View all WoW Cataclysm hunter guides Here.
In Cataclysm not only will we see new races eligible for the honor of hunterdom, but every character will get a brand spanking new pet starting at level 1. You don’t actually have any control over your pet at first, however. It’s kind of like having your pet permanently locked into defensive. It will fight when you fight, and hang back and chill when you down some frosty adult beverages.
What kind of pet you get depends on your race. Here is the rundown of what level 1 pet each hunter race starts with in Cataclysm.
Alliance Level 1 Hunter Pets
- Dwarf: Bear
- Night Elf: Nightsaber
- Draenei: Moth
- Human: Wolf
- Worgen: Mastiff
Horde Level 1 Hunter Pets
- Orc: Boar
- Troll: Raptor
- Tauren: Plainstrider
- Blood Elves: Dragonhawk
- Forsaken: Spider
- Goblin: Crab
What about blood elves?
Dragonhawks, is my guess.
Thats Bullshit the Humans getting wolves as a Racial, Orcs are known for thier Wolves, Lok’tar Ogar
I think they get it according to the animals in their starting area. Besides some boars are fiercer than wolves!
Ya, I’m assuming blood elves get dragonhawks, but I wonder why they left it out of this list, did Frost just forget?
Frost hardly acknowledges Night Elves as real hunters, let alone some Horde barbie doll.
I can confirm, Blood Elves do indeed get Dragonhawks. It’s a yellow/red one for the starter.
Oh… and the Undead bat is HUGE (at the moment anyway)
LOL They give Dranei and Tauren useless pets. Good thing, they can get a real pet at 10.
How can you say it’s useless?? You dont even know what they gonna do with our pets
We only know that they wil scale and do the same amount of damage 
so i think it doesnt matter what pet ya got for the first 10 lvls, because they will only growl and smack them 
Am I the only one here that thinks the Mastiff is just plain badass?
No, Schkrulnik, you’re not the only one. The reason the in-game Mastiff is badass is because the Mastiff is badass in real life. The British Mastiff is the world’s largest dog (I think). I wonder if the in-game Mastiffs will be larger than their Worgen masters…
the mastiff is definitely BA. great pet for the game
Mastiff makes soooo much sense, given the style they are going for for Worgen. I can’t wait to roll up my worgen hunter
any shots of the skins for the other hunter pets or will they not be unique
if im not mistaken they look exactly like the animals in their starting zones.
and the moth heals itself.. plainstrider either lowers hit rating or stuns people.. so they arent THAT useless
Not really useless, wrong way to describe em. The noble Tauren should not have a multi colored bird.
They should have kodo’s as their racial pet. 
The Dranei should have lashers as their racial pet. 
I’m not even going to comment on how many different kinds of WRONG undead hunters are…..
i agree with the kodo but the lasher’s an elemental so it’d be hard to tame one of em as a hunter (thought the idea’s still pretty nice
) XD and undead seem a lot more like humans than really any other race and if humans can be hunters then why not dead humans?
@Ayuven, when a race can call roadkill a snack…not much need for them to hunt now is there?
actually, the irish wolfhound is the largest dog in the records. Speaking as a vet tech. haha. But still awesome, mastiffs. theyre pretty cute.
@ Ani: Good to see a Vet wade in here.
Irish Wolfhounds are indeed the “tallest” dog. Averaging around 3 feet at the shoulder.
I have many Vets in my family (including my father) and an Irish uncle (go figure lol) who with my aunt owned/bred Wolfhounds.
I remember the first time I came “face to chest” with one of their dogs when I was 7 years old…lol
Note though that the term “largest” is relative: Mastiffs are defined by their sheer bulk: Weighing in at around 200 plus pounds on average and can be 2.5 feet at the shoulder (on average).
Wolfhounds typically only weigh in at around 100 plus pounds on average.
In any case; I have a name reserved for a Worgen Hunter and intend to level fresh when Cata comes out.
Now what to name that Mastiff…Dribbles? Rough? How about Bulky? lol
The Mastiff looks awesome, can’t wait to start being a worg hunter.
*hint hint* Baskerville, for a good Mastiff name.
Hunter: Theworgen (already saved).
Pet: SnoopDogg
Simple and NOT Effective + Odd? Lol
Theworgen? That’s your name? Terrible, I haven’t the slightest idea why you would want to save that atrocity of a name.
@Dharion there is more problem with Worgen hunters than undead. What kind of rampaging beast stays far away and shoots a musket?
forsaken are now using spiders as starting pets
Cant believe they Extended it
Are the Mastiffs going to be available with 4.0 patch or dO I have to wait till cat?
Not sure
If the Worgens are Available i am assuming yes
Do these lvl 1 pets start with u after the patch or when Cata comes out?
You’re got incorrect info on there: Level 1 Undead hunter pet is a widow (that does not have the [Web] ability), not a bat
i am all ready to roll up my worgen when i get the expansion. i have a great pet name, or at least i think so. i am going to get a worg and call him junior.
Hey, Frost! You probably forgot to change this: the Worgen starting pet is part of its own family instead of being a Wolf. Unless Worgen start with a model-swapped Wolf (I haven’t tested that), the Mastiff should be under “Dog” instead.
Aren’t the Forsaken basically another name for the Undead?
A mastiff??!! I’m not upgrading to Cataclysm just to get a mastiff.
I upgraded to Cataclysm just to get a mastiff.