Every Hunter pet family in WoW Forever now has one ability of its own, so the family you tame matters more than it did in Classic. Foxes are also a new family. This list is from Blizzard's Hunter post, updated with its later beta notes. Beta data until we've tamed each one on live servers.
Family abilities
| Family | Ability | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Bat | Sonic Blast | Damage and a 30% casting slow for 20 s (60 s cooldown) |
| Bear | Swipe | Damaging attack that hits 3 targets |
| Bird of Prey | Mine! | Damage and a 3 s disarm (90 s cooldown) |
| Boar | Charge | Charges and immobilizes, and adds Attack Power to the next attack |
| Carrion Bird | Demoralizing Screech | Damages nearby enemies and lowers their melee Attack Power |
| Cat | Prowl | Stealth, with a stronger next attack |
| Crab | Pinch | Damage and a movement slow |
| Crocolisk | Dismember | Damage and 25% less healing received for 6 s (15 s cooldown) |
| Fox | Trickster's Dance | More dodge and attack speed for 12 s |
| Gorilla | Thunderstomp | Damages enemies in an area |
| Hyena | Tendon Rip | Movement slow and a bleed |
| Raptor | Savage Rend | A bleed over time |
| Scorpid | Poison | Stacking damage over time |
| Spider | Web | Immobilizes and deals damage over time |
| Tallstrider | Dust Cloud | Reduces the target's armor |
| Turtle | Shell Shield | Less damage taken and slower attacks for 12 s |
| Wind Serpent | Lightning Breath | 20-yard ranged attack |
| Wolf | Furious Howl | Raises party melee Attack Power (reduced 40% in beta) |
Every family can also learn Bite or Claw, sometimes both, and Dive or Dash.
Which one should you pick
Our view, based only on what the abilities do:
- Solo leveling: Turtle or Bear hold enemies well. Boar's Charge gets to the target first.
- Melee groups: Wolf for Furious Howl.
- PvP: Crocolisk, Bird of Prey or Spider for control.
- Marksmanship: you may not want one at all. Lone Wolf gives 20% more damage with no pet out.
Pets are still pets in dungeons, so turn off taunt if a tank is holding the group.
How pets work now
- Scaling: pets gain stats from your gear, so a good bow helps them too.
- Buffs: pets can no longer receive player buffs that raise their stats.
- Taming: Tame Beast no longer works on beasts above your own level.
- Orc Hunters: the Command racial adds 5% pet damage (26 October notes).
- Aggressive Mode is back, and it's in the pet tab of your spellbook.
How to feed your pet
Blizzard hasn't published a feeding guide for Forever. Its notes do mention Pet Happiness and loyalty, so the Classic system is at least partly still there. In Classic you use Feed Pet from your spellbook, with food your family accepts, to keep it happy. Happier pets deal more damage. Unverified for Forever. The food each family accepts is unknown until we've checked.
Cooking helps either way, since you'll collect meat as you quest. See best professions for a Hunter.
Getting your first pet
The Tame Beast quest was around level 10 in Classic. See the Hunter class quests, and read your spec guide for how it fits your rotation.