non-combat-pets
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Lord of the Rings Online patch offers more cosmetic pet options
Lord of the Rings Online's Update 13.1 is on its way, and with it comes several refinements to the new cosmetic pet system. The devs have made the huorn pets "stand out a bit more" with the patch and hinted that there are now other pets that can be obtained. The big change here is that pets will live on the client instead of the server, allowing players to turn off others' cosmetic pet visuals if so desired to improve graphical performance. Also, the lil' pets can now be renamed. Other changes with 13.1 include a fix for Quickbeam's quieting quests (say that five times fast!), an auto-fellowship feature for friends, an option to automatically add tasks to the quest tracker, and a new inventory sort button.
The Daily Grind: What vanity pet would you like to see made?
Ever since I ran The Secret World's Issue #7 content and explored the Nursery, I've become fixated on the idea of owning a nannybot of my very own. I mean, they're ludicrous to the point of being awesome: a hulking RoboCop suit with an emoticon face (which is smiley for happy and frowny for you're-about-to-be-murder-punched). I'd love to see them made into pets, because I constantly need looking after. Assuming that you like vanity pets -- you do, right? -- then you probably have a wish list of critters or figures that you'd love to see implemented as such. Maybe there's a cool-looking animal or a mechanical doohickey or just something that would go perfect with your character. If you could make it happen with a wish, what non-combat pet would you like to see made for your MMO? 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!
12 new pets added to vanilla raids in 5.1
Just in case you haven't had your fill of pets, Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton dropped some news on Twitter and let us know that there will be more to find in patch 5.1. 12 new pets have been added to all four vanilla raids -- Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, Ahn'Qiraj, and Naxxramas. These pets will drop from bosses in the zones, and according to Stockton, the drop rates aren't bad at all, either. And for those of you perking up at the mention of Naxxramas, you have every right to be excited. One of the pets offered is none other than Mr. Bigglesworth, Kel'Thuzad's beloved cat. Wowhead dug up the information on the rest of the pets, which included a Stitched Pup, Chrominius, and an Anubisath Idol among many others. Not only is this a cool way to get some more pets out there in the mix, it's also a great reason to go run those old vanilla raids. Although Naxxramas moved to Northrend with Wrath, it was one of the original 40-man raids available back in vanilla. And despite its new location, Naxxramas is still soloable by most classes at level 90, although you can take a few friends along to make the jaunt a little easier. For a full list of available pets, check out Wowhead's list -- and if you aren't following Cory Stockton on Twitter, you're missing out on cool updates!
Warcraft Pets presents a Pet Battles overview
So, if you're dying of curiosity about Pet Battles, then the folks over at Warcraft Pets have something for you. It's an overview of the Pet Battles on the beta, and if you're interested in getting into the nitty-gritty details of how they're working and how you go about getting started, it's definitely for you. It has a list of pet tamers, locations of wild pets you can battle and capture, tips for beginners, and all sorts of useful information for you as you start out battling. Head on over to Warcraft Pets and give it a read-through. If you're interested in Pet Battles, you definitely won't regret it. 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!
Blizzard unveils Pet Battles on the official MoP site -- and beta
Pet Battles are one of Mists of Pandaria's most anticipated features, and Blizzard's been taking their time implementing these furry free-for-alls to get the quality just right. Today the devs have unveiled a new Pet Battle system section on the MoP website highlighting the ins and outs of the system, including how you can get new pets in the wild, what Pet Battle stats mean, and more. The devs have stated in the past that pet battling is meant to be a mostly stress-free affair. You won't see the names of the people whose pets you battle, and the game will only keep track of your wins, not your losses. Don't expect to find bleeding-edge Pet Battle progression groups any time soon. That's the right call, though -- the game needs more fun, casual stuff to do, not less. Check out the Pet Battle guide, and if you have an MoP beta account, patch it today -- Pet Battles are playable! 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!
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Pet Journal marks the return of flavor text
Pet Battles is one of the more eagerly awaited new features to come with the Mists of Pandaria expansion. Non-combat pets have been around since the beginning of World of Warcraft, and players have been quietly collecting them as the years have gone on. But there wasn't really anything to do with the non-combat pets. They didn't have a purpose beyond following your character around. Pet Battles gives us something to do with our pets, finally making them an interactive part of the game itself. I've been collecting pets since the very beginning, in the days when pets weren't listed on a tab, they were physical items that took up space in your bank. While I was incredibly happy when the pet tab was introduced in The Burning Crusade, there was a part of me that felt slightly nostalgic for one particular reason: the flavor text. Some pets had neat bits of flavor text included on the items used to summon them, and once the pet tab was introduced, all that flavor text went away. In Mists of Pandaria, the pet tab has been changed to a full-on Pet Journal, complete with lists of pet abilities and types. I was delighted to see the Info tab, which not only lists where and how you can get the pet but includes some of that flavor text I'd been missing. Take a look at just a scant handful of the hundreds of new pieces of pet flavor text from the Pet Journal, including some new pets available with Mists of Pandaria, in the gallery below. %Gallery-158968% 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!
Breakfast Topic: What's the most difficult thing in the game to farm?
My warrior recently found herself farming a lot of Khorium in order to build her Turbo-Charged Flying Machine, and while flying a seemingly endless number of circuits in Nagrand in order to get the metal (which is a rare spawn on other Outland ore nodes), I started to wonder where this farm fell in relation to other grinds. Khorium sometimes cooperates by spawning regularly, but this time, it was its usual, awful self. I'm sure the Burning Crusade-era players can relate. And yet, somehow I still don't think that khorium is the worst thing in the game to farm. Off the top of my head, I can think of others that are or have been equally bad or worse: Non-combat pets A lot of farmable non-combat pets (e.g., the dragon whelps, the firefly, the Fox Kit) have a 1-in-1,000 drop rate and a limited number of mobs up at a given time. Combat pets Waiting for a particular pet to spawn somewhere and then finding and taming it before someone else does can be maddening if you're consistently unlucky. Fishing Accomplished Angler is justifiably famous for being stuffed with requirements full of RNG. Let's talk about the year it took me to get Mr. Pinchy's Magical Crawdad Box! On second thought, let's not. The Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest This disappeared in Cataclysm, and with it went all the work that went into farming up bug parts and Elementium Ingots, which is where I got stuck in the chain. (So close, and yet so far.) The Insane This almost goes without saying, although it's easier these days than it used to be. Your thoughts, readers? What's the toughest thing in the game to farm?
How to get all the Children's Week pets in one year
User CJGibson over on Reddit's /r/wow community made an excellent point earlier today concerning the Children's Week pets that are only available while the holiday is running. Ordinarily, it's only possible for one character to get three pets each year: one from the classic Azeroth quests (Piglet's Collar, the Rat Cage, the Turtle Box, or the Snail Shell), one from the Outland quests (Elekk Training Collar, Egbert's Egg, Sleepy Willy, or Legs), and one from the Northrend quests (the Curious Wolvar Pup or the Curious Oracle Hatchling). But you know how in Mists of Pandaria all of the non-combat pets on your account will be shared amongst your characters? If you run a series of alts through the quests and pick different pets on each one, you'll have all the pets on all your characters once the Mists of Pandaria content patch hits (or, at the latest, once Mists itself does). The tip was so brilliant that I slapped myself for not thinking of it, so I wanted to draw some attention to it here as quickly as possible. Pet hunters? Save yourselves four years' worth of waiting, and get cracking. If this is your first year with the holiday and you need any help with the achievements, you can find our guide to Children's Week here.
Breakfast Topic: What's your favorite pet?
I started my first alt, a druid, when Ulduar was out. I meant for her to be an extra healer for my guild at the time, but I leveled her as a cat. Once I got to 80, I was playing as cat and tree for a while until I got pulled into a Gluth run as an off tank. "Just go bear, put up Demo Roar, Mangle, and Maul as much as possible -- oh, and taunt when we tell you to," they told me. The thrill of taunting and not dying a swing later sold me for life. I have been bear tanking on my druid alt ever since. When the Argent Tournament appeared, I got excited at the pets each faction offered. For Alliance, I had access to both the Teldrassil Sproutling and the Dun Morogh Cub. While my warlock jousted eternally for a Crusader title, my druid was content to just snag the sproutling and the cub. Whenever she out being a bear, she'd have the sproutling out; whenever she was throwing heals, she'd have the cub running by her side. Now that I have a second druid to cover the caster specs, my bear druid is a full-time feral. The cub doesn't come out to play anymore, but the Teldrassil Sproutling dances and sleeps just about anywhere. On my lowbie Horde toons, I always get a Horde Balloon. There's always a Celestial Dragon by my guild's bear tank when she runs in for the pull. My caster druid has the mechanical bunny out, since she's an engineer who loves cute animals like Mylune. One of our moonkin hopes that non-combat pets will be nameable in Mists so he can name his always-present Moonkin Hatchling after his daughter. D'awwww! With Pet Battles coming out, there will always be people hunting for the next best performing pet. But do you have any pets you're already partial to on certain characters for other reasons?
The Perfect Ten: Types of loot that get me excited
Loot's not something that I see discussed much these days among MMO players. It's probably because loot's been around since the beginning of online time and is such a staple that we'd only really notice it if it went away completely or if the object in question were a major game-changer for us. Random loot from mobs is a reward mechanic that is bordering on archaic, having been supplanted by dependable quest rewards and barter vendors that give us the gear we so desire. Of course, now we've come around the weird circle to the point that dropped lockboxes hold interesting loot, but we've got to pay for the privilege of seeing what's inside. But let's not go there today! Instead, I'm going to share with you the 10 general types of loot that still get me excited while playing. They will shock, amaze, and radically reshape your life, as long as you've had a recent brain wipe and are awaiting brand-new neural instructions.
Taun-taunts: Damion Schubert teases future SWTOR vanity pets
Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic blog Inquisitor's Roadhouse got in touch with BioWare Lead System Designer Damion Schubert to talk about the game's "other" companions: vanity pets. While they may not be the fifth pillar of gameplay, vanity pets in SWTOR are desired by many collectors -- and Schubert has word that more are on the way. While Schubert admits that vanity pets, such as the Hutt Observer and Mouse Droid, weren't at the top of BioWare's priority list in beta, he said the team knew they wanted them as part of the launched game. There are only a handful of pets in the game at this time, but more are to come in SWTOR's next big update. "I don't want to give out too big a hint, but they smell kinda bad on the outside," Schubert teased. He confirmed that currently pets are not limited by faction, although there are some that are restricted to dark and light side players. Schubert said that BioWare will be using vanity pets as rewards for many aspects of gameplay, including the social and legacy systems. Getting them in the future may be more complicated in a good way, however: "One of the things we want to do a lot more of is adding items that take a bit of communal exploration to discover – we're well aware of how popular datacrons and the magenta lightsaber crystal are – and minipets is one place where we've identified adding fun things like that could really pay off."
Guardian Cub pet now available for purchase
The Winged Guardian Cub, a source of contention and discussion since it was announced, is now available for purchase on the Blizzard Pet Store. Unlike previous pets, the cub is not account-wide; when you purchase the cub, the store will ask you to pick an account and character to deliver the pet to. Pets are sent via in-game mail from Breanni and are locked to your character for 24 hours. After that day is up, the pet becomes tradeable for anyone that wishes to do so, and you can sell the pet on the Auction House for gold at that time. I have to admit, for being such a source of derision, the little guy is terribly cute -- especially when he breaks into idle animations, batting random moths around with unbridled glee. Whether you're looking to sell the pets on the Auction House, trade them to a friend, or simply learn them for your own, you can pick them up for $10 at the Blizzard Pet Store now.
The Road to Mordor: Not all who wander are lost
These are exciting times for Lord of the Rings Online, for sure. The Fellowship -- and hundreds of thousands of groupies following in its wake -- has moved south, and we are growing ever closer to Mordor and Mt. Doom. In a month, Middle-earth will grow significantly with the addition of Rise of Isengard, and level-capped players will suddenly have a whole new buffet of content to devour. It's also a good era for exposure for the game, as plenty of people will get to see the expansion at Gamescom and PAX, not to mention those already in the beta proper. While we haven't heard anything about the game's finances or player numbers lately, there's no reason to believe that it's not still going strong. That said, I want to take a step back today, as I sometimes do, and look at the larger picture. How is LotRO positioned against the current competition and the heavy-hitters yet to come? What does Turbine need to be working on over the next year or two? Are we just wandering aimlessly, or is the path laid out for journey for a long time to come?
Enter at Your Own Rift: Creature comforts
I've got a problem that nine interventions and three bouts of electroshock therapy have yet to cure: I'm hopelessly addicted to collecting non-combat pets (aka vanity pets) in MMOs. I don't know why that is, exactly, although I've always had a fondness for "fluffy" elements on online games. In my opinion, a lot of what we work for in MMOs is cosmetic anyway -- a really good-looking set of armor, a top-of-the-line mount -- with some piddly stats occasionally making a cameo. (Comment bait? Oh yes, I'm evil that way!) While adding nothing to my combat power nor helping me advance in the game, pets still hold purpose. They are fun to display, particularly if you have rare critters that others haven't seen, and they can give you a feeling of virtual companionship during your journeys. Unlike many collection items, pets have a use -- you can actually do something with them instead of tucking them away where they'll sit collecting pixelated dust. I was pretty pleased to discover that RIFT wasn't going to leave us high and dry when it came to non-combat pets, although it's interesting that they're somewhat harder to come by than in, say, World of Warcraft. If you're like I am, you're scouring the game looking to expand your menagerie, so it might be frustrating to be well on your way to 50 with only a paltry pair of pets to your name. Where is everyone getting all of these? How can I snag a few more? Join me after the jump as we examine six ways to collect crazy critters!
Patch 4.2: Pet collector achievements updated on the PTR
A few new achievements were for added pet collectors in the latest PTR patch today, according to Wowhead. The small patch on the test realms contains three new achievements for players who collect 100, 125, and 150 non-combat pets. Petting Zoo awards Nuts' Acorn. Menagerie awards Brilliant Kaliri. Littlest Pet Shop awards Celestial Dragon. Just as with previous pet collecting achievements (Shop Smart, Shop Pet...Smart, Lil' Game Hunter), our obsessive efforts will once again be rewarded with a unique pet. We've seen Nuts' Acorn in the patch 4.2 game files before, and the Celestial Dragon (pictured above) appeared in game files back in Wrath of the Lich King, but the Brilliant Kaliri is a new addition. Currently, there aren't any datamined pictures of the pet, but I can only assume it will be very similar to the Kaliri mobs found in Skettis and other zones from The Burning Crusade. One thing I'm curious about with these pets is if they'll have any special animations or Easter eggs like previous pets have. If you remember, the skunk pet from the 50-pet achievement pays tribute to Pepé Le Pew from Looney Tunes by chasing nearby Black Tabby and Bombay cat pets. 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!
The Daily Grind: What do you collect in-game?
Recently I was lamenting to my wife that I don't really have a good collection of anything. I think that really interesting people usually have some oddball collection that they work on over the years. For example, my friend Howard is a Pez fanatic, who has not only thousands of Pez dispensers but Pez t-shirts, belt buckles and a huge Pez tattoo down his arm. Howard knows the joy of a good collection. But then I realized that perhaps my urge to collect is being sated in MMOs. I usually always love to collect non-combat pets (if the game I'm playing has them), or goofy titles, or awesome outfits. There's something deeply satisfying about sitting on a well-stocked treasure-trove after a long period of working on it. So do you collect anything in MMOs? Do you store away statistically useless yet cosmetically perfect weapons just to have them? Is there a huge menagerie of animals parked in your garage, ready to transport you in style? If an MMO has a collection system, do you take full advantage of 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!
Addon Spotlight: Equus Infinata
Addon Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, Addon Spotlight reaches into the addon grab bag and pulls out some delicious randomness for you. Salutations, friends. Welcome to another exciting week on Addon Spotlight, where addons reign supreme amongst the pitiful, smelly masses of other crap you could talk about related to World of Warcraft. Addons encompass it all! We are champion. This week, Addon Spotlight is heading into mount and pet territory, discussing a wonderful little addon called Equus Infinata. Equus not only caught my eye because of how simple and pretty the addon looks, but how it integrates straight into your already existing mount and pet interface pane. As a special treat, I asked Robert, the addon's author, a couple of questions about creating his first addon. Click for more!
Gold Capped: Engineering isn't so useless after all
Gold doesn't matter, right? It's just gold, and you get more than enough for your needs through dailies and the occasional mining spree. Why even bother getting Gold Capped? It's not like you'll ever be able to spend it all! Wait a sec, how does that bank alt have a single Ulduar clear and have Mimiron's head? Every week, check in with Basil "Euripides" Berntsen, also of outdps.com, the Hunting Party podcast and the Call to Auction podcast, as he attempts to mold all the random information jostling for cerebral space into a coherent, readable post about how to make gold in the World of Warcraft. In real life, engineers are brilliant and dedicated individuals who work together with tradespeople to accomplish some of the technological marvels of the modern world. Historically, these are the people who built the pyramids, the boats that brought Europeans to the new world, and the spaceships that took mankind to the moon and back. In World of Warcraft, engineers are a bunch of goofy characters who speak in childishly high voices and have a tendency to blow themselves up by accident in humorous ways. Anyone else sense that whoever did the concept art at Blizzard for gnomish and goblin engineers flunked out of engineering? Anyways, while engineering is an amazing profession for certain parts of the game, it's dead last when it comes to making money. There are only really a few things engineers can do to make cash. Wryxian In general, we want Engineering to remain a tradeskill mainly focused on creating fun or useful gadgets for the engineer, but we are exploring options for items that can be sold to other players for profit. source This quote was from the Cataclysm profession preview we posted about earlier. Engineering is currently barely ahead of farming in terms of income potential, and it's nice to see that Blizzard acknowledges this and might fix it. Not all hope is lost, though. A savvy player can eak out a living if they focus on the right markets. First off, the elephant in the room: selling epic ammo.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite vanity pet?
It may be the absolute height of fluffery, but vanity pets (AKA "non-combat pets" and "it'll cost you $5 in our item shop") are adored, desired, collected and flaunted by many MMO players. Even the most hardcore among us show a softer side by pulling out a playful puddycat before a raid, and it's not uncommon to pass by a traveler in the wilderness who has a faithful companion by their side. For some people, it makes them feel less alone in their journeys; for others, vanity pets are a status symbol. Most MMOs have these pets in one form or another, pets that don't attack your enemies but perhaps charm them with fashionable cuteness. From WoW to LotRO, from Mabinogi to Free Realms, from Wizard101 to Guild Wars, vanity pets are some of the most desired items. So what's your favorite, if you have a particular softness for these summonable critters? Which pet did or do you always use above all others? And what made them your favorite -- was it its rarity, its looks, its animations, or its similarity to your favorite animal?
Patch 3.3.3: Account changes for Murkimus
Gladiators, rejoice! Or at least those of you that participated in the 2009 Arena Tournament -- Murkimus, gladiator murloc extraordinaire has been changed as of today's patch. The pet, which was previously only available on whatever character you used the code with, will now apply to your entire Battle.net account. So if you claimed your Murkimus on one character, be prepared to receive a surprise in the mail on your other characters when you log in. Watch your fingers, that spear is sharp. Here's the full announcement: Bashiok With the release of patch 3.3.3 those who received the Murkimus pet for their participation in the 2009 Arena Tournament will notice that the pet is being changed to apply to their entire Battle.net account and all associated World of Warcraft licenses. If you previously claimed a Murkimus code for one character on an account this change will mean that all characters on that account, as well as characters on any other World of Warcraft licenses registered to the same Battle.net account, will receive a Murkimus in their in-game mailboxes. With this change you'll finally be able to play any of your characters, stand up defiantly, and exclaim "I'm Murkimus!" source So Gladiators, enjoy your pet -- on whatever character you'd like. I'll be over here, wishing I'd participated in it!
