What Are The Best Hunter Pets in Battle for Azeroth?

It doesn’t matter if you play beast mastery, marksmanship, or survival, anyone who plays World of Warcraft as a hunter has one thing in common; pets.  And in the Battle for Azeroth expansion Blizzard has made huge changes to the way hunters can tame and use their pets. 

With Battle Resurrection and other passive abilities removed and each pet family now having a set specialization, hunters now have endless pet options and can chose a pet that best suits their preferred playstyle.  It doesn’t matter if you love questing, raiding and dungeons, or player versus player, there’s a perfect pet for you. 

All these new changes have left a lot of players wondering which pet is best in this new expansion.  This article examines the top 5 pets, their abilities, and which type of hunter should use them.  Let’s check them out. 

5. Birds of Prey 

Here's one pet you should give a hoot about......, get it?  Hoot?  Because it's owl!  Nevermind......

Birds of prey were first introduced in classic WoW, making them the oldest pet on this list.  Many birds in WoW are considered birds of prey, but the ones you’ll see hunters using most often are owls, falcons, and hawks.  Birds of prey all have the Cunning specialization which means they have the Pathfinding and Master’s Call abilities, as well as two extra abilities that make them perfect for hunters that love PvP.

• Claw – pet claws at the enemy dealing X amount of damage.  X is dependent on things like character level and stats, so as you level up the more damage you will do.  Claw deals 100% more damage when your pet has 50 or more focus.
• Talon Rend – pet claws at the target’s feet, reducing movement speed by 50% for 6 seconds, allowing the hunter to break away and regroup or deliver final damage to the opponent. 
• Pathfinding – a passive ability that increases movement speed by 8% percent for both hunter and pet.  This allows the already quick raptor to move even faster, making it the pet of choice for PvP.
• Master’s Call – an ability that unlocks at level 74, this allows the pet to remove all root and movement impairing effects from itself and a friendly target, coughs its owner coughs.  It also grants immunity from all such effects for 4 seconds, and in PvP 4 seconds can be all you need to dominate your opponent.

Pet Usefulness Rating: 70/100

4. Cranes

We're going to need a bigger net

Cranes were first introduced in the Mists of Pandaria expansion and they now have the Tenacity specialization, which has abilities that allow the crane and its owner to survive longer than usual.  That alone makes it the perfect pet for hunters who mainly raid and run dungeons.  Keep reading to see the crane’s abilities that make it invaluable to its owner.  

• Chi-Ji’s Tranquility – a special ability that allows the crane to soothe its target, removing 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect.  Removing these effects interrupts an enemy’s buffs and can disrupt his ability to stack his buffs, allowing your dungeon party to escape some major boss damage. 
• Endurance Training – hunter and pet gain 5% increased maximum health, which is a huge bonus in dungeons and frees up the healer a little to focus more on the tank.
• Survival of the Fittest – reduces all damage taken by hunter and pet by 20% for 6 seconds.  Insanely valuable in dungeons, this is another ability that frees up your party’s healer to focus attention on the tank and could be the thing that allows your party to defeat a particularly difficult boss. 

Pet Usefulness Rating: 75/100

3. Raptor

Crikey!  Here we have the very quick and incredibly dangerous raptor.  Let's try to sneak up on it

As a pet with the Cunning specialization, raptors have extra movement speed that make them valuable in PvE combat and a go to pet for PvP.  They also have the Pathfinding and Master’s Call abilities that makes birds of prey such valuable pets, in addition to the following talents:

• Savage Rend – an instant ability that slashes deep into the target, causing Mortal Wounds.  Mortal Wounds reduce the effectiveness of any healing for ten seconds, allowing the hunter more time to deal fatal damage to the target creature or player.
• Pathfinding – a passive ability that increases movement speed by 8% percent for both hunter and pet.  This allows the already quick raptor to move even faster, making it the pet of choice for PvP.
• Master’s Call – an ability that unlocks at level 74, this allows the pet to remove all root and movement impairing effects from itself and a friendly target, coughs its owner coughs.  It also grants immunity from all such effects for 4 seconds, and in PvP 4 seconds can be all you need to dominate your opponent.

Pet Usefulness Rating: 80/100

2. Scalehide

Look!  Over there!  It's a dinosaur!  It's a lizard!  Wait.....what is it? 

First introduced in the Burning Legion expansion, the scalehide family of pets includes ankylodons, kodos, mushans, stegodons, and thunder lizards.   Scalehides come equipped with several defensive abilities that make them ideal for marksmanship and survival hunters who love solo questing with the occasional dungeon or raid thrown in.

• Scale Shield – this ability is earned at level 20 and allows the scalehide to harden its skin, reducing the damage it takes by 50% for 12 seconds.  This allows the pet more time to protect its owner and for its owner to deal fatal damage to the target. 
• Predator’s Thirst – part of the scalehide’s Ferocity specialization, this passive ability allows the pet and its owner to gain 10% leech.  This means that the scalehide and its owner will each be healed for 10% of the damage they each to an enemy.  This ability proves very useful during solo questing, but also comes in handy during raiding and dungeon runs.
• Primal Rage – another Ferocity ability, Primal Rage increases haste for all party and raid member by 30% for forty seconds. Obviously, this ability won’t get much use if you’re solo questing, but if you decide to pop into a dungeon for some extra XP this ability could be the difference between winning or losing a boss fight.

Pet Usefulness Rating: 90/100

1. Spirit Beasts

My, my, my!  What big teeth you have

First introduced in the Wrath of the Lich King, spirit beasts are now considered exotic pets, which means they can’t be tamed until your hunter is at level 65.  Spirit beasts all have the Tenacity specialization, meaning they have the Endurance Training and Survival of the Fittest abilities, but they also have three unique abilities that make them ultimate pet to have for dungeons and raids. 

• Spirit Shock – the spirit beast blasts the enemy target, removing 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect, disrupting an enemy’s buff and his ability to stack buffs allowing you to escape major damage.
• Spirit Walk – this puts your beast into stealth mode, but it slows its movement speed by 50%, which can be a deal breaker for some people.  But the first attack from your beast while stealth mode receives a 20% bonus to damage, which can make up for slowed movement speed.
• Spirit Mend – allows your beast to heal a friendly target for X amount.  X is dependent on your hunter’s RAP, so the higher level you are and better weapon you have, the more you will be healed.  It continues healing friendly target for a smaller amount over 10 seconds.  This may be the best ability any pet has because it is just so multifunctional.  It can be used on your hunter, but if you’re running dungeons or raids it also allows you to help out your healer if your group gets into a tight spot.

Pet Usefulness Rating:96/100

We’ve reached the end of the list everyone.  I hope I’ve been able to answer any questions you may have and made it easier to choose the best pet for your character and playing style.  Do you enjoy the new changes Blizzard has made to the pets?  Have the changes affected how you feel about playing hunter?  Let me know in the comments below.  Happy hunting!

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• WoW Battle for Azeroth: Best Hunter Spec
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• WoW BfA DPS Rankings 2019 (Mythic Dungeons and Raids)