Do All The Things

I've been slowly but surely leveling a character on the beta to 90. This is in preparation for when Pet Battles is finally unlocked and available for testing. Well, not JUST for Pet Battles, but I would be lying if I said that hunting for those wild companions in level 90 zones wasn't a large motivator for me. :P

During my time spent leveling in Pandaria I've seen some absolutely lovely wild critters that I can't wait to capture for my collection. So far I'm particularly fond of the Grassland Hopper.

Being a druid allows me to temporarily "tame" one (if it's not flagged as a capturable wild pet), but unfortunately the Charm Woodland Creature ability is bugged. If I mount up after using this ability on a critter, my new little friend will freeze in place and not follow me. To work around this I've been using my travel form more and more.

Side note: I'm still not fond of the fact that the critter despawns if I zone or log off. Despite it being a one hour buff on the "pet", it seems like such a waste since it disappears whenever I have to hearth to do something mundane like deposit stuff in my bank or switch some talents around. I basically have to stay in the area that I found the creature in if I want to make the most of the glyph/ability.

Anyway, since I'm leveling alone on the beta, I've had ample time to think about what my goals should be once I reach level cap. Pet collecting won't be as simple as it has been in the past, where the biggest decision was to decide which new pet to collect first.

In MoP you'll have the option of focusing on collecting one of each, leveling your pets, battling other players, etc. There's just so much more to do in the expansion that even with my many hours of contemplation, I'm still not sure where I'm going to start.

Blizzard has grouped up the many tasks into three categories that I think sum up the general options very nicely:

- Collect
- Battle
- Level

Yet within those categories, there are even more subcategories!

I could choose to collect all the companions first. Then that would lead to the question of if I want focus on a specific pet family type. Wild pets only? Or my attention could be aimed towards collecting the new vendor or dropped pets. Another optional goal would be to capture/collect all wild pets of a certain quality. Although I doubt I'll be able to find a legendary wild companion for EVERY single one. :P

Concentrate on leveling? I could work on getting a specific team of three up to level cap. Or I could try to master a specific pet family type or even just wild pets.

After reaching 90, there will be so much to do - my head's already spinning with the possibilities. I'm definitely looking forward to it, but as I inch closer to max level, I can feel my anxiety start to rise.

It's not a bad thing, and in fact I think it's quite the opposite. Unlike my anxiety when it comes to say holiday loot bag dropped pets (*grumble*), this emotion stems more from excitement and eagerness than dread and worry. Must DO ALL THE THINGS!

For now I think I'm going to start with the idea of "collect" first, and then figure out a plan of action from there. Maybe cross the bridge once I get there. I'm pretty pumped up about it so whatever path I choose I just hope it will all work out for the best. :D