So now that pets are "equal"...

[Anansi]

I know all pets are doing the same DPS, but are they getting rid of the families (Ferocity, Cunning, Tenacity)? Assuming not, I'll still raid with primarily Ferocity pets, though I'll of course have a bunch for different raid buffs.

For general questing, I'll likewise run through many different pets to try out the different abilities. For me, the days of a Hunter with his stalwart sidekick are certainly over, which is a bit sad really.

[Slickrock]

I know all pets are doing the same DPS, but are they getting rid of the families (Ferocity, Cunning, Tenacity)? Assuming not, I'll still raid with primarily Ferocity pets, though I'll of course have a bunch for different raid buffs.

For general questing, I'll likewise run through many different pets to try out the different abilities. For me, the days of a Hunter with his stalwart sidekick are certainly over, which is a bit sad really.

Well, we don't know exactly what they are doing yet.. but, what if it looks like this:

All pets have equal base focus-dump dps (claw/bite/scratch/kick/buffet/tinkle)

Each family has a special that provides some sort of utility, with those being focused around the abilities of each tree defensive/offensive/pvp?

The biggest question is what extra with the exotics bring?

For soloing, it is likely that you'll still have you sidekick, and for 25's if the raid is designed well, you shouldn't need to cover any buffs, so you can bring whatever pet you want.

For 10-man raiding, that's where you are likely gonna be bringing out different pets along the way, unless all the bosses are of a similar type, or there is a hole in the raid buffs that you are covering.

Time will tell.

But for now, we can think about running with pets we never would have before. Sporebat anyone?...

[Slickrock]

If we get to choose a tree for them, it's Lapress, my Silithid. If not, it's either Gondria or a moth.

Well for soloing, I imagine the tenacity pets will be even stronger, but they might make a great show in raiding too.

But the baselining of dps is a good start.

[Slickrock]

When I decided to create a hunter way back in time and chose him to be named Karathyriel and be a blood elf, it was almost clear that he'd have a big cat beside him and in Eversong Woods there are only the red and brown lynxes.

Since red did look so incredibly unnatural to me, at level ten I decided to tame an Elder Springpaw and named him (It had to be a male! ) Gerethay..

Cool. I've always liked the red myself.

[Karathyriel]

I have to admit that I choose my leveling companion more in the way of style and role play rather than looking at DPS, skills and abilities.

Karathyriel (male blood elf) has Gerethay (yellow lynx) as they both come from Eversong Woods.
Irayaya (female orc) has Bulwai (white bear) as she was raised as a slave by those icetrolls in Dun Morogh and found the bear cub beside his dead mother when she fled and took it along.
Celandir (male night elf) has Arahir (black lion) as I thought a night elf and a black lion would go neatly together and both could be stealthing around...
Ronkene (male troll) has Otomuri (blue crocilisk) as he is worshipping the loa Ula'tek, which connctes him to reptiles. He always has a snake pet out as well.

Did I have any problems leveling my toons because of my chosen companion?
I'd say no.

[Slickrock]

I have to admit that I choose my leveling companion more in the way of style and role play rather than looking at DPS, skills and abilities.

And a very respectable path you have chosen as well!

[Karathyriel]

And a very respectable path you have chosen as well!

Since I'm no native english speaker I wonder what that means.

Seriously.

[Saturo]

And a very respectable path you have chosen as well! :-)

Since I'm no native english speaker I wonder what that means.

Seriously.

He finds it honorable.

[Karathyriel]

Honorable?
Where is the honor in being a role playing geek that doesn't care fore game mechanics and still thinks he's cool?

No, seroiusly, I have my style of playing and I will stick to it until I myself decide it's time for a change.

[Kalliope]

I'm sticking with my old favorites, as always. Just because we have options, it doesn't mean they're leaving my side.

They MAY have to sit on the back burner for raids or PvP as necessary, but I still consider my most loved babies to always be in prime position by my side, whether they're physically there or not.

[Slickrock]

Honorable?
Where is the honor in being a role playing geek that doesn't care fore game mechanics and still thinks he's cool?

No, seroiusly, I have my style of playing and I will stick to it until I myself decide it's time for a change.

There's honor in choosing your own path, and not being a numbers-geek who tells others how to do things..

And there's honor in staying the course too.

/salute

[Karathyriel]

And there's honor in staying the course too.

*whispering* I did tame a wolf for instances and raids...

[Slickrock]

And there's honor in staying the course too.

*whispering* I did tame a wolf for instances and raids...

we all stray...

[Palladiamorsdeus]

The pet's I have, I have because I wanted them, and not because they were the best. That wolf I have? I've had since 05. That Devilsaur? I've been saying since the first time I got eaten in Un'Goro that I wanted to tame one. My cat was a surprise to me, I just fell in love with her. And I spent a YEAR looking for Loque. *Laughs*

I'll always use what I want to use. Even if there is a 'best pet' come Cata, if I don't like it I won't have one. Although with twenty slots, it's not like it'd kill me.

[Teigan]

Well, now that Timber is back at Teigan's side as Tannok, right now for "MM toeing the line for when I raid" he is still going to be one of her main running buddies. He was her first pet, and though they have had a rocky relationship ever since she noobishly released him for the Clutchmother around lvl 20, they have re-established their bond, since she found his true name. Or maybe he's Timber's son. Yeah, I'm a dork!
So, even when wolves are no longer "pet du jour", they'll still be a team.
Pepper the devilsaur and Galileo aka Skoll are my other two main best buds and I do take them to randoms. My guild is nice that way. Pepper may be the current "best" for BM, but that's not why I love her. So, unless I fall head over heels in love with another pet, not much will change, other than Pepper and Galileo will get to go to more "serious stuff."
I'm looking forward to retaming old friends and finding new ones, but, my stables are carefully chosen and my best friends are there.
Grys and Kal aren't 80 yet, so who knows how it will fall with them. But, their best friends (Ahuna the hyena, Paprika the devilsaur for Grys and Oberon the owl for Kal) will stay their best friends.

[Kalliope]

I'm actually kind of glad we had wolves forced on us for a while, since I would never have found Hector on my own. And y'know, the fluffy lil' guy has grown on me.

[Anansi]

Well, we don't know exactly what they are doing yet.. but, what if it looks like this:

All pets have equal base focus-dump dps (claw/bite/scratch/kick/buffet/tinkle)

Each family has a special that provides some sort of utility, with those being focused around the abilities of each tree defensive/offensive/pvp?

The biggest question is what extra with the exotics bring?

For soloing, it is likely that you'll still have you sidekick, and for 25's if the raid is designed well, you shouldn't need to cover any buffs, so you can bring whatever pet you want.

For 10-man raiding, that's where you are likely gonna be bringing out different pets along the way, unless all the bosses are of a similar type, or there is a hole in the raid buffs that you are covering.

Time will tell.

But for now, we can think about running with pets we never would have before. Sporebat anyone?...

Well if I could run with any pet I wanted and have equal surivability and DPS across the board, then FatCharlie, my Spider, is the pet of choice. However, even if all pets do the same base DPS, Ferocity will still be higher due to talents. So for raiding it's still going to be a Ferocity pet and since I will be doing 10s more or less exclusively, my pet will be whichever the raid needs. For general purpose raiding, it's going to depend on what buffs pets provide and which will be the most generally useful. I still want my pet to contribute, be it to personal DPS or to the raid in some fashion, and I want whatever ability it has to be something I actively use at the right times. Just having a passive DPS booster is boring.

[Ebonrook]

Honestly, even though they claim that all pets do the same amount of damage, I have my doubts on that equalizing pets as much as they hope. I'm still kind of hoping that either they a) let you select what kind of tree you want your pet to be (ferocity bear, tenacity wolf, etc) or b) give pets only one tree to spec into and abolish all the others. However, I am more for the former than the latter.

On subject, though, I'd run with a raptor and perhaps a carrion bird or warp stalker.

[Rhyela]

I also wish they'd let us spec the pet how we want. I'd most likely run with a wind serpent or a boar, they've been two of my favorite pet types since day one, and it stinks that neither of them are ferocity.

[Teigan]

All pets have equal base focus-dump dps (claw/bite/scratch/kick/buffet/tinkle)

Tinkle? Um...
Would that be the special mastiff ability?