Spider Review
Spider – ColdMist Stalker
Overall Rank: 21/23 – Not Recommended
| Name: IttsyBittsy DPS: 143.4/159.2 HP: 6237 Armor: 11000 Damage reduction: 51.03% Skills: Bite |
Solo: (C-) No focus dump. Consistently lost agro. Instance: (C-) Bite does not cut it for damage. Fewer attacks means FI isn’t up as much. BG: (C+) Actually, a bit stealthy. Often overlooked so that mage may not notice why his spell keeps getting pushed back. Arena:(C) More damage than some, but not great. |
This pet was the first to be really close to to the recommended list. The high DPS almost keeps it in contention. Almost. The problem was agro. I was consistently pulling agro before the mob’s health was at 50%. Even when I throttled back it was an issue. It got me a bit curious as to how much threat it was generating. How far behind my crab was it really? I popped up cheeky’s spreadsheet and behold! My crab has 20 more DPS.
What else is there to say? I really liked having a spider next to me. The skittering animation and attack sound are some of my favorites. Watching him disappear over a hill in AV to attack an unseen horde made me giggle menacingly a few times.
While I’m on the topic, I have read “fun to use against arachnophobes” often when discussing advantages. Please. I am one and I will purposely target spiders in game to get the wonderful feeling of killing them without putting myself at risk. Stories of people freaking out are exaggerations of normal suprise-attack, button mashing that would have occurred regardless of pet.
So summary: looks-wise, I love it. Stats-wise, I can’t recommend it.
The Mystic Hunter 
Shonna said,
June 24, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I agree about the Arachnophobe thing. I am one in real life as well, and I get no better pleasure than Aimed Shot Critting the little spiders skittering around Karazhan.
Paytonater said,
August 17, 2008 at 4:49 am
Yea so spiders lack the dps prowess of almost any other pet, but there’s just something about controlling a giant man eating spider that is just so satisfying. Especially when sicking them on arachnophobic night elves.
Dweezill said,
August 21, 2008 at 2:19 pm
[Edit: I put in some white space -Z]
OK, I really have to disagree with this one. The first hunter I ever used has had a spider since the the get-go. At level 19 I tamed Zarakh. I can’t remember one time that I have pulled aggro off her (she is a “her” – one of the quests calls her a “her”). I pop a ton of crit hits and still she holds aggro very well. I think aggro depends on what your style of play is.
Some pets will work better with certain styles of play. I deffinately think that my spider is waaay better for me than any cat or ravager or even boar that I have tried. Come to think of it, the pets you list as “recommended”, I can’t keep aggro on them. The pets you list as “not recommended”, I can’t pull aggro off them. yeah, the aggro a pet puts off does help, but you also have to factor in the aggro that the hunter’s spells and traps and such puts off.
As far as lack of abilites: I can live with that too. That gives me more skill points to spend on resistances, thus, making her an even better tank. I have had 4 to 5 mobs on her at once, and she easily survived. I am talking not even close to dying. So, using a spider as a tank realy works for me. Well, I guess I can’t really agree with you abot the arachniphobics either. I can’t say in battle that the “arachniphobic effect” plays out in anything, but when I am waiting to get into the battlegrounds, people will ask me to move away from them because they don;t like my spider. I tell them to move. lol So,i don;t think the effect helps in abttle, but I have deffinately noticed it when waiting to battle. One last thing on the subject: if an arachniphobic wants to shoot at my spider because they don’t like them, that is cool. That is less damage I have to worry about taking. That’s less aggro I have to worry about. lol So, allin all,i would have to say that spiders belong at the top of the “recommended” list. It fits the way I play.
I am a BM hunter, and I will enever get rid of my spider, even when the “exotics” come to town. So, rather than saying “use this pet, but don’t use this pet”, I would say, “use all the pets till you find the one that fits your playing style, then pick the skin that you think looks best”. On a side note: people always ask why their pets don’t hold aggro or do decent dsp. I tell them what i just typed above. it’s no the pet, it’s your playing style. Try a different pet.
Znodis said,
August 21, 2008 at 2:40 pm
It’s been my experience that most pets hold agro fine until steady shot comes in, and that’s also the time where GffT/focus dumps really start to make a difference too since crits become much more frequent.
I would also agree that pay style is much more of a factor in pets holding agro, than family choice.
Andarta said,
August 21, 2008 at 5:59 pm
The spider does get +7dps. The psudo advantage to only having bite is that after training up bite, cobra reflexes and advoidance you still have 281 points left to put into Stam, Armor, and Resists. This allows you to beef up those talents more than you would on another type of pet.
anna said,
September 7, 2008 at 1:30 pm
my pet is a spider i used to think they where creepy but, when u look at there eys there so cute! so missunderstood… she fights relli well i have the petemote addon and is so cute when i see fluffy (yes i named my spider Fluffy :D)emotes like whne i get “fully skitters around happly while spilling some acid on the floor” or sopmething like taht i only like pets in WoW Tallstriders and spider and haveing a green massive spider in AV owns :D
p.s. i’m so glad i dont have that king bangdesh cat liek everyone has it i mean get a unquie pet! cats uber lame everyone has that one from sekkis :P dont get an outlands raptor get an azarothen one :D
anyways spiders own
/pat fluffy
Mishas said,
November 1, 2008 at 1:28 pm
/pat Fluffy
Used a spider from time to time but mostly gone with a croc for solo leveling for the characteristic feeling. I love my Lester(croc). It’s the corrupted crocolisk from durotar and I feel kinda rare with it but I also enjoyed a spider really much. Don’t think I’m completly worthless tho. I use a raptor for raiding but outside raids/arena Lester is the way to go :P still have my spider at 62 in the stable. Playing at a rp server and is a little known for my croc :P