Mists of Pandaria Hunter Pet Guide
Anne posted yesterday about the new hunter pet challenges, including exciting information on how hunters can track down their target tames using tracks on the ground that are visible only to hunters. The hunter then casts down a flare at the end of the line of tracks to hopefully reveal the rare pet. This is a really cool-sounding new feature that should hopefully also dramatically reduce the number of hunter tames lost to other marauding players.
So why are we telling you about it again? Well, Kalliope over at Petopia has done a truly fantastic forum post that serves as a guide to hunting down these beasts of mystery. Kalliope has done a pet-by-pet guide showing you what tracks you're looking for, where the tames are likely to be roaming in Pandaria, and the family and names for each tame.
Not only that, but Kalliope has a host of great tips for would-be owners of these beasts. The full tip list, after the jump.
Kalliope's tips for Mists hunter pet tames:
No loot table. At all.
They have an elite gold dragon rather than a silver one.
As of right now, you follow most tracks backwards. (Savage is an exception in some cases. Other times, he still travels backwards.) Instead of following the toes, you follow the back of the prints to the next fresh one. This is counterintuitive and may change in the future.
Some tracks are partially buried in the ground, and others float slightly over it. A few seem to be buried underground, which makes following a trail very difficult at times.
The beasts' paths are long, winding, and often confusing when you have no visual. If you see tracks going in different directions, then the beast likely turned around.
Some beasts path across water. They can leave tracks floating in the middle of it. These tracks can be difficult to see.
Old tracks eventually despawn. (Unsure of timer.)
If you're having trouble seeing tracks, turn down ground clutter. It makes a huge difference in some zones.
Phasing issues impact some of the beasts, so if you haven't completed the quests in certain areas, you may lose the trail through no fault of your own.
Though all the beasts are red (aggressive), they only aggro people who are standing in a flare with them. This means it is possible to flare out a beast without aggroing it instantly.
Flare does not tag the beast, nor does Freeze Trap. Normal tagging rules seem to apply.
You can Hunter's Mark them, but only while they're in flares. The hunter with the active mark can see the beast without a flare, which aids in safe tracking through level 90+ elites.
Once a beast has been flared, non-hunters can see and attack it.
Try to flare ahead of the most recent tracks. If you only flare on the latest you've found, you may miss the beast.
Useful tip: Taking the readiness talent means that you can fire off two flares simultaneously once every five minutes. Sometimes, this can make the difference between finding the beast you're tracking and having to wait for the next track to appear.
For fun: Scare Beast works on them.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
