A Proposition for Beast Mastery Pets

[Johnny5ive]

Currently exotic pets are special, if you gave them to hunters at low levels, they loose that special quality to them. It's kind of like a sign that you are finally reaching that pinnacle when you can tame exotics, it means you are almost at the max level you are no longer a baby hunter, but one of the big boys (or at least very close to being one) Being able to tame Exotics from the get go makes Exotics meaningless, and that wouldn't be very exotic now would it?

[Lisaara]

Currently exotic pets are special, if you gave them to hunters at low levels, they loose that special quality to them. It's kind of like a sign that you are finally reaching that pinnacle when you can tame exotics, it means you are almost at the max level you are no longer a baby hunter, but one of the big boys (or at least very close to being one) Being able to tame Exotics from the get go makes Exotics meaningless, and that wouldn't be very exotic now would it?

Just wanted to say, I love your name. XD

[Ellaran]

Currently exotic pets are special, if you gave them to hunters at low levels, they loose that special quality to them. It's kind of like a sign that you are finally reaching that pinnacle when you can tame exotics, it means you are almost at the max level you are no longer a baby hunter, but one of the big boys (or at least very close to being one) Being able to tame Exotics from the get go makes Exotics meaningless, and that wouldn't be very exotic now would it?

However, it's still only BM hunters that can tame them, so they're still Exotic because not everyone can have them. The day Blizzard allows MM and Surv hunters to tame Exotics is the day when they lose all of their specialness.

[Worba]

Currently exotic pets are special, if you gave them to hunters at low levels, they loose that special quality to them. It's kind of like a sign that you are finally reaching that pinnacle when you can tame exotics, it means you are almost at the max level you are no longer a baby hunter, but one of the big boys (or at least very close to being one) Being able to tame Exotics from the get go makes Exotics meaningless, and that wouldn't be very exotic now would it?

By the same token you could just as easily move tame exotics to lvl 85 and tell the 1-84s to "suck it up and get leveling - the wait will make it worth it!".

No, the distinction needs to be made between abilities that are too powerful / diverse for a low level (like dual two handers), and ones that are largely or entirely aesthetic, and tame exotics clearly falls into the second category.

[Worba]

Currently exotic pets are special, if you gave them to hunters at low levels, they loose that special quality to them. It's kind of like a sign that you are finally reaching that pinnacle when you can tame exotics, it means you are almost at the max level you are no longer a baby hunter, but one of the big boys (or at least very close to being one) Being able to tame Exotics from the get go makes Exotics meaningless, and that wouldn't be very exotic now would it?

However, it's still only BM hunters that can tame them, so they're still Exotic because not everyone can have them. The day Blizzard allows MM and Surv hunters to tame Exotics is the day when they lose all of their specialness.

And it has to be added - of the total range of exotics, 1) what portion are low enough level to be tamed by a 1-60, and 2) how many of those are the real "prestige" pets like spirit beasts et al?

Whether the talent itself gets made available to lower levels, it won't change the fact that you can't tame a pet until you're at or above its own level...

[Rhyela]

I think this is why I dislike the current Exotic system: it ties substantial benefits to select Exotic families. The hunter has to make a call between sticking to whatever they had before the option of Exotics, which are almost always suboptimal, or picking up new pets that they may or may not like for the competitive edge.

Consider the spider and the silithid. Both are Cunning pets, ensuring the same stats and potential talents. Both have the same special ability: they shoot webs. But the silithid gets a second ability for additional utility, just because it's Exotic. From a mechanical perspective, the silithid is completely superior: as soon as it's available, it has everything a spider has and then some. If all pets are faceless and interchangeable, a deep-BM hunter will ditch a spider as soon as it can get a silithid and never look back.

However, I'd say the existence of this forum rather definitely proves that lots of hunters DON'T consider their pets interchangeable blocks of 1s and 0s. I get attached to my pets. You get attached to your pets. Even many people I know who only casually dabble in hunterdom get fantastically attached to their pets-- I remember one of my old tanking buddies, a die-hard Warrior, eventually got a belf hunter alt. He asked me for advice for a pet: from a mechanical standpoint, what would be his best option? I perused Petopia, weighed the options, and suggested that he might like a bat for its AoE capabilities. So he ran out, got the first bat that appealed to him, and dubbed it Squeeky. Up until that point I don't think he particularly cared whether it was a bat, a flying vole, or a cactus-- if it got the job done, he was satisfied. But by naming it... well, even years later when bats were no longer the AoEing hotness of the Second Days, he never got rid of Squeeky. Some of it was quirky little gameplay features, like how the great big flapping wings were good for driving the meleers in the group up a wall-- and the noise! As someone who played a Hunter primarily to drive the rest of the team absolutely insane, he was in heaven. But some of it, I suspect, was that Squeeky was Squeeky: the bat that he got as a widdle itty bitty Hunter, who had been with him for quite awhile. His partner in crime.

Had some sort of Bat++ family made itself available-- Dire Flying Vole, if you will-- I don't think he would have considered upgrading with much gusto, and what the heck is the point of an awesome shiny new pet "upgrade" if it builds in reasons for the Hunters to dislike it?

There are plenty of other possible systems that would combine "a Beast Master's pet is flat out better" with "they can use whatever they darn well want." Slickrock's idea that the "exotic"ness apply to anything the Beast Master owns and all pets get an Exotic ability when they hit a number of talent points spent is just one way to do it. (You'd probably want to change the term to something besides "Exotic" at that point, but it's a small matter.) I just wish they'd tie ALL the benefits to "it's a pet the Beast Master uses" rather than specific families, so that if you want a silithid, you could get a silithid... but a spider would be just as smart a choice.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Agree 110%

I have my cute little spider Naphthali, and I wuv her. However, I feel I shouldn't use her because I have a silithid who does the exact same thing Naphthali does, but with a fancy stamina buff. Do you have any idea how much I'd love it if Naphthali had that same stamina buff because I'm BM? I personally wish the abilities were tied to the hunter's spec, rather than the families.

But, whatever.

[Ana]

I like the consept of having to work for a pet... but there is also something as to much work..
E.G. ive been searching for Krush for 7months now,..at some point u get really fed up with Sholari Basin... and accually i feel sad now, for ever hour that i dont get him

[Worba]

I like the consept of having to work for a pet... but there is also something as to much work..
E.G. ive been searching for Krush for 7months now,..at some point u get really fed up with Sholari Basin... and accually i feel sad now, for ever hour that i dont get him

Making tame exotics a core passive wouldn't change the fact that you'd still need to be lvl 74 to tame Arcturis, 76 to tame Krush, 80 to tame Skoll, etc.