How important is breed?

[Kandacespets]

I am fairly new to pet collecting - just started getting serious about it over the summer - so I'm still trying to figure out all the intricacies.

What I'm wondering is, how important is breed?

Corollary to that - is it a waste to use a stone to make a hard-to-find pet rare quality, if the pet is B/B?

To illustrate: I finally found an Unborn Val'kyr, and trapped it. It is grey quality and B/B. I have a stone I could use to make it blue. Worth it?

But I'm also wondering more generally - should I be trying to upgrade pets who are rare quality but B/B or B/* when a "pure" breed such as S/S or P/P is available?

Thanks ~

[Nagini]

it really depends on what you want to do with the pets. Some strategies rely on high (or somethimes low) speed, so they require pets of a certain build(i'm looking at you, awfull force swap team people :p). PvP can be pretty competative, so having pets with good breeds can give you that little advantage over your opponent that could get you a win instead of draw or loss.

Personally, for the rarer pets as the valkyr, minfernal or pets are from events and vendors that cost a lot of tokens or stuff, i just grab the first one i find and be done with it. While a good breed might make it easier, i haven't had that many issues using pets of random breeds.

For example, i have a ton of moths leveled, and when i need a moth for pvp i use a /s or s/s one for alpha strike, but in pve situations any moth will do, usually. It just depends on the speed if i keep alpha strke or slicing wind as the first ability.

tl;dr: some pets are worth looking up a specific breed for if you're using a strat that relies on a certain stat to be at a certain level, but just because a pet is b/b doesn't mean it can't be a great addition to your team

[Abashera]

Yeah basically what Nagini said. It really depends on what you're going to do with each pet.

But overall, yes, breed does matter. With the Val'kyr, if you only intend to use it for "Unholy Ascension" then it will provide the same damage for your team no matter which breed you use. But if you're using it for any of it's personal hitting abilities, the B/B has both better damage and speed.

For any rabbit you basically have two choices in attack style. A fast approach where you get three hits off "Flurry", or a slower attack with more power using "Scratch." If you want to hit with scratch, and maybe Adrenaline Rush, the H/P Highland's Cottontail is the strongest. Otherwise there are several fast rabbits to chose from. The Highlands in a S/S is a good compromise because it has a higher damage to speed ratio; but that's just my choice—I also have faster rabbits should I feel I need one.

If you want to use a pet with "Explode", the amount of damage you do is based on a percentage of your overall health-pool (40%). So the higher the health, the more damage you will do. That makes the H/H Blackfuse Bombling the must have for explode. But either a Netherspace or Minfernal in H/H is second best. Otherwise neither Netherspace or Minfernal have abilities that benefit from speed. So then I would try to get a P/P Netherspace which will do damage according to it's 333 power (provided your Meteor Strike hits and crits).

And some pets have such low speed that chances are you will probably always be going against something faster no matter which breed you chose. In those cases I will take the one with the greater health (often a H/P or B/B), which can help you take a couple more hits from the opponent (in some cases this completely offsets the opponent's speed).

Here, maybe this will help a little in deciding which ones to capture or use a stone on. It's a little rough, and doesn't take into consideration all abilities. But it can be a basic guide to which are most powerful, fast, or durable. (Sorry for the notations "NEED" at the ends of each some, that's just how I keep track of what I still need. And I'm always adding to this, so anyone can let me know if I've made errors, oversights, or need to add something.)


BEST IN SPECIES

(NOTE: This is a general P/S/H comparison chart, and does not take into consideration all abilities.
Also, it only covers extremes in either stat. There are many balanced (middle of the road) breeds as well).

BEETLES:
POWERFUL!
1319/341/260 (P/P) Lava Beetle (Having high hit, and "Cauterize, makes this the most powerful and durable!)
1337/341/276 (P/P) Twilight Beetle
1465/305/260 (H/P) Fire Beetle (Has "Cauterize")
FAST!
1400/276/309 (S/S) Gold Beetle
DURABLE!
1644/276/260 (H/H) Savory Beetle

CATS:
STRONG!
1237/341/276 (P/P) Cornish Rex Cat
1302/322/276 (H/P) Black Tabby Cat
1237/305/305 (P/S) Cat, Bombay Cat
1221/233/289 (P/B) Feline Familiar
FAST!
1337/276/341 (S/S) Cat, Siamese Cat
(NOTES: The ordinary Cat and Bombay Cat have the best speed/power ratio. Feline Familiar has unique abilities in the cat family.)

CHIPMUNKS & SQUIRRELS:
STRONG!
1465/289/273 (P/B) Alpine Chipmunk, Grizzly Squirrel, Squirrel
1546/289/260 (H/P) Alpine Chipmunk
FAST!
1400/260/325 (S/S) Alpine Chipmunk, Red Tailed Chipmunk, Grizzly Squirrel, Squirrel
1465/273/289 (S/B) Red-Tailed Chipmunk, Grizzly Squirrel
1400/289/289 (P/S) Nuts

CRABS:
STRONG!
1481/357/211 (P/P) Emperor Crab
1319/357/244 (P/P) Spineclaw Crab (Faster than Emperor; but has lower healing.)
1481/325/244 (P/P) Spirebound Crab
(NOTE: Lava Crab is unique in that it has "Cauterize" and can hit back line pets.)
HEALTH!
1806/292/211 (H/H) Emperor Crab
1806/260/244 (H/H) Spiritbound Crab, Strand Crab
(NOTE: "Spirit Crab" is not listed because it is "Undead". Though it is a must in any arsenal)

FROGS:
STRONG!
1562/309/244 (P/P) Yellow-Bellied Bullfrog
1709/273/244 (H/P) Huge Toad
1562/273/273 (P/S) Biletoad
(NOTE: Although the "Swamp Croaker" has middle of the road stats,
it has a unique advantage with "Croak", and "Bubble".)
FAST!
1481/244/325 (S/S) Leopard Tree Frog
1546/257/289 (S/B) Small Frog
1627/255/289 (H/S) Mojo

HEDGEHOGS & PORCUPINES:
STRONG!
1587/289/252 (H/P) Vengeful Porcupine
1481/276/276 (B/B) Silent Hedgehog, Clouded Hedgehog
(NOTE: Harmonious Porcupine has good self healing, and group heal.)
FAST!
1400/260/325 (S/S) Clouded Hedgehog
(NOTE: Spectral Porcupine is "Magic", and not Beast.)

LIZARDS:
POWER!
1400/341/244 (P/P) Diemetradon Hatchling
1384/305/276 (H/P) Plains Monitor
1465/289/276 (H/P) Spiky Lizard, Horned Lizard, Twilight Iguana, Warpstalker Hatchling
(NOTE: Scalded Basilisk Hatchling has lower baseline power, but has a 25% power buff.)
FAST!
1400/341/244 (P/P) Spiky Lizard, Lizard Hatchling, Twilight Iguana

MAGGOTS:
STRONG!
1709/289/227 (H/P) Mr. Grubbs
DURABLE!
1887/260/227 (H/H) Devouring Maggot, Festering Maggot, Maggot

MOTHS:
STRONG!
1390/341/260 (P/P) Yellow Moth
1400/289/289 (P/S) Ashwing Moth (also has a 9 round hit chance buff.)
FAST!
1319/255/357 (S/S) Silky Moth
1481/227/341 (S/S) Fungal Moth
1500/260/325 (S/S) Grey Moth
DURABLE!
1644/244/292 (H/H) White Moth

RATS & MICE:
STRONG!
1400/341/244 (P/P) Giant Sewer Rat
1400/289/289 (P/S) Prairie Mouse
1400/273/305 (P/S) Mouse
1400/273/289 (P/B) Highlands Mouse, Stowaway Rat, Yakrat
FAST!
1400/244/341 (S/S) Fjord Rat, Grotto Vole, Highlands Mouse, Mouse, Rat,
Redridge Rat, Stormwind Rat, Stowaway Rat, Undercity Rat
Wharf Rat
1465/257/305 (S/B) Black Rat, Carrion Rat, Fjord Rat, Undercity Rat

RABBITS:
STRONG!
1546/289/260 (H/P) Grasslands Cottontail
1546/257/292 (H/P) Rabit
FAST!
1400/227/357 (S/S) Arctic Hare, Mountain Cottontail, Rabbit, Brown Rabbit, Snowshoe Rabbit, Spring Rabbit
1400/260/325 (S/S) Grasslands Cottontail
(NOTE: "Darkmoon Rabbit, with S/S and balanced breeds, is in it's own class, as it has "Huge, Sharp Teeth!")

ROACH:
STRONG!
1627/257/276 (H/P) Deepholm Cockroach (have), Fire-Proof Roach, Nether Roach,
Resilient Roach, Roach, Tainted Cockroach
1562/244/292 (B/B) Undercity Cockroach
1709/240/276 (H/P) Irradiated Roach
1546/240/305 (S/B) Cockroach
FAST!
1841/227/341 (S/S) Cockroach, Deepholm Cockroach, Resilient Roach, Undercity Cockroach
DURABLE!
1817/211/276 (H/H) Irradiated Roach,
1806/227/276 (H/H) Cockroach, Deepholm Cockroach, Resilient Roach, Tainted Roach, Undercity Cockroach

SCORPIONS:
STRONG!
1400/289/289 (P/S) Durrotar Scorpion, Leopard Scorpian, Stripe Tailed Scorpion, Scorpid
FAST!
1400/260/325 (S/S) Leopard Scorpid, Scorpling

SNAILS:
STRONG!
1790/305/195 (H/P) Shimmershell Snail
DURABLE!
1969/276/196 (H/H) Shimmershell Snail @ Darkshore

SNAKES:
STRONG!
1319/325/276 (P/P) Death Adder (need), Tree Python
1319/305/289 (P/S) Moccasin
1465/289/276 (H/P) Emerald Boa
1465/289/273 (H/B) Crimson Snake
1384/289/289 (P/B) Adder
1319/289/305 (P/S) Cobra Hatchling, Ash Viper, Rattlesnake, Rat Snake
FAST!
1319/260/341 (S/S) Death Adder (need), Grove Viper, Moccasin, Rock Viper, Sidewinder, Snake, Temple Snake
1384/257/322 (S/B) Albino Snake
DURABLE!
1644/260/276 (H/H) Elder Python

SPIDER:
1237/341/276 (P/P) Twilight Spider, Widow Spiderling, Feverbite Hatchling
1384/305/276 (H/P) Amethyst Spiderling (NEED)
1237/305/305 (P/S) Dusk Spiderling (NEED), Desert Spider, Forest Spiderling
1319/292/292 (B/B) Crystal Spider, Spider

STRIDERS / SKIMMERS:
STRONG!
1400/273/305 (P/S) Eternal Strider
1481/260/292 (B/B) Dancing Water Skimmer
1400/260/309 (B/B) Mirror Strider
DURABLE!
1465/257/305 (H/B) Mirror Strider
FAST!
1319/227/374 (S/S) Aqua Strider
1465/244/322 (H/S) Mirror Strider

TURTLES:
STRONG!
1725/260/244 (B/B) Emerald Turtle
1644/260/260 (B/B) Turquoise Turtle @ Azshara
DURABLE!
1969/244/227 (H/H) Emerald Turtle @ The Jade Forest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STRONGEST IN FAMILY
(The "tanking" list is based on survivability mechanics, and not health pool alone.)

Aquatic

POWER!
1481/357/211 (P/P) Emperor Crab
1481/325/244 (P/P) Spiritbound Crab
1481/325/244 (P/P) Shore Crawler (Goblin and AH)
1400/325/260 (P/P) Purple Puffer
1562/309/244 (P/P) Yellow-Bellied Bullfrog
1400/305/273 (P/S) Toothy
1546/305/244 (H/P) Snarly
TANKING!
Magical Crawdad
Emperor Crab (either breed)
Emerald Turtle (either breed)
Swamp Croaker (either breed)
Spineclaw Crab

Beast

POWER!
1481/357/211 (P/P) Stunted Shardhorn
1400/341/244 (P/P) Diemetradon Hatchling
1237/341/276 (P/P) Cornish Rex Cat
1237/341/276 (P/P) Zandalari Kneebiter
1237/341/276 (P/P) Twilight Spider
1237/341/276 (P/P) Zandalari Ankelbiter (NEED)
1237/341/276 (P/P) Zandalari Footslasher (NEED)
1237/341/276 (P/P) Zandalari Toenibbler (NEED)
1441/325/252 (P/P) Stunted Direhorn (NEED - from achievement)
1400/325/260 (P/P) Baby Ape
1400/325/260 (P/P) Darkshore Cub
1400/325/260 (P/P) Snow Cub (NEED)
1400/325/260 (P/P) Fjord Worg Pup (NEED)
1400/325/260 (P/P) Razashi Hatchling (NEED)
1302/322/276 (H/P) Black Tabby Cat (NEED)
1221/322/289 (P/B) Feline Familiar (NEED)
1237/305/305 (P/S) Cat
1302/305/289 (P/B) Gundrak Hatchling (NEED)
1237/305/305 (P/S) Molten Hatchling
1237/305/305 (P/S) Ravenger Hatchling
1237/305/305 (P/S) Desert Spider (NEED)
1237/305/305 (P/S) Dusk Spiderling (NEED)
TANKING!
1441/325/252 (P/P) Stunted Direhorn
1237/341/276 (P/P) Twilight Spider or Widow Spiderling, both P/P
Cats: Cornish Rex Cat (P/P) Cat (H/P), or Feline Familiar (P/B)

Critter

POWER!
1197/370/249 (P/S) Red Criket
1319/341/260 (P/P) Scarab Hatchling (NEED)
1237/341/226 (P/P) Twilight Beetle
1319/341/260 (P/P) Lava Beetle (NEED)
1400/325/260 (P/P) Stinker
1319/322/273 (P/S) Perky Pug
TANKING!
1546/289/260 (H/P) Grasslands Cottontail
1969/276/195 (HH) Scooter the Snail
1969/276/195 (H/H, or H/P) Shimmershell Snail
Fast!
1400/227/357 (S/S) Spring Rabbit
1400/227/357 (S/S) Snowshoe Rabbit
1400/227/357 (S/S) Snowshoe Hare
1400/244/341 (S/S) Malayan Quillrat Pup (NEED)

Dragonkin

POWER!
1481/357/211 (P/P) Lil' Deathwing
1481/341/227 (P/P) Thundering Serpent Hatchling (raid perk)
1400/341/244 (P/P) Nexus Whelpling
1400/341/244 (P/P) Emerald Proto-Whelp
1400/341/244 (P/P) Spawn of Onyxia
1400/341/244 (P/P) Infinite Whelpling
1319/341/260 (P/P) Nether Faerie Dragon
1481/322/240 (P/S) Dark Whelpling (drop)
1237/322/289 (P/S) Crimson Whelpling (NEED)
TANK!
1400/341/244 (P/P) Emerald Proto-Whelp
1644/276/260 (H/H) Chrominius

Elemental

POWER!
1400/374/211 (P/P) Lil' Ragnaros (NEED)
("Fel Flame" is weaker, but has more reliable hit chances.)
1319/357/244 (P/P) Crimson Geode
1481/325/244 (P/P) Emerald Shale Hatchling
1400/325/260 (P/P) Amethyst Shale Hatchling
1627/322/211 (H/P) Core Hound Pup
TANK!
1481/325/244 (P/P) Emerald Shale Hatchling
1400/325/260 (P/P) Amethyst Shale Hatchling
Ruby Sapling (either breed)

Flying

POWER!
1400/341/244 (P/P) Yellow Moth
1319/341/260 (P/P) Imperial Eagle Chick
1319/341/260 (P/P) Nether Ray Fry
1319/341/260 (P/P) Wildhammer Gryphon Hatchling (NEED)
1481/325/244 (P/P) Dragonbone Hatchling
1319/325/276 (P/P) Bat
1384/333/373 (P/B) Brilliant Kaliri
1302/322/273 (P/B) Fledgling Nether Ray
1156/322/305 (P/S) Perrodax Hatchling
TANK!
1156/322/305 (P/S) Perrodax Hatchling
1400/341/244 (P/P) Yellow Moth

Humanoid

POWER!
1400/341/244 (P/P) Kun-Lai Runt
1319/341/260 (P/P) Lil' Bad Wolf
1400/325/260 (P/P) Flayer Youngling
1400/325/260 (P/P) Curious Wolver Pup
1400/325/260 (P/P) Sporeling Sprout
1400/325/260 (P/P) Qiraji Guardling
1400/325/250 (P/P) Harbinger of Flame
TANK!
Anubisath Idol
Flayer Younfling (S/S, P/P, P/S, or H/P)

Magic

POWER!
1156/357/276 (P/P) Mini Diablo (lol)
1319/341/260 (P/P) Twilight Fiendling
1400/333/252 (P/P) Netherspace Abyssal
1481/325/244 (P/P) Jade Oozeling
1400/325/260 (P/P) Minfernal (the H/H does better damage with "Explode, as explode works off a
percentage of health. Blackfuse Bombling is even better.)
TANK!
1481/325/244 (P/P) Jade Oozeling

Mechanical

STRENGTH!
1441/341/236 (P/S) Pocket Reaver
1400/325/260 (P/P) Son of Animus (NEED)
1400/325/250 (P/P) Sunreaver Micro Sentry
1546/322/227 (H/P) Lil' XT (NEED)
1237/322/289 (P/S) Fluxfire Feline
1481/309/260 (P/P) Tiny Harvester
1481/309/260 (P/P) Rabid Nut Varmint 2000 (NEED)
1481/309/260 (P/P) Personal World Destroyer
TANK!
1546/273/273 (H/B) Darkmoon Zepplelin
1237/322/289 (P/S) Fluxfire Feline
1465/289/273 (P/B) Rascal-Bot
1546/257/289 (S/B) Pierre
Annodized Robo Cub (either breed)
1400/325/260 (P/P) Son of Animus

Undead

STRENGTH!
1481/309/260 (P/P) Sen'jin Fetish
1627/305/277 (H/P) Infected Squirrel
1627/305/227 (H/P) Ghostly Skull
1627/305/227 (H/P) Lil' K.T.
1546/305/244 (H/P) Blighthawk (NEED)
1481/305/257 (P/S) Fossilized Hatchling
1481/305/257 (P/S) Scourged Whelpling
1481/305/257 (P/S) Crawling Claw (NEED)
TANK!
1881/260/227 (H/H) Infested Bear Cub
1806/260/244 (H/H) Restless Shadeling

[Kpb321]

I'll also add that if you are doing tamers for bags you are likely to have lots of extra undead stone as you get random stones from them so using one to upgrade a Unborn Val'kyrreally isn't a bad idea. That's what I did. I even ended up upgrading a number of other not as rare undead pets with stones like the Blight hawk. I figured I could spend time trying to catch a rare one from a wild pet battle but there are limited spawn points and could take a while. I've got plenty of other wild pets to upgrade and 1/3 of a marked stone wasn't worth it to me at this point.

[Dragonwizard]

James that is a great list for people just starting out with breeds and what they are capable of. Thanks for putting it all together.

[Kandacespets]

Thanks guys! This is very helpful for me.
@jamesdevlin - that is an amazing list, and thank you for sharing it.

Clearly I have a lot to learn about the finer strategic points of pet battling.
Up to now, I have been focused on improving my collection of pets, getting a wide variety of pets to 25 so that I can be adaptive as needed, and finishing the Pandaria tamers and Beasts of Fable (which I just did a few weeks ago).

I have only done a few PvP fights. I've been thinking I am ready to try more of it.

I am going to print out the list above as an excellent resource to help.

[Abashera]

You're welcome.

If anyone can think of any ways to improve that list, or anything I overlooked, please let me know.

Yeah, on the finer points of pet battling...

I told a friend collector about one of the breed add ons. He got it, and then he said "Wow, I guess I have to recapture a lot of pets now because I don't have the best breeds for all of them."

Lol. I think we've all gone through that. I already had a decent sized collection when I got a breed add-on. But it's been several months now, and I have best-in-slot pets for almost every pet I own. It's just nice knowing that when you're battling that you have the the most powerful or fastest, etc. And inPVP with an add-on that tells you what the other team has, you can always tell what opponents know their stuff.

[Spary]

As he said, in PvP it comes down to Breeds, because it IS essential if you are going first or your opponent. You can see many (most?) of the pvp players not using breed addons, as you see their pets often being suboptimal or even bad for pvp - only because of their breed id (Netherfairy, lil Bad Wolf, Fiendish imp, N. Wisp, ...)
Just some of the popular pets that you may often face with the wrong or even bad breed. In these cases the breeds often are the difference between a win or a lose.

[Sanzul]

It depends on what pet you're using and what pet you're fighting. Abilities like [ability]Dodge[/ability] generally favor high speeds as you get two rounds of dodging if you're faster than the enemy, but the definition of "high speed" depends on what you're fighting. If your intended enemy is very slow or way too fast, it doesn't really matter whether you have a speed breed or not.

The best way to get familiar with breeds is to simply get an addon that informs you what breed things are and what breeds exist for that pet type, then carry on as you did before.

[Kandacespets]

I have an addon that tells me what breed I have (as well as what breeds are available for a particular pet, so I can tell immediately whether there is something better out there or whether the one I've got is as good as it gets).

Still procrastinating on trying out the PvP battles. (I can be really chicken about this kind of thing sometimes!) But I'm intrigued to hear that I'll be able to see what breeds their pets are as well -- did I read that right? That seems like it would be a distinct advantage to know.

As I have started to pay attention -- I can definitely see how a "suboptimal" breed does not allow me to take advantage of some of the pet skills the way I'd like to (i.e. not getting that second dodge because my rabbit is P/B instead of S/S -- there is really no point at which I would not like to have dodged two attacks instead of only one!) -- and in some cases, I have actually thought I might want to have copies of pets -- if they were of two different breeds -- not sure about this one yet, but it's something I might experiment with.

So then, this makes me wonder -- if I level up all the B/B Lil Bad Wolves I've gotten, and then cage them and sell them on the AH, and keep the S/S one I just got last week for myself -- is this ... fair? I notice that you can't see the breed of the pet you're buying. Would it have a chance of being different for the purchaser who buys it and learns it than it was for me? Or will it always be B/B even though nobody can see that until they've bought it and put it in their pet journal?
And does this even matter?

[Peanutty]

So then, this makes me wonder -- if I level up all the B/B Lil Bad Wolves I've gotten, and then cage them and sell them on the AH, and keep the S/S one I just got last week for myself -- is this ... fair? I notice that you can't see the breed of the pet you're buying. Would it have a chance of being different for the purchaser who buys it and learns it than it was for me? Or will it always be B/B even though nobody can see that until they've bought it and put it in their pet journal?
And does this even matter?

It is entirely "fair" as anyone with an addon can see the breed of a learned-then-caged pet that's being sold via AH or trade. So you aren't ripping anyone off. Keep in mind that many buyers and collectors don't care one bit about breed - they will buy whatever is cheapest or pre-leveled or pre-stoned without any concern for breed. For the most part I don't care about breed either and have only been choosy in a handful of cases.

A pet that can be sold as a BoE, like Darkmoon Rabbit, is a crapshoot and so the buyer is assuming the risks by taking a chance on it.

The only time it is "unfair" is if you promise a certain breed for trade or sale and then try to switch in a different one than the one promised. If I am doing a trade for a specific breed I always double check to make sure I am receiving the right pet.

[Abashera]

I notice that you can't see the breed of the pet you're buying. Would it have a chance of being different for the purchaser who buys it and learns it than it was for me? Or will it always be B/B even though nobody can see that until they've bought it and put it in their pet journal?
And does this even matter?

There is an add-on that lets you see what the breeds are on pets in the auction house. The only pets you can't see the breed of are pets that haven't been learned yet—the ones in the Miscellaneous tab under Companion Pets.

I would tell you what add-on does this, but I'm using so many pet addons that I can't remember which does what half the time.

And a pet's breed never changes.

Here are all the Add-Ons I use:

Auto Safari Hat
Battle Pet BreedID
Battle Plates
Cancel Pet Fight
Pet Theory
Collect Me
Pet Battle Info
Pet Breed IDs
PetBattle Teams
Pet Tracker
Rarity

[Skyquake]

And I'm always adding to this, so anyone can let me know if I've made errors, oversights, or need to add something.)

The fastest frog is a S/S Leopard Tree Frog (1481/244/325). It's a nice generic hard counter against Undead because the critter ability Tongue Lash always gets in the extra lick and it has a critter DOT that persists between swaps. I really like it. Remember the annoying tamer Nearly Headless Jacob in Crystalsong Forest- the guy with the Undeads who keeps swapping your pets in and out? I was by there and I remembered I had picked up a couple of level 22 rare SS Leopard Tree Frogs grinding wilds in Jade Forest. I threw them in with my 25 rare. Jacob was all, like, "Swap! D'Oh! Swap! D'Oh! Swap! D'Oh!" Anyway, there's something for your list.

[Arwyn3]

Yeah I only recently discovered just how huge a difference breed can make. A friend I play with was always talking about how they loved their FLayer Youngling, used it for everything, its their go to humanoid. I hated mine. It wasnt until I downloaded a Breed Addon and saw that he had a S/S and I had a B/B that I realized why we had such differing opinions about the pet. The move set of the flayer really wants it to be fast, I had a slow version. Now that I've farmed a S/S, I love the pet. Not every pet's breed makes as much of a difference, but its a good idea to think about what breed would work best with the move set each pet has when determining which version to keep.

[Skyquake]

Yeah I only recently discovered just how huge a difference breed can make. A friend I play with was always talking about how they loved their FLayer Youngling, used it for everything, its their go to humanoid. I hated mine. It wasnt until I downloaded a Breed Addon and saw that he had a S/S and I had a B/B that I realized why we had such differing opinions about the pet. The move set of the flayer really wants it to be fast, I had a slow version. Now that I've farmed a S/S, I love the pet. Not every pet's breed makes as much of a difference, but its a good idea to think about what breed would work best with the move set each pet has when determining which version to keep.

Flayer Youngling is the poster child for breed selectivity. It's available in nine breeds, eight of which are dumb and one of which is amazing. Remember Okrut Dragonwaste, the Orc tamer with the dragons on the platform in Dragonblight? Go look at the WoWhead comments from early Panda: "This guy's impossible!" "Don't bother- he must be bugged!" "You need a full team of 25 Rares and still you have to get lucky!" "I tamed and leveled three Bandicoon Kits just to beat him and he went down on my 5th attempt!" "Upvote Bandicoon guy- great strategy!"

Conspicuous by its absence: "My uncommon S/S Flayer Youngling and uncommon S/S Leopard Tree Frog beat him like a bald-headed stepchild. My White Kitten got eight levels. I'm parking an alt here to stomp a righteous mudhole in him every day for the easy carry pet leveling." We weren't sophisticated enough to know it then, but sometimes breed is huge.

[Shiranui]

that list is ginormous.... yeesh! I don't think I'd get all those maybe 1st off the top in each breed

[Kandacespets]

There is an add-on that lets you see what the breeds are on pets in the auction house. The only pets you can't see the breed of are pets that haven't been learned yet—the ones in the Miscellaneous tab under Companion Pets.

I would tell you what add-on does this, but I'm using so many pet addons that I can't remember which does what half the time.

And a pet's breed never changes.

I am happy to see that we are already using some of the same addons -- it makes me feel like I'm on the right track.

I have noted down the ones I don't have yet, for future reference.
At the moment, I'm still working on what I can catch, or trying for the drops without having to buy them.
Of course, that isn't always possible (I don't really have the best RNG luck), so I'm sure I'll want that addon at a later time.

For now, though, it's enough for me to know that if the purchaser cares about breed, then there is a way that they can see what they're buying. That makes it their problem instead of mine -- which is always nice.

[Abashera]

Skyquake, Thank you for pointing out that the Leopard Tree Frog is the fastest frog. I edited him into the list. Somehow I overlooked that one.

Now I have to go catch one, lol. I have two and neither are S/S.