well there's been somewhat of a pet-lull as of late. all announced pets have been gathered, oo'ed and ahh'ed over, and now safely reside in my bags. it's been a bit of a dry cycle since the majority of new content's been released.
but with the 2010 winter olympics coming up in the next month, can pet collectors hope to see a new olympic inspired companion?
wow.com thinks they may have stumbled onto proof of this possibility. it's definitely an exciting prospect! one that i'm crossing my fingers for but...
what type of vanity pet would represent the winter olympics?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Pet of the Week - Spirit of Summer
this week's pet is the spirit of summer. when the midsummer fire festival first came out, i picked up the quest a light in dark places but never managed to complete it. i was terrified that i wouldn't get the pet when they announced that the quest would be retired. that is until i found out that the spirit of summer would be sold for blossoms instead!
why i love it
being a night elf myself, it's nostalgic to have a wisp like pet following me around. even if it's red..
plus i admit that i'm guilty of eating a magic eater or two in order to get the same wisp model debuff. :P what can i say? i enjoy having a miniature version of me around.. even if it's for 30 seconds or so heh. (it's even cuter when i use the red ribbon pet leash to link us together ^^; lol.)
what i would change
i'm slightly disappointed that unlike its wisp counterpart, the spirit of summer doesn't have an on click sound. i could definitely add one. maybe slightly altered from the night elf version though, so as to not confuse people :)
other than that, i wouldn't deviate too far from the current model/animation. i'm quite satisfied with my red wisp-like friend just the way he is.
why i love it
being a night elf myself, it's nostalgic to have a wisp like pet following me around. even if it's red..
plus i admit that i'm guilty of eating a magic eater or two in order to get the same wisp model debuff. :P what can i say? i enjoy having a miniature version of me around.. even if it's for 30 seconds or so heh. (it's even cuter when i use the red ribbon pet leash to link us together ^^; lol.)
what i would change
i'm slightly disappointed that unlike its wisp counterpart, the spirit of summer doesn't have an on click sound. i could definitely add one. maybe slightly altered from the night elf version though, so as to not confuse people :)
other than that, i wouldn't deviate too far from the current model/animation. i'm quite satisfied with my red wisp-like friend just the way he is.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Pet of the Week - Miniwing
miniwing is this week's pet of the week! i remember i did his escort quest with a friend, but it was more on accident that on purpose. we were just power leveling to 70 at the time, and had no idea that at he end of the escort we would be rewarded with a vanity pet. it was quite a pleasant surprise! :D
fun fact: miniwing is the highest item level vanity pet to date! item level 96 puts him at the top even though the pet itself is only level 1.
why i love it
his model may be the same as the bloodsail parrot, but miniwing's coloring is absolutely unique and beautiful. the quest to obtain him wasn't long like other companion pet quest chains, so this pet is fairly easy to get for everyone. not to mention it was a neat surprise for me at the end of the escort :)
his name makes me wonder though, is there a big-wing?
what i would change
being the highest item level companion pet, i would give him attributes that reflect this. more hit points so that he more closely resembles an actual mob? heh, that might be a bit of a stretch though.
one thing that i would definitely give him is his own special bird cry. miniwing deserves to stand out if he's at the top! how else will other birds know who's #1 on the food ladder? i bet miniwing gets dibs on bird feed first :P
fun fact: miniwing is the highest item level vanity pet to date! item level 96 puts him at the top even though the pet itself is only level 1.
why i love it
his model may be the same as the bloodsail parrot, but miniwing's coloring is absolutely unique and beautiful. the quest to obtain him wasn't long like other companion pet quest chains, so this pet is fairly easy to get for everyone. not to mention it was a neat surprise for me at the end of the escort :)
his name makes me wonder though, is there a big-wing?
what i would change
being the highest item level companion pet, i would give him attributes that reflect this. more hit points so that he more closely resembles an actual mob? heh, that might be a bit of a stretch though.
one thing that i would definitely give him is his own special bird cry. miniwing deserves to stand out if he's at the top! how else will other birds know who's #1 on the food ladder? i bet miniwing gets dibs on bird feed first :P
Monday, January 11, 2010
Pet of the Week - Darting Hatchling
i nabbed the darting hatchling before patch 3.3, and all raptor pets still dropped off of rare spawns. it was quite exciting when i got him! i remember parking a toon at each of the locations where rare spawns would pop up, and i would check on each alt every now and then to see if it was up. the /tar macro came in quite handy for Dart. when i loaded in at first i didn't see him up, but upon hitting my macro, there he was! he's a fast little bugger :P
why i love it
even if he doesn't run around quite as often as say egbert, i enjoy watching the darting hatchling get its daily exercise. for something so small, it kicks up quite a bit of dust!
what i would change
i'm somewhat torn over the way this raptor and the majority of the other baby raptors are now obtained (post-patch 3.3). having them as drops from spawned nests DOES make it slightly easier for people to find, but at the same time the raptors lose their rare(r) quality and mystique.
i'll liken this to the sprite darter hatchling, who's main charm pre-bc was it's rarity and relative difficulty to obtain. it was out of the way, and you had to know specifically where to go/what to do in order to find and complete the quest chain. these things made it feel that much more rewarding in the end.
much like the sprite darter hatchling, and all nearly all the hatchlings, it's lost this quality that made it unique. with spawned nests rather than spawned creatures, it's easier to obtain, yes. but at the same time it's easier to "farm" too, meaning the auction house can be flooded with "rare" (not so much anymore) raptor pets at any given time.
it's arguable if the spawned nests is actually more convenient or just about the same level of tediousness as the rare spawn mobs themselves. personally, i feel the nests make it easier to get a raptor hatchling since there are fewer spawn points to be concerned about and there's no chance for it to move around. if you know the spawn locations, coordinate logging in with the repsawn timer, there's a high chance you will find a nest. as opposed to a rare spawn creature that has multiple spawn points and has a path that it wanders on, making it harder to keep track of even when it does show up.
but like i mentioned, i'm torn. i do appreciate the way blizzard has taken into account that not everyone is a hardcore pet collector, with endless amount of time on their hands to sit and wait for a rare spawned mob. i just miss the feeling of finally finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
i'm definitely glad i managed to get the darting hatchling before the change to how it is obtained. i wouldn't trade in that experience for anything.
why i love it
even if he doesn't run around quite as often as say egbert, i enjoy watching the darting hatchling get its daily exercise. for something so small, it kicks up quite a bit of dust!
what i would change
i'm somewhat torn over the way this raptor and the majority of the other baby raptors are now obtained (post-patch 3.3). having them as drops from spawned nests DOES make it slightly easier for people to find, but at the same time the raptors lose their rare(r) quality and mystique.
i'll liken this to the sprite darter hatchling, who's main charm pre-bc was it's rarity and relative difficulty to obtain. it was out of the way, and you had to know specifically where to go/what to do in order to find and complete the quest chain. these things made it feel that much more rewarding in the end.
much like the sprite darter hatchling, and all nearly all the hatchlings, it's lost this quality that made it unique. with spawned nests rather than spawned creatures, it's easier to obtain, yes. but at the same time it's easier to "farm" too, meaning the auction house can be flooded with "rare" (not so much anymore) raptor pets at any given time.
it's arguable if the spawned nests is actually more convenient or just about the same level of tediousness as the rare spawn mobs themselves. personally, i feel the nests make it easier to get a raptor hatchling since there are fewer spawn points to be concerned about and there's no chance for it to move around. if you know the spawn locations, coordinate logging in with the repsawn timer, there's a high chance you will find a nest. as opposed to a rare spawn creature that has multiple spawn points and has a path that it wanders on, making it harder to keep track of even when it does show up.
but like i mentioned, i'm torn. i do appreciate the way blizzard has taken into account that not everyone is a hardcore pet collector, with endless amount of time on their hands to sit and wait for a rare spawned mob. i just miss the feeling of finally finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
i'm definitely glad i managed to get the darting hatchling before the change to how it is obtained. i wouldn't trade in that experience for anything.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Giant List of Pet Related Ideas
this post will serve as a holding place for all my vanity pet-related suggestions and ideas. sometimes they come to me at random and before i get a chance to tell someone about it, it's gone as quickly as it came. hopefully now i'll be able to write them down for future reference :P
newest pet ideas can be found towards the end of the post.
1. highest vanity pet tier achievement (collect 100, 125, 135, w/e the number may be): "Animal Handler" - rewards = title (Animal Handler *Insert Name*) plus a leash item that allows you to have more than one vanity pet out at the same time.
2. companion pet window: sort by pet type, such as "the bestiary" over at warcraftpets.com. or a feature that allows you to search and find your pet by name. (example would be the trade skill tab search feature.)
newest pet ideas can be found towards the end of the post.
1. highest vanity pet tier achievement (collect 100, 125, 135, w/e the number may be): "Animal Handler" - rewards = title (Animal Handler *Insert Name*) plus a leash item that allows you to have more than one vanity pet out at the same time.
i've always wanted to be able to have a few pets out at once. sometimes it's hard to choose just one to play with, especially once your collection gets up into the triple digits.
2. companion pet window: sort by pet type, such as "the bestiary" over at warcraftpets.com. or a feature that allows you to search and find your pet by name. (example would be the trade skill tab search feature.)
you've got your mammals, birds, mythical, mechanical, etc. once you get up to 100+ pets, it starts to become a chore to scroll through the entire list even if it's listed alphabetically.
Pet of the Week - Sprite Darter Hatchling
this week's pet is the sprite darter hatchling, one pet that holds a special place in my collection. i obtained one of these little guys pre-burning crusade, i think? it was only after i saw someone else with one that i went to do some research and discovered the epic quest chain to become a darter parent. :) while on the chain, i remember thinking to myself 'this is really long, is this really worth it?' the answer was yes, a thousand times yes!
why i love it
it's 100% completely unique from all the other companion pets. there's just something so ethereal about it that i can't get enough of. the detail on it from the little crescent moons on its wings, to the curl of its tail are absolutely adorable.
what i would change
i don't think i've said this about any pet yet... but i wouldn't change a thing about the sprite darter hatchling.
the darter was one of those rare, "you'd need to be in the know" type of pets pre-burning crusade since the quest chain was so out of the way and there was no direct quest leading up to it. whenever i have this pet out, i get so nostalgic about my earlier days in WoW when pet collecting wasn't really big and to have a sprite darter was a sort of milestone. i suppose that's all part of its charm. :)
why i love it
it's 100% completely unique from all the other companion pets. there's just something so ethereal about it that i can't get enough of. the detail on it from the little crescent moons on its wings, to the curl of its tail are absolutely adorable.
what i would change
i don't think i've said this about any pet yet... but i wouldn't change a thing about the sprite darter hatchling.
the darter was one of those rare, "you'd need to be in the know" type of pets pre-burning crusade since the quest chain was so out of the way and there was no direct quest leading up to it. whenever i have this pet out, i get so nostalgic about my earlier days in WoW when pet collecting wasn't really big and to have a sprite darter was a sort of milestone. i suppose that's all part of its charm. :)
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