Irritations

things have been relatively quiet but not exactly in a good sense. the in-game lunar festival didn't come with a pet again this year, making it THE only (major) holiday that doesn't have a corresponding companion pet. however, collectors can look forward (or dread) the next holiday which will be the valentine's event in about one week's time. good luck to everyone going after the toxic wasteling and peddlefeet!

while i still don't fully agree or like the new system of the holiday loot bag, it doesn't look as if blizzard's going to budge on this one. we will just have to take it or leave it. my only hope is that developers DON'T add more vanity pets to holidays that drop from holiday bosses, or the drop rate is increased for these pets, or collectors are given other options/ways of acquiring them during each in-game event.

i'm still waiting to hear some official word on the united nations achievement "bug". right now there are mixed messages floating around. some are saying game masters have stated it's "working as intended" while others are reporting that GMs have responded with the generic "it's a known issue, we're looking to resolve it". there still hasn't been any official statement confirming or denying that it is a bug and that it will be fixed in a future patch, which is frustrating.

i can't speak for everyone else, but i feel as though i'm in the dark about this and it's not very comforting. if it is working as intended, i'm not going to take up arms and set fire to the forums with anger and hate. no, instead i'll (grudgingly) just set up a reputation farming group to assist our highest exalted reputation earner in completing those last few reps to complete the united nations achievement. that's IF it's working as intended. if there were some sort of official confirmation that it's a bug, i'd gladly be patient and wait for the fix since at the moment, we have the achievement in the bag... except the bag has a hole in it and isn't exactly working right.

it really would be nice to know sooner rather than later if it's "working as intended" or not, though. the earlier things are settled, the sooner i can set to work if need be. right now, i'm just twiddling my thumbs and unsure of what action to take since blizzard is unable or unwilling to clarify things.

- if i go ahead and set up to grind out the last reputations to exalted and it turns out the achievement was bugged and is fixed in the near future, that's time wasted.

- if i don't go ahead and set up to grind out the last reputations to exalted and it turns out the achievement is working as intended, that's also time wasted.

it's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't situations. am i pointing fingers at blizzard? pretty much. this could easily be temporarily resolved with a simple blue poster clarifying one way or another. bugged or not bugged, that is the question.

things haven't been all downers. i'm definitely loving the new pets and enjoying my time with some older ones too. i can't wait for patch 4.0.6 which i'm hoping will be released soon. armadillo pup and guild herald... get ready to join my army!

Another PTR Patch 4.0.6 Update

well it looks like another guild rewarded pet will be receiving a change in the next patch. there was already an announcement that the armadillo pup will only require a revered reputation (down from exalted) with your guild to purchase, but now it seems the guild herald will also be following suit.

The guild faction requirement on the Guild Herald has been lowered to Revered reputation. - source

however, with no hint as to when patch 4.0.6 will be released onto live servers, if you've been maxing out your guild reputation each week (from day one of cataclysm) and/or if you're human, you should be reaching exalted status in about 3 weeks or so anyway. in the end the reduced amount of rep required for these two companions may not even affect some players (so long as the patch isn't released any time soon).

i think most can rejoice in the changes, though. with these two pets needing revered in the next patch, that leaves only the dark phoenix hatchling requiring exalted, which seems pretty fitting.

i'm really excited for the armadillo pup, though. possibly more so than the dark phoenix hatchling. why? well the phoenix is still a phoenix, despite it being a dark purple instead of a fiery orange. it's basically a color change of an existing model. the armadillo pup, though? it's an entirely new critter, and an adorable one at that if the beasts wandering around in uldum are any example or hint as to how the vanity pet will look like. new doesn't always equal better, but it's certainly an exciting prospect! :D

Next TCG Expansion Pet

"News has started trickling in on the next WoW TCG expansion, War of the Elements. This second expansion of the "WorldBreaker" block is due for release late March and as usual we have loot information to report. As promised by Cryptozoic, the common loot is another re-skinned pet, this time the Lil' Phylactory is getting a makeover < The Black Flame > style..." - WoWTCG Loot

interesting. it would seem that the next common TCG loot card will be yet another copy of a pre-existing blizzard pet store companion (the phylactory teaches lil' k.t.). we'll have to wait and see whether or not it will be reskinned, changed, or follow in the same vein as the whole landro's lil' xt / lil' xt situation.

it would seem that the days of unique and highly sought after TCG pets are over. at least for the time being. being that they're the new common loot card, though, it wouldn't surprise me if this trend of mini-pet cloning continues.

is this a good thing? bad thing? only time will tell. for now, we'll just have to sit back and wait for the upcoming expansion and its lil'... to be announced pet. :P

Lost No More

finally! my plan to entice pebble with shiny rocks and crystals inside the crumbling depths worked, and he was lost once again today. :P

this mini-mental was well worth the wait and the 10 dailies. despite blizzard using the same model as the frigid frostling and many other larger elementals, the prerequisite quests involving pebble is what makes this pet just so damn lovable. that attention to detail and sentimental value is what can make such a seemingly boring pet into an absolutely endearing one. imho it's a tactic that, if not over-used, comes in handy for the "free" in-game companions that may not have all the bells and whistles that the blizzard pet store or tcg pets receive.

anyway, although i've finally acquired my very own pebble i'll still be heading in to save him whenever i get the chance. i have to earn that guild reputation somehow, right? lol.

Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay

sometimes we all need a moment of peace between all the busy moments in life. turn off trade chat, general, guild and officer channels. put all whispers on hold. just me, my gull, a picnic, and every now and then a guildmate.


best viewed when listening to a 'dock of the bay' cover. :)

Just a Tad to Tide You Over

after the news about the armadillo pup change from the PTR, there really hasn't been much else to report on for the upcoming patch 4.0.6. at least for now. hopefully more will be coming within the next week or so.

however, while doing some searching on the PTR version of wowhead, i came across this:

- smolderweb egg (teaches smolderweb hatchling); added in patch 4.0.6

prior to cataclysm, the smolderweb hatchling was learned from the smolderweb carrier. since the change to azeroth, though, both the quest for the worg pup and smolderweb hatchling were completely removed. as a result, the carrier item is no longer obtainable (for either companion). currently, players have yet to find any other method or way of obtaining these two pets.

so could this new egg item be a possible replacement for the (spider) carrier? if so, what about the worg pup? hopefully developers will find a suitable place to insert an item for the pup too.

another interesting find while browsing wowhead, was this comment on the hardboiled egg item:

"A GM told me the item was ingame and should be available soon." - amidaman

this is obviously not the most reliable source of information, however, if what this person claims is true, i think i can speak for all collectors when i say.. FINALLY! THE MYSTERY OF THE EGG WILL BE SOLVED! but we'll just have to wait and see.

last but not least, i am still eagerly waiting news on the celestial dragon. call me an optimist but with the lunar festival coming up soon, i'm hoping that it will be the long awaited lunar festival non-combat mini-pet. this in-game event is one of the very last holidays without a corresponding companion that is either dropped during the holiday's specific dates or obtained through participating in the holiday events. i'm definitely hoping that the celestial dragon will be apart of the latter! (no more holiday boss drops plzkthnx.. :P) however, i would not be surprised (just disappointed) if it is not part of the lunar festival festivities. i mean, it IS a really cool looking pet, and blizzard doesn't just hand out really awesome companions (to many collector's chagrin) very often.

Who Wants to Play Fetch?!

i paid a visit to breanni in dalaran today. said hello and picked up a few fetch balls. well, more like 20 fetch balls! the goal? play a game of fetch the ball with all the newest pets (that i've managed to acquire so far). playing fetch with my non-combat pets is always amusing, especially when they retrieve the ball. most of them look hilarious, especially when they utilize their head and/or face despite some pets having arms, feet, hands, and even thumbs!

if you remember my moonkin hatchling screenshot of it playing fetch, i was hoping for more absolutely ridiculous and amusing images as a result in a few minutes worth of playing with the cataclysm pets. unfortunately some companions didn't want to partake in all of the fun.

here's a list of all the newest pets that will NOT play fetch:

- blue mini jouster (probably the gold mini jouster as well)
- guild page (i'm guessing this goes for guild herald as well)
- landro's lil' xt
- lil' ragnaros

pets that i have not tried playing fetch with yet:

- armadillo pup
- dark phoenix hatchling (i'm guessing it will have the same animation as the phoenix hatchling when playing fetch, though)
- pebble (he will probably have the same fetch animation as the frigid frostling)

those that were willing to play along did provide a few moments worth of amusement. many screenshots of all the silliness after the break!

Neutral Auction House - Be Wary!

first off, thank you to a few guildies and friends of mine for scoring an enchanted lantern for me. *hearts* secondly... well, how about a short story to start?

i heard about this only after the fact. a couple other guildmates were in the process of acquiring an enchanted lantern for me, but due to a botter on the neutral AH, they lost the pet and the gold spent to get it. (thank you, nonetheless for trying! *hearts*)

after hearing about this, i feel it's necessary to warn others about the potential risk in using the neutral auction house for transferring faction pets back and forth.

Possible United Nations Bug

just a warning for guilds going after the dark phoenix hatchling: the united nations achievement is likely bugged atm. there isn't a blue post to confirm/deny yet, however there are reports as recent as a couple days ago claiming that despite having multiple revered guildmates with UNIQUE exalted reputations, some guilds are still unable to complete this achievement.

it appears that the achievement is only taking into account a single revered guildie with the highest number of exalted reputations. this is NOT how the achievement was intended to work. (or else why bother make it a guild achievement, right?)

worst case scenario? this was totally intended and a SINGLE character in a guild must be the one to reach 55 exalted reputations while also hitting revered with their guild. this would probably result in an eruption of dissatisfaction and rage on the forums, though, so it's unlikely this potential bug will go unanswered for too long by blizzard.

i'm eagerly waiting on a blue poster to shed some insight on what may be the issue (if any), and if there will be a hotfix in the near future or will guilds need to wait until the next patch before seeing a fix.

First Month of Cataclysm

this first month of cataclysm has been a busy one, but i think i'm done with the new pets that are "farmable", and now all that's left are the ones that i'll just have to be patient and wait for.

pebble or the armadillo pup should be next, but it will depend on how soon patch 4.0.6 is released and whether or not my server gets more pebble dailies between now and then. my guild is awfully close to unlocking both the dark phoenix hatchling and the guild herald, so i'm expecting to see those two soon too.

by the time all's said and done, my hope is that the northrend children's week quest will be fixed and i'll finally be able to adopt a curious wolvar pup. plus there's also the possibility of new cataclysm children's week quests with even more companions? y/y? yes please! :D

strangely enough, my predictions for which new pets i would obtain first and last in this expansion were completely off. the ones that i had planned to make a priority somehow ended up towards the bottom of my list, while those with initially low priority surged to the top. go figure!

my collection's never quite complete, as usual, but for now i can take a moment to simply enjoy my new companions. i love hanging out in stormwind while waiting for guildies for a dungeon and just watching my pets chase me around. do i have a favorite cataclysm pet? hm... not yet. they're all really awesome.

all of my older pets get some loving too, of course. that's what the "summon random pet" macro is for! :)

PTR Notes - Patch 4.0.6

mmo-champion has the official PTR patch notes, but here are the most significant ones for pet collectors:

- The guild reward Armadillo Pup now requires revered faction instead of exalted.

- Both the Baradin's Wardens and Hellscream's Reach Commendations are now Bound to Account items.

i think many of us welcome the first change wholeheartedly! since i've already hit revered with my guild, i can only hope for these changes to be applied soon! otherwise it may not matter for me, and i may wind up getting the armadillo pup at exalted anyway. XD

the second change may not seem too important for collectors, however, those working towards multiple vanity items (including the rustberg seagull) will have a slightly easier time collecting all of the commendations achieving the reputation required to purchase the desired items. since the change will make the currency reputation tokens bind on account, multiple toons will be able to assist another character in collecting commendations reputation, making the process slightly faster. players will still have to complete the dailies to gather enough tol barad commendations to purchase each of the mounts and the pet. but rustberg seagulls a little sooner for everyone, yay! they are absolutely adorable little birdies.

Pets On Armory Stats

one thing that i never really took the time to check out was blizzard's new armory. normally i use it mainly for gearing and PVE purposes, or to check reputations and stats. however, i've discovered it can be quite handy for vanity fact-checking too! (months behind, i know :P)

i often get asked "so how many pets are you up to now?" and sometimes being a bad collector, i simply cannot remember (for shame!) and need to check WarcraftPets for an actual number. well if that website is ever down (heaven forbid), now i have a back-up source on the armory. yay? lol.

for those who are curious, simply go to any toon's armory page, and on the left hand menu there is a "statistics" link. once on that page, go to the character page and finally "gear". vanity pets and even the number of mounts owned can be found on this page. :D

side note: i found it strange that the number of vanity pets a toon owns is listed under the "gear" section. i guess technically we could "wear" our pets? a westfall chicken sitting on top of my head would be slightly uncomfortable though.

this is a really useful tool, especially for those who wish to accurately track the stats of friends/other players. it also makes deceiving collection websites such as WarcraftPets and Warcraftmounts a little harder to do. still not foolproof, but there really is no such thing as a foolproof system/method imo.

on the other hand, it does bring up the question of privacy/transparency. some just don't want others to know that much about their characters, so rather than a useful tool, it could be seen as an invasion of a character's personal stats. it's hard for me to see how this non-gamebreaking, vanity information could be used maliciously against another player, but people have found ways to harass others with almost any type of information so.. i wouldn't put it past someone to do so.

it has it's pros and cons, although at the moment i'm seeing more pros than cons. i can check up on guildies, friends, and most importantly... my alts! although i don't actively collect on any other character than my main, it's still sometimes useful to know how many pets an alt has. it doesn't give me detailed information such as WarcraftPets would, but it's a start if i just want to quickly refresh my memory of how many i've collected on so and so.

Landro's Lil' XT's Model Unintentional?

for those that missed it, a blue commented on the current model and state of landro's lil' xt:

"Hi there, Bury. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

You know, I wasn't able to spot any differences either; those goblin engineers are clearly very good at producing knockoffs. In any case, I've passed this on to the powers that be for further investigation, as this may be unintentional.

Thanks for the report. :)" - Irylinne

for now, we're stuck with either a placeholder model or a complete clone of lil' xt. the latter wouldn't be too bad, imho, if the two at least interacted with each other with unique emotes/animations. is it cruel of me to want to see the two battle it out with each other? :P

Reused, Not Reskinned, No Regrets

i wasn't planning on getting landro's lil' xt due to it being just a reused model, but i had entertained the idea of purchasing it if the price was reasonable enough for a "knock-off" lol. well someone decided it was worth going to check it out at the local card shop and bought it for me. ♥ many thanks and lots of love! :)

A Very Happy 2011!

an absolutely splendid way to start the new year!
after 38 tol'vir solves (including 2 rares - the scarab trinket and the caster ring), over 3k saved up night elf fragments, over 1200 saved up fossil fragments, and a total of 274 solves (common and rare) in all... the crawling claw FINALLY popped up as an artifact for me to solve. by the time i finished it, i was nearing 4k night elf fragments, over 1600 fossil fragments and 60+ night elf keystones.

i'm still sitting in stormwind, waiting for this companion to do its idle animations. nothing yet, but it does have an on-click vocalization... which is a little strange. i wish there were other claws for mine to interact with. i'd love to see it play rock, paper, scissors!

much like many others have noted, although this pet is bind on account, unlike most BoA items, once you've learned it, the item will disappear. so choose which toon you send it too and learn it on carefully. my guess is that blizzard knew how difficult it would be for collectors to obtain it due to the VERY LARGE rng factor of archaeology, and in the event that an alt or non-collector toon snagged this pet, it could be sent to a main toon or the character that was the player's main collector. a wise decision on blizzard's part.

it was one hell of a grind for this pet, but it was worth it.

random observation: the crawling claw is/was married? that's definitely a ring on its ring finger, and it's definitely the left hand. i wonder if we'll ever see its pair/mate. i guess we could always pretend that a fellow collector's claw is its partner. :)