Introduction

This guide is an update to many past guides involving Battle Pets for Warlords of Draenor.

We'll discuss techniques that every new / intermediate Pet Battle Tamer should learn

If you’re looking to track your collections, Wowhead now has the Battle Pet Collection Tracker and Mount Collection Tracker! To use the tracker, simply import your character to view your collections. You can read more about how to use this feature here!



Getting Started

A Quick Note on Notation



This guide will use the standard H/P/S/B notation for breeds. For movesets, it will use the (#/#/#) notation, where 1 or 2 represents the first or second ability of the slot.

That means you pick the top ability for 1 and the bottom ability for 2.

X means the slot does not matter.

Step 1: Learn How to Battle



Before we begin taming battle pets, you will need to learn the



Play around with the UI and figure out



How to engage in battles with wild pets.

How to use moves.

How to capture wild pets.

How to access your Pet Journal.



Important! Do note that this guide does not cover how to pet battle, but only details the steps you need to take to get started in Warlords of Draenor. If you have never played with battle pets before, I highly suggest you skim through this guide before you begin.

Pet Battle and You -- A Trainer's Manual Before we begin taming battle pets, you will need to learn the Battle Pet Training ability and acquaint yourself with some of the mechanics of the battle pet page. This will cost you a modest one-time fee of at any Battle Pet trainer found in a major city.Play around with the UI and figure outDo note that this guide doescover how to pet battle, but only details the steps you need to take to get started in Warlords of Draenor. If you have never played with battle pets before, I highly suggest you skim through this guide before you begin.

Step 2: Acquaint Yourself with Mechanics



As you get the feel for some early pet battles, you may also want to get acquainted with



Pet Family / Type: She's Just Not Your Type

She's Just Not Your Type Breed IDs: BreedIDs for the Serious Pet Battler



Learning pet families is essential to pet battling. Each pet comes with a set of weaknesses and resistances that determine its effectiveness in battle. Each move also has a type affinity that determines how powerful it is versus a certain pet family. (Eventually, this will come naturally.)

Also note that different pet families come with their own traits, which you can view here.



Learning breeds is a daunting task at first, but it really all boils down to personal preference. The breeds themselves are fairly straightforward, as each pet has a certain set of breeds they are available in, dictating what that individual pet is good at. You can view the available breeds for individual battle pets on their respective Wowhead pages. More on breeds later! As you get the feel for some early pet battles, you may also want to get acquainted withis essential to pet battling. Each pet comes with a set of weaknesses and resistances that determine its effectiveness in battle. Each move also has a type affinity that determines how powerful it is versus a certain pet family. (Eventually, this will come naturally.)is a daunting task at first, but it really all boils down to personal preference. The breeds themselves are fairly straightforward, as each pet has a certain set of breeds they are available in, dictating what that individual pet is good at. You can view the available breeds for individual battle pets on their respective Wowhead pages. More on breeds later!

Step 3: Learn to Use External Resources



Here are some external resources you may consider getting acquainted with.



Useful Addons: Curse.com Battle Pet Addons

Curse.com Battle Pet Addons Pet Encyclopedia: WarcraftPets

WarcraftPets Pet Search: Petsear.ch

Petsear.ch Learning PvP: PvP Pet Battles



For addons, I have found in personal experience that the addon



WarcraftPets is very similar to Wowhead, but is generally better at laying out information for viewing information about specific pets. It also features community ratings and comments about each pet, in case the questions you are looking for aren't addressed anywhere else.



Petsear.ch is a searchable database of all battle pets by their moves. The website may run a little slower due to the sheer amount of data available. However, with it, you will be able to look up pets that have a certain combination of moves, or pets that are good at specifically countering others.



PvP Pet Battles is a very self-explanatory website that features several tested teams and strategies for those trying to get into PvP. It is a great place to look up the current metagame and learn tips that will help you win against other players. Here are some external resources you may consider getting acquainted with., I have found in personal experience that the addon PetTracker is particularly useful as an all-inclusive addon for Pet Battling. It shows your opponent's moves, what moves are super-effective / not-very-effective, breedIDs (and available breeds), as well as the locations of the pets you are looking for. It also tells you which pets you are missing, by breed, rarity, or zone. All in all, it's very useful and worth a look at.is very similar to Wowhead, but is generally better at laying out information for viewing information about specific pets. It also features community ratings and comments about each pet, in case the questions you are looking for aren't addressed anywhere else.is a searchable database of all battle pets by their moves. The website may run a little slower due to the sheer amount of data available. However, with it, you will be able to look up pets that have a certain combination of moves, or pets that are good at specifically countering others.is a very self-explanatory website that features several tested teams and strategies for those trying to get into PvP. It is a great place to look up the current metagame and learn tips that will help you win against other players.

Step 4: Start Your Collection



Once you feel comfortable enough with the UI, you can jump right into taming pets.



Please read me! With Warlords of Draenor, you no longer need to have any pets to start battling. That means that older guides that require you to level up a pet from 1 to 25 by hand are now obsolete. The only thing you need is to be level 100 and have a Level 3 Garrison. You do not need a Pet Menagerie to start.



Look for the quest

You can complete this quest once per character.

This quest will provide you with a free

Using this stone on the right pet is key. Refer below in the Starter Pets section to get an idea of what to do. Once you feel comfortable enough with the UI, you can jump right into taming pets.With Warlords of Draenor, you no longer need to have any pets to start battling. That means that older guides that require you to level up a pet from 1 to 25 by hand are now obsolete. Thething you need is to be level 100 and have a Level 3 Garrison. You do not need a Pet Menagerie to start.Look for the quest Unearthed Magic Unearthed Magic in your Garrison to get started.This quest will provide you with a free Ultimate Battle-Training Stone , which boosts any pet to level 25 instantly.Using this stone on the right pet is key. Refer below in the Starter Pets section to get an idea of what to do.

Starter Pets

Your First Pets





If you cannot get one right away, the others are good alternatives. Regardless, you should aim to have all three at max level as soon as you can. Anubisath Idol is a very highly praised battle pet for a very good reason. He is extremely resilient because of his H/H breed, his Humanoid type, and his moveset. Alone, he can solo or severely weaken most of the battle pet tamers in the world. If you can get one, please prioritize it!If you cannot get one right away, the others are good alternatives. Regardless, you should aim to have all three at max level as soon as you can.

Your Second / Third Pet

Pet Name Where to obtain

Emerald Proto-Whelp Level 21-22 wild pet battle in Savage Thicket, Sholazar Basin.

Chrominius Chance to drop from Chromaggus in Blackwing Lair.

Can also be obtained on the Auction House, or via in-game trade.

#2 -- After you pick your starter, you should immediately capture a wild



#3 - It is no real rush, but try to get a



Done? After that, if you haven't already, return and get the other two starter pets. To bolster your ranks, you can also fly around Draenor and capture wild pets. Most of the wild pets in Draenor aren't very good, but they can be useful because they start at an already high level. Look for -- After you pick your starter, you should immediately capture a wild Emerald Proto-Whelp . They are encountered in the Savage Thicket in Sholazar Basin between levels 21-22. Grind this guy up to level 25 as soon as you can, as he is indispensable in many situations. If you have time, try for Green quality or higher. However, if you can't find a Blue, don't worry because you can upgrade him later using a Marked Flawless Battle-Stone - It is no real rush, but try to get a Chrominius sooner than later. He is integral to leveling pets in Draenor.After that, if you haven't already, return and get the other two starter pets. To bolster your ranks, you can also fly around Draenor and capture wild pets. Most of the wild pets in Draenor aren't very good, but they can be useful because they start at an already high level. Look for Frostshell Pincher Mud Jumper , and Junglebeak . You won't use them particularly often, but you may appreciate them in specific situations.

Other Recommended Pets

Utility Pets

What breed is the best?

Pets that you learn from items or the Battle Pet trainer will 99% only have one available breed! Generally, you should only worry about breed when capturing wild pets. This means that your Anubisath Idol will never be anything other than H/H! Nice!

Breed Role Explanation

H/x Tanks with no self-healing Health breeds are generally not very useful, but can serve you well for pets that have tanky abilities, but lack self-healing. Look for pets that have abilities that reduce damage taken, such as Shell Armor, Shell Shield, Sandstorm, or Deflection. H/x breeds also work well for Humanoid pets because the healing scales by %.

Example: Qiraji Guardling.

P/P; H/P Tanks with healing If your pet needs to tank and it has self-healing available, invest in Power. Most healing abilities scale off of power (so you will last longer), and the best mitigation is actually killing the target before it kills you! In addition to the tank abilities listed above, look for abilities like Absorb, Healing Wave, or Ancient Blessing.

Example: Shimmershell Snail

P/P Glass-cannons Needless to say, glass cannon pets want to maximize their Power. If you notice a litany of high-damage moves, but no way to sustain your health, your goal should be to deal as much damage as possible. Dragonkin and Beast pets can utilize this bonus particularly well. A lot of Undead pets function as really good glass cannons as well, since their racial ensures they get the last two attacks in.

Example: Nexus Whelpling

P/P; P/S Bruisers Some pets appear to be glass cannons, but can play as bruisers if they have some form of regeneration, such as the bonuses from Humanoid or Mechanical. Invest in Speed to get the last hit in.

Example: Kun-Lai Runt

S/x Dodgers, stunners Speed is very useful to pets that have moves that stun or dodge. Look for Dodge, Evanescence, or Blackout Kick. If you use these moves first in a turn, it will prolong the effect to two rounds instead of just one. Be sure to pick a pet that is already naturally fast, or else the extra speed points will essentially be a waste. Pets with Flying typically need Speed less because their ability gives them a huge bonus. However, if your Flying pet relies heavily on going first, you may want to have at least S/x to make sure you are still useful past 50% health.

Example: Rabbit



What is the best way to level up my Battle Pets?

Pet Carry





Important! In order for a pet to gain experience, it must survive through the end of one turn. It doesn't need to be present at the beginning of the turn. This means that if your carry pet is the first pet on your roster, it won't receive experience if you swap it out immediately. However, if you swap the pet in mid-fight, then swap it back out, you will receive full experience. Be careful when you swap in if your pet is especially low level, as it will easily be one-shot! The only reason your carry pet needs to attack is if it was the pet you sent out first. Otherwise, swap in and swap out! Read me! If you carry more than one pet at a time, the experience gained will be split among them. This is okay if you want to level more than one pet at once, but is generally ineffective because then you will be left with two mid-level pets rather than one high level one. Three things to note:



Pandaria takes some extra work to unlock, but it is also a viable place to start if you are having trouble.



Click here to read about Draenor.

Click here to read about Pandaria. If you have chosen the right starter pets, you can easily start in Draenor.Pandaria takes some extra work to unlock, but it is also a viable place to start if you are having trouble.

Training Stones

A big tip! Unless you are in a big rush, save your Unless you are in a big rush, save your Flawless Battle-Training Stone s until the pet you are training is around level 18-20. Using them at low levels is a waste since the experience required per level increases as your pet gets stronger.

Battle-Stones

Marked Flawless Battle-Stone can be bought for

Bonus Experience Items

The bonus experience items can stack. That's 85% bonus experience. Neato!

Battling Combos

(Removed) Howl-bombing

Note that, sometimes, this combo can be hard to pull off against enemies with lots of stuns or interrupts. It is very sensitive to timing, so learn and adjust based on the battle!

Storm-flocking





Hit #1 70+130) + (34+130)]*2 for Shattered Defenses] = 728 damage Hit #2 = 728 damage Hit #3 = 728 damage End of turn Fel Immolate damage: 130) + (34+130)]*2 = 760 damage Total = 2944 damage, not including the 25% damage bonus from Beast For a bit more perspective, Hunting Party does around 70 damage per hit and hits 3 times. Call Lightning adds 34 bonus damage per hit. Black Claw adds 130 bonus damage to both.

Rot + Stampede

Sunlight + Explode

Don't forget that Explode can (catastrophically) miss! It also has a damage bonus against Beast-types, dealing 60% max health instead of 40%. I am not sure if it can crit yet.

Draenor Daily Carry Guide





If you only have one level 25 pet, I recommend you start off by defeating Ashlei every day until your roster is strong enough to take on the rest of the tamers. At the very minimum, you should be defeating her every day, even if you venture into Pandaria.

When you can, you can also get Cymre Brightblade on farm. Though, this fight will require some more finesse.

Once you get Chrominius, you will be able to defeat Taralune and Vesharr as well.

Do these pet battles daily and you will have a full roster of level 25 pets in no time!



If you are having immense difficulty, try to follow the quest chain If you've made it here, it probably means that you're ready to learn how to power-level your pets. In this section, we'll cover some tried and true strategies to defeating the Pet Tamers found around Draenor using only two (or one) level 25 pets. This allows us to bring a "carry pet" with us to soak up the experience.If you are having immense difficulty, try to follow the quest chain Audrey Burnhep Varzok . This quest will take you around Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms to defeat weak Pet Tamers until you end up in Pandaria. Pandaria Tamers do not award as much experience as Draenor ones do, but they are still worthwhile, especially if you are just starting off. This will take some time.

Unfortunately, the Pet Menagerie does not award reasonable amounts of experience anymore, so it is not advisable to run with carry teams. This guide will not discuss them. Please refer to this guide for information on the fights available here.

Pandaria Daily Carry Guide





Unlike Draenor, you cannot just start pet battling in Pandaria. You need to finish Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Outland, Northrend, and Cataclysm first! Head to Stormwind / Orgrimmar to find the quest



Pandaria is very easy! The following carry strategies apply to Pandaria Pet Tamers. To note, most of these strategies only require If you are having trouble in Draenor, you can get a different headstart in Pandaria.You need to finish Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Outland, Northrend, and Cataclysm first! Head to Stormwind / Orgrimmar to find the quest Audrey Burnhep Varzok . This will guide you around the world on a long adventure culminating in Pandaria. If you are new, this quest will help you get acquainted with pet battling better, but it will take some time to complete. The first 80% of the quest chain is trivial, since you will have a level 25 pet versus very low level enemies.The following carry strategies apply to Pandaria Pet Tamers. To note, most of these strategies only require Anubisath Idol or Emerald Proto-Whelp . If you are following this guide, you should already have those two.

All Beasts of Fable battles can be trivialized by howl-bombing, and most with storm-flocking. It is generally not very useful to bring carry pets to these fights, but you're free to try.

The Celestial Tournament

This list is not exhaustive! Please supplement your list with any other pets you need.



The following pets were personally selected if they fulfilled one of two criteria: (1) they are useful for two or more fights or (2) their performance in at least one fight is great enough (i.e. a pet can solo or nearly solo a fight).



Also note that it does not include pets mentioned earlier in the guide.