A hunter pet can have different abilities, depending on its pet family. Each pet family, or beast type, has one single special skill and belongs to one of the three pet classes Cunning/Ferocity/Tenacity, each of which gives access to a certain pet talent tree. In the pet talent tree the hunter can assign talent points for skills. Some are active combat abilities, used to improve combat effectiveness, or passive abilities.
A hunter can specialize his or her pets, to a large degree, by the choice of pet family, pet class, and talent build, for example to make a pet a more effective tank or a damage-dealer.
Damaging pet abilities scale with the pet's melee attack power or bonus spell damage. Physical abilities generally gain bonus damage equal to 7% of the pet's melee attack power, while spell abilities generally gain bonus damage equal to 1/3 of the pet's bonus spell damage. See the attack power coefficient article for further details.
Just like the many Talent Build Calculators out there for classes, there are a few Hunter Pet Skill Calculators to help you plan how to spend your pets training points and minimize leftover unusable points.
These calculators are all third-party, not Blizzard's, and therefore can fall out of date with content patches. Current as of October 22, 2008:
Thees abilities are also known as focus dumps because they are often used to expend excess focus while more efficient or useful abilities are on cooldown. Each pet has one.
Your pet simultaneously breathes frost and lightning at an enemy target, inflicting 4 to 6 / 9 to 11 / 12 to 16 / 20 to 26 / 30 to 40 / 64 to 86 Frost and Nature damage and slowing the target for 5 sec.
Instantly lashes an enemy for 4-6 / 9-11 / 12-16 / 20-26 / 30-41 / 64-86 Shadow damage. Also interrupts spellcasting and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 2 sec.
Sprays toxic webs at the target, preventing movement for 4 sec and causing Nature damage over time (1 / 7-9 / 13-17 / 21-29 / 33-45 / 46-68 per second).
Blasts a single enemy for 7-9 / 12-16 / 17-23 / 27-37 / 42-58 / 85-129 damage and lowers the melee attack power of all enemies in melee range by 25 / 45 / 70 / 100 / 210 / 410. Effect lasts 10 sec.
Your pet breathes a double gout of molten lava at the target for 4 to 6 / 9 to 11 / 12 to 16 / 20 to 26 / 30 to 40 / 64 to 86 Fire damage and reduces the target's casting speed by 25% for 10 sec.
Your devilsaur ferociously bites the enemy, causing 7-9 / 12-16 / 17-23 / 28-36 / 43-57 / 91-123 damage, and boosts its own damage by 3% for 12 seconds. This effect stacks 3 times.
Puts your pet in stealth mode, but slows its movement speed by 50% / 45% / 40%. The first attack from stealth receives a 20% / 35% / 50% bonus to damage. Lasts until cancelled.
Slashes the enemy with the raptor's talons for 5 / 8-10 / 11-15 / 18-24 / 28-38 / 59-83 damage, and causes the target to bleed for 1 / 2-4 / 3-5 / 6-8 / 10-12 / 21-27 damage every 5 sec for 15 sec. Successful critical strikes with this ability temporarily boost the raptor's attack power.
The moth's wings produce a cloud of dust that increases its attack power by 10% and heals it for 40-50 / 150-200 / 210-280 / 340-460 / 555-745 / 825-1115 over 15 sec.
Your wasp stings for 2-4 / 7-9 / 13-17 / 22-28 / 47-63 / 64-86 Nature damage, and decreases the armor of the target by 175 / 285 / 395 / 505 / 610 / 1260 for 20 sec. While affected, the target cannot stealth or turn invisible.
Your fox twirls its tail around, kicking up an obscuring cloud of dust, causing all enemies within 10 yards to have their melee and ranged attack speed reduced by 20% for 30 sec.
Protects a friendly target from critical strikes, making attacks againsta that target unable to be critical strikes, but 20% of all damage taken by that target is also taken by the pet. lasts 12 seconds.
Your worm spits acid at an enemy, causing 4-6 / 9-11 / 12-16 / 19-27 / 29-41 / 62-88 Nature damage and reducing its armor by 10 / 120 / 250 / 360 / 520 / 785 per Acid Spit for 30 sec. Can be applied up to 5 times.
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