Welcome to PvP Pet Battling

Surviving the Meta

1. Introduction

In this part of the PvP section we want to prepare you for the current Meta game that you will face playing against random opponents. Further below is a simple list of some of the most popular and strongest team compositions. We explain their functionality and also name some abilities/pets that these teams are being played with, together with suggestions of how to counter stated strategies.

Furthermore this article serves as a platform to upload your favorite PvP teams for others to discuss about or to help people who find themselves troubled creating good teams on their own. On the left side you can see different categories in which spoken teams can be uploaded.

Please note that different Meta-gameplay can be expected depending on the region you are in. Therefor both lists -the written introduction and the categories of the strategy creation tool- are never considered to be finished and will evolve with the Meta and your suggestions of themes that this article is missing.

We hope that we can make PvP pet battling more attractive to you and we look forward to read your opinions and knowledge for sharing and improving.
-Shenk & Rosqo




Here we will go through the most common strategies and highlighted abilities you will face whilst in the PvP queue and how to set up your teams to counter them.

2. Call Darkness

Призыв тьмы is the strongest weather ability bar none. It also has several abilities which synergize extremely well with it: Ночной удар, Призрачный удар, Атака исподтишка, Пробуждение Света, Свет and Ярость 1000 кулаков. Most Darkness teams will run at least one flying pet with Призыв тьмы and Ночной удар and the rest with something else that gets buffed by darkness or blinding effects. They are difficult combinations to counter because of the burst nature of the teams.

Common pets: Костяной змей, any Ночной удар flier with 292+ speed or 300+ power like Грозный птенец, Хладошкурая крыса, Росток Ночной Тени, Призрачный ворон, Сумрак, Тенёк, Душа Аспектов

Counters: Weather Changes (2+), Elementals, Blocks/Deflects/Dodges for the big combo hits, Пробуждение Света, Beasts with strong magic damage (take less damage from Призыв тьмы and counter the flier e.g. Волшебный поросенок)

3. Traps

Traps are in theory depending on RNG but in the majority of fights they work pretty reliable. Quite often both Магматическая ловушка and Капкан will trigger right away, dealing not few damage and also stunning the affected pet for an entire round. This gives you a huge advantage. Traps are also hard to counter due to their unpredictability and because they trigger when they get removed.

Common pets: Огнепес, Рагнароша, Магматический яростишка, Трутик, Любопытный маленький волчер, Заводной попрыгун

Counters: Critters, Arcane Winds (e.g. Чародейская буря), Dodge & Block abilities (can still fail) ->Note: dispelling or removing it will trigger the trap!

4. AoE/Cleave

This kind of teams is currently the most popular one for a number of reasons. AoE is easy to play, often very effective, can be tough to beat without a direct counter and you can play it even with very cheap pets. The strength of such a team lies within killing the whole enemy team simultaneously. This can also be used against it, as those players often spam nothing but cleaves, which will struggle against pets that are tanky or have a good self sustain.

Common pets: Гнилопых, Адский огнекоготь, Сестра Сумрака, Разрушитель XXS-002, Поганчик

Counters: Песчаная буря, Team-Blocks (e.g. Дымовая шашка), Blinding Effects, Reflect/Thorns Effects (e.g. Режущая паутина), Team Heal, Немощность/Банка вонючей жижи, High Hp Pets

5. Clone Dance

The Clone Dance strategy covers good single target and team-wide damage, which is what makes it so successful. The core idea is to summon a Смерч and then boost it with a buff that increases your hit chance. In most of the cases that's a Танец дождя (hence the name 'Clone Dance).

Common Смерч pets: Чумной ястреб, Бесконечный дракончик, P/P Buzzards or Eagles (e.g. Оперившийся королевский орел), Береговая бабочка, Детеныш дикого золотистого змея/Детеныш дикого нефритового змея

Common buff pets: Танцор из нефритовых туманов, Пода, P/P Toucans (e.g. Кровоклюв), Королевский павлинчик, Молодой песчаный решетник

Counters: Debuff Removals, Песчаная буря, Dragons, Blocking or Blinding the Смерч, Minefields (unless it's against a Танцор из нефритовых туманов), any Wave Attacks (e.g. Магматическая волна)

6. Leeching (Plagued Blood)

Instead of direct healing abilities this strategy relies on applying buffs or debuffs like Зараженная кровь, which will heal the attacker whenever it hits the affected pet. That way a team of badly hurt pets can get back to full or high health in the middle of the match while still dealing damage. However, failing to hit debuffed pets however will negate the purpose of this strategy and lower the chance to win. Therefor often mind games will come into action.

Common pets: Сын Сете, Рубиновая капля, Оскверненный дракончик, Порождение Анимуса, Призрачный червь, Зандаларский ногогрыз

Counters: Призыв тьмы, Песчаная буря, Dodge/Block/Blinding for Касание Анимуса or other vampiric abilities with a Cooldown, Reflects (e.g. Токсичная кожа)

7. Toxic Fumes

Ядовитые пары is the newest weather in patch 8.3. It has two effects; it extends the duration of any damage over time effect by 1 round (the opposite of cleansing rain) and all pets are considered poisoned. This makes it a versatile ability because there are multiple ways to gain value from it. Заразный удар and Колотая рана are the only two abilities that are stronger against a poisoned target, but since all pets with these can apply poisons themselve this combo isn't that powerful. The more impactful synergies come from DoTs that used to be balanced by lasting for a short duration and can be extremely potent having one extra round of effect under Ядовитые пары. Examples would be Протокол отравления, Огромное жало or Коррозия.

Common pets: Аномалус, Воющий плеточник, Зараженный Бездной таракан, Гнилодых

Counters: Weather changes (2+, espacially Песчаная буря), Aquatics against DoT teams, Team heals against DoT teams (e.g. Ужасающая песня), Shields (e.g. Железная шкура)

Note that as of 8.3.0 the racial of elemental pets does not work properly for Ядовитые пары. For some abilities it works and for others it doesn't (e.g. Колотая рана).

8. Heal & Stall

For the most part these are the kind of teams which require little to no skill and are unnecessarily lengthening the match. They are spamming a lot of healing and blocking abilities to either prevent you from dealing any damage or outheal that which you can deal. We really don't want to support this behaviour but since there is a high chance for you to encounter them we're listing them for the sake of coverage. Not every pet that falls in this category is negative for the Meta and on its own can be a good and reasonable pick, but focusing an entire team around that theme is toxic and should be avoided for fair sportsmanship.

Common abilities: Фотосинтез+Солнечный свет combinations (e.g. Цветущее древо), Приманка Spam, anything that uses Пожелание, Humanoids with Обжигающий жар, Кровоточащая рана together with Солнечный свет

Counters: Призыв тьмы or other Healing Reduce, Root Effects (e.g. Sticky Goo), Forced Swaps, strong Single Target Hits (e.g. Брандспойт)