Choosing Pets..

[Gumballs]

Hello! First off, let me give you a bit of background information on myself, just so you can get to know me a little better since I'm pretty new here.

Hunter's have always been one of my favourite classes, since I am a HUGE animal lover. I started WoW just before burning crusade was out and my first character was a night elf hunter on my boyfriends account that I got to level 13. I got my own account and I've tried different races of hunters, the maximum level being 19.

Well, I recently started visiting petopia, and my love for hunters was renewed again! I rolled a female troll hunter named Ashiena, and my boyfriend is rolling an orc hunter with me!

I just have one issue... I can't decide on my pets. There is many that I want... 5 stable slots just doesn't seem like enough. Right now I have Mazzy (Mazzranache) and Nukk (red raptor). But I want to get Humar, a ravager, a yellow boar, a diseased wolf, a brown bear, a pretty purple frostsabre.. there's so many! And I'm only level 15 right now.. we are leveling with Recruit a Friend so I should get high up pretty fast. I get really attached to my characters, so I don't know how I am going to choose who to tame or who to abandon..

So I guess my question is.. how do you guys choose which pets to keep and who to abandon? Is this dilemma only with me or is this something that a majority of the hunter community has to deal with? I create characters, and they become a little story.. I get very attached, and I'm wondering if this is just me xD

And maybe looking for a little advice to help haha. Not who to pick, but HOW to pick I guess.

[Nevar]

I do it like this and I had to recently..judge it by who your most attached to.. If I like a pet but know I'll LOVE another I choose that way. I you really connect and click with that pet then they become something special to you Just gotta follow what YOUR heart chooses because nobody can choose for you =D

[Azunara]

Hey! Gumballs! You're on Wowhead forums as well, yus?

Anyway, Nevar is right. Don't be worried to be abandon anyone; think of it as a vacation. And essentially, I pick by what feels right. With Firewing, my main hunter, it was all random. I went through a multitude of pets before I settled on Moonlight, my Rak'shiri. Iorek, my armored wolf came next because I had always wanted one. Loque, Gondria, and Skoll (Artemis, Echo, and Apollo respectively) were just pets I wanted cause, I confess, they were shiney and new. xD

For my Blood Elf, I picked all her pets out before hand: Dragonhawk, Warp Stalker, Corehound, and recently, Araga. I chose these cause they were all things I had never done or tried before. I wanted something new.

Also, friendly advice. Beware of P.Dawg! They'll try and corrupt you!

[Dulanie]

This is something every hunter goes through. I agonize over every pet choice. There was only 1 easy one and that was the Death Ravager (which is no longer tameable) I loved leveling with him, but recently he just doesn't click anymore. I have been agonizeing about releasing him, and came to the conclusion that if I tame Aotona, and Loque'nak BEFORE Cataclysm then I will release him. Each pet has it's own story and personality, and it is invariably a hard choice where pets are concerned.

[Lazuly]

My two favorite pets (black Warpstalker and Desolace Hyena) are my favorites because it took a group of friends helping me to tame each of them. So there are memories attached to them that would make me never want to release them (plus since Blizzard made the black Warpstalker untameable, it's pretty much impossible to ever get again).

I tend to cycle through other pets now and then, but those two are always there. I pick pets based on looks first, and secondarily by which skills they have and if I think they'd be useful/interesting to have.

[Teigan]

As you can see, you aren't alone in agonizing over pets. I think most hunters, including myself, have a hard time with this. I get quite attached to certain pets.
Just try to imagine your character with the pet. If it has a good feel to you, regardless of how the other players (who aren't paying your subscription or playing your toon) might think of it, try it. But don't feel bad to give up a pet that doesn't click, no matter how hard of a tame or rare of a beast. Some of my most valued pets are nothing fancy or rare. Even if you score a spirit beast and it just doesn't click, remember it's your game. Though I wish I had that problem! lol
Also, try things you've never tried or even thought of trying. Until I tried out a bat and bear with my Tauren, I thought I hated them. Now, they are my main running buddies and I would be hard pressed to give either up.
It might take a while to find that first "real" pet, but you'll know when it happens.
Personally, I think it's good to have at least one of each pet type, or at least one tenacity, especially as you start getting talents points for your pets. But that's my rule, not yours.
And keep in mind we will get more stable slots in the next expansion. Personally, I wouldnt' give up a beloved "vanilla" pet just to tame a shiny Outland/Northrend beast that you know will still be there after Cataclysm.
So, I guess. Try different things. Keep what you love. Release what you don't. Good luck and good hunting!

[Gumballs]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It feels good knowing I'm not the only hunter with this issue! I think I've decided to get Humar for sure as my next pet (or at least a future pet), not because he is rare but because he is so pretty! I can really see my Ashiena running around with a handsome black lion, and I would rather have him from my twenties onward instead of waiting until Northrend to get one.

I tried picking all my pets out beforehand.. and I had also planned on leveling Ash and race changing her to an undead, which would match one of my RP characters. But then I started playing her and picking different pets since they match my troll girl. So I'm kind of starting over with pets.. I need to get a feel for them and make sure they match Ash.

I still think I'm going to have some problems deciding with others.. but I'll figure it out. If I let go of a pet and realize I miss him or her too much I can always go retame

And yeah, I am on Wowhead, under the same name of course Lore & RP forums is my main home, but I havn't really been active on there in a while.

[Lazuly]

I need to get a feel for them and make sure they match Ash.

Yeah, I feel this way too. Even though I'm not on an RP server, I do have a certain 'character' vision for Lazuly, and I pick pets (and mounts) that I feel match her vibe. To me, pets are a part of her unique character, even if the pet itself is not especially rare.

[Lupis]

I've always had trouble with this. I plan out several pets I really want, usually 7 or 8, all of them way out of my level range.. Then when I finally get to that level, my tastes have changed and I go with something completely different.
That, or I'll tame a neat beast, play with it for a while after camping it for weeks, then abandon it in the spur of the moment later on when I see some other rare spawn..
Frankly, its taken me this long to be happy with my troll's stable, and my dwarf (and main hunter) has a frequently rotating 5th slot. Most of the pets in her stable aren't even used for anything, I just love them to death.

[kamoodle5]

Humar's a beautiful lion. Best of luck getting him.