Carrion Bird Review

Carrion bird – Dire Raven (68)

Overall Rank: 5/23 – Recommended

Name: ICanHasDruid DPS: 134.0/148.8 HP: 6237 Armor: 11400 Damage reduction: 51.92% Skills: Claw, Screech, Bite, Dive

Solo: (A+) Screech. ‘Nough said. Instance: (B-) Lower damage output than the other flappers.  Turn screech off and claw on. BG: (B) Served me well, but I’d take an owl or bat for the extra DPS. Arena:(B+) Lower damage is noticeable here.

Thank goodness Bliz introduced the Dire Raven.  Not only did it save me time leveling up, but I really wasn’t looking forward to the old and (IMO) ugly carrion skins.

I hear people praising by their carrion’s armor over the owl and bat’s DPS.  All 0.89% bonus…  “But then add in  “Natural Armor” and – (/abruptly cut-off)”  LISTEN TO ME.  Owls and Bats can have just as much Natural armor as Carrions, we’re talking about less than 1% mitigation gained for 7% DPS lost.  I threw as many mend pets on ICanHasDruid as I did on Axiom and Vlad.

That said, they’re terrific pets.  Raptors and Windserpents may have more DPS, but the agro from Screech can’t be beat.  If you’re going for agro, turn claw and bite off.  If you’re going for damage, turn off screech and turn on claw.  Since you’re going to have to choose between abilities, I recommend skipping Bite, and toggling between screech and claw based on threat or DPS.  You probably don’t want both on at the same time.

ICHD did get in the way a bit, so that’s good for BGs and Arenas, I guess.  However, the lack of DPS was enough to be noticeable, but not major.  In those areas, he played almost exactly like the owl and bat, both of which performed slightly better.

I’m not a big fan of their attack sound, or of the non-Dire Raven looks (but they’d be perfect if Undead could be hunters).  There’s lots of looks to choose from.  They’re well worth giving a shot, if for some reason you don’t like owls or bats.