Death Knight and Monk Class Pets - Final Thoughts?

I collected my third and last DK pet this evening, and I wanted to record my thoughts on the entire experience while it's still fresh in my mind.

Initially, the task to level up a character, gear up enough to complete all necessary quests and campaigns, and then collect enough AP to earn Concordance on not just one but THREE weapons -- all of this seemed like a very daunting task. Doable, but it's nothing like anything pet collectors have experienced before.

I was, and still am, concerned about how many steps it takes to collect these pets. Even after finishing my ultimate goal of collecting all three DK pets, my point of view on the requirements for these pets is still shaky. I'm still undecided if it's too much for the average pet collector.

This is largely because my personal experience collecting these pets was relatively good, making me biased about the whole thing.

My own DK adventure was probably not average either. Instead of leveling to 110 and then waiting for AK40 to begin sinking AP into my weapons, I played my DK almost as much as my main. Even before AK40, I chased after all the AP that was available outside of raids and dungeons, and completed content as it was released. Every. Single. Day.

I know there are plenty of collectors who do not enjoy the class and/or do not have the time to play as I did. Looking at it from their perspective, collecting all three DK pets is indeed very intimidating. Again, doable but the carrot seems very far away. It's understandable how that can be demoralizing.

So in regards to the requirements for these class pets, I still can't say for certain whether or not I agree with how they were implemented, even after completing the task.

Do I think the requirements are too high or unfair? I don't know. I really don't know.

Is this task beyond that of a collector/player? Nope. It's doable. That's about as much as I can confirm without any bias.

Was it worth it? For me, yes. It's a unique experience that I'm sure I'll look back on and say, "I did that!" :)


Class #2 - Monk
I'm getting a better glimpse of the entire experience on my Monk.

She "took a break" once she reached 110 and completed the necessary prerequisite quests and storylines for the pet. Logging in mainly consisted of collecting/using follower mission rewards.

I believe I left her off at weapon level 30-35ish (all from miscellaneous AP rewards from leveling, questing, treasures, and follower missions), and only returned to play her once I was able to send her an AK40 Tome from my main toon.

With my Monk's AK at cap I'm only now beginning to collect AP in earnest. She's earned her mount and is diligently going through the Suramar for the (large) AP rewards.

Only a day after class mounts were unlocked and her weapon is already level 47. Much like my DK, my Monk's AP is mainly coming from quests, WQs and follower missions. Thankfully, Monk only needs one weapon with Concordance, unlike DK which needs three.

The increased AK is real boon IMO. It feels really good to see a huge amount of AP from a single token, filling up your weapon bar and alerting you that there are points to be spent. It's probably just psychological and all in my head, but I think this is what was needed to help make the "grind" more tolerable. Monk is not my preferred class, and I would much rather play other characters, but. This. Is. Doable.

If I didn't have as much time as I do, would I still feel the same way? Maybe. Maybe not.

I'd have to concede that yes, it can be accomplished overall. But the fact that the end result is SO far away due to time constraints or other factors... it makes it seem like it's NOT feasible.

But I want to reassure all collectors that it's an adventure like none other, and it's worth going for. If you enjoy collecting and love pets, just look at this as a long-term project. Developers have stated that there are no plans to remove the pets, so we'll hopefully have plenty of time (even post-Legion?) to collect everything.

Stay determined and dedicated. "Hard", "easy", whatever -- these terms are all relative and mean different things for different people. The bottom line is: It. Is. Doable. And YOU can do it!

Good luck to all and happy collecting. :)