Guild Wars 2

What in everyone’s opinion are the 2 best pets to use for PVE mostly? I usually use one tank-like and one ranged. What’s is optimal do you think for the beginning, middle and at lvl 80?

I’ve been sticking with the polar bear ever since I got him. Just haven’t found a pet I like better. He seems to take a lot of damage.

Best Tanking Pet is a Bear. I dont know much about ranged pet because i dont have found one yet

Bear for tanking because of the high vitality, I use the brown one, because it has the condition removal ability, what can be useful. The other depends on the situation, but by default that is a Lynx because of the high damage output.

In WvW I use 2 bears in avoid combat mode, and “Protect me” utility to get that 6 second dmg absorb.

Fern Mastiff, and Blue Moa i love the support they bring for the group as well as them both being really survivable!! Not to mention i’ve been having my Fern Mastiff with me since lv 1 =D!!

"Best" is still somewhat subjective since no one’s really done the number crunching yet to make objective claims, but here are some thoughts:

A lot of people rave about bears, but I heartily disagree. I find bears boring and lack-luster. However, if you have low investment in beastmastery or want a low-maintenance pet then the bear could be attractive. You could also go devourers, which while also survivable offer a little more utility as well. They’re not as hands-off as the bear though.

If you start putting points in beastmastery then drakes can quickly become amazing. Their toughness, self-heal, and the boosted healing power on the player makes them survive as well as bears while dishing out much much better damage. Drakes even have an AoE auto-attack (plus 2 more AoE attacks as well) last I tested it.

Dogs and hogs offer knockdown which can be really useful if well timed. Hogs have an AoE knockdown, but dogs’ are easier to control.

Spiders have great immobilize, which can keep melee enemies off of you or your allies (especially when the enemies are players).

Devourers are pretty interesting from a survivability aspect. They have the best armor of all the pets, attack from range, and have both a knock back and evasion skill which they use to defend themselves. Really nice pet, that one.

I like a lot of different pets! I can’t wait to start harvesting/crunching some numbers and doing more objective analysis.

Grintch.6172:

What in everyone’s opinion are the 2 best pets to use for PVE mostly? I usually use one tank-like and one ranged. What’s is optimal do you think for the beginning, middle and at lvl 80?

Depends entirely on the situation. For example, the birds (owls, ravens, ect) do the most damage, so they’re very good for mauling single targets. The Drakes hit several foes at once, so they’re good for chomping up a group of pve mobs. The bears are designed to take a walloping, and especially with signet of the wild and points in beastmastery, can really take a beating before being defeated.

Loki.4871:

Grintch.6172:

What in everyone’s opinion are the 2 best pets to use for PVE mostly? I usually use one tank-like and one ranged. What’s is optimal do you think for the beginning, middle and at lvl 80?

Depends entirely on the situation. For example, the birds (owls, ravens, ect) do the most damage, so they’re very good for mauling single targets. The Drakes hit several foes at once, so they’re good for chomping up a group of pve mobs. The bears are designed to take a walloping, and especially with signet of the wild and points in beastmastery, can really take a beating before being defeated.

Actually, cats seem to do the most damage, however they’re very frail and not very evasive so they die faster then ravens and thereby do less overall damage…

I tend to go for pets with good condition damage, so for me I have stuck with the Murrelow and the lynx for pve, the murrelow aoe condition damage is great along with the ability to take damage, and the lynx puts out nice single bleed damage with fast attacks, however the eagles single bleed is on a much shorter cooldown.

Can you explain why Beastmastery makes the pets that much tougher as some here seem to imply? Because I don’t see much there that does that.

Durzlla.6295:

Loki.4871:

Grintch.6172:

What in everyone’s opinion are the 2 best pets to use for PVE mostly? I usually use one tank-like and one ranged. What’s is optimal do you think for the beginning, middle and at lvl 80?

Depends entirely on the situation. For example, the birds (owls, ravens, ect) do the most damage, so they’re very good for mauling single targets. The Drakes hit several foes at once, so they’re good for chomping up a group of pve mobs. The bears are designed to take a walloping, and especially with signet of the wild and points in beastmastery, can really take a beating before being defeated.

Actually, cats seem to do the most damage, however they’re very frail and not very evasive so they die faster then ravens and thereby do less overall damage…

Birds have quite a bit higher single-hit damage, but cats hit faster. If you start trying to track raw DPS against immobile targets cats do come out ahead. However, I don’t know if both are able to hit moving targets equally or if birds’ bizarre animation helps them at all in that respect.

Birds seem a little more fragile than cats in PvE, but sometimes confuse players in PvP and might not get targeted as much.

Overall they come out pretty close to one another.

Jaince.1582:

Can you explain why Beastmastery makes the pets that much tougher as some here seem to imply? Because I don’t see much there that does that.

For each point in beastmastery all of the pet’s stats are increased by 10. Also, the player’s self-heal gets stronger which in turn means the pet is getting healed more. There’s really nice synergy to be found here with pets that have more toughness. High armor + higher heals means you’re taking less damage in the first place and getting more out of each heal. It winds up a powerful combo that can outclass pure hp in many cases (heavy conditions still hurt).

The nice thing about beastmastery is that not only are you boosting survivability (healing and pet tanking ability), but you’re also boosting damage output as well (pet damage).

Jenosavel.1756:

Durzlla.6295:

Loki.4871:

Grintch.6172:

What in everyone’s opinion are the 2 best pets to use for PVE mostly? I usually use one tank-like and one ranged. What’s is optimal do you think for the beginning, middle and at lvl 80?

Depends entirely on the situation. For example, the birds (owls, ravens, ect) do the most damage, so they’re very good for mauling single targets. The Drakes hit several foes at once, so they’re good for chomping up a group of pve mobs. The bears are designed to take a walloping, and especially with signet of the wild and points in beastmastery, can really take a beating before being defeated.

Actually, cats seem to do the most damage, however they’re very frail and not very evasive so they die faster then ravens and thereby do less overall damage…

Birds have quite a bit higher single-hit damage, but cats hit faster. If you start trying to track raw DPS against immobile targets cats do come out ahead. However, I don’t know if both are able to hit moving targets equally or if birds’ bizarre animation helps them at all in that respect.

Birds seem a little more fragile than cats in PvE, but sometimes confuse players in PvP and might not get targeted as much.

Overall they come out pretty close to one another.

Actually birds are SUPER fragile in both but they evade with every attack animation which makes them a lot harder for both players AND npcs to hit and kill then a cat which has no such evade, as for the moving targets thing i’ve never seen my bird have issues hitting a moving target, however the cat will not be nearly as good as if they were standing still but would still dish out a lot of damage. And cats with the 20 pt rending training or w/e it is that makes them bleed on crit makes the cat a lot better due to their high precision and attack speed.

Durzlla.6295:

Jenosavel.1756:

Durzlla.6295:

Loki.4871:

Grintch.6172:

What in everyone’s opinion are the 2 best pets to use for PVE mostly? I usually use one tank-like and one ranged. What’s is optimal do you think for the beginning, middle and at lvl 80?

Depends entirely on the situation. For example, the birds (owls, ravens, ect) do the most damage, so they’re very good for mauling single targets. The Drakes hit several foes at once, so they’re good for chomping up a group of pve mobs. The bears are designed to take a walloping, and especially with signet of the wild and points in beastmastery, can really take a beating before being defeated.

Actually, cats seem to do the most damage, however they’re very frail and not very evasive so they die faster then ravens and thereby do less overall damage…

Birds have quite a bit higher single-hit damage, but cats hit faster. If you start trying to track raw DPS against immobile targets cats do come out ahead. However, I don’t know if both are able to hit moving targets equally or if birds’ bizarre animation helps them at all in that respect.

Birds seem a little more fragile than cats in PvE, but sometimes confuse players in PvP and might not get targeted as much.

Overall they come out pretty close to one another.

Actually birds are SUPER fragile in both but they evade with every attack animation which makes them a lot harder for both players AND npcs to hit and kill then a cat which has no such evade, as for the moving targets thing i’ve never seen my bird have issues hitting a moving target, however the cat will not be nearly as good as if they were standing still but would still dish out a lot of damage. And cats with the 20 pt rending training or w/e it is that makes them bleed on crit makes the cat a lot better due to their high precision and attack speed.

That’s only an illusion, unfortunately. Despite awesome twirling spinning animations, the bird does not get evasion, nor do you have to be where it appears to hit it. Those animations are cosmetic and its actual hit box is still in the same place as any other pet. This can sometimes mislead players and discourage them from attack it or trying to hit it in the wrong place. That won’t happen against players who know better, however.

I just tested the hit success against moving targets, and unfortunately birds miss just as many hits on moving targets as cats do. Or at least, when their swiftness isn’t up that is. With their swiftness up they move faster and thus hit a little better, but just like all other pets they do stop and sit still in order to attack. Its again hard to see because of the cosmetic loops of their animations, but its there if you look.

Both cat and bird have identical stats. This goes for armor, hp, as well as power and crit chance/damage. The difference between them are primarily in their attack speed, which the cat wins on due to the bird’s excessive animations, and in what their particular skills offer. Against moving targets the cat’s bleed helps with this a lot. They can still be doing damage despite missing their attacks once they get that bleed up. Against players, however, cats are going to be easier to dodge due to their attack animations being straightforward.

I’d like to note that this is different than when I last tested, which I believe was BWE1. Back then birds definitely dealt higher hits at a slower rate and were more fragile, like you’re saying. This has since been balanced out, apparently.

Overall, Dog + Wolf, dont even bother switching unless I ever need some kind of specific move outside of this.

Both from the canine species, so both have a leap+knockdown.
And 2,5sec aoe fear + 2,5sec immobilize are very strong tools

Depends on your build. As a melee beastmaster I preffer Wolf + Cave spider. The wolf can tank has CC and Fear. The cave spider has an average cooldown Weakness that is awesome in boss fights.

@Snow Aeth, the fear is only 2 seconds, you are probably running some Condition Duration traits.

Bears are best at tanking.

Moas are best at supporting.

Drakes are best if you need AoE, generally they overshadow Canines in PvE due to their awesome AoE damage. Their tail skill also comboes with fields.

Spiders are ranged so they are good when you are focusing down a Boss.
Devourers are ranged and have better survivability than Spiders, but deal less damage and have lackluster F2. Generally Devourers are awesome if you are running DPS and PvP builds, because their AI is kinda good coupled with knock backs and retreats. They also hit 2 times per attack so their can stack Rampage as One better than any other pet.

Devourers tend to be the best over all pet choice, while other pets fit into different roles. Canines are the melee and a more offensive brother family of the devourer, when it comes to utility in their kits.

Bears are very solid, I personally love the Brown Bear the most though, just because it can remove conditions, which makes my gameplay very strategic.

For pure damage I like my cat. Autoattacks cause bleeding, huge crit chance, 30% more crit damage etc..He puts out a ton of damage. If I need something more tanky then I use a bear or a canine. The Fern Hound is a great choice because he also grants regeneration to allies.

My pets Invulnabear and Son Of Invulnabear have tanked more boss battles than most warriors I’ve seen (“oh noes, boss, gotta get out my gun and run in circles while clucking and flapping my arms”).

It doesn’t matter how long it takes to kill something if it cannot kill you back. Therefore there is absolutely no reason to go with a DPS pet on the second slot. When your bear nears 1/4 health, just use Trollface Unguent to heal it right back up to full. Swap out when it starts dying again. By the time your next bear is about to die, heal should be off cooldown. If necessary, use Signet of Stone to buy time.

This fails against bosses with AoE that needs to be dodged (ahem fire elemental cough) but then the only viable ranger strategy against group bosses involves a longbow and a prayer that no one will notice you are contributing nothing and only making the boss harder.

I tend to use the Bear pet a lot

Interesting reading the comments … So far, I have no trait points in Beastmastery, but might start after reading some of the comments.

I’m at level 35 and have not settled on any particular pet. I have been making more of an effort to collect the pets on offer in each new area.

I have all the pets from the human areas (WTF is up with a pig??) and from the Norn maps, except for a Lynx and White Moa from Snowden Drifts. Will get those soon.

I mainly solo explore, and do DE’s when they are close. So far, I liked the Wolf and Owl. I have both brown and polar bear, but haven’t used them much. I also have 2 drakes (river and ice), but only used the river drake underwater along with a shark.

What do people mainly use underwater?

Well I usually use pig and spider xd

Since i switched back from Shortbow & axe/warhorn combo to long-/shortbow,
i use the jungle stalker and red moa only in passive mode untill they have given me the nessecary buffs to compensate the warhorns skill 5 buff.

after that petmanagement to maintain the buffs on me whenever they are out of c.d.

I like to use the hyena for its summon ally. As a Char; this ability aloong with my summon warband ability allows me to go from a party of two to a party of 5 in an instant. The summon ally also seems to have a shorter cooldown than some of the other pet abilities. For tanning I prefer to use salamanders.

Ragnarok Vein.7240:

I like to use the hyena for its summon ally. As a Char; this ability aloong with my summon warband ability allows me to go from a party of two to a party of 5 in an instant. The summon ally also seems to have a shorter cooldown than some of the other pet abilities. For tanning I prefer to use salamanders.

The Summon Ally has a shorter CD because Hyena is designed to have a second Hyena up at all times IE 2 full strength hyenas were so powerful they cut the hyenas power a little bit to compensate for having 2 out.

I’m a HUGE fan of the hyena and if i can find one i’d probably start bringing him around either alongside my fern mastiff, or -maybe- instead… not sure…

Vondz.9807:

Well I usually use pig and spider xd

YES!! PIGS!! They’re so awesome lol!!

Best tanking PvE pets for my playstyle: Arctodus and Murrelow. I prefer them over brown bears because their F2 skill significantly adds to my dps. The Murellow actually creates a combo field for everyone around. Particularly useful during all these dynamic events, when people are hacking at same elite your are.

It’s weird though, all bears should have the same survivability, yet to me, it feels like the Arctodus survives the longest each and every time?

For PvP I agree the Brown bear is more useful. Keep it close to you, let it absorb your conditions and damage, and use its F2 ability to shake off that cripple/immobilize.

I keep a few pets in reach depending the situation:

Crimson Moa’s F2 Fury w/ Shotbow+QZ. Sick dmg.
Murrelow for solo tanking. Just a shame it’s so ugly.
Fern Wolf for group regen is nice.
Pigs…still trying to get the timing down for their F2. It’s generally a big heal item so, if used right, can be a huge boon both solo & for allies. And it’s walking bacon.

Buttercup.5871:

Best tanking PvE pets for my playstyle: Arctodus and Murrelow. I prefer them over brown bears because their F2 skill significantly adds to my dps. The Murellow actually creates a combo field for everyone around. Particularly useful during all these dynamic events, when people are hacking at same elite your are.

It’s weird though, all bears should have the same survivability, yet to me, it feels like the Arctodus survives the longest each and every time?

For PvP I agree the Brown bear is more useful. Keep it close to you, let it absorb your conditions and damage, and use its F2 ability to shake off that cripple/immobilize.

Ever tried the polar bear?
I find that one even better then the arctodus has more power but no bleed.

I’ve been using a Murrelow which has the f2 poison aoe gas effect and a Polar bear which has a bleeding f2 effect…both have stats in the highest category of vit for pets. Also, I have maxed BM and use the skill trait (which is unlocked at max) for pets to regenerate their own health= good tanking ability. I rarely ever have to activate my health simply to heal my pet now, just in heavy mob zergs or big boss fights. I have statted some into power as well in order to increase my own damage, including accounting for gear stats. I’ve also taken skills which increase my pet’s damage and survivability.

It’s really cool to see the variation in which pets people use, not just one or two “cookie cutter” combinations.

Personally, when I’m Beastmaster traited, I love going with the Jaguar as my primary pet. It’s hillarious in WvWvW – stay at range, wait for someone to stray from the pack/zerg, and send your stealthed pet at him. With Quickening Zephyr + Rapid fire support, people are on the ground quicker than they can react. My secondary pet varies, but I tend to favour the Lynx for pure DPS (it also fits my Norn character).

In PVE group situations, I tend to use the Red Moa for the buff and heal, or a combination of bears for survivability/tankiness.

It’s weird though, inspite of the wonky pet AI, I find myself finally enjoying pets in this game. In other RPG’s I’ve always liked the aesthetics of a Ranger, but I’ve looked for a “lone wolf” mode. Right now, I’m actually basing my entire build on the little buggers.