Pets and the raiding, pets and the raiding....

[KeemZ]

First and foremost, hello all. Names KeemZ and I frequent your site alot . I am on a break from WoW for the moment since I had a kid and he steals all my time LoL. I will return soon, as my PC will be getting updated hardware-wise for the upcoming stuff.

My first question on this awesome site is prolly a frequent one: I don't pick my pets on stats, but rather the way I like playing(I mostly play alone, LoL). I was wondering, do raid groups and such not wanna party with me if I don't have maybe the new spirit beasts or something like that?

[Dulanie]

In my experience there are a few "elitists" that are like that, but generally as long as you don't screw up too badly you usually only get a few remarks. For example last night in a H HoL run I was lowest on dps, but was the only one to have survived with the tank and healer. The tank said something along the lines of ...."Why is all Dulanie the worst DPSer alive when everyone else is dead?" When I read this I LOL'd. If you incounter someone that is overly rude you can always /ignore them and you won't have to worry about being in a group with them again.

[Rhyela]

It very much depends on the raid you're doing and the environment of the guild you're in. If you're talking things like the weekly raid quest, or doing ToC, then you can more or less get away with whatever spec and pet you want as long as you know what you're doing.

For hardcore-progression raids and the guilds that run them, you pretty much have to be either Survival or Marksman with a wolf by your side. Wolves have a buff that increases the attack power of the hunter and pet by a ranked amount for 20 seconds, on a 40 second cooldown.

Never have I run into a five-man or raid thus far and had anyone complain about my spec or my pet. I typically run with a devilsaur but will sometimes bring out my spirit beast as well. Yes, devilsaurs and spirit beasts do more damage (at least for me) than other pets, but the difference between something like a spirit beast and cat (assuming equal level and spec) is so minimal that it won't make much of a difference dps-wise in the end.

Moral of the story is: unless you're intending on stomping the Lich King's face any time soon, you should be able to do dungeons and raids as any spec with any pet (of course, something like a gorilla probably isn't the "best" choice, and you might catch some grief).

Hope this helps!

[KeemZ]

LoL, thanks for the advice . I was thinking of getting a wolf, but the lesser used beast always catch my eye. My main pet is the hyena Giggler from The Blasted Lands, I got a blue armored pig named Mammon from RFC, a purple wasp from Schalazar(sp) Basin and I think I may have one of those armored wolves from Hellfire Ramparts I believe LoL.

[Lazuly]

I always pick the pet I like best, I don't min/max. I try to be the best at my class that I can, and I'm rarely the top dps, but I'm in the 'acceptable' range for damage. For me, that's good enough. For me, having pets I like is very important, because it's more fun for me that way. I think some folks can forget that WoW is a GAME and is actually not so unforgiving that a pet that does a few points less dps would mean the end of the world.

If a Hunter pet is 'making or breaking' raid success in a group, then there's a lot more problems going on with the rest of the raid's performance that can't be blamed on the Hunter. =P

[Rhyela]

If a Hunter pet is 'making or breaking' raid success in a group, then there's a lot more problems going on with the rest of the raid's performance that can't be blamed on the Hunter. =P

That deserves a big ol' AMEN, SISTER! (you are female, right? ) Lazuly's pretty much summed it up right there.

I don't use devilsaurs because they do the best dps for BM, I use Apollyon because he's freaking sweet. I love that dinosaur and worked my butt of to get him. I lost a lot of sleep (literally) over him. I use my spirit beasts because they're so beautiful and awesome. But you know what? That doesn't stop me from using Tetsusaiga (cat) or Rainey (tallstrider), too! They do just fine. Do they rip things to shreds? Not as much as Apollyon but trust me, they still pull their own weight.

[Wassa]

The only time I am picky about pets is when a hunter apps to the guild. I just look if they have a wolf and if they don't I ask why. If they want to bring in another pet for farm nights that fine with me, I personally raid with my tallstrider for farm content, but progression bosses I want my hunters to push out every dps they can and a wolf is best for that.

Although hunters that bring in a tanking pet into heroics makes me boggle.

[Lazuly]

Although hunters that bring in a tanking pet into heroics makes me boggle.

I've been guilty of that sometimes... if only because I've been out farming something with it when the Dungeon Finder pops up. Not really any chance to switch out for a dps pet then.

[Tygamoon]

Haha I have the orange wasp from the basin on my other hunter and I love playing with it even when it is a huge annoyance to myself. In groups I have a disclaimer I spam soon as I enter any instance. "If my Beedrill annoys you please let me know and I'll get my swatter." I've gotten many lolz and have yet to get that picky person that complains. In just about any raid or group (excluding ICC) you can get away with any pet you like pretty much. As long as you and the pet are speced correctly and are willing to change if someone has a legit problem with it. As to the dps issue with picky group members you need to keep in mind that dps isn't an all inclusive meter to measure peers on just like gear score. Look at damage done too. Keep in mind that a 6k dpser that dies in the first 3 seconds in a pull is pretty useless vs. your 3k or 4k output. If you know your class and can control your pet pretty well then most anyone really has no room to complain.

[Saturo]

Had a hunter in my old guild. He brought his bear into ICC. We told him to switch, but he just said "after the trash". That pet did some great AoE. In fact, that silly little bear beat a rogue in DPS. Mocking is fun. Then one of our Druids tried to get intimate. The bear quickly went away, but it was still fun seeing our always bragging rogue get beaten by a tanking pet.

Pets aren't everything, as long as you know what you're doing/cam provide a valid reason.

[Suicune]

Pets aren't everything, as long as you know what you're doing/cam provide a valid reason.

QFT.

The DPS between a Spirit Beast and Wolf in BM spec is negligible if anything. Also, BM can beat Surv if played well. My second spec is MM and I used a Wolf, but I got bored too easily with him and was constantly re-taming new skins. Loved them all, but I couldn't stay with one for more than a few weeks.
I played around in ICC with BM before the little buff, but it didn't really shine until the after the buff. It brought it up to, and most of the time above Surv. With Cataclysm on the horizon, I took a deep breath, got gutsy, abandoned my Wolf, and tamed Arc. Figured if I NEED a Wolf by Cataclysm I will be able to do so with the stable changes.
I will be BM for the rest of ICC. If you can pull your weight, you can play what you want, how you want. You can use a 'sub-par' cat, SB, and so on if you know your class. Play the spec you love, but find the best talent distribution for that spec, know your rotations (aka shot priority lol), be aware, know your buffs.