What Next?

well i'm finally done with the mount hyjal storyline and received my awesome flaming hippogryph mount. *cough* flaming hippogryph hatchling pet? *cough* :P

even though i already have the searing scorchling, i'm going to continue to do the hyjal dailies for a while. wishful thinking that maybe... just MAYBE... (doesn't seem likely though) the other baby elementals might be found in zen'vorka's cache. i can't help but hope.

other than that, all that's left to do is wait. the nightsaber cub will come in due time and my guild is steadily trucking along on the quest chain for the legendary staff and lil' tarecgosa.

i'm still waiting on any news about the 2011 blizzcon goodie bag and what the in-game redeemable item will be, as well as information on the guardian cub. i'll be very surprised if the cub isn't from the blizzard PetStore like its mount counterpart!

Nightsaber Cub Update

wowtcgloot updated their news post yesterday with the current status on the nightsaber cub invalid code problem.

"UPDATE 27th July: The [Nightsaber Cub] loot code "Redemption key does not exist" is currently unresolved, but we have concluded it is almost certainly only restricted to this loot card. Please see post1 post2 post3. Thank you for your patience as we wait for Blizzard and Cryptozoic to solve the problem. Feel free to try this code until the problem is fixed: 9203 150781 56969 807792 9202, if it works let us know in our chatbox!"

so unfortunately for pet collectors, the nightsaber cub seems to be the only loot card affected by the bug, and it's still currently unresolved. hopefully blizzard, wowtcgloot, and cryptozoic will keep us all updated and informed about this pet's status.

UPDATE: those with the code on hand should try redeeming their code again. there are a few reports floating around that some players have been successful in getting their nightsaber cub companion.

Nightsaber Cub Stuck In Limbo

the nightsaber cub arrives today! or at least that was the plan.

wowtcgloot announced that "There appears to be a serious quality assurance issue with the [Nightsaber Cub] loot card." when attempting the redeem the loot, the codes assigned to the new nightsaber cub cards are not working as intended, therefore wowtcgloot as opted to delay the sending of the pre-ordered loot codes until blizzard has resolved the issue.

WarcraftPets has also commented on the issue, and remains hopeful that blizzard will set things right. if you pre-ordered this adorable little kitten companion, the only thing to do for now is be patient and wait for a resolution.

it sounds as though wowtcgloot WILL have your loot card ready for you to redeem once the activation codes are properly implemented, though. so that's at least one less thing to worry about. :)

last but not least, the spectral tiger cub giveaway drawing to a random pre-order purchaser of the nightsaber cub will take place in about 48 hours or so. keep checking the wowtcgloot website for more details.

i can't wait to add this cutie to my collection! well, all in good time. :)

ps: for anyone curious, the image on wowtcgloot's news page of the nightsaber cub loot card is not what the card actually looks like. the red alarm thing on its head was edited in. lol, at first i was confused as to why it was wearing what i thought was a red hat. then i was confused why it was wearing a siren type device. and then i /facepalmed because i checked the actual nightsaber cub page and saw the original card. man, i have my moments. lol.

Delayed Arrival of Murkimus

for those that entered the recent arena pass tournament and satisfied the requirements to be eligible for murkimus, apparently there's a delay in the baby murloc pet's arrival. a blue poster has commented on the issue:

"I'll make some inquiries, but odds are they are aware and it should be resolved during an upcoming maintenance period." - Vrakthris

hopefully it will be mailed to players this coming tuesday after maintenance.

Don't Play With Fire

hooray, the crimson lasher has been added to my collection! unfortunately, it seems as though this little plant is too attracted to fire. plant suicide? plant-icide? hopefully it's fireproof. :P

note: this pet doesn't actually set itself on fire. it was just in an awkward position when it decided to throw a fireball. the fire didn't have anywhere else to land except underneath the lasher lol.

anyway, the follow up side quest about leyara was a little bugged. upon turning in the locket at moonglade, the NPC who was supposed to present me with a follow up quest didn't want cooperate so i had to go to war with the cenarion circle and do away with him. :( he didn't offer any dialogue on dire maul for me, so killing him was my only other option other than waiting for who knows how long for someone else to come by to speak to him about DM.

but with that sorted out, i received my 10 extra marks, and i'm now well on my way to the last and final 125 mark quest in the hyjal storyline! yay!

WarcrafPets On Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/warcraftpets

vanity pet obsession meets facebook! check out their new facebook page! the facebook contest details will be released tomorrow at noon EST, so be sure to tune in then. in the meantime, feel free to "like" their page and chat it up on the discussions page.

good luck to all those entering the contest tomorrow!

WarcraftPets Giveaway!

WarcraftPets is teaming up with WoWTCGLoot again for the nightsaber cub presale. on top of that, WcP is having their own contest for TCG goodies! :D check out all the details here.

remember to follow WarcraftPets on twitter, and stay tuned for their NEW facebook fanpage!

i can't wait for the cubbie to be released (july 26th). it will match perfectly with my striped nightsaber mount lol.

Yet Another Hyjal Update

despite my initial belief that i had finally finished untangling the new hyjal dailies, there's an update to phase 3 and onward - additional armaments unlocks a daily (or two or whatever!) awarding only TWO marks (total) per day.

thanks to all keeping me updated on this storyline!

so to compare:

- calling the ancients = extra 3 marks per day

- filling the moonwell = lump sum of 10 marks (is it 10 or 15? wowhead's guide states it awards a one time deal of 15 marks for the entire side quest chain)

- additional armaments = 2 extra marks per day

i'm just a little bit flustered since this last phase involving the three vendor specific quests wasn't entirely clear (and it still may not be) until someone tested it on live servers. one source said one thing, while another said something completely different, and yet another mentioned slightly different details. /facepalm

anyway, bottom line is this:

- when working on completing the 150 mark quests, you should be earning 25 marks per day

- when working on completing the FIRST 125 marks quest, you should be earning 26 marks per day (note: depending upon which vendor you unlock first, second and third, your earned marks per day may vary from other players)

- at the end of the entire storyline, you should be earning 30-31 marks per day

what i've learned from all of this? it's best not to try and compare your progress with other people (and writing a guide/overview is not an easy task!). it will only confuse you and tangle your confidence in your progression up. in a situation such as this were everything is pretty much guaranteed in time, just enjoy yourself, have fun during the progression, and have peace of mind that you will get to the end and reap the rewards (yay pets!) eventually.

The Terrible Twos

ut ohs. i may be experiencing that age again. the "MINE" phase. at least for a little bit while i snuggle with my newest pet, the hyjal bear cub! ;)

Getting Ready For Teddy

guess what tomorrow is?! tuesday! er, yea. but it will also be the day that i unlock my first hyjal vendor and buy the hyjal bear cub. i'm excited! sure, it's just the baby bear model, reskinned, but 1 - it's adorable and looks like a classic teddy bear, and 2 - it's a new companion that will chase me around stormwind when i'm bored or pick up my spirits when i'm down and out. :)

i've decided to go with completing calling the ancients quest first. it will ultimately award a few extra marks with an unlocked daily AND grant me access to a new vanity pet. i consider it the most "balanced" route.

on a side yet related note, i really like how blizzard made three options in terms of quest progression and reward. there's the min-maxing for the most marks quest (additional armaments), the more vanity/lore oriented quest (filling the moonwell), and then the somewhere in-between quest (calling the ancients). it makes someone like me (who's more indecisive) a bit anxious when it comes time to choose between the three, but i like the overall ability to control my adventure.

not to mention the non-combat companions are guaranteed. there's no worrying about the pets disappearing, or RNG not being in your favor, or a certain amount of time to get it all completed. it takes some effort, energy and patience on your part, but it's just a matter of time until you get them.

i'm pretty satisfied with how all of this played out, even if the entire process takes a month and involves an often chaotic and hectic questing experience just outside of the sanctuary areas. (epic pvp battles, anyone? i try to stay out of it but sometimes things... happen... most of the time it usually results in me running back to my body lol)

so it looks like i'll be getting the cub first and the crimson lasher second. after that, i'm not sure if i'll try my luck at zen'vorka's cache or not.

while the searing scorchling has been confirmed to be a random drop from the cache (on the PTR), the other baby elemental pets...? they have NOT been confirmed as potential drops and personally i find it unlikely since the wowhead and mmo-champion databases have yet to come up with an item ID for the spell IDs (whirling waveling, swirling stormling, rumbling rockling) associated with them. i also have doubts about the frigid frostling being in zen'vorka's cache. who knows, though? we'll see.

since i was lucky enough to acquire both the scorchling and frostling, unless the other three elemental pets are confirmed drops, i really don't have much use for the cache.

On Track Now?

ok. i think i've got it. the overview for accessing the new hyjal pets has been updated. whew. hopefully it's accurate and correct. phase 1 may be off, though, since blizzard decided to change the first step. i'll have to do it on an alt to find out later.

in phase 3 (when you've turned in both 150 mark quests and picked up all three 125 mark quests), you should be earning a total of 26 marks per day.

i tested this with the shadow warden set of dailies and this is correct. it should also be the correct number for the druids of the talon set of dailies, but i'll test it out tomorrow.

for phase 3.5 and onward, here are the possible routes you can take:

- completing calling the ancients** unlocks a new daily that awards 3 marks per day

- completing additional armaments unlocks 2 1 new daily that awards 4 2 marks total per day (edited: see comments below for an update on progression)

- completing filling the moonwell** unlocks a quest (no daily) that awards a one time lump sum of 10 marks

note that only the first and last quests (the ones marked with a **) unlock vendors that sell the two new pets, the crimson lasher and hyjal bear cub. to have a shot at the searing scorchling, you'll have to turn in all three quests.

at the very end of this entire adventure (when you've turned in all three 125 mark quests), you should be earning about 30 marks per day more or less. just enough to purchase zen'vorka's cache for a shot at the scorchling companion.

the great thing about these vendors besides the pets? almost all items sold by the vendors cost gold, so any marks earned after unlocking all three vendors will pretty much be useless unless you want to purchase your faction's main city reputation tokens (such as stormwind, darnassus, etc). aaaa~and because everything else will cost gold, you can buy the cache without any guilt or reservations. just keep doing those dailies!

Behind, Ahead, IDK Anymore

keeping track of the new mount hyjal daily progress is giving me a headache. because it depends mainly on the individual progress and choice, it varies (often only slightly) from player to player. certainly, there are some set standards such as how many dailies are given per day as well as how many marks can be earned, but there are other factors that effect these things and the overall progress of the individual. which ones were unlocked first, at what point in the storyline were they unlocked, etc. it's difficult to try and maintain a definite "guide" for the dailies.

as of yesterday i'm on phase 3, which is the start of the three vendor specific quests. after doing both sets of dailies (shadow warden and druid of the talons), i think i've come to a conclusion on the most efficient way of advancing through this storyline. unfortunately for me, i won't be able to test it out on my main character since she's already knee-deep into the dailies. also unfortunately for me, since i was waiting for a guildie to catch up, i may be behind 1 or 2 marks. we'll see.

but i digress. if i were to do it all again, here's the path i would take:

1. initial phase 1 and 2.
2. turn into druids of the talon first.
3. complete the druids of the talon set of dailies at least once.
4. turn into shadow wardens as soon as i'm able to.
5. complete the shadow wardens set of dailies as soon as i'm able to.
6. turn in calling the ancients.
7. turn in filling the moonwell.
8. turn in additional armaments.

i didn't do step 5, so that's where my progress might falter, but again, it's tough to keep track and compare to other people since it depends on the player's choices.

the key parts are turning in each set of 150 marks and steps 6 through 7. if you want to advance faster, i recommend completing calling the ancients first since last i checked it will unlock a daily quest that awards 3 marks. the last two steps are a toss up for me. i believe additional armaments unlocks a daily that awards 2 marks while filling the moonwell daily only awards 1, but the latter quest unlocks the vendor that sells the crimson lasher! so you can see my dilemma, heh. completing all three quests are required to have a shot at zen'vorka's cache and ultimately the searing scorchling.

anyway, that's just my take on the whole matter thus far. if someone discovers an even better way, that's great! hopefully they'll share it with others who have yet to get started on this quest chain.

i'm definitely looking forward to buying my first pet soon! hyjal bear cub, get ready to join my army in about 3 days :D

A Business Matter

upon waking up this morning, a thought occurred to me: why can jepetto joybuzz expand his toy business into stormwind and orgrimmar, but breanni's pet supplies are no where to be found?

with all the companion pets running around lately, you'd think that the demand and need for pet supplies in the major cities would be on the rise. except most probably don't want to travel all the way to northrend just to grab a leash and a few pet toys. it's only smart business sense that breanni expand her store further!

i get that jepetto and breanni can't actually leave their shops in dalaran, because a shop unattended is just asking to be robbed, but jepetto seems to have found a way around this. he's outsourced and hired someone to manage his wares in both faction capitals, craggle wobbletop in stormwind and blax bottlerocket in orgrimmar. so why can't breanni do the same?

and i can think of a few "pet shop assistants" that would be very willing to take on the task of managing breanni's horde and alliance stores: doobjanka the goblin for orgrimmar and quintessence the night elf or weena the draenei for stormwind? *wink* :P

although... i hear that quintessence likes to "test" all the toys out on her own pets before selling them, so don't be surprised if you buy a semi-used item if she's allowed to sell breanni's goods. XD

Double Booked

i'm excited for blizzcon 2011 and i can't wait to find out what this year's goodie bag item will be. a mount? a pet? something else? i'm also eager to hear what the "big announcement" will be (if any). last but not least, i can't forget about the WarcraftPets meet up!

but... wait. blizzcon is scheduled for october 21 and 22. double checking the in-game calendar, those dates fall right in the middle of... hallow's end.


insert a headdesk and facepalm emote here.
yes, it appears that the 2011 blizzcon has been placed right in the middle of an in-game holiday. why does this matter? well if the datamining of recent patches is any indication, there may be an overhaul and update to this in-game event, with two possible new pets: the creepy crate and feline familiar (note: both are still unconfirmed).

this makes me somewhat upset that i'll have to choose between attending an awesome convention or staying in to partake in the (revamped?) in-game holiday.

i've already bought and paid for the blizzcon tickets as well as made the reservations for the room. this doesn't leave me with too many options, does it? part of me regrets making the decision to go.

personally, i'm unwilling to haul my entire desktop setup to anaheim, which would not only be a huge inconvenience but potential security risk. i'd like to NOT have to worry about my computer being stolen from my hotel room while i'm at blizzcon, thanks.

i really have no idea what this year's hallow's end will entail. maybe it won't require full and daily participation or maybe there will be daily quests that are absolutely necessary for any new pets. either way, i'm anxious now. in a worst case scenario, i suppose i could attempt to load up the game onto my laptop so i don't miss any days of the event while attending blizzcon, but i'm not even sure if my laptop can handle WoW.

part of me is bitter and slightly grumpy that this wasn't better planned out by blizzard, but another and more reasonable part knows and understands that there are some factors outside of blizzard's control that they just had to work around. rather than poor planning, it could have just been tough luck.

either way... i'm still somewhat irritated and saddened. as open minded as i try to be, i'm still human and i'd like to have my cake and eat it too. hmph!

Pets for Charity

curse.com has announced that blizzard has joined up with the peninsula education foundation again! this time, the items up for grabs is being put up for auction on ebay.

the following pets are included in the lot:

- mini thor
- netherwhelp
- frosty
- lil' deathwing
- murky

also included are 4 TCG mounts, a one year WoW subscription, and the 4 murky plushies. for more details see the links posted above.

this auction is a bit too rich for my blood (which makes me super sad since it's rare to see an unused murky card these days), but good luck to those bidding!

Mount Hyjal Daily Confusion

there's some confusion surrounding the new mount hyjal dailies. players are missing marks and while blizzard has updated parts of the process to try and compensate for this, it's still irritating.

i'm especially curious about how many TOTAL marks people are earning if they chose the shadow warden set of dailies. total as in all marks earned from all dailies available each day, starting from the sanctuary of malorne, all the way to the molten front. regardless of the sub-faction you choose, you should be earning the same number of total marks per day. i'd like some confirmation on this, though.

Blizzard Hopping Onto the Bandwagon

lately, blizzard seems to be hopping onto the collecting bandwagon. be it pets, mounts, tabards, etc, there just seems to be more activity in these "hobby" areas of gameplay as of late. maybe blizzard is feeling pressure from the higher-ups to cash in on this potential cash-cow, or perhaps they genuinely wish to recognize the smaller sub-community of players found within the larger and more prominent PVP, PVE and RP groups. or i could just be reading way too far into things (like i sometimes tend to do).

what prompted me to contemplate this, though, is not only is there more love being shown for collectors in the way of official features, additions, incentives, and improvements, but i'm noticing more and more players take on the challenge of collecting. specifically vanity pets because well.. that's where most of my attention falls lol.

people who previously didn't collect have started up and those who only did so casually are now taking it a little more seriously. most of them are aiming for the newest achievement pets, nuts and the celestial dragon, but i don't blame them. these two pets really kick ass.

i'm pretty happy to see more players take an interest in companion collecting, as well as blizzard providing an incentive and an avenue for collectors to express and go about this style of gameplay.

the downside to all of this though (and yes, i do feel like there is a possible downside) is that some players may come to expect an incentive every single time blizzard addresses and implements something concerning vanity pets. even old-school serious collectors may lose sight of what collecting is to them and start tunneling in on only the statistics, the rewards, and the e-peen aspect.

Official Blizzard Collection Tracking

if you haven't taken a look at the official blizzard armory recently, you should go check out your toon's page. there's a neat new feature just to the left of your character and underneath the "achievements" link. blizzard's officially added companions and mounts "tracking" to the armory!

here's my armory collection as an example: quintessence

i use the term "tracking" loosely mainly because unlike WarcraftPets.com, you can't select which ones you desire but have yet to collect. currently the armory will only show you which ones you've acquired and which ones you haven't added yet. also, unlike WarcraftPets, the armory doesn't show the companions that are no longer available or regional pets that you cannot collect.

however, it does have nifty roll over icons that shows the name of the pet plus its source. there's also an advanced filter option to help sort through all the pets. the advanced filter is lacking in some options such as the ability to sort by pet type though (*cough* WarcraftPets Bestiary *cough*). :P

although it's not quite as in depth or detailed as WarcraftPets, it's still a useful tool and it will come in handy should our favorite companion pet fansite ever go down for maintenance.

Fear My Lance

today is day 10! guess what was the first thing i did when i logged into the game? haha.

i'm very pleased to finally add the second jouster to my collection. the in-game mail was a nice touch too. it paints a cute picture of a rambunctious little bird that misses its brother. why farden talonstrike and his fellow guardians would put him in a box and not a cage, i have no idea. perhaps that's the only container they had on hand at the time? lol. :P

overall, i'm content and satisfied with the jousting pets. the initial quest chain wasn't too long or too much of a hassle, and it had some lore mixed in while tying in well with the other lvl 80 mount hyjal quests. the daily for the second jouster wasn't as RNG reliant as the pebble daily, but you still had to do the work and had to be patient about the daily resets. it's a good balance of everything.

Sit Kitty, Sit

as the image above shows, blizzard seems to have updated the older cat pets to include the sit and lie down animation in patch 4.2.

i'm really glad that the developers are taking the time to consider and even adjust some of the older pets to keep them on par with the newer ones. not all changes will be as welcome since it all comes down to preference. some like the originals to stay original, while others want to see their old time favorites receive some of the new swag. however, just the fact that blizzard is showing that they haven't forgotten that older companions need some love too is a good sign of balance and compromise.

personally, i think it's quite cute for the older cat models. the sit animation is slightly awkward since it was obviously designed for a larger and "fluffier" model, but i think that awkwardness just adds to its charm. it reminds me of my cat on a hot day; slightly reclined in a somewhat lazy position and trying to cool off haha.

Mount Hyjal Dailies Progress

if you're wondering if you're on track to unlocking the vendors for the crimson lasther, hyjal bear cub, and searing scorchling, you should currently have 53 marks and be on phase 2 of the storyline. that is, only if you started doing the dailies on the day of release and have been consistently completing all of them each day (and if you didn't complete any extra during the daily bug on the first few nights after patch release).

if my calculations are correct, players who fall into the above category will reach phase 2.5 (turn in 150 marks to either the druids of the talon or the shadow wardens) in approximately one week. those who are behind will obviously take more than one week.

after phase 2 and 2.5, i'm not as confident about the number of marks awarded per day. it was heavily bugged on the PTR when i was doing them, and they changed a few of the dailies while i was mid-way through. i'll update my post accordingly as soon as i advance into phase 3.

i'm eager to get the two new pets! curse having to wait for resets. :P