Hunter Pet Changes!

[Smithnweson]

Damaging special pet attacks gone

Blizzard has told us in the past that it wants to have more variety of pets in the field, not just every hunter with a wolf like it is now (or cats before that). The key to how the developers are accomplishing this is by removing all damaging special attacks from our pets. Our pets will have their melee attack and their basic attack (claw/bite/smack), and that's all they'll have for dealing damage. Their special ability with either be a raid buff or another ability that does not cause damage, such as a root or stun.

This way, all ferocity pets are capable of dishing out the same DPS. Ferocity will still do more DPS than tenacity or cunning pets, since they get better attack power scaling from the hunter and have better DPS talents. Now, your choice of pet is going to depend on your raid/party composition and what buff is needed most, rather than on which pet does the highest theoretical DPS.

Of course, the decision can get a bit sticky when you need a buff only provided by a tenacity pet. Then you have to calculate if the personal DPS loss of a tenacity pet is less than the DPS gain to the raid for having the buff.

"Best pets": different in each group

This change does not mean that you can bring whatever pet you want (well, you can, but it would be sub-optimal, like bringing a sporebat to a raid today). There will still be a best pet for your specific group -- or perhaps a choice between two pets. And you know what? That's a good thing.

I know a lot of hunters out there wanted a situation in which no outside force determined their pet choice -- not theorycrafting, not game mechanics, not their raid leaders or their mothers. It's possible to make pets that way, and it's easy, as well, as long as every pet is exactly identical and the only difference is how they look, or if every pet's special ability is different but useless in a standard group PvE environment. Those are pretty much the only ways that you can bring any pet that you want and still have your choice be optimal.

Any time you have genuinely different and useful abilities, then you have to make choices that matters. When you're making choices that matters, one choice is going to be better for any specific situation.

Pets can either be designed so that your choice doesn't matter, or they can be designed so your choice does matter.

I think with the new raid buff model, Blizzard has done a terrific job of making our pet choice matter, but they've done it in such a way that not every hunter will be using the same pet. The downside is that it means, depending on your group or raid, one pet is going to help the group more than another. And yes, if your raid leader knows what she's doing, she's going to ask you to bring the pet that helps the raid the most.

And honestly, why wouldn't you? We're hunters; we're team players. Of course we're going to do what's best for the team, right? We aren't a bunch of selfish bastards like those darned warlocks, after all.

The exotic advantage

Once again, our pets will not have damaging special abilities, so your exotic pet will not be doing more damage than a non-exotic pet. However, exotics do have an advantage: they get two special abilities rather than just one. Typically, we're seeing that they have one raid-type buff (often really good ones exclusive to exotic pets) and one PvP-type ability.

Of course, the real advantage of the Beast Mastery talent is not the exotic pets (though they are cool) but the extra four pet talent points.

The pet buffs by pet

I have tried to make this list as complete as possible, but I have not yet tamed every single pet family in the game (though I've got a heck of a lot so far). Thus, some of this information is gathered from Wowhead, and datamined information is not always accurate. Also, it does appear that some pet abilities may be incorrectly implemented, and I've made notes when something looks wrong.


Bat Sonic Blast: No longer does nature damage, just 2-second stun.


Bear Demoralizing Roar (renamed from Swipe): Reduces physical damage caused by all enemies within ?? yards by 10% for 15 sec., 10-sec. cooldown.


Bird of Prey Snatch: No longer does damage. Disarm duration increased to 10 sec.


Boar Gore: Now causes the enemy to take an extra 30% bleed damage for 15 sec., 10-sec. cooldown.


Carrion Bird Demoralizing Screech: Appears unchanged for now. [I'm sure it will be changed. Currently does damage and lowers melee attack power.]


Cat Rake: appears unchanged. [I'm sure this will be changed. The goal was to have all pets do the same damage.]


Chimera Your pet simultaneously breathes frost and lightning at an enemy target, slowing the target for 5 sec. / 30-yd. range, instant, 10-sec. cooldown (No longer deals damage)


Corehound Lava Breath: No longer does fire damage, just 25% cast speed reduction. Cooldown reduced to 8 sec. Focus cost removed. [I would guess this will change to 30% reduction, just like the rest of the cast speed reduction buffs.]


Ancient Hysteria: Increases attack speed/casting speed of all party/raid members by 30% for 40 sec.; 6-min. cooldown, but causes 10-min. Sated debuff preventing Ancient Hysteria and Bloodlust.


Crab Unchanged.


Crocolisk Ankle Crack (changed from Bad Attitude): Now reduces enemy movement speed by 50% for 6 sec., 10-sec. cooldown.


Devilsaur Monstrous Bite: Now reduces the effectiveness of heals received by 25% (standard mortal strike) for 8 sec., 6-sec. cooldown. Terrifying Roar: increases crit chance of all party and raid members by 5%.


Dragonhawk Fire Breath: Now increases the enemy's magic damage taken by 8% for 45 sec., 30-sec. cooldown.


Fox Tailspin: Reduces attack speed of all enemies within 10 yards by 20% for 8 sec., 40-sec. cooldown.


Gorilla Pummel: Focus cost removed. Just 2-sec. spell school lockout.


Hyena Tendon Rip: Now, it increases enemy damage taken from bleed effects by 30% for 15 sec., 10-sec. cooldown.


Moth Serenity Dust: Now interrupts/prevents spellcasting from that school of magic for 2 sec., 1-min. cooldown.


Monkey Bad Manners: Hurls a handful of something special at the target, blinding them for 4 sec. Rude.


Nether Ray Nether Shock: No longer does shadow damage. Just interrrupt/spellschool lockout.


Raptor Tear Armor (renamed from Savage Rend): Now reduces enemy armor by 4% for 30 sec. Stacks 5 times. 6-sec. cooldown. [I'm sure this will be fixed to stack 3 times for 12% like every other armor debuff.]


Ravager Ravage: Now increases enemy's physical damage taken by 4%, lasting 25 sec., 15-sec. cooldown.


Rhino Stampede: No longer does damage. Bleed damage effect increased to 30%. Duration changed to 30 sec. Cooldown changed to 15 sec. So just the bleed debuff.


Scorpid Clench (renamed from Scorpid Poison): Now disarms the enemy for 10 sec., 1-min. cooldown.


Serpent Corrosive Spit (renamed from Poison Spit): Instead of a DoT, it now is a debuff, reducing enemy armor 4% for 30 sec. Stacks 5 times, 6-sec. cooldown. [Note: I'm sure this will be changed to stack 3 times to be the same as all the other armor debuffs in Cataclysm.]


Shale Spider Embrace of the Shale Spider: 5% stat increase.


Silithid Venom Web Spray: Root duration increased to 5 sec. No longer does nature damage. Qiraji Fortitude : Increases party and raid members' stamina by 148. Unknown duration and cooldown


Spider Web: Duration increased to 5 sec.


Spirit Beast Spirit Mend: The Spirit Beast heals the currently friendly target for (1237 + ((RAP * 0.35) * 0.5)) plus an additional (475 + ((RAP * 0.35) * 0.335)) over 10 sec., 40-sec. cooldown.
Sporebat Spore Cloud: Now reduces the casting speed of all emenies with 6 yards by 25% for 9 sec., 12-sec. cooldown.


Tallstrider Dust Cloud: Now reduces attack speed of all enemies within 10 yards by 20% for 8 sec., 40-sec. cooldown.


Turtle Shell Shield: unchanged.


Warp Stalker Time Warp (renamed from Warp): Changed completely. Now reduces enemy's movement speed by 50% for 6 sec., 15-sec. cooldown.


Wasp Sting: Changed completely. Now simply stuns a target for 2 sec., 45-sec. cooldown.


Wind Serpent Lightning Breath: Now increases the enemy's magic damage taken by ??% for 45 sec., 30-sec. cooldown. [We assume this is the 8% spell damage taken debuff.]


Wolf Furious Howl: Changed completely. Now increases the critical strike of the entire party/raid by 5% for 1 min., 45-sec. cooldown.


Worm Acid Spit: No longer does nature damage. No longer reduces armor, now it increases enemy physical damage taken by 4% for 25 sec., 10-sec. cooldown.


The buffs/debuffs by type and who brings it

Agility and Strength death knight, shaman, warrior

Armor shaman, paladin

10% AP marksmanship hunter, enhancement shaman, blood death knight, paladin

Burst Haste corehound (exotic), shaman, mage

3% Damage beastmastery hunter, arcane mage, retribution paladin

Health silithid (exotic); warlock, warrior, priest

Mana Pool mage, warlock

Mana Regen paladin, shaman, warlock

Replenishment shadow priest, frost mage, survival hunter, destruction warlock, retribution paladin

5% Crit wolf, devilsaur (exotic), fury warrior, feral druid, subtlety rogue, elemental shaman

20% Melee Attack Speed shaman, frost death knight, retribution paladin, survival hunter

5% Spell Haste shaman, balance druid, shadow priest, destro warlock

6% Spell Power mage, shaman

10% Spell Power elemental shaman, demonology warlock, fire mage

5% Stats shale spider (exotic), paladin, druid

12% Armor Debuff serpent, raptor, warrior, rogue, druid

10% Physical Damage Debuff bear, warrior, druid, protection paladin, warlock, blood death knight

30% Bleed Damage Debuff rhino (exotic), boar, hyena, arms warrior, feral druid, subtlety rogue

30% Cast Speed Slow sporebat, sorehound (exotic), warlock, rogue, arcane mage

5% Spell Crit Chance Taken fire mage, warlock, mage

25% Healing Taken devilsaur (exotic), arms warrior, fury warrior, hunter, rogue, frost mage, shadow priest

10% Melee Attack Speed Debuff tallstrider, warrior, death knight, feral druid, protection paladin

4% Physical Vulnerability worm (exotic), ravager, arms warrior, combat rogue, frost death knight

8% Spell Damage Taken dragonhawk, wind serpent, warlock, unholy death knight, balance druid, assassination rogue
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If I read this correctly, this will end the "Bear" as a multiboxer's best friend and may seal the deal on massive pulls.

All i think this means is that post-Cataclysm if I get the computer I am hoping for I will have to start a 4 hunter + healer team and test out different pets.

[ebony]

this is all live on the ptr atm

[Tim]

Horrible changes to the pets and imo will probably destroy the whole fun reason for playing hunters. They are taking a hunter now and stripping away all the things that make it unique, and turning it into all the other classes that provide all of the bland, plain raid buffs.


It still impresses me how much influence that person has at Blizzard, whomever it is, who is in charge of destroying the game.

[ebony]

Originally Posted by Tim

Horrible changes to the pets and imo will probably destroy the whole fun reason for playing hunters. They are taking a hunter now and stripping away all the things that make it unique, and turning it into all the other classes that provide all of the bland, plain raid buffs.


It still impresses me how much influence that person has at Blizzard, whomever it is, who is in charge of destroying the game.

buffbots :P

[Tim]

So Ebony, you ever going to build that website for yourself?

[ebony]

Originally Posted by Tim

So Ebony, you ever going to build that website for yourself?

AM haveing big Host post

ONE Host moves datacenter
Two host get hacked?
Three dossess nonestop on there server.
Four Death to the comany and they give it all up. i paided a year hosting fees and well i just not got the money to make a new one and resetup all the site agean i will do it at some point atm am working on a stream and am working 4 12 hours days atm a week....

Hey if you can hook me up with a good host let me know.

[Ualaa]

I don't like the homogenization of hunter pets. You used to be able to camp (and track) for a rare, which gave you the features you wanted. IE, you were rewarded for getting the rare pet.

Then they changed it so all Cats were the same, or all Bears etc. Now its moving even further away from unique pets. I wonder how many expansions/patches, until pets are just like the Warlock's demons...