WoW Classic introduces many new things to Cataclysm, and some of the most substantial changes involve several Hunter buffs. Aside from the new Hunter pets, we are also getting new modifications to the kit, particularly the mana bar. Aside from new pet appearances, the new beasts are game changers for the current meta. If you want the best pets to run in the latest expansion, this guide will help you look for and tame the perfect ones for your setup.
WoW Classic Cataclysm Hunter Changes
Before we show you the best pets to run this expansion, you gotta learn all the relevant changes to the Hunter's class. That's because these updates will significantly impact the pet system, along with a lot of other improvements. Hunters will appreciate these developments, but adjusting to them takes time. Here are all the essential changes to the WoW Classic Hunter class:
- Hunters now have Focus instead of a Mana bar. This acts like an energy meter, so the recovery increases with Haste, talent, and procs. Players must actively manage their rotations to ensure they can pop off the right skills instead of spamming everything on cooldown.
- Pets’ Happiness was removed from the game, so our companions will deal with the same default damage throughout. Any effects influencing this stat will heal the beasts instead.
- Autoshot will now fire even when you are moving. This means you can actively manage your autos and pets simultaneously since you don’t need to wait for downtime to deal with elemental attack damage.
- We have five new breeds to add to the pet roster: Beetles, Foxes, Hounds, Monkeys, and Shale Beasts. These new breeds will allow Hunters to field pets that can fill the role that a raid party is missing.
- Kill Command is now instant, so Beast Masters will focus on this talent most of the time.
- Call Stable Pets allows us to change our active pets between five choices at any time instead of changing our companions every five minutes.
These are the relevant pet updates, but many other changes to the Hunter kit exist. However, for the sake of this guide, we will only focus on those applicable to the pet system. These improvements will significantly impact how well companions work in the game as they become more sustainable and lethal.
List of All WoW Classic Cataclysm Hunter Pets
Cata retains the game's three significant types of pets: Ferocity, Cunning, and Tenacity. These types didn’t recieve any changes, so you won't need to make any big adjustments. However, if you need a refresher on what each category means, here are all the abilities for each type:
Cunning
- Pathfinding: Additional 8% movement speed
- Master’s Call: Inhibits movement impairing effects for four seconds
Ferocity
- Predator’s Thirst: Gain 10% leech
- Primal Rage: Provide additional 30% party haste (40 seconds)
Tenacity
- Endurance Training: Gain +5% max health
- Fortitude of the Bear: Gain +20% maximum health (10 sec)
After the update, we now have 38 Pet Families available, and they gain different passives and abilities depending on their type. Here are all the available Hunter pets in Cataclysm:
- Bat (Cunning): Stun
- Bear (Tenacity): Gain 50% Damage Reduction
- Beetle (Tenacity): Gain 50% Damage Reduction
- Bird of Prey (Cunning): Disarm
- Boar (Tenacity): Increased 30% Bleed Damage
- Carrion Bird (Ferocity)
- Cat (Ferocity): Increase STR/AGI
- Chimaera (Exotic Cunning): Slow/Snare | AoE Magic Damage
- Core Hound (Exotic Ferocity): 30% Casting Speed Reduction | Heroism Ability
- Crab (Tenacity): Root
- Crocolisk (Tenacity): Slow/Snare
- Devilsaur (Exotic Ferocity): Increased Crit 5% | Inflict 10% Healing Reduction
- Dog (Ferocity): Root
- Dragonhawk (Cunning): Inflict Increased Spell Damage Received 8%
- Fox (Ferocity): Deal 20% Attack Speed Reduction
- Gorilla (Tenacity): Silence/Interrupt
- Hydra (Ferocity)
- Hyena (Ferocity): Increased 30% Bleed Damage
- Monkey (Cunning): Disorient
- Moth (Ferocity): Silence/Interrupt
- Nether Ray (Cunning): Silence/Interrupt
- Raptor (Ferocity): Inflict 10% Armor Reduction
- Ravager (Cunning): Inflict Increased Physical Damage Received 4%
- Rhino (Tenacity): Increased 30% Bleed Damage | Knockback
- Scorpid (Tenacity): Disarm
- Serpent (Cunning): Inflict 10% Armor Reduction
- Shale Spider (Exotic Tenacity): Stun | Bonus Stats
- Silithid (Exotic Cunning): Root | Bonus Stamina
- Spider (Cunning): Root
- Spirit Beast (Exotic Ferocity): Increase STR/AGI | Healing
- Sporebat (Cunning): Inflict 30% Casting Speed Reduction
- Tallstrider (Ferocity): Deal 20% Attack Speed Reduction
- Turtle (Tenacity)
- Warp Stalker (Tenacity): Slow/Snare
- Wasp (Ferocity): Stun
- Wind Serpent (Cunning): Inflict Increased Spell Damage Received 8%
- Wolf (Ferocity): Increased Crit 5%
- Worm (Exotic Tenacity): Inflict Increased Physical Damage Received 4% | AoE Physical Damage
Note: Like before, only Beast Masters can tame Exotic pets because it’s part of their talent tree.
Best Pet for Leveling
If you are a new player or rerolling into Hunter, you want to focus on getting a Wolf. This is the best pet to get early because of the 5% crit buff, which significantly boosts clearing out early content for leveling. The wolf also belongs to the ferocity tree, which inflicts a lot of damage. If you don’t know where to find these animals, here are the locations of all the Wolves that you can tame recommended for each race:
- Razormane Wolf (Orc and Troll): South of The Sludge Fen in Northern Barrens
- Prowler (Human, Night Elves, and Wargs): North of the Duskwood region in Elwynn Forest
- Prairie Wolf Alpha (Tauren): Areas Northeast of Thunder Bluff in Mulgore
- Rabid Worg (Undead): Areas around the Forsaken High Command in Silverpine Forest
- Winter Wolves (Gnome and Dwarf): Southeast of Gnomeregan in Dun Morogh
If you are on the Beast Master track, you should switch to a Devilsaur once you reach level 55. This pet will allow you to take on higher-leveled content faster since it provides an additional Healing Reduction debuff against enemies. Wolves can still work beyond level 50, but we want a Devilsaur for the extra ability.
Best Pets for Raid (Based on Needed Buffs, Debuffs, and Abilities)
Hunters are now considered one of the top-tier classes in the game since they can quickly summon a pet that can fill up a much-needed role for raid parties. Each beast can offer huge buffs or essential debuffs that will benefit various content. Here are the best pets to field depending on what your raid party is missing:
Need Increased Stats
- Shale Spider: Embrace of the Shale Spider (5%)
Need Increased Crit
- Devilsaur: Terrifying Roar (5%)
- Wolf: Furious Howl (5%)
Need Burst Haste
- Core Hound: Ancient Hysteria (30%)
Need Bonus Agility or Strength
- Cat: Roar of Courage
- Spirit Beast: Roar of Courage
Need Bonus Stamina
- Silithid: Qiraji Fortitude
Need Increased Physical Damage Taken Debuff
- Ravager: Ravage (4%)
- Worm: Acid Spit (4%)
Need Increased Spell Damage Taken Debuff
- Dragonhawk: Fire Breath (8%)
- Wind Serpent: Lightning Breath (8%)
Need Increased Bleed Damage Taken Debuff
- Hyena: Tendon Rip (30%)
- Boar: Gore (30%)
- Rhino: Stampede (30%)
Need Reduced Attack Speed Debuff
- Fox: Tailspin (20%)
- Tailstrider: Dust Cloud (20%)
Need Reduced Casting Speed Debuff
- Sporebat: Spore Cloud (30%)
- Core Hound: Lava Breath (30%)
Need Reduced Armor Debuff
- Serpent: Corrosive Spit (12%)
- Raptor: Lava Breath (12%)
Need Reduced Healing Debuff
- Devilsaur: Monstrous Bite (10%)
Need Reduced Physical Damage Done Debuff
- Bear: Demoralizing Roar (10%)
- Carrion Bird: Demoralizing Screech (10%)
Need Healing
- Spirit Beast: Spirit Heal
It should be noted that Beast Masters should only choose between Core Hounds, Shale Spiders, or Silithids for their raid party, and they should only go for other pets if their raid party asks to. If your squad doesn’t need any specific buffs or utilities, you can just run whatever companion you want.
Best Pets for PvP
Regarding PvP, Cunning Pets are usually the best to use since they have various abilities that can disrupt enemy players or inflict devastating debuffs. Alternatively, those from the Tenacity tree can substitute in fights if you need a bit of tankiness. Here are the best beasts to field for PvP scenarios:
- Serpent
- Spider
- Chimaera
- Bat
- Nether Ray
- Monkey
- Bird of Prey
- Sporebat
How to Build Your WoW Classic Cataclysm Pets
As you level up, you get to invest in resources to empower your pets. Depending on their type, you will focus on different aspects because they don’t all function similarly. Here are the general tips when investing in each pet’s spec:
- For Ferocity Pets, focus on investing in their DPS so that you will prioritize skills like Dash, Serpent Swiftness, and Spider’s Bite.
- For Tenacity Pets, invest in making them tankier. Improve their survivability talents to increase their effectiveness.
- For Cunning Pets, balance your resources between utility and survivability talents. You must ensure they survive long enough while improving their battle efficiency.
WoW Classic Cata Pet Food System
Since Happiness no longer matters in Cata, food now mainly heals your animals quickly. Each animal has its preference, so if you want to keep your companions at full HP, make sure you have stock of their preferred diet. Here are the appropriate food for each pet in Cata:
- Bat: Meat, Fungus, and Fruit
- Bear: Meat, Fish, Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Beetle: Fungus and Fruit
- Bird of Prey: Meat and Fish
- Boar: Meat, Fish, Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Carrion Bird: Meat and Fish
- Cat: Meat and Fish
- Chimaera: Meat
- Core Hound: Meat
- Crab: Fish, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Crocolisk: Meat and Fish
- Devilsaur: Meat
- Dog: Meat, Fish, Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Dragonhawk: Meat, Fish, and Fruit
- Fox: Meat, Fish, and Fruit
- Gorilla: Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Hydra: Meat, Fish, Raw Meat, and Raw Fish
- Hyena: Meat
- Monkey: Fungus and Fruit
- Moth: Cheese, Bread: Fungus, and Fruit
- Nether Ray: Meat and Fungus
- Raptor: Meat
- Ravager: Meat
- Rhino: Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Scorpid: Meat
- Serpent: Meat
- Shale Spider: Meat, Fish, Raw Meat, and Raw Fish
- Silithid: Meat and Fungus
- Spider: Meat
- Spirit Beast: Meat and Fish
- Sporebat: Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Tallstrider: Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Turtle: Fish, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Warp Stalker: Fish and Fruit
- Wasp: Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit
- Wind Serpent: Fish, Cheese, and Bread
- Wolf: Meat
- Worm: Cheese, Bread, and Fungus
