The condition of Cunning in MoP

[PorrasouxRex]

I'll admit, I'm mostly a PvE/solo/grind kind of hunter. That said, I've really never fully understood the cunning tree. I don't know why. I looked at it, but really never got it down in my head. In my mind, Cunning was awesome with Carrion Feeder way back in Wotlk. "Ooo, look! my pet is eating a corpse! awesome!" But other than that, I always used ferocity pets. Part of it was for the DPS factor, the illusion that Ferocity really was for PvE only.

What I'm saying is, with these changes, a hunter like me is probably gonna go Ferocity and Tenacity. I know Cunning is for PvP, but for some reason my mind is telling me, while I stare at the tree, it really is the weakest of the three. I dunno why, maybe it's just me.

What I'm wondering is, what do you think of Cunning? What are it's strengths compared to other trees? And would you be using it in MoP among your pets?

[Vephriel]

I'm no expert on cunning pets either, but I think the overall purpose of the tree is to be a sort of jack of all trades, ace of none. It has aspects for survivability, damage, movement...a good grab bag of things that'll come in handy for PvP especially. I wouldn't say it's the weakest tree, it's just a matter of what you need. Even if it can't trump ferocity or tenacity in their respective roles, sometimes having a little bit of everything is more beneficial than throwing your strengths all in one area.

I don't see myself speccing any of my pets as cunning. I'm a PvE player rather than PvP, so probably almost all of my pets will be going ferocity so I can use them all more often. With a few tenacity of course for soloing and such.

[Kalliope]

My pets will still be going cunning for PvP. Roar of Sacrifice is too useful, especially now that the other trees don't get it, although I'll miss Roar of Recovery from the existing tree.

Note that only cunning pets get both dash and boar's speed. That's useful for keeping them hot on the tail of whatever you're chasing.

[Miacoda]

I'll most likely be using cunning for my crocolisk and chimaera, for sure, but then again, I only use those two for pvp.

[Makoes]

I've only used Zolkalter (Tan silithid ant) for pvp, fort and web make him perfect for my. Buff to health and keeps things away from me.
But yes, I do find Cunning pets somewhat lacking compaired to Tenacity and ferocity. I can spec a ferocity or tenacity pet in as many seconds as there are talent points to use, but cunning...I sit there reading everything and wonder what the heck I am doing.

[swimgremlin]

Cunning pets will still the go get 'em pets. They have the best capability as far as pers go to stay on a target. Snare/stun/root pets will still do great here.

[Cerele]

I love the cunning tree, mostly because i love silithids, while under normal circumstances ferocity out dps's cunning there are a few choice fights where due to the mechanics of feeding frenzy cunning pets can manage to pull out more dps. They have a wonderful range of tools for your usage, from constant dash, insane dps and damage resistance when they are hurt to even tanking abilities while holding moderate dps they're like the army knife of pets, rather than the shield or sword

[Equeon]

My orange boss silithid, Krilte, is just amazing in PvP. His stamina buff is great, and the web is excellent in stopping flag carriers or finishing off those cowardly rogues who always try to get away. People love him for his unique color, but enemies actually fear him. Psychologically, I guess having a giant orange and purple spiky bug that is tearing your face off is a bit scarier than a fox or small spider: my opponents almost always target him instead of me!
Which is great, really, because Mend Pet and Glyph of Mending makes up for whatever damage they can do, and by the time they realize his health isn't going anywhere then I Kill Shot and they're dead.

My point being, Cunning is an excellent spec for PvP, the pet doesn't even matter: the various 'roars' are great for some minor buffs and having a resilient and damage-dealing pet is great. Although you wouldn't use the spec much since you're a PvE kinda guy, it is definitely NOT the weakest of the three.

[Gimlion]

I love the cunning tree, mostly because i love silithids, while under normal circumstances ferocity out dps's cunning there are a few choice fights where due to the mechanics of feeding frenzy cunning pets can manage to pull out more dps. They have a wonderful range of tools for your usage, from constant dash, insane dps and damage resistance when they are hurt to even tanking abilities while holding moderate dps they're like the army knife of pets, rather than the shield or sword

It isn't just Feeding Frenzy though. Wolverine Bite severely helps with the otherwise lacking DPS capability. I've personally seen my Cunning Pets do more DPS than my Ferocity pets, particularly longer fights, where Roar of Recovery directly translates into personal DPS, and where Feeding Frenzy pulls through the most.

I was a bit disappointed to hear that they were making Cunning so much more focused on Utility, once again making it the PvP spec that anyone else just sort of glazes over. That said, I'm an avid PvPer, and plan on just about all of my 5 pets to be run as Cunning, with maybe 1 or 2 as Ferocity for the times when I need quick burns, not utility.

In the end, it's up to personal choice. If you aren't a hardcore raider, which will require Ferocity, you can pretty much use whichever spec you enjoy.

[Cerele]

I love the cunning tree, mostly because i love silithids, while under normal circumstances ferocity out dps's cunning there are a few choice fights where due to the mechanics of feeding frenzy cunning pets can manage to pull out more dps. They have a wonderful range of tools for your usage, from constant dash, insane dps and damage resistance when they are hurt to even tanking abilities while holding moderate dps they're like the army knife of pets, rather than the shield or sword

It isn't just Feeding Frenzy though. Wolverine Bite severely helps with the otherwise lacking DPS capability. I've personally seen my Cunning Pets do more DPS than my Ferocity pets, particularly longer fights, where Roar of Recovery directly translates into personal DPS, and where Feeding Frenzy pulls through the most.

I was a bit disappointed to hear that they were making Cunning so much more focused on Utility, once again making it the PvP spec that anyone else just sort of glazes over. That said, I'm an avid PvPer, and plan on just about all of my 5 pets to be run as Cunning, with maybe 1 or 2 as Ferocity for the times when I need quick burns, not utility.

In the end, it's up to personal choice. If you aren't a hardcore raider, which will require Ferocity, you can pretty much use whichever spec you enjoy.

Maybe if heart of the phoenix was a cunning talent the tree would be more looked at,
I'm just glad we can make them whatever spec we wanted, I think i'll make my loque cunning so he can have stealth and the infinite dash

[Sesamee]

I'll most likely be spec'ing all my pvp pets as cunning. With the way the talents have been condensed it's going to be very useful. From the way it's looking now even BM will be able to use cunning pets for pvp in MoP. I think the damage has been buffed enough that a Ferocity pet isn't going to be mandatory in most situations like it is now.

Although I am pretty attached to my Ferocity crocodile on Beta! When they fix the squishy pet bugs on beta I'll try him out as cunning and see how he does. It's hard to tell now with pets being killed so easily.

[Acherontia]

I think non-BM PvP and low-geared BM PvP will always want a Cunning pet for RoS etc.

I never found a use for them in PvE

[Kalliope]

For a while there in Cata, cunning pets were outperforming ferocity pets with their combination of talents, which is likely why roar of recovery got the axe.

[Gimlion]

For a while there in Cata, cunning pets were outperforming ferocity pets with their combination of talents, which is likely why roar of recovery got the axe.

Yeah, Invigoration + RoR = massive Focus Regen burst.