Are hunters more sentimental?
Adrenis at DrainingSouls.net asked a very interesting question the other day: Are hunters the most sentimental class?
I was wondering about this recently because I’m questing in Nagrand on Arinelle and I will soon have the option of picking up Hemet’s gun. The problem is that I don’t use guns on her [...] Loud, noisy guns simply don’t fit that persona.
[...] I’m usually willing to do whatever I need to to squeeze out a little bit more damage. Respec? Sure! Drop a 1,000G for some new pants? OK! Equip a gun? … Nope, sorry.
So why is it just my Hunter that I have this strange rule for? I certainly wouldn’t ever turn down a nice fist weapon, or axe on my warrior. Is it the added emotion that comes from having a pet to deal with?
Sentimental isn’t quite the word I would have used, but … I have to admit that I’ve wondered similar things myself many times.
I know that I am particularly drawn to the hunter class in part because of the emotional bond we develop with our pets. (My attempts at playing a warlock inevitably wreck when I realize how much my imp hates me.)
So is it just that the hunter class draws a certain type of player, or is it that when you are playing a hunter you are influenced by the emotional bond with your pet even if you are not normally the sentimental type?
53 Comments
I Agree whole heartedly! After what i went through to get my Ghost wolf, i wouldnt give him up for the world! I sometimes find myself roleplaying out when i feed him, and sitting down and playing with him and whatnot. When he dies, like for instance in combat. I have a Macro that i use. It say “What..you have kiled… my dearly beloved pet… YOU WILL DIE!!” I then pop all my trinkets if i havent already and unload full force onto whatever killed him
Another example, how many times have you stayed fighting knowing it was hopeless instead of running or feigning death. I would have never done it on my lock, but I have paid more than a few repair bills I did not really need to on my hunters.
I don’t think huntering attracts more sentimental players per say, but I know I am more sentimental when I play any of my hunters.
I don’t know if sentimental people play the hunter class or we just become more sentimental when playing them. I do think that we’re more attached to hunters and their pets than other players to their classes. Think about the great lengths that we will go to choose a pet, tame it, name it, and keep it happy. We find actual joy in the laborious process! And I, like Ratrix, go berserk when someone kills my pet. I’ve mentioned before how if anyone asked me to give up Niqora’s Blacky, all they would get in response is a very childish “NO!” :) I’m certain that I’m not the only one who has attempted to play another class only to pout that I didn’t have my companion at my side.
I think this is definitely something that sets us apart from all the other classes; even extending to gear like with Adrenis. My dwarf use a bow or my trolls use guns? Ha! That’ll be the day!
…Of course when I tell all of this to non-hunters, they just give me a funny look to which I reply “You never understand me!” and storm off ;)
That’s an interesting point about the Warlock class, Mania. I definitely don’t have the same attachment to my demons as I do my Hunter pets, but I do like to pretend that my demons like me. Which, of course, they don’t. =) I guess I like to be liked, even if it is just mostly a delusion on my part.
hmm.not sure how to answer that.i know im very attached to my troll and his wolf.he uses guns,not because it fits,but because i can get better bullets then arrows.but my dre can get better arrows and it fells better to use a crossbow with her.id say its a by character basis thing really…
iv tryed playing warlocks to,because i want an undead character with pets but its just NOT the same.i dont dislike the demon pets themselves,its the warlock spells/abilities i hate.the casting takes forever and theyre to damn squishy.even my shadow priest has an easyer time killing things.
im still holding out hope that they add a hunter type hero class that undead can play as…
I made two hunter now Kerubem ( my first Bm hunter) with a color changing ravager, a blood falcon, and a pretty run of the mill warp stalker, and my now second hunter Kerub with a Snake from ZG , and a white bat rare spawn from tirisfal glades, and still yet now im playing two other hunters , My daughters toon ( shes almsot 7) yelled at me from the kitchen ” MOMMY ITS THE PINK BIRD TAMEE IT TAME IT” and a dorf hunter that has an emerald green raptor, they look the most ‘raptor’ like without giant eyes, necklaces or feathers
I love all my pets, and at times people ask me , what the world you play with a SNAKE scorpids do a better posion and have claw.. Snakes it doesnt do dps, why do you play with a .. dragon hawk they don’t do any dps either a TALL STRIDER? … the simple anwser is .. they make me happy to watch them, the snake fangs goes out when they attack and bite, there is no better swim animation for a pet than snakes! and the rest of the time he sways beside me tasting the air,
the dragon hawk moves fluidly and it reminds me of a beta fish when it moves
do i have a high dps pets sure, what ever i got to do to keep in the raid list , expect me to play with them , prolly not :P
I think that hunters grow a lot more attached to their pets as their just like you have another player right beside you all the time. So like in real life we grow attach to a pet and treat it like a person, those who hate to quest alone should try hunters. We are the only class (besides for locks) who have a compainon all the time with us. Unlike locks though we can choose what we name ours and what type we have so it helps to strength that bond of friendship.
My main up until yesterday was my lvl 63 Paladin on ghostlands (BE all the way)until, the guild Im in decided to not allow my Paladin to be a tank for their Kara groups nor a main healer. So I fell back to my secondary toon a hunter on that server for about three hours before I had an offer from an old friend to re-roll ally with her on Uldman. Astara, a Female Draenei Hunter (love the squeeks and the tail) I named her after the greek goddess of Justice. This goddess is often confused with both Artimis and Athena.
I at first was going to get a snow leopard cuase that’s a look you don’t see later on in the game but just didn’t like it. Had always done a cat as my first pet on every hunter has been a cat so I decided to go with an owl. Once I tamed it I took a break and went looking for a name. It was hard to figure a name out. There are so many choices could have just left it as owl from Whinnie the poo or used a name from the potter books but I kept digging. Then I found the prefect name, Athene: In Athena’s temple at Athens it was inhabited by owls and they were Called Athene owls. That just hit a cord and matched up with my name so well it was a no brainer what the name was going to be. so far I found an owl to be a great pet, Claw is messing with Growl but that’s been an on going problem between growl and focus dump attacks anyways. I have found myself near death but I used my blessing to save my pet (before I got mend pet) so I feel like it’s another player right beside me that I need to keep alive.
So to warp up my point, this ablity to choose and name a pet makes hunters far more attached to their questing buddy then any other class. If Locks could go out and tame a color of the imp or a different look and name it themsevles I think they would feel the same.
I’ve pondered this before, the way hunters get passionate about their class in a way that I have really seen rivaled in only the priest and druid classes (hunter, priest, and druid seem to be the classes that pick up the most obsessive people…) and even then I think hunter tops the list. I sort of think it is an almost primal attachment to the hunter mythos, if that makes sense.
I maintain, however, that elves with guns are sexy. ;P
I totally agree about hunters being a sentimental class for one major reason the name that pet section of this site and that we have a different way of playing with our pets then a lock in the game. Locks? sacrifice says how much they care about their pets, now loook what a hunt gets to keep pet up mend pet which is better then the heal a lock gets for their minions cause the hunter can keep fighting while healing his pet plus those things will do everything they can to take hits for you and not cause they have to but because all the hunts abilities with their pets are about keeping them alive and happy. now one other thing I’d say i agree with is whoever said they’ve gone into berserker mode when pet dies and i have to admit i’ve done that too i’ve even gone as far as to do /spit on whoever or whatever killed them. but i dont think i go far enough to say that i care what ranged wep i use but i do prefere crossbow and bow not just for looks but because they both use the same ammo type ^_^ P.S. not bashing locks just was making a point bout the relationship they got with their demons
heh that reminds me Mania – my dwarf hunter (RP server) was chatting with a VERY hardcore RP dwarf once, and he asked me why a dwarf would use a bow. I pointed out that as a hunter I need to be quiet when I hunt, and besides, I’ll use any weapon I can – he didn’t have a answer to that.
I never much liked the guns, too noisy and choose bow for all my hunters.
Interesting thread this – sentiment? not sure I’d class it as sentiment. I think it’s probably a natural extension of what hunters are – binding with the beasts. We’d rather have the pet as a friend than the often flighty and unpredictable ‘human’ types :)
yep. oh so true.
I think it’s because the hunter class provides more customisation for a character than you find in the game otherwise…
We get to choose from a range of families, and skins from that family, and name our pets. Pretty cool! The decision-making and effort involved means the average hunter has some pride in their pet (and hence feels sentimental/attached to them).
eg. My favourite class are raptors and I tend to pooh-pooh a tiny bit at cats (just because they’re so popular). But when I rolled a new belf hunter, I took her to Dun Morogh to tame a snow leopard. I’d been wanting a green raptor from STV for ages though, so tamed one as soon as I was the right level… but I find that I’m favouring my lil snow leopard in spite of myself, just because I tamed her first. So she’ll stay my main pet after all ^_^
I totally agree. Im a belf hunter, and one of the hardest parts is finding a unique pet and giving it a unique name. This has led me camping for days to get that rare spawn whilst travelling all over the shop. And this has also led me to choose a pet based on what i like/dislike. i.e. i am allergic to seafood, and will not choose a crab based on this. This also leads me to never feeding my toon or his pet fish! (lol)
I think Mazil has hit the nail on the head – it is because of the wide customisation that we connect with our toon.
And, i will never touch a gun….;)
Hello all,
I am a 70 Hunter on the Zangermarsh Server. I think as hunters we have to be sentimental. I mean think about it, we FAIL if our pets hate us and the stronger our pets are then the better our lives are. I am not Uber or Elite but i do enjoy Great items and if they don’t fit what I think my Hunter is then they will not do. I recently tamed a low level black bear (the one from Ashenvale) and you don’t realize how much you love your pet until you level him from 31 to 70. So to all of us hunters, HAVE HEART and enjoy the thrill of the Hunt.
Thranos
I’m pretty attached to my pet. it really pisses me off when I’m dueling people and they go and kill my pet who is sitting off to the side on passive.
Interesting…
I have a friend who refuses to play a hunter as she feels she won’t even be able to set free (I do hate the word Abandon) a pet that she tamed for learning a skill only. (And she loves her druid, pala and priests).
I have one hunter who can and has used guns, but she’s an engineer, so that makes her a weird elf to begin with. She’s now using Valanos and makes her own arrows. Guns are loud, but I did like how it made here stand out from the crowd of bow waving elves.
I’ll run away while my pet distracts what ever is too much for us to kill, but the pet’s supposed to survive long enough to pop out of range. I’m not quite sure what my rationale is as to how they do it but I’m proud of them when they manage to sneak away.
Demons…are different. I care less about them, especially Void Walkers as they seem to be even less capable of going where I want them than hunter pets. They seem like hunter pets on stupid-juice… Their dying is easier, as I see that more of their physical form being destroyed, while their essence pops back to the Twisting Nether. Sometimes I feel they want to die, just to escape…
I guess, I’m wierd…
I know I for one am very sentimental when it comes to my hunter. I tend to be also towards my minions, as I find myself “coaxing” my pets through battle orally. ‘Cmon Kiba!” “No! Heero!” “Go Odin, go!” is not uncommon for me to say. I am very attached to my pets, and I actually got teary eyed when I said good bye to my first tamed pet “The Rake”.
I know I’ve stayed and fought my best even in a losing battle to try and save my hunter’s pets, something i wont do on any other class. So thats a good point to bring up lol
It all depends on the mindset of the person playing the toon but it does seem sentimental people would be drawn to the Hunter class because of all the care that is needed to “raise a companion” and keep it up to date on skills. You will also have the people who are “animal lovers” who like the idea of having an animal buddy with them. Then you will have people sentimental about the Hunter class because you hear easy mode and huntard so much that when you get to the point where you realize, I am a good Hunter, you gain even more passion of the class. From what I have seen of people on my server, those who are not sentimental about the Hunter class either dont get the hang of it or just race the toon to 70.
full quiver of arrows…2 gold 50 silver.
huricane bow at lvl 45…380 gold.
full set of gladiator armor…65,250/ 50 alterac valley marks of honor, 50 arathi basin marks of honor, and 30 warsong gulch marks of honor.
watching acquineus cast dive rank 3 and outrun an alliance bastard on its epic mount across the barrens and kill it…priceless.
i for one have never talked to my pet in RL or got teary eyed when i said goodbye to a pet or got really mad when a pet died in action however, i did make a macro for when i revive my pet that says “arise my friend, and fight with me once again.” i did feel bad when i got rid of my pet raptor omicron since i had him since lvl 10. but not as bad as when i had to tame a new bird because i used omicron to lvl from 60-70 and i didn’t want to have to lvl my lvl 60 winterspring owl to 70. personaly i do what ever it take to get what i need to do as much dmg as possable to the point were i had every piece of bandit gear at every lvl the stats went up just because it had agility, stamina, and atk power. i have used guns when it suited me (i.e – had better dps) and cross-bows (like now for instance) but i prefer reg bows above all else for the simple fact that trolls look coller drawing a bow string than shooting a gun or cross-bow. so to be perfectly honest i don’t think the “hunter” class is more sentimental but the player behind the hunter. so i mite not be as sentimental in wow as you guys, but if you asked me if i was in RL or in my STARWARS rpg then the story would be different.
So true, i also found myself to have grown a sentimental attachment to the pets my hunters obtain. Ill often find myself in a certain death situation where i know i could simply feign or back away and let my pet take the fall, but i can’t do it, i know i have revive and a whole stack of food at hand but i cannot face looking at thier corpes for even a second. most of the time ill find myself trying to dismiss him before the killer blow then attempting to escape with a group of feign death resister on my tail and i will think how easy it would of been for me to just leave my pet to it. however i would happly take 1000 of these repair bills if it saves my faithfull companions.
well when i first got my ghost saber i was happy coz i spent 2 hours trying to get him , but soon afterwards i kept him at the stable coz i was lvl 45 and he was 20 and was hard for me to solo mobs alone since he cant get a single hit or take agro on them so it was hard for him to lvl up and catch with me
but then i got my white gorilla and i got attached to him since i spent 8 hours trying to get him becoz he was rare ( got him at lvl 53 ) , i have been using a normal gorilla since i was lvl 40 ( along with a ravager ) but i liked thier thunderstomp aoe agro skill which saved me alot of times when alot of mobs were attacking me ,
but ofcourse i like my pet coz it was hard getting him ( i remember killing over 250 gorillas during the time i spent camping in that cave where he respawn ,lol ) but now he is my main pet and nothing will ever make me change him ^^ , having an icy ape as your companion is cool ( if u count out the continuous butt scraching that he does when idle )
I have 2 hunters, one allience and one horde. I started on the allience side, and as soon as i saw the spottet snowleopard i tamed one.. named her müsli. and yes its a logical name for me. It was the first name i thought off when i saw her. Think of the cerial, if u add alot of milk to it, all u can see is raisins floating in milk. Loots of black dots, in white = snowlepards.
I tell her “good girl” when she saves my ass from dying. I call at her (makes calling noises in rl” when i accidental send her off to a wrong target and then tells her to come back.
I wont use a gun either, due to the fact that im a nightelf. Nor would i respec really, beastmaster (on my nigthelf) is the only way to go.. I feel connected with my cerial pet.. I even began to refer to rl snow leopards as müslis….
She will be with me til the end of time, and my hunter is the only charecter i feel that strongly about.. so yes i think we are more sentimental ppl,
WTB-more stable slots. also wtb- silencer attachment for guns; mabye then i would use the damn boomsticks. i am a pantient person in real life and i supect that most people that play hunters are patient hunters. also i hate flying pets; love my tiger, gohost lepord, and my new color changing ravager. the ravager is like opening a present, you dont know what color to expect :), also all the other ravagers look ugly in their colors. sadly i only play my hunter and it seems that their are tomany lazy hunters taking my raid spots so i might have to lvl the archenamy of a hunter, the rogue. idk i wish there were fewer hunters, but ones that actualy play the class properlly and with the passion i do. i hate hunters that ask for help killin something, someplayer their own lvl. Your a hunter, hunt him down!. sigh lazy hunters-attoshooting nonpetmnding bastards. if after a pull and yuor not out of mana, you fail and should re-roll a less played class. sounds like im angry, but im not im just tired.
I have to agree that I am much more sentimental about my Hunter and pet than I am about my Warlock and Demon. As a hunter if I see my pet is going to die soon and there’s no way to avoid it I actually go so far as to dismiss it to protect it from dying. Then I go all aggro on whatever it was and mow it down. I even go to great lengths to keep my pets alive during boss fights in Kara. Maiden of Virtue? Come back and heal at my side if you’re dying. Aran? Dismiss, call back for Elementals. Nightbane? To me if there’s charred earth on the ground. Prince? Yeah, standing with me if there’s infernals too close to you. Chess event? Heh, well…I’ll protect you from the evil Pawn baby!!
I think I’ve grown more attached to my wolf than my hunter has..Which is sad to some of my ‘friends’. But my friend,Kris, understands fully. Hes attached to his Carrion Bird and I cant blame him. Its cute! He also has a warlock and he seems to master his imp well..My imp wont even follow me, so I hopelessly fail and give up and switch to my shaman or warrior, not having to deal with the imp.Grr…
I agree.
I personally think people who choose hunters as their main usually take the game the least serious of all the other players, which at least i have experienced, not on myself only.
I dont say every hunter is like me, but it seems Hunters are drawn to their pets and care for them in the game, not like they rush into battle earning epic ammount of honor and gear and that stuff. But that is just my opinion. I never abandon a pet without a reason. I do not have the very first pet i have ever tamed (Prairie Stalker) for a reason im not gonna state, its a long story, but it always saddens me when i think about not having “Stalkie” anymore :(
Well I think the best thing about being a hunter is that if you mess up your pet does’nt call you a noob or stupid or a huntard he just comes trotting back after saving your butt and asks for a treat. There are so many players out there who want help when they need it but don’t want to dish help out when some one elts needs it, so being a hunter in these cases is handy, you can even do some of the group quests with just the aid of your fuzzy, featherd, or scaley buddy. I do talk to my hunter pets in RL too cheering them on and calling them good boy or girl when they win battles. I go out of my way cooking for them so they dont have to eat raw food and get sick from some salmonella or some thing. I go berzerk and want to kill all when they die, (I do fegin death if I need to, my pet would be sad if I died to.) I get teary eyes when I have to set one free because they get to old and need to take a rest. (Thats kinda the rp story I come up with when its time to get a new pet if I need to) So are we more sentimental………I’d like to think so.
Thats and its funny some of the comments I get when ppl see me hunting with a turtle. Even some hunters cock their heads to the side and look at me funny. But hey shell shield rocks and haveing a pet that is bigger than you are is just cool.
I was in my 50s before my Tauren used a bow. It took me a lot of convincing though – if it hadn’t been so much better than what I had I’d have put it off for much longer. It just feels more natural to use a gun or a crossbow.
I think quite a lot of hunters are sentimental, but I’ve found many that are not. There are those that choose pets based on stats alone. There are others that never pick a name and it’s a default “Cat” or “Wolf”. There are even some that don’t use their pet at all (which baffles me really but I suppose each to their own). These don’t strike me as sentimental players, and I wonder if the class just isn’t the right fit for them.
Of course, we’re all entitled to play how we wish to but I do think some attachment is needed to really appreciate our class.
Not I. My hunter uses whatever gives him the best advantage. More stats? I’ll wear that. More damage? I’ll equip it. More crit? It’s so mine.
I completely agree with this theory, seeing as how I am so emotionally bonded to those little pixels that follow me around. Admittedly, my first toon was a druid, but that was not my choosing. Eventually, I got around to starting a Hunter like I had always wanted to, and I immediately fell in love with my first pet. Whenever my pets die or, in one instance, a stable master glitches and almost destroys my pet, I completely lose it.
I’m also rather stingy about my weaponry. I don’t like to use anything but a 2-handed axe and a bow. Some of it comes from simply refusing to level any other weapon type, but I can’t stand guns and for some reason, I’ll chose axes over the other weapons any day.
I do often see Hunters on my realm with a pet that is unnamed and left with the default, as Suzi mentioned. I also see them name their pets something completely absurd, like “Fartmachine”. I’ve seen it. Those players, I believe, don’t appreciate the class enough and probably don’t achieve the Hunter’s full potential.
Maybe I’m too attached to the pixels running across my screen, though.
While I have to agree with Messyah about using whatever gear is better for me, tossing out the old to equip the new, I have a very very hard time actually PARTING with the item. My personal bank is so full of gear I haven’t used in ages and never will again but I can’t help but feel a special attachment to my gear of yester-levels. I finally managed to force myself to destroy all the greens and blues I used to wear but my epics are still there. Wasting space.
i am a screwey person and have little in the way of friends ……but to have a pet thats just as down for you as you are it they enemy cant win if you and pet die or not that pets ready again because your all he thinks about and hes all i worry about the best training the best food a name that honors the only cat i ever liked in real life my pets my friend no matter how bad i screw the pooch piggums says its cool lets do it again if i dont play for a week hes happy to see me i dunno ok yea i know i AM sentimental and definitly when it comes to my pet and if you dont have a hunter you dont and wont get it
while for the most part i agree with messyah, i cant stand guns lol, they make way to much noise, and as for pets, i tamed a ghost sabre at level 20, and he is currently level 49, i tamed humar and snarler, but i always come back too my ghost sabre.
I’d rather chew my right arm off than give up my Ghost Saber. Guns, bows, crossbows? Whatever works baby – but hands off my pet*.
* unless you’re carrying Kibbler’s or want to scratch him behind the ears :)
I think you pick it up from being a hunter, and not from the start. I never minded questing alone or anything like that, But once I started my hunter, I began to see soo much love to my pet. I currently, and probably will only, have 1 pet on my hunter, and that’s my red and orange ravager, Starbreaker. I’ve had him since I hit lvl 10. I did the hunter pre tame quests to teach you all that good stuff, and away I went. Through the Barrens, up and down the trees of ashenvale, past the guards at darkshore, onto the boat to azuremyst isle, and straight to the weird crash landing stop and tamed me my first real, and only, pet. :D
I must’ve spent over 3 hours getting there and capturing him, but it was well worth it, a whole 60 levels with the same Ravager by my side, he didn’t gain his name until around lvl 38 for the both of us. We were in an AB and there was a twink warrior that no one could kill, he topped the charts with many KB’s, and no deaths, but then when he finally crossed me and my ravager, he ate dirt and died. Thus his name, Starbreaker, which sounds better than legendkiller or gravemaker for a pet, you know?
I always get “you should’ve named him starburst” but I don’t mind, this ravager has been mine and will always be mine forever. I love him dearly and the connection we share is a great one. I would say all people should try out a hunter, just to get more out of WoW than a lvl 70, but so that they have a non talking, hardly controllable, companion by their sides that gives them just a little more to go for.
-Hunthoof of Bleeding Hollow
i know warlocks pets hate them meanies LOL! I had got rid of pets on my hunter and im tossing and turning thinking of them wishing i had not gave them up but i won’t abadon my new ones :( .
oh, and P.S. I’m on the horde, and the guns, bows, or xbows don’t really affect me, I just go with what my pet perfers, and that’s the most ownage. lol.
I’m also a player who gets into “Style vs. Stats” discussions quite often. On my hunter, I’ve got a Cat (Lv8 Dun Morogh mob, currently Lv59). Since Ravagers were introduced, it’s not the best DPS pet choice anymore, but I favor it over an evil-looking alien insect that doesn’t fit my/my char’s personality.
I also got a paladin and i refused to spec holy because it’s the look and feel of a retribution pally that matches my imagination of a hero and guardian…
Since i’m neither a high end raider nor an elite PvPer, i’m able to focus on the looks of my chars and that people get the impression they should get of them. I think it’s a role playing game after all, not a maths exam. So stats aren’t just everything…
@topic^^: I understand why another player may refuse to equip a certain item – like a gun – just because of its looks/style. And i’m playing hunter…
I totally Agree i never tame any pet other than tallstriders(unless they have a ablty for a pet i need)i am totally deadicated to them, also even though im a Tueren i never use guns( or Crossbows)because it doesnt fit a Tueren’s Primitive stlye.Im just saying but HURRY UP BLIZZARD AND MAKE MORE TALLSTRIDER AND SPOREBAT SKINS.
Akussa – I’m right there with ya. I have a bank alt as my bank because my Toon’s own bank is full of old gear… like I’ll ever use Lil’Timmy’s Pea Shooter again. LOL
I’ve been a capped out Hunter for a very long time… I’ve tried many different pets to see what works best for solo, group, arena, BG, etc. However, when I started playing my Hunter (she was my first character to really get any attention in WoW), I found Petopia and went shopping for pets I could tame early on.
I picked out the Moonstalker Runt and was determined that this would be my pet. Then I realized I had a problem. I was a Tauren, and a complete noob… and there were a lot of scary things between Thunder Bluff and my intended pet.
Undaunted, I looked up various maps and plotted my trip. I set out, died quite a bit in Ashenvale, and nearly blundered into several Alliance guards, but I finally made it to Darkshore and tamed my kitty. I even attracted the attention of a few Alliance players who apparently were amused by my efforts, and /clapped for me when I was done.
I eagerly fired up my Hearthstone, and gave my new pet the name I’d already picked out. Raika. It’s a feminine alteration of the Japanese for “lightning strike”, inspired by her markings. She’s been at my side from 10 to 70, and I would never replace her. She’s such a fixture for my Hunter that friends I haven’t seen in a while usually greet Raika as well.
In PvE, I do everything I can to keep Raika alive. I have never abandoned her to a fight, and if I need to run I’ll usually make sure she has aggro, concussive shot the mob, then fire up her dash to make sure she gets away too. Raika is *not* disposable. I’ll send my Lock’s pet to a grizzly demise just to see how hard an elite mob can hit, but I would never do such a thing to Raika.
In PvP, I am very ware of what Raika is up to and when she’s being lured off by her target to be killed. Over 10 AVs I might lose Raika twice, but I’m still usually 1st or 2nd in damage done. Also, when something does happen to her, I do make absolutely sure the perpetrator pays for it for the rest of the BG.
I am a pretty sentimental person IRL, but that doesn’t stop me from playing and enjoying every other class (literally) as well. However, I know that the “bond” between my hunter and that once tiny little runt from Darkshore really does feel different and special. Perhaps it’s because we get to pick our own pets out of the wild. Maybe it’s because we get to name them, or because they “grow up” as they level. Heck, maybe it’s because we have to feed them, and if they get unhappy enough they can “make the choice” to leave us. It all creates a feeling that they are not bound to our will (like demons to a Lock), but rather that they want to be with us. It’s likely that reason that makes them feel more like friends than just pets.
Of course, I’m just some crazy moocow with a crossbow that plays on an RP server. What do I know? :)
I’m a real sentimental Hunter, to be sure. I hate seeing my pet die; I remember questing at Netherwing Ledge and having to Feign Death when those 70 Elite Sentries would walk past, only to have my pet get killed cuz I couldn’t dismiss him in time. I’ve had a lot of pets, too, but ever since I became the right level for it, I ALWAYS had windserpents. I always named them Hiryuujin, and here was the funny thing, even though I’d tame a new one around every dozen levels or so, I kept this little RP in my head that it wasn’t a new pet, but Hiryuujin had simply evolved, shedding its old skin for a new skin. It went from orange to red to a beautiful white (spent an hour trying to catch the rare in Dustwallow for that) and he never changed until I hit Outland. I was heartbroken when I found out their movement animations were so strange, but I love how Outland windserpents looked, so I stuck with it until I hit 70.
Now I use a color-changing Ravager named Fungeki and a Skettis Owl named Ciel. My pets now are used more for utility and less for desire, but I still play around with them. For example, Fungeki is male, and Ciel is female, and if anyone tries to say they’re either-or, I immediately correct them. I’m adamant in keeping two pieces of T5 for as long as possible, simply because I want to keep them alive as long as possible in raids. And, in case it wasn’t obvious, I’m BM, and although I’ve respecced MM in the past, it’s an option I will never do again. I love being BM far too much to be either of the other specs.
On my main server, I have three hunters, all with different cats. I joined a group on one of the alts with a ‘lock, and mentioned that I had another hunter, and she was like, “Why would you have two?” Well, ’cause I love their stories and I want to tame more cats, but I cannot bring myself to abandon any of my pets. (This is also why I have a problem deleting alts.)
Well ok, having read through all the above (with much interest i have to say) I thought I’d add my opinions in. :)
I started out playing WoW as a druid, but got tired of him somewhere around the early 40s and wanted a change, so, i rolled a hunter, as id seen other players with them, and whilst part of the reason was that whenever i had duelled hunters on my druid i got mauled into the floor, the other reason, was i LOVED the pet idea. It just seemed an awesome thought, to have somebody watching your back.
So i rolled a hunter (troll but thats not especially relevant)and immediately loved it, and it soon became my main, now the first pet i tamed, was a croc from the southfury river just out of org, I’d done this on the instruction of a friend who played a hunter, on the logic that learning bite 1 early on would be highly beneficial, so he, technically, was my first pet, though ofc, i didnt keep him for long. So then i stumbled about the world, levelling, questing, ahnilating druids in duels ^.^ looking for my companion who i knew would stand by me, i tried several pets, Dishu was tamed, several raptor colours were tamed, i liked them all, but they didnt give me that spark a hunter pet i felt should. Eventually i came across Ressan the Needler, and right then and there, had to have him. Phantom, as he is now known, isnt used as often as he used to be, (he’s a big boy now and tbh, i just cant see) but I’m not trading him for the world! My other stable slots have been more fluid until recently, i decided a few months ago, that if i wanted to make the most of my 3 slots, i would need to know all pet moves, and thus eliminate the problem of needing a slot for skills, so, i trecked (and it was a treck and a half) around the world, until i had ALL the moves. Shortly after this, the ghost wolf arrived, and again, i knew i had to get one. So i spent the money, took frickin hours, and got one. He’s (well… having done the wetlands gender test “She” but that doesnt seem right so i stay quiet) now called Shadow, and again, will be going no-where! and my third slot, has been filled by many a beast lately, i think i’ve now made a descision however, in the ice-blue windserpents from Netherstorm (Gelid as he’s now known) Aaaaanyway…. ive gone so far off topic i cant even see Topic any more ¬.¬ so… to the point:- Yes, im more sentimental, i’ve tamed and released (im also much of the opinion that the word abandoned needs getting rid of) many beasts, and to varying degrees, been saddened to do so. One pet in particular (a Blackwind Sabrecat Called Fangface) i decided just went on sebaticle, and im going to get him back some day. And i do take the fall for my pets, and make sure their fed, and watered, and happy, and safe, not always to the extent of some of the previous posters, but, well…. far more than mr LULZHUNTARD with his pet named LULZCAT (which just makes me cringe) Gear wise, i dont really have the same issue, I do dislike the noise of a gun, but i tend to have my WoW sound off normally anyway, and if one dropped that was better than i had, i would probably take it. I do however hold on to gear as some people have mentioned, my beaststalkers gloves, are still in the bank on the logic of “theyve got the +skinning enchant…theyre useful” (yeah…right!) and my black dragonscale boots and darkmoon necklace, theyre going no-where, i didnt spend that time to vend for about 3g :p but as for current gear, unless its something special,like the above, if i find better, il upgrade it, im currently 9 badges off the Leggings of Pursuit, then il be at HR cap, and working on my %crit, so yeah, things will get replaced. Pets however, take far more time, give me far more satisfaction, and sadden me far more to have to say goodbye to, so yeah, sentimental i guess ^.^ (insert generic ((though genuine and heart felt)) whine about more stable slots here)
Thanks if you bothered to take the time to read this essay,
Kirjava, Draenor Horde !
PS, keep up the work mania, you’re a star
I’ve spent about a thousand gold in repairs because I was desperately trying to unsummon my pet before it died, instead of feigning death and escaping myself.
He’s a ghost wolf and I… I just can’t bear seeing his little corpse on the ground.
Pets are the reason I play hunters, so I don’t feel too guilty about it. :)
Also touching base on melee weaponry, I feel most confident in two-handed axes and polearms (and maybe staffs if Blizz ever makes another one). I can NOT for the life of me bring myself to pick up a sword! Just doesn’t feel huntery. Neat thing about polearms is that they stay on your back while you shoot, unlike axes and what have you.
*stands up and looks around the room* Hello my name is Emowin and I’m a hunter-a-holic, or pet-a-holic as it were. I find myself mayking MORE huters just so I can tame all the pets I want ,wich is all of them, and make up rp back storys for them. I have gone so far as to start writing their storys down. Perhaps some day when your in a bookstore you will see a book called Hunters and their pets, my adiction, or some thing like that. Deffenatly a more sentimental class.
I thought I was weird for feeling attached to my pet. I have a Boar that I got in RFK when I was low level and I used him til around lvl 68. I spend most of my time raiding so my Boar is kinda useless but I dont have the heart to get rid of him, so I bring him out when I’m doing stuff in Org and just messing around I like him almost as much as my RL dog lol.
More power too all of us! After reading these posts, most of you have pretty much said it all for me already. Hunters have the best community in WoW I think, followed closely by druids. (who I’ve always gotten along great with) The only exception to all this, is as some of you mentioned- the huntard. We all know the type and I don’t think any of them post here. Sooo…
Rock on. All of you. ^_^
Tsume -Bonechewer
when i read all the other postings i noticed that not many of you liked warloks because you can’t name them or go find diffrent collors or they dont like you. but with warloks you dont have to bye your mounts and later you can go out and choose your demon like when you choose your pet. I have both a war lock and a hunter and i like them equly.
i will never use guns.
even when some thing dosent work out try try again;)
Belandra-water dragon
when i read all the other postings i noticed that not many of you liked warloks, because you can’t name them, or go find diffrent collors, or they dont like you. but with warloks you dont have to buy your mounts, and later you can go out and choose your demon, like when you choose your pet. I have both a warlock and a hunter, and i like them equly.
i will never use guns.
even when some thing dosent work out try try again;)
Belandra-water dragon
I have a strong bond with my pet in the game. I have a hard time playing other classes simply because I usually feel that I get lonely without a pet. I think its a mix of being able to choose any pet whenever you want, or work towards one that you keep for a long time and then having to feed it. Warlock pets I have no such bond with. Perhaps because demons you cannot name or feed, and you only get a small selection that none you really have to work for, much like camping for a rare pet.
From the time WoW was introduced, I played a priest for almost two years steadily on my server and at some point found it lacking and I started to become frustrated, regardless of the fact that I was really good at that class. I learned a great deal from playing my priest (and a warlock I once had)about micro management, but doing anything alone was a real test of my patience. So, I rolled my hunter and fell in love immediately! I began applying all of the micro managing skills I had learned and modifying them to my hunter. The more I played my hunter, the more I loved this particular class, especially since he is a Night Elf. My love and affection for this class really ranked up after I started acquiring my pets. Soon, I was looking and spending a great deal of time taming each and every rare elite spawn named pet, and even many that were not named, I could find, not just for their skills, but spend some time with them and learn from them in ways that went beyond just learning their special abilities. Many times I found myself deeply saddened that I had to, at some point, let one or more of them go in order to pursue the next set of pets I wanted. Each pet, regardless of its species gained a great deal of my affection for them, some more than others. I would often camp an area for days waiting for that special rare pet to come along and many times I got my rear end handed to me trying to tame them, but once they were at my side, I would sit with them and get a feel of what THEY themselves wanted to be named and what they expected of me in return for their companionship. My special rare spawn pets generally kept their Blizz given names, as I took pride in knowing I had achieved gaining their companionship. Some I even tamed more than once, just to rekindle the friendship with them. Each time I had to let them go, I would release them usually where I had tamed them, especially if they were particularly rare.
Playing my hunter I am very attached and sentimental about my pet companions, especially since I spent the majority of my time leveling alone, save for having my pet with me. The times when my pet would be killed by a mob, usually more than 2 at a time, I would become so furious that I would take the mobs apart with a fury that they would pay for their crime of killing my beloved companion! And so they did! There were times where in doing so cost me my own life because I would refuse to feign death knowing my pet had fallen to protect me … but once I rezzed and got my pet rezzed, I made a point of ensuring that those mobs were dead before I would leave the area!
Two pets in particular that I miss terribly are my white bat, Ressan and my white lion Echeyakee. I worked the hardest for Echey, because I leveled a horde rogue to around level 14 or so in order to summon him for me to tame. I spent 16 hours solid working on this process! But alas, at some point along the way our paths parted and I still miss my Echey more than my words express. As for Ressan, well, he just got so darned BIG! I could have put a saddle on him and had a great mount, but I didn’t think that Ressan would have appreciated that. =-P
I think the hunter class does have more of a unique special quality to it than any other class I’ve played or tried … and the pets have a great deal to do with that. The emotional bond of working so closely with a continuous companion at your side, who never lets you down, is always there for you all the time, and watches out for you, and vice versa for the hunters themselves, makes the hunter class quiet a unique class. Playing my hunter gives me great joy and pride, knowing that I am never alone and that even in raids I have my personal companion right by my side, looking out for me!
As for my experience playing a warlock … I got more irritated than anything else, especially with their summoned creatures. My imp was rude, cold and bitter and down right ugly! I had no bond whatsoever, neither with the summoned creatures nor my warlock. So, after about level 40 I deleted my lock and said good riddance.
My hunter is my main now, my priest is now my second in line …
Happy Hunting to All of my fellow Hunters and Huntresses!
May Elune Light your Paths!
Salem of Lightbringer
my first character was a troll hunter and as soon as i reached lvl 10 I tamed a duroatar tiger. I kept him till lvl 14 when I went to wailing caverns and saw a wind serpent. I was like holy crap i can tame a freaking dragon!!! I dropped my tiger on the spot and tamed a wind serpent who stayed with me all the way to 70. My only regret was not capitalizing the first letter in his name.
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