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The Daily Grind: What's your favorite vanity pet?
What does a vanity pet do for my gameplay? If we're talking about adding to my combat potential, it does absolutely nothing. But if we're talking about providing bragging rights, companionship, amusement value, and another layer of personal customization, such a pet has plenty to offer. Right now my favorite vanity pet is probably the Super Adventure Box spider mini in Guild Wars 2. Not only does it look totally rad in a 16-bit way, but it occasionally does breakdancing even in the midst of dire peril. Dancing retro spider with sunglasses, that's a win any way I look at it. What's your favorite vanity pet? Why do you enjoy it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WoW Insider's guide to the battle pets of 5.3
Patch 5.3 has added a ton of new content to the game, including some additional battle pets for us all to collect. We've compiled a a rundown of them, including where to find them and what they do. Have at y, pet collectors, and happy hunting! Burning Crusade raid pets There are a total of ten new battle pets that can be found in Burning Crusade-era raids. And you thought you were done farming the Karazhan opera! Karazhan L'il Bad Wolf The L'il Bad Wolf has a chance to drop from the Big Bad Wolf at the Karazhan opera event. Sadly, the Big Bad Wolf is not a guaranteed boss from the opera, so this pet is likely to be one of the more difficult ones to add to your collection this patch. For the lucky ones who do manage to grab the L'il Bad Wolf, you'll be rewarded with a Humanoid pet possessing Claw, Mangle, Howl, Counterstike, Dodge, and Pounce. While none of those are unique abilities, Mangle is possessed only by two other pets in the game.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Transferring wealth between servers with battle pets?
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Check out Basil's re-reboot of Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! Note: This article is about the Mists of Pandaria Beta. There is no guarantee that this functionality will exist in the live version of MoP. The new pet battle system in Mists of Pandaria is going to be one of the most exciting new features for a lot of people; however, a potentially unintended consequence of the way it's currently implemented is that by selling pets on one realm that you bought on another realm, you will be able to transfer wealth between servers or factions. Orkchop wrote me an email that got me investigating: All these pets are bound to your account, across all servers, across both factions, and can be sold. You can log on to your level 90 main, buy some pets, learn them, then log on to another server, create a level 1 and go sell those pets at auction. All without touching the neutral auction house and its fees.
Guild Wars 2's Eric Flannum on promises, pets and purpose [Updated]
"Think of the personal story in Guild Wars 2 as you would the 'main' storyline of a great single player RPG," ArenaNet's Eric Flannum said in an interview with GamerZine. Instead of rote MMO quests, this storyline will be full of significant, one-time choices that will have a huge impact on your character. This is just one of the many promises that ArenaNet has made in regard to Guild Wars 2 as the studio strives to differentiate it from the rest of the fantasy pack. The interview covers the main features list of the game: the event system, the personal storyline, and the emphasis on exploration. When pressed about in-game events and holidays, Flannum said that many Guild Wars holidays will be returning: "We haven't planned out exactly what we're doing yet, but we certainly plan to support all of our usual holiday events in Guild Wars 2. Since our event system is very robust I imagine we'll be able to do a lot more things than we were able to do in the first game." He also said that the team is striving to "push the fun and collectability" of the mini-pets system over Guild Wars 2's predecessor. You can read the full interview at GamerZine. [Update: Tap Repeatedly also has a whopper of a GW2 interview up today, this one with Jon Peters and Jonathan Sharp!]
Morhaime says moonkin hatchling available this month
Yes, that's right. During the ATVI earnings report conference call today, Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard Entertainment, announced that the Moonkin Hatchling will be available for purchase later this month, as he had already stated at BlizzCon. In addition, 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale will go to charity. The last time Blizzard did something similar, it raised $1.1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Can the hatchling possibly dethrone the Pandaren Monk as the most adorable charity money generator? Gregg's speculation on whether or not we'd see more charity pets seems confirmed. Were you already planning on picking one up, and if not, does this news make it any more likely?
BlizzCon 2010: Moonkin Hatchling mini-pet going on sale in November
There has been some data-mining in the past couple weeks which found mention of a Moonkin Hatchling in the beta game files. During the BlizzCon opening ceremonies, Mike Morhaime (Blizzard CEO) announced that this new vanity pet will be available for sale from the Blizzard store coming in November. We still don't have any idea how adorable this pet will look, but if it's anything like the other hatchling pets the cuteness will be epic. They also announced that their Pandaren Monk pet when it donated all proceeds to charity when it was first available made $1.1 million for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. We're curious if this is a sign of more charity vanity pets to come in the future as that will make a serious impact for almost any cause. BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
Guild Wars fansite hosts "Night of the Mini Pets" community event
A long-running event in the Guild Wars community should be gaining an extra dose of attention and excitement this year. In all the player buzz over the Hall of Monuments, many people have found the Monument to Devotion to be one of the most difficult to fill. That problem might be solved for many people thanks to the upcoming Night of the Mini Pets. Fansite Blade Radio has worked to coordinate this event for three years running, and each year hundreds of miniatures are handed out to Guild Wars players as prizes. This year is bigger than ever: Blade Radio has over 1,100 minis (both dedicated and undedicated) to distribute along with many other items including a prepaid Guild Wars 2 package. The event will be held for three nights beginning on October 29th, so check out the Night of the Mini Pets page for all of the details and a full prize list.
The Road to 50: A guide to filling your Guild Wars Hall of Monuments (I)
While I was writing today's Flameseeker Chronicles, I noticed something: It was about twice as long as my normal columns, and yet I'd barely skimmed the surface. Many players in the Guild Wars community went inactive over the past few years while waiting for Guild Wars 2. Now that we know all the details of the strongest link between the two games, hundreds if not thousands of players are coming out of retirement to max out their Halls. Today's Flameseeker Chronicles was a generalized guide to reaching 30 points on the calculator. That number will get you every reward on the scale, but so many veteran players and completionists are chasing 50 points that I wanted to do something for them too. The Road to 50 is a feature that will run for five days this week, each day focusing on a different monument. I'll give tips, suggestions, and guides for obtaining a "full score" in each one. Today's focus is Miniatures, so follow along after the jump to see how to get your hands on 50 of your little friends.
Scorchling not available in this year's Midsummer Fire Festival
Looks like mini-pet collectors are going to be unable to get the Scorchling this year. Aredek posted in the official forums that the Scorched Stone is no longer on the Ice Chest's drop table from Ahune. Aredek I'm afraid that the Scorchling does not appear to be available this year, folks. I cannot say for certain whether or not it will be made available in the future; however, we encourage you to share your thoughts on the Suggestions forum if you would like to see the Scorched Stone be obtainable in some other way. source It's unclear why they elected to leave it out this year, however it almost looks like it might have been a simple error rather than a design decision. Either way, the historical drop rates for this were so low that most players won't be able to tell the difference. Also, despite this, the Lil' Game Hunter achievement is much more easily obtainable now than it was this time last year, with the introduction of many new sources for non-combat pets. Still, that's a very cute fireball.
15 Minutes of Fame: A man and his (80+) pets
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.A couple of months ago, WoW Insider reported on the immortalization of WarcraftPets.com founder/owner Breanni with an NPC in Wrath of the Lich King. In the expansion, Breanni of US Scarlet Crusade-A appears as a NPC selling pet supplies in Dalaran. Curious about the growing public enthusiasm ("Obsession"? We think Breanni might agree ...) with non-combat pets, we contacted Breanni for more perspectives into the vanity pet craze -- as well as what it's like to run into yourself in the game as an NPC. 15 Minutes of Fame: Vanity pets – who knew? How many vanity pets are out there now, and how can players get them?Breanni: Vanity pets (also known as companions, small pets, non-combat pets and mini-pets) are those adorable little critters that follow your character around the game world, catching the eye and imagination of others. Currently, there are 98 vanity pets, and new ones are added to the game nearly every major content patch. However, not all of these pets are available in the United States - a few are region-specific.There are six ways to obtain vanity pets. Vendors, drops and quests offer players some of the most familiar pets. Additionally, there are a handful of pets crafted by engineers. Some of the rarest pets are obtained through real-world promotions, such as loot cards from the WoW trading card game and trade show giveaways. Finally, a new source has emerged for collecting certain pets: they can be earned through various feats, such as battleground victories or collecting a certain number of pets with a single character.
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.
Fiesta: to have and to hold, 'til death do you part
Ten Ton Hamster recently spoke with GM Dakkon from Outspark, about the new marriage system coming to their super-cute MMO Fiesta. They say the perfect spouse is someone who can be your best friend as well as your lover. Well as of June 30th, friends in Fiesta will be able to tie the knot in-game, by purchasing rings (that "allow the couple to warp to each other from anywhere within the game") and a marriage license. That special day is celebrated with a wedding dress and a tux, fireworks, and cute mini-pets. While Outspark is saying "I do" to virtual weddings, thus far there isn't a system for digital divorce in Fiesta. Is it unreasonable to assume that roughly half of these marriages will end up there? One envisions this playing out with much drama... and so many possible scenarios. Custody battles over the mini-pets, and of course who gets to keep the house? Green card hunters looking to marry their way onto another server. And who knows... maybe even a black widow, marrying her way to greater and greater wealth. All jokes aside, Outspark is onto something interesting here. It seems to be a bit of a social experiment, but definitely one to watch, at least until the devs implement prenups. But one real question remains: will Outspark ban same-sex marriages in Fiesta? Perhaps controversy will ensue after all.
