Would be interesting to hear what pets you, who plan on playing Hunters, plan on using? Myself I played Hunter among other things in Vanilla and tamed The Rake followed by Broken Tooth, however I was NE back then and if I roll hunter again I’ll likely try another race, which means I’d be more open to non-cats due to the no longer existing prowl/shadowmeld combo.
Still not sure if I'm rolling Hunter, but if so I'll be getting a Slavering Worg from SFK. 1.10 Attack Speed, then later on tame a Wolf with Furious Howl 4 just to teach it to the Slavering Worg.
Having a 1.10 Attack Speed wolf with FH4 is god tier. Unless you can get Lupos, then always get Lupos.
Cats are still really good without Prowl/Shadowmeld as they’re (pre ZG) the fastest attacking pets in the game, making good use of Ferocity/Frenzy talents and the added pushback to cast times. They also have (along with Raptors) the best base Damage modifier (10%) but can also learn Dash (which Raptors can’t).
I think I’m leaning towards a Raptor for 10-27 for the slight increase in armor (helpful at earlier levels and you can pick one up at 10 right near Orgrimmar as Orc/Troll while you have to wait until 12 near Crossroads to get a Cat or backtrack to Echo Isles and tame a level 8 pet). Then I’ll switch to a Needles Cougar at 27 which has a 1.2 attack speed (this is also around the time you start having a few points in Ferocity and can level your new pet’s loyalty before Frenzy comes online). From there Lupos is BiS pre 1.9, when his damage is normalized, and Broken Toothe is also a good option at 1.0 attack speed. Both of these pets will be HEAVILY contested so in all likelihood I’ll probably hit 60 with the 1.2 speed Cat.
In short, for Orc/Troll:
Level 10: Bloodtalon Scythemaw
Level 27: Needles Cougar
Option for Lupos at 27, Broken Toothe at 37
You can definitely consider a Wind Serpent for level 60 farming when a lot of ideal content has high armor.
Both of these pets will be HEAVILY contested so in all likelihood I’ll probably hit 60 with the 1.2 speed Cat.
Why not 1.10 Worg? Even ignoring FH, 1.10 at 24 is pretty OP.
EDIT: Misremembering Worgs are 1.2.
Both of these pets will be HEAVILY contested so in all likelihood I’ll probably hit 60 with the 1.2 speed Cat.
Why not 1.10 Worg? Even ignoring FH, 1.10 at 24 is pretty OP.
EDIT: Misremembering Worgs are 1.2.
0% base damage modifier and no Claw.
Both of these pets will be HEAVILY contested so in all likelihood I’ll probably hit 60 with the 1.2 speed Cat.
Why not 1.10 Worg? Even ignoring FH, 1.10 at 24 is pretty OP.
EDIT: Misremembering Worgs are 1.2.
0% base damage modifier and no Claw.
Just teach it bite /shrug
Plus decently tanky as opposed to Cats.
I personally just find cats sub par for anything PvE related - I see them as the pro PvP anti-caster pet.
As I'm rolling an Orc I may make a quick detour into Mulgore to see if I can nab https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=5807/the-rake early on. I'll probably stick with him until the initial levelling wave is over with, then camp out BT and Lupos.
As I'm rolling an Orc I may make a quick detour into Mulgore to see if I can nab https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=5807/the-rake early on. I'll probably stick with him until the initial levelling wave is over with, then camp out BT and Lupos.
It’s very unlikely you’ll be able to get it at launch and the time loss isn’t worth it. There’s Durotar Tiger at Echo Isles if you really want an early fast attack speed Cat (1.3 speed compared to The Rake at 1.2) but you’ll have to settle for a level 8 and catch it up.
Both of these pets will be HEAVILY contested so in all likelihood I’ll probably hit 60 with the 1.2 speed Cat.
Why not 1.10 Worg? Even ignoring FH, 1.10 at 24 is pretty OP.
EDIT: Misremembering Worgs are 1.2.
0% base damage modifier and no Claw.
Just teach it bite /shrug
Plus decently tanky as opposed to Cats.
I personally just find cats sub par for anything PvE related - I see them as the pro PvP anti-caster pet.
Cats are arguably the premier leveling pet from a damage perspective if you take into account how unrealistic grabbing Lupos early on is. With proper management the less armor/HP factors aren’t much of an issue but everyone has different needs and there are a lot of good options honestly.
Cats are arguably the premier leveling pet from a damage perspective if you take into account how unrealistic grabbing Lupos early on is. With proper management the less armor/HP factors aren’t much of an issue but everyone has different needs and there are a lot of good options honestly.
No arguement on the damage - they are definitely the highest DPS of all the pets. Just personally don't think they are carried by DPS alone. I've seen a lot of praise on Boars for levelling with the Charge/Bite combo and the tanky af stats. Have also seen people arguing for Crabs and for Turtles. Tankability is definitely very welcome in the levelling scene and cats really fall out on that.
The reason I prefer Wolf is just setting it up for end-game. 1.2 AS Wolf with FH4 in raid with a good melee group is so worth it to me. Really helps stim those DPS numbers.
Cats are arguably the premier leveling pet from a damage perspective if you take into account how unrealistic grabbing Lupos early on is. With proper management the less armor/HP factors aren’t much of an issue but everyone has different needs and there are a lot of good options honestly.
No arguement on the damage - they are definitely the highest DPS of all the pets. Just personally don't think they are carried by DPS alone. I've seen a lot of praise on Boars for levelling with the Charge/Bite combo and the tanky af stats. Have also seen people arguing for Crabs and for Turtles. Tankability is definitely very welcome in the levelling scene and cats really fall out on that.
The reason I prefer Wolf is just setting it up for end-game. 1.2 AS Wolf with FH4 in raid with a good melee group is so worth it to me. Really helps stim those DPS numbers.
Lupos will out damage Cats while it still has Shadow damage. Wind Serpents will outdamage Cats if your targets armor is significant. Raptors have the same base damage value as Cats and can learn both Claw and Bite. Tankability is cool, but not practical from an efficiency perspective. As I said, if you’re managing your pet correctly and put a few points into Endurance Training your Cat/Raptor will be fine. Charge actually roots so at least there’s reasoning behind that choice but depending on what you wanted to do you could make a case for just about every pet. There’s not really a wrong answer. It’s worth noting you can still get a 1.2 attack speed Wolf later (53, Death Maw) and not sacrifice leveling efficiency.
As I'm rolling an Orc I may make a quick detour into Mulgore to see if I can nab https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=5807/the-rake early on. I'll probably stick with him until the initial levelling wave is over with, then camp out BT and Lupos.
It’s very unlikely you’ll be able to get it at launch and the time loss isn’t worth it. There’s Durotar Tiger at Echo Isles if you really want an early fast attack speed Cat (1.3 speed compared to The Rake at 1.2) but you’ll have to settle for a level 8 and catch it up.
Yeah the catch up doesn't seem worth it.
Tbh I wish I was Night Elf because then I could get a fucking owl :smile:
As I'm rolling an Orc I may make a quick detour into Mulgore to see if I can nab https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=5807/the-rake early on. I'll probably stick with him until the initial levelling wave is over with, then camp out BT and Lupos.
It’s very unlikely you’ll be able to get it at launch and the time loss isn’t worth it. There’s Durotar Tiger at Echo Isles if you really want an early fast attack speed Cat (1.3 speed compared to The Rake at 1.2) but you’ll have to settle for a level 8 and catch it up.
Yeah the catch up doesn't seem worth it.
Tbh I wish I was Night Elf because then I could get a fucking owl :smile:
I literally have this thread open still in my tabs hahaha. Read the comments though, people really take that arguement apart. As mentioned though, there's an arguement for every pet. All just a matter of deciding what works for you and where you want to end up. In reality a good hunter will have a all three stable slots filled with different roles.
Wolf/Cat/Crab IMO is a good setup. Wolf for PvE, Cat for PvP and Crab for PvE/PvP/Memes.
Owl would work really nicely with a Night Elf Hunter playing survival due to the AoE AP debuff of Screech, combined with NE dodge racials, high base agility, and all the dodge/parry proc attacks like Mongoose/Counterattack. A super dodge-y melee survivalist.
Bit of a pipe dream and I doubt it's very effective as a build but it could be a fun experiment anyway :smile:
I sincerely believe Lupos won’t ever do shadow damage in Classic.
Owl and Wind Serpent looks tempting but I dislike the 2.0 AS (for frenzy and caster interrupts), but maybe I shoudn’t care about that?
I sincerely believe Lupos won’t ever do shadow damage in Classic.
Owl and Wind Serpent looks tempting but I dislike the 2.0 AS (for frenzy and caster interrupts), but maybe I shoudn’t care about that?
1.7
Arikara (Wind Serpent, 28, Thousand Needles)
If that makes any difference for you :)
Still not ideal, but hey!