Pet of the Month - Snowy Owl
Posted: January 23rd, 2015, 2:02 pm
Many thanks to [profile]Liopleurodon[/profile] for writing the battling portion of our newest feature, [url=http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/snowy-owl-pet-of-the-month-january-2015/]Pet of the Month[/url]. Here are some additional points on the [pet]Snowy Owl[/pet] that she wanted to share!
How Do You Use Your Snowy Owl?
The Snowy Owl is a solid DPS pet. However, it's a bit of a glass cannon without much defense. [ability]Shriek[/ability] does help with that a bit. A 25% reduction for 3 turns isn't anything to sneeze at, but the Owl leaves something to be desired if your opponent is using, say, Shattered Defenses-buffed heavy hitters. Though by choosing Shriek, you'll lose [ability]Cyclone[/ability]. Cyclone is exceptionally strong for 3-pet fights, and pretty decent for single-pet fights, though it's an RNG-heavy move, which tends to feel really crappy post-6.0.
If you're having trouble taking down Gorefu for Pets Vs Pests, a Snowy Owl with [ability]Predatory Strike[/ability] is a great choice for that anchor leg. If you can get Gorefu down to that scale-tipping 502 health, Predatory Strike will finish him. It's a very strong choice for any high-health pet, and it's one of my favorite moves in general. It is particularly effective in this case, since Gorefu is an Aquatic pet.
In that vein, if you'd like to switch it up a bit while maintaining devastating DPS, the Snowy Owl's weakness plays into its strength. With no heals to speak of, pairing it with a [pet]Crow[/pet] with [ability]Call Darkness[/ability] means that both can use [ability]Nocturnal Strike[/ability]. Since Gorefu has a heal, this is an excellent match (though you'll have to watch Gorefu's weather effect too). Predatory Strike will still have more throughput when your opponent is below 25%, but Nocturnal Strike edges it out the rest of the time as long as there's a Blind on your opponent, and using one right after the other is almost mean. This strategy works spectacularly for lots of other single-pet fights as well.
There are a great number of other pets with an identical moveset. Most are vendor pets, but there's also [pet]Miniwing[/pet] from a quest in Terrokar Forest, and the [pet]Brilliant Kaliri[/pet], attained automatically once you obtain 125 unique pets. Of these, the Brilliant Kaliri has the highest Power, while Miniwing has the highest Speed, with the Snowy Owl close behind in its S/B breed. The Kaliri begins Rare by default, and the rest are all Uncommon, while you can take your chances taming whatever rarity under the sun with the Snowy Owl.
In terms of battling, my first choice would probably be the Kaliri, but for new battlers that may be a tall order, and the upgrade stones for the others may be as well. Several other pets can also make decent substitutes depending on which moves you're looking for, since the Owl has a fairly standard flying moveset. For example, many new for Warlords of Draenor flying pets including Wasps & both pets sold by Vesharr have Predatory Strike.
For me, the Snowy Owl is a special pet worth obtaining because of its seasonal exclusivity as much as its killer Flying damage. Go on out while the snow is still fresh and get your own!
So, how do you use your Snowy Owl?
Written by: [profile]Liopleurodon[/profile]
Check out [url=http://battlepetroundup.com/]battlepetroundup.com[/url] for more of Liopleurodon's Pet Battle strategies and pet analyses!
How Do You Use Your Snowy Owl?
The Snowy Owl is a solid DPS pet. However, it's a bit of a glass cannon without much defense. [ability]Shriek[/ability] does help with that a bit. A 25% reduction for 3 turns isn't anything to sneeze at, but the Owl leaves something to be desired if your opponent is using, say, Shattered Defenses-buffed heavy hitters. Though by choosing Shriek, you'll lose [ability]Cyclone[/ability]. Cyclone is exceptionally strong for 3-pet fights, and pretty decent for single-pet fights, though it's an RNG-heavy move, which tends to feel really crappy post-6.0.
If you're having trouble taking down Gorefu for Pets Vs Pests, a Snowy Owl with [ability]Predatory Strike[/ability] is a great choice for that anchor leg. If you can get Gorefu down to that scale-tipping 502 health, Predatory Strike will finish him. It's a very strong choice for any high-health pet, and it's one of my favorite moves in general. It is particularly effective in this case, since Gorefu is an Aquatic pet.
In that vein, if you'd like to switch it up a bit while maintaining devastating DPS, the Snowy Owl's weakness plays into its strength. With no heals to speak of, pairing it with a [pet]Crow[/pet] with [ability]Call Darkness[/ability] means that both can use [ability]Nocturnal Strike[/ability]. Since Gorefu has a heal, this is an excellent match (though you'll have to watch Gorefu's weather effect too). Predatory Strike will still have more throughput when your opponent is below 25%, but Nocturnal Strike edges it out the rest of the time as long as there's a Blind on your opponent, and using one right after the other is almost mean. This strategy works spectacularly for lots of other single-pet fights as well.
There are a great number of other pets with an identical moveset. Most are vendor pets, but there's also [pet]Miniwing[/pet] from a quest in Terrokar Forest, and the [pet]Brilliant Kaliri[/pet], attained automatically once you obtain 125 unique pets. Of these, the Brilliant Kaliri has the highest Power, while Miniwing has the highest Speed, with the Snowy Owl close behind in its S/B breed. The Kaliri begins Rare by default, and the rest are all Uncommon, while you can take your chances taming whatever rarity under the sun with the Snowy Owl.
In terms of battling, my first choice would probably be the Kaliri, but for new battlers that may be a tall order, and the upgrade stones for the others may be as well. Several other pets can also make decent substitutes depending on which moves you're looking for, since the Owl has a fairly standard flying moveset. For example, many new for Warlords of Draenor flying pets including Wasps & both pets sold by Vesharr have Predatory Strike.
For me, the Snowy Owl is a special pet worth obtaining because of its seasonal exclusivity as much as its killer Flying damage. Go on out while the snow is still fresh and get your own!
So, how do you use your Snowy Owl?
Written by: [profile]Liopleurodon[/profile]
Check out [url=http://battlepetroundup.com/]battlepetroundup.com[/url] for more of Liopleurodon's Pet Battle strategies and pet analyses!
