Pet swap

Pet swap is a game mechanic available to the ranger which allows switching between active pet and the other pet set in the Pet Management panel through the Swap Pet skill, which defaults to F4. If the ranger has their pet hidden by using Stow Pet, entering combat will trigger a pet swap (which in turn triggers any pet swap linked traits) that will not induce the recharge timer.

The recharge timer for pet swapping is 20 seconds. If the pet is defeated, the recharge timer is increased to 35 seconds.

It is very beneficial to swap pets before they are defeated to avoid fighting without an active pet. Pets are fully healed when using Swap Pet. Swap Pet also gives the ranger access to a second Beast skill, since the recharge of the Beast skill is not shared between pets, nor are pet skills.

Related traits

Traits that affect pet swapping

• Clarion Bond (Marksmanship) — Cast Lesser Call of the Wild when you swap pets.
• Empathic Bond (Wilderness Survival) — Remove conditions when you swap pets.
• Spirited Arrival (Nature Magic) — Grant boons to nearby allies when swapping pets.
• Loud Whistle (Beastmastery) — While your health is above the threshold, your pet deals increased strike damage. Your pet swap gains recharge reduction.
• Zephyr's Speed (Beastmastery) — Cast Lesser Quickening Zephyr when you swap pets.
• Eternal Bond (Soulbeast) — Heal when you use a merged skill. You can swap pets while merged.

Version history

Patch	Changes
April 14, 2026	Increased the cooldown of swapping a defeated pet from 25 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW only.
January 13, 2026	Reduced the cooldown of pet swapping with a defeated pet from 60 seconds to 35 seconds in PvE and PvP.
February 11, 2025	Reduced the cooldown of pet swapping with a defeated pet from 60 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW only.
September 08, 2012	Ranger pet swap recharge is now the same in and out of combat. This closes an exploit with swapping ranger pets to generate very long buffs.