Mojo Made Easier?

thankfully mojo was not removed or relocated even with the changes to zul'aman. one thing that did change somewhat are the amani hex sticks necessary to discover mojo within the instance.

previously, the hex sticks were tradable but despawned if the player holding them exited the zone. as of patch 4.1, though, they persist outside of the instance and can even be sold on the auction house.

this may mean it will be easier for players to acquire mojo, as long as there is a steady supply of hex stick auctions on the AH. all one would need to do is buy up a few (or more), head to ZA and start transforming those frogs! just be wary and careful of those nasty troll pats. solo'ing those will probably not be possible until we're a few more large content patches into this expansion.

this change to the hex sticks may or may not have been intentional, so if you're looking to satisfy your froggie-fix, do so sooner rather than later. who knows if blizzard will revert the sticks back to how they were pre-patch 4.1?

Mojo In 4.1

after many internet disconnects, a technician visit that (hopefully) fixed my connection, and PTR patching issues, i was finally able to log back in and test zul'aman. specifically: hunt for the whereabouts of mojo.

luckily after just a few trash pulls, a hex stick dropped for me! while it didn't yield the pet from the transformed forest frog within the dungeon, just the hex stick itself continuing to drop in the zone is a strong indicator that mojo will still be acquired from ZA in the same fashion after the release of patch 4.1.

i'd still recommend players who want to solo-farm for mojo to head out and try their luck in the unchanged instance NOW. once patch 4.1 goes live, there will be significantly less trash to clear in the zone, meaning the hex sticks could become a much rarer drop. also, the trash within the dungeon will be transformed into level 85 elites, and i highly doubt most will be able to solo-clear them efficiently or effectively.

one interesting thing to note is that, unlike before, the hex sticks on the PTR persisted within my inventory even after zoning out of ZA. this plus the fact that they can be traded with other players could mean that we may start to see them pop up on the auction house in 4.1...?? i haven't tested it yet on the PTR, and i'm not entirely sure i'll have time to before the patch is released, but it's a possibility. as always, this change may not go live and may just be bug on the test realms.

anyway, pet collectors and frog lovers can breathe somewhat easier now! :)

Patch 4.1 "Soon"

mmo-champion announced that a "release candidate" patch was launched on the PTR recently. this may indicate that patch 4.1 will be here soon (hopefully in time for children's week!)

as a reminder for myself and a few others, here is a list of the notable vanity pet-related changes, updates, and additions for the upcoming patch: 4.1 overview.

a couple extra things to note - the whereabouts of mojo after the zul'aman changes are still unclear. while blizzard has made it apparent in the past that they will do their best to re-include any displaced companions due to zone changes, i would recommend farming for mojo now if you have not done so already and would like to add him to your collection.

UPDATE: as detailed in this post's comments, the hex sticks still drop from ZA post-patch 4.1. however, due to the change of the dungeon, a lot of the trash packs have been removed or cut down in size, making the hex sticks a rarer drop. i would still recommend players farm for mojo ASAP for this reason. also, once the instance has been transformed, it will be unlikely that players will be able to solo-farm for mojo after the patch (at least for a few gear tiers or so) due to the increased level and difficulty of the mobs.

in preparation for the two new archaeology companion pets, i suggest that players max out their fossil and troll fragments now (cap is 200). then once the patch is released, you'll be ready to solve at least a few items and hopefully one of the new pets pops up for you to complete!

for those wondering about the lashtail hatchling... possible spoilers behind the break!

PTR Fun Fun Fun

this past week i discovered that my character copies FINALLY went through to the PTR. so yay! i get to test out the new stuff with my main rather than a premade toon. plus now i have access to all my pets again. being without them made me feel so naked and incomplete. :P

so far i've done ZA just once. no sign of mojo or any hex sticks yet. for those who want to solo-farm mojo, i definitely recommend doing it before patch 4.1 as there's no guarantee that you'll be able to post-patch.

since my main copied over after i completed the lashtail hatchling quest chain on live servers, i decided to try doing the ZG quest chain and hopefully find out if and where the new baby raptor becomes available. unfortunately, the chain is currently bugged and i can't move on until it's fixed. so my main toon is in the same boat as my premade; stuck due to a bug and out of luck for now. besides determining when/where the hatchling comes in, i definitely would like to sort out whether or not the current lashtail hatchling quest chain is a prerequisite for the vanity pet version of the baby raptor. i guess i'll have to wait on doing more research on that, though.

other than that, i've been checking out archaeology on the PTR. since it's likely that the pterrordax hatchling will come from the fossil branch and the voodoo figurine will be from the troll branch, i've been concentrating on those two the most. neither have popped up for me to solve yet, although i did get two other new rares.

it probably seems like a waste of time for me to do all of this on the PTR since i'll have to do it all over again on live servers once the patch is released, but i don't mind all that much. companion pets are worth the extra time and effort! :)

UPDATE: the pterrordax hatchling just popped up for me on the PTR! it's indeed under the fossil branch and takes 120 fossil fragments to complete. "could this fossilized egg still be... alive?!" screenshot coming soon! (hopefully i don't waste this solve on an incomplete and unfinished item though x_x)

UPDATE #2: yay the voodoo figurine decided to become available for me too. troll branch, 100 fragments, 3 keystone slots. "a medium-sized figurine of unusual complexity and troll manufacture." can't wait to see what this pet looks like!

Finally Some PTR Fun

"i could be convinced to part with one... IF you'll promise to give the cub a good home."
yay for being on the PTR, finally! boo for having to use a premade character instead of being able to use my toon.

anyway, as you can see from the above screenshot, i paid drrum's NPC a visit! when you speak with her to purchase a winterspring cub (50 gold and NOT bind on pick up), she gives you a warning that you need to promise to give the kitten a good home. aww :)

both the winterspring and nightsaber cub have the same model, idle animations, and on-click vocalizations. their current model is basically an opaque version of the spectral tiger cub.




both the new cubs also have a sit animation like the spectral tiger cub, when idle for too long. however, they have an additional idle animation where they lie down and rest their chin on their front paws (very much like the druid cat form version of sleep). it's cute. :)

i still haven't gotten around to trying out ZA to look for mojo, but i'm hoping i have some time to do so before patch 4.1 comes out. if the theory is true that the panther cub will be a rare drop, like the razzashi hatchling was prior to the removal of the raid version of ZG, i'll have to start looking for panthers within ZA and ZG or around those zones. same thing for the lashtail hatchling. then again, that's IF. there still hasn't been any confirmed source for either pet yet.

The New Zul'Aman and Mojo

with zul'aman being turned into a 5 man instance in patch 4.1, collectors are wondering: will mojo still be obtainable within this troll area post-patch?

the answer so far is... i don't know! :(

as mentioned in a previous post, i'm completely locked out of participating in the PTR due to a technical glitch afflicting many players (many, but not all, of whom were participants in the cataclysm beta). so i sadly can't test whether or not mojo will still be available in ZA after the next patch.

if anyone has any information or is able to test this out, please leave a comment! i'm dying to know if our blue, warty (he says he doesn't have them, but we all know he does :P) friend will still be obtainable post-patch.

i don't think it would be too difficult to include the hex stick mechanic within the new ZA, but i'm not a game developer so i really can't say. it may also not be high enough priority for them to consider or work on. or perhaps, like the razzashi hatchling, mojo will be relocated to a new home and may be acquired in some other fashion after patch 4.1 goes live. who knows?

should players go into a panic and rush to ZA to get mojo if they haven't acquired him already? panic and rush? no. but this is something that collectors (especially newer players) will need to watch closely and keep in mind when proceeding forth with their collections.

you can bet that WarcraftPets will have the latest updates and news if anything comes to light about mojo, though. ;)

Pet of the Week - Mojo

mojo is the lovable blue frog from zul'aman. i was one of the last in my guild to get this pet, but i was fortunate enough to have friends who were willing to give up their hex sticks so i could have extra attempts. :)

why i love it
despite mojo having the same model, different coloring as the four other frog pets, you can interact with mojo! blow him a kiss and suddenly you're a frog yourself. talk about spreading "warts" :P

one thing that i adored pre-wotlk was that you could mount and /kiss him while mounted. doing so would turn you into a frog sitting upon a GIANT mount. since the release of wotlk though, they've fixed this bug.

another bug that i enjoyed but has since been fixed is the bug where shapeshifting while a frog would turn you into a different colored frog each time.

lastly, an interesting thing that they have not fixed yet is that druids can shapeshift into bird form, sit down, and /kiss mojo. ever see a flying frog? it's great!

what i would change
while i understand that giant mounts with frogs riding them could cause gameplay issues, i don't see how a shapeshifting druid changing frog colors could hurt. please give me back my chameleon-like frog form!

other than that, i wouldn't change a thing. the model is outdated and the vocalizations aren't anything special or new, but the way players can interact with this pet makes up for these things in my opinion.