In Mists of Pandaria Classic, players can engage in Pet Battles—strategic 3v3 turn-based encounters that feature hundreds of collectible battle pets from across Azeroth. This beginner-friendly guide introduces the fundamentals of Pet Battles, from taming wild companions to mastering type matchups and ability combos.

What are Pet Battles?

Pet Battles allow players to turn their companion pets into battle-hardened allies. Unlock the feature through Battle Pet Training and take your team of three pets into tactical, turn-based encounters against wild creatures, quest trainers, and other players.

Each pet has its own family type, abilities, and progression path.

How to Get Started

1. Train the skill: Visit any major city and speak with a Battle Pet Trainer to learn Battle Pet Training. This unlocks Pet Battles and the ability to track nearby wild pets on your minimap.
2. Tame your first pet: Choose from your current companions or tame a level 1 wild pet in a starting zone like Elwynn Forest or Durotar.
3. Enter your first battle: Right-click a wild pet to begin. Reduce its health to attempt a capture or win the match to gain experience.
4. Level and customize: Pets level up to 25, unlocking up to six unique abilities—three of which can be slotted at a time.

Pet Families and Their Strengths

Every pet belongs to a family type that determines its strengths and vulnerabilities. Understanding matchups is key to winning tougher battles.

Each family also has a passive bonus—for example, Flying pets act first when above 50% health, and Undead pets return to life for one final round after defeat.

Tips for New Tamers

• Equip the Safari Hat (from Taming the World achievement) to boost pet experience
• Aim for rare-quality pets when capturing in the wild
• Rotate multiple pets for faster leveling and better matchups
• Complete daily trainer quests for steady rewards and experience
• Use the Pet Journal to view families, abilities, and manage loadouts

Beyond Level 25

After leveling your core pets, you can:

• Collect unique pets from dungeons, world drops, and achievements
• Challenge master trainers across Pandaria
• Explore hidden encounters tied to weather, time, or special events
• Queue for PvP Pet Battles to test your strategy

Good luck pet battlers and collectors!