non-combat-pets
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Leveling an army of vanity pets
Finding new ways to level your characters is always a challenge. Exactly how many ways can you push through the same levels? Try a new race and class -- been there. Perhaps working with the opposite faction -- done that. Level without weapons or armor? Well that's been done too. In the waiting game between expansions and in the wake of the accelerated experience gain, players are looking for interesting gimmicks to get them interested in leveling again. I know I tried a second hunter, leveling with Beast Mastery, and had great fun until I realized that I created yet another duplicate character without a real use.That's why I was interested when Sarial of The Uncommon Drop wrote in letting WoW Insider know about her goal to level a character in an unusual way. Her plan is to gain experience purely through the attainment of non-combat pets. There certainly are a plethora of vanity pets out there, and collecting them was once a passion I admit I spent a little too much bank space on. As fascinating as this project might be, I'm not sure it can be done from level 1. The first non-combat pet in my recollection would be the one that drops from the Red Whelps in Wetlands after all. But Sarial will be grinding from level 40 to level 70 with her Blood Elf warlock, which seems to be a more reasonable range. There are certainly lots of pets out there to collect in zones around those levels. Would you ever consider leveling in this fashion?[thanks Sarial!]
New noncombatty goodness
If you have been keeping up with the latest patch news (and who hasn't?), then I'm sure you've noticed that despite some grievances, everyone has something that they are greatly anticipating. If you happen to be a fan of pets of the non-combat variety, then 2.3 is turning out to be the patch for you!Hot on the heels of the latest seasonal pets, the elusive Wolpertinger and the Sinister Squashling, those who obtain exalted status with Sporeggar will be able to purchase the Tiny Spore Bat for the reasonable fee of 30 glowcaps. While Elizabeth did mention the little tike briefly in a recent update on the patch notes, I wanted to give him his own spotlight. As if these two weren't enough, there's also Mojo, the adorable blue frog who is not afraid to show you some love. If you collected the Tiny Crimson Whelpling, Dark Whelpling, and Tiny Emerald Whelpling, then you'll love the new Azure Whelpling! Based on the original whelpling models, this new pet has a bluer outlook on life. If you want to snag one for yourself, you'll have to hit up Azshara after the patch drops. Park yourself in amongst a group of level 51+ elite Blue Dragonspawns, and prepare to farm for the long haul, as there is no current data regarding this little guy's drop rate. Whether you enjoy non-combat pets or not, one thing is for sure; Breanni is absolutely right. Azshara might actually get busy! In much the same way that Mr. Pinchy has helped to revitalize fishing, maybe this whelpling will add a little pizazz to the zone - or at least kick its tourism scene up a notch.Will you be spotted in Azshara post-patch farming 'til you drop? If so, will he be your new pal, another notch in your belt, or a nice addition to your AH-for-mount fund?
"Why must you chase me, mechanical yeti?"
Let me preface this by saying that I absolutely love the tonks. I cackle with fiendish glee anytime one of my guild mates pulls out a tonk while we're waiting on the rest of the group to get to an instance. Tonk wars are no end of fun.One of the things that has been conspicuously absent from the game for some time was more mini-games like the tonks at the Darkmoon Faire. Sure, you get the Battered Steam Tonk Controller as a quest reward in the Bone Wastes, but I already have a tonk. I had hopes when I did the Arcano Scorpid quest in Shadowmoon Valley... It seems like you should be able to battle them. But sadly enough, as a guild mate and I found out, once you've turned in the quest, you can no longer control the arcano scorpids. (We can only guess that it is still possible that you can battle them, considering they have attacks that only work on other arcano scorpids. But you'd have to never turn in the quest to be able to continue playing.) And yes, you can do the bombing run over and over in Hellfire, but without actually playing against another person, where is the challenge in it?So, what we'd like to propose is for Blizzard to actually build in some form of mini-games. Not a true PVP thing, like dueling or battlegrounds, but something of a smaller and potentially sillier bent. Like giving folks control of the arcano scorpids after the quest is completed. That way you could play Scorpid Battle Mechs to break up the monotony of puking your guts out while searching for that one perfectly ripe Arakkoa egg. Or hey, how about making those non-combat pets useful and let us fight them against each other? I can just see it now... Magical Crawdad, I choose you!
Breakfast Topic: Non-combat pets
There are a variety of non-combat pets available throughout Azeroth--ranging from easily purchased pets to those which can only be obtained through cross-faction co-operation. While some people see them as annoyances, others are hastily trying to collect as many as they can; after all, it passes the time.I have a few of these pets, including the Sprite Darter Hatchling pictured right. However, I'm not very attached to them--the fact I can only have one out at a time doesn't help. I generally send any rare treats I find to the Auction House--especially on low alts, finding Little Timmy in Stormwind is a great way of making some quick cash.What's your stance on non-combat pets? Take them or leave them? Gotta catch them all?
