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By Written By: LionCirth
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Best Hunter Pets In WoW

There are many different types of pets that can be tamed in the world of Azeroth, but some stand out as being better than others for hunters. In this article, we will take a look at the best hunter pets in WoW, and why they make such good companions on the battlefield.

The best Hunter pets in WoW is going to depend on your play style and the type of content you’re doing. Ferocity would be best for levelling, Tenacity for raiding or dungeons and Cunning if you do PvP.

I’ll go into more detail below on the different specialisations, pet families, beast master exotic pets and how to find the rarest hunter pets in WoW

Key Takeaways

  • Ferocity Pet Specialisation is best for levelling hunters
  • Tenacity specialisation is the best hunter pet for PvE
  • Cunning is the best pet specialisation for PvP hunters
  • Worth training as Beast Master hunter to unlock Exotic pets
  • Pet Family types have one of six abilities
  • The best hunter pet is down to personal taste

Hunter Pets 101 In World Of Warcraft

WoW Hunter

Before we get into which are the best hunter pets in WoW, it’s important to get the basics down. In this section I’m going to explain how hunter pets work.

This will make your hunter journey easier and more importantly, more fun!

Its awhile back but I’m sure when I started playing, you could only have 1 hunter pet. Each pet had different skills, so it was more important to pick the right specific pet for your play style.

Since Shadowlands launched you can store two hundred pets. You can even have five pets in your active roster to pick from.

It’s important to remember that in reality there is no such thing as the best hunter pets.

Sure some do offer some advantages but at the end of the day, if you prefer to play with a specific pet then you use that pet!

Your Pets Abilities

Every single pet comes with the same 3 abilities, this doesnt matter what type of hunter pet they are.

  1. Growl
  2. Dash
  3. Bite/Claw/Smack

Growl

This ability is used to taunt your opponent and encourage your pet to get aggro from your opponent. Keeping the mob away from you, so you can attack from a distance.

Dash

Speed generally equals more damage and with the hunter class being a pure DPS class, your want your pet to be able to move quickly. Dash is used to help boost movement speed of the pet by 80%, this lasts for 10 seconds.

Bite/Claw/Smack

This attack will do much more damage, in fact it’ll do double the damage. It will however cost double the amount of your pets focus.

Hunter Pet Specialisations

Depending on your play style, you’ll want to pick a pet specialisation that compliments what kind of content your doing.

Each specialisation has a different passive and active ability, however each specialisation does the same damage, health and armor.

Ferocity

Ferocity is a pretty decent spec to go for when soloing content, as the 10% leech can help keep it alive. If you do group and dont have a shaman in the group, you want a Ferocity pet. The Primal Rage will help give you additional haste that you’d get from Heroism/Bloodlust

Abilities

  • Primal Rage – For 40 seconds all party members haste increases by 30%
  • Predator’s Thirst – Player and their pet leaches 10% on all attacks.

Tenacity

Tenacity is a great spec to go for when doing raids and other PvE content. Since hunters are pure DPS, they dont have any tanking abilities. With Tenacity you get Survival of the Fittest, this reduces damage by 20% for 6 seconds. Helping your pet to tank a bit more against tough mobs. The extra 5% of max health also comes in very handy.

Abilities

  • Endurance Training – Increase health by 5% on both player and pet.
  • Survival of the Fittest – Reduce damage by 20% for 6 seconds.

Cunning

If you do PvP then cunning makes for a great spec. This is because of the increased movement speed, as well as the ability to remove immozbolilization.

Abilities

  • Master’s Call – Remove immozbolilization such as roots from pet and player (or players target)
  • Pathfinding – increase movement speed of player and pet by 8%

Hunter Pets Families Abilities

Hunter pet families has caused some confusion with many beginner hunters.

It’s basically a way to put them into a group. Each type of hunter pet, will be granted one of the six abilities below.

  1. Defense – Damage taken is reduced by 50% for 12 seconds
  2. Dodge – Increased chance to dodge by 30% for 20 seconds
  3. Mortal Wounds – Reduced effectiveness of healing on target for 10 seconds
  4. Pet Cure/Dispel – Remove poison, disease or magic from pet
  5. Slow – Targets movement reduced by 50% for 6 seconds
  6. Triggered Defense – If health below 40%, reduce damage by 60% for 15 seconds.

This allows you to match a family ability with the specialisation to get the “perfect” pet for your needs.

Beast Master Specialisation Exotic Pets

For me one of the best things about the hunter class is the ability to have pets. (As well as being able to use crossbows!)

This makes Beast Master a great spec for the hunter to go with. As a Beast Master your able to tame additional pets, you do however need to be level 39.

These pets are known as Exotic and have an extra skill for you to use.

Exotic Hunter Pets

NameAbilityEffect
AqiriDune StriderPets movement speed increases by 30%
CarapidCalcified CarapaceDamage taken by pet is reduced based on total health
ChimaeraFroststorm BreathDamages all targets within 12 yards 4 times
ClefthoofBlood of the RhinoGives 10% additional armour and increases heals by 20%
Core HoundMolten HideInflicts fire damage to melee attackers when attacked for 10 seconds
Devilsaur FeastConsumes nearby humanoid/beast corpse and heals 20% of health & 20 focus
Shale BeastShimmering Shale Reduces magic damage take by pet based on total health
Spirit Beast Spirit MendHeals friendly target with additional healing over 10 seconds
Stone HoundEternal GuardianEvery 8 minutes revive pet to full health instantly
Water StriderSurface TrotSurface Trot – You and pet can walk on water
WormBurrow AttackDeals nature damage over 8 seconds to all enemies within the area

Hunter Tomes

There are certain pets that can only be tamed once you’ve learned how to. To do this you need to read special books known as Hunter Tomes.

These tomes can be learnt by any hunter specialisation.

Below are the different Hunter Tomes and where to find them.

Ancient Tome of Dinomancy

This tome teaches you how to tame Direhorns. The tome drops on the Isle of Giants, it drops from Zandalari Dinomancer.

Mecha-Bond Imprint Matrix

If you want a Mechanical pet, you need to get this tome. The Matrix is crafted by Engineers, the plan can be purchased from Xur’ios in Dalaran. An Enegineer only needs one skill point in Legion Engineering.

Tome of the Hybrid Beast

Feathermanes are some of my favorite looking Hunter pets, its well worth the effort in getting this tome.

To get this tome you need to purchase it from Pan the Kind Hand, but this can only be done when following the Hunter Class Mount Questline.

Blood-Soaked Tome of Dark Whispers

In order to tame Blood Beasts, you need to get a copy of the Blood-Soaked Tome of Dark Whispers. This is a guaranteed drop from Zul in Uldir. It drops whether you do it in normal or harder versions.

Gargon Training Manual

This manual is fairly easy to get. It drops from Huntmaster Petrus in Revendreth. Getting it allows you to tame the Gargon of Revendreth

How to School Your Serpent

If you enjoyed the atmosphere of Pandaria, no doubt you’d love a Cloud Serpent as a hunter pet. Luckily its very easy to get, this book can be purchased from San Redscale in the Jade Forest. It only costs 12g.

Simple Tome of Bone-Binding

Whether your a forsaken or not, charging in at your enemy with an undead pet will be intimidating. The Simple Tome of Bone-Binding will allow you to tame undead beasts. This tome drops from bosses in the dungeon Plaguefall but also from NPCs in Maldraxxus.

Best Hunter Pets For Levelling & Questing

Whether your new to the hunter class or not, you want a pet that can help not only stay alive but also cause plenty of damage against mobs. As a hunter, the pet you choose is an important decision to make.

I would recommend going for a Ferocity pet. These do tend to make the best hunter pet for levelling or questing. This is even more important if you are levelling on your own. Since the hunter is a DPS only class, the Ferocity specialisation does give a bit of tanking with the leech ability.

Pets I would recommend would be;

NameLocation
ClefhoofBorean Tundra
Core HoundMount Hyjal
GorillaStranglethorn Vale, Un’Goro Crater, Jade Forest & Zandalar
ScalehideVally of the four winds, Desolace, Dread Wastes & Korthia

There are other places that they can be found, however these are some of the most common.

Clefhoof is a great choice as its an excellent tank, it has the leech effect but also the passive effect Blood of the Rhino.

The other pets above are also recommended if your not following the beast mastery specialisation. All of these have the defense ability, which helps to reduce the amount of damage they do take.

Best Hunter Pets For Raiding & Dungeons

If your looking for the best hunter pet for PvE, Tenacity would be the specialisation you want to focus on. With Endurance training you and the pet get additional health. Not only that but because of Survival of the fittest, it also has some damaging reduction.

Pets I would recommend would be;

NameLocation
Spirit BeastThe Storm Peaks, Grizzly Hills, Suramar
StonehoundRevendreth
BearMost Zones
BeetleUldum, Vol’dun
OxenMaldraxxus, Kun-Lai Summit, Stormheim & Timeless Isles
TurtleValley of the Four Winds, Timeless Isle, Suramar
CarapidVol’dun, Ardenweald

There are other places that they can be found, however these are some of the most common.

Best Hunter Pets For PvP

Now if PvP is your goal then i’d recommend going for Cunning pets. Theres to me are the best hunter pet for PvP.

Theres a couple of very good reasons why.

First of all Master’s Call can help you escape CC, since it removes immobility.

The second reason is because of the extra movement speed you get. This is perfect for pushing forward against those injured enemies that are trying to escape.

In terms of family abilities, I would be looking for one that has slow to help slow down your enemies. If I wanted to mix it up a bit then id also go for mortal wounds, as this would reduce the healing your opponents could do. Which would help you to take them out easier.

Pets I recommend are;

NameLocation
AqiriDread Wastes, Ruins of ahn’qiraj, Silithus, Tanaris, Thousand Needles, Uldum
BasiliskDesolace, High Mountain, Suramar, Terokkar Forest, Zangarmarsh
Bird of PreyZuldazar, Zereth Mortis, Winterspring, Vally Of The Four Winds, Val’sharah
Hound The Maw, Talador, Stormsong Valley, Revendreth, Maldraxxus, Eastern Plaguelands
HyenaVol’dun, Uldum, Blasted Lands, Descolace, Tanaris
RaptorZuldazar, Wetlands, Un’Goro Crater, Tanaan Jungle, Northern Barrens, Nazmir
RodentZereth Mortis, The Maw, Eredath, Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Jade Forest
Warp StalkerTerokkar Forest, Talador, Shadowmoon Valley, Nagrand, Eredath

There are other places that they can be found, however these are some of the most common.

What Hunter Pets Look The Best?

To be honest getting into the abilities is really more for end game or serious hunters. Let’s face it, most of the time we pick a hunter pet based on what they look like.

Let’s face it, you have your gear the way you want it. It’s understandable that you want your pet to match the look of your character.

Below are a list of some of my favourite looking hunter pets. Many of these can be tough to get as other hunters are also after them.

NameLocation
Ironeye The InvincibleIroneye The InvincibleThousand Needles
GarudeonGarudeonGarudeon’s Nest, Zereth Mortis
AotonaAotonaSholazar Basin
SpiteflayerSpiteflayerBlasted Lands
AethonAethonAspirant’s Crucible, Bastion
Iridescent Glimmershell Iridescent Glimmershell Coral Forest & Dragon’s Teeth Basin, Nazjatar
NemaeusNemaeusAspirant’s Crucible, Bastion
Cloudtail Cloudtail Aspirant’s Crucible, Bastion
PlaguePlagueGarren’s Haunt, Tirisfal Glades
Rei LunRei LunThe Hall of the Serpent, Vale of Eternal Blossoms
VexisVexisThe Great Veldt, Zereth Mortis

Hunter Pet Table

Pet Family AbilitySpecialisation
AqiriSlowCunning
BasiliskSlowCunning
BatPet Cure/DispelFerocity
BearTriggered DefenseTenacity
BeetleDefenseTenacity
Bird of PreySlowCunning
Blood BeastSlowTenacity
BoarDefenseCunning
CamelTriggered DefenseCunning
CarapidDefenseTenacity
Carrion BirdMortal WoundsFerocity
CatDodgeFerocity
ChimaeraSlowFerocity
ClefhoofTriggered DefenseFerocity
Core HoundDefenseFerocity
CourserDodgeFerocity
CrabSlowTenacity
CranePet Cure/DispelTenacity
CrocliskSlowFerocity
DirehornMortal WoundsTenacity
DragonhawkDodgeTenacity
FeathermaneDodgeTenacity
FoxDodgeCunning
GirukkaTriggered DefenseFerocity
GruffhornTriggered DefenseCunning
HoundSlowCunning
HyenaMortal WoundsCunning
MammothSlowTenacity
MechanicalDefenseCunning
MonkeyDodgeCunning
MothPet Cure/DispelCunning
OxenTriggered DefenseTenacity
PterrordaxTriggered DefenseCunning
RayPet Cure/DispelFerocity
ScalehideDefenseFerocity
SerpentDodgeCunning
Shale BeastDefenseCunning
SorebatPet Cure/DispelCunning
SpiderSlowFerocity
Spirit BeastPet Cure/DispelTenacity
StagPet Cure/DispelTenacity
StonehoundTriggered DefenseTenacity
TallstriderSlowFerocity
ToadDodgeTenacity
TurtleDefenseTenacity
Warp StalkerSlowCunning
Water StriderPet Cure/DispelCunning
Wind SerpentDodgeFerocity
WolfSlowFerocity
WormSlowTenacity

Final Thoughts

In this article, we’ve explored the different best hunter pets for raiding and dungeons, as well as PvP.

We’ve looked at the benefits of Tenacity pets for PvE and Cunning pets for PvP, and listed some of the best Hunter Pets in each category.

Finally, we’ve discussed what factors you may want to consider when choosing a pet based on looks alone.

We hope you’ve found this guide helpful, and good luck in your future hunts!

Photo of author
LionCirth is a passionate gamer who has been playing games for as long as he can remember. He has fond memories of playing classic titles such as Warcraft, Doom, and Daggerfall, which sparked his love for video games. As a child, he spent most of his free time immersed in the world of Final Fantasy 7, a game that he has revisited and completed many, many times.