Pet family

Pet families are a system of classification for hunter pets. A pet's family, which is generally based on its species, dictates what food it can eat; what abilities it will have; and what requirements, if any, a hunter needs to meet in order to tame it.

As of Shadowlands, there are 59 pet families.

Restricted families

Exotic families

Certain pet families, known as [Exotic Beasts], can only be tamed and used by Beast Mastery hunters. These families are often composed of unusual species like core hounds, devilsaurs, and spirit beasts.

Skill families

A small number of families can be used by any hunter specialization, but the hunter must first know how to tame them. Generally this involves reading a tome to learn the required skill.

Mechanicals are a special case among skill families; gnomes, goblins, and mechagnomes, being engineering-oriented races, can tame them by default. Other playable races have the usual requirement of using an item to learn about the family.

Although they are not standalone pet families, some specific species of pets belonging to otherwise normal families have similar requirements:

Cloud serpents (serpents and, in one case, spirit beasts) can only be tamed by pandaren hunters by default. Other races must first use [How to School Your Serpent].
Gargons (stone hounds) can only be tamed after using [Gargon Training Manual].
Undead beasts (various families) can only be tamed by undead hunters by default. Other races must first use [Simple Tome of Bone-Binding].

Abilities

Main article: Pet abilities

All pets have access to the common abilities Growl (pet) and Dash (pet); beyond that, a pet's abilities are decided by what family it belongs to.

Every pet family has two specialization-specific abilities and two family abilities. Some families are allowed additional abilities as well; see other abilities below for a general explanation on these extra abilities, or list of families for all families and what abilities they have.

Specialization

Each pet family has a specific specialization, which grants a passive ability and an active ability:

Cunning: [Pathfinding] and [Master's Call]
Ferocity: [Predator's Thirst] and [Primal Rage]
Tenacity: [Endurance Training] and Survival of the Fittest (hunter ability)

Prior to Battle for Azeroth, pet specialization could be changed after taming, and it had a more profound effect on a pet's role in combat. Cunning pets, for example, did less damage than Ferocity pets but offered a variety of PvP-oriented abilities. Now, each specialization deals the same amount of damage, and the two spec-specific abilities are the only difference.

Family abilities

Each family has a damaging ability and a utility ability. The three damaging abilities— [Bite], Claw (pet), and [Smack]—are all functionally identical. The utility ability can fall into one of six types:

Defense: Reduce damage taken by 50% for 12 sec.
Dodge: Increase dodge change by 30% fo 20 sec.
Mortal Wounds: Grievously wound the target, reducing the effectiveness of any healing received for 10 sec.
Slow: Reduce movement speed by 50% for 6 sec.
Tranquilize and Dispel: Remove 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect from an enemy.
Triggered Defense: When health falls below 40%, reduce damage taken by 60% for 15 sec. Can only occur once every 120 sec.
- Note: The stone hound ability [Stone Armor] is slightly different in that it offers 40% damage reduction but regenerates 3% max health every second.

Other abilities

Certain pet families have additional abilities beyond the "default" ability types listed above. These include:

Exotic abilities: All exotic families have a unique ability. Some of these abilities grant combat bonuses such as additional damage or defense, while others grant utility such as water walking.
Bonus abilities: A very small number of families are given an extra ability—usually a form of [Stealth]. This ability is not dependent on whether the family is exotic.
Tricks: A few families have an ability that causes them to do a small, non-utility behavior, such as doing a flip or going to sleep.

Diet

Each pet family has its own dietary preferences that dictate what it will eat when using [Feed Pet]. Food items are divided into six types for this purpose: bread, cheese, fish, fruit, fungus, and meat. Certain families, such as gruffhorns and boars, are able to eat a wide variety of food; others, such as rodents, will only eat a single type. Several pet families are exclusive meat-eaters.

Mechanical pets are an exception, as they eat "mechanical bits" instead of food. Mechanical bits are items like bolts, wiring, and other gizmo parts; many of them are created by engineering or sold by engineering vendors.

Raw food types were briefly introduced as sub-types of meat and fish that only a few families would eat, but they were phased out with Wrath of the Lich King.

List of families

Family name	Exotic	Spec.	Family ability	Additional abilities	Skill requirement	Diet
Family name	Exotic	Spec.	Family ability	Additional abilities	Skill requirement
Aqiri	✓	Cunning	Slow	Exotic: [Dune Strider]						✓	✓
Basilisk		Cunning	Slow					✓			✓
Bat		Ferocity	Tranquilize/dispel						✓	✓	✓
Bear		Tenacity	Triggered defense	Trick: Rest (pet)		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Beetle		Tenacity	Defense						✓	✓
Bird of prey		Cunning	Slow	Trick: [Trick]				✓			✓
Blood beast		Tenacity	Slow		Blood-Soaked Tome of Dark Whispers			✓			✓
Boar		Cunning	Defense			✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Camel		Cunning	Triggered defense			✓			✓	✓
Carapid	✓	Tenacity	Defense	Exotic: [Calcified Carapace]							✓
Carrion bird		Ferocity	Mortal wounds					✓			✓
Cat		Ferocity	Dodge	Bonus: Prowl (pet)				✓			✓
Chimaera	✓	Ferocity	Slow	Exotic: [Froststorm Breath]							✓
Clefthoof	✓	Ferocity	Triggered defense	Exotic: [Blood of the Rhino]		✓	✓		✓	✓
Core hound	✓	Ferocity	Defense	Exotic: [Molten Hide]							✓
Courser		Ferocity	Dodge						✓	✓
Crab		Tenacity	Slow			✓		✓	✓	✓
Crane		Tenacity	Tranquilize/dispel	Trick: [Trick]		✓		✓
Crocolisk		Ferocity	Slow					✓			✓
Devilsaur	✓	Ferocity	Mortal wounds	Exotic: [Feast]							✓
Direhorn		Tenacity	Mortal wounds		Ancient Tome of Dinomancy (not required for Zandalari trolls)				✓	✓
Dragonhawk		Tenacity	Dodge					✓	✓		✓
Feathermane		Tenacity	Dodge	Bonus: [Updraft]	Tome of the Hybrid Beast	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Fox		Cunning	Dodge	Trick: [Play]				✓	✓		✓
Gorilla		Ferocity	Triggered defense			✓			✓	✓
Gruffhorn		Cunning	Triggered defense			✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hound		Cunning	Slow			✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hydra		Tenacity	Mortal wounds					✓			✓
Hyena		Cunning	Mortal wounds								✓
Lizard		Tenacity	Mortal wounds					✓	✓	✓	✓
Mammoth		Tenacity	Slow			✓	✓		✓	✓
Mechanical		Cunning	Defense		Mecha-Bond Imprint Matrix (not required for gnomes, goblins, or mechagnomes)	Non-standard food type; see diet above.
Monkey		Cunning	Dodge						✓	✓
Moth		Cunning	Tranquilize/dispel			✓	✓		✓	✓
Oxen		Tenacity	Triggered defense			✓	✓		✓	✓
Pterrordax	✓	Cunning	Triggered defense	Exotic: [Updraft]				✓	✓		✓
Raptor		Cunning	Mortal wounds								✓
Ravager		Ferocity	Mortal wounds								✓
Ray		Ferocity	Tranquilize/dispel							✓	✓
Riverbeast		Tenacity	Mortal wounds			✓			✓	✓
Rodent		Cunning	Mortal wounds	Trick: Rest (pet)						✓
Scalehide		Ferocity	Defense			✓	✓		✓	✓
Scorpid		Ferocity	Mortal wounds								✓
Serpent		Cunning	Dodge								✓
Shale beast	✓	Cunning	Defense	Exotic: [Shimmering Shale]				✓			✓
Spider		Ferocity	Slow								✓
Spirit beast	✓	Tenacity	Tranquilize/dispel	Bonus: [Spirit Walk] Exotic: [Spirit Mend]				✓			✓
Sporebat		Cunning	Tranquilize/dispel			✓	✓		✓	✓
Stag		Tenacity	Tranquilize/dispel			✓	✓		✓	✓
Stone hound	✓	Tenacity	Triggered defense	Exotic: [Eternal Guardian]				✓			✓
Tallstrider		Ferocity	Slow			✓	✓		✓	✓
Toad		Tenacity	Dodge					✓	✓	✓	✓
Turtle		Tenacity	Defense			✓		✓	✓	✓
Warp stalker		Cunning	Slow					✓			✓
Wasp		Ferocity	Mortal wounds			✓	✓		✓	✓
Water strider	✓	Cunning	Tranquilize/dispel	Exotic: [Surface Trot]					✓	✓
Wind serpent		Ferocity	Dodge			✓	✓	✓
Wolf		Ferocity	Slow								✓
Worm	✓	Tenacity	Slow	Exotic: [Burrow Attack]		✓	✓			✓