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Penguin noncombat pets appear in the beta
Well, folks, it looks like we're definitely getting our wish. After incessant begging, peevish requests, heart-rending pleas, and no small amount of outright nagging on the part of...actually, I think everyone in the game has asked for this at one point or another, but never mind. People in the beta have started getting penguin pets!A much earlier data-mined image gave us a glimpse of what we could only assume were penguin noncombat pets, but reader Alassiel has written in to confirm that two of her characters in the beta have now received them in the mail. You can see Alassiel's screenshots of her Death Knight getting hers here and here. Elizabeth Wachowski and Zach Yonzon braved a constantly-crashing beta server to get more information and pictures for us. It looks like the pet, named "Chilly," is currently being mailed to players in the beta as a gift for switching to a Blizzard account. And yes, it is pretty much the cutest thing ever, which I suspect is an effort to compensate for Northrend being a continent full of animated corpses. As Alassiel's gotten them on at least two characters so far, I assume it's being sent to all active toons on a Blizzard account. We're not sure if that's going to remain the only way to get Chilly, but if you're in the beta and have a Blizzard account (or want to switch to one -- it's free), don't forget to check your mailbox!
New noncombat pet found in Zangarmarsh
I'm no noncombat pet completist (I am proud to have gotten Willy on my Shaman, but all of my other alts run with storebought pets), but the aptly named mfirefly of WoW_Ladies has uncovered a pet I've never seen before. Firefly must have come in with patch 2.1 (or was it in with the expansion, and I just haven't seen it till now?): It's a [Captured Firefly] that drops from the bugs in Zangarmarsh. How... cute?She says she got this "very rare" pet after 586 Bogflare Needler kills, which seems like a lot, but then again, it might be worth it: the flavor text on the pet says "Still flying..", which is a great reference to the super fun and canceled-before-its-time Joss Whedon TV show that this little guy seems to be named after. If you don't want to kill bugs for the rest of your life, the pet is BoE, so you might keep an eye on the Auction House as well. Grats to mfirefly for such a cool pet!With all the crazy pets that are coming out lately, can anyone really be a noncombat pet completist any more? Is there anyone out there that really has caught them all?
TCG in-game rewards revealed (finally!)
If, like me, you've been waiting for the WoW collectible card game to finally justify its existence, wait no longer. From the beginning, Blizzard and cardmakers Upper Deck have promised that cards in packs would give in-game rewards, and today they revealed the deets. Special "Loot" versions of cards will have scratch offs that reveal codes to be redeemed in-game. The "Loot" version of someone named Landro Longshot (the lore of this escapes me, if you know it, speak up) will grant a unique in-game tabard. A card that shows a Thundering Hippogryph will grant a new non combat pet-- awesome! And then there's the one you really want: the loot version of "Saltwater Snapjaw" will grant players their very own big-eyed turtle mount. That's right, the rumors were true. If you find this card, you can ride around on the back of a freaking turtle (Upper Deck is quick to point out that it goes regular speed, even though it's a turtle). Also, the mount is usable by players of all levels, which means you can finally ride out to Hogger. Because of that, I'd assume it's a 60% mount, not 100%, but they don't say specifically. Every card pack will have a card that gives "UDE Points," which you can use to redeem for other cards or in-game items in an online system. Two trinkets are first up in this system: a trinket that puts on a fireworks display, and another that changes you into an ogre mage. Finally, apparently there will be three loot rewards with every series of cards that Upper Deck releases-- the first series, Heroes of Azeroth, is due this month, and the second one, called Onyxia's Lair, is scheduled for November. The FAQ about the in-game loot answers some more questions, but not the most important one: how many of these stupid card packs do I have to buy to get a turtle mount? Of course it's all random, so it could be one or one hundred, but they don't list any "drop rates" (is that what you call it in CCGs?) on exactly how rare these loot cards are. On the other hand, if you do end up buying a hundred of these things, I hear there's some kind of actual card game you can play with them. Who knew?![ Thanks to everyone who sent this in! ]
