Thank you for being a friend, part 1

This is a guest post by Gildor.

Peanut butter and jelly, steak and eggs, the letters Q and U…what do these things have in common? They are best friends, much like a Hunter and his pet. Often times I think we forget how important our pets are to us Hunters. They are an extension of our body, dishing out and taking considerable damage all for our benefit. All they need in return is a little food and a proper name. I don’t know about you, but I feel naked if I happen to be rolling around with my pet kenneled.

Choosing the right pet can be tough. First, there are the aesthetics to consider. I happen to think Spore Bats look ridiculous, and no matter how alluring Spore Cloud may be, I’d never tame one (author’s note: rank 6 spore cloud looks pretty awesome, however my pride is keeping me from taming something so ridiculous looking). On the other hand, I’m a fan of cats, as I leveled I always had at least one cat in my stable. Each class of pet comes in a variety of colors; you just need to decide what you’re comfortable with. Second, you need to choose a pet talent tree. Actually, you should choose the tree first because you can’t make a cunning gorilla… it just won’t happen. But, since I already typed it the other way, we’ll roll with it. I thought it would be nice to break up the three talent trees into three separate articles. The trees share a lot of the same talents, but there are enough unique talents in the upper tiers to make it interesting. There’s a whole zoo of animals to tame out there and I hate to cram it all into one wall of text.

This week we’ll be taking a look at the cunning tree. The animals in this tree are all little Goldilocks; they’re not too hot, not too cold, but just right. They don’t have the best armor, and they don’t put out the most damage…they’re right in the middle. These varmints are great for PvP action since they’re so flexible.

Here’s what you get to choose from in the cunning tree, I’ve also included their family skills:

• Bats – Sonic Blast
• Birds of Prey – Snatch
• Chimaeras (Exotic, Beast Masters only) – Froststorm Breath
• Dragonhawks – Fire Breath
• Nether Rays – Nether Shock
• Ravagers – Ravage
• Serpents – Poison Spit
• Silithids (Exotic, Beast Masters only) - Venom Web Spray
• Spiders – Web
• Spore Bats – Spore Cloud
• Wind Serpents - Lightning Breath

Now that you’ve got your pet, you’ll need to start spending those talent points. As with your hunters talents, you can change your build at any time, however it will start to get expensive…the first taste is always free. Your tree has 17 total talents (9 are found in all three trees, 8 are unique to the particular tree) spaced over 5 tiers. The second tier requires three points in the tree, third tier requires 6 points, fourth tier requires 9 points and the fifth tier requires 12 points. Your 9 commonly shared talents are: Cobra Reflexes, Dash or Dive (depending on the animal), Great Stamina, Natural Armor, Spiked Collar, Boar’s Speed, Avoidance, Lionhearted and Great Resistance. These 9 are peppered throughout each tree in different spots; they’re mostly a means to an end.

With the formalities out of the way, we can get into the meat of the cunning tree. Your pet’s first unique talents come in tier two in the form of Mobility and Owl’s Focus. In tier three, Carrion Feeder becomes available…if you can cope with the imagery of your spider devouring your fallen foe…eew. Cornered and Feeding Frenzy come into play in tier four. Tier 5 is where it all comes together; Bullheaded, Roar of Recovery and Wolverine Bite all have PvP implications but can be suited for solo leveling…especially Roar of Recovery.

The last time I had a cunning pet was around level 60. I used him for battlegrounds with great success. He was a spider named “Itseebitsee,” silly I know…but he was effective. I may go tame another spider or such, I’ve been having fun with my gorilla and cats for awhile now. The cunning tree has some nice features, I may have to take it out for a spin.

I’ve started a thread on the THM forums devoted to further discussion on cunning beasts. I’d love to hear your thoughts!