8.2 Non-Wild Pet Colors

In addition to the 8.2 wild pets coming in multiple colors, many of the non-wild pets also have a number of skins.

Here's a quick list. No images. I'm not sure if there will be more pets added to this list, and I won't be able to check until I've collected the pet. So just a list for now.

Amethyst Softshell - 2 skins

• round shell
• spiky shell

Bonebiter - 2 skins

• red-orange and black
• yellow and black

Burnout - 3 skins (appearance-changer upon summon)

• two arms
• two arms and embedded arrows
• one arm

Glittering Diamondshell - 5 skins

• grey w/blue eyes
• pink w/blue eyes
• dark grey w/red eyes
• dark grey w/yellow eyes
• dark grey w/green eyes

Microbot XD - 2 skins

• silver w/copper gears, red head light
• silver w/copper gears, blue eyes

OOX-35/MG - 4 skins

• yellow w/light brown accents, yellow eyes
• grey w/green accents, green eyes
• copper w/grey accents, white eyes
• grey w/copper accents, brown eyes

Prismatic Softshell - 2 skins

• round shell
• spiky shell

Scalebrood Hydra - 3 skins

• purple w/white belly
• dark grey w/white belly
• white w/white belly

Giving Up On A Goal

After much consideration, I think I've finally decided to not actively seek out battle pets that have multiple skins that are not wild.

This decision doesn't come easily; the collector and semi-completionist in me is cringing and not happy. I do enjoy the different appearances, but I don't think I can stomach the difficulties of trying to obtain non-wild pets of different colors anymore.

I've already written a lengthy feedback post on the official Bnet Pet Battle forums, detailing why it feels horrible as a collector faced with collecting non-wild pets with multiple skins. On top of the RNG involved and lack of (good) in-game preview tools of caged battle pets for sale, there's also a notable lack of player agency involved.

Let's compare examples of a pet that has player agency vs. one that has little to none. OOX-35/MG is an 8.2 pet that can only drop on days that a daily is active on Mechagon. Meanwhile, Glittering Diamondshell is an 8.2 pet that drops from a rarespawn on Nazjatar. The former can come in 4 different colors, and the latter has 5 skins.

I already have all versions of OOX-35/MG - why? Player agency. The only RNG I had to contend with was the randomness associated with which skin I received after adding the pet to my Pet Journal. I was largely in control of the whole process of collecting this pet. (It could be argued that there's also RNG regarding when the daily will pop up, but I see that as an 'eventuality' rather than completely random.) I did not mind collecting this pet and its multiple colors. It took time, but it didn't feel bad.

The Glittering Diamondshell, on the other hand, drops off a rarespawn that can appear in multiple locations. That's RNG #1; just finding the mob. It's respawn timer, if it's like any of the other 8.2 rares, is between 1 and 1.5 hours. RNG #2; period of time that's somewhat, but not entirely predictable. The battle pet that drops is not guaranteed. RNG #3; purely chance to receive the pet. And last but not least, the skin that you learn is random. RNG #4; no control over whether or not you receive a duplicate color or one that you need/want. All four factors combined makes for a very, very frustrating and discouraging experience. If you take into consideration breed (many dropped pets come in a variety of breeds as well), it's even more demoralizing.

To spare myself the heartache and disappointment, I've decided not to concern myself with dropped pet colors anymore. I could buy them from the AH, but as I explained in my long Bnet post, it's difficult to preview caged pets since the in-game tool currently only shows the default color.

It's tough for me to let go of something that I've been so consistent with throughout my WoW career - collecting all battle pet skins. But without player agency or the tools necessary to collect efficiently, I just can't swallow all of the layered RNG. I'm throwing in the towel. Giving up. The RNG and lack of player agency killed my drive to continue. So I'm done with that goal/challenge. Collect one of whatever pet it is, and then move on.

In my post that I linked above, I offer up some suggestions. Non-wild pets as color-changers, better in-game preview tool, or implementing different skins as separate pets altogether. I don't know how reasonable or practical any of my ideas are, but they're better than the current state of things (IMO).

On the bright side, I will continue to hunt for wild pets that have multiple colors. The RNG is still there, yes, but unlike dropped pets, I have more control over what, when, how, where I battle and search for wild pets. Randomness isn't overwhelming and I can actually feel like I'm making progress.

As I've mentioned before, the carrot at the end of the stick can only be enticing if you can actually see it.

All Color Challenges Complete! (For Now)

I actually finished all color challenges shortly after my previous screenshot post, but only just got around to taking screenshots of all of them.

I'm relieved that I finished this prior to the log out fix change. The method of relogging to try and get a different pet skin (only worked with secondaries) came in really handy towards the end of my collecting adventure.

Originally I did it the hard, slow, old fashioned way where I searched for primaries that were rare and a specific color, but after so many possible color challenges that got REALLY tedious. (It did allow me to level up quite a few pets, though.) Utilizing secondary pets that were rare helped a lot.

I'm pretty disappointed that they made removed the ability to do this. It's kinda heartbreaking, especially for those just starting out on progressing with their collections. :(

Anyway, for now, and as far as I can tell, I'm done with all color challengs! All pet models in all available colors, and all wild pets in rare quality.

Whew. It was a fun challenge! I can't wait to see what future challenges pop up. :)



Top: Temple Snake
Left column, top to bottom: Coral Snake, Rattlesnake, Rat Snake, Grove Viper
Right column, top to bottom: Emerald Boa, Moccasin, Coral Adder, Snake

Seven More Color Challenges Complete

Seven more color challenges done! There are some colors that don't appear naturally in the wild, and if they're not wild, they might not be rare quality. Otherwise, all wild pets are rare. :D

Still working on moths, crabs, raccoons, snakes, maggots, and desert spiders. Nearly finished with all of those since I'm only missing one from each category.

I think after that, I'll be done with all current color challenges! :D


Left column, top to bottom: Singing Cricket, Red Cricket
Right column, top to bottom: Marsh Fiddler, Grassland Hopper

Six More Color Challenges Complete!

In order to break the monotony of just grinding out pet levels, I decided to go on a color challenge spree. Most of these were already nearly complete, but I decided to finish them off.

It's really fun trying to complete a color challenge for a specific pet model. At the end, I feel really accomplished, and my collection gets one step closer to being "complete". But let's be honest, a collector will never run out of things to hoard! :P

Why haven't I included some of the most basic pets like rats/mice? Honestly, those are so common and the colors aren't exactly all that inspiring. :x I completed that color challenge without even trying so it wasn't worth noting imo.

Anyway, every color (that's available to players) plus all wild pets are rare quality. Many screenshots after the jump!


Top: Savory Beetle
Left column, top to bottom: Beetle, Twilight Beetle, Fire/Lava Beetle
Right column, top to bottom: Crystal Beetle, Dung Beetle, Gold Beetle

Scorpion Color Challenge Complete!

Yay, another color challenge complete. Before patch 5.1, my scorpion pets were color-changers, so I didn't feel the need to collect specific colors. Now that pets no longer swap colors when summoned, I've had to replace certain pets with the actual color that I need.


Left column, top to bottom: Durotar Scorpion, Leopard Scorpid, Scorpid
Right column, top to bottom: Scorpling, Stripe-Tailed Scorpid, Crunchy Scorpion

As per the challenge, all pets are rare! :)

Lizard Color Challenge Complete!

There are some pets that I'm fond of and there are others that I'm downright proud of. Sometimes it's not for obvious reasons, though, such as it was a very low droprate or it took a grind to earn it. Achievement rewards, special promotion pets, etc., it's only natural to take pride in these. But the ones that mean the most to me have history and sentimental value.

That being said, I've successfully collected all the colors of the lizard/lizard models! Not only that, they're all rare quality. :D



Left column, top to bottom: Lizard Hatchling, Twilight Iguana, Spiny Lizard
Right column, top to bottom: Spiky Lizard, Horny Toad, Ash Lizard

Originally, I was hoping that some of these pets would be color-changers so I wouldn't have to collect specific ones, but it turned out that they didn't have that special color switching quality.

So I had to go out and find one of every color. But I wasn't satisfied with just unique color; they had to be rare quality too.

I think that was the ultimate challenge. It's quite easy to go out and find a pet that has a certain skin, but to find a companion in that color AND specific quality? The RNG odds are definitely stacked against you. Not only do you have to first track that companion down, the color and quality that it spawns with is completely randomized.

I had to make a list of which lizards I wanted in what color. Unfortunately, some of them only come in one or two skins, while others can come in more. Coordinating which color should go with which specific pet made it slightly easier figuring out priorities, but it was still a challenge to find those companions that matched my specifications.

This meant a lot of time terrorizing Orgimmar's critter population in search of just the right Spiny Lizard. I went through so many of them that I lost count after the first hour. It was a good way to earn some easy experience for some of my lower level pets, though.

Each one picture above is a unique pet, same model, different color. I was tempted to try and capture duplicates in different colors, but I needed to collect one of each unique companion, anyway. Got two birds with one stone for this one.

In the end, it took me all night of hunting and traveling from zone to zone to find just the right ones. But now my lizard collection is complete! I couldn't be happier or proud. :)