This post was created as part of my Nexon PEAK activities.

Hello, I’m 이호, an adventurer living in Erinn!

Not sure which pet to take on your adventures? Let’s talk about your options.

“?? : Can’t I just bring a cute pet along?”

You certainly can, but combat is the heart of an RPG! If you want to get stronger, you need to look at your pet’s stats and skills, too.

Today, I’ll take you through it step by step, from getting a pet to choosing the right one for you!

First, meet my adventuring companion: an Epic Brown Cat. We met around October last year, so we’ve been together for nearly 1 year now. At this point, I think of this cat as my actual pet—just virtual(?)

There’s a story behind my Brown Cat pull, and I still remember it. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten the Brown Cat, I probably would have gone with 치마곰. That’s because 치마곰’s companion stats (Critical Hit and Combo Enhancement) were a good fit for my class! There’s even a running joke about this in the game.

Apparently, when people see someone who’s upgraded 치마곰 to Legendary, they think, “That player is a total diehard,” and have a little more faith in their combat skills. Of course, it’s cute, too. My heart just hasn’t quite warmed up to it yet…

Companion stats, from left: Brown Bear Cub and Brown Cat

Anyway, with so many pets available, you might wonder why I narrowed it down to those two. It’s because the companion stats I needed were “Critical Hit” and “Combo Enhancement.” So, when choosing your first pet, start by checking its companion stats.

You can get pets through these three shop options:

• [Packages] → [Starter] → Am I the Only One Without a Cat? Package

• [Lucky Boxes] → Premium Pet Lucky Box

• [Lucky Boxes] → Regular Pet Lucky Box

If you’re just starting out, I especially recommend [Packages] → [Starter] → Am I the Only One Without a Cat? Package! It’s limited to 1 purchase per server and offers pretty good value!

When choosing a pet to join you in combat, check its companion stats first. Look for stats your class needs, such as Critical Hit, Combo Enhancement, or Skill Power.

The Brown Cat’s companion stats are Critical Hit and Combo Enhancement, so it was a good fit for my class, too. An adorable, lovable cat😺 with just the right stats—what more could I ask for?

From left: Brown Cat, Leopard Cat, Retriever

Your pet attacks alongside you in combat, which is when you’ll see its unique skill in action. Each pet has its own unique skill, complete with different visual effects! They’re incredibly cute and give you a handy bit of help in battle, too.

Alongside unique skills, pets also have randomly assigned skills. Setting these up to help in combat is what we call “skill optimization.” If you’re building what RPG players often call an endgame pet, you’ll want useful skills in these slots!

The number of randomly assigned skills depends on your pet’s grade. Rare pets get 1, Elite and Epic pets get 2, and Legendary pets get 3. Also, both higher pet grades and higher pet levels affect your Combat Power! My Brown Cat started out as Elite, but I upgraded it to Epic, and it currently has 2 skills.

Let’s take a quick look at “skill optimization,” too. The idea is to get skills that help in combat, such as Critical Hit, Additional Hit, Skill Power, and Combo Enhancement. Be sure to read each skill’s effect description. Just as you checked which stats your class needs, you’ll want to check whether those skills suit your build.

Getting the skills you want comes down to luck. So, if another pet gets a skill you want, you’ll need a disc to transfer it to your combat pet! [Item Shop]-[Cash] is where you can buy a “Disc.” Then click [Skill Settings] in the pet status window and select the skill you want to transfer. There’s a bit more to get your head around here than with companion stats.

That covers choosing a pet for combat, but Mabinogi Mobile has an interesting feature: you can choose a separate pet to accompany you only in town!

• To bring a pet into combat, go to [Bag]→[Mounts/Pets] and select [Accompany].

• If you’d rather stroll around town with a different pet whose looks you love, select [Accompany Only in Town].

That means you can choose one pet for its combat stats and still bring a different one along in town!

This feature arrived in a relatively recent patch. I think it’s a great system for anyone who’s been torn between a pet’s performance and appearance👍🏻

Of course, I love my Brown Cat, so I don’t have a separate town pet!

There’s also one more reason I’d personally recommend the Brown Cat!

And that is…

The incredibly cute interactions!

Click on a pet like this, and it’ll interact with you in its own distinctive way.

The interactions really capture each animal’s personality, and they’re absolutely adorable.

Once you’ve chosen your companion, it’s time to pick a name. I named mine 휴지, after someone I know.

It may be the same Brown Cat, but giving it a name of my own made me feel much more attached.

I’ve talked about stats and skills, but that affection is also a big part of why I keep bringing this cat along.

You can change your pet’s name for free once every 24 hours.

Just click the pencil icon above the grade indicator on the pet information screen to rename it.

I haven’t played many RPGs, so I didn’t think much of it, but some people were surprised that renaming is free.

Even your pet’s name can reflect your personality and affection—this game really does take customization seriously!

Oh, and you can dye your pet’s outfit with Pet Dye, too.

Dyes are sometimes given out during events, so don’t miss those opportunities!

A cat in my household has to match the tangerine color scheme, wouldn’t you agree? How do you like my dye job? ㅎㅎ

With this system, you can get the stats you need from your combat pet and choose a cute companion to bring along!

Of course, all the pets are cute, but having more room for your own tastes makes it that much easier to get attached, doesn’t it?

Pets may be cute, but they also have a big impact on combat, so there’s more to consider than you might expect.

Still, keep these points in mind:

• For a combat pet, start by checking the companion stats your class needs.

• Know the difference between unique skills and the additional skills you can set.

• You can set your town pet separately from your combat pet.

With those covered, I’d say you already know 70 percent of what there is to know about pets!

Before I go, let me show off this screenshot I took with my guildmates, featuring 6 adorable Brown Cats!

I’ll be back with more useful tips next time! Until then, let’s all head out on adventures with our cute pets in Mabinogi Mobile!