Most tamers have a battle pet or two they favor, whether for sentimental or cosmetic reasons or because they’re good at fighting. This particular pet has been my workhorse since I tamed him, and is definitely one of my favorites.

Aw, just look at those ickle beady little eye stalks.

The emperor crab is very similar to many other crabs. If you’re just starting out, the crab sold by Matty to goblin players has the same moves, though starts off at uncommon quality and will need to be upgraded with a battle stone. The strand crawler also has the same moves and is obtainable without battling at all via fishing, and starts rare. Both of those may be available in your Auction House. Shore Crabs are around Westfall at level 3-5 too, among other places, so those are a good pick for a novice.

The reason my little buddy Ishmael is my go-to pet for nearly any situation is because he combines a very strong defensive ability, shell shield, with either a moderate self-only heal or my choice, a heal over time over 3 turns, which persists through pet swaps. For the third slot, he has either a beast or an aquatic damage ability, making him able to kill any elemental or critter silly enough to cross his path. He can survive almost anything PVE throws at him. I did have to ditch him for a couple of the later tamers though, since a couple of them of them use a lot of Flying abilities. He also tends to do poorly against pets with a lot of burst, but can really clean up in PVP these days. He’s my personal choice to counter those annoying Valk teams.

If you want your own Ishmael, you can tame Emperor Crabs in the Briny Muck in the Dread Wastes, either by battling Emperor Crabs, or you can get one as a second to Rapana Whelks. Unfortunately, you cannot tame any of the ones plaguing Ka’roz.