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Get your Winter Squid and Snowy Owl while you still can
Pet collectors and fishermen take note -- the wintery months are almost behind us, and with them, the appearance of wintery pets and fish as well. The Snowy Owl, located in Winterspring, will be gone as of March 20 -- the onset of the Spring Equinox out here in the real world. Pet collectors should head to Winterspring now to capture these pets, as they won't be making another appearance until December of this year. This pet is part of the Kalimdor Safari achievement, so if you'd like that Zookeeper title, head to Winterspring and grab an owl of your very own today. In addition to the Snowy Owl, the sly Winter Squid is also prone to disappearing come spring. For most players, the apparent hibernation of squid won't really amount to anything. However, if you're working on The Oceanographer achievement, you'll want to catch a squid before they disappear until next winter. The pesky squid can be fished off the coasts of Swamp of Sorrows, Blasted Lands, Tanaris, Badlands, the Cape of Stranglethorn, and also around Sunken Temple. Both the fish and the pet have their own summery counterparts. However, while players may begin finding Summer Bass in fishing pools immediately after the Spring Equinox, the Qiraji Guardling for pet collectors will not be appearing until the onset of the Summer Solstice in June.
Snowy Owls now available in Winterspring for pet collectors
Saturday, December 21 marked the Winter Solstice out here in the real world -- and in the World of Warcraft, it marked the official beginning of the winter season. For pet collectors, this means that the Snowy Owl is once again spawning in Winterspring, and will continue to spawn all winter long. Keep in mind that these pets are rare spawns, and therefore are slightly harder to find than your usual pet. The Snowy Owl can be found all over Winterspring -- there are no specific spawn locations. Pet quality starts at Poor and goes all the way up to the coveted Rare. While we do know that December 21 was the first day of winter in Warcraft, we don't quite know as of yet when these owls will stop spawning -- last year it was the end of February. However, if the spawns are matching up to real life spring, the owls should disappear at the Spring Equinox, which is March 20, 2014. Because this isn't really guaranteed or known information at the present time, it's highly recommended to simply go catch your owl now, while we know they're available. The Snowy Owl is required for the Kalimdor Safari achievement, which in turn is required for the World Safari achievement. Completing World Safari will net you the Zookeeper title, so players that would like the title should definitely go pick up the pet. And even if you don't care about the title, I'd pick up an owl anyway. With fast attack speeds and deadly abilities like Predatory Strike, they're a nice addition to any Battle Pet team.
Get started with pet battles using this list of the 7 best pets to fight with
If you've never gotten very far in the world of WoW's battle pets -- and can't be bothered to run around the game world catching every last one -- this list from Adventures in Poor Taste helps you pick the ideal pets to get in the fight. Though some of the pets are only obtainable by higher level players -- like Pebble (who comes from Cataclysm dailies), Snarly (who comes from Burning Crusade dailies), and Anubisath Idol (who comes from a vanilla-era raid) -- players of all levels will find some useful advice here. And, of course, remember that some of these pets -- like the Terrible Turnip, which we're big fans of -- can be found on the auction house, too, if you've got the gold to spare. So what are you waiting for? Go out and start your own battle pet collection with these heavy hitters.
How to get started building your own battle pet arsenal
No, we aren't talking about hunters today: the battle pet system allows all of us to have and fight with pets through a special battle pet interface. And though you're not likely find mention of pet battles before you hit Pandaria, you can start participating in pet battles as early as level 5. And even if you aren't a fan of the "gotta catch 'em all!" game on which the system is modeled, we think pet battles are a fun break from leveling -- and since you're walking right by battle pets to collect and fight as you wander through each zone, why not have your battle pets advancing at the same time you are? The concept behind battle pets is simple; your battle pets fight other battle pets throughout the game in a turn-based format, gaining levels (up to 25) and skills (each pet has 6). Whenever you see another battle pet -- or battle pet trainer -- you can fight to gain experience and, of course, the glory of victory. If that sounds interesting, let's get started on the road to becoming the fiercest pet tamer in Azeroth!
