Pet of the Month - Spirebound Crab
Posted: May 29th, 2014, 5:32 pm
Many thanks to [profile]Liopleurodon[/profile] for writing the battling portion of our newest feature, Pet of the Month. Here are some additional points on the [pet]Spirebound Crab[/pet] that she wanted to share!
How Do You Use Your Spirebound Crab?
The Spirebound Crab is a versatile pet which can fill a few different roles on your team, depending on which moves you select. This goes for most crabs possessing this moveset.
Pretty much every time I grind wild fights, my crab with an endurance move build is my go-to pet. Using [ability]Shell Shield[/ability], [ability]Healing Wave[/ability] and either attack option, my crab churns through battle after battle without stopping to bandage. I choose Healing Wave because the healing throughput on it is quite a bit higher than [ability]Renewing Mists[/ability], and with my crab, it's rare that I need to swap pets in wild fights after the initial hit with the lowbie.
The endurance build crab is one of my favorite workhorses in my stable for many tamer fights as well. He can be used for any fight which requires a per-hit shield reduction, like Aki The Chosen or Courageous Yon. In fact, if you tame 3 level 23 Spirebound Crabs the second you touch down in Pandaria you can beat Yon, assuming you've completed the prerequisites, because Shell Shield counters his pets' attacks so well.
In most tamer fights where I use a crab, I opt for Renewing Mists. Although the throughput is higher with Wave, being able to keep the heal over time from Mists rolling in a relatively predictable fight can help keep the pets in other roles alive longer as well. For the most part this is just personal preference.
The burst build has recently become more popular for PVP. With its heals, big damage and family defense against Undead attacks, crabs rip through the popular [pet]Unborn Valkyr[/pet] with ease. The rooting aspect of [ability]Whirlpool[/ability] can really mess up an opponent that relies on a swap-heavy strategy as well.
In PVP, Healing Wave is almost always preferable, because your opponent is unpredictable, and again the throughput is superior, but it can depend on how you build the rest of your team. I typically use [ability]Surge[/ability] when using my crab to PVP because speed is such a big deal. Surge lets your pet go first regardless of speed (quick note here: it actually gives a 100% speed multiplier, so the 'always' bit can be screwed up with enough slowing effects, or speed effects on your opponent). Surge & Whirlpool are both Aquatic damage, but very few people use Magic pets so doubling up usually isn't a huge concern. [ability]Snap[/ability] does more damage, but is subject to your crab's speed.
The P/P breed is generally preferable for both the endurance and burst builds. The burst build obviously does better the harder it hits. The Health stat can still be good for the endurance build. Because of how the Power stat affects Shell Shield and both the crab's heals, the longer your fights go the better off you are with P/P.
So, how do you use your Spirebound Crab? Any particularly daring PVP wins or an unorthodox way to beat a tamer? Let us know below!
-Tamer Liopleurodon
How Do You Use Your Spirebound Crab?
The Spirebound Crab is a versatile pet which can fill a few different roles on your team, depending on which moves you select. This goes for most crabs possessing this moveset.
Pretty much every time I grind wild fights, my crab with an endurance move build is my go-to pet. Using [ability]Shell Shield[/ability], [ability]Healing Wave[/ability] and either attack option, my crab churns through battle after battle without stopping to bandage. I choose Healing Wave because the healing throughput on it is quite a bit higher than [ability]Renewing Mists[/ability], and with my crab, it's rare that I need to swap pets in wild fights after the initial hit with the lowbie.
The endurance build crab is one of my favorite workhorses in my stable for many tamer fights as well. He can be used for any fight which requires a per-hit shield reduction, like Aki The Chosen or Courageous Yon. In fact, if you tame 3 level 23 Spirebound Crabs the second you touch down in Pandaria you can beat Yon, assuming you've completed the prerequisites, because Shell Shield counters his pets' attacks so well.
In most tamer fights where I use a crab, I opt for Renewing Mists. Although the throughput is higher with Wave, being able to keep the heal over time from Mists rolling in a relatively predictable fight can help keep the pets in other roles alive longer as well. For the most part this is just personal preference.
The burst build has recently become more popular for PVP. With its heals, big damage and family defense against Undead attacks, crabs rip through the popular [pet]Unborn Valkyr[/pet] with ease. The rooting aspect of [ability]Whirlpool[/ability] can really mess up an opponent that relies on a swap-heavy strategy as well.
In PVP, Healing Wave is almost always preferable, because your opponent is unpredictable, and again the throughput is superior, but it can depend on how you build the rest of your team. I typically use [ability]Surge[/ability] when using my crab to PVP because speed is such a big deal. Surge lets your pet go first regardless of speed (quick note here: it actually gives a 100% speed multiplier, so the 'always' bit can be screwed up with enough slowing effects, or speed effects on your opponent). Surge & Whirlpool are both Aquatic damage, but very few people use Magic pets so doubling up usually isn't a huge concern. [ability]Snap[/ability] does more damage, but is subject to your crab's speed.
The P/P breed is generally preferable for both the endurance and burst builds. The burst build obviously does better the harder it hits. The Health stat can still be good for the endurance build. Because of how the Power stat affects Shell Shield and both the crab's heals, the longer your fights go the better off you are with P/P.
So, how do you use your Spirebound Crab? Any particularly daring PVP wins or an unorthodox way to beat a tamer? Let us know below!
-Tamer Liopleurodon