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Getting started with pet battles in Warlords of Draenor
Though the basic battle pet system hasn't changed, if you're a pet collector heading into Warlords of Draenor you'll find plenty of new pets to collect, six new tamers to beat, daily battles at your garrison's menagerie, new achievements, and a new pet-centric currency. So where's a potential pet tamer to begin? We'll walk you through all of the pat battling Warlords has to offer. Find and fight Draenor's pet tamers There are six new tamers to battle in Draenor, one for every zone (excepting Tanaan and Ashran). You can fight each tamer once a day in exchange for 4 Pet Charms, which you can use to buy pet-centric gear at your garrison. In addition to fun toys like costumes and pet treats, you can buy bandages, and battle-stones. Amongst that gear, of the most interest to pet levelers will be: Marked Flawless Battle-Stones for 15 charms, Flawless Battle-Training Stones for 3 charms, and Mystery Bags which a random family battle-training stone for 2 charms. Here's who you'll need to fight (and where you'll need to go) for your pet charms: Cymre Brightblade, Gorgrond (51, 71): Strategy Ashlei, Shadowmoon Valley (50, 30): Strategy Vesharr, Spires of Arak (46, 46): Strategy Gargra, Frostfire Ridge (67, 64): Strategy Taralune, Talador (49, 81): Strategy Tarr the Terrible, Nagrand (56, 10): Strategy
Leveling your battle pets into a formidable pet army
Last time, we covered a ton of details about how pet battles work -- but now it's time to put that knowledge into practice to get your pets leveled. It's tough starting at level 1 and building up a team of pets high enough level to collect the pets you might be interested in, much less pick up achievements like Taming the World (which grants you the Safari Hat that will help you level even more pets) or World Safari (which grants you the Zookeeper title). Getting your pets up to level 25 so you can take on anything the game can throw at you (pet battle-wise, at least) will take time -- but it's a somewhat less daunting task if you combine it with another in-game project. Are you working the loremaster achievement? Thinking of leveling another alt? Because you'll be traveling zone to zone, both of these are a great time to work in some battle pet leveling -- and since you get experience from winning pet battles, they can help with leveling, too. Wherever you are in your leveling journey, we can help you get closer to 25.
Battle pet basics to get you started building your pet collection
Though I started working on an article about how to collect battle pets much in the same vein as collecting titles and mounts... I quickly realized it was going to be a lot more complicated than that. Though you certainly can collect plenty of vanity pets by buying them, farming for drops, and getting achievements, the bulk of pet collecting in WoW needs to be done by capturing wild pets for yourself. So if you want to amass a fine collection of WoW pets, what you need to do is get into pet battling so you can find and capture your own pets. However, it's a daunting prospect if you're starting from level 1 and want to pick up pets from Northrend or Pandaria. We've already walked you through the very basics of starter battling and some tips on advancing through the levels, but today we'll walk you through the battle pet details you'll need to go from 1 to 25 and collect as many pets as you'd like along the way.
Battle pet level cap will remain 25 in Warlords
While Warlords of Draenor is set to include ten levels worth of new content for players, Senior Game Designer Jonathan LeCraft confirms that the level cap for battle pets will remain at 25. .@liopleurodonic @mumper Confirmed: the level cap for pets will not increase in WoD. - Jonathan LeCraft (@TheCrafticus) January 30, 2014 Since we've previously seen the level and difficulty of pet battles increase as the zone level increased, this indicates a curious change for pet battles. Will we simply see additional battle pet content with no difficulty increase from Mists? Or is this a sign that we won't be getting much more battle pet content at all? We don't know anything for sure, but we're keeping our eyes peeled for more info.
Get your low level battle pets up to 25 with this guide
Leveling a new pet from 1 to 25 can be a time-consuming slog -- but it doesn't have to be. Though you'll need to start with a few solid level 25 pets, you can let two max-level pets carry you while saving your third slot with a that needs the experience. Then, just fight your way through high-level pet trainers with this guide from Adventures in Poor Taste. The trick is in having the right level 25 pets so you can win battles without having to rely on your third, under-level pet. The guide walks you through the ideal pets for the job -- you might want to hit up their guide to the 7 best beginner pets while you're at it -- and gives you a play-by-play for what to expect from all of Pandaria's pet trainers (plus a couple of extras). So what are you waiting for? Break out your Safari Hat level your way up to the 30 max-level pets you'll need to enter the Celestial Tournament. Good luck!
New Mount and Make-A-Wish pet now available
The Fey Dragon was datamined a while back, and now this new mount is available on the Battle.net store. This incredibly pretty mount is bundled in with the Alterac Brew Pup, and as you'd expect, they both apply to all current and future characters on a battle.net account. The Fey Dragon is a flying mount, but it has no skill requirement apart from riding -- if you can't fly, it'll walk, but it also scales up to your fastest flying speed, so if you're flush enough in-game to get 310%, then the Dragon will do that too. What's more, in a first for WoW mounts, it's color-changing! Gone is the need to get it in every color -- your first and only Fey Dragon will be every Fey Dragon you could want. As WoW Insider reported yesterday, the Alterac Brew Pup, as part of a long line of rescue dogs doing great deeds, is having part of its proceeds -- 50% of the $10 cost -- donated to the Make-a-Wish foundation. As Wowhead mentioned, it's a battle pet, and you can find out more details in their Battle Pet database. The donation will be made to Make-a-Wish whether you buy the pet by itself or the pet and mount bundle.
New charity Battle Pet coming to the Pet Store soon
A new Battle Pet is headed to the Blizzard Pet Store soon. The Alterac Brew Pup, pictured above, seems to be slated for release in the not-too-distant future. According to a page found by the fine folks over at Wowhead, the Brew Pup, like other Battle Pets in the past, will have a percentage of the proceeds from its sales donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The page also mentions that the cost of the Battle Pet will be $10 -- which is the standard rate for pets on the store. Although the purchase page was briefly visible in the Blizzard Store -- long enough for Wowhead to nab a screenshot, it has since been removed. This could be for any number of reasons: they may have simply jumped the gun on making the page available, might have just been testing the layout, or may have some changes to make to the listing page. Regardless, we now know where that perfectly adorable new Battle Pet will be found -- and now it's just a matter of patiently waiting until it's released. For more information on the Battle Pet and its abilities, check out Wowhead's Battle Pet database.
Patch 5.4.2 PTR: Treasure Goblin pet video
In Diablo, a Treasure Goblin is a wonderful thing. Spawning in the least expected places, and gaily leaping off into the distance, dropping piles of gold as he goes. And if you manage to kill this ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and dismal world, yet more bounty is afforded to you. This little dude was discovered by our friends over at Adriacraft, who have put together a video displaying his animations, and how, when killed, he drops little piles of gold just like his in-game namesake. But the real question is, how do you get hold of this adorable goblin? Well, thanks again to Adriacraft, we know that this is obtained by purchasing the collector's edition of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. As we've come to expect, the pet is account wide, and a battle pet.
BlizzCon 2013: Murkalot is in the mail
If you are attending BlizzCon or have the Virtual Ticket, Murkalot the battle pet should be in your mailbox. The murloc pet based on the new Crusader class for Diablo III started showing up in mailboxes on Wednesday evening. Unlike previous event pets, Murkalot will not be showing up in all of your characters' mailboxes because pets are account-wide. I'm not sure how Blizzard picks which character to send it to. It showed up on a level 90 I haven't played in a while, but it may have been the first character I logged into after it got mailed out. Murkalot's idle animations include disappearing into a beam of light and then falling on the ground afterward. He picks himself up and shakes himself off before returning to his ready position. Are you attending BlizzCon virtually or physically and have you received your Murkalot yet? What do you think of him?
Patch 5.4.1: Asia-only pets added to Recruit-A-Friend
Perculia over at Wowhead has been digging around on the patch 5.4.1 PTR and unearthed some great reward-based news for the upcoming new Recruit-a-Friend system. If you're into pet collection, there's a faint possibility you might already be aware of the couple of Asia-only exclusive pets that we could never get our pixel hands on in NA and EU regions. Well, they're on the PTR, both the pigs you see in the header image, and a couple of miniaturized versions of the jewelcrafting tigers. You can check them out in Wowhead's article too. All the pets are battle pets, both pigs are critters and both tigers are magic. There's also screenshots of the Recruit-A-Friend in-game UI, bearing a striking resemblance to the look of the in-game store overall. It shows windows for your friend's email address and for your note, as well as what seems likely to be a follow-up screen where you choose your reward from the tokens issued. It seems to be quite the improvement on the previous system where you had to do most of the work from the battle.net site. Hopefully this rework also makes the overall process easier for the friend being recruited as well as the recruiter -- the old system was not exactly intuitive.
Cinder Kitten 25% off this week only
Good news, Battle Pet enthusiasts! If you somehow originally missed out on nabbing the cuddly, roly-poly Cinder Kitten, you can now pick up the ball of fluff and flames for 25% off in the Blizzard Pet Store this week. Originally introduced in late 2012, the Cinder Kitten is usually $10 to purchase. With the sale, it's all of $7.50. And while it's admittedly adorable beyond all reason, it's also a pretty fierce Battle Pet to add to your team, too! Check out the Blizzard Pet Store to pick up your very own cuddly flaming ball of fiery purring death, or nab a few for holiday gifts later this year. But if you want to take advantage of the sale price, better hurry - the sale price for the Cinder Kitten runs until September 3, at 11:59PM PDT, and applies to both US and EU players.
Battlefield: Barrens ending soon
Still have shopping to do with the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster? Be sure to get it done before patch 5.4 goes live. In a forum post earlier this morning, Community Manager Crithto reminded players that the Battlefield: Barrens world event will be ending forever when the next patch is released. Crithto -- Battlefield: Barrens Ending Soon As the Orgrimmar invasion begins in 5.4, Vol'jin and his forces will move beyond gathering supplies and into a full assault on the Horde capital. This means that once the new patch goes live, the Battlefield: Barrens weekly quest will no longer be available. Those of you who have a Radical Mojo after the patch goes live will still be able to use it with existing armor tokens. However, Ravika, the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster, will no longer be available for purchases, but you will have a rare chance at receiving the Raptorhide Boxing Gloves and Gahz'rooki's Summoning Stone by killing the Kor'kron, and other associated mobs in Northern Barrens. source So if you were planning to buy vanity items like Xan'tish's Flute and Griftah's Authentic Troll Shoes, or wanted to earn the Darkspear Revolutionary or Hordebreaker achievements on an alt, get to work! The patch could be coming as soon as Tuesday, August 27th.
Patch 5.4 PTR: More details on the Celestial Tournament
If you're interested in knowing more about patch 5.4's Celestial Tournament, Wowhead has the full details on this PTR petstraviganza. And while PTR details are always subject to change, here's what we know so far: You can compete in the tournament once a week through the quest The Celestial Tournament. The tournament has two rounds: in the first you fight against 3 pet trainers with 3 legendary battle pets each and in the second you're up against 4 legendary elite battle pets. These opponents are random and will change week to week, but expect to see familiar faces like Blingtron 4000 and Wrathion. For winning, you get a Celestial Coin, which can be used to buy unique pets and other items. Pet battle enthusiasts will also be pleased to know that patch 5.4 is packed with new battle pets: Wowhead has found over 20. Of the many new available pets, though, we're most on the lookout for our own Lil' Bling, who will clearly dazzle opponents into submission. Need even more juicy details about pet battles on the PTR? Check out Wowhead and WarcraftPets for the rest.
Patch 5.4: Gahz'rooki converted to a rare drop
Once patch 5.4 drops, the Battlefield Barrens world event will come to a close. Players will no longer have access to the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster, Ravika, who sells a variety of fun items, including Gahz'rooki's Summoning Stone. Battle pet collectors have been curious as to what will happen to Gahz'rooki next patch, and Mumper confirmed its fate: @Proffessor_Oak Ghaz'rooki is being converted to a rare drop. Not sure about the boxing gloves yet. - Cory Stockton (@mumper) July 9, 2013 Its definitely good to know that Gahz'rooki will be sticking around, albeit as a rare drop. We don't know where it'll drop or how rare it'll be, so farm the pet now while it can be traded for a Radical Mojo. As for the quartermaster's other Battlefield Barrens-themed items, like Griftah's Authentic Troll Shoes, we're assuming that they'll disappear along with the event once the patch hits. Purchase them now while you can!
Patch 5.4 PTR: Crazy Cat Lady/Man title added
When the Crazy for Cats achievement was discovered on the PTR, the first thing players asked for was a title to go along with it. Namely, something to do with being a Crazy Cat Person. Good news! We got what we asked for: The Crazy Cat Lady and the Crazy Cat Man were both added as titles in the latest patch 5.4 PTR build. Keep in mind that you need 20 out of the 24 cats listed under the achievement. Overall, the achievement doesn't seem too difficult for a battle pet collector to earn, especially since one-third of the cats on the list are purchasable via NPCs. A few felines on the list are harder to come by, including the Nightsaber Cub and Spectral Tiger Cub from the TCG, and the Spectral Cub awarded to players participating in the Shanghai 2012 Battle.net World Championship. I'm crossing my fingers for the title off the bat when the patch drops!
Lesser Voidcaller brings all the spirits to the yard
Since the introduction of the new Raiding with Leashes achievement, I've been farming the old BC raids for new pets. I've only managed to farm up about half, but I'm sure Lady RNG will be kind to me at some point. In my collecting adventures, I've come across a few battle pets that are so irresistibly cute that I could care less about abilities, pet family, or how to obtain them. Lesser Voidcaller definitely falls under that category because of its unique idle animation that summons small spirits. Lesser Voidcaller drops from High Astromancer Solarian in The Eye, so it's not tough to obtain. Before you engage the boss, be sure to at least kill the two packs patrolling the room, as the casters will use a mind control and force a reset. The entire room will pull with the boss if you don't clear it, but I've never had an issue AoEing everything, even on my squishier priest. Lesser Voidcaller is of the Magic family and its abilities are as follows: Slot 1 Shadow Shock or Nether Blast Slot 2 Siphon Life or Prismatic Barrier Slot 3 Curse of Doom or Drain Power
Patch 5.4 PTR: A glimpse of the Timeless Isle
Patch 5.4 has plenty of new features to offer, but at the present time many of those features haven't quite been released yet on the PTR, including the Timeless Isle. What's the Timeless Isle? It seems to be home to the new pet battle tournament that was discovered, as well as some sort of temporary hiding place or home for the August Celestials as well. You can't access the Timeless Isle on the PTR currently, but Adriacraft has managed to put together some footage of the Isle in detail. The video is after the break. Please note: This post contains possible spoilers for patch 5.4.
Lil' Bad Wolf packs a big punch against Critters
Real talk time: I've been feeling a bit agitated at the battle pet situation in patch 5.3. Naturally, I want to collect every new pet, but RNG is a cruel mistress. The new patch introduced an updated Raiding with Leashes achievement, which has players returning to the good old BC raids. BC was my favorite expansion, so I enjoy heading back to stomp all over Lady Vashj, especially. Which is good, because I've yet to see a pet drop from SSC. But I digress. Reader SpaceBard suggested a rundown of Lil' Bad Wolf, one of the ten new raid battle pets in 5.3. We live to serve. Farming Lil' Bad Wolf is plagued with RNG obstacles. First, the Red Riding Hood encounter must spawn during The Opera Event -- one of three possible outcomes -- and then, of course, the pet may or may not drop. This devilishly cute Humanoid's abilities are as follows: Slot 1 Claw or Counterstrike Slot 2 Mangle or Dodge Slot 3 Howl or Pounce
Solo the Chess Event with Tikari's Tricks of the Trade
As an obsessive a big fan of battle pets, I was looking forward to everything patch 5.3 had to offer. Tons of battle pet changes, and the slew of new pets for the Raiding With Leashes II: Attunement Edition all had me especially excited. I zipped through The Eye and Serpentshrine Cavern hunting for the new pets, and emerged victorious with one. Huzzah! But on my way to Karazhan, I realized I'd need to solo the Chess Event to get to Prince Malchezaar, who also drops a pet. I wiped a few times, but things turned around once I read through an excellent Chess Event soloing guide from WoW blogger Tikari of Tikari's Tricks of the Trade. Keep in mind that even with a great plan, the Chess Event is still plagued with RNG issues. But knowing what to expect will hopefully keep your rage at bay. Tikari lays out a simple set of moves -- with diagrams -- and priorities to give your king the best chance of surviving, which is the main goal. The event was nerfed to increase the delay between enemy moves, but keep a few tips in mind. Move your king, and queen if you can, out of the fire immediately. Fire isn't a buff! Attack the enemy king with your queen, using the Rain of Fire/Poison Cloud ability. Be sure to target the enemy king with the queen's main attack. The Clerics seem to heal the enemy king more than I remember, but I kept them distracted with other pieces. Medivh doesn't cheat as quickly as he did before, so you'll have time for about four moves before he does so the first time around. Be sure to at least give your king, ideally your queen as well, space to move. I was able to win in the end by moving backward out of fire, drawing the enemy king into it. Good luck and be sure to check out Tikari's guide for all the details!
Son of Animus will tank all the things
Patch 5.2 introduced a slew of battle pets, with a few as rare drops from bosses in the new Throne of Thunder raid, including Living Sandling, Ji-Kun Hatchling, and Son of Animus. Recently, I was lucky enough to obtain Son of Animus, and it's quite a unique addition to my collection. I couldn't wait to level it! This breed 4 (4/14 or P/P) Mechanical pet uses abilities inspired by the boss that drops it, Dark Animus, and are as follows: Slot 1 Metal Fist or Batter Slot 2 Siphon Anima or Touch of the Animus Slot 3 Extra Plating or Interrupting Jolt
