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Breakfast Topic: Everything's a battle pet
Thanks to a curious side-effect of battle pets in WoW, I now wander around the neighborhood doing little pet battles in my head. That potted plant over there? Elemental, probably. That angry-looking chair with the nom-nom face? Mechanical pet of doom. I've devolved to the point that I'm pretty sure my daughter would make a killer critter-type pet. I may even have gone so far as to stage a full-out battle and training scenario in my head for my trusty labrador retriever against some local chickens. Purely in my head, though, I promise. It's led me to some bizarre desires for in-game pets, though. I'd like a fighting coffee mug, perfect for chasing away the morning blues. Maybe a fierce table lamp, ready to toe-to-toe with the most dangerous tanks. What about you? What battle pets are you eager to see borrowed from real life and inserted into the game?
Electrified Razortooth is an electric ball of cuteness and death
Several new battle pets accompanied the release of the Isle of Thunder and patch 5.2. While completing dailies or heading out to the Throne of Thunder, these new creatures may catch your eye. Shiny new models, huzzah! Electrified Razortooth spawns only as a primary pet on the Isle of Thunder, so while roaming around, keep your eyes open. They don't spawn as often as Swamp Croaker and Elder Python; you may have to make a few rounds to find one. The good news is, Electrified Razortooth is only available in one breed, and that means less time spent farming the ideal rare. Electrified Razortooth's abilities are mostly Elemental type, and are as follows: Slot 1 Rip or Jolt Slot 2 Paralyzing Shock or Lightning Shield Slot 3 Devour or Blood in the Water
Adopt a Spring Rabbit now that Noblegarden is here
It's that time of year again! Noblegarden has descended upon Azeroth, granting us bunny ears, chocolates, and even a battle pet. Spring Rabbit is purchased with 100 Noblegarden Chocolate, received when opening a Brightly Colored Egg. You can find the eggs scattered about several starting towns -- think Brill, Goldshire, and Kharanos. There's also a small chance to find the Spring Rabbit's Foot inside an egg, and if you don't want to adventure out into the world at all, there's always the auction house! Spring Rabbit's abilities are mostly Critter type, and are as follows: Slot 1 Scratch or Flurry Slot 2 Adrenaline Rush or Dodge Slot 3 Burrow or Stampede Although the Spring Rabbit is learned as an Uncommon battle pet, it has the potential to be a very strong member of your team. It's worth considering the upgrade with a battle-stone, since the breed and moveset makes it one of the best of the rabbit types around. Take, for example, the generic Rabbit. The moveset is the same, but the Rabbit is available in six different breeds, which could make capturing the ideal rabbit a pain. Spring Rabbit is always breed 5/15, or S/S, which means that its stats are heavily weighted for speed. Flurry and Dodge become super effective.
Patch 5.3: Even more battle pets from the PTR
If you're a fan of pet battles, then patch 5.3 is for you, bringing new pets, new pets, and new pets. And while we were already excited about the creepy/cute Unborn Val'kyr, now Wowhead has turned up more information -- along photos and drop locations -- on what to expect from the pets in the upcoming patch. Many of these are being added to Burning Crusade era raids for the Raiding with Leashes II: Attunement Edition achievement which requires you to collect 10 pets from Karazhan, Serpentshrine Cavern, and The Eye. The reward for collecting all of these pets? It's another pet, the still mysterious Tito. But while most of the pets discovered so far require revisiting old raids, there are also some new wild pets and drops, including the previously mentioned Unborn Val'kyr as well as mini-Gahz'rilla Gahz'rooki, the ooze Filthling, and a couple of adorably miniature Direhorns, the Stunted Direhorn and Direhorn Runt. So what's our favorite? Well, you already know how we feel about dinosaurs.
Mumper clarifies seasonal battle pets
There are a number of achievements available for pet battlers, but one in particular has eluded us all. Not because it's particularly tough to earn, but because we're all waiting for MoP's first Summertime in-game. The Qiraji Guardling is said to only spawn during Summer, but there's been a bit of confusion surrounding when WoW's Summer actually is. See, the Raw Summer Bass begins spawning on the first day of Spring here in the real world. With a name like Summer Bass, you'd think that'd make it Summer in-game, right? As it turns out, no. The Summer Bass is a Spring/Summer fish, just like the Winter Squid is a Fall/Winter fish. Players sought clarification on fish versus pet spawning seasons from Lead Content Designer Cory "Mumper" Stockton, and received it: Seasonal pets will follow the pre-existing seasons starting in patch 5.3. Note that the existing fish are available for spring/summer (1/2) - Cory Stockton (@mumper) March 22, 2013 and fall/winter. The pets are available only in the Summer and Winter seasons so the dates are not the exact same. (2/2) - Cory Stockton (@mumper) March 22, 2013 So, the seasonal fish span multiple seasons, and the two seasonal pets span single seasons. Single seasons that loosely mirror our real-world seasons. Be on the lookout for the Guardling around the time Summer hits the Northern hemisphere -- in-game we're guessing it'll be May or June. Are you ready for your Zookeeper title?
Wowhead releases new battle pet tools
If you're a pet battler, Wowhead is a popular stop for solutions to head-scratching trainers or mysterious wild pets. There are so many collectable battle pets that it can get a bit hairy to memorize every ability or plan out a team before leveling a new battle pet. Wowhead has just released new and updated battle pet tools to make the journey to master tamer a smooth one. Being an avid pet battler, I'm very excited to see these additions. It hasn't been easy to track battle pet breeds and other information outside of addons in-game. So, being able to look everything up at once over at Wowhead will be a time-saver. The Battle Pet Calculator displays health, power, and speed based on the battle pet's breed, quality, and level with an easy-to-use slider. An enhanced Battle Pet Listview now makes it easy to see a breakdown of a level 25 battle pet's stats, abilities, as well as other key pieces of data. The Pet Abilities filter is similar to Wowhead's current Spells filter, and allows users to filter by mechanics -- like Block or Burn -- buffs, debuffs, battle pet family, and more. There's more to see, so head over and take a look at the new tools.
Corefire Imp will melt faces and take names
Corefire Imp may be one of the underdogs out there in the battle pet world. I'm sure some pet battlers use this little troublemaker on teams, but sadly, I haven't seen him in many PvP battles. A diamond in the rough, I tell you! Corefire Imp has a chance to drop off of Magmadar in Molten Core. Collect the imp's 11 battle pet friends hiding in a few old world raids and earn the Raiding with Leashes achievement, which rewards the fabulous Mr. Bigglesworth. So, even if you're not interested in rotating the imp onto your teams, farming him up is worth it. Corefire Imp is of the Humanoid family, but wields mostly Elemental attacks, with a few other types thrown in: Slot 1 Burn or Rush Slot 2 Immolation or Flamethrower Slot 3 Cauterize or Wild Magic The real strength of Corefire Imp is that he makes a great tank. The imp's only weakness is to Undead attacks, which are relatively rare. The Humanoid passive -- recovering 4% maximum health every attack -- is what really wins in combination with his abilities. Let's take a closer look!
No experience multiplier for Elite Battle Pets, working as intended
I started my Beasts of Fable quest line for the first time after 5.2 went live and was curious about how much experience a low level pet would receive when defeating an Elite Battle Pet. I was pretty excited. Would my newbie little Crawling Claw instantly complete most of his leveling journey? Nope. He earned 224 XP. Which, in the scope of battle pet leveling, is peanuts. Not even worth bringing a low level battle pet in to soak experience. But these are Elite Battle Pets! What's the dealio? Could it be a bug? I took to Twitter to find out, and was pleasantly surprised to receive an answer from Lead Content Designer Cory "Mumper" Stockton. @kristin @cm_zarhym @ghostcrawler Yes, this is intended. They have higher drop rates for rare stones and alt panda pets. - Cory Stockton (@mumper) March 7, 2013 So, we should just stick to power leveling battle pets elsewhere. At least we have a great chance to earn rare Battle-Stones and cute pandas while plowing through the Beasts of Fable.
Speed through Pet Battle achievements with Disciplinary Action
Blogger and WoW artist Disciplinary Action has taken on the task of writing an idiot's guide to certain aspects of pet battles. Her guide sets out to provide a quick and dirty route to getting your hands on some of the achievements associated with pet battles, and does a great job. She started with three level one pets, and spent some gold at the Auction House to get herself some level 20 ringers, then managed in the space of two days to get four pets from level 1 to level 25 -- not including the two level 20 pets -- as well as getting Continental Tamer, Taming Azeroth, which awards the title Tamer, and to make considerable progress towards the completion of World Safari, which awards the title Zookeeper. She already had two L25 pets, from a previous bout of battling. Of course, with the seasonal elements of World Safari, she wasn't able to complete it within the space of two days. But by making wise choices she was able to progress on it while also dealing with the other taming-related achievements. How did she do it? Do have a look at the blog post for all the details, especially the section on leveling three pets to 15 in an hour. There are several other hints and tips, but some key elements are laid out below. Bear in mind that you can't learn a caged pet of a level higher than your highest pet. Don't get carried away on the Auction House! Pick up two level 20 battle pets from the auction house (as long as you have a L20+ pet already), and use their strength to carry low-level pets through levels up to 15, then commence hunting for taming achievements. Use resources such as PetBattleArena or Wowhead's Battle Pet Map to maximize your pet gathering efficiency. Collect as many zone-specific pets as possible while moving through the world for Continental Tamer to contribute to World Safari. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Arcane Legends adds capture the flag
It's the popular sport of summer camps everywhere, and now capture the flag is coming to mobile devices. Spacetime Studios is introducing the game into Arcane Legends as the first step toward a larger PvP offering. Capture the flag takes place in a 4v4 arena and comes complete with achievements, titles, and leaderboards. Spacetime has plans to add more PvP modes and maps in the future. The studio said that Arcane Legends has been downloaded more than four million times to date. [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]
Blizzard's Cinder Kitten raises over $2.3 million in Sandy relief
Warcraft players around the world showed their generosity by purchasing the Cinder Kitten pet from the Blizzard store. Blizzard announced in November that every Cinder Kitten purchased by the end of December 21, 2012, would have the profits from the sale go straight to the victims of Superstorm Sandy. They managed to raise a cool $2.3 million dollars! Cinder Kitten Raises More Than $2.3 Million Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of World of Warcraft players around the world who purchased the Cinder Kitten pet, we've raised a total of more than $2.3 million USD to support the American Red Cross's ongoing Superstorm Sandy relief efforts. In December, we announced that for every Cinder Kitten purchased by December 31, 2012, 100% of the adoption fee would be going to assist victims of this disaster -- and the community embraced this fiery feline in droves, helping out a great cause in the process. Thanks again to everyone who helped make a difference. source What a great move by Blizzard to help out in disaster relief. It's not the first time they've done so either as players will remember back in 2011 when they donated 100% of the proceeds earned from the Cenarion Hatchling to Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami relief efforts!
Arcane Legends arrives on iOS
Arcane Legends' staggered rollout crossed a major barrier today, as Spacetime Studios' newest title got approved for the Apple app store and released for iOS. It's currently available as a free download with in-app purchases. This makes it the fourth MMO in Spacetime's Legends series. Massively's Beau recently took some time to sit down with the MMO and suss out whether it has that Spacetime charm. We've also seen Arcane Legends' short cinematic trailer. The game launched a couple of weeks ago for both Android and Chrome. Spacetime reports that to date, Arcane Legends has accumulated more than two million downloads. To celebrate the iOS launch of the game, the studio posted a few new screenshots of the game, which you can check out in the gallery below! [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]%Gallery-170781%
Li'l KT on sale for one week only
Blizzard announced this morning that the Lord of Naxxramas' miniature alter ego is on sale for just one week for €5 or £4 from the battle.net pet store. If last week's Battle Chest sale is anything to go by, a US sale will follow with a discount, making KT probably available for $5 to US customers. KT is a battle pet, of the undead family, and is strong against humanoids and mechanicals. He has various abilities including a Death and Decay, and a Drain Life-esque heal called Siphon Life. He is, alas, weak against aquatic pets. You could put him in a team with Mr. Bigglesworth, that might cheer him up! He also automatically takes out critters when he's near to them, so if your guild doesn't have Critter Kill Squad yet, KT is a valuable asset. Even if his demonic cackling can grow a little tiresome, he's a great deal for only €5. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Make your pet battles look like Pokemon with WoWkemon
Let's be honest, we all saw this one coming! It was just a matter of time before someone wrote an addon that really genuinely converted the pet battles into something remarkably similar to Pokémon. And it's already happened, just a few weeks after the launch of Mists. I am, by the way, sorry for constantly bombarding readers with Pet Battle addons! But, for Pokémon lovers, this is a pretty cool one. Download WoWkémon from WoWInterface. WoWkémon is installed simply by downloading the zip file from the link above, extracting and copying the contents into your Addons folder, which resides within your Interface folder in your WoW directory. When you begin your first Pet Battle with it active, WoWKémon will enter its tutorial, with the eminent Professor Birch. He will guide you through the process of using this heavily adapted pet battle system, which has been cleverly squeezed into something as close to the original Pokémon format as possible. You will need to pay attention during the tutorial, as some of the commands are a little counter-intuitive, and intelligently the tutorial doesn't let you progress until you've actually done what it's telling you to do! Do finish the tutorial on the first battle, though, otherwise it starts from the beginning again on your next battle, and it's not the very fastest process in the world!
Fire kitten seeks loving home!
Last night Blizzard posted this adorable kitten's picture on their Facebook page. It was accompanied by this not-so-cryptic message: "This adorable, fired up little kitty is seeking a new caretaker. Adoption details coming soon!" What does it all mean? I have a sneaking suspicion that this fiery kitty might be a new Blizzard Pet Store pet, that is to say, one you can buy with real money. I'm saying this based purely on my own personal intuition, not on any hard evidence whatsoever. Perhaps I'm totally wrong, and it is in fact a pet you can get through some other means, such as reputation, or maybe even a drop or a very, very rare wild pet. All I know for sure is that this little fiery thing is adorable. Look at its little hat and collar, and those sweet, glowing, fiery eyes... Like a gnome fire druid. If he's a battle pet, which I suspect he might be, what do you think his moves would be? I'm going for fiery headbutt, and weaving between opponents' legs. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Arcane Legends debuts cinematic trailer
Spacetime Studios, creator of such mobile hits as Pocket Legends and Dark Legends, has released the first cinematic trailer for its newest entry in the Legends series: Arcane Legends. The video whimsically showcases the MMO's three character classes -- Warrior, Rogue, and Mage -- as well as the helpful battle pet that can fight along side you and grant special bonuses along the way. Each class can combine its skills for group combos, while later specializing in certain skills to fit each player's playstyle. Arcane Legends is expected to release this fall for Android, iOS, and Chrome. [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]
Pet Battle Q&A with Blizzard Devs
Amongst all the excitement about pandaren and monks, it's easy to forget about the arrival of Pet Battles with Mists of Pandaria in a few hours. Blizzard CM Kaivax is definitely not a forgetful soul, and has posted an in-depth interview with Lead Content Designer Cory "Mumper" Stockton. It's a great interview, in which Cory clarifies some design philosophy behind the Pet Battle system. The 100 gold cost, which makes pet battles pretty out of reach for new players, is intentional, and part of the design of the feature. As Cory says, everyon playing pet battles should be playing World of Warcraft first, and pet battles as an aside. It's an addon, an additional feature to make use of in your spare time, so Blizzard don't support players who only want to do pet battles. Once a new character reaches level five, though, as long as they have a generous benefactor they can get going and battle some pets right away. This also means, of course, that players on trial accounts will find it pretty impossible to play pet battles, as they can't trade, can't auction, and, even if you're thinking "I could vendor enough stuff to get to 100g", they have a cap of 10g. And trainers don't seem to accept instalments. Cory also clarifies some important points with regard to PvP realms, including what happens to your pets if you get killed, and what happens if you die while trying to capture a pet. And, he talks at some length about recent changes in the pet battle philosophy, and more to come in future! Hit the jump for the full post.
Mists of Pandaria: Wild pets will not be tradable
Cory Stockton, aka Mumper, has announced that pets caught in the wild will no longer be tradable and that this will be the case when Mists of Pandaria launches. Mumper We just finished a pass making all pets that are caught via pet battles in the world non-tradeable. This means these pets cannot be put in cages for trading or posting on the AH. We felt that the option to buy these pets on the AH would take away from the exploration/collection gameplay of the system. This could always change in a future patch, but this is how it will go out with MoP. You should see the change in our next build. source In pet battles, tradable pets can be sold on the AH. Training and caging wild pets looked to be a lucrative endeavor, since the catchable pets spawn in various qualities such as poor and rare. Many buyers would have been happy to shell out their gold for a high-quality pet that they didn't have to grind for. As of right now on the beta, pet spawning locations tend to be heavily camped. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in cross-realm zones. [via alt:ternative] 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!
