Guild Wars 2

do the pets automatically use the f2 ability or do i have to press it?

Uh, you have to press it.

Like 3-5 seconds before you want the actual effect to happen. You know there is some realllyyyy long delay between you pressing the button and pet doing anything.

Pets all have 1 F2 ability, however, they have 3 passive skills that vary and also 1 of those passive skills (controlled by the AI, but also loosely by the player if you’re good at toggling aggressive/passive stance) will usually have something a bit more to it (i.e. birds can cast swiftness, canines can leap stun, etc).

The cast times [for f2] in general are fairly similar across all pets; however, some do function rather differently. For example, birds will only cast when they are in melee range, panther stealth will cast immediately, canines will get within max range (600? if I recall correctly) and then channel. The important thing to keep in mind though is if your pets are spec’d for taunt - then the taunt will cast as soon as the channel of the actual skill begins (often you’ll see the wolf [if they’re close] taunt a player and then shortly after also fear). Pet f2 cooldowns also vary drastically and is often with the taunt meta why you will see 5-second CD birds being run.

Overall, just equip the pets and try them out - it’s nice to see a bit of variety in sPvP as it used to primarily be canines only for the leap stuns & fear/immob combo.