One of the great things about being a Hunter in World of Warcraft is you get to pick from a variety of pets to help you with your quests and be a cool companion. And this is something that only Hunters can do.

With all the different types of pets out there, lots of players are always wondering what is going to be the best Hunter pet. But really, there isn't any one "best" pet. The best hunter pet is the one that you like best! It's the pet that matches what you are looking for have an advantage in -- so if you want to deal more damage then you want a good DPS pet. Or if you want improved tanking, you want a pet who would make a great tank!

For tons of great tips and strategies for playing the Hunter class, be sure to check out the Hunter class guide. You'll find some great ideas there on pet selection, talents, weapons and everything else.

There are tons of pets available, but most of them fall into one of the major families of pets. Each pet family will be best at either Damage or Tanking. These are your top picks for DPS (Damage per Second - increase shown as percentage %):

• Bats (7%)
• Birds of Prey (7%)
• Cats (10%)
• Gorillas (2%)
• Raptor (10%)
• Ravagers (10%)

These are some of your top picks for Damage and within each group you'll find a bunch of individual pets to choose from.

For tanking you want a pet with good armor and health so it can absorb a ton of damage. You can find what you're looking for in these Hunter pet families. Some will have a bonus to both hitpoints and armor and some will be one or the other.

• Bears
• Boars
• Crocolisks
• Crabs
• Hyenas
• Turtles
• Wolves

So if you want a great pet tank, check out any of these pet familes.

And if you really want to get into the nitty gritty of choosing the best pet for your Hunter, as well as the best strategies for picking a talent tree, spending your talents points; choose the best weapons and other tips for making the most of your Hunter, you should check out the Hunter Class Guide for tons of info on making your Hunter the best character ever. It also has a step-by-step leveling guide to get you to level 70 fast.