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Guide to hunter pets in Warlords of Draenor
Warlords of Draenor is introducing five new hunter pet families -- hydras, riverbeasts, stags, clefthooves (exotic), and rylaks (exotic). That brings the grand total to 48 pet families. Many pet abilities have also been changed to fit the buff and debuff changes in Warlords. Exotic pets are more differentiated from standard pets in that they all have a total of three special abilities or buffs instead of just one or two. You'll be able to start taming pets from the new families with patch 6.0.2 (except for riverbeasts and rylaks which only exist in Draenor). Perhaps the most exciting hunter pet addition is the new spirit beast, Gara (pictured above). In order to tame Gara, hunters must embark on an epic quest that takes them all over Draenor to reunite Gara with her former master and ultimately save her from the Void. I've written a detailed guide on how to do it, but you'll want to avoid that post if you want to figure it out for yourself. Let's begin with a breakdown of the new families.
Warlords of Draenor: New battle pet models
Over the last few days we've all become intimately familiar with the new Molten Corgi pet and its model. Two more datamined battle pet models have joined it: the Grovestrider Hatchling and the Draenei Micro Defender. In addition, there's another new pet currently sans model: the Dwarf Gronnling. I am going to make an educated guess and say that this last pet probably looks like a teeny tiny gronn. If so, that'll be fantastic. I've always wanted one of those. The Grovestrider Hatchling is a fun, if pretty typical-looking small bird model with blue, green, and sliver feathers and red eyes. Of the two new models, the Draenei Micro Defender definitely steals the show. As one of the Wowhead commenters points out it looks like a little Protoss. It's got two shiny shields and some chic crystalline armor. I'm definitely going to try and get my grubby little paws on that thing as soon as I can. Images courtesy of Wowhead
Could it be? A corgi for me?
Corgis, why corgis? asks forum poster Pikkuhukka, after stumbling across the above image from MMO Champion. Well, why not? the rest of us impatiently reply. Oh, and there's the corgi meme, in case you're not familiar with it. A corgi pet has been on the wish list of many WoW players for a good long time now, months at least! If this image truly reflects a new pet to come in 5.4 or another future patch, then I am certain there will indeed be much rejoicing. I mean, the Winter Veil corgi was a good start, but it's just not the same! What would you do for a corgi pet, if anything? Would you buy it on the Blizzard store? Would you run dungeons with another 100 random players like you did for the Perky Pug? Would you camp its spawn point? Would you just not care? And hey, Blizzard, since you've clearly got a model for adorable dogs with stubby legs, may I suggest the Swedish Vallhund for your next offering, pretty please?
New mounts, loot coming in Crown of the Heavens trading card expansion
Cryptozoic's newest expansion for the WoW TCG, Crown of the Heavens, is a Hyjal-based return to the peaks of Kalimdor with satyrs, dryads, demons, ogres, and more monsters than you can comprehend. The Alliance and Horde represent with new allies and celebrities as well, but it is the monsters that take center stage in this mountaintop brawl. With new trading card game expansions come new loot and mounts included as common, uncommon, and rare cards in expansion packs. The common loot card for Crown of the Heavens will be the Vicious Grell companion pet. This little satyr monster, who reminds me of key-toting Pusillin from Dire Maul, is a one-time use companion pet that can be given away to friends if you have an extra code. The uncommon loot card in the new set is the Magical Ogre Idol, which transforms the player into a two-headed red ogre mage for 5 minutes. The item has a 30-minute cooldown and reminds me of a fun archaeology find. The rare loot card for Crown of the Heavens is the Corrupted Hippogryph, a ground or air mount that can be traded in game if you do not learn it yourself, much like the Spectral Tiger. The deep green hippogryph is going to be a rare find -- see how many you can spot after the TCG expansion launches on Feb. 7, 2012. %Gallery-144939%
Patch 4.3 PTR: New pets and mounts from Darkmoon Island
As you saw in our Darkmoon Faire video tour, the revamped Faire is now active on the PTR. It brings a batch of new companion pets and mounts for you to collect, including the Darkmoon Dancing Bear, the Swift Forest Strider, and seven brand new companion pets. Each of these mounts and pets must be purchased with game tickets, which are earned by winning the game attractions once per day. Hop past the jump for all of the new pets and mounts and their ticket costs.
Patch 4.3 PTR: Darkmoon Faire video tour
This morning, I hopped onto the public test realm and hit up the brand new Darkmoon Faire island coming in Patch 4.3: Hour of Twilight. The Darkmoon island will be available to players for one week at the top of every month, with portals to the island in major cities and in the abandoned sites that the Darkmoon Faire operates in, Elwynn Forest and Mulgore. Once through the portal, you are free to roam the Faire to play all-new games, win tickets, complete profession quests that award skill points, and complete quests for reputation with the Darkmoon Faire. Old fan-favorite characters like Asric and Jadaar even make an appearance. Check out the video above for a romp through the all-new Darkmoon island. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
The OverAchiever: Examining patch 4.3's new achievements
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, all hell breaks loose. Hey folks. The Littlest Pet Shop option was the most popular choice in last week's The OverAchiever: Wrapping up Mountain O' Mounts, but that was before all manner of patch 4.3 goodness was datamined on Tuesday night. I spent the subsequent 24 hours in a caffeine-fueled haze running three characters around the PTR investigating the new achievements for you. I bring tidings of great, albeit currently bugged, joy to you all.
Cabal readies Episode VI: Legacy of Darkness expansion
Summer's heating up for denizens of Nevareth (that's the world of Cabal Online, if you're scoring at home), and the free-to-play MMO's Legacy of Darkness expansion looks to add a fair bit of the content to the game very shortly. The Episode VI update "throws a series of challenging encounters at players of all levels including outdoor bosses, a dungeon point system, a revamped upgrading system, and a brand new time-based instance [called] Maquinas Outpost," according to a new press release. The new dungeon boasts some slick rewards too, not the least of which is the drool-inducing Drei Frame armor set. Episode VI: Legacy of Darkness also boasts its share of smaller gameplay tweaks, chief among them improved drop rates, new customization items, new pets, and increased success rates on rune crafting. While we can't give you a definitive release date as of yet, we can tell you to head to the official Cabal website for further details.
Anarchy Online celebrates 10 years this weekend
It seems like there's an MMO anniversary happening every other day around these parts. While it's indeed commendable for some of these games to last a year or three, Funcom's Anarchy Online has just reached the lofty summit reserved for the likes of EverQuest and Ultima Online: Yep, Rubi-Ka is 10 years old and still going strong. Funcom has issued a press release that's heavy on the innovative aspects of the world's first sci-fi MMORPG. "Instancing, massive player vs. player combat, digital download of games, in-game advertisement, virtual world radio, concerts, virtual items, and freemium business models" are just a few of the initiatives that showed up early in Anarchy Online. The release also serves to accentuate how much has changed since the game's genesis, as it notes that AO's original 1995 design document questioned the future viability of the internet and hoped for 2,500 subscribers. No 10-year anniversary would be complete without a respectable bash, and Funcom's release also outlines the festivities coming your way in the form of events and new content. The party (jointly produced by Funcom and Gridstream Productions) starts tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. EDT and will continue into the weekend. Even if you're not up for virtual dancing, you'll want to check it out for a new birthday raid, new vehicles, clothing, gear, action figures, and pets. Head to the official website to learn more.
New reward for collecting 150 companion pets: Nuts
Companion pet collectors, Blizzard has heard your cries for new pets and rewards for collecting 100, 125, and 150 critters. Nuts, who is probably some kind of squirrel (duh), is the new reward for Littlest Pet Shop. Nuts will no doubt add to the wonderful world of WoW companion pets and provide even more awesome jokes for trade chat. Other pet collecting achievements have also been given rewards. Both Petting Zoo and Menagerie, the achievements for collecting 100 and 125 companion pets respectively, will grant the player pet biscuits. We have no idea how many uses these pet biscuits have, but it appears they will work the same as the WoW TCG's Papa Hummel's Old Fashioned Pet Biscuits. Go forth and collect, companion pet enthusiasts. Nuts will be waiting for you in patch 4.2. The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
New ARGO Online trailer shows off Naihill content
burda:ic has released the newest trailer for ARGO Online, the steampunk-fantasy MMO currently going through its open beta phase. The clip features footage from the newly discovered continent of Naihill, which has expanded ARGO's post-apocalyptic world and its content. In addition to new lands (and dungeons) to explore, Naihill offers new PvP battles, new mounts, and new pets and is currently available for open beta participants to experience. The video clip clocks in at just under two and a half minutes and is composed of equal parts fly-through footage, PvE combat, and PvP action. See for yourself after the cut.
Battle of the Immortals trailer teases new content update
Perfect World Entertainment has just released a new trailer for their sprawling Battle of the Immortals Fall 2010 update patch. The patch, scheduled to go live on November 10th, features a plethora of new content including Mount Olympus, Shadow Manor, new class skills, new pets, equipment upgrades, and a vendor system. Mount Olympus is geared toward endgame players and features an array of high-level bosses to fight, while Shadow Manor is a new raid dungeon for players over level 90. The 1.8 patch also boasts the requisite bug fixes as well as new maps and quests. Have a look at the trailer after the cut to see some of the new bosses and environments.
Massively Exclusive: TLBB reveals new Halloween pets
Tian Long Ba Bu (TLBB), a free-to-play MMORPG set in ancient China, has just announced the availability of several new Halloween-themed pets. ChangYou.com, developers of the action title (as well as the free-to-play Zentia title), revealed that the spooky critters will be stampeding across both the EU Dragon and US Dragon Oath servers beginning today. The pets include a Jiang Shi (zombie), a Tutankhamen-inspired creature, and the ever-present pumpkin-head man. In addition to the new companions, TLBB is hosting a Halloween-themed event featuring new quests and rewards. Check out all the details on the game's official website.
