5.4 new pets

[Poofah]

I could have sworn there was a thread for this already, but I couldn't find it. Here's some links and grades.

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/71942-aspect-of-xuen]Aspect of Xu'en[/url]

This guy is nifty. Spirit Claws with Moonfire jumps out as a natural high-damage setup, and Vengeance could be decent, but the really nasty potential here is Prowl+Feed. Feed deals 20 and heals 20, a swing of 40 health. With Prowl, this is going to be another silly case of stacking multipliers, on the level of FFF. Let's assume Lil Xuen has 292 power, the same as the speed breed FFF:

FFF did 2.5*2.25*(20+292) damage with Wind-Up + Supercharge (or Prowl), which is 1755.

Lil Xuen does 2.5*(20+292) = 780 damage, PLUS 780 heal. It's split between damage and health and so is not a one-shot, but the swing in health is very comparable to FFF (and only takes 2 actions, not 3 like FFF). Also, if you use it under half health with the Beast racial up, then it's 975 damage + 975 heal.

Grade: A+++ (should not go live like this)

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/72462-aspect-of-chi-ji#related:learns]Aspect of Chi-Ji[/url]

Deflection + Feign Death is a lot of avoidance, but neither ability buys you any extra turns and the opponent isn't going to care how much you avoid because the damage you do back will be below average. Also, the priority on Deflection is really wasted on a flyer: this would be much better as Dodge. Tranquility + Feign Death could be nifty as a way to heal another pet, but the numbers on Tranquility make this still a fairly average play.

Grade: C- (maybe I'd play it in a theme team)

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/72463-aspect-of-yulon#related:learns]Aspect of Yu'lon[/url]

Looks awesome, but her moveset is a real jumble. Jadefire Lightning looks interesting as a higher-than-usual AoE, and would make a very durable and annoying AoEer with Emerald Presence plus Life Exchange--but the 1 round cd in slot 1 makes it impossible to use without becoming cooldown-locked. Life Exchange plus a shield could be pretty strong: the shield reduces incoming damage and helps pick the right time to use Life Exchange, and lower incoming damage makes the stolen health worth more. Celestial Blessing could also be a lovely setup move for your next pet, depending where the numbers end up, but it's exclusive with the shield. So there's a few decent possibilities, but nothing glaringly powerful.

Grade: B (going to play around with it)

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/72464-aspect-of-niuzao#related:learns]Aspect of Niuzao[/url]

This guy really needs a better slot 1 attack: Trample is terrible when everyone plays low health/high power pets, and Horn Attack will leave you cooldown-locked (and is probably not going to get you any turns since there's no way he's a speed breed). Dominance+Head Butt will probably hurt, but nothing like Prowl+Feed, and it doesn't justify taking 2 slots, unless Dominance has such a high number attached that it's overpowered. The Niuzao's Charge+Wish moveset might be more interesting: Charge with beast passive would be a nice chunk of damage, and Wish might be enough healing to let the cooldowns wind down to do it again. But this isn't going to be overwhelmingly strong, and the slot 1 drags him down considerably.

Grade: C+ (would be B+ with a decent slot 1)

[Luciandk]

What about the 3 new mech pets as well Moon Moon?

[Tenshiame]

anyone know what engineering specialty will have the new pets?

[Poofah]

What about the 3 new mech pets as well Moon Moon?

I'm getting there!

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/70082-pierre]Pierre[/url]

Extremely bad, unfortunately. The slot 1 is terrible, similar to Lil Niuzao: you can choose cooldown-lock or bad damage. Slot 2 is completely at odds with Frying Pan and slot 3: you can choose a hit debuff or a thorns effect, which are both only good if the opponent attacks. If you randomly stun with Frying Pan or if you sleep them with Food Coma, then they can't attack and you lose all the benefit of your slot 2 ability.

Grade: D- (really bad!)

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/73011-lil-bling]Lil Bling[/url]

If this guy is reasonably fast, he could be really good and really fun, and one of the rare pets with multiple viable movesets. Blingtron Gift Package is randomly 30 damage or 30 heal on a 2 turn cooldown, which is really good as long as you can use the heal. Smackthat is basically Alpha Strike, so a fast Bling with Smackthat/Blingtron Gift Package/X would put out very respectable numbers: although sadly the 3rd slot doesn't do much for him in this setup. The other way to go would be Inflation/Extra Plating/Launch Rocket. Inflation is the same as Hunting Party, so you'd have a variation on a Zandalari raptor, but with better defense: you'd probably want to Extra Plating, place Rocket, Inflation(1), Inflation(2), then blast them with the rocket for huge numbers due to the +100% damage debuff.

Grade: A- (very playable, but Make it Rain would be a lot better as something else)

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/72160-moon-moon]Moon Moon[/url]

More or less a standard wolf/fox/worg, but with the ability to deal Magic damage instead of Beast. But his damage isn't remarkable, and you have to choose between his two team utility abilities in slot 3 (Moonlight and Dazzling Dance). So he's stuck between roles: not a great damager, not a great buffer. If the opponent has a heal, they'll make better use of Moonlight than he will. The only use I see for him is to replace your Worg Pup in a Dazzling Dance team, in case you're especially scared of flyers.

Grade: C- (Dammit Moon-Moon)

[url=http://ptr.wowdb.com/npcs/71693-rascal-bot]Rascal-Bot[/url]

Potentially very interesting. The most eye-catching ability is Armageddon, and for good reason: if you hit all 3 pets, it's a total of 60 base damage (triple the damage of a basic attack!). Or 75 total with Call Lightning, plus the procs. The other interesting thing about this is that his slot 1 attack Plot Twist (21 damage) appears to actually be 3 hits of 7 damage, in which case it would triple-dip on Call Lightning procs. Call Lightning teams are already pretty popular, and I expect this guy to fit in really well. The only thing really holding him back is the same thing all Call Lightning teams struggle with: Sandstorm and shields.

Grade: A (curse you Sandstorm)

[Quintessence]

anyone know what engineering specialty will have the new pets?

I don't think the new engineering pets will require any specialty. Both Goblin and Gnome engineers should be able to craft them.

[Guest]

Interesting read, thanks for posting!

[Luciandk]

And then Blizzard goes and adds a lot of new pets in 5.4, lol. I thought 5.4 wasnt supposed to contain that many pets at all!

But clearly they changed their mind!

Humm. Some of the new pets is clearly SOO raid pets.

Blackfuse Bombling from Siegecrafter Blackfuse.
Kovok is from the Klaxxi Paragons encounter
Droplet of Y'Shaarj is likely from either Malkorok or Garrosh
Gooey Sha-ling is likely from the Sha of Pride.

[GilroyKilroy]

I haven't seen this but did they raise the cap to more than 650 in 5.4? I already have 643 pets with 5 on my wanted list leaving only 2 spots free (ideally.)

[Luciandk]

Sounds like its time to drop some of your duplicates.

[Awq]

I disagree with your analysis on the new Celestial Pets. Every single one of these will be very strong!
Some might not be very good stand alone pets, and might not be used frequently. I do agree that Aspect of Xu'en will be the easiest to use and will be very strong! I do agree that the others are weak as stand alone pets. Their move sets seem really strong in certain setups. Too strong possibly!

Aspect of Yu'lon
Breath Overwhelms the enemy with draconic breath, dealing 24 Dragon damage; 90% Hit Chance.
Emerald Presence Reduces up to 5 damage from each attack against you. Lasts 5 rounds.
Lift-Off Fly up high, becoming unattackable for one round. On the next round, you attack, dealing 35 Flying damage; 80% Hit Chance; 4 Turn Cooldown.
Jadefire Lightning Brings forth jadefire lightning to deal 9 Magic damage to the enemy team; 100% Hit Chance; 1 Turn Cooldown.
Celestial Blessing Sanctifies the ground for 5 rounds, blessing the next friendly pet to swap into battle with 50% reduced damage for DATA ERROR |4round:rounds;
Life Exchange Equalizes the health between the user and his enemy. Health gained cannot exceed the caster's maximum health; 100% Hit Chance; 5 Turn Cooldown.

What makes this pet strong? Breath, Celestial Blessing, Life Exchange. Life Exchange pets want low uptime after they have lower HP. You generally are punished by one lost round because of Life Exchange. A stun move for a Life Exchange pet would have been good. This might even be better. You gain 2 rounds of reduced damage from using Celestial Blessing (and it does not favor/require speed, unlike other damage reduction moves), if the buff is indeed 4 rounds.
I see great synergy with (some) squishy P/P pets! This pet counters P/P pets squishiness while they keep their high damage. This pet has insane synergy and can function as tank.

Aspect of Yu'lon could have worked in a defensive Sandstorm team. Life exchange covers the Swap+Emerald Presence really well. You basically have a reset button after wasting rounds with a 2 turn setup. Sandstorm teams (as theme) are not that popular though. After the nerf this tactic is no longer viable, because of the 5 round duration. A Life Exchange user with a Shield has potential though!

I do agree that this pet does not have multiple great movesets. Jadefire Lightning is a wasted slot (overdramatising). This lowers the potential. The breed of this pet does not seem that great either. It move set is really unique and really strong however.

I would rate this pet an A(-?)

Aspect of Niuzao
Trample Tramples the target, dealing 10 Beast damage plus an additional 10% of the target's health.
Headbutt Deals 30 Beast damage and has a 25% chance to stun the target; 95% Hit Chance; 4 Turn Cooldown
Niuzao's Charge Builds up power during the first round. The next round the user charges the enemy with unstoppable force, dealing 50 Beast damage; 100% Hit Chance; 4 Turn Cooldown
Horn Attack
Wish Next round, your active pet will be healed for 50% of its maximum health; 5 Turn Cooldown.
Dominance Deals 22 Beast damage. If the user is faster than the target, they have a 50% chance to be trampled and lose their turn; 95% Hit Chance; 1 Turn Cooldown.

Its first and second slot are amazing! Trample and Wish have great synergy. Trample hits for 390-550 in Sunlight. Wish heals for full HP in Sunlight. It is rare to have a pet with 2 strong (completely different moves) that scale really well with a weather effect. This pet becomes a no-brainer for Sunlight teams. It is a shame that the third slot is mediocre (unstoppable damage is really sweet, although I dislike the charge up). Aspect of Niuzao is very unique and very strong.

I would rate this pet an A(+?)

Aspect of Chi-Ji
Fire Quills Flings 1-2 fiery quills at the enemy, dealing 10 Elemental damage per hit. Hits an additional time if the user attacks first.
Ethereal Enter an ethereal state, avoiding all attacks the round it is used. This ability always goes first; 3 Turn Cooldown.
Wild Winds A sharp wind gust deals 18 Flying damage instantly and 4 Flying damage every round for 2 rounds. Persists through pet swaps.
Alpha Strike Deals 15 Flying damage. Deals 10 additional damage if the user is faster than the enemy; 95% Hit Chance.
Tranquility Fills the area with peace, causing your active pet to restore 10 health every round. Lasts 2 rounds. Persists through pet swaps.
Feign Death The user feigns death, avoiding the opponent's attack. The user then swaps automatically with your highest health pet; 8 Turn Cooldown.
I am unsure about this pet!

Scalded Basilisk Hatchling can be a strong pet, although the damage is unreliable. Having a Stall Pet that can eat cc is really useful sometimes. Aspect of Chi-Ji does not get a free round if it is faster, unlike Scalded Basilisk Hatchling. I assume that Aspect of Chi-Ji will be weaker than Scalded Basilisk Hatchling. Scalded Basilisk Hatchling does better (more frequently) damage.

Aspect of Chi-Ji definitely won't be a weak pet! It has a very unique moveset however! I can see this pet being great in PvE. It also brings in some flavor that other Flying pets often miss (multiple 100% avoidance moves).

I would rate this pet a B-.

Aspect of Xuen
I agree with what you've said. Aspect of Xuen can also use Moonfire! It has two good movesets.