Sunday, May 27, 2018

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.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

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

Saturday, May 19, 2018

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

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!
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Perks N Peeves by Quintessence is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.