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WoW Shadowlands Best Hunter Pets

WoW Pets

There is a wide variety of WoW Hunter Pets for hunters to tame. They have some abilities that hunters can match for more optimized gameplay. I remember when you had to tame unique beasts for their abilities, like buffing raids. However, in Shadowlands, they changed the pet mechanic to make every pet special. Pets are now able to choose a specialization and the possibilities are endless! Figure out the best pet in WoW Shadowlands by reading this guide.

What's New in Shadowlands

While all World of Warcraft classes get changes every expansion, there are times when some get special treatment. For Shadowlands, no other role got as much attention as the Hunter. It received significant improvements when it came to its pets. Here's a guide on the new content for the beastmasters and the best WoW Shadowlands hunter pets.

These improvements aren't just in terms of quality but also in quantity. Yes, hunters will have more pets and pet families. To accommodate this significant change, the number of slots on hunter stables has increased to 200. The stable frame has been improved, allowing you to see all 200 spaces on the screen simultaneously rather than flipping through pages like you used to.

The Alpaca

The Camel family includes the namesake animal and its cousin, the alpaca. They don't have a lot of appearances to choose from, and there aren't any special rares. But they can attack enemies–a rather convenient excuse to humiliate your enemies by being killed by a cuddly animal. Last but definitely the most critical reason alpacas are among the best Shadowlands hunter pets is because they make a sound when you click on them.

Other new Pet Families are:

  • Coursers: includes Horses and Dreamrunners
  • Mammoth: includes Mammoths and Elekks.

Other families are renamed:

  • Silithid to Aqiri
  • Dog to Hound
  • Shale Spider to Shale Beast
  • Krolusk to Carapid
  • Goat to Gruffhorn
  • Quilen to Stone Hound

Aside from new and renamed Pet Families, some are getting new members, and many have quickly become one of the best pets for the expansion.

Examples include Maw Roaches, more like arachnids because they have eight legs with blue tips. Another would be Transport Fleshrocs, which are now giant undead hunter birds joining the Birds of Prey family.

Last for the new inclusions is the Satiated Sawtooth in the chimera family. Many families are getting multiple new members, too, such as the Hound family.

New Spirit Beast: Elegon

If you didn't like the fact that the game didn't introduce a new Spirit Beast last expansion, have some good news. Shadowlands will bring Elegon, an oriental-esque constellation dragon, to hunters. He's the second to the last boss in the Mogu'shan Vaults raid, which you can find in Pandaria. With a design like that, it should be no surprise why he's found at such a place.

Also, you can take him on as early as level 50, giving those that are more than willing to stray a little from grinding to the level cap a great edge. It also helps that you can solo your way to him, which means aside from being too focused on hitting the cap real quick, there's really no hurdle that should stop you from taming him.

Head in the Cloud Serpents

We're still not done with Pandaria-related hunter perks. Aside from Elegon, Shadowlands will give hunters the chance to tame Cloud Serpents, beasts like your traditional oriental dragon. You'll need the How to School Your Serpent tome to command these mystical beasts. Except for Pandarens, who can tame these creatures naturally and have no need for the item.

Raise Undead Pets as Well

Similarly, Undead beasts may be tamed with a Simple Tome of Bone-Binding. Raise and battle with these creepy companions. Otherwise, tame them for your collection. Undead hunters have no need for the tome, and other hunters can get it from enemies in Maldraxxus.

Pet Families

WoW Hunter pets are organized into Pet Families, giving them standard abilities. For example, the "Crane family" has the following:

  • Smack (a basic attack)
  • Gift of Chi-Ji (unique ability battle resurrection)
  • Trick (a silly but fun bonus ability).

All cranes (red, white, brown, pink, and others) have these three abilities independently of their specialization. Pet families come with a standard "shape," beasts of the Goat (Gruffhorn) family are all shaped like goats even when they may have different "skins" or colors.

Some Examples of Pet Families

  • Cunning: Mechanical, Dragonhawk, Serpent
  • Ferocity: Fox, Raptor, Wolf
  • Tenacity: Boar, Bear, Gorilla, and Turtle

Pet Types

Hunter Pets in WoW have types that have the same name as their specializations: Ferocity, Cunning, and Tenacity. In fact, they are meant to be used in a certain way. For example, the Crab family has the "Harden Shell" ability, which reduces damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds. This, combined with the Tenacity spec, will make an excellent option for the pet to tank.

A Ferocity-type pet could play a Cunning specialization, but this doesn't mean that's the best option to choose. It's always best to have different types of pets on hand. It's important to differentiate between a pet type ability and a talent from choosing a specialization. Pet-type skills are bound to pets, while talents are bound to specs.

Specializations

Specializations are essential when it comes to Hunter gameplay. There are different combinations for going solo, playing PvE content with a party, or doing some PvP.

Ferocity Spec

The specialization that's best when it comes to just doing DPS with party members. It's even better when you have a tank doing the dirty job. The abilities of this specialization focus on increasing damage over all things. Some of these are

Ferocity Abilities

  • Dash: increases your pet's movement speed for a short time.
  • Heart of the Phoenix: returns your dead pet to life.
  • Spiked Collar: passively increases your pet's attack speed, critical strike chance, and ability damage.

Tenacity spec:

Great when you're alone and when you want to survive. This is the tanky specialization because these pets will taunt and resist every attack. When your pet is about to die, you just have to use Mend Pet on cooldown or Last Stand and Exhilaration (heals your pet for 100% of its maximum health).

Tenacity Abilities

  • Thunderstomp: AoE damage and threat.
  • Last Stand: increases your pet's health for a short time (6-minute cooldown)
  • Charge: charges, immobilizes the target for 1 second, AND increases your pet's melee attack power by 25% for the next attack.
  • Great Stamina: a passive increase of your pet's total health.
  • Blood of the Rhino: a passive that decreases all damage your pet takes and increases the healing your pet receives.

Cunning spec:

This one is a mix of the above, great for PvP as your pet reduces damage taken while increasing movement speed and protecting you simultaneously.

Cunning Abilities

  • Bullheaded: reduces all damage your pet takes for a short time and removes impairing effects.
  • Dash: increases your pet's movement speed for a short time
  • Roar of Sacrifice: the pet shares damage taken with the target (the protected target is immune to critical attacks)
  • Boar's Speed: passively increases the pet's movement speed.
  • Cornered: a passive ability that increases your pet's damage when it has low health.

Pet Skills

In your spellbook, you can look at your pet's skills by pressing (Shift-I) or looking at the tab after pressing (P). The pet's action bar is not the best, and it can't be changed. There may be some skills that you haven't seen. However, you can put these abilities in your action bars for later use or make some macros. Keep in mind that you can turn on and off almost all commands. Yes, I'm talking about turning off Growl, huntards!

The Exotic Beasts

Of course, some exotic beasts can only be tamed by hunters who choose the Beast Mastery specialization. The exotic families include the following:

  • Chimaeras
  • Clefthooves
  • Core Hounds
  • Devilsaurs
  • Quilens (Stone Hounds)
  • Rylaks
  • Shale Spiders (Shale Beasts)
  • Silithids (Aqiri)
  • Spirit Beasts
  • Water Striders
  • Worms

Mechanical Hunter Pets

Added in Legion, it's a new hunter pet family. Goblins and Gnomes can tame mechanicals without any special requirement, but the other races need the Mecha-Bond Imprint Matrix. It's one-time use and doesn't require any level or profession to work. Just find a friendly engineer who learned the schematics, and you'll be taming Mechanical pets in no time. Also, this family is not categorized as exotic, which means every Hunter can have these pets.

Choosing a Pet

Think of what you want to achieve with your pet. After all, it's your partner in crime (literally). Sometimes pets function as party members with their exceptional aiding skills. If you want to PvP, choose a Cunning pet family. If you're going to level alone, maybe a Tenacity one will be best. Also, if you're running dungeons, Ferocity is the best choice.

Either way, you can choose your pet based on appearances or utility. It's up to you. Pets are different from each other, so it's great to look at the abilities provided by every hunter pet family and then choose a preferred look. Ta-da!

Best WoW Shadowlands Hunter Pets for Ferocity, Tenacity, and Cunning

Also, in case you missed Battle for Azeroth and only jumped back to the game in Shadowlands, you'll be pleased to know that pets now have three specializations. While they deal the same damage and have the same health, they vary in offensive, defensive, and utility potentials.

Also, each one has its own abilities, and the names of the specializations already tell what they are for. For Ferocity, which is perfect for offense, there's Primal Rage, which increases the group's haste by 30% to 40%; Predator's Thirst, which gives you and your pet 10% leech. Good choices for these would be Coursers, such as Fel Beasts.

Tenacity is a defensive choice that's perfect for dungeons and raids. It has Survival Instinct, which reduces the damage you and your pet take by 20%, and Endurance Training, boosting your and its health. Perfect examples of these are Mammoths, Shadowlands' new addition to the game. It should be evident that these towering ancient elephants are tough.

Last but definitely not least, Cunning has Master's Call, which removes all root and slowing effects on your pet and yourself. It can also be used to recall a pet back to you. Then there's Pathfinding, which increases both of your movement speeds by 8%. Once again, the Camel is a prime example of this. Yes, another reason to go for the alpaca.

Have Fun Picking a Pet

These are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the changes to the Hunter in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. So, if you're a Hunter, then it's your time to shine. On the other hand, if you've only taken an interest in this class recently, now's the perfect time to go for it.

Trouble Finding Pets?

Petopia is a great website where you can find hunter pets by family or by looks. Browse the appearances of the pets, see their info, and decide if you want to go after them or not. You'll find the best pet when you sort them. Exotic and rare hunter pets give much spice to the class. Plus, the challenges to get them are really worthwhile and fun to do. Petopia features many exciting guides that will surely make your hunter life better.

The Best Hunter Pets in Shadowlands

Exotic beasts are pets that can only be tamed by hunters who choose the Beast Mastery specialization. The exotic families include the following:

  • Chimaeras
  • Clefthooves
  • Core Hounds
  • Devilsaurs
  • Quilens (Stone Hounds)
  • Rylaks
  • Shale Spiders (Shale Beasts)
  • Silithids (Aqiri)
  • Spirit Beasts
  • Water Striders
  • Worms

WoW Best Hunter Pets for Survival & Marksmanship

This list consists of a healthy balance between PvE and PvP pet families, so there’s something for everyone.

Ankylodon Bull (Scalehide Family)

  • Pet specialization: Ferocity
  • Primary use: PvE
  • Pet family special ability: Scale Shield
  • Specialization abilities (Ferocity): Predator’s Thirst, Primal Rage

The Ankylodon Bull Hunter pet is part of the Scalehide pet family and was initially introduced in Legion. You can find and tame this beast in Zuldazar, located on the Zandalar continent. In short, thanks to its abilities, this pet makes for a brilliant tank, and you can use it to great success for questing solo.

Patranache (Crane Family)

  • Pet specialization: Tenacity
  • Primary use: PvE
  • Pet family special ability: Trick, Chi-Ji’s Tranquility
  • Specialization abilities (Tenacity): Endurance Training, Survival of the Fittest

Patrannache is another PvE-oriented pet, but with a slightly different purpose. It’s part of the Crane family that first got released during the MoP expansion. You can find Patrannache in the Valley of the Four Winds in Pandaria. And you can use this pet in most dungeons as it’s equally good in raids and dungeons.

Aotona (Bird of Prey Family)

  • Pet specialization: Cunning
  • Primary use: PvP
  • Pet family special ability: Trick, Talon Rend
  • Specialization abilities (Cunning): Pathfinding, Master’s Call

These bird-like pets have been a part of the game’s universe since classic WoW, and you can find Aotona in Sholazar Basin, Northrend. Thanks to the extra movement speed and other PvP-friendly abilities, this pet will be an excellent option for those who prefer doing PvP. It’s also worth pointing out that Highmountain Tauren Hunters get a pet from this pet family by default.

Groyat, the Blind Hunter (Bat Family)

  • Pet specialization: Ferocity
  • Primary use: PvE
  • Pet family special ability: Sonic Blast
  • Specialization abilities (Ferocity): Predator’s Thirst, Primal Rage

Bat pets have always been a part of WoW, so Groyat, the Blind Hunter, can be found inside the Razorfen Kraul dungeon in Barrens (Azeroth). This Hunter pet will most likely be pretty effective in specific PvE scenarios, i.e., dungeons when you need purge and blood lust abilities.

Gurubashi Riding Raptor (Raptor family)

  • Pet specialization: Cunning
  • Primary use: PvP
  • Pet family special ability: Savage Rend
  • Specialization abilities (Cunning): Pathfinding, Master’s Call

Like bats and birds, Blizzard initially added the raptor pet family to the vanilla game. And you can find the  Gurubashi Riding Raptor that can be tamed in Kun-Lai Summit (Pandaria). But this pet is useful for PvP scenarios because of its nasty rend debuff, making it especially effective against healers in BGs and Arena matches.

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