the lovely golden dragonhawk hatchling is sold exclusively by a horde vendor in eversong woods. before blizzard allowed players to create both horde and alliance characters on the same PVP realm, this as well as the majority of the other dragonhawk hatchlings were only available to alliance through the neutral auction house. i ended up creating a second account specifically for collecting all the horde-only pets. yes, one month of paid time just for more pets. XD
why i love it
i adore its gorgeous colors! all of the dragonhawk hatchlings have such stunning coloring and models. the fact that this little guy can fly alongside me while i'm flying is also a neat perk. it glides so gracefully in the air, and it makes me wish i were horde just so i could obtain the red dragonhawk mount, a reward for the mountain o' mounts (learn 100 mounts) achievement. i'm such a sucker for noncombat pets paired with their mount counterparts. :)
what i would change
i'd love to hear what a dragonhawk sounds like! an on-click vocal would be pretty interesting especially since i've yet to hear what type of sound they make (if any?). some sort of idle animation would also be nice, but i really can't think of a suitable animation to give to any of the dragonhawks. just what does one do when it's not doing anything at all? lol. overall, i guess i wouldn't change much about this pet yet.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Blizzcon 2010
i can't say that i'm overly excited about this year's blizzcon; my experience last year was a bit disappointing due to external factors (damn you heat and food poisoning!!). one thing that i am looking forward to, though, is the announcement of what will be this year's special goodie bag item!
the trend so far seems to be murloc related though. the only slight deviation being the big blizzard bear mount, but even that item has a murloc on the actual mount waving a blizzcon flag.
i wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if blizzard came up with yet another murloc in-game companion. gotta love me some baby murloc. XD and i'd be overjoyed if they brought back the original murky for the 2010 goodie bag!
well, we'll see. hopefully they will announce the contents of the goodie bag prior to the ticket sales. and *knock on wood* here's hoping that i manage to snag tickets to 2010 blizzcon.
2005 - attendees were gifted with murky the baby murloc non-combat pet.i'm eager to see if they release another mount or a pet... or something we haven't even thought of yet! there are still 3 MIA pets that were datamined but haven't popped up yet: Lil' XT, Celestial Dragon, and Frigid Frostling. perhaps one of these missing companions will end up being a blizzcon goodie bag item?
2007 - attendees were gifted with the murloc costume.
2008 - attendees were gifted with a big blizzard bear mount.
2009 - attendees were gifted with grunty the murloc marine non-combat pet.
the trend so far seems to be murloc related though. the only slight deviation being the big blizzard bear mount, but even that item has a murloc on the actual mount waving a blizzcon flag.
i wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if blizzard came up with yet another murloc in-game companion. gotta love me some baby murloc. XD and i'd be overjoyed if they brought back the original murky for the 2010 goodie bag!
well, we'll see. hopefully they will announce the contents of the goodie bag prior to the ticket sales. and *knock on wood* here's hoping that i manage to snag tickets to 2010 blizzcon.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Gladiator Murky Changes
wow.com reports that there was a change to the murkimus companion with this patch. murkimus was the 2009 pet reward for participating in the arena tournie. it was a short-lived and separate event from the live servers, and you had to pay about $25 US to join.
with the change all characters past and future, on an account that met all requirements to receive murkimus, will now receive the pet.
it's not a huge change but i'm sure it will make collectors with this companion very happy. a change like this would be the equivalent of any noncombat pet suddenly being available to all your toons on your account. blizzard's making the right move here, especially since there was a real life fee in order to get the pet. now if only they would change the TCG pets too.... ;)
do i own a murkimus? unfortunately i don't as i was too poor and uninterested in PVP at the time. oh well. can't win them all :P
with the change all characters past and future, on an account that met all requirements to receive murkimus, will now receive the pet.
it's not a huge change but i'm sure it will make collectors with this companion very happy. a change like this would be the equivalent of any noncombat pet suddenly being available to all your toons on your account. blizzard's making the right move here, especially since there was a real life fee in order to get the pet. now if only they would change the TCG pets too.... ;)
do i own a murkimus? unfortunately i don't as i was too poor and uninterested in PVP at the time. oh well. can't win them all :P
Pet of the Week - Mulgore Hatchling
this week i'll be reviewing the mulgore hatchling. it comes from the argent tournament horde only vendors, but i was lucky enough to find a horde trading partner on my server who would log on now and then to discuss which alliance/horde pets we would exchange next. i managed to nab this bundle of pink fluff pretty quickly. if not for my fellow companion pet obsessed horde buddy, it would have taken much longer, so a huge thanks goes out to that horde for helping me out :)
why i love it
pink fluff! well besides it being ridiculously cotton-candy-ish looking, i love having a baby plainstrider. they're such unique creatures in game.
it's idle animations are pretty fun to watch. when it zooms across the screen at random, it makes people turn heads in raids. "what was that?! oh, just a non-combat pet" is the usual first response.
what i would change
at this point i wouldn't update this companion other than maybe giving it an on-click vocal. maybe a smaller, quieter version of its adult counterpart? the squawk would be a nice finishing touch. :)
why i love it
pink fluff! well besides it being ridiculously cotton-candy-ish looking, i love having a baby plainstrider. they're such unique creatures in game.
it's idle animations are pretty fun to watch. when it zooms across the screen at random, it makes people turn heads in raids. "what was that?! oh, just a non-combat pet" is the usual first response.
what i would change
at this point i wouldn't update this companion other than maybe giving it an on-click vocal. maybe a smaller, quieter version of its adult counterpart? the squawk would be a nice finishing touch. :)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Notable Changes and New Pets w/ Patch
mmo-champ has stated that patch 3.3.3 will go live this week! this is my recap of pet collecting related changes and news to remind myself of what to expect :P
i'm really excited for the new pets, even if the only one that will be readily available is basically just a recolored version of an existing model. a pet is still a pet :P
i have mixed feelings about the engineering pets not being bind on pick up anymore, as i'm sure many veteran companion collectors do. the requirement to have engineering in order to craft and obtain the pet bombling and lil' smoky was what made these pets unique and special. after the patch they will become normal, everyday, auction house-flooded pets. it's a little disheartening from the point of view of an older pet collector, but i'm happy for all those who never went through the motions of picking up engineering just for the pets. two new pets for them.
and last but not least: the changes to the seasonal bosses. i don't really see much point in this change other than to prevent people from farming bosses and "ninja'ing." this change couldn't have been the only way to resolve these two issues though. so far i'm very against it as it limits collectors of all things vanity (not just pets) from getting items off of seasonal bosses in an efficient and timely manner.
but we'll see how it plays out on the live servers. perhaps blizzard has recognized that this is indeed a flawed way of fixing things, and as a compromise they've upp'ed the drop rate of noncombat pets off of bosses such as ahune and the crown chemical co.
new pets
- blue clockwork rocket bot (source: vendor)
- lil' xt (source: unknown)
- celestial dragon (source: unknown)
changes
- the engineering specific pets will no longer be bop
- seasonal bosses (such as ahune) will only be accessible through the daily dungeon finder, making obtaining boss only pets that much more difficult
i'm really excited for the new pets, even if the only one that will be readily available is basically just a recolored version of an existing model. a pet is still a pet :P
i have mixed feelings about the engineering pets not being bind on pick up anymore, as i'm sure many veteran companion collectors do. the requirement to have engineering in order to craft and obtain the pet bombling and lil' smoky was what made these pets unique and special. after the patch they will become normal, everyday, auction house-flooded pets. it's a little disheartening from the point of view of an older pet collector, but i'm happy for all those who never went through the motions of picking up engineering just for the pets. two new pets for them.
and last but not least: the changes to the seasonal bosses. i don't really see much point in this change other than to prevent people from farming bosses and "ninja'ing." this change couldn't have been the only way to resolve these two issues though. so far i'm very against it as it limits collectors of all things vanity (not just pets) from getting items off of seasonal bosses in an efficient and timely manner.
but we'll see how it plays out on the live servers. perhaps blizzard has recognized that this is indeed a flawed way of fixing things, and as a compromise they've upp'ed the drop rate of noncombat pets off of bosses such as ahune and the crown chemical co.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Pet of the Week - Stinker
after my week hiatus this week's review will be about the 50 pet achievement reward: stinker. thankfully when this companion was implemented i had already obtained well over the required number of pets, but that didn't stop me from compulsively counting and checking again and again. i was determined that i would, without fail, get this unique pet!
why i love it
ahhh you strangely adorable skunk, why do i love you so? from a distance it seems like any other un-extraordinary critter, but upon closer inspection you'll note the finer details. it's beady, big black eyes, and it's tiny little black ears. for something that's normally known as a foul creature, it's incredibly cute. i enjoy this duality.
not to mention stinker's animation when paired with a black cat of some sorts. blizzard's inclusion of pop culture really makes me smile. i was never a huuuuuge fan of the pepe lepu cartoons (i always felt bad for the black cat who was constantly harassed by lepu :P), but i'm still amused that blizzard decided to pay a small ode to the character in the form of stinker. his mad dash after any black cat, the sudden heartbreak when he realizes his love is unrequited, and his never ending hope that maybe next time it'll work out... on it's own, these animations are endearing.
what i would change
well since i really don't know what a true skunk sounds like, i guess i can't say i'd add any on click vocals. the search for love and heartbreak animation when in the presence of a black cat is also enough animation for me to keep me interested. i don't think i'd change anything with stinker at this moment! is he worth 50 pets? i definitely think so.
why i love it
ahhh you strangely adorable skunk, why do i love you so? from a distance it seems like any other un-extraordinary critter, but upon closer inspection you'll note the finer details. it's beady, big black eyes, and it's tiny little black ears. for something that's normally known as a foul creature, it's incredibly cute. i enjoy this duality.
not to mention stinker's animation when paired with a black cat of some sorts. blizzard's inclusion of pop culture really makes me smile. i was never a huuuuuge fan of the pepe lepu cartoons (i always felt bad for the black cat who was constantly harassed by lepu :P), but i'm still amused that blizzard decided to pay a small ode to the character in the form of stinker. his mad dash after any black cat, the sudden heartbreak when he realizes his love is unrequited, and his never ending hope that maybe next time it'll work out... on it's own, these animations are endearing.
what i would change
well since i really don't know what a true skunk sounds like, i guess i can't say i'd add any on click vocals. the search for love and heartbreak animation when in the presence of a black cat is also enough animation for me to keep me interested. i don't think i'd change anything with stinker at this moment! is he worth 50 pets? i definitely think so.
Patch 3.3.3 - Updated Pets
i *heart* mmo-champion for bringing us all the latest news from the PTR. some people call it spoiling the surprise. i call it giving me heads up and a tasty preview. it keeps me interested because news is just news; a live version is very different than just reading about it.
they bring us more celestial dragon updates. blizzard has updated the model to include armor on top of it's celestial form. looking pretty sharp! although i must admit i'm a bit partial to it's model prior to this new armored one. the armor's a little over the top for me and i prefer it's more natural looking state, but it's still a gorgeous vanity pet nevertheless. :)
mmo-champ also has a video of Lil' XT in action. i laughed a bit after watching it. it might have been just me, but i half expected its heart to be exposed when it mentioned feeling a bit tired. deconstruct faster!! XD
i'm so very excited and anxious to find out how to obtain these pets!! with so much care and thought used to create both of them, it really does seem like they would be good candidates for the blizzard PetStore huh?
they bring us more celestial dragon updates. blizzard has updated the model to include armor on top of it's celestial form. looking pretty sharp! although i must admit i'm a bit partial to it's model prior to this new armored one. the armor's a little over the top for me and i prefer it's more natural looking state, but it's still a gorgeous vanity pet nevertheless. :)
mmo-champ also has a video of Lil' XT in action. i laughed a bit after watching it. it might have been just me, but i half expected its heart to be exposed when it mentioned feeling a bit tired. deconstruct faster!! XD
i'm so very excited and anxious to find out how to obtain these pets!! with so much care and thought used to create both of them, it really does seem like they would be good candidates for the blizzard PetStore huh?
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Do In-Game Pets Get Sick Too?
due to a bit of pneumonia, i'm going to have to put off a pet of the week review until next week. :( it pains me to be separated from my lovable in-game companions for so long, but the pain in my lungs experienced irl outweighs any other discomfort atm. XD
head over to MMO-Champ though. they posted another screenshot of the new blue clockwork robot. the "pet" is being added to one of the toy vendors in patch 3.3.3! vendor pets are great, but i hope the next patch comes with a companion that's slightly harder to get too.
back to bed i go x_x
head over to MMO-Champ though. they posted another screenshot of the new blue clockwork robot. the "pet" is being added to one of the toy vendors in patch 3.3.3! vendor pets are great, but i hope the next patch comes with a companion that's slightly harder to get too.
back to bed i go x_x
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
More Patch 3.3.3 News
MMO-Champion has datamined more pet goodies for us!
MMO-Champ also brings us a fabulously updated version of the Celestial Dragon's model. i'm so eager to see if this pet goes live! if it does, i absolutely can't wait to get my hands on it.
hmm... both pets seem to have a connection to ulduar bosses. lil' xt being a smaller version of XT-002 Deconstructor and the celestial dragon is reminiscent of algalon. i hope neither drops off the actual boss though. it would make it a "rare" pet, but at the same time it would leave out the players who don't have groups/friends/guilds to help them in ulduar raids.
now that i think about it, both pets remind me of lil' kt (especially lil' xt). a companion designed with an end game boss encounter in mind, but instead of being an item obtained in game you would have to buy it through the PetStore.
i wouldn't be surprised if these two showed up in the store in the future. i mean... it just doesn't make much sense (lore-wise) to walk around azeroth, pick up a small version of a boss, and claim it as your pet. does anyone really think KT or XT would be ok with miniature versions of themselves submitting to the will of mortals so easily? they'd be the laughingstock amongst all the other end game bosses. lol.
buuu~ut, it does say "action figure" so it doesn't necessarily imply that it is a direct version of XT-002. i could definitely see a gnome engineer being inspired to create an action figure based on the boss. silly gnomes and their toys. :P
well, we'll just have to wait and see.
Lil' XT - Right Click to set down or pick up your Lil' XT action figure.if you remember a few patches ago (pre-ulduar) there was a pet that was datamined that resembled XT-002 Deconstructor, a boss in ulduar. it never went live though. so here's hoping that this Lil' XT is the finalized version of that companion, and blizzard will be kind enough to us and release it on live servers! (i also hope it's not a random drop off of ulduar trash or the boss himself >_<... perhaps a new engineering created pet?) the tooltip makes me wonder if it will be a stationary companion though. then again.... there are plenty of moving action figures out there XD
MMO-Champ also brings us a fabulously updated version of the Celestial Dragon's model. i'm so eager to see if this pet goes live! if it does, i absolutely can't wait to get my hands on it.
hmm... both pets seem to have a connection to ulduar bosses. lil' xt being a smaller version of XT-002 Deconstructor and the celestial dragon is reminiscent of algalon. i hope neither drops off the actual boss though. it would make it a "rare" pet, but at the same time it would leave out the players who don't have groups/friends/guilds to help them in ulduar raids.
now that i think about it, both pets remind me of lil' kt (especially lil' xt). a companion designed with an end game boss encounter in mind, but instead of being an item obtained in game you would have to buy it through the PetStore.
i wouldn't be surprised if these two showed up in the store in the future. i mean... it just doesn't make much sense (lore-wise) to walk around azeroth, pick up a small version of a boss, and claim it as your pet. does anyone really think KT or XT would be ok with miniature versions of themselves submitting to the will of mortals so easily? they'd be the laughingstock amongst all the other end game bosses. lol.
buuu~ut, it does say "action figure" so it doesn't necessarily imply that it is a direct version of XT-002. i could definitely see a gnome engineer being inspired to create an action figure based on the boss. silly gnomes and their toys. :P
well, we'll just have to wait and see.
Monday, March 1, 2010
They're Here!
WOW! i'm ecstatic! the babies arrived earlier than i had anticipated. they are absolutely adorable in game and irl. it's funny because i'm partial to the gryphon hatchling plushie, but in game i prefer the wind rider cub.
2 more pictures of the babies in flight below.
2 more pictures of the babies in flight below.
Pet of the Week - Lifelike Toad
this week's pet review is about the lifelike toad. i had this pet crafted for me by a friend who was lucky enough to have the schematic. unfortunately, none of my engineering toons have been fortunate to have the plans drop for them. :(
why i love it
the on click vocalizations are endearing. it almost sounds as if the toad is purring lol. it amuses me to no end that it actually eats flies too! being mechanical, you'd think that it wouldn't actually need to eat :P
what i would change
i would give this pet a model upgrade. it's current look closely resembles the other frog/toad pets currently available, making it somewhat of a less than interesting pet. i'd prefer it if it looked unique like the mechanical chicken and mechanical squirrel. then again, if it looked more robotic it wouldn't fit its name for being "lifelike" heh. i guess i could settle for a color change then :P
why i love it
the on click vocalizations are endearing. it almost sounds as if the toad is purring lol. it amuses me to no end that it actually eats flies too! being mechanical, you'd think that it wouldn't actually need to eat :P
what i would change
i would give this pet a model upgrade. it's current look closely resembles the other frog/toad pets currently available, making it somewhat of a less than interesting pet. i'd prefer it if it looked unique like the mechanical chicken and mechanical squirrel. then again, if it looked more robotic it wouldn't fit its name for being "lifelike" heh. i guess i could settle for a color change then :P
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