Is it true that different pets have different DPS?

[Joshatdot]

I hear things from friends, guild chat, groups .. that 'such and such' pet DPS sucks and 'such and such' pet has the best DPS.

I thought they were all the same DPS .. it's just how you Talent them that makes the difference.

[Vephriel]

All pets in the same talent tree do the same base DPS. You will definitely get the most DPS with a Ferocity pet, and some specific Ferocity pets might give you an advantage with their special ability (eg. Cats giving you a boost to agility, Wolves/Devilsaurs giving you the crit buff), but they are all the same on the basic level. You can complement your group by bringing along a pet that gives a buff advantage that you do not have in your composition.

[Lupis]

The people that told you that, Joshatdot, are either trying to say that certain abilities are better, or are way behind the times. xD The specific pet family's ability means a bit, but all Ferocity pets specced the same will do the same damage without their special involved. With specials, it depends on your group makeup.

[Kalliope]

If your friends won't listen to reason (as stated above), just tell them that sporebats are the best pets.

[Joshatdot]

If your friends won't listen to reason (as stated above), just tell them that sporebats are the best pets.

rofl

yeah .. what i ment to say was pet types/classes had basically same DPS.

[Kalliope]

You're correct; they're all the same underneath the talents. The three trees were standardized a while back.

Tenacity pets are still behind in that they don't give their hunters dps buffs - but for that reason, not because they physically do less damage untalented.

(I really just wanted to link to the sporebat. )

[Lisaara]

If your friends won't listen to reason (as stated above), just tell them that sporebats are the best pets.

Best answer EVER.

[Shade]

**Disclaimer: I'm tired and likely rambling. I hope this makes sense and is correct, but I am well aware how easily I can make a mistake, so please dont take this as gospel...

The base damage, as others have said, of a pet has been equalized-if they are in the same talent tree and specced identically, if my understanding is correct. But you have to note, it also depends on what YOU play as. As a BM, my wolf is going to have a slightly higher DPS then a MM/SV's wolf, though my personal DPS is going to be lower, because, as a BM, I rely heavily on Bestial Wrath, which increases the pets DPS for a bit. That with kill command and my devilsaur that I run instances with on my main, has the pet hitting crits at 30k easily.

The thing to be concerned about are what BUFFs your pet brings. Devilsaur buffs crit strike for example, which will give a slight boost to crit strike. Hyenas increase bleed damage, so if you are running with a feral druid, that buff can be slightly helpful. So while your own DPS might be lower then another hunters, you can easily bring a buff to the group that slightly raises the overall dps of the entire group-which is very helpful, even if people don't realize that increase in dps is from you.

The buffs are not going to be as effective in increasing your pet's overall DPS as speccing it properly would do. And it's not going to effect your own dps as much as a nice set of equipment, properly gemmed and enchanted will, or say, knowing a proper shot rotation to max out your DPS.

All of my hunters play as BM primarily, and I raid as one as well, when I can be bothered to drag myself into a raid. If you know your rotation, buffs and so one, you can have a very nice DPS, I can easily tie with or even beat a equally equipped MM hunter in DPS output on a good day. Add to it a devilsaur buff or a core hound's ancient hysteria.. you can get some very nice dps.

At least that is how it seems to me. But I am not a hard core raider, nor have I studied the ins and outs of dps output on pets like some others here have done so. There are some really good guides here if you search the forums on pet buffs and how effective they can be.


*shuffles off to stare at the spinning fan*

[Kalliope]

Psst. Feral druids bring mangle for their own bleed debuff.

[Shade]

See my druid is only at 60 and Ive not touched her for a long time. So is the hyena buff worthless after all? Someone told me a good while that it was a great thing to bring if you run with a feral kitty.

[Kalliope]

Well, it's a good self-buff for marks hunters if the other classes/specs that have bleeds aren't present. Which does happen! I've brought my hyenas for raids before.

[CrystalKitten]

Well, it's a good self-buff for marks hunters if the other classes/specs that have bleeds aren't present. Which does happen! I've brought my hyenas for raids before.

Also, hyenas are cute *pets Giggles*

But yes, on topic, if you don't need buffs, bring any ferocity (some say cunning is the same too, depends how long fights are to make use of feeding frenzy) pet you want If I'm running regular heroics, or a ZG that's going well, I'll just use whatever my randomizer pulls out. If I'm doing ZA though, I'll make double sure to cover any missing dps buff that I can.. in order to try and pull off a bear run.

[Lazurianis]

Well, there is no technical "Best DPS Pet" because I have found over the years of using Ferocity and Cunning as my prior DPS Pets I overlooked one ability that can massively increase your dps. "Thunderstomp" which is in the Tenacity Tree, this is a Tanking Pet ability yes I know but it only generates "Moderate Threat" so if you have a good tank, this is sure to be a charming ability. It can increase your dps by 500+ depending on your base stats. If you are going to spec into this I suggest making sure everything for your pet is DPS, Culling of the Herd, Spiked Chain, ect.

--Bear in mind trying to contridict this information is misleading, all this information has been triple checked and has been found to be true. Contridicting this information will lead to yourself being wrong.--

[Vephriel]

Thunderstomp really doesn't bring much additional DPS at max level, not enough to make it a supreme choice for damage. AoE always registers as inflated DPS due to the nature of it hitting multiple mobs at the same time, but you're not really doing that much more, especially not on single targets. Even if you spec a Tenacity pet into as many damage-increasing abilities as you can, a properly specced Ferocity or Cunning pet is still going to do more. Usually the only time you bring a Tenacity pet is for something requiring utility, for example a worm using Burrow and such. So yes, there are definitely situations where a Tenacity pet is useful, but I wouldn't say it's the choice to make for maximum DPS.

[Kalliope]

Thunderstomp really doesn't bring much additional DPS at max level, not enough to make it a supreme choice for damage. AoE always registers as inflated DPS due to the nature of it hitting multiple mobs at the same time, but you're not really doing that much more, especially not on single targets. Even if you spec a Tenacity pet into as many damage-increasing abilities as you can, a properly specced Ferocity or Cunning pet is still going to do more. Usually the only time you bring a Tenacity pet is for something requiring utility, for example a worm using Burrow and such. So yes, there are definitely situations where a Tenacity pet is useful, but I wouldn't say it's the choice to make for maximum DPS.

Absolutely, Veph, absolutely. The tenacity tree still lacks an equivalent to call of the wild (ferocity)/roar of recovery (cunning) and one for rabid (ferocity)/wolverine bite (cunning), which is a hindrance for the tree. There are several dps talents in the tree, but not enough to make it the equal of the other two.