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Patch 3.0.2 guide to Exotic Pets: Core hound
Core Hound:If casters are giving you trouble, then the core hound is the exotic pet for you. Their Lava Breath ability slows down the enemy's casting speed by 50% for 10 seconds. The cooldown is also ten seconds, so you don't even need the Longevity talent to keep this up all the time, which is especially nice for PvP also. Their Ferocity talents give them lots of extra damage and self-healing options as well. The core hound is the pet with the loudest footsteps in the game -- their feet pound the earth so hard it even makes everyone's screens shake if they happen to be nearby. So if you're the kind of hunter who likes to announce to the entire world, "Here I am! Look at me! Right here!" then this is the pet for you; but if you want to be sneaky and avoid attention, then you ought to look elsewhere.BRK loves core hounds lots. There are three types to choose from: red hot, green hot, and white wolf; found in Blackrock Mountain, Shadowmoon Valley, and Azuremyst Isle respectively.If you want a non-exotic alternative to core hounds, you could consider the serpents and their Poison Spit ability, which is almost just as good as the core hound ability, and ranged too! You won't deafen people and shake their screens with a serpent, but you'll do the trick just as well, more or less, especially if you have Longevity. Serpents are Cunning pets though, so you it also depends on which talents you prefer. NEXT: DEVILSAURS >>
Patch 3.0.2 guide to Exotic Pets: Devilsaur
Devilsaur:This big red dino is a great Ferocity pet with a specialty in sustainable damage over time. Its Monstrous Bite builds up over a period of 30 seconds to an additional 9% damage on all the devilsaur's attacks. If your battle is going to last 30 seconds or less, though, you're not going to get the full benefit of that, especially if, as in PvP, there may be breaks of a few seconds in which the Monstrous Bite buff is not being reapplied, then your devilsaur will have to start over again. This makes me think that the best utility for a devilsaur is in instances, particularly on long boss fights where it can just wail on a target from start to finish. Just be sure that your tank doesn't mind the footsteps -- they're not as loud as the core hound, and they don't shake your friends' screens, but they could definitely get annoying sooner rather than later.This was the first exotic pet that BRK caught on film, and it comes in shades of red, white and black. You'll find them all in Un'Goro Crater, except for one more in the northernmost Netherstorm biodome as well.The closest non-exotic pet is the raptor, with a Savage Rend ability that does some bleed damage and boosts attack power if it critically hits. It has a nasty 1 minute cooldown though, which really limits its usefulness. NEXT: SILITHIDS >>
Phat Loot Phriday: Crossbow of Relentless Strikes
BM Hunters, here's something you can spend those Badges on.Name: Crossbow of Relentless Strikes (Wowhead, Thottbot, Goblin Workshop)Type: Epic CrossbowDamage/Speed: 182-339 / 2.80 (93.0 DPS)Abilities: It can strike relentlessly, obviously. Improves hit rating by 14 and crit strike rating by 18, and increases attack power by 32. The hit is very nice for a bow and it takes up a good chunk of the +hit you need to meet the hit cap, which means you probably will have a gem or two free elsewhere to add more Agility into the mix. The crit is nice, and more attack power is always a good thing obviously. But the real stat on this bow is its speed -- while the damage ain't the best, the lower speed makes it easier for BM Hunters especially to match up their Steady Shot/Autoshot rotation, which means more DPS overall. This bow is a gift from Blizzard to Beastmaster Hunters, How to Get It: It's relatively easy -- just lug 150 Badges of Justice (those things have to be heavy, right?) to the Badge Vendors in Quel'danas or Shattrath. There's 22 Badges in a full Karazhan clear, and Heroics have about 3-5 each (plus a few more for the daily quest), so run Kara and the daily Heroics all week long, and it should only take you about two or three weeks to pick up all the badges you need. Throw in some ZA if your guild is running that one, and add in the fact that you probably already have a few badges in the bank, and this baby's almost in your hands. It'll last you at least until Sunwell, too, and even if the expansion rolls around before you can make it in there, you should at least be able to get a level or two under your belt before it eventually gets replaced by a green. If you're looking for something to do ingame before the expansion, this bow's not a bad goal to have -- think of all the rep, other gear, and gold you'll pull out of running all these instances, too.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Void Crystal, but just like most Badge gear, vendors won't buy it back from you. As I said, odds are that if you don't replace it with a Sunwell piece, you'll probably replace it at some point in Northrend. But the thrill of gear isn't in having it, it's in chasing it, right?
Scattered Shots: Your first levels as a new Hunter
Every week, Brian Karasek and David Bowers bring you help, tips and advice for the leveling Hunter in Scattered Shots. For those veterans looking for high end Hunter goodness, BRK will be returning to active duty next week. This post is part of the Hunter Leveling Guide. [Also, it was actually written by Brian Karasek, not David Bowers.] Hunters have it easy. They get a pet to hang around with and keep them company. They don't get hit that often (or at least for very long, one way or the other), and they have one of the best ways to shake off foes in the game. Furthermore, and most tellingly, Hunters can pretty much get to the level cap without ever working in a group or running a dungeon. It's our blessing and our curse, our boon and our bane. We have a built in tank that we can heal, and we're our own DPS support. What this means is that we can reach the heights of leveling in a multiplayer game, without once needing to play with multiple players.A problem for hunters often comes there: a level 70 character is often expected to know how to do things in a group, with multiple players. And many a hunter has gone into a level 70 instance as their first dungeon run, resulting in less than optimal outcomes.In this column, which I'll be sharing duty with one of my colleagues here at WoW Insider, I'll be discussing the Hunter class from the ground up, from a casual point of view. Starting from level 1 and going all the way to the level cap, I'll share my experience and advice, and ask for yours as well. For new hunters, I hope this column will let you avoid some stereotypical mistakes Hunters make. For old hunters, I hope this column will let you point out my shortcomings, offer your own advice, or notice some of your own.We ding level 2, after the jump!
Massively's gift guide for the Star Wars Galaxies player
They say pet owners look like their pets. There are enough people who put stock in their horoscope to see it put in the daily newspaper. Heck, even which Hogwarts House you identify with probably says something about you. So why not your Massively Multiplayer game of choice? Over the next few weeks we at Massively are going to do our level best to help you make holiday gift giving easy. We'll run down some of the player archetypes you might have among your friends, based on the games they play. We'll give you gift ideas perfect for that type of player and (if it seems right) even some in-game presents that might fit well with their play style.Today I've got a pile of gift ideas for that rare breed: the Star Wars Galaxies player. Playing a much-maligned game can be hard, but the folks still participating in the story of the galaxy far, far away have their reasons. Maybe it's the crafting, maybe it's the twitch combat ... maybe it's the awesome player housing. For that player - be they Jedi or Bounty Hunter, Sith or Savior - we have an idea that'll keep them happily humming John Williams music on December 25th.Read on for our gift ideas, and (please) toss out your own in the comments!
Official Dungeon 2 Graphics and Stats
Rumor no longer - the official graphics and stats for the Dungeon 2 armor set (sometimes called tier 0.5) have been released by Blizzard, as well as information on modifications to the Dungeon 1 (sometimes called tier 0) armor set. I don't see anything unexpected here, but if you haven't been following the rumor mill too closely, it's worth checking out.
