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?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
I'll Never Leave You Again
♡ ♥ ♡ quite possibly the best companion quest chain to date. i tip my hat to blizzard on this one! :)
unlike the other baby raptors, the lashtail hatchling is significantly larger. she's either about the same size as the ravasaur hatchling, if not a little bit bigger.
also, has anyone else noticed that the lashtail hatchling will sometimes wander over to a corpse and retrieve a bone for you?
so far i've only seen her do it while in ZA or ZG, but i'm trying to coax her into repeating this idle animation outside those instances. i'm not sure if it requires a humanoid corpse or what, but so far i haven't had much luck getting her to fetch out in the world.
Friday, April 29, 2011
New Children's Week Quests
i can't remember the last time i made so many updates in such a short span of time. it's a busy time for collectors!
anyway, with children's week nearly here wowhead has details for the NEW stormwind and orgrimmar children's week quest chain. as mentioned before, a new pet reward has been added to the chain, scooter the snail.
don't forget about the orphan quests available from shattrath in outlands! a new companion reward, legs, has also been added there as well. i'm not sure if there are any updates to that particular quest line, though.
and last but not least, who could forget the northrend orphans? will we finally be able to adopt our second dalaran orphan? hopefully the devastating bug that made it impossible to complete the dalaran quest chain more than once has been fixed this year!
i'm very excited for this year's children's week. don't be alarmed if there are bugs or issues, though. with large changes being made left and right there are bound to be glitches. i'm going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
anyway, with children's week nearly here wowhead has details for the NEW stormwind and orgrimmar children's week quest chain. as mentioned before, a new pet reward has been added to the chain, scooter the snail.
don't forget about the orphan quests available from shattrath in outlands! a new companion reward, legs, has also been added there as well. i'm not sure if there are any updates to that particular quest line, though.
and last but not least, who could forget the northrend orphans? will we finally be able to adopt our second dalaran orphan? hopefully the devastating bug that made it impossible to complete the dalaran quest chain more than once has been fixed this year!
i'm very excited for this year's children's week. don't be alarmed if there are bugs or issues, though. with large changes being made left and right there are bound to be glitches. i'm going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Call to Arms Pet Rewards
well after looking at the many comments filed under the satchel of exotic mysteries, it appears that MANY companions were added to the call to arms loot list. so far the list seems to be made up of:
other than the obvious questions on my mind ('are there NEW pets on this loot list?' and 'what is the average droprate of a companion through call to arms?'), another burning question is... just which pets CANNOT be found within the satchel of exotic mysteries? because right now it almost feels as if nearly all vanity pets have a chance to drop from the call to arms' goodie bag. either that or many of the comments are reporting inaccurate information (this is something that will take time to confirm/deny).
i'm all for multiple ways to obtain certain pets. this seems a bit... ridiculous, however. it's almost as if blizzard decided to just dump ALL companions that are not quest rewards, TCG-related, or otherwise no longer available into the satchel of exotic mysteries. even vanity pets that originally required a certain reputation or special currency to purchase were not spared and seem to have found their way into the call to arms goodie bag. it's really quite bewildering.
let's not jump to too many conclusions yet, though. we won't know the accuracy of all the comments left on wowhead until more data has been gathered on the drops and droprates of the companions found within the satchel.
i'm definitely taken aback by this and i don't know whether to praise it, condemn it, turn a blind eye, or simply shrug and move on.
UPDATE: april 29 official hotfix notes - "The Satchel of Exotic Mysteries given to the member(s) of a class role eligible for Dungeon Finder: Call to Arms rewards now has an increased chance of containing a non-combat pet."
- the argent tournament companions (both horde and alliance pets)the list is possibly quite long.
- alliance and horde favored vendor pets (such as the many cat pets sold by an alliance NPC or the cockroach sold by a horde NPC)
- rare drops from zones and mobs (such as the dragon whelpings, but minus the onyxian whelpling)
- "specialty" pets (such as boss dropped companions like the phoenix hatchling, or the giant sewer rat which is fished up from dalaran sewers)
other than the obvious questions on my mind ('are there NEW pets on this loot list?' and 'what is the average droprate of a companion through call to arms?'), another burning question is... just which pets CANNOT be found within the satchel of exotic mysteries? because right now it almost feels as if nearly all vanity pets have a chance to drop from the call to arms' goodie bag. either that or many of the comments are reporting inaccurate information (this is something that will take time to confirm/deny).
i'm all for multiple ways to obtain certain pets. this seems a bit... ridiculous, however. it's almost as if blizzard decided to just dump ALL companions that are not quest rewards, TCG-related, or otherwise no longer available into the satchel of exotic mysteries. even vanity pets that originally required a certain reputation or special currency to purchase were not spared and seem to have found their way into the call to arms goodie bag. it's really quite bewildering.
let's not jump to too many conclusions yet, though. we won't know the accuracy of all the comments left on wowhead until more data has been gathered on the drops and droprates of the companions found within the satchel.
i'm definitely taken aback by this and i don't know whether to praise it, condemn it, turn a blind eye, or simply shrug and move on.
UPDATE: april 29 official hotfix notes - "The Satchel of Exotic Mysteries given to the member(s) of a class role eligible for Dungeon Finder: Call to Arms rewards now has an increased chance of containing a non-combat pet."
"Solo" Obtaining Lashtail Hatchling.. Or Not
alright, well after finding a guildie with a cleared ZG instance ID, i decided to test out whether or not i could zone into the dungeon and acquire the lashtail hatchling without having been present for the bloodlord mandokir kill.
the definite answer is... NO.
this may be a large "duh", but i had to see for myself.
even though the bosses were dead, trash had respawned. after a few attempts of running the gauntlet and getting mercilessly killed over and over, i managed to get past all the respawned trash up to mandokir's area.
i was even able to get into his room far enough to see the tied up lashtail hatchling and target it. however, it did NOT have an exclamation over its head or a quest for me to turn in, despite bloodlord mandokir being long dead in that particular dungeon ID. i have completed the lower level lashtail quest chain, have not completed the level 85 quest yet, so i'm still entirely eligible to receive the pet. the main thing is that i was not present for the boss fight or kill.
so my conclusion is that in order for players who have completed the pre-requisite quest line to be eligible for the pet, said players must be present for the bloodlord mandokir fight and kill. only then will the baby raptor quest be unlocked and you can obtain the pet.
or if someone else wants to take it step further, perhaps you just need to find an instance ID with a much fresher mandokir kill. like, within a few minutes of his death? the zone ID that i entered into had been cleared for many, many hours already. i'm not sure, and i highly doubt it, but perhaps time plays a part in whether or not the lashtail will offer the final storyline quest to you?
well, in any case, the trash alone is enough to deter me from attempting to go back in and "solo" the instance for the pet. gone are the days where a max level player could stealth in and run effortlessly around ZG to explore and do various fun/amusing things. :P it was quite interesting figuring out how to navigate amongst level 85 elites, though. haha.
if there are players who want to test out other theories or possibilities, feel free to do so at your own risk lol. ZG is not a friendly place! if someone does manage to figure out how to acquire this pet "solo", i'd love to hear how it's done. i won't be solo'ing ZG any time soon though.
now that my curiosity has been settled, i will have to wait for my instance lockouts to reset and find an actual ZG group to clear bloodlord mandokir for my shot at saving quintessence'aka!
the definite answer is... NO.
this may be a large "duh", but i had to see for myself.
even though the bosses were dead, trash had respawned. after a few attempts of running the gauntlet and getting mercilessly killed over and over, i managed to get past all the respawned trash up to mandokir's area.
i was even able to get into his room far enough to see the tied up lashtail hatchling and target it. however, it did NOT have an exclamation over its head or a quest for me to turn in, despite bloodlord mandokir being long dead in that particular dungeon ID. i have completed the lower level lashtail quest chain, have not completed the level 85 quest yet, so i'm still entirely eligible to receive the pet. the main thing is that i was not present for the boss fight or kill.
so my conclusion is that in order for players who have completed the pre-requisite quest line to be eligible for the pet, said players must be present for the bloodlord mandokir fight and kill. only then will the baby raptor quest be unlocked and you can obtain the pet.
or if someone else wants to take it step further, perhaps you just need to find an instance ID with a much fresher mandokir kill. like, within a few minutes of his death? the zone ID that i entered into had been cleared for many, many hours already. i'm not sure, and i highly doubt it, but perhaps time plays a part in whether or not the lashtail will offer the final storyline quest to you?
well, in any case, the trash alone is enough to deter me from attempting to go back in and "solo" the instance for the pet. gone are the days where a max level player could stealth in and run effortlessly around ZG to explore and do various fun/amusing things. :P it was quite interesting figuring out how to navigate amongst level 85 elites, though. haha.
if there are players who want to test out other theories or possibilities, feel free to do so at your own risk lol. ZG is not a friendly place! if someone does manage to figure out how to acquire this pet "solo", i'd love to hear how it's done. i won't be solo'ing ZG any time soon though.
now that my curiosity has been settled, i will have to wait for my instance lockouts to reset and find an actual ZG group to clear bloodlord mandokir for my shot at saving quintessence'aka!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Patch 4.2 - "Legendary" Pet
blizzard is pumping out previews of 4.2 already. there's already talk about a legendary staff, mainly because upon completion, the entire guild will be awarded a non-combat pet.
after calming down a bit and rethinking things, i've come to the conclusion that i want more information and details before i can pass complete judgement.
specifically, for everyone's sake, some things need to be cleared up:
this is an entirely new direction, one that i never thought blizzard would take, for vanity pets. the guild achievement companions were one thing. they required only some guild participation. while some PVP was necessary, it was still within most players' reach (as long as their guild had at least a few members who enjoy and actively PVP). however, this "legendary" pet... well it almost feels like an abomination (and i don't mean a cute little zombie pet or actual abomination creature).
as i mentioned before, i would like more information before i can formulate a concrete opinion on this, but at the moment i can definitely say that the news of this new legendary companion did not overwhelm me with excitement as it should have.
although i'm currently in an actively raiding guild and we will very likely seek to craft the new legendary, this new pet still worries me and how it will affect the pet collecting community as a whole.
"Patch 4.2 introduces an epic quest that will challenge those daring enough to complete the legendary staff Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest. The great staff duplicates destructive magics, and also bestows upon its wielder the ability to transform into a member of the Blue Dragonflight. Those who complete the staff won’t be the only ones to receive a reward, though. As this task requires the dedication of an entire guild, upon completion of the staff all guild members will receive a unique non-combat pet to call their own."i must say... i am shocked. my first knee-jerk reaction to this was: no. No. NO. DOES NOT WANT. DOES NOT INDUCE FLUFFY FEELINGS.
after calming down a bit and rethinking things, i've come to the conclusion that i want more information and details before i can pass complete judgement.
specifically, for everyone's sake, some things need to be cleared up:
1.) how long will the quest chain be to complete the legendary?these questions as well as many others are vital, and the pet collecting community is anxiously awaiting answers and details, i'm sure. this quite possibly could be game breaking for many collectors, and i don't mean that in a good sense.
2.) will the guild be required to take on a full tier of raiding (either 10 or 25 man)?
3.) will it be necessary to take on heroic raid content?
4.) will it be costly to "build" the staff (outside of repairs and other raid-like necessities)?
5.) should a person acquire the legendary staff transfer to a new guild, will that new guild also receive the "legendary" companion? or will only those who assisted in creation of the staff (original guild) be eligible?
this is an entirely new direction, one that i never thought blizzard would take, for vanity pets. the guild achievement companions were one thing. they required only some guild participation. while some PVP was necessary, it was still within most players' reach (as long as their guild had at least a few members who enjoy and actively PVP). however, this "legendary" pet... well it almost feels like an abomination (and i don't mean a cute little zombie pet or actual abomination creature).
as i mentioned before, i would like more information before i can formulate a concrete opinion on this, but at the moment i can definitely say that the news of this new legendary companion did not overwhelm me with excitement as it should have.
although i'm currently in an actively raiding guild and we will very likely seek to craft the new legendary, this new pet still worries me and how it will affect the pet collecting community as a whole.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
It's a Pet Party
being the absolutely stubborn pet collector that i am, i stayed up way past my desired sleep time just so i could discover at least one of the new archaeology companions. well, sleep depriving myself was a success! the voodoo figurine is now part of my miniature army. i think it will find itself at home amongst the others that recently had a grand old time with many other guildmates' pets.
i don't know about everyone else, but i'm loving the persisting pets change! many of my guildies, who unwittingly summoned a pet and magically had them re-appear whenever logging/zoning, had their own companions out during tonight's 25 man raid. now that having a pet out is pretty much effortless (as long as you summon one before zoning or logging out), most people seem to have a vanity pet out the majority of the time. it just *poof* appears! :) it really adds some fun to the environment (although i'm sure it's quite irritating for PVP'ers who want to remain hidden heh).
well, that's three new pets with more to go. hopefully i can acquire most, if not all, before children's week when two more new ones become available through the orphan quests.
oh, and again, if anyone has any information on the cenarion hatchling, please leave a comment and let me know the details!
also, since i have yet to test out the lashtail hatchling finale for myself, those who have saved their little *player name*'aka, was the quest "an old friend" available to players who did not complete the lower level quests? if there are multiple people in a ZG run who have completed the lashtail quest chain, will all those eligible be able to receive a baby raptor of their own? or is it only one per instance lockout? the information would be much appreciated. :)
time to get some shuteye before i go back to digging!
i don't know about everyone else, but i'm loving the persisting pets change! many of my guildies, who unwittingly summoned a pet and magically had them re-appear whenever logging/zoning, had their own companions out during tonight's 25 man raid. now that having a pet out is pretty much effortless (as long as you summon one before zoning or logging out), most people seem to have a vanity pet out the majority of the time. it just *poof* appears! :) it really adds some fun to the environment (although i'm sure it's quite irritating for PVP'ers who want to remain hidden heh).
well, that's three new pets with more to go. hopefully i can acquire most, if not all, before children's week when two more new ones become available through the orphan quests.
oh, and again, if anyone has any information on the cenarion hatchling, please leave a comment and let me know the details!
also, since i have yet to test out the lashtail hatchling finale for myself, those who have saved their little *player name*'aka, was the quest "an old friend" available to players who did not complete the lower level quests? if there are multiple people in a ZG run who have completed the lashtail quest chain, will all those eligible be able to receive a baby raptor of their own? or is it only one per instance lockout? the information would be much appreciated. :)
time to get some shuteye before i go back to digging!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Finally, Some Closure
I've already read a few reports that upon killing Bloodlord Mandokir in the new heroic 5-man ZG, the quest "An Old Friend" becomes available within the instance and players who have completed the lower level Lashtail Hatchling quest chain may obtain their very own baby raptor. :)
If you have not completed this prerequisite quest chain, though, you will probably not be eligible to save the baby raptor. feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. :)
To start the chain, you will need to be STV level-appropriate or higher (so about level 20+). Note: although the quest chain can be started and completed at lower levels, you must be level 85 to enter the instance and finally conclude this baby raptor's storyline.
Head to the Rebel Camp in Stranglethorn vale (alliance) or to Grom'gol (horde). Alliance will need to pick up and complete the quest Bad Medicine and horde will need to pick up and complete the quest The Defense of Grom'gol: Raptor Risk. Upon completion of either quest, players will either auto-accept a new quest (the quest item is included) or it will become available through the turn in NPC if your inventory was full. Hang onto the quest item and don't destroy it! I won't go into detail about the rest of the quests since it's quite lengthy and can get complicated later on, but the rest of the chain will require you to have the baby red raptor with you. Be sure to turn on your "track lower level quests" option, as some of the quests in the lashtail chain only unlock while doing other side/unrelated quests available from the quest hub NPCs.
NOTE: I HIGHLY recommend players pick up and complete the lashtail hatchling quest chain BEFORE picking up any part of the panther cub quest chain. Starting the panther quests will place you in a phased STV, and you will be unable to complete the lashtail hatchling quest until you've completed the full ZG quest.
I had this trouble while on the PTR and was unable to finish the lashtail quests, even after zoning into ZG. To be on the safe side, if you've already started the panther cub quests, complete the FULL chain. This means all quests up to an including the last part of the chain ("Booty Bay's Interests" and ends with "A Shiny Reward"). If at that point you are still unable to get back into the proper phase necessary to complete the lashtail quest chain, I would open up a ticket to a gamemaster to ask for assistance.
I can't wait to finally finish off this lengthy and long awaited quest chain! I must save Quintessence'aka! Blizzard did an especially great job with this companion. :)
If you have not completed this prerequisite quest chain, though, you will probably not be eligible to save the baby raptor. feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. :)
To start the chain, you will need to be STV level-appropriate or higher (so about level 20+). Note: although the quest chain can be started and completed at lower levels, you must be level 85 to enter the instance and finally conclude this baby raptor's storyline.
Head to the Rebel Camp in Stranglethorn vale (alliance) or to Grom'gol (horde). Alliance will need to pick up and complete the quest Bad Medicine and horde will need to pick up and complete the quest The Defense of Grom'gol: Raptor Risk. Upon completion of either quest, players will either auto-accept a new quest (the quest item is included) or it will become available through the turn in NPC if your inventory was full. Hang onto the quest item and don't destroy it! I won't go into detail about the rest of the quests since it's quite lengthy and can get complicated later on, but the rest of the chain will require you to have the baby red raptor with you. Be sure to turn on your "track lower level quests" option, as some of the quests in the lashtail chain only unlock while doing other side/unrelated quests available from the quest hub NPCs.
NOTE: I HIGHLY recommend players pick up and complete the lashtail hatchling quest chain BEFORE picking up any part of the panther cub quest chain. Starting the panther quests will place you in a phased STV, and you will be unable to complete the lashtail hatchling quest until you've completed the full ZG quest.
I had this trouble while on the PTR and was unable to finish the lashtail quests, even after zoning into ZG. To be on the safe side, if you've already started the panther cub quests, complete the FULL chain. This means all quests up to an including the last part of the chain ("Booty Bay's Interests" and ends with "A Shiny Reward"). If at that point you are still unable to get back into the proper phase necessary to complete the lashtail quest chain, I would open up a ticket to a gamemaster to ask for assistance.
I can't wait to finally finish off this lengthy and long awaited quest chain! I must save Quintessence'aka! Blizzard did an especially great job with this companion. :)
The Ins and Outs of 4.1
it's been just a few hours since patch 4.1 went live. obviously, there are still bugs and issues, but hopefully they will be addressed and fixed soon.
WarcraftPets has an official "what's new" post, that will be continually updated throughout the day if there are any changes or corrections to pet-related news about 4.1. go check that out! :D
if you read through it, you'll also find details about a loot giveaway contest held by drrum to celebrate her in-game NPC namesake!
i'm currently working on the two new archaeology pets, but haven't had much luck so far. i did, however, discover the other new troll rare artifact (war drum). i'm also still wondering what the mysterious 7th new rare could be! hopefully an overlooked pet? :P
unfortunately, despite earlier confirmation from the PTR notes that blizzard would be fixing the united nations achievement bug with this patch... it has not been fixed. i believe it was intended to be ready in time for 4.1, but for whatever reason, it did not make it through. :( for some guilds, it looks like it's back to grinding or patiently waiting for a fix to come.
i have yet to try out the new call to arms feature since there hasn't been any "call to arms" for my role yet. dungeons have also been acting up, so i'm going to stay away from queuing for a bit until things have calmed down. hopefully we'll see some accurate pet droprates and the entire possible pet list from the satchel of exotic mysteries soon.
if anyone discovers the whereabouts of thelashtail hatchling and cenarion hatchling, please let me know! i'm very eager to find out if there will finally be a conclusion the the former's quest chain, and if the latter is even available to players. (edit: lashtail hatchling has been spotted within ZG ;P)
WarcraftPets has an official "what's new" post, that will be continually updated throughout the day if there are any changes or corrections to pet-related news about 4.1. go check that out! :D
if you read through it, you'll also find details about a loot giveaway contest held by drrum to celebrate her in-game NPC namesake!
i'm currently working on the two new archaeology pets, but haven't had much luck so far. i did, however, discover the other new troll rare artifact (war drum). i'm also still wondering what the mysterious 7th new rare could be! hopefully an overlooked pet? :P
unfortunately, despite earlier confirmation from the PTR notes that blizzard would be fixing the united nations achievement bug with this patch... it has not been fixed. i believe it was intended to be ready in time for 4.1, but for whatever reason, it did not make it through. :( for some guilds, it looks like it's back to grinding or patiently waiting for a fix to come.
i have yet to try out the new call to arms feature since there hasn't been any "call to arms" for my role yet. dungeons have also been acting up, so i'm going to stay away from queuing for a bit until things have calmed down. hopefully we'll see some accurate pet droprates and the entire possible pet list from the satchel of exotic mysteries soon.
if anyone discovers the whereabouts of the
Monday, April 25, 2011
One More Thing...
i'm 90% sure i'm all set to go for patch 4.1 that will (hopefully) come out tomorrow! i can't wait to get my hands on the new pets and take a look at all the officially released content. it's one thing to test it out on the PTR, it's another to experience it on live servers, potential bugs and all.
one last small thing... earlier this month, when the call to arms feature was announced, there was a short official list of possible pets that eligible characters might receive from the satchel of exotic mysteries. shortly after that announcement, a new pet popped up on wowhead's PTR site. this new pet, cenarion hatchling, almost instantly had a comment stating that it would be on the call to arms reward loot list. this was never confirmed, though.
well, there's a new idea that's been floating around: maybe this new baby hippogryph could be an archaeology discovery instead? possibly found within the night elf branch? needless to say, i would MUCH prefer this than the call to arms rumor.
unlike the call to arms pet rewards, where i would have to combat not only RNG but also the fact that the reward relies heavily on whether or not the pug group is actually CAPABLE of completing the random heroic dungeon, archaeology depends almost solely on the individual. i may still have to fight against RNG odds since it's random when a rare artifact will pop up for me to solve as well as randomized dig sites, but overall, i'm in more control over when i want to solve it, how i go about solving it, etc. i can go entirely at my own pace without having to depend on complete strangers. this just fits my style of companion farming/grinding more than anything else.
so i'm definitely hoping that if the cenarion hatchling is even be available to players on live servers, that it's part of archaeology rather than the call to arms feature.
that being said, though, it's ALL just speculation for now. i don't think anyone's discovered where this pet officially comes from yet, and we won't know until 4.1 is released.
one last small thing... earlier this month, when the call to arms feature was announced, there was a short official list of possible pets that eligible characters might receive from the satchel of exotic mysteries. shortly after that announcement, a new pet popped up on wowhead's PTR site. this new pet, cenarion hatchling, almost instantly had a comment stating that it would be on the call to arms reward loot list. this was never confirmed, though.
well, there's a new idea that's been floating around: maybe this new baby hippogryph could be an archaeology discovery instead? possibly found within the night elf branch? needless to say, i would MUCH prefer this than the call to arms rumor.
unlike the call to arms pet rewards, where i would have to combat not only RNG but also the fact that the reward relies heavily on whether or not the pug group is actually CAPABLE of completing the random heroic dungeon, archaeology depends almost solely on the individual. i may still have to fight against RNG odds since it's random when a rare artifact will pop up for me to solve as well as randomized dig sites, but overall, i'm in more control over when i want to solve it, how i go about solving it, etc. i can go entirely at my own pace without having to depend on complete strangers. this just fits my style of companion farming/grinding more than anything else.
so i'm definitely hoping that if the cenarion hatchling is even be available to players on live servers, that it's part of archaeology rather than the call to arms feature.
that being said, though, it's ALL just speculation for now. i don't think anyone's discovered where this pet officially comes from yet, and we won't know until 4.1 is released.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
