Pre-Expansion 8.0 Pet Charm Changes

The pre-expansion 8.0 patch is on the PTR, another reminder that BFA is fast approaching!

Normally, nothing would be that notable for pet collectors and battlers, but this time around there is a significant change that's happening that we'll want to keep in mind.

In 8.0 the Pet Battle currency, Pet Charms, will be receiving an update. They will be renamed to Shiny Pet Charms.

On top of that most of the Pet Battle vendors will NO LONGER ACCEPT this existing currency in exchange for their wares in the pre-expansion patch. Instead, items from these vendors will require the upcoming, new currency, Polished Pet Charms. However, these can only be earned in BFA from a couple of quests but mainly from Pet Battle World Quests in the new zones.

What does this mean for us? Spend your existing Pet Charms *BEFORE* Patch 8.0. According to Wowhead, the earliest we might see the pre-expansion patch is July 3, but in general, the pre-patch is speculated to come early July. If you want to make the most of your existing Pet Charms or need battlestones to upgrade quality or pet levels, spend those charms before next month!

It should be noted, though, that we will not be losing any of our Charms at any point. The Pet Battle vendors are simply switching over to use new currency. We will still be able to use existing Pet Charms at vendors that sell existing pets and toys. Any new pets/toys from BFA vendors will require the new currency, Polished Pet Charms.

To summarize the important changes:

- Spend Pet Charms before July 3rd!
- Pet Charms renamed to Shiny Pet Charms in 8.0
- No Charms lost during pre-expansion patch or in expansion
- New currency coming in BFA, Polished Pet Charms
- Vendors selling battlestones, pet bandages, pet consumables, etc. will require new currency in 8.0
- Ultimate Battle-Training Stone increased in price as well as requiring new currency
- Existing Charms can still be used to purchase existing vendor pets and toys
- Polished Pet Charms earned from BFA quests and Pet Battle WQs
- Polished Pet Charms required to buy pet consumables as well as BFA vendor pets

Battle For Azeroth: Prestige Ranks to Honor Ranks

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Blizzard has decided to add another 2 battle pets to the PVP reward system. Sir Snips (A) and Bucketshell (H). Both are the reward for Honor Rank 400. Yes. 400. I'm hoping that's a typo, and they meant Honor 40, but it's looking like that is the actual rank we'll need to aim for in BFA.

Numbers are still being adjusted on Beta and the PTR, so I've included updated info on what you'll need prior to the PVP system changes for both Honor 5 and new info on Honor 400. Keep in mind that these are estimates and not exact numbers. Things could also change at any point between now and the pre-expansion 8.0 patch release. (The revamp to the PVP system is coming with the pre-expansion 8.0 Patch, so there's not much time left to earn Prestige/Honor prior to the updates.)

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With the changes to PVP coming in BFA, there are still lingering questions that I have about it all. Will there be PVP-PVE options, such as Tower WQs, in the expansion? How quick/slow and easy/hard will it be to reach the necessary rank(s) for the companions? What will the Prestige Rank to Honor Rank conversion look like? Luckily the latter question was answered!

A Google Doc spreadsheet (by Vjaera-Proudmoore) was posted in the Bnet Pet Battle forum, and it basically answers what Prestige Rank(s) you'll need to reach Honor Rank 5 in BFA.

There's also an addon (ZigiPrestige found on Wowinterface) that you can use that will automatically calculate it for you, but I wanted to use the spreadsheet to calculate different scenarios.

If you only care about collecting the PVP companions (and don't mind skipping the other PVP rewards), and have already reached Prestige 1 on a character, you will only need to aim for Honor Rank 5 in BFA. This is because Blizzard has essentially switched the pet rewards around, offering up the current reward for Prestige 7 as the initial PVP pet reward in the expansion. DISCLAIMER: This could change at any point before release - be aware that nothing is guaranteed.

Under the current reward system:

Wyrmtongue pets (Prestige 1)
Dutiful companions (Prestige 7)

Under the BFA reward system:

Dutiful companions (Rank 5)
Wyrmtongue pets (Honor 20)

If you reached Prestige 1 during Legion, you've collected what will be the higher reward already. Don't beat yourself up grinding super hard to earn more Prestige Ranks now. But should you stop completely? Probably not.

Based on the spreadsheet's calculations, here's what you'll need prior to BFA to reach Honor 5 in in the expansion. NOTE: Numbers are probably not exact, so expect some necessary adjustments come launch.

To reach roughly Honor 5, you need the following prior to Patch 8.0:

• 1 toon @ Prestige 5, Honor 1+
• 2 to 3 toons @ Prestige 2, Honor 2+ (each)
• 4 toons @ Prestige 2 (each)
• 9 toons @ Prestige 1, Honor 2+ (each)
• 10 toons @ Prestige 1 (each)

UPDATED June 21 (new calculations)

• 1 toon @ Prestige 2
• 2 toons @ Prestige 1

For roughly Honor 400:

• 1 toon @ Prestige ~80
• 2 toons @ Prestige ~40
• 3 toons @ Prestige ~26, Honor ~45 (each)
• 4 toons @ Prestige ~20, Honor ~15 (each)
• 5 toons @ Prestige ~16, Honor ~20 (each)
• 10 toons @ Prestige ~8, Honor ~22 (each)
• 15 toons @ Prestige ~5, Honor ~40 (each)

Feel free to input your own characters' numbers into the spreadsheet to determine your Honor Rank in BFA. You'll need to copy it to your personal Google Docs account so that you can edit it; instructions can be found on the spreadsheet.

Should you keep grinding Prestige now? Personally, I think so, yes. But go at whatever pace feels comfortable for you. At the very least, I highly recommend earning Prestige 1 right now, during Legion. That way come BFA you'll only have to worry about reaching the new lowest milestone (Honor Rank 5).

Again, all of this could change. Values could change, conversion rates could change, the order of pets rewarded could change. Even additional companion rewards could be added. Take this information as just a guideline and not an absolute. We'll have to wait and see when BFA releases what the final outcome will be.

Overall though, this change should be beneficial for most pet collectors. Crossing my fingers that it sticks and everything follows through as previewed.

Battle For Azeroth Beta: Keeping Track

Pet Journal was heavily updated in the latest Beta patch. So much new information! But, as always, things could change, and everything datamined/discovered might not be the final result.

In addition to Pet Journal updates, there were other things, but keep an eye on WarcraftPets' front page for more information on that stuff (I'll have something up in the next few days).

Instead, I wanted to focus on breaking down what pets are coming in BFA. The full list of upcoming expansion pets and their sources can be found on WarcraftPets.

Here's a more in-depth look at what we'll be collecting in the near future:

GENERAL

• Current BFA battle pet total: 88 120 (as of May 31) 122 (as of June 7)

Vendor: 32

Drop: 40

Wild and Pet Battle: 28

Achievement: 8

Quest: 5

Profession: 7

Unknown: 2

FAMILIES (updated June 7)

• Aquatic: 30
• Beast: 24
• Critter: 8
• Dragonkin: 1
• Elemental: 12
• Flying: 19
• Humanoid: 3
• Magic: 9
• Mechanical: 8
• Undead: 8

Note: There might be a handful of pets listed under the incorrect family type. Waiting on a future Beta patch to check for updates.

The second list might be especially important for collectors. There are significant Pet Charm changes coming, and those that want to dump a large quantity of them into battlestones (like myself) might need/want some direction on what to buy. Hopefully this list helps a little in that department.

I'll try to keep this list updated, but aaahhh so many pets! XD

Battle For Azeroth: Speculation On Unaccounted For Battle Pets

This past week's Beta patch added SO MUCH Pet Battle content! Lots of new pets, pet models, achievements, and WQs were finally unlocked. You can read more about it all here on WarcraftPets.

Despite so many pets added, we don't know much about a lot of them. The Pet Journal is still largely incomplete, with many of the new entries missing stats and movesets. (Keep in mind that this can present the illusion that all of these pets can't battle, but we don't know for sure yet which will be non-combat pets. As always, be wary of datamining - things could change!)

Out of the current total of 73 new pets, there are still 24 unaccounted for. There's little to no information on where they will come from at the moment. At least not that I've found! :P

• Abyssal Eel
• Accursed Hexxer
• Barnacled Hermit Crab
• Bilefang Skitterer
• Bloodfeaster Larva
• Blue Flitter
• Carnivorous Lasher
• Child of Jani
• Colonel Shucks
• Crimson Frog
• Drustvar Piglet
• Francois
• Frenzied Cottontail
• Freshwater Pincher
• Greatwing Macaw
• Lil' Ben'fon
• Mechanical Prarie Dog
• Miimii
• Ranishu Runt
• Sandstinger Wasp
• Swamp Toad
• Tiny Direhorn
• Wicker Pup
• Zandalari Shinchomper

Speculation
I found a few mobs (that aren't battle pets or critters) of the same name and/or similar model, so it's possible that a few of these will be world drops from those creatures.

Another possible hypothesis is that many of these will be rewards from the new Island Expedition feature coming in BFA. It's a completely new aspect of the game, so it wouldn't surprise me if lots of cosmetic rewards were included to give players even more incentive to participate. If this is true, the next question is whether or not acquiring them will rely on RNG, grinding/effort, or something else entirely.

One pet that might be easier to find, but not so easy to collect, is Miimii (aka: possibly Lagan 2.0 lol). There's also a Mythic Dungeon achievement that involves an NPC of the same name, How to Keep a Mummy. The achievement doesn't have any reward attached to it (yet?), but even if the achievement itself doesn't award anything, maybe completing it will trigger a special event where players can obtain this pet.


If Miimii will indeed be the reward for an achievement, it's got a what I call 'the Lagan complex' - the item that teaches the pet is Bind On Use, however it cannot be caged once it's in your Pet Journal. If Miimii is from an event caused by completing the achievement, and not the achievement itself, then it's not as bad. Still inconsistent binding mechanics and confusing, but less of an issue than Lagan.

Other ways these pets might be collected, just off the top of my head: Purchasable using the new currency, Polished Pet Charms. New Pet Battle dungeon rewards. Celestial Tournament-esque event. Aaaaand so on hehe.

Anyway, this is all just speculation so far. If you have information on where the pets listed above will come from in BFA, please let me know!

Battle Pets To Collect Before Battle For Azeroth

It's been a while since my last blog post - so long that BFA Alpha has turned into Beta and we should be able to test some new Pet Battle content in the near future.

With the expansion roughly 4 months away, give or take a handful of days, I figured it's about time I put together a "to collect" list for anyone looking to focus their attention on certain battle pets before BFA is released.

To be clear: No pets are being removed that I'm aware of. All existing Legion battle pets should still be available in BFA.

However, the difficulty level and how tedious it is to collect could change. Some pets will get tougher to obtain, but not impossible. Other pets will be easier to collect, but only after our player power level has increased significantly. This post will hopefully give some direction on collecting pets that could potentially cause hair loss post-Legion. ;)

Here are the battle pets that I recommend collecting *now* rather than later, in no particular order. (I won't be going into detail on how to collect every single pet on this list. The information's out there!)


★ PVP Prestige Pets

UPDATE #2: New blog post detailing what Prestige Rank(s) we'll need to reach roughly Honor Rank 5 in BFA.

UPDATE: As of May 15's Beta patch, we now know how the existing PVP Prestige companions will be obtained in the expansion. You'll need to reach Honor level 5 for the Dutiful companions, and Honor level 20 for the Wyrmtongue companions (full list of BFA Honor achievements/rewards here). This switch (Dutiful being obtained first and the Wyrmtongue pets second) is excellent news for those that have earned Prestige 1, but are still far away from Prestige 7. In BFA, they should be able to earn the companions that they were unable to reach during Legion.

• Alliance Enthusiast - Prestige Rank 1
• Dutiful Gruntling - Prestige Rank 7
• Dutiful Squire - Prestige Rank 7
• Horde Fanatic - Prestige Rank 1

Absolutely my highest recommended companions to focus on in Legion right now. Actually, it should have been everyone's highest priority months ago. Blizzard has stated that these PVP rewards will still be available in BFA, however with the prestige system going away being revamped, it's still unclear how we'll obtain these pets in the expansion. Same way as now? Or...?

There was recently a developer Q&A in which PVP gear was mentioned as being a random drop from a cache, and I can't help but wonder if these pets will be going the same way -- random drops. Who knows?! So if you prefer a guarantee over RNG, absolutely work on leveling up those prestige ranks NOW. You have static milestones to hit; no RNG to mess up your day. Make the most of the current situation (even if you despise PVP like I do)!

★ Achievement Pets

• Nightmare Treant - Family Familiar

This is the one achievement pet from Legion (outside of dungeon and raid achievements) that will take time simply due to the fact that WQs are random. You never know if today's Pet Battle WQs have any trainers that are necessary for this achievement.

You'll still be able to make progress on this in BFA, but it'll be a bit tedious since you'll have to travel back and forth from BFA content to Legion content (unless you have 110 alts you're willing to leave behind.)

★ Brawler's Guild Pets

• Clock'em - Brawler's Guild, Rank 3
• Tylarr Gronnden - Brawler's Guild, Rank 3

Similar to the PVP Prestige Pets, there's no indication that these pets will be removed and we can expect to see them in BFA.

However, the Brawler's Guild has the potential to go on hiatus once developers decide the current "season" needs to come to a close. They've put the Brawler's Guild on hold to implement changes and new encounters before, so it's likely they'll do it again in the future. When? Hiatus for how long? We don't know yet. So it's best to collect these two pets while they're available.

★ Dungeon/Raid Pets

• Lagan - Poor Unfortunate Souls
• Micronax - Glory of the Tomb Raider
• Dream Whelpling - after last boss (Xavius) in The Emerald Nightmare raid

Obviously these pets will become MUCH easier to obtain once we've vastly out-leveled and out-geared the content, but if you don't think you can wait that long, be sure to go after these pets while the content is still relatively current.

Once player power level reaches a certain point, solo'ing shouldn't be an issue. Except for probably Micronax - those achievements require *group* coordination to complete the meta.

★ Fishing Pets

• Ghost Shark - Ilyssia of the Waters (Good Friend)
• Sting Ray Pup - Conjurer Margoss (Good Friend)
• Trashy - Conjurer Margoss (Best Friend)

These pets can be obtained solo, however the reputation grind goes MUCH quicker when grouped with other people fishing as well. If slow and steady reputation grinding doesn't excite or interest you, collect these pets while there are still handfuls of people going after them too. The custom dungeon finder will sometimes have "fishing groups" that you can join; fishing buddies helping each other fish more fish!

★ Certain Class Pets

• Bloodbrood Whelpling, Frostbrood Whelpling, Vilebrood Whelpling - Death Knight
• Ban-Fu, Cub of Ban-Lu - Monk
• Crackers - Rogue

The majority of class-exclusive pets in Legion can be collected solo, but IIRC the 3 listed above involve some grouped content. Similar to the Dungeon/Raid pets, it'll get easier to solo once player power level has increased, but until then you're better off going after these pets while there's still participation in this content.

And that's about it, I think? These categories are my top, most recommended battle pets to focus on before BFA.

Are there any pets that I missed? Let me know in the comments. Good luck and happy collecting!

Shadow Raises Over $1.8 Million For Charity

Today Blizzard revealed that Shadow raised over $1.8 million for charity!

This amount includes sales from both the battle pet and the Shadow plushie (between September 2017 and December 2017). It would be interesting to see how much was raised from just pet sales, but I guess this will have to suffice.

In any case, it's wonderful that players helped raise so much for charitable causes.

Here's an updated list of money raised from battle pet (and accompanying plush) sales over the years:

• 2017 - Shadow (AND plushie) raised over $1.8 million for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief and the IFRC Disaster Relief Fund
• 2016 - Mischief (AND plushie) raised over $2.5 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2015 - Brightpaw raised over $1.7 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2014 - Argi raised over $1.9 million for the Red Cross Ebola Relief Efforts in Africa
• 2013 - Alterac Brew Pup raised over $1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2012 - Cinder Kitten raised over $2.3 million for the American Red Cross Superstorm Sandy relief efforts
• 2011 - Cenarion Hatchling raised over $1.9 million for the American Red Cross Japan Earthequake and Pacific Tsunami relief efforts
• 2010 - Moonkin Hatchling raised over $800,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2009 - Pandaren Monk raised over $1.1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Estimated total: $15,000,000*

*includes money raised from sales of non-battle pet items

Battle For Azeroth: Datamining First Look

Let the datamining commence! It's begun -- we're getting our first look at new and updated content coming next expansion. There's literally too much to post about, so I'll mainly provide links you can browse through at your own leisure.

As mentioned at BlizzCon 2017, updated pet models are in the works for BFA. And now we have some previews of what's to come. Here's a list of creature models that are getting high resolution updates:

• Cats
• Chickens
• Crabs
• Pigs
• Prairie Dogs
• Turtles
• And More!

In addition to updated models, there are completely new models. These haven't been confirmed they'll be collectible pets, but there are SO MANY that I absolutely HOPE will be battle pets! Dinosaurs, bumble bees, weird/odd larva/creepy looking things, hermit crabs, etc.

Check out many updated/new models in detail on Wowhead's BFA Mount and Creature Models page! Also check out MMO-Champion's BFA model page!

There are also tons of new icons that hint at new pets, but we'll have to wait and see.

So far I'm pretty overwhelmed with all of the new things. I've got a mental checklist going while looking through all the shiny models -- the majority of which I'd love to collect. There are some actual pets that have been datamined as well, but there's little to no information on those so far. I'm just enjoying all of the eye candy until we learn more! ^^;

Uuna's Continued Story In 7.3.5

Over the past day or two the WoW Secrets Finding Discord server has been hard at work discovering the secret of Uuna's story. Datamined dialogue from the 7.3.5 PTR was used as sort of a guide to point secret-searchers in the right direction. Still, it took some time and a lot of trial and error. I was of no help, as usual haha. I'm just not creative enough to solve puzzles and riddles like this, I guess.

Anyway, Uuna's story has finally been revealed and players can now progress through all necessary steps to learn more about this Draenei ghost child's fate. It's heart-wrenching and totally worth it. The scenario that you eventually travel to was one of the best I've experienced so far. Very atmospheric, spooky, and just a deep feeling of dread. Fitting for the quest and very nicely done!


In 'A Dark Place' *eerie noises*
Uuna's story comes in 2 parts. First part (~10 steps) is helping her prepare to fight the darkness, finding her, and then saving her from darkness. The second part (~8 steps) is taking Uuna on a 'World Tour' and visiting specific locations. Here's a TL;DR version of what to do.

Note: After step 6 in part 1, you will not be able to summon Uuna. She still appears in your Pet Journal, but attempting to call her out will result in an error, 'Uuna is missin.' Don't panic though, this is just temporary! Once you save her from darkness you can summon her again.

I won't spoil the whole story or write a full guide, but if you're interested in completing this "questchain" (you don't actually complete quests, just "triggers" aka requirements to move onto the next step) I highly recommend checking out the Secrets Discord server and the #secret-progress channel: https://discord.gg/wowsecrets

Alternatively, you can read this Wowhead Guide to Uuna's story for a full walkthrough of what to do.

I'm a little disappointed that part 2, step 2 is bugged for Alliance and Horde that have not completed all Suramar quests though. You enter the wrong phase of uninstanced Nighthold, meaning you can't complete this step until a hotfix is applied. I'm stuck for now, but expect it to be resolved soon.

There's some saltiness in the larger WoW community about the end reward. It's nothing flashy or huge. Essentially Uuna gets an updated appearance (pictured at the start of this post) and she will respond to the /hug emote once you've fully saved her and completed all necessary steps. Personally, I think it's a lovely touch and I adore her new look. Plus I enjoy free hugs. :)

I'm very happy that we've been given the opportunity to "save" Uuna and give her hope and a renewed light (literally hehe). There wasn't a gigantic reward at the end, but I'm 100% ok with that. The journey was fantastic and gave me all the feels. <3

Magical Saucer Collected - Fly My Pretties, Fly!

I finally did it. My Mage FINALLY completed her journey for the Magical Saucer toy, so now even my non-flying pets can follow me wherever I go. YAY!!

After collecting the other class pets, I took quite a long break from leveling and playing additional alts. I was unsure if my Mage would even see Broken Isles this expansion or if she would have to wait until Battle For Azeroth. Luckily, I was hit with a bout of boredom and picked up leveling her again.

Getting the AP to meet the requirements for the class mount storyline wasn't an issue in the slightest. I know many were concerned that grinding AP would be a massive pain for DK and Monk class pets, but with the catch-up mechanics in place... the AP didn't even register to me. I was well beyond the required weapon level by the time I unlocked the mount quest.

What REALLY took some patience and time investment was the simple act of leveling. Going from 1 to 110...oof. It's not that it was "hard" or anything. Heirlooms make life so much easier. It's just tedious. I've done and seen these quests multiple times before, so it's not exciting or new. Same thing, different character. The repetition is what made the process feel dragged out, for me at least.

But if you're determined, like I was, you push through the monotony and get to that sweet spot and before you know it, you're looking around for the class storyline and Broken Shore campaign lol. I also rediscovered my joy of Draenor leveling during my Mage's adventure. Flying around and finding/looting treasures for experience? Yes please!


It was all worth it! I love playing around with this toy, and it's coming in handy for taking better, eye-level screenshots. (I would still prefer a pedestal-type of toy for battle pets, but this will do for now :P) I've already done some experimenting with combining toys and buffs on 'mounted' pets hehe.


So for the time being, my class collecting adventure is done. Druid, Demon Hunter, Shaman, Warlock, Death Knight, Monk, Rogue, and now Mage... I can check off all these battle pet-related classes from my 'To Do' list. Hooray! Any alt that I level from here on out is purely for miscellaneous reasons (like collecting class mounts...? lol).

For anyone still working on pet-related classes, keep on keeping on! Just enjoy what you can while you can, and take it in stride. It's slow and boring and tedious at some parts, but the end result is worth it. Heirlooms make it go faster but aren't absolutely necessary (I only had the heirlooms that go up to level 90 because I was too cheap to upgrade to the 100 and 110 ones haha). Having some sort of music or video/movie streaming either on a second monitor, in the background or on TV can help make the time fly. And remember, you don't have to do it all at once. You can take breaks, long or short. Blizzard has stated that there are no plans to remove the class pet-related stuff.

Anyway, enough gushing. Time to just enjoy my new toy and a new way to have fun with my pets. :)

Happy Holidays 2017

Wishing everyone a Happy Merry Season's Christmas Holidays!


Just a Tranquil Mechanical Yeti pal'ing around with the Globe Yeti. ;)

Don't forget to loot the presents under the Winter Veil tree in Ironforge and Orgrimmar (starting December 25).

Here's hoping that 2018 will be better, brighter, and filled with lots of fun new pets. May RNG be kind to us all.

Stay safe, be well, and happy collecting & battling. ❤