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Pandaren pet "sold out" on Blizzard store [Updated]
In an unexpected and strange twist in Blizzard's latest microtransaction saga, the Pandaren Monk vanity pet has apparently sold out on the Blizzard pet store. A mere week after the in-game pets were announced for sale on Blizzard's new pet store, the Pandaren Monk can no longer be purchased on US realms (as of this writing, it is still available on the Blizzard EU and Blizzard KR stores). That the Pandaren Monk would sell out comes as a surprise because, well, it's a virtual item. It's like Agent Smith. It never runs out. Unless, of course, Blizzard designed it that way, in which case there must have been a massive failure of communication somewhere down the line because it doesn't say anything about the Pandaren Monk being a limited item anywhere. It's also notable that Blizzard had committed to donating 50% of all proceeds from Pandaren Monk sales to the Make-a-Wish Foundation all the way through December 31. If the Pandaren Monk were to disappear, it should at least be expected to last until the end of 2009, right? We think this is an inventory error, where some number had to be inserted into the Blizzard Store's inventory management system, like some number "over 9000". Likely this will be easily corrected, and when it is, we'll update this post accordingly. UPDATE 11:30am ET: Blizzard is looking into the matter, which should assuage most people's fears that the item is indeed sold out. UPDATE 2:00pm ET: The Pandaren Monk is now back in stock and available for purchase! It was just a glitch in the Matrix, people. Nothing to see here. Thanks to Papa Shok for the tip.
Pandaren Monk pet has moves
MMO Champion has datamined up some video of the new Pandaren Monk vanity pet that's been floating around, and as you can see above, it's pretty darned awesome. Just like the Grunty the Murloc pet, this one comes with some fun animations, and they look terrific. Blizzard has been pretty coy about getting the Pandaren into the game, and they're teasing big here, too -- this little bear's got moves that would make the Diablo III Monk hang his head in shame.However, the question remains: how do we get it? At this point, it's just speculation and rumor -- some say it might be a special anniversary pet for people who've been subscribed all five years of the game's life, some suggest it might be part of the Cataclysm collector's edition (past CEs have had a pet in each one, including a Diablo figure in the first box), and still others suggest that the Monk will be a new pet in the upcoming Brewfest holiday. How do we get it, really? We won't know for sure until we hear it from Blizz.
Mountain Dew Game Fuel site launches for reals
Update: This promotion seems to be US only. Sorry, rest of the world. Hopefully you guys will get something like this soon as well. China had a Coke promo, so maybe the EU/Oceania will get a turn sooner or later.The Mountain Dew Game Fuel site is officially live, and we're all free to earn lots and lots of tokens. You'll need to register first, so be prepared to hand over a fair amount of personal information. They want the usual things, like your name and birthdate and home address. If I had to guess, I would say they need all of that for contest reasons. You always need to ask those things so you don't run into any regional legal issues.Now, tokens. How do you get tokens? There's a full list of ways to earn them on the official site (that you need to be logged in to see,) but I can tell you this: Almost all of them involve clicking on some random links scattered around the internet. Watching videos on their site, clicking banners on Facebook, going to their Twitter page, all of that sort of thing. Time to start setting up a Mountain Dew bookmarks folder, folks.There's also an FAQ that confirms one of our suspicions: Yes, a WoW vanity pet is one of the potential prizes you can win. It doesn't state what it is, but we can all safely assume it's the battlebots we posted about previously. Among the potential prizes is a trip to BlizzCon as well, so if you can't afford the trip yourself, you ought to start hoarding tokens.
Fan-made Murky plush
Reader Claire sent us these awesome pictures of a plush Murky, made of felt and fluff. She says she's been a collector of vanity pets since she first started playing WoW, and since Murky is one she'll probably never get her hands on, she decided to make one herself.As mentioned, it's made entirely out of felt and stuffing (and string and glue, I assume). It looks really good, and seems like it only would have cost a few dollars. If I'm wrong about that, hopefully Claire will correct me... and submit a pattern for the rest of us!You can check out all of her Murky pictures in the gallery below.%Gallery-63306%
Lil' Game Hunter achievement now set to 75 pets
In patch 3.0.8 there is a new achievement call the Lil' Game Hunter, which you get upon collecting a very large number of pets. The achievement gets you the pet pictured above, a little fawn. He's cute, and hopefully won't stop in his tracks when he sees my motorcycle's headlight.Previously the achievement required getting a total of 100 vanity pets, however that total has now been lowered to 75. That is much more accessible for people to achieve, and really requires just a little bit of farming and AH watching. Definitely within the grasp of more people than when it was 100, which would have required more-or-less getting your hands on some super rare pets and/or ebayed TCG loot cards (a subject which some feel is borderline ethical).Click on the above image to get a better view of the fawn, and start collecting now!I plan on taking him for a walk through Elwynn Forest when I get him.For help with tracking your non-combat pet collection, head on over to the most excellent Warcraftpets.com.
Five old world vanity pets you may have missed
It's a good time to be a pet collector. We're getting recognition, cool toys for our pets, and even an achievement series especially for us. If you're new to the world of pet collecting, or have just dabbled in it so far though, you may be struggling a bit to get those last few pets for the achievement. In the spirit of helping out my fellow pet enthusiasts, here's a few rarer or lesser known old world pets that you might have overlooked, especially if you started the game after Burning Crusade.
Loot within swag: TCG cards that make you smile
I woke up at 7:00 this morning to get ready for the day at BlizzCon. The team is meeting at 8:30 to head over to the convention and start covering all the fun that's happening there. But of course before I finish my morning rituals, I have to peek into the swag bag again. This time it's opening up the packs of WoW TCG - Heroes of Azeroth.Much to my surprise I find a loot card! A Thunderhead Hippogryph, pictured above from the Upper Deck site. Of course the cards are inserted completely random into the packs, and the bags are given out at random too – so no way I bribed someone a million billion dollars for this.
Barrens Chat: Always a catch
Right when we talk two of our friends into playing World of Warcraft with us again, the same two that talked us into playing in the first place, I miss out on all the fun. Almost a day without power, and the internet has, as of earlier today, finally gotten back up to par. At least I have the weekend to look forward to!I hope I'm not the only person looking forward to my very own Frosty. I missed out on all the other fun vanity pets, but I finally (might) get a cute little Frost Wyrm, oh and the Collector's Edition's other extras as well. I just don't think I'll be cuddling it any time soon, he looks a little bony.See you next week! %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic installment created on caffeine and pixy sticks. Although often abusing Hunters in any way we can find, sometimes we go after the tankier players, too. Stop by every week to see a new comic, and hope that the sugar stash has run out by then.
Show your pet some love with Happy Pet Snacks
Ok, this is getting silly. Breanni from the pet store in Dalaran seems to be widening her offerings and now sells Happy Pet Snacks for 47 silver and 50 copper for a stack of five. While we're not exactly in the habit of promoting every little product she's peddling, it's really hard to resist something this cute. It's not quite the Papa Hummel's Old-Fashioned Biscuits I hinted at over at my last post about the Pet Grooming Kit, but it's a pet snack you can give to non-combat pet to make them love you more. Literally -- when you feed them, a tiny heart pops up over their heads, just like when Love Is In The Air. The coolest part? It stacks with the grooming kit! So we can actually have sparkly pets that show us just how much they love us.Unfortunately, this won't work on Hunter pets to get their mood up -- you'll have to give them real food for that! Vanity pets have always been one of small things in the game that I enjoyed, even if I didn't obsessively collect all of them. I even have my Mini Tyrael key bound, although I have yet to install the MiniPet AddOn that reminds me when I don't have him out. Even though this build was loaded with nerfs, the developers managed to insert a lot of happy things, too, like lots of new icons for items and spells, including a proper one for my Captured Firefly!While it's easy to notice huge changes like world zones, class nerfs, and whopper talents, it's little touches like these that keep the game light and fun for me. Blizzard always manages to keep a sense of humor about the game, and it just works. When Mumper talked about having vendors sell more interesting stuff in Dalaran, I'm sure he was thinking of Breanni, too. When Wrath of the Lich King finally goes live, a trip to her little store is definitely on my agenda. As usual, thanks to Wietkop for the heads up!
Make your pet shine!
Tipster Wietkop informed us that the pet supplies NPC in Dalaran, Breanni, was selling something new in the Wrath Beta. So I headed on over to the pet store in Dalaran and found a lot of players fiddling around with the new toy, a Pet Grooming Kit that you can use on your pet to -- make it shine, just like it says on the tooltip. The Pet Grooming Kit is a single use BoP item that allows players to buff their non-combat pets with sparkles and a nice, clean glow. Using it has a splashing sound and makes an animation similar to water elementals getting squished. It's pretty cool, and it's simple little touches like these that make the game fun. Breanni also sells Fetch Balls and a Rope Pet Leash, although that one didn't exactly go over well with my Mini-Tyrael. Hopefully before the Beta is over, we'll see Breanni sell a few more items that spice up our favorite little companions. Papa Hummel's Old-Fashioned Pet Biscuits, anyone?
Penguin noncombat pets appear in the beta
Well, folks, it looks like we're definitely getting our wish. After incessant begging, peevish requests, heart-rending pleas, and no small amount of outright nagging on the part of...actually, I think everyone in the game has asked for this at one point or another, but never mind. People in the beta have started getting penguin pets!A much earlier data-mined image gave us a glimpse of what we could only assume were penguin noncombat pets, but reader Alassiel has written in to confirm that two of her characters in the beta have now received them in the mail. You can see Alassiel's screenshots of her Death Knight getting hers here and here. Elizabeth Wachowski and Zach Yonzon braved a constantly-crashing beta server to get more information and pictures for us. It looks like the pet, named "Chilly," is currently being mailed to players in the beta as a gift for switching to a Blizzard account. And yes, it is pretty much the cutest thing ever, which I suspect is an effort to compensate for Northrend being a continent full of animated corpses. As Alassiel's gotten them on at least two characters so far, I assume it's being sent to all active toons on a Blizzard account. We're not sure if that's going to remain the only way to get Chilly, but if you're in the beta and have a Blizzard account (or want to switch to one -- it's free), don't forget to check your mailbox!
Wrath Collector's Ed pet: Frosty the Frost Wyrm whelp
A lot of readers tipped this in while looking through Wowhead's comprehensive Achievements database. While we've actually heard of rumors of the Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition, with pictures of the box supposedly making their way out of the printers, this Achievement more or less confirms that there will be a Collector's Edition and that the Frost Wyrm whelp model leaked in Alpha is actually the Collector's Edition pet.The Achievement falls under Feats of Strength, along with the other Collector's Edition Achievements The requirement is possession of Frosty's Collar, an item not yet implemented in Beta. The Achievements page defines the Feats of Strength as "an accomplishment that players will find either very difficult if not impossible to earn. Feats of Strength are a collection of past glories on Azeroth."
Fansite awarded NPC honor
If you're a vanity pet collector you've probably visited WarcraftPets. Breanni of Scarlet Crusade, the master of this has clearly put a considerable amount of effort into researching non-combat pets. The site lists news and information on all minipets found in the World of Warcraft. The site features a small-pet FAQ, a calendar of events featuring vanity pets, a guide to collecting non-combat pets, and more. Breanni is getting special recognition for her efforts in the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King Expansion. Breanni posted in the general forums that she will be getting an NPC Avatar in Dalaran. Care for all your pet needs with Breanni's Pet supplies. This is not the first honorable mention that the site has won. Breanni has also been placed on the World of Warcraft map, as created by Tim Howego.
WWI attendees to get their own pet Archangel Tyrael [Updated with Picture]
The identity of the free pet that Worldwide Invitational Paris attendees received with a code in their goodie bag has been a closely guarded secret, with the identity not known even at the WWI itself. Yesterday, Bornakk broke the silence on the pet and announced that after patch 2.4.3 goes live, WWI attendees will be able to turn in their pet codes for their own miniature version of Diablo's Archangel Tyrael! Tyrael, as you may remember, is an angel that assists the Horadrim -- and later the heroes of Diablo 2 -- in fighting back the Prime Evils as they attempt to assault and take over the world of Sanctuary. He is one of the few angels who will directly assist humanity in fighting Hell, even when he is specifically forbidden from interfering by Heaven itself. He eventually destroys the Worldstone after Baal corrupts it at the end of the Lord of Destruction expansion. So far, his fate after that has not been told, although it seems practically a given that he will appear in Diablo 3 in some capacity, as the official Diablo 3 site features his visage prominently.
TCG Servants of the Betrayer Sneak Peek
I'd like to interrupt your patch 2.4 coverage for this important announcement. This Saturday, 29 March is your first opportunity to get an early look at the Servants of the Betrayer expansion to the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. Upper Deck welcomes players of all skill levels. If you love Vanity pets, this may be the time to start playing WoW TCG. The new set will feature the new super common consumable loot card: Papa Hummel's Old-Fashioned Pet Biscuit, which adds growth counters to a party pet in the TCG. It can be traded in the MMORPG for biscuits that boost the size of cosmetic pets.
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational gets a goody bag
Preparations for the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational are in full swing. Tickets are on sale for the event, which will take place on June 28th and 29th in Paris, France. Of course, your ticket gives you access to both days, but what Blizzard event ticket wouldn't be complete without a good old fashioned goody bag? Blizzard goody bags usually contains some pretty awesome swag (check out the contents of the Blizzcon '07 goody bag if you need a refresher), and it looks like this bag won't be any different. So far, Blizzard has revealed that you can expect to find a beta key for an upcoming Blizzard game and an exclusive in-game pet for the World of Warcraft in your bag. There's no word on which game the beta will be, which makes me wonder if it might even be an as yet unannounced title. After all, They've told us that Starcraft 2 and Wrath of the Lich King will be playable at the event, so it might be a bit late to hand out beta keys for those games. Then again, perhaps I'm just really, really wishing for a new Diablo game. They're keeping mum on the identity of the in-game pet so far as well. We've already had 2 Murloc-related rewards from the Blizzcons, so with Wrath of the Lich King coming out, perhaps we'll see a pet Gorloc. Then again, Murlocs might be a little played out, so I'm going to root for a penguin, I think. Blizzard's promised to reveal more about the contents of the goody bag as the date of the Invitational draws nearer, so hopefully we'll have more news for you on that front soon. Of course, if the goody bag alone isn't quite enough, Blizzard's promised that there will be exclusive commemorative swag to win in contests or buy at the event as well, just like at last year's Blizzcon. Be sure to keep your browser tuned right here to WoW Insider, we'll let you in on all future loot announcements and all the Worldwide Invitational news as it happens.
