WoW Best Battle Pets

Pet battles are a thrilling WoW minigame that lets you pit companions against pets under control of the AI or rival gamers. Though casual, this minigame is surprisingly complex and sometimes overwhelming for beginners. It involves hundreds of units with countless minor variations and potential group compositions. Many of them are hard to get, making it all the more important to know the choices to look out for. Keep reading to learn about WoW best battle pets and where to find them!

Battle Pet Overview

To explain what are the best battle pets in WoW in our opinion, we should first discuss the basic system. The pets have three main characteristics: Health, Power, and Speed. The first two govern how much damage it can take or inflict, while the latter stat determines its move order. Each pet of the same name has a fixed stat proportion that persists at all levels. Most of them can also have several breeds favoring different characteristics, which would allow you to min-max or pick a more balanced build.

The actual stat numbers are based on the quality and level of the pet. Quality ranges from Poor to Rare. It may be raised using special items earned from certain achievements and quests related to the minigame. Like their owners, pets may also level up, though their system is simpler. They gain experience through victory in combat, gaining additional powers on the way to the twentieth level. A fully leveled-up pet may have a total of six powers and pick three of them to use in every encounter.

Finally, all companions belong to one of ten families, which are associated with damage types. Each such family has a bonus for fighting against one type and a penalty when dealing with another, taking 67% and 150% damage from those attacks, respectively. Pets in one family also have one shared passive ability. Many active abilities are shared inside a family as well, though many creatures use more idiosyncratic abilities or even ones taken from other families. The families go as follows:

• Aquatic (bonus versus Undead, penalty versus Flying, suffer 50% less harm from gradual damage effects);
• Beast (bonus versus Humanoid, penalty versus Mechanical, inflict +25% damage when having less than half health);
• Critter (bonus versus Elemental, penalty versus Beast, stunning, rooting, and sleep-inducing effects do not apply);
• Dragonkin (bonus versus Flying, penalty versus Humanoid, after getting a target to less than half health, inflict +50% damage on the following round);
• Elemental (bonus versus Mechanical, penalty versus Aquatic, unaffected by all negative Weather penalties);
• Flying (bonus versus Beast, penalty versus Magic, when having more than half health, gain +50% speed);
• Humanoid (bonus versus Critter, penalty versus Undead, with each attack, get back 5% of top health);
• Magic (bonus versus Aquatic, penalty versus Dragonkin, any one attack cannot take away more than 35% of their top health);
• Mechanical (bonus versus Magic, penalty versus Elemental, resurrect with 25% health once in an encounter);
• Undead (bonus versus Dragonkin, penalty versus Critter, resurrect with immortality for a round once killed, but suffer a 25% attack penalty after that).

How Do We Rate A Pet?

Considering the sheer diversity of these combat companions, which continues to grow with the release of content like the Tazavesh Megadungeon, deciding which ones are better than all others can be difficult. After all, you could use many possible strategies and playstyles in this minigame. Players should choose the approach that they would enjoy the most and seek out the best battle pets for their individual needs.

So what can you find in our write-up of best battle pets in WoW and why did we select the ones below? Even with all those options, there are some companions that are clearly stronger than the rest. Whether you plan to deploy them yourself or not, you should at least know of them and prepare. The main criteria we looked for in our research is versatility. The listed companions can be most useful in the widest range of situations and will assuredly come in handy for assembling the best WoW pet team.

20 Best Battle Pets in WoW

The ranking in this article is very approximate due to the aforementioned difficulties in ranking that this minigame poses. All units mentioned below are formidable, versatile, and beloved by the hardcore pet battle community. However, the ones nearer to the end are particularly popular - and with good reason, considering their extraordinary abilities and wide range of usefulness.

Ikky

Family: Flying

Acquisition: Play through a brief level 30 quest set in the Spires of Arak zone. This quest appears after the completion of the Kaliri Whisperer questline.

Description: The young kaliri is unusual due to its potential use of both Flock and Black Claw abilities, which enable it to inflict heavy harm in a short span. It enjoys a powerful synergy with the Unborn Val’kyr from further down in the list, as its attack is virtually guaranteed to eliminate any enemies weakened by this partner. The bird’s main disadvantage is its relatively low health.

Gilnean Raven

Family: Flying

Acquisition: Purchase from one of the Alliance Battle Pet Trainers, such as Will Larsons on Darkshore. The purchase could only be made by a worgen adventurer, but afterwards the Gilnean Raven will be unlocked for every character on that account.

Description: This creature has the potential for the fastest speed in the minigame. Unfortunately, the most speed-heavy breed can only be acquired from your fellow players now. It would be worth your while to track one down for optimal performance. In addition to its speed, the raven can use powerful debuffs that can effectively sabotage an enemy team and expose it to the bird’s allies for a final attack.

Magical Crawdad

Family: Aquatic

Acquisition: Fish for Mr. Pinchy at Highland Mixed School nodes in a part of Terokkar Forest that may only be reached by using a flying mount. After catching the NPC, you could ask for three random wishes. An advanced Fishing skill is recommended due to the low drop rate. Either way, it may take a while for you to receive the right wish.

Description: The Magical Crawdad stands among the toughest units in the minigame. Its prodigious health is augmented by harm reduction and restoration powers. By drawing on those strengths, it can be a capable tank, overcoming enemies through sheer persistence while creating openings for its allies to exploit.

Nether Faerie Dragon

Family: Dragonkin

Acquisition: Find, defeat, and tame a wild Nether Faerie Dragon in Feralas, near the Dire Maul dungeon.

Description: The Nether Faerie Dragon has balanced stats and strong abilities. Its speed lets it make good use of Evanescence and its dodging bonus, while its offensive powers can quickly dispatch any enemies - especially other fliers. Deploying it alongside the Magical Crawdad can be a reliable and easy to use combo.

Zandalari Anklerender

Family: Beast

Acquisition: The Anklerender is one of the random drops that may be acquired from Zandalari Dinomancers on the Isle of Giants in Pandaria.

Description: The little monster can inflict respectable damage and has major debuffs at its disposal. Primal Cry in particular is ideal for slowing down too-fast enemies, while Hunting Party allows a quick coup de grace. Its strong abilities enable it to solo any threats, but the Anklerender can also help with powerleveling weaker battle pets by leveraging its battlefield control capability.

Clockwork Gnome

Family: Mechanical

Acquisition: The Clockwork Gnome comes from a reward obtainable from Dwarven archaeological sites. It requires 100 Dwarf Archaeology Fragments and 225 Archaeology skill to complete.

Description: This mechagnome companion has remarkable health that is further reinforced by the Repair power. However, the most important advantage at its disposal is the one-of-a-kind Build Turret power that inflicts continuous damage on the enemy team’s front pet. It is most useful against enemies with damage-blocking abilities, but the boosted firepower will be a boon in any situation.

Shimmershell Snail

Family: Critter

Acquisition: Find, defeat, and tame a wild Shimmershell Snail in Darkshore, Ashenvale, or Thousand Needles.

Description: The Shimmershell Snail has one of the greatest Health characteristics of all companions. Its varied skillset increases this survivability further while making the snail highly effective against a wide range of opponent families. Elemental foes in particular are highly vulnerable to the critter’s Dive ability, which shields the snail from harm for a turn and lashes out to inflict devastating Aquatic damage on the next.

Xu-Fu, Cub of Xuen

Family: Beast

Acquisition: Purchase Xu-Fu on Timeless Isle in Pandaria at the price of three Celestial Coins. Every successful run of the Celestial Tournament (in the same zone) gives you one such coin.

Description: The little tiger ranks among the finest PvE pets around due to his powerful ability combos. Prowl and Feed allows him to effortlessly solo groups of lower-level critters and put up a fierce fight against stronger opponents. Moonfire, Prowl, and Spirit Claw can deliver an incredible amount of damage. Xu-Fu does suffer a bit when fighting other players due to his predictable moveset, which a fast team can counter.

Graves

Family: Undead

Acquisition: Get your Heroes of the Storm account to Level 20.

Description: The bone golem specializes in multi-target attacks. Powerful though costly combat options like BONESTORM! and Grave Destruction strike the whole hostile squad, devastating nearly any compositions. Meanwhile, the capacity to regenerate health by consuming allied corpses offers a potent synergy with Haunt-using undead allies (as each new corpse is counted separately for its purposes).

Kun-Lai Runt

Family: Humanoid

Acquisition: Find, defeat, and tame a wild Kun-Lai Runt in Kun-Lai Summit.

Description: The mini-yeti stands among the best battle pets in WoW thanks primarily to its incredible offensive combo. Frost Shock, Deep Freeze, and Takedown let it freeze, knock out, and execute foes respectively. The combo is best-suited for slaughtering the Critters that you are bound to encounter in many open-world encounters. To make the most of the yeti’s advantages, you should seek out a high-Power breed.

Emerald Proto-Whelp

Family: Dragonkin

Acquisition: Find, defeat, and tame a wild Emerald Proto-Whelp in Sholazar Basin.

Description: This whelp’s skillset lends it a truly exceptional versatility. You can choose among damage reduction and healing powers and attacks that are ideal for dealing with different types of foes. Thus, it can meet a wide range of encounters with an optimal build. Again, a Power-based breed would make the most of its abilities, especially as the characteristic bonus extends to healing.

Darkmoon Tonk

Family: Mechanical

Acquisition: Buy from Lhara during the Darkmoon Faire event in exchange for 90 Darkmoon Prize Tickets earned through tasks like profession quests. There is a small chance of it showing up as a Darkmoon Game Prize after one of the event’s dailies.

Description: The Darkmoon Tonk is a simple but deadly unit that is particularly effective in battles against Beasts. Its core build enables it to hit very hard and dominate its preferred foes from the earliest levels. Shock and Awe, Missile, and Ion Cannon make for a truly devastating combo after the latter had been unlocked. However, it will be vulnerable in the unlikely case that something survives the Ion Cannon strike.

Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling

Family: Mechanical

Acquisition: Craft it using Engineering (requires Pandaria Engineering 50 and a recipe sold by some trainers).

Description: This construct’s offensive powers inflict Dragonkin, Flying, Elemental, or Mechanical damage. That renders it particularly versatile and capable of holding its own against diverse foes, though Magic and Dragonkin companions have the most to fear. Notably, no other unit can utilize both Thunderbolt and Decoy. The Dragonling is an exceptional team player that can tip the scales in an otherwise even fight.

Nexus Whelpling

Family: Dragonkin

Acquisition: Find, defeat, and tame a wild Nexus Whelpling on Coldarra in the Borean Tundra.

Description: The Nexus Whelpling deals outstanding damage, especially if belonging to a Power-first breed. Its calling card is the Arcane Storm/Mana Surge combo. While especially devastating to Flying enemies, it presents a serious threat for most other enemy types too. Together with a solid build and other powers, that makes it one of the most sought-for battle pets in WoW.

Iron Starlette

Family: Mechanical

Acquisition: Play through the Blasted Lands questline (the pet is not awarded anymore officially, but it is still obtainable as of Shadowlands).

Description: A miniaturized form of the Iron Stars some might remember from pursuing the Glory of the Orgrimmar Raider, Iron Starlette boasts a deadly combo in Wind-Up and Supercharge. It can assuredly obliterate any Beast and most other pets without special defences. Prioritizing Speed as much as Power in the breed would bring out this tactic’s full potential. The Starlette’s other offensive abilities should not be underestimates either.

Unborn Val’kyr

Family: Undead

Acquisition: Find, defeat, and tame the solitary wild Unborn Val’kyr that can spawn unpredictably somewhere in Northrend. A strong party will be needed to overcome her and her level 23-25 companions.

Description: Unborn Val’kyr is prized above most other companions for PvP purposes. She possesses an array of deadly and difficult to counter abilities that allow her to single-handedly alter an encounter’s outcome. Unholy Ascension, which kills the Val’kyr to increase the damage done to all enemies for nine turns, is the stand-out power here. However, she offers plenty of other outstanding options, including gradual damage powers like Haunt or Curse of Doom, which strikes after a few turns.

Servant of Demidos

Family: Magic

Acquisition: Servant of Demidos has a 15% chance to appear as loot after you defeat the rare mob Demidos on Shadowmoon Valley. Demidos is not guaranteed to spawn every day.

Description: Although this companion’s Health is relatively low, the family passive bonus coupled with the Siphon Anima lifesteal power can help sustain it until the encounter’s end. Meanwhile, potent attacks like the nearly-unique Magic Sword (which boasts a 50% critical hit chance) empower it to cut through most opponents with surprising ease. The Servant is straightforward to play and therefore advisable for beginners.

Lil’ Ragnaros

Family: Elemental

Acquisition: Buy it from the Battle.net Shop.

Description: Lil’ Ragnaros has the single highest Power characterstic in the entire minigame. His Speed and Health are only average, but his raw strength coupled with a range of tricky powers can let him dominate the battlefield. Flamethrower and Conflagrate can be a very effective combo for burst damage. Magma Trap and Sons of the Flame mitigate his weakness by keeping enemies from striking or making him impossible to target.

Chrominius

Family: Dragonkin

Acquisition: Chrominius has a chance to drop as loot after you defeat Chromaggus in the Blackwing Lair raid.

Description: The chromatic dragon can be used effectively in any role. It is very tough and can deal damage consistently, though it does best when facing Critter and Flying foes. The Arcane Explosion ability in particular is great for grinding down any enemy composition. Chrominius is also the perfect companion for the Experiment 12-B flying mount.

Anubisath Idol

Family: Humanoid

Acquisition: Anubisath Idol has an approximately 10% chance of being dropped by Emperor Vek’lor at the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj.

Description: This entry is universally acclaimed as one of the best WoW battle pets. Anubisath Idol dominates the minigame with its well-rounded build and varied abilities. Together with the Humanoid passive, the idol’s damage reduction and evasion powers let it stay in the fight no matter what. Being able to alter the weather, stun opponents, and inflict four kinds of damage round out this pet’s advantages, although they are balanced somewhat by low accuracy.

How We Can Help

Do you desire to break into the pet battle scene without spending months assembling your party? Perhaps you have your eye on one of the entries above, or are making plans to counter them? Our WoW carry services can help. You could make a custom boost to complete whichever activity is required to acquire the companion of your dreams. Alternatively, most pets may be purchased at the Auction House. If you intend to follow that route, seek out our Gold Farm services to make sure you can afford everything you need.  If you need help leveling up your character quickly, you might want to check out our WoW Level Boost category.