A tanking Pet

[thriteen13]

So recently I've been on a lvling spree with my baby NE Hunter. I got her to 30 in about two weeks and then dropped her off in the to be lvled later bin and took my druid to 80. So now I got her back on track and in two days hit 41 almost 42, I had waited to tame one of the silver back gorrlias in STV. I needed a tanking pet, heirlooms make it so hard for my pet to hold aggro when I'm pulling a lot of damage. I work with the Ape for say about 1/3rd of a lvl and just couldn't deal with the look so I put him in the stables and ran though RFK to get a rotting armored pig! I love that model and I almost believe it holds aggro ten times better then the ape did for me.

I am trying to figure out what the over all hype over the apes are as I just never had that "wow I gotta keep this pet till lvl 80 for solo work" experince with them. Am I the only to feel this way or I am just expecting too much from the big hair ball?

[Saturo]

The monkeys were popular for "Gorilladin", they had Thunderstomp, an AoE aggro move, and were the only ones with it. Now that it's available for all tenacity pets, the gorilladins have died out. Glad you're enjoying your boar.

[Vephriel]

Gorillas had their moment in the spotlight before Pet Talent Trees were worked in. Originally they were the only pet that had Thunderstomp, an excellent aggro keeping ability. Now that any Tenacity pet can use that there are actually better tanking pets. I'll name 3 of the top ones, in my opinion. Everyone has their own preferences though so feel free to experiment. ^^ I love boars as well, so if you like your piggy then definitely stick with him!

Turtles - These guys are pretty much number one for survivability. Their ability Shell Shield when paired with Cower is practically an immunity bubble. They're hardy pets and do great as tanks.
Bears - Their racial ability can hit multiple mobs at once, meaning they have a better chance of holding aggro against groups.
Crocolisks - As with the bears, their ability Bad Attitude snaps back at multiple attackers. I prefer them over bears as I find they can hold the aggro a little better, but that's just in my experience.

[Saturo]

I would like to add to Veph's list with my favourite tanks.

Worms
The best singletarget pet. Their special reduces enemy armor, thus increasing your DPS, and it generates a large amount of aggro too.
Warp Stalkers
Their special allows your pet to get to the enemy instantly, which means you can open fire right away instead of waiting for it to run over. It also decreases the damage they take during the fight. Plus, you save a pet talent point on Charge, which you won't need with a Warpie.

[Zwiggy]

the pummle they have is really nice when soloing the tiger boss in zg not needed but helps!

[Azunara]

Curse you Saturo! I was about to comment on the Warp Stalkers. FOILED ME AGAIN! *shakes fist.*

Anyway, Saturo pretty much covered my opinion on Warp Stalkers. I get charge anyway in case warp is on CD though...

[thriteen13]

Thank you guys, Yeah I've looked up for my 80 horde hunters before but have mainly lvled her pre warth and talent trees. I always went the dps pets cuase no matter what pet I had I would pull off them. I still find it to be that way but with the boar it's a little more diffuclt with my raptors and cats the mob is almost dead when I do so it's not a huge deal.

[Cerah]

I have to add my two cents with my favourite tenacity pets.

Scorpids
For lower level toons, a Scorpid's Scorpid Poison ability is great for added dot damage, something you can't get with other Tenacity pets available at low levels. My first pet was a scorpid and I can't tell you how many times he saved my lowbie Orc butt.

Crabs
A crab's Pin ability, well, pins an enemy in place, keeping it at ranged distance. They can also be really annoying in PvP, like for pinning the flag carrier in Warsong Gulch.

The best advice I can give is to pick the tenacity pet that you like best. You'll figure out your own, unique play style with him/her as you level.

[MaximumOverdrive]

On my two hunters who actually have tanking pets, I use a warp stalker on my main...like Saturo said, the warp ability not only gets it to the mobs right away, but then you can spend a talent point somewhere else cause it doesn't need charge...plus the warp abillity gives it a 50% chance to dodge the next three melee attacks...and it will keep warping around the enemy, teleporting behind it...I always loved this.

The thing is tho, getting charge with warp, is that the warp stalker will use warp first, and the cool down is short enough that I NEVER see it use charge, so I ended up dropping charge from it anyways. Especially if you put points in the talent that reduces pet ability cooldowns, you'd probably never see a warpie use charge ever.

My other tanking pet is a scorpid...cause they look cool. The added dot is certainly nice and it's a good suggestion for quite some time.

[Royi]

Too bad they got rid of the purple/green Warp Stalker. Its one of the setbacks for being so late to the roll-a-hunter game. Bah!

[Vephriel]

Everyone brings some excellent points here for highlighting the different Tenacity pets. I think in the end it really comes down to what purpose you want your pet for. Many of the species abilities excel in certain situations whereas others fit a different scenario.

As others said, go ahead and try out a bunch and see which clicks with you best. You won't be 'wrong' for picking any tenacity pet over another. And if you don't like a particular species then go ahead and try another. ^^

[Acherontia]

I can't say much more than people already have. I think that picking a tenacity pet is mostly about personal preference. And yeah, when gorillas were the only pets with 'stomp, that's what made them so popular. I never liked 'em myself!

My own opinion:

Worms for when you want a tank pet that aids in high damage. (exotic)
Boar for a tank pet that looks & sounds awesome.
Bears/Crocs for multiple targets (never used a croc myself, diseased black bear ftw!)
Turtles for Raid Bosses (or Warp Stalkers if you really dislike turtles, but I found that my turtle did much better on Attuman than my warpie did ).

I solo Attuman with a boar, but generally I have to deterrance & res him at least once per fight. That said, I'm doing it in a spec that doesn't have Thick Hide, which probably makes a big difference. Doing it with a turtle is much easier, but I am not a massive fan of turtles : /

[Foru21dr]

Tis true. I find that for Ximbol.. Uzzy, my worm is my favorite tanking pet. Holds agro more, but am BM. Bitka favorite tank is ... yes her gorilla uhk'loc. She is MM and no pet truly holds the aggro anymore. Just have to kill them and kite before they get to you. hehe. Really, a tenacity pet is based on preference and someone will find one better than another for them.

[Sochi]

Like others said, all a matter of preference. Go with what you like, try one of each and see what works best with you. My current leveling alt has a bear. I must say, I love bears as tanks. But my main, she has a warp stalker and I love that pet.

The nice thing about the stable changes is that if by chance you find two tenacity types you adore, but can only keep one, you can get that bear or scorpion or turtle back and switch out between them as the need arises.

My future stables are going to include warpstalkers on all my hunters of level to take one. Worms are on the list too, as is another bear for Shaon. Which reminds me, I need to work on that list.