An integral part of a Beast Mastery Hunter's performance in a raid is their pet. There is indeed a myriad of available pets in the game, any of which is usable during a raid, however some are more viable than others. This article will provide you with the necessary information to choose a suitable pet. The other articles of our Beast Mastery Hunter guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the left.

1. Pet Families↑top

There are three pet families: Ferocity, Cunning and Tenacity.

It is important to note that most of the buffs and debuffs currently in the game can be provided in one form or another by pets, and if your raid is lacking a buff, you should choose a pet that provides it, whether that pet is a Tenacity, Ferocity or Cunning pet.

Beast Mastery Hunters have access to Exotic pets. There are 8 types of Exotic pets, spread out among all three families. 7 of these types of pets provide unique, Exotic-only buffs or abilities, not shared with any non-Exotic pets. In addition to this, they provide their unique look and flavour.

In the buff article of this Beast Mastery Hunter guide, we list all the relevant buffs and debuffs that the various families of pets can provide. For detailed information about how and where to obtain the pets, we recommend that you use Petopia.

2. Choosing a Pet↑top

Assuming that all buffs and debuffs are provided for you in your raid, your choice comes down to either a Ferocity or a Cunning pet. Ferocity pets will generally provide you with higher DPS because of their special ability, Call of the Wild, which should be used in conjunction with Rapid Fire.

Finally, when choosing between a Ferocity or Cunning pet, keep in mind that while the Ferocity pet buffs your own damage more, the Cunning pet does more damage on its own. This means that in a fight where you yourself have low uptime on the target, you should choose a Cunning pet.

3. Pet Statistics and Mechanics↑top

There are two things that you must know about the statistics of your pets and how your own statistics influence them.

Firstly, your pet requires a hit and expertise cap to ensure that none of its attacks miss the target, and that the target never dodges your pet's attacks. Fortunately, your pet inherits your own chance to hit, and uses it for both its hit cap and expertise cap. In other words, if you are at the hit cap, then your pet will be both hit and expertise capped.

Secondly, your pet inherits your own critical strike chance and haste, benefiting fully from both stats.

Your pet also benefits from your stamina, armor and attack power, though these stats are generally out of your own control and in the case of the first two, of little consequence to DPS.

4. Pet Talent Specialisations↑top

Just like your character, your pet also has a set of talents and a limited number of talent points to distribute. The below builds are tailored for maximum damage output, but depending on specific conditions, you may wish to take some other pet talents in exchange.

4.1. Ferocity Talent Specialisation

We recommend this Ferocity pet talent specialisation.

4.2. Cunning Talent Specialisation

We recommend this Cunning pet talent specialisation.

4.3. Tenacity Talent Specialisation

Although we do not advise using a Tenacity pet while raiding, we recommend this Tenacity pet talent specialisation.

5. Pet Abilities and Playstyle↑top

Generally speaking, your pet will do all that it has to do on its own. There are, however, a few things you should do to optimise your pet's performance.

• Turn off auto-casting on the following abilities: Growl, Cower and Call of the Wild.
• Keep your pet on Assist.