were actually changed.
	Player race	Pet family 	Appearance 	NPC ID
	 	Warp stalker	Voidstalker 	131072
	 	Stag 	Argussian talbuk with golden fur	131074
	 	Hound 	Fiery brown darkhound 	141729
	 	Bird of prey	White-spotted tawny falcon 	151994
	 	Mechanical 	Slate and yellow mechanical wolf	160414
	 	Cat 	Blue manasaber 	131069
	 	Bird of prey	Brown eagle with white head 	131076
	 	Wolf 	Black wolf 	82308
	 	Direhorn 	Blue-gray primordial direhorn 	151993
	 	Serpent 	Red cobra 	160413
File:Void elf starter pet.jpg|Void elfWarp stalker
File:Lightforged draenei starter pet.jpg|Lightforged draeneiStag
File:Dark Iron dwarf starter pet.jpg|Dark Iron dwarfHound
File:Kul Tiran starter pet.jpg|Kul TiranBird of prey
File:Mechagnome starter pet.jpg|MechagnomeMechanical
File:Nightborne starter pet.jpg|NightborneCat
File:Highmountain tauren starter pet.jpg|Highmountain taurenBird of prey
File:Mag'har orc starter pet.jpg|Mag'har orcWolf
File:Zandalari troll starter pet.jpg|Zandalari trollDirehorn
File:Vulpera starter pet.jpg|VulperaSerpent
;Removed starter pets
Prior to patch 9.0.1, all level 1 core race hunters also started with a race-specific pet, listed below for historical purposes.
	Player race	Pet family 	Appearance 	NPC ID
	 	Wolf 	Gray 	42717
	 	Bear 	Dark brown 	42713
	 	Cat 	Frostsaber 	42718
	 	Mechanical 	Mechanical rabbit 	76199
	 	Moth 	Red with green wings 	42712
	 	Hound* 	Black mastiff 	42722
	 	Turtle 	Green dragon turtle 	57239
	 	Boar 	Black 	42719
	 	Spider 	Black with red markings	51107
	 	Tallstrider	Purple 	42720
	 	Raptor 	Red 	42721
	 	Dragonhawk 	Orange and red 	42710
	 	Crab 	Orange 	42715
:*Called "Dog" at the time.
File:Human starter pet.jpg|HumanWolf
File:Dwarf starter pet.jpg|DwarfBear
File:Night elf starter pet.jpg|Night elfCat
File:Gnome starter pet.jpg|GnomeMechanical
File:Draenei starter pet.jpg|DraeneiMoth
File:Worgen starter pet.jpg|WorgenHound
File:Pandaren starter pet.jpg|PandarenTurtle
File:Orc starter pet.jpg|OrcBoar
File:Undead starter pet.jpg|UndeadSpider
File:Tauren starter pet.jpg|TaurenTallstrider
File:Troll starter pet.jpg|TrollRaptor
File:Blood elf starter pet.jpg|Blood elfDragonhawk
File:Goblin starter pet.jpg|GoblinCrab
===Taming===
Other pets can be obtained once a hunter gains the Tame Beast ability at level 5. Tame Beast can only be used on beasts (and mechanical beasts) at or below the hunter's level. During the taming process, the hunter cannot perform any other actions without canceling.
The taming process takes 6 seconds; its cast time is not pushed back by damage taken, but it can be interrupted. If the hunter loses aggro to another player, the tame will fail.
Note that not all beasts can be tamed. Only specific species are tameable, and even among those species, some rare individuals and quest mobs may be immune to taming. Other species are tameable only by Beast Mastery hunters, who gain the Exotic Beasts passive at level 65. Critters are never tameable, even beast-sized ones such as deer or giraffes.
See list of pet families for information on what species can be tamed.
====Exile's Reach====
Hunter characters who start on Exile's Reach get to tame a pet specific to their race, similar to a starter pet. The beast is first seen as an NPC on the Alliance or Horde ship, then it disappears until Hunting the Stalker later in the storyline. In the next quest, The Art of Taming, the hunter is allowed to tame it.
	Player race	Pet family 	Appearance 	NPC ID
	 	Wolf 	Silver fur with blue leather bands* 	167345
	 	Bear 	Black 	167375
	 	Cat 	Pandarian tiger with reddish fur 	167347
	 	Mechanical 	Mechanical rabbit 	167337
	 	Moth 	Red with green wings 	167342
	 	Hound 	Black mastiff 	167352
	 	Cat 	Pandarian tiger with reddish fur 	167347
	 	Wolf 	Reddish brown fur with green leather bands*	167346
	 	Bat 	Light brown 	167351
	 	Tallstrider	Light brown 	167349
	 	Raptor 	Green 	167350
	 	Dragonhawk 	Orange and red 	167343
	 	Scorpid 	Dark green 	167344
	 	Turtle 	Green and brown dragon turtle 	167348
:*Unique appearance that cannot be found elsewhere.
====Taming challenges====
Taming challenges allow hunters to tame beasts, but with more of a challenge, often requiring special tactics not required for normal pets. The following beasts offer these challenges:
;Molten Front and Mount Hyjal
*Ankha: Spectral Frostsaber Spirit Beast (white)
*Magria: Spectral Frostsaber Spirit Beast (blue)
*Skarr: Metallic Cat (black)
*Ban'thalos: Spectral Owl Spirit Beast (green)
*Karkin: Metallic Crab (black)
*Kirix: Green Lava Spider
*Solix: Orange Lava Spider
*Skitterflame: Red Lava Spider
*Anthriss: Yellow Lava Spider
*Deth'tilac: Purple Lava Spider
;Pandaria
A different type of challenge was introduced in Mists of Pandaria, where the following beasts would be hidden and hard to see tracks had to be followed in order to find the invisible beasts. Only Flare would reveal the following:
*Glimmer: Water Strider, follow Flooded Tracks in Jade Forest
*Savage: White Tiger, follow Bloody Tracks in Jade Forest
*Patrannache: Crane, follow Barely Visible Tracks in Valley of the Four Winds
*Bloodtooth: Turtle, follow Muddy Tracks in Krasarang Wilds
*Stompy: Goat, follow Heavy Tracks in Kun-Lai Summit
*Bristlespine: Rodent, follow Puzzling Tracks in Kun-Lai Summit
*Rockhide the Immovable: Basilisk, follow Worn Tracks in Townlong Steppes
*Hexapos: Fen Strider, follow Mysterious Tracks in Dread Wastes
*Portent: Quilen, follow Dusty Tracks in Vale of Eternal Blossoms
*Degu: Red, Valley of the Four Winds
*Gumi: Blue, Kun-Lai Summit
*Hutia: Green, Jade Forest
;Draenor
A hidden quest and a dropped item help you tame two challenging beasts in Warlords of Draenor including:
*Gara: A purple void wolf that can be found among the graves in the Burial Fields of .
*Felbound Wolf: A fel-green wolf found in the Tanaan Jungle. You must use a drop from a rare NPC in order to make them tameable. Can be tamed regardless of specialization.
==Pet management==
===Feeding===
Feed Pet allows hunters to heal their pets for 50% of their health while out of combat. It's a convenient way to minimize downtime between fights since it heals instantly and for much more than Mend Pet.
===Renaming===
By default, pets will begin with a basic name—generally the name of their pet family, such as "Bear" or "Cat". Hunters can replace this with a custom name by right-clicking on the pet's portrait and selecting "Rename" from the menu.
After a pet has been given a custom name, it can only be renamed again with Certificate of Ownership, an item created with Inscription. There's no limit on how many times a pet can be renamed, though a new certificate is needed each time.
===Stabling===
Up to five pets can be kept active at once, depending on the hunter's level. In order to tame any more pets, existing ones must either be stabled or abandoned.
To stable a pet simply talk to a stable master, select the "" option, and drag the pet's icon from an active slot on the left to a stable slot on the right. Up to 50 pets can be stabled at once, allowing hunters to "store" pets for later use or for collection purposes.
===Abandoning===
To get rid of a pet, right-click its portrait and select "Abandon Pet." Keep in mind that this is permanent, so be careful not to abandon the wrong pet.
==Fighting alongside your pet==
Generally, a Hunter will send the pet in from a distance and allow it to get aggro on a mob before opening fire. Try to keep the mob on the pet so you can use the full power of your ranged weapon to take it down.
A nice trick is to use your pet to pull mobs that are out of range towards you. Use Attack to send your pet in and as soon as it attracts the attention of the mob, use Follow to call the pet back. The pet will start running towards you and the mob will follow. Once the mob is within range, use Attack again. The pet will turn around and attack the mob, and you can use your ranged weapon on it. This pull works over quite a long distance and even around corners, as long as you can get a mob targeted. It also ensures that any additional mobs will have aggro on the pet, rather than you. It does not work as well with mobs who have a ranged attack. Also, be careful that the pet does not pull any extra mobs on the way to the mob and back again.
It is possible to have the pet fight one mob while the Hunter attacks another. Note: the Hunter will not gain loot or experience from a mob that the pet kills solo. This is a deliberate decision by Blizzard, not a bug. If you intend on pulling multiple mobs and having your pet kill one or more of them while you focus on others, it would be best to try to get at least one shot or hit on each of the mobs and then allow your pet to do its work on them.
===Raiding alongside your pet===
With all pets being equal in terms of damage-dealing, it falls upon the special abilities of the pets, the encounter, and what other classes are present which determines which pet a hunter would use. Often it would be wise to talk amongst the other hunters in the raid to determine which pet each one could use since their buffs/debuffs will not stack with each others or other player's abilities. It is common for a raid consisting of several hunters to no longer have duplicate pets.
Although each pet family comes with a default talent specialization, you can change your pet's spec at any time so long as you are not in combat. Cunning, Ferocity, and Tenacity. Ferocity pets are good for continuous damage, tenacity pets make good tanks for soloing, and cunning pets have unique abilities which can be very useful in certain situations, such as PvP, as well as being almost as viable as Ferocity in PvE.
===Pet skills===
Pet skills come in two types: passive enhancement skills, and active skills.
Passive skills change the pet's stats and do not require resources.
Most active skills require Focus, a constantly-recharging point pool that works much like a Rogue's Energy bar. Some active skills are free. Every pet has 100 Focus, and Focus regenerates at a base rate of 5 points per second.
Active skills can be activated in several ways:
*Automatically, through setting them on autocast by right-clicking the skill icon in either the spellbook or pet action bar.
*By clicking the skill icon in either the spellbook or the pet action bar.
*By macros like /cast.
An active skill does not have to be in the pet action bar to be used, even on autocast. It is perfectly okay to leave Growl in the spellbook and have it on autocast.
If using a /cast macro, the skill can be addressed as if it were a Hunter skill, so if the pet has the skill "Taunt", /cast Taunt will taunt the current target.
From patch 1.7 onward, Blizzard started introducing special active pet skills. Each skill can only be used by a specific type of pet and the benefit is quite useful, usually in PvE. This increases the diversity among Hunter's pets and often promotes Hunters possessing several pets at the same time. It is expected that, with time, Blizzard will continue to add special skills to other beasts' types as well. 
With patch 3.0.2, the following aspects of hunter pet training became obsolete: pet trainers, learning skills from wild beasts, and loyalty.
Newly tamed beasts will automatically have their level increased to the hunter's level.
==Choosing a pet==
There are several factors beyond combat ability to consider when choosing a pet:
===Appearance===
Many hunters choose their pets based on visual aesthetic: cool-looking, menacing, cute, etc. Collecting pets with unusual appearances is a common hobby among hunter players. Some hunters even like to match their hunter pet with their companion pet and mount. For example, Takk the Leaper and Leaping Hatchling make a good matching pair.
Petopia is an excellent visual guide of pet appearances.
===Prestige===
Certain pets are considered especially interesting or cool among players. Some choices of prestigious pets include:
*Pets with unique skins, like Mazzranache.
*Hard-to-obtain pets, like a level 19 Horde character with a ravager or a level 19 Alliance character with a dragonhawk.
*Anything that can no longer be tamed. This one's quite difficult to achieve; you have to either luck out or have an eye for creatures that likely weren't intended to be tamed or may be removed in the future. Grimtotem Spirit Guide and Spirit of Ha-Khalan are examples of this.
===Size===
A pet's size is directly related to its level. Many beasts will dramatically shrink the moment they are tamed, then regain size as they level. However, certain species are still larger than others; for example, rhinos are large enough to be a sight obstruction in certain areas, which can be to the player's advantage (PvP) or disadvantage (dungeons and raids). Flying pets can have a similar effect with their constantly-moving wings. This can work both for you and against you, but you will probably find it at least a little annoying. Both of these issues can be at least somewhat fixed with Glyph of Lesser Proportion.
Short pets, like crabs and scorpids, can fit into places taller pets cannot go. This is not a highly significant feature, but it may occasionally come up.
==Hunter pets that keep their name after taming==
In patch 8.1.5, some mobs keep their name after being tamed, the following is a list of them (work in progress):
Name 	Family 	Zone
Sewer Beast 	Crocolisk	Canals (Stormwind City)
Toxigore the Alpha	Lizard 	Nazjatar
 	 	
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==External links==
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Category:Hunters
Category:Game terms