Nearly all wild pets come in multiple colors. I'll have a separate post on the Mechagon and Nazjatar wild pet skins.
For 8.2 wild pet collecting, I highly recommend creating and using /tar macros for the difficult-to-find pets. Or wait for flying. But that's awkward, as you'll likely be done with nearly all of the Mechagon and Nazjatar achievements (most are part of the meta-achievement, Team Aquashock, which rewards a new pet) long before flying is unlocked.
★ MECHAGON ★
Mighty Minions of Mechagon
Straight forward achievement. Defeat 8 Legendary lvl 25 NPC pets. They should be available to battle at any time, and I don't think there are any that are gated behind phasing or other content (correct me if I'm wrong).Mecha-Safari
Another reason you'll want to defeat these Legendary battles - after defeating each one the for the first time, you get a one-time quest that rewards a nice chunk of reputation.
Fairly straight forward collecting achievement (12 wild pets), however there are a few pets that will be troublesome to collect (listed below).
Notes: Some of these might be found inside the instance as well. Most appear to simply be very rare spawns, similar to the Stormstruck Beaver in Stormheim - shares a spawn with other wild pets, and isn't a common spawn.
- Experimental Roach - Pretty difficult to find relative to all of the other wild pets found on the island. Guessing it's either a 'only 1 up at a time' type of spawn, or it shares spawn points with its much, much more common cousin, Junkheap Roach.
- Duskytooth Snooter - Same as above. Normally only found in the "green" areas on the island.
Rustbolt Clucker- This pet not spawning was confirmed a bug. It is now spawning, hopefully as intended.- Specimen 97 - Only spawns in a small location that's often a daily quest area, so player attack spells and AOE have a high chance of clipping and killing this wild pet. There's also only one of these pets up at any given time, but thankfully its respawn timer is quick.
- Yellow Junkhopper - Very difficult to find as spawn locations are limited (only near habitable water). This leaves the pond in the northwest, smaller ponds in the trogg area, and some parts of the coastline (that aren't cliffs/hills). Guessing it's either a 'only 1 up at a time' type of spawn, or it shares spawn points with its much, much more common cousin, Fleeting Frog.
Misc Mechagon pet collecting
Most non-wild pets will drop from rares, not a 100% guaranteed. Certain pets will be gated either behind time, daily quests, reputation, items, etc. Here's a list of the pet-related rare spawns that have a unique or special spawn mechanic.
For a full list of Mechagon pet-related rares, see the map image above. #4 & 5 are dependent on what daily/event is up, and is to mark the general area where the rare can pop up.
- Armored Vaultbot - Requires you craft an Armored Vaultbot Key to open the Armored Vaultbot rare. Item requires a blueprint which can be looted from the rare after kiting it to Bolten Springpsark (in Bondo's Scrap Yard) when his Robot Cruncher Zapper is active (yellow circle next to him).
- Lost Robogrip - Requires you craft a Beastbot Powerpack to engage Malfunctioning Beastbot rare. Item requires a blueprint which can be looted near the rare or from its defeated body.
- OOX-35/MG - Requires the daily quest "My Chickens are not for eating!" to be up from Oglethorpe at the main quest hub.
- Snowsoft Nibbler - Requires the daily quest "Aid from Nordrassil" to be up from Mylune at the main quest hub. Head to the quest area (The Fleeting Forest) and click on the small mushrooms at the bottom of the trees 4 times to spawn the rare.
- Spraybot 0D - Rare only spawns when Drill Rig construction projects are available, found underground inside the Crumbling Cavern.
- Irradiated Elementaling - Unknown and unconfirmed drop. Speculated rares that could drop this pet (some rares might have unique/specific engage mechanics):
- Rumblerocks
- Gemicide
- Uncle T'Rogg, Earthbreaker Gulroc, Boggac Skullbash, Crazed Trogg (all troggs)
- Boilburn, Oxidized Leachbeast, Caustic Mechaslime, Foul Manifestation (all slimes)
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★ NAZJATAR ★
Nautical Nuisances of NazjatarSimilar to the Mechagon achievement. Defeat 12 Legendary lvl 25 NPC pets, should be available to battle at any time. Some are in difficult to reach areas. I don't think there are any that are gated behind phasing or other content (correct me if I'm wrong).Nazjatari Safari
Another reason you'll want to defeat these Legendary battles - after defeating each one the for the first time, you get a one-time quest that rewards a nice chunk of reputation.
Collecting achievement that requires capturing 11 wild pets. Most can be found as secondaries, but a few are harder to find (listed below). Not aware of any prerequisites or phasing with any of these wild pets.From The Belly Of The Jelly
- Bloodseeker - I only found these as primaries in/near rivers around the middle of Nazjatar (Dragon's Teeth Basin & The Royal Approach). Only spawns 1 at a time? Or very few/limited spawns?
- Hissing Chitterspine - Only found inside the Chitterspine Grotto (cave entrance is near Gate of the Queen area, right next to Shadowspike Lurker). Tunnels are full of patting crabs, stealthed mobs, and elites. Very difficult to navigate safely, and there's only one Hissing Chitterspine spawn inside (but it has a very fast respawn time). If you get a lot of "Pet Battle area obstructed" errors, just kill the battle pet and hopefully a new one will quickly spawn in a better area.
- Sandclaw Sunshell - Found on the far eastern side of the zone, Kal'methir, The Drowned Market, and Zin-Azshari. Only saw one up, so might only be one spawn at a time, or very limited.
Thanks to the efforts of @patf0rd on Twitter, we now know how we'll be collecting "slimy" pets in Patch 8.2.Nazjatar vendor pets
1. Collect Prismatic Crystals (lootable objects lying on the ground on Nazjatar, usually near water/waterfalls, possible prerequisites prior to seeing these objects)
2. Use a crystal to charm a Nazjatar critter
3. "Feed" a Ravenous Slime (total of 4 different slimes) with the charmed critter
4. Repeat for a few days with each slime and eventually the slimes will spawn as cocoons with a lootable "slimy" pet inside
See this post for additional details on the slimy pets process.
Misc Nazjatar pet collecting
- Prismatic Manapearls are the main currency of the zone. Earned doing dailies, looting treasures, etc. Need 190 for both pets.
- Nazjatar Battle Commendations are earned from PVP activities in Nazjatar. Battle for Nazjatar event, PVP War Supply Chests, etc. Need 30 for the one pet.
Many battle pets drop from rares which are likely gated behind certain content/phasing. Not 100% guaranteed? Check out this achievement to see all Nazjatar rares or this map of all rare locations. Unsure if some have unique spawn mechanics or not.