Pet Abilities & the Future

[Sonam]

Let me start off by saying I love that the game has become a lot more interesting in how it approaches the utility of pet families. Having various cuddly companions bringing an array of abilities makes pet rosters more than just for looks (sometimes~). Playing as BM, I love that I can bring "what buff are we missing and need most?" to the table, while still doing passable damage. I'm a big fan of most individually, but there are some buffs that we do not currently lay claim to...as well one that seems confusing to me.

Being a Clefthoof enthusiast, I'm anxious for their (potential) arrival into the game [hopefully following Hydras, cough cough]. What troubles me, however, is that they may end up with the strange Rhino family ability, Stampede. No, I'm not speaking of the delightful bowling-esque Horn Toss. Stampede is odd to me because it brings a seemingly "pointless" buff to the table. Most of the bleed-favoring spec's automatically apply it themselves, without needing to individually apply it. Marksman uses it, sure, but you can't really have a Rhino and be far enough into marks to get that bleed talent anyhow, ya?

My dream would be for this particular Tenacity pet family to bring a strong Resist buff, moreso than the Shale's Mark/Kings resist....Sort of like how Resist Aura/Specific Resist Totems work. Just another fun thing we don't yet have. Also, wanted to know the general populations' thoughts on the current Pet Family Abilities, what they're lacking, or what we could eventually see. Stuff like that. Sorry if this was a bit confusingly written.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Actually, that's not a bad idea for a change in the rhino debuff. We don't have a straight resist buff (a la pally resist aura) pet and that could potentially provide something interesting.

[Comett]

Sweet idea, actually. Ties in with their tenacity routes nicely also.

[Yaone]

Aspect of the wild says hi! But no, they would need something different, and AotW is actually very good in some encounters (looking at you heroic chimaeron) But have you given any thought to any other resistance? And would it be a problem if the two stacked?

[TygerDarkstorm]

A pet bringing AotW means that we can stay in Aspect of the Hawk/Fox which means higher DPS. And also, the rhino is much more of a PvP pet with its horn toss ability, and I've never heard of anyone using AotW for PvP.

The rhino having a passive resistance buff is exactly like devilsaur's with their mortal strike debuff--we don't need the devilsaur to provide that because we can use Widow Venom, however, the devilsaur providing the debuff is more convenient for us.

[Sonam]

Though AotW is pretty fun for a limited amount of encounters (Unfortunately dropping BM's atk power dramatically since the AotH boost), Resistance Totem or a modded HS Totem still blow it out of the water, due to bringing 2 additional spell schools, and not really hindering the Shammy as much (especially the latter totem). Interestingly enough, say they changed "Aspect of the Wild" to be the Rhino [Maybe Boar too] family ability, and tagged on two more spell schools, that'd be pretty fun. Would be another buff equivalent, too. Just thought stoking.

[Yaone]

Oh don't get me wrong, I do agree that using it is a dps loss, I am just saying we do have one. But the main thing if they moved this to a pet would be, do you really want to take a tenacity pet to a raid where the buff would be needed?

But yes, if I could have the same deal on a pet instead of an aspect I would take it. And the only reason I'd even suggest this to a ferocity pet would be in the rare occasion the pet dies, you can Phoenix res it.

Again this is almost entirely a raid setting ordeal, and I am just looking at both sides. As the other side is a pretty sound idea!

[SpiritBinder]

Oh don't get me wrong, I do agree that using it is a dps loss, I am just saying we do have one. But the main thing if they moved this to a pet would be, do you really want to take a tenacity pet to a raid where the buff would be needed?

But yes, if I could have the same deal on a pet instead of an aspect I would take it. And the only reason I'd even suggest this to a ferocity pet would be in the rare occasion the pet dies, you can Phoenix res it.

Again this is almost entirely a raid setting ordeal, and I am just looking at both sides. As the other side is a pretty sound idea!

As much as I hear you Yanoe, but bringing a Tenacity pet to a raid/encounter is currently being done already, even if it is under duress. As much as chimeras aoe is .. well... ok, it really just dose not compare to the worms (tenacity) burrow ability atm. Even for interrupts, a gorilla (tenacity) can (smart cast) interrupt ever 21 secs compared to other tress. I'm not saying that it's completely ideal for the hunters personal dps, but would defiantly be allot better than the rhinos currently bleed debuff and would be nice to have it as an option as a buff we could also bring if it was missing.

[TygerDarkstorm]

As Spiritbinder has said, tenacity pets do not cripple our damage the way they used. Pet damage has been normalized across the board, with only talent choice dictating which pets do more.

[Yaone]

Sorry for not being clear, I was referring to the dps loss being from Aspect of the wild, not tenacity pets. The only reason I suggested a ferocity pet was for the insta-res.

[TygerDarkstorm]

In a raid situation, you should never be in a situation where your pet will die between their passive AoE avoidance, healer's AoE healing, and mend pet.

I'm going to link this thread in the Suggestion thread--I think this is a great fix for a poor debuff.