End of Year Thoughts

Normally I'd try to go into the New Year hopeful for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, I don't think I can force myself to be positive this time around. Apologies if that's what you've come to expect from me. Upbeat and optimistic - really can't pretend to be that for anyone right now.


2018 was miserable for me personally and IRL (and it still is, even on the eve of 2019), and I have to admit it was pretty discouraging in terms of pet collecting. I'm definitely grateful for all of the new pets implemented; lots of fun and interesting ones to collect. But the negatives outweighed the positives in BFA, so it was difficult, and often impossible, to ignore or overlook the frustrations of collecting.

To be completely frank, it feels as if BFA has killed my desire to pet collect. I think it's a lot of little unfavorable factors in this expansion compounded onto each other that's led to this feeling. Mainly the loss of player agency, the ever-moving goalpost being pushed so far out that you're not even sure where to aim anymore, and the overwhelming sense that it doesn't actually have to be this way... but it is. Because money and the game-ifying of gamers.

I won't speculate how things are run or why certain decisions are made. Let's just say that I don't agree with a lot of the design choices in BFA so far. This is just my two cents, but instead of enticing and keeping many in the game, it's actually pushed many away. Many collectors have simply quit. Some have continued to stick it out. BFA is not an overwhelming success story in regards to satisfying collectors, in my opinion.

It wasn't all bad though. BFA was the second largest influx of battle pets at the release of an expansion, coming in behind only MoP. Some pets had some interesting stories, while others felt engaging enough despite being tedious or annoying to collect.

My desire to create content for my blog has dwindled, unfortunately. Maybe my enthusiasm has waned? Time has been an issue, and a lot of the time I'm basically writing duplicate things for WarcraftPets and my pet collecting blog. So there's also that. I don't blame this on BFA though. My slowdown probably started in Legion, although it wasn't as bad as it is now. If you followed for content, apologies. All I can recommend is to keep up with WarcraftPets for pretty much the same content, with less of a personal touch.

I still have opinions about all things battle pet and Pet Battle related. Less of a desire to share or explain them though. Feels like a lot of it just falls on deaf ears, and much of it are thoughts and opinions that I've held for years.

And I still enjoy my little companion friends, and I have a handful that I especially like to have at my side while adventuring in-game. Regardless, I'm finding it harder and harder to motivate myself to collect. Again, you can only entice people with a carrot on a stick if they can actually see the carrot.

Too much hyperbole and "feelings"? Oh well. Can't say I'm in the right mood or mind to argue or convince anyone of anything. So whatever. Agree to disagree and leave it at that.


(To be fair, I rolled 2 other times for his responses. Both results were just as negative, except they didn't really answer the question properly.)
Goodbye 2018. You sucked. Hard. And I really don't have much, if any, hope for 2019. I genuinely feel that it's going to get much worse before it gets better.

I don't plan on quitting pet collecting any time soon. Just... I don't know. Blah. Perhaps I'm merely projecting my unhappy RL onto my gaming life. Or maybe it's a reflection of each other. I don't know.

All the best to everyone else though. If you have hope and motivation, hang onto that. Keep collecting if you can and if it still brings you pleasure. Something, something... have a safe and happy New Year.

How to Prepare For Patch 8.1 Pet Collecting

Things to do to prep for 8.1 (coming week of December 11):

• lvl a toon with Engineering skill of at least 125 (new crafted pet)
• grind to Exalted on a toon (or all toons?) for Proudmoore Admiralty (A), Order of Embers (A), Talanji's Expedition (H), and Storm's Wake (A) reputations (paragon cache dropped pets)
• save all/any reputation-granting items/quests for the reputations listed above
• save up at least 500 dubloons (2 new known vendor pets + 1 new pet toy)

Things to do to prep for post-8.1 content:

• lvl a toon to 120 + Enchanting skill of at least 125 (new crafted pet, recipe drops off of King Rastakhan encounter (#6) in upcoming Battle of Dazar'alor raid, unsure if from all difficulties)

All of the above can be disregarded if you have lots of gold and/or are planning on trading for some of the new battle pets. Pets related to the above are all cageable.

Did I miss anything? Please let me know!

These are the main things pet collectors can start working on now. I'll update this list if anything else pops up or comes to mind.

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Overview of 8.1 Pet Battle content (available immediately after patch-release):

• Gnomeregan Pet Battle Dungeon (Normal & Challenge mode)
• Family Battler challenges
• New Pet Journal increase, Interdimensional Pet Portal (requires already having upgraded to Pocket Pet Portal)
• New Island Expedition pets
• New Warfront rare elite dropped pets

Breakdown of sources for upcoming new pets:

• 7 vendor pets (all require unique currency, not gold)
• 2 achievement pets
• 2 profession pets (Enchanted Tiki Mask won't be available until Battle of Dazar'alor raid)
• 1 wild pet
• 1 quest reward pets
• 29 dropped pets
  

  - 4 from paragon caches
  - 8 from Darkshore Warfront
  - 10 from Island Expeditions
  - 4 from misc new rare mobs
  - 3 raid drops (unavailable until Battle of Dazar'alor raid)

BlizzCon 2018 Notes For Pet Collectors

Quick notes on things announced, previewed, or hinted at during BlizzCon 2018 WoW 'What's Next' panel, plus my own speculation. Focusing on topics and stuff that pet collectors/battlers will likely be interested in.

December 11 is when we can expect Patch 8.1.5. Notable previously unannounced content for pet collectors in this patch:

• Children's Week updates - Kul Tiras and Zandalar orphans (could this mean new/more battle pets?!)
• Brawler's Guild returns - Unknown if the 2 existing battle pets will still be available to purchase from the Brawler's Guild vendor, and/or if there will be new additions.

NOTE: Much of Patch 8.1 has already been datamined and previewed. Lots more than just the above is coming; this is just stuff that was not yet revealed until today's panel.


After that, next major content patch will be Patch 8.2.5 (Rise of Azshara):

• New continent to discover/explore, Nazjatar - new battle pets (baby naga!)
• Mechagon Megadungeon - 8 bosses, Mythic only, but there was brief mention of new rewards *cough* pets...?
• More Island Expedition maps - Very likely more pet rewards, but it's unknown how we'll obtain them.

And last but not least, where do I submit my official request for this creepy squishie-tentacle-eyeball-boi to be a collectible battle pet? :P


That's it for now. Will update if there's anything else!

New Charity Pet 2018 - Whomper!

I haven't made a blog post in a while - most of the new/news stuff lately goes onto WarcraftPets, so I felt it was a bit redundant to also write a personal blog post about it.

But today is a special day, BlizzCon 2018! And they JUST announced and released a new battle pet! Whomper!


Whomper is this year's charity pet, with 100% of the adoption fee going to Code.org (through December 31, 2018). It's a nonprofit organization that focuses on computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and minority groups.

There is also a separate Whomper plushie that you can buy! Proceeds from this toy will also be donated to the nonprofit organization listed above.

I have to admit, although he's a cutie, I'm a little disappointed. Whomper's idle animations are pretty much the same as the animations for grummles and/or pygmies. So it's not an entirely unique battle pet. Nonetheless, he is adorable (and HUGE - screenshot above is without any pet biscuits) and I will adopt him without any hesitations. :)

We'll have to wait and see how much this pet (and plushie) raise for charity. For a full list of previous charity pets (and toys), here's an updated list from last year.

Island Expedition Pets: A Discussion & Suggestions

Edit: Coincidently, developer Jeremy Feasel Tweeted this tonight, almost right as I finished up this post! Apparently drop rates might have been adjusted, although it's not clear what reward exactly has been increased. Doubloons? Azerite Power? Pets/mounts?

Seeing more drops on your Expeditions?

— Jeremy Feasel (@Muffinus) August 30, 2018

I still stand by what I've written below, but it's good to see developers acknowledging some adjustments will/could be made to make Island Expeditions a more enjoyable experience. Still, I hope Blizzard takes into consideration what I've discussed.

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There are a total of 28 battle pets (one of which, Inky, is pictured above) that randomly drop at the end of an Island Expedition. Six of these are not cageable. At least one of these that we know of comes in multiple colors (permanently stays a color when adding it to the journal, NOT a color-changer), and players can receive duplicates.

To put it bluntly, many pet collectors attempting to collect these pets are finding it extremely underwhelming and un-fun.

It's currently unclear what factors affect whether or not players have a CHANCE to be rewarded a pet at the end of an Island Expedition. Yes, a chance, not even a guarantee, as players have met certain criteria multiple times (such as win or play on a specific difficulty), yet cannot produce consistent results. This makes it frustrating because it feels as if there is zero progress being made toward the end goal: collect all Island Expedition pets.

It would help collectors feel much more inclined to continue the search for these pets if there were known factors to help guide them.

• Does Island difficulty matter? If so, how?
• Does winning vs losing mean higher chance for a pet?
• Do players need to defeat specific mobs during the scenario?
• Do players have to beat the other team by a certain margin or in a time limit?
• etc.

Any other information would be helpful and appreciated so collectors know they're not doing the "wrong" thing and are on the right path. No one likes to feel like they're wasting their time, and the feeling of realizing you could have been doing X instead of the incorrect Y is devastating.

This combined with how awkward Island Expeditions can sometimes be, especially if in a PuG (it's a miracle if all members actually stick together and work as a team, instead of wandering off to do their own thing), makes these scenarios fairly tedious and not fun. Many collectors view it as a grind for the sake of a grind, with only the tiniest hope of a pet at the end.

Giving collectors some information would absolutely give them a better idea of 'the how and what' rather than giving the generic advice to, "just run more and hope RNG is on your side." Knowing and understanding the factors would make it feel less hopeless and lacking in progress, which would make it a bit more enjoyable.


Some Suggestions
In addition to letting collectors know 'the how and what' as noted above, I wholeheartedly would love to see these Island Expedition pets available for purchase with doubloons some time in the future. We don't have to call it a "catch-up mechanic", but ok, who are we kidding. It would be a catch-up mechanic.

At the moment, I'm finding very little use for doubloons. I only very rarely buy the consumables that slightly boost my performance during an Expedition. There's just nothing really compelling me to do so. So in the end, the currency is starting to stack up and yet I don't have any real meaningful and fun way to spend them.

It would be mercy upon all collectors if the Island Expedition pets could be bought with all of this new currency that we're accumulating. Especially toward the end of the expansion. Most of the time all we get is Azerite Power as a reward for completing an Island Expedition, but when Azerite Power doesn't matter as much anymore and would therefore be a less than mediocre reward, what's a more appropriate reward than to offer up pets to purchase in exchange for all of your hard-earned doubloons?

Collectors would still need to grind these scenarios to collect doubloons; it's still random whether or not players receive any currency at all. There's no suggestion for a "freebie" here.

Offering the option to buy the Island Expedition pets with doubloons would also give collectors a concrete objective. A tangible objective more often than not provides more motivation to grind out activities because players can actively see their progression. It would feel more productive, fun, and a better experience overall.

Another suggestion that I've seen float around is to increase the drop rate of the pets, period. My only problem with this is that it doesn't necessarily address the problem with the piling up of doubloons and nothing fun to use them on.

Not to mention duplicate pets can drop, and some would probably prefer having more control over which pets they receive in order to round-out their collections. Missing the X-colored pet? Ok, well I'll focus on collecting enough currency to buy it off the vendor and try my luck there.

Edit: Another suggestion, "bad luck protection" for Island Expeditions. After X number of runs (could even be a range, such as 10 - 20 runs, so as to keep it RNG-esque) you're more likely to get a pet reward than not. Something like this could work too, although the RNG aspect of it could still prove frustrating.


In Closing
Island Expeditions are a neat concept, and in theory are quite fun. I could see this being taken to the competitive stage. However, many collectors do not care to be the #1 Island Expedition-runner in all of NA or whatever. As the actual achievement suggests, "I'm [only] Here for the Pets". :P

Some additional information would go a long way to helping collectors feel more willing to run these scenarios endlessly. Many are not against a grind, but if progress is invisible it makes it more difficult to continue.

Many collectors would appreciate some consideration toward the Island Expedition pet rewards. Allow us to purchase them with doubloons - this will not take away from participation, as we'll still need to grind Expeditions for an RNG chance at currency. It will provide a specific goal for collectors, tangible progress, while also making use of the already existing currency.

I hope Blizzard takes all of this into consideration and gives it some thought. Some compromise would be appreciated - I want to enjoy this new feature, and hopefully I've outlined how it can be improved. :)

Battle For Azeroth - Unlocking Vendors and Vendor Pets

UPDATE: As of Patch 8.1, players can obtain an item, A Shady Message, which unlocks a follower mission. Complete this mission at your War Table (on your faction boat) to unlock a vendor that will sell the opposite faction's pets.

• Horde vendor - Olly (sells Alliance pets for Polished Pet Charms)
• Alliance vendor - Dodger (sell Horde pets for Polished Pet Charms)

Certain restrictions apply, such as the vendors will not sell pets gated by reputation or Bumbles, for example, which is locked behind an Alliance-only achievement.

Currently the only known way of obtaining the item that begins the follower mission is winning a PVP Pet Battle match (queued).

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To my surprise, many of the vendor pets in BFA cannot be obtained in a straightforward manner. A lot have prerequisites, such as a certain quest or achievement completed, or rare elite killed, etc. If you don't meet the requirements, the pets will not appear on the vendor, or the vendor will not be available.

After completing a prerequisite, you should receive some sort of in-game mail from the vendor that now has the pet for sale (not always the case, I've yet to receive any mail - this could be a bug).

I've put together a list of details from Wowhead comments, WarcraftPets and the Bnet Pet Battle forum on how to unlock certain vendors and pets on those vendors.

I'm almost positive that there are more vendor pets that have prerequisites, but I haven't been able to find info on them yet. If you know of any additional ones please let me know!

Unlocking Vendors:

Nigel Rifthold ([A] vendor sells 5 pets)

Note: You do not have to do the quest chain to "save" Nigel before completing the process below.

• Head to Anyport (western coast of Drustvar)
• Buy 10 Tirasreli Gourmet Chocolate from Xun Xun Sweetflower
• Travel to 52,31 in Drustvar (west of Fallhaven, just above the "F" in the name)
• Climb up a hill and enter a tree house
• Loot the chest that's inside if you haven't already
• Click on the chest a second time (consumes the chocolates), Nigel will appear and be a vendor.

Shoak ([H] & [A] vendor sells 4 pets)

• Horde - Complete Killing Cannibals, Just Say No to Cannibalism and Shoak's on the Menu to get this NPC to appear in Gloom Hollow, Nazmir.

• Alliance - Head to 55,36 and find Kajosh. Complete the quest chain. Shoak will appear in the Horde camp, Gloom Hallow (Alliance can interact with him, but you'll agro the camp).

Jenoh ([H] vendor sells 5 pets)

• Complete the quest chain that starts with A Lost Flute

Unlocking Specific Vendor Pets:

Ranishu Runt - sold by Jenoh (H)

• Complete Jenoh's quest chain, Charging The Batteries, and Ranishu Are Resources

Accursed Hexxer - sold by Shoak (H) OR Blind Wunja (A & H)

• Complete An Ancient Curse

Swamp Toad - sold by Shoak (H?)

• Complete the Turtle Power storyline, which then opens the quest chain that begins with To Gloom Hollow

Lil' Tika - sold by Happy Holaua (H)

• Complete Lil' Tika

Lil' Benfon - sold by Happy Holaua (H)

• Complete Cala Cruzpot's quest chain

Child of Jani - sold by Happy Holaua (H)

• Earn Get Hek'd achievement

Mechanical Prairie Dog - sold by Dana Pull (A)

• Complete the quest chain that starts with An Explosive Opportunity

Greatwing Macaw - sold by Dana Pull (A)

• Complete the quest Rodrigo's Revenge

Smoochums - sold by Nigel Rifthold (A)

• Complete Abby Lewis' quest chain

Frenzied Cottontail - sold by Nigel Rifthold (A)

• Kill the Cottontail Matron rare elite

Drustvar Piglet - sold by Nigel Rifthold (A)

• Complete the quests at Carver's Harbor, Drustvar, ending with Cured Ham

Battle For Azeroth: Reputation Battle Pets

There are 8 battle pets in BFA that require reputation with a specific faction. Some are Neutral and can be earned by any character, while others are faction-specific. Thankfully all of these pets are cageable, so if you don't have one toon for both Alliance and Horde, you might be able to trade/buy the opposing sides' pets.

NEUTRAL

Azerite Puddle

• Requires Revered with Champions of Azeroth
• Sold by Magni Bronzebeard in Silithus for 200 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing World Quests in Silithus (unlocks at lvl 120)

Azeriti

• Requires Revered with Champions of Azeroth
• Sold by Magni Bronzebeard in Silithus for 100 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing World Quests in Silithus (unlocks at lvl 120)

Cou'pa

• Requires Revered with Tortollan Seekers
• Sold by Collector Kojo in Stormsong Valley and Zuldazar for 200 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing quests and World Quests in Kul Tiras and Zandalar

ALLIANCE

Corlain Falcon

• Requires Revered with Order of Embers
• Sold by Quartermaster Alcorn in Drustvar for 200 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing quests and World Quests in Drustvar

Lil' Siege Tower

• Requires Revered with 7th Legion
• Sold by Vindicator Jaelaana in Boralus for 200 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing the Alliance War Campaign, doing World Quests in Zandalar (unlocked at level 120), follower missions, and quests

Seabreeze Bumblebee

• Requires Revered with Storm's Wake
• Sold by Sister Lilyana in Stormsong Valley for 250 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by quests and World Quests in Stormsong Valley

HORDE

Lil' War Machine

• Requires Revered with The Honorbound
• Sold by Ransa Greyfeather in Zuldazar for 200 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing the Horde War Campaign, doing World Quests in Kul Tiras (unlocked at level 120), follower missions, and quests

Tragg the Curious

• Requires Revered with Talanji's Expedition
• Sold by Provisioner Lija in Nazmir for 75 Polished Pet Charms
• Cageable
• Earn reputation by completing quests and World Quests in Nazmir

Battle For Azeroth: Wild Battle Pet Colors

BFA adds 27 new wild pets to 6 new Horde and Alliance zones. Many of these pets come in more than one color, so if you're a color-collector (like myself) get ready for some hunting!

Here are examples of the different skins (previews from BFA Beta - things could change prior to release). Warning, image heavy!

PVP Battle Pet Rewards: Suggestions From A Collector

Let's talk about the new PVP battle pet rewards, shall we? Yes, we're opening that can of worms.

2 sets of Honor rewards already exist: the Dutiful companions and Wyrmtongue pets (both with faction-specific pets). These are awarded upon earning Honor Level 5 and Honor Level 20 respectively.

BFA adds a new set of faction pets to earn from PVP'ing, two crabs, Sir Snips and Bucketshell. You need to reach Honor Level 400 for these new pets.

If the jump from 20 to 400 seems like a massively gigantic one, it's because it is. Even objectively, the number 400 is such a huge leap from 20 (a 380 difference), nevermind how much Honor is involved in that.

Speaking of which, let's explore how much. A player from the Bnet Pet Battle forums did the math, and let's just say it's pretty discouraging from a non-PVP'ers point of view. (note: calculations aren't taking into consideration Honor is account-wide and alts can boost daily earnings)


4.3 years of PVP WQs for one character. I honestly don't even know if World Quests will still be a feature that far down the line.

To be frank, I think it's unreasonable. Disclaimer: I'm biased, and I'm viewing this from a pet collector's and non-PVP'ers point of view.

I'm not saying that battle pet rewards shouldn't be in PVP (or any other non-Pet Battle activity), but that huge gap between the existing PVP rewards and the new ones is inconsistent and excessive. Even the mounts rewarded from the new Honor system don't have such a large jump from goalpost to goalpost. You receive a mount from Honor 15, 40, 70, 125, 150, 250, and 500.

Am I suggesting Blizzard add more battle pets in between to make it similar to the mounts? NO. PLEASE. NO. I'm simply pointing out the ridiculousness of the requirement jump for the battle pets. (The whole "pets = mounts" (which I don't necessarily believe) is an entirely different discussion.)

Why does it matter if it's unreasonable and discouraging? It's pushing away potential participants. Players who feel it's impossible to attain a goal will not take part and/or simply quit. This isn't a threat. It's human nature. It's much easier to press on and continue when the desired outcome feels obtainable.

Collectors want to complete their collection as much as possible. If that's no longer possible due to a reward that's readily in the game, it's incredibly disheartening and makes it that much easier to never get started and/or stop.

     
Suggestions
Here are a couple of suggestions on how to adjust the PVP rewards in the future. I'd prefer compromises instead of 'all or nothing'. I'm sure there are other ideas that address collectors' concerns as well.

Rotate the rewards after the next PVP season ends. Or even after BFA ends. Place the crab pets at a lower tier in the future.

This was already done with the Dutiful and Wyrmtongue pets at the launch of Patch 8.0 (they were awarded in a different order prior to the pre-patch), which made the later pets more accessible to those that were unable to obtain them previously. It was a very welcome change that did not take anything away from the system. My hope is that Sir Snips and Bucketshell will also be rotated to a (much) lower and more reasonable reward tier. Perhaps Honor 75 or Honor 100.

Actual PVP'ers will get the prestige of owning the newest items first, but others will also get a chance to collect them, even if they have to wait for a while. It won't seem like an impossible feat for non-PVP'ers, and it will give others that aren't hardcore in X-activity a chance too. It won't be as discouraging, and would encourage continual, active participation. Because let's face it, who wants to keep chasing after a carrot if they can't even see the carrot anymore?

Another suggestion is to place "old" PVP season rewards on a vendor, purchasable for Marks of Honor. Nothing is removed, and this would also make room for newer rewards (which I'm sure PVP'ers would appreciate). Give non-PVP'ers a way to earn Marks consistently, and it won't feel like an impossible task.

And yes, players will still need to grind and participate to be eligible for rewards. These suggestions aren't meant to be seen as an "easy win" for anyone. Many collectors are willing to put effort into non-Pet Battle activities, but within reason.

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TLDR; Pet collectors feel the gap between Honor 20 and Honor 400 for the pets is excessive and unreasonable.

Suggestions on future changes that will not take away rewards, but make seemingly impossible feats more doable:

1. Rotate the rewards so that the crab pets appear at a lower tier in future PVP seasons (or at the end of the expansion).

or

2. Once the PVP season ends, take existing rewards and place them on a vendor for Marks of Honor. Add a way for non-PVP'ers to earn Marks. Add new rewards to earn for active PVP'ers.

And I think this goes without saying, but Please. Stop. Adding Battle Pets. As PVP. Rewards. There are other (better) rewards for PVP'ers to show off... that's for another discussion though. :P

Patch 8.0 - Miscellaneous Notes & Known Issues

Patch 8.0 this week! Pet Battle patch notes can be found here.

Miscellaneous changes/updates and known issues:

- Recruit-A-Friend system was updated. Adjusted requirements and a more streamlined process. Updated guide on RAF'ing yourself for the pets.

- Vendor that sells the PVP pet rewards was not updated for Patch 8.0. After earning the Dutiful and Wyrmtongue companions on one faction, you should be able to purchase the other faction's pet. However, the vendor still lists previous-patch Prestige requirements instead of the new Honor Level achievements. Hopefully Blizzard sorts that out soon.

Update: Appears to be fixed. Eligible players should be able to purchase the pets from Captain Roberts (A) and Sarah the Savage (H).

- 'Polymorphed wild pets' trick possibly nerfed in 8.0. These wild pets show up as the polymorphed version in the Pet Journal, but appear as the normal (actual) pet when summoned.

Update: Does not seem to work anymore, even on freshly polymorphed wild pets post-patch.

- Brutus, Rooter, and Thundering Serpent Hatchling not showing up properly even if collected when re-importing collection to WarcraftPets (resulting in an incorrect total number of unique pets collected).

Update: It looks like this issue is being resolved for a few. Some may still see an incorrect total pets collected. Hopefully a full fix will come in a day or two.

- Those that completed the Uuna storyline will notice that she's missing her flower crown, wand, and teddy bear when summoned. She still has her flower crown when viewed in the Pet Journal, but that's it.

Update: Known issue, developers are investigating.

- The original "shiny" Mountain Cottontail turned into a color-changer in 8.0 instead of using the golden bunny skin. It doesn't seem to use the gold skin in its rotation, despite it appearing with it in the Pet Journal. The new silver-shiny Mountain Cottontail remains unchanged.

- Some players are experiencing bugs while in-game and attempting to Pet Battle. Issues range from, but are not limited to, not being able to swap pets in and out of the active team, "locked" Pet Battles despite only one WoW account on the Bnet account, to unable to initiate a pet encounter.

Update: Outdated Pet Battle addons are likely the cause. Either disable or update your addons and try to Pet Battle again.

That's it for now. Will add to this list if anything else pops up.

Pre-Expansion 8.0 Pet Charm Changes

The pre-expansion 8.0 patch is on the PTR, another reminder that BFA is fast approaching!

Normally, nothing would be that notable for pet collectors and battlers, but this time around there is a significant change that's happening that we'll want to keep in mind.

In 8.0 the Pet Battle currency, Pet Charms, will be receiving an update. They will be renamed to Shiny Pet Charms.

On top of that most of the Pet Battle vendors will NO LONGER ACCEPT this existing currency in exchange for their wares in the pre-expansion patch. Instead, items from these vendors will require the upcoming, new currency, Polished Pet Charms. However, these can only be earned in BFA from a couple of quests but mainly from Pet Battle World Quests in the new zones.

What does this mean for us? Spend your existing Pet Charms *BEFORE* Patch 8.0. According to Wowhead, the earliest we might see the pre-expansion patch is July 3, but in general, the pre-patch is speculated to come early July. If you want to make the most of your existing Pet Charms or need battlestones to upgrade quality or pet levels, spend those charms before next month!

It should be noted, though, that we will not be losing any of our Charms at any point. The Pet Battle vendors are simply switching over to use new currency. We will still be able to use existing Pet Charms at vendors that sell existing pets and toys. Any new pets/toys from BFA vendors will require the new currency, Polished Pet Charms.

To summarize the important changes:

- Spend Pet Charms before July 3rd! *update* July 17 is the newest estimated date for 8.0
- Pet Charms renamed to Shiny Pet Charms in 8.0
- No Charms lost during pre-expansion patch or in expansion
- New currency coming in BFA, Polished Pet Charms
- Vendors selling battlestones, pet bandages, pet consumables, etc. will require new currency in 8.0
- Ultimate Battle-Training Stone increased in price as well as requiring new currency
- Existing Charms can still be used to purchase existing vendor pets and toys
- Polished Pet Charms earned from BFA quests and Pet Battle WQs
- Polished Pet Charms required to buy pet consumables as well as BFA vendor pets

Battle For Azeroth: Prestige Ranks to Honor Ranks

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Blizzard has decided to add another 2 battle pets to the PVP reward system. Sir Snips (A) and Bucketshell (H). Both are the reward for Honor Rank 400. Yes. 400. I'm hoping that's a typo, and they meant Honor 40, but it's looking like that is the actual rank we'll need to aim for in BFA.

Numbers are still being adjusted on Beta and the PTR, so I've included updated info on what you'll need prior to the PVP system changes for both Honor 5 and new info on Honor 400. Keep in mind that these are estimates and not exact numbers. Things could also change at any point between now and the pre-expansion 8.0 patch release. (The revamp to the PVP system is coming with the pre-expansion 8.0 Patch, so there's not much time left to earn Prestige/Honor prior to the updates.)

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With the changes to PVP coming in BFA, there are still lingering questions that I have about it all. Will there be PVP-PVE options, such as Tower WQs, in the expansion? How quick/slow and easy/hard will it be to reach the necessary rank(s) for the companions? What will the Prestige Rank to Honor Rank conversion look like? Luckily the latter question was answered!

A Google Doc spreadsheet (by Vjaera-Proudmoore) was posted in the Bnet Pet Battle forum, and it basically answers what Prestige Rank(s) you'll need to reach Honor Rank 5 in BFA.

There's also an addon (ZigiPrestige found on Wowinterface) that you can use that will automatically calculate it for you, but I wanted to use the spreadsheet to calculate different scenarios.

If you only care about collecting the PVP companions (and don't mind skipping the other PVP rewards), and have already reached Prestige 1 on a character, you will only need to aim for Honor Rank 5 in BFA. This is because Blizzard has essentially switched the pet rewards around, offering up the current reward for Prestige 7 as the initial PVP pet reward in the expansion. DISCLAIMER: This could change at any point before release - be aware that nothing is guaranteed.

Under the current reward system:

Wyrmtongue pets (Prestige 1)
Dutiful companions (Prestige 7)

Under the BFA reward system:

Dutiful companions (Rank 5)
Wyrmtongue pets (Honor 20)

If you reached Prestige 1 during Legion, you've collected what will be the higher reward already. Don't beat yourself up grinding super hard to earn more Prestige Ranks now. But should you stop completely? Probably not.

Based on the spreadsheet's calculations, here's what you'll need prior to BFA to reach Honor 5 in in the expansion. NOTE: Numbers are probably not exact, so expect some necessary adjustments come launch.

To reach roughly Honor 5, you need the following prior to Patch 8.0:

• 1 toon @ Prestige 5, Honor 1+
• 2 to 3 toons @ Prestige 2, Honor 2+ (each)
• 4 toons @ Prestige 2 (each)
• 9 toons @ Prestige 1, Honor 2+ (each)
• 10 toons @ Prestige 1 (each)

UPDATED June 21 (new calculations)

• 1 toon @ Prestige 2
• 2 toons @ Prestige 1

For roughly Honor 400:

• 1 toon @ Prestige ~80
• 2 toons @ Prestige ~40
• 3 toons @ Prestige ~26, Honor ~45 (each)
• 4 toons @ Prestige ~20, Honor ~15 (each)
• 5 toons @ Prestige ~16, Honor ~20 (each)
• 10 toons @ Prestige ~8, Honor ~22 (each)
• 15 toons @ Prestige ~5, Honor ~40 (each)

Feel free to input your own characters' numbers into the spreadsheet to determine your Honor Rank in BFA. You'll need to copy it to your personal Google Docs account so that you can edit it; instructions can be found on the spreadsheet.

Should you keep grinding Prestige now? Personally, I think so, yes. But go at whatever pace feels comfortable for you. At the very least, I highly recommend earning Prestige 1 right now, during Legion. That way come BFA you'll only have to worry about reaching the new lowest milestone (Honor Rank 5).

Again, all of this could change. Values could change, conversion rates could change, the order of pets rewarded could change. Even additional companion rewards could be added. Take this information as just a guideline and not an absolute. We'll have to wait and see when BFA releases what the final outcome will be.

Overall though, this change should be beneficial for most pet collectors. Crossing my fingers that it sticks and everything follows through as previewed.

Battle For Azeroth Beta: Keeping Track

Pet Journal was heavily updated in the latest Beta patch. So much new information! But, as always, things could change, and everything datamined/discovered might not be the final result.

In addition to Pet Journal updates, there were other things, but keep an eye on WarcraftPets' front page for more information on that stuff (I'll have something up in the next few days).

Instead, I wanted to focus on breaking down what pets are coming in BFA. The full list of upcoming expansion pets and their sources can be found on WarcraftPets.

Here's a more in-depth look at what we'll be collecting in the near future:

GENERAL

• Current BFA battle pet total: 88 120 (as of May 31) 122 (as of June 7)

Vendor: 32

Drop: 40

Wild and Pet Battle: 28

Achievement: 8

Quest: 5

Profession: 7

Unknown: 2

FAMILIES (updated June 7)

• Aquatic: 30
• Beast: 24
• Critter: 8
• Dragonkin: 1
• Elemental: 12
• Flying: 19
• Humanoid: 3
• Magic: 9
• Mechanical: 8
• Undead: 8

Note: There might be a handful of pets listed under the incorrect family type. Waiting on a future Beta patch to check for updates.

The second list might be especially important for collectors. There are significant Pet Charm changes coming, and those that want to dump a large quantity of them into battlestones (like myself) might need/want some direction on what to buy. Hopefully this list helps a little in that department.

I'll try to keep this list updated, but aaahhh so many pets! XD

Battle For Azeroth: Speculation On Unaccounted For Battle Pets

This past week's Beta patch added SO MUCH Pet Battle content! Lots of new pets, pet models, achievements, and WQs were finally unlocked. You can read more about it all here on WarcraftPets.

Despite so many pets added, we don't know much about a lot of them. The Pet Journal is still largely incomplete, with many of the new entries missing stats and movesets. (Keep in mind that this can present the illusion that all of these pets can't battle, but we don't know for sure yet which will be non-combat pets. As always, be wary of datamining - things could change!)

Out of the current total of 73 new pets, there are still 24 unaccounted for. There's little to no information on where they will come from at the moment. At least not that I've found! :P

• Abyssal Eel
• Accursed Hexxer
• Barnacled Hermit Crab
• Bilefang Skitterer
• Bloodfeaster Larva
• Blue Flitter
• Carnivorous Lasher
• Child of Jani
• Colonel Shucks
• Crimson Frog
• Drustvar Piglet
• Francois
• Frenzied Cottontail
• Freshwater Pincher
• Greatwing Macaw
• Lil' Ben'fon
• Mechanical Prarie Dog
• Miimii
• Ranishu Runt
• Sandstinger Wasp
• Swamp Toad
• Tiny Direhorn
• Wicker Pup
• Zandalari Shinchomper

Speculation
I found a few mobs (that aren't battle pets or critters) of the same name and/or similar model, so it's possible that a few of these will be world drops from those creatures.

Another possible hypothesis is that many of these will be rewards from the new Island Expedition feature coming in BFA. It's a completely new aspect of the game, so it wouldn't surprise me if lots of cosmetic rewards were included to give players even more incentive to participate. If this is true, the next question is whether or not acquiring them will rely on RNG, grinding/effort, or something else entirely.

One pet that might be easier to find, but not so easy to collect, is Miimii (aka: possibly Lagan 2.0 lol). There's also a Mythic Dungeon achievement that involves an NPC of the same name, How to Keep a Mummy. The achievement doesn't have any reward attached to it (yet?), but even if the achievement itself doesn't award anything, maybe completing it will trigger a special event where players can obtain this pet.


If Miimii will indeed be the reward for an achievement, it's got a what I call 'the Lagan complex' - the item that teaches the pet is Bind On Use, however it cannot be caged once it's in your Pet Journal. If Miimii is from an event caused by completing the achievement, and not the achievement itself, then it's not as bad. Still inconsistent binding mechanics and confusing, but less of an issue than Lagan.

Other ways these pets might be collected, just off the top of my head: Purchasable using the new currency, Polished Pet Charms. New Pet Battle dungeon rewards. Celestial Tournament-esque event. Aaaaand so on hehe.

Anyway, this is all just speculation so far. If you have information on where the pets listed above will come from in BFA, please let me know!

Battle Pets To Collect Before Battle For Azeroth

It's been a while since my last blog post - so long that BFA Alpha has turned into Beta and we should be able to test some new Pet Battle content in the near future.

With the expansion roughly 4 months away, give or take a handful of days, I figured it's about time I put together a "to collect" list for anyone looking to focus their attention on certain battle pets before BFA is released.

To be clear: No pets are being removed that I'm aware of. All existing Legion battle pets should still be available in BFA.

However, the difficulty level and how tedious it is to collect could change. Some pets will get tougher to obtain, but not impossible. Other pets will be easier to collect, but only after our player power level has increased significantly. This post will hopefully give some direction on collecting pets that could potentially cause hair loss post-Legion. ;)

Here are the battle pets that I recommend collecting *now* rather than later, in no particular order. (I won't be going into detail on how to collect every single pet on this list. The information's out there!)


★ PVP Prestige Pets

UPDATE #2: New blog post detailing what Prestige Rank(s) we'll need to reach roughly Honor Rank 5 in BFA.

UPDATE: As of May 15's Beta patch, we now know how the existing PVP Prestige companions will be obtained in the expansion. You'll need to reach Honor level 5 for the Dutiful companions, and Honor level 20 for the Wyrmtongue companions (full list of BFA Honor achievements/rewards here). This switch (Dutiful being obtained first and the Wyrmtongue pets second) is excellent news for those that have earned Prestige 1, but are still far away from Prestige 7. In BFA, they should be able to earn the companions that they were unable to reach during Legion.

• Alliance Enthusiast - Prestige Rank 1
• Dutiful Gruntling - Prestige Rank 7
• Dutiful Squire - Prestige Rank 7
• Horde Fanatic - Prestige Rank 1

Absolutely my highest recommended companions to focus on in Legion right now. Actually, it should have been everyone's highest priority months ago. Blizzard has stated that these PVP rewards will still be available in BFA, however with the prestige system going away being revamped, it's still unclear how we'll obtain these pets in the expansion. Same way as now? Or...?

There was recently a developer Q&A in which PVP gear was mentioned as being a random drop from a cache, and I can't help but wonder if these pets will be going the same way -- random drops. Who knows?! So if you prefer a guarantee over RNG, absolutely work on leveling up those prestige ranks NOW. You have static milestones to hit; no RNG to mess up your day. Make the most of the current situation (even if you despise PVP like I do)!

★ Achievement Pets

• Nightmare Treant - Family Familiar

This is the one achievement pet from Legion (outside of dungeon and raid achievements) that will take time simply due to the fact that WQs are random. You never know if today's Pet Battle WQs have any trainers that are necessary for this achievement.

You'll still be able to make progress on this in BFA, but it'll be a bit tedious since you'll have to travel back and forth from BFA content to Legion content (unless you have 110 alts you're willing to leave behind.)

★ Brawler's Guild Pets

• Clock'em - Brawler's Guild, Rank 3
• Tylarr Gronnden - Brawler's Guild, Rank 3

Similar to the PVP Prestige Pets, there's no indication that these pets will be removed and we can expect to see them in BFA.

However, the Brawler's Guild has the potential to go on hiatus once developers decide the current "season" needs to come to a close. They've put the Brawler's Guild on hold to implement changes and new encounters before, so it's likely they'll do it again in the future. When? Hiatus for how long? We don't know yet. So it's best to collect these two pets while they're available.

★ Dungeon/Raid Pets

• Lagan - Poor Unfortunate Souls
• Micronax - Glory of the Tomb Raider
• Dream Whelpling - after last boss (Xavius) in The Emerald Nightmare raid

Obviously these pets will become MUCH easier to obtain once we've vastly out-leveled and out-geared the content, but if you don't think you can wait that long, be sure to go after these pets while the content is still relatively current.

Once player power level reaches a certain point, solo'ing shouldn't be an issue. Except for probably Micronax - those achievements require *group* coordination to complete the meta.

★ Fishing Pets

• Ghost Shark - Ilyssia of the Waters (Good Friend)
• Sting Ray Pup - Conjurer Margoss (Good Friend)
• Trashy - Conjurer Margoss (Best Friend)

These pets can be obtained solo, however the reputation grind goes MUCH quicker when grouped with other people fishing as well. If slow and steady reputation grinding doesn't excite or interest you, collect these pets while there are still handfuls of people going after them too. The custom dungeon finder will sometimes have "fishing groups" that you can join; fishing buddies helping each other fish more fish!

★ Certain Class Pets

• Bloodbrood Whelpling, Frostbrood Whelpling, Vilebrood Whelpling - Death Knight
• Ban-Fu, Cub of Ban-Lu - Monk
• Crackers - Rogue

The majority of class-exclusive pets in Legion can be collected solo, but IIRC the 3 listed above involve some grouped content. Similar to the Dungeon/Raid pets, it'll get easier to solo once player power level has increased, but until then you're better off going after these pets while there's still participation in this content.

And that's about it, I think? These categories are my top, most recommended battle pets to focus on before BFA.

Are there any pets that I missed? Let me know in the comments. Good luck and happy collecting!

Shadow Raises Over $1.8 Million For Charity

Today Blizzard revealed that Shadow raised over $1.8 million for charity!

This amount includes sales from both the battle pet and the Shadow plushie (between September 2017 and December 2017). It would be interesting to see how much was raised from just pet sales, but I guess this will have to suffice.

In any case, it's wonderful that players helped raise so much for charitable causes.

Here's an updated list of money raised from battle pet (and accompanying plush) sales over the years:

• 2017 - Shadow (AND plushie) raised over $1.8 million for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief and the IFRC Disaster Relief Fund
• 2016 - Mischief (AND plushie) raised over $2.5 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2015 - Brightpaw raised over $1.7 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2014 - Argi raised over $1.9 million for the Red Cross Ebola Relief Efforts in Africa
• 2013 - Alterac Brew Pup raised over $1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2012 - Cinder Kitten raised over $2.3 million for the American Red Cross Superstorm Sandy relief efforts
• 2011 - Cenarion Hatchling raised over $1.9 million for the American Red Cross Japan Earthequake and Pacific Tsunami relief efforts
• 2010 - Moonkin Hatchling raised over $800,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
• 2009 - Pandaren Monk raised over $1.1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Estimated total: $15,000,000*

*includes money raised from sales of non-battle pet items

Battle For Azeroth: Datamining First Look

Let the datamining commence! It's begun -- we're getting our first look at new and updated content coming next expansion. There's literally too much to post about, so I'll mainly provide links you can browse through at your own leisure.

As mentioned at BlizzCon 2017, updated pet models are in the works for BFA. And now we have some previews of what's to come. Here's a list of creature models that are getting high resolution updates:

• Cats
• Chickens
• Crabs
• Pigs
• Prairie Dogs
• Turtles
• And More!

In addition to updated models, there are completely new models. These haven't been confirmed they'll be collectible pets, but there are SO MANY that I absolutely HOPE will be battle pets! Dinosaurs, bumble bees, weird/odd larva/creepy looking things, hermit crabs, etc.

Check out many updated/new models in detail on Wowhead's BFA Mount and Creature Models page! Also check out MMO-Champion's BFA model page!

There are also tons of new icons that hint at new pets, but we'll have to wait and see.

So far I'm pretty overwhelmed with all of the new things. I've got a mental checklist going while looking through all the shiny models -- the majority of which I'd love to collect. There are some actual pets that have been datamined as well, but there's little to no information on those so far. I'm just enjoying all of the eye candy until we learn more! ^^;

Uuna's Continued Story In 7.3.5

Over the past day or two the WoW Secrets Finding Discord server has been hard at work discovering the secret of Uuna's story. Datamined dialogue from the 7.3.5 PTR was used as sort of a guide to point secret-searchers in the right direction. Still, it took some time and a lot of trial and error. I was of no help, as usual haha. I'm just not creative enough to solve puzzles and riddles like this, I guess.

Anyway, Uuna's story has finally been revealed and players can now progress through all necessary steps to learn more about this Draenei ghost child's fate. It's heart-wrenching and totally worth it. The scenario that you eventually travel to was one of the best I've experienced so far. Very atmospheric, spooky, and just a deep feeling of dread. Fitting for the quest and very nicely done!


In 'A Dark Place' *eerie noises*
Uuna's story comes in 2 parts. First part (~10 steps) is helping her prepare to fight the darkness, finding her, and then saving her from darkness. The second part (~8 steps) is taking Uuna on a 'World Tour' and visiting specific locations. Here's a TL;DR version of what to do.

Note: After step 6 in part 1, you will not be able to summon Uuna. She still appears in your Pet Journal, but attempting to call her out will result in an error, 'Uuna is missin.' Don't panic though, this is just temporary! Once you save her from darkness you can summon her again.

I won't spoil the whole story or write a full guide, but if you're interested in completing this "questchain" (you don't actually complete quests, just "triggers" aka requirements to move onto the next step) I highly recommend checking out the Secrets Discord server and the #secret-progress channel: https://discord.gg/wowsecrets

Alternatively, you can read this Wowhead Guide to Uuna's story for a full walkthrough of what to do.

I'm a little disappointed that part 2, step 2 is bugged for Alliance and Horde that have not completed all Suramar quests though. You enter the wrong phase of uninstanced Nighthold, meaning you can't complete this step until a hotfix is applied. I'm stuck for now, but expect it to be resolved soon.

There's some saltiness in the larger WoW community about the end reward. It's nothing flashy or huge. Essentially Uuna gets an updated appearance (pictured at the start of this post) and she will respond to the /hug emote once you've fully saved her and completed all necessary steps. Personally, I think it's a lovely touch and I adore her new look. Plus I enjoy free hugs. :)

I'm very happy that we've been given the opportunity to "save" Uuna and give her hope and a renewed light (literally hehe). There wasn't a gigantic reward at the end, but I'm 100% ok with that. The journey was fantastic and gave me all the feels. <3

Magical Saucer Collected - Fly My Pretties, Fly!

I finally did it. My Mage FINALLY completed her journey for the Magical Saucer toy, so now even my non-flying pets can follow me wherever I go. YAY!!

After collecting the other class pets, I took quite a long break from leveling and playing additional alts. I was unsure if my Mage would even see Broken Isles this expansion or if she would have to wait until Battle For Azeroth. Luckily, I was hit with a bout of boredom and picked up leveling her again.

Getting the AP to meet the requirements for the class mount storyline wasn't an issue in the slightest. I know many were concerned that grinding AP would be a massive pain for DK and Monk class pets, but with the catch-up mechanics in place... the AP didn't even register to me. I was well beyond the required weapon level by the time I unlocked the mount quest.

What REALLY took some patience and time investment was the simple act of leveling. Going from 1 to 110...oof. It's not that it was "hard" or anything. Heirlooms make life so much easier. It's just tedious. I've done and seen these quests multiple times before, so it's not exciting or new. Same thing, different character. The repetition is what made the process feel dragged out, for me at least.

But if you're determined, like I was, you push through the monotony and get to that sweet spot and before you know it, you're looking around for the class storyline and Broken Shore campaign lol. I also rediscovered my joy of Draenor leveling during my Mage's adventure. Flying around and finding/looting treasures for experience? Yes please!


It was all worth it! I love playing around with this toy, and it's coming in handy for taking better, eye-level screenshots. (I would still prefer a pedestal-type of toy for battle pets, but this will do for now :P) I've already done some experimenting with combining toys and buffs on 'mounted' pets hehe.


So for the time being, my class collecting adventure is done. Druid, Demon Hunter, Shaman, Warlock, Death Knight, Monk, Rogue, and now Mage... I can check off all these battle pet-related classes from my 'To Do' list. Hooray! Any alt that I level from here on out is purely for miscellaneous reasons (like collecting class mounts...? lol).

For anyone still working on pet-related classes, keep on keeping on! Just enjoy what you can while you can, and take it in stride. It's slow and boring and tedious at some parts, but the end result is worth it. Heirlooms make it go faster but aren't absolutely necessary (I only had the heirlooms that go up to level 90 because I was too cheap to upgrade to the 100 and 110 ones haha). Having some sort of music or video/movie streaming either on a second monitor, in the background or on TV can help make the time fly. And remember, you don't have to do it all at once. You can take breaks, long or short. Blizzard has stated that there are no plans to remove the class pet-related stuff.

Anyway, enough gushing. Time to just enjoy my new toy and a new way to have fun with my pets. :)