So I’m sure you long-time readers know about Tux and Locke, but who’s the third pet in my stable?
Well, currently, it’s a level 68 Bloodmaul Dire Wolf from Blade’s Edge, named Amarok. Amarok being the name of a giant, fearsome wolf in Inuit mythology, and also the name of an amazing piece of Open Source software. I originally got him partially because I was inspired by my desktop wallpaper and partially because I wanted a pet that still did some damage but also had a little more armor than my other two pets, for grinding and the like. But for some reason I haven’t really gotten attached to him the same way that I have to Tux and Locke. Oh, he’s a neat little pet, but… I dunno. I’m sorta feeling like something different.
So here is where I turn to you, readers, for help and advice.
Should I stick with the wolf, or try something different?
Oh, and here are the current candidates for “Try Something Different”:
Raptor:
Tux was the first pet I ever tamed, and the second was Wash, a Mottled Raptor from Wetlands. I’d had my eye on a raptor pet almost as long as I’d been playing the game, and I went out and tamed Wash the second I was a high enough level. (Oh, and for those of you who do not “get” the name… click here, please.)
For a while, Tux sat in the stable while Wash followed me everywhere. Then I started to feel bad for Tux so I pulled him out again. Then I tried alternating between Tux and Wash for a while but it soon got to the point where I simply could not keep them both up to me in level. Finally while questing in Stranglethorn Vale I realized that level-36-Wash just could not hold aggro on some of the level 40 mobs I was trying to attack, and I was forced to choose between Tux and Wash… and, well, I picked Tux and Wash went to the stable for good.
There he stayed until I was level 69 when I realized that I needed that third stable slot (the other two taken by Tux and Locke) to be able to learn the highest level skills for my kitty and birdy. It was actually something that I’d known I’d have to do for a while, but I’d been putting it off because I’d gotten rather attached to Wash in the short time that he’d quested with me. So finally one day I took a deep breath, pulled him out, took him to the prettiest spot in Nagrand, and released him.
…I cried. Real hunters cry.
(Warning: if you are anything like me, then do not look at these pictures while listening to “When Somebody Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 unless you want to risk bursting into tears.)
*pulls self together*
Anyways, the point is that I still have this little longing in my heart to have a raptor waddling after me again. The downside is that they do fill basically the same role as a cat so it might be sort of redundant to have both. But hey, who said having hunter pets had to be logical, right?
“A feeling is not much to go on.”
“Sometimes a feeling, Mister Spock, is all we humans have to go on.”
Ravager:
I’ve never had one. Supposedly they are the highest-DPS-pet in the game and that aspect sort of intrigues me. I’d like to try something else in my raids and heroics; I love Locke but he’s gotta get some time off sometimes ya know?
Unlike many people, I find ravagers to be cute in an Aliens/hydralisk sort of way. “Pike, you’re nuts for using the words “cute”, “Aliens”, and “hydralisk” in the same sentence.” Yes, yes I know. (Hey, Starcraft is cute.)
I do rather like the idea of trying out a type of pet that I have never tried before… it’d be exciting I think.
Windserpent:
My character Lunapike has a Windserpent as one of her two pets (the ever so cute bright red Springpaw Lynx is the other) and I’ve really enjoyed having him as a pet. Lightning Breath is great and scales with hunter AP, so as your attack power goes up it will make a difference in your noodly Windserpent buddy as well.
I’ll admit I’m also inspired by the fact that a hunter friend of mine who I have ridiculous amounts of respect for (and who consistently beats me in PvP although I outgear the heck out of him) runs with a Windserpent. Clearly he knows something that I don’t. (Actually I think he knows a lot of things that I don’t.) And I think the Windserpent might be a part of that secret. MUST. FIND. OUT.
Boar:
If I want to stick with my original plan of having a grinding pet, then the ever-fashionable boar might be a good choice. The downsides are that it’d be quite a level grind to bring one up to level 70, and also, the recent boar nerfs make this somewhat less of a must-have-pet than it used to be. Still, it’s a solid choice with lotsa armor.
And there you have it. What’s a hunter to do for her third stable slot? The nostalgia and overall coolness-factor of the raptor? The damage, unique-ness, and new-ness of a ravager? The fun Lightning-Breath-goodness of the windserpent? The armor of the ol’ boar standby? Or should I just stick with my wolf?
…I’m torn.
What do you think?
I’ve put a poll up on the sidebar so you can cast your vote. And please feel free to leave your comments on pet-picking!
Aw! I have a 24ish raptor – and 2 pets already in my stable slots, closer to my hunter’s lvl of 67 – I tamed the raptor just for a green St. Pat’s day guild thing and now…darnit, I’m fond of him. And I have to let him go too, and I’m gonna be sad too. At least I haven’t actually leveled up with him – then I’d really get sad. It’s good to know other players feel like this – here I was feeling very silly over it!
I think you should try each one, to see which you like best. And name it, “Disposable,” because you’ll need the 3rd slot for WotLK 😛 (I looked at the pics, btw. Didn’t need the song /tear!)
Get Wash back! Obviously you loved him a lot and I’m sure that he’s living very happily where you released him but he probably would enjoy being back at your side.
BTW, love the names Wash and Amarok 😉 I’ve finally met another person who knows what Amarok means (the Inuit legend, that is).
When I read Wash I thought “Is that what I think it is?” And it was. I vote raptor on the naming reference alone.
How about a Carrion Bird? AoE taunt should be intresting for grinding 😉
I’ve recently been through the same malarky here. I couldn’t make my mind up between a ravager or a raptor… in the end I went for a raptor, one of the black ones in BEM. His name is Slick and he’d black… not really cute but still mine!
I decided I only wanted a raptor if I could get it of a certain colour… unfortunately that would ahve meant grinding the levels from around 63 and I just don’t! have! the patience! 😉
Good luck with your decision making!
I almost cried at the screenshots… almost.
Very tough decision! (give us more stable slots blizzard!)
I have Tamaska my wolf shacked up in the stable, rarely do I have her out with me, Tanesha my cat from Winterspring who does the dailies with me, and the Wind Serpent who raids with me. Lightning breath does pop some big numbers when fully raid buffed!
Good luck in your decision!
Ravagers are the highest DPS pet in the game. until you get a static crit rate at 30% or above, then its the windserpent.
2/2 bestial discipline
2/2 go for the throat.
crit like all the time, lightning breath all the time.
sit back and watch your DPS top the charts
Ravager! Do it! Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it 😀 😀 😀
Also, bonus points if you name him something Starcraft-related. Mine’s named Fenix, since they kinda look like Dragoons. :3
Sorry about Wash. It’s hard to have to let go of a pet that’s been with you for so long.
Feelings aside, I think if you’d really “like something different”, try the Ravager, particularly the Rip-Blade Ravager from BEM. It chooses from 3 different colors every time it is summoned. I’m thinking of abandoning my current lvl 65 ravager for this one.
I’d keep the Wolf.. I have one of those from Badlands. They look awesome. I did stable my wolf in favor of an owl… but I’ve brought him back out again. I missed the howling.
*sniffle* This is why I have a strict policy of calling all pets I tame for skills “Intern.”
I’ve only had to abandon, I believe, three pets. The first was the first pet I ever tamed, a boar from Durotar. His name was “Bacon,” and I was never hugely attached to him.
The second was a wolf. I’m not sure if I ever named him or not, and I only had him for about a level.
The third was a tallstrider I called “Sanders.” I had him in my stable for quite a few levels before I got rid of him. It was quite hard to do, too. Sometimes I really wish Blizzard hadn’t named the menu option “Abandon,” but I figure that if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t get so attached to our pets.
Since then, I’ve been running with my cat Tiddles and turtle Bisque (who still needs a few more levels to hit 70; I’ve been grinding him up from 40!).
I’m actually in a similar position to you: I tamed a dragonhawk for my third slot; one of the lovely red ones from Shadowmoon Valley, and called him “Smaug.”
He’s very cute flapping next to me, but I just can’t find a use for him. He does less dps than Tiddles, and can’t survive as long as Bisque. So I’m now in the position of thinking about releasing Smaug into the forests around Silvermoon where he’ll have lots of friends and maybe getting a Windserpent.
But I haven’t, because I just can’t bring myself to abandon Smaug.
Irrespective, faeldray’s comment rings true; if Blizzard doesn’t do something about how we learn pet skills, I’m going to have to abandon Smaug anyway just to keep Tiddles’ and Bisque’s training up to date!
WTB more stable slots!
Just a quick note: I just noticed your combat log in the second screenshot. I do that, too, even for the interns.
I’m sure he’s happy in Nagrand; it’s one of my favourite zones.
I second the getting Wash back. Perhaps his brother though. I think Wash has gotten a taste for Nagrand by now. Those lands are beautiful.
A short story from me though…I now have “Santos” back. The white bear Bjarn. After 3 years of never being BM because blizzard took him from me…I have him back. His name is Salunek and he’ll always have a place at my side. I’m happy with him again.
🙂
If you want a grinding pet then I’d say you are best off with a boar or wolf. A raptor/ravager with the exception of looks is practically a clone of what you already have for pets. Wolves also have Furious Howl ability which will make melee dps happy.
So the 3 reasons to get a pet: raiding, grinding, and looks.
You’ve got a raiding pet in Locke (Ravagers and Windserpents might be better). Not really what you’re looking for.
You’ve got a grinding pet in Tux (you turned off claw right?) I don’t think there’s anything better than screech with the charge nerf.
That leaves looks. There are level 70 ravagers to try out, and level 69 windserpents. However, based on what you’ve said, I think it’s time to see how Wash has evolved in Outland:
http://petopia.brashendeavors.net/html/skins/skin_raptor_outlandblack.php
Stupid link…
Is real nice story about Wash. Nagrand’s a good place for him. I’s sure he’s happy there.
Remembering that song made me feel all guilty about me Whirlwind Axe, sitting in the bank since I put there in me low-40s…
Honestly if you get that attached to your pets i would leave the third slot just for pets needed to learn new abilities from so you can drop them off when you learn it before you get too attached.
I’d leave it open to train pet skills.
You don’t really need anything else anyway.
dps – you got it.
grinding – you got it.
The first time I let a pet go and regretted it was way back when I was leveling in Ungoro Crater.
I tamed my black panther Bagheera in STV and had to let him go in order to get a new White Tiger from Winterspring.
I still miss the guy, but Kaylee and I are still together and and she is the Mom of the stable.
Since then I have kept that third slot open for an “Intern” and with Wrath approaching I don’t want to get attached to another pet I will have to let go. /sniff.
I plan on waiting for the new level cap to pick my third pet. Luck with the decision.
-sniff- poor Wash! But he didn’t meet his namesakes’ fate (which I still cry about) thank goodness. Oh dangit I voted and then forgot what I voted for …. having that third slot open to train new stuff is a good idea-that way you never have to go through that emotional turmoil again (and that’s where I lose my parents. They just don’t understand …)
Darn it, Pike! I don’t cry when Rex (my Durotar Tiger), Cyboarg (RFK Pig), or Cuddles (Ravager) die, but I sure get all teary at letting a well loved Pet go. I think I actually did something similar to you and Wash with Fluffy, my UBRS Wolf, when I needed to tame a new Pet for BC’s Pet Skills.
Curse Blizzard and their puny three Stable Slots!
/me falls to his knees.
Curse you, Blizzard! Cuuuuuuuurse yooooooooou!
If you do arena a pig or scorpion is useful (the laster more so I believe). Pigs can stun with charge. Scorps have a poison which makes other things (the MS effect of aimed shot) harder to remove (at laast that was the case, not sure if its’ been fixed).
Otherwise… Yeah ravagers and cats aren’t too much different. WS is good but only in places without nature resist (not SSC).
Birds are good for screech which lowers the AP of the target. To my understanding it’s not an AOE taunt , but it does generate a hint of aggro, so its enough to keep several mobs while leveling, unless you mend pet.
Honestly i would just try them out. For me, i was in a bind. Wolfs are basically useless in raids, their howl hasn’t been upgraded since pre TBC. Screech has though, and is raid wide. WS is pretty good too. I hate cats, everyone has them. Nothing personal. I had my leveling pig forever and I decided even after the nerf to not give him up. A year of play time is too long. I’d rather quit WoW than give up Kenny. So currently I have my bird, my WS, and Kenny. The former two are for raids, the later is for PVP. I take the bird for grinding. I actually enjoy the leveling aspect, so I kinda like the fact that she’s only loyalty 3 and still needs work. Desparately waiting for Wraith so I can level again.
Why is the raptor named Wash? The link doesn’t work.
I think I know why but I wanna be sure.
🙂
Never mind. I figured it out after reading the “Burn the land and boil the sea…” post. Great reference!