Hey folks,
Ever since popping onto the forums here, I’ve gotten a lot of PM’s about what pets I use, and when\where I use them. By no means I am going to claim any of these are the best choices, so I’m also making this thread to see what you all bring and where you bring them. I’ll set up a template that you can choose to follow or ignore
also please feel free to add to the list of places you feel pet selection is key.
Open World
Running around Solo: I love my Hyena and Jungle spider (Black widow) combo. The Hyena is my main due almost purely to its ability to summon a buddy for a bit and CC. Even though it does less damage than other wolves, you get 2 cripples, and up to 4 seconds of knockdown between the both of them. That should give me all the time I need to handle whatever is trying to eat my face. I take the Jungle spider for a similar reason: Stuns and immob. Plus I own a tarantula and have always liked spiders. Plus I earned that black widow, so I’m gonna flaunt it.
In the zerg: Ranged pets only. Spiders or devourers. No sense in letting your pet run into the cluster and get lost – keep them at your side spitting and throwing barbs, and you’ll be fine. No hassle, no drop in DPS, just smooth sailing. Note: If you go melee ikittenerg, dodge roll back first, then swap to a ranged pet, then run back into melee. This means your ranged pet will stand to the side and shoot instead of being right next to you and shooting. This rule applies in almost every situation for melee rangers swapping to a ranged pet.
WvWvW
Solo (hunting runners/supply lines): The most dangerous game! Hyenas are great due to their CC, and Jungle Stalker/Jaguar can bring the pain. I’m looking to either disable and kill quickly in these situations.
In the zerg: Managing your pet is the most important thing here. Know when to make them heel, and know when to send them into battle. I like tanky pets here, and nothing hurts more people when the zerg finally clashes than a Reef Drake’s confusion or a River Drake’s bouncing lightning breath. They can take a few hits, but knowing when to have them use a skill and when to retreat is just as important as knowing when you yourself need to retreat. Of course a wolf howl is great in this situation too, but I feel like the wolf dies too fast when the heat gets turned on.
Defending a door: Similar rules apply to this as does the zerg. Keep your pet at your side, and if you feel the need to jump off a tower to dive into the fray, swap your pet the moment you land on the ground to have it at your side and actually in the fight. Your pet can’t jump off walls with you, so swapping it when you’re off the wall means your companion will be there to do what help it can.
PvP
I find PvP moves a bit too fast to find pets for certain situations, because it is really hard to plan for an encounter and be right. I have a few favorites I tend to bring, but really this is also build dependent. I tend to bring one tanky pet, and one utility pet to PvP, with the utility pet fitting a niche.
Tanky: Brown Bear is a great choice, especially with empathic bond and the shout “Protect me”
Utility: Raven is fun: blind, vuln, and swiftness.
Utility:Wolf: Terrifying Howl – because it can save your life. I’ll stress the word can.
Utility: Reef Drake: People often ask me why I bring this into matches, and I feel it’s a good tanky pet with a confusion, and a blowout. I don’t often use him, but when I’m facing a bunch of thieves, this guy can really be helpful, even with “Protect me” for when you’re getting heart-spammed
Dungeons
It’s hard to say what I bring the most here, because that’s not really up to me. Look at your group and make a judgement call. Try to find something that works with your team composition. Be mindful of pets that have finishers, and pets that create AOE fields.
At a boss: Generally 2x Devourers. Since bosses hit like a truck, tanky pets who stand in front of a boss aren’t always favorable. I bring a pet I know won’t run into the fray and get randomly killed. Devourers are tough enough to take a hit, so I prefer them over spiders. However if you are confident that your team comp can handle the aggro while you can manage evasion and your pet, then I would recommend 1 spider and 1 devourer. If the boss has a healing mechanic, I like to bring forest spider and Whiptail Devourer. Otherwise I’ll bring along a Lakittenail Devourer and Jungle Spider (Black Widow).
In general: Find what your team needs and do that. Sometimes a Fern Wolf Howl in combination with a well placed healing spring provides up-front glass cannon DPS with all the healing they can handle. Jungle Stalker’s Mighty roar is a great booster. Blue Moas provide both protection and healing so you really can’t go wrong there, and Red Moas give consistent and good fury along with healing.