petopia
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Petopia drops more updates
Mania's posted a ton of updates for Petopia-- and all done while planning a cross-country move! Doesn't this girl ever sleep?Lots of untameable pets have been added (which you can see by the strikethrough on them), and pet family damage, armor, and health modifiers have returned. There's a new Tips and Tricks section that's got a few good guides in it already, and the pet skill calculators have also been supplemented and updated.Petopia is just an amazing resource for Hunters (in fact, I can't think of nearly any class-specific resource that's so useful-- when is someone going to start up a "Totemtopia" for Shamans?), and Mania's great work on it just keeps making it better and better.
Learn 2 play ... with your pet
I was reading a post on the Hunter forums that asked a simple question: how do I separate my beloved hunter from the millions of huntards out there. The reply was a resounding: learn to play your class. With that in mind, I was excited to find someone had created not one, but two excellent guides to help newbie Hunters with the basics.Alanoymous of Vek'nilash is responsible for creating both 'A Guide To Choosing A Pet - BC Revised' and the follow up 'A Beginners Guide to Pet Taming, Training and Care.' In the first post, he covers the wide range of pets available for various PvP and PvE situations. He also recommends the best pet in those scenarios. Then in the second post, he talks about what is involved in keeping your new pet happy and well-trained.If you are looking for more in-depth information about pets and their abilities, you can also check out two well done hunter pet sites: TKASomething and Petopia.
The hidden formula behind pet loyalty
Mania's Arcania continues its look at pet loyalty and the mechanics of how it works. Last time, she found that tamed pets would stick around for 30 minutes no matter what you do, and this time around she went the other way-- up to loyalty level two, Unruly.Basically, using a newly tamed pet, a stopwatch, and a notepad, she determined that in order for a pet to go from loyalty level 1 (Rebellious) to level 2 (Unruly), the pet needs to gain 5% of the experience the Hunter needs for his next level. So a level 11 hunter needs 8800 experience to get to 12, which means a pet (of any level and family) needs to kill for 440 XP (5% of 8800) to go up a loyalty level with that Hunter.Interesting. And the formula apparently works even when the pet isn't actually earning experience (ie when your pet is the same level as you are). However (and this is a big however), time is also playing a factor, and Mania's not exactly how it does-- she let her pet sit happy for a few hours, and then on the very next kill, the loyalty level went up. So it seems to be some combo of experience earned together and time (where more experience or more time can replace the other if necessary), but the exact numbers aren't there yet.At any rate, good stuff, and Mania is being really thorough with it. If you're a Hunter who changes pets often, it's worth a read.
Petopia refreshed with new code, searchable database
I feel like I keep mentioning Mania's Arcania, but she keeps doing things worth mentioning! This time around, it's a big one: Petopia has received a big refresh-- it's mostly a code update (the site has been brought over into CSS, which will make formatting changes easier, and the information has been put into a real database), but there are still a few navigation changes that might make it easier for you to find the pet of your dreams.The biggest change is the navigation column itself-- instead of having lots of different options, the column is organized solely by pet family, so to see information, for instance, about all the gorilla pets, you click "gorilla." Easy enough. But those old options aren't lost-- in fact, they're easier to browse, because since Mania's put all the info into a real database, that database is now searchable by criteria. Want to see all the pets that can Prowl, or every pet that eats fruit available in your level range? Plug your queries into the form and get your own customized list. Nice changes, and we're told we can expect more to come.
PTR Notes: Dashing raptors
The always interesting Mania's Arcania has more great news for Hunters from the PTR blog. Apparently in 2.2 (and right now on the PTR), Raptor family pets will be able to learn the Dash ability. Previously, I believe, Dash was primarily available from the cats in STV (Bhag'thera, the elite panther down there, gave Dash rank 2). But now Raptors are getting in on the speedy fun, too.Now, Raptors can already learn to both Bite and Claw (they can Growl and Cower, too, but those are the standard pet abilities that every pet has), so you might think a third ability would make them a little OP. But it turns out Raptors have been getting the short end of the stick for a while-- Cats can do all those things and Prowl, and Boars even get an extra Charge ability. Heck, even Tallstriders can Dash, so a Raptor doing it is no problem.Bears, it seems, are stuck with the short of the stick, as they only have the Bite and Claw. But Bears get extra HP and Armor, plus a lumbering bear isn't exactly sprightly, so Bear-owning Hunters don't have much to complain about. If you're a Raptor kind of Hunter, make sure to stop by the pet trainer after 2.2, because your pet, clever girl, has picked up a new skill.
Petopia hosts a Pet Skill Calculator
Mania's Arcania (the official Petopia blog) points out their new Pet Skill Calculator, hosted by Petopia and put together by Draketh of EU Moonglade. Basically, it's more or less an easy way to simply show off your pet's build-- you start with 350 skill points (what you'd have with a level 70 pet and maximum loyalty), and then you can just throw those points into all the different abilities available to your pet's family.So for showing off your pet's build, it works just fine-- there's even a real simple "Link to Build" button that's perfect for inserting into a forum post or signature. But personally, I'd like to see a little more output-- at the very least, the calculator could show off your pet's resistances (yes, I know they're on the tooltips of the skills, but it wouldn't be hard to show an at-a-glance visual output of your choices). And I haven't had a 70 hunter (I leave the heavy hunter lifting to BRK), but aren't pet stats standardized by pet family at 70? Draketh would probably have to add in some Hunter talent toggles, but wouldn't it be possible to actually show, via Hunter and pet talents, your Pet's standard DPS and armor. Maybe that's a little tough to calculate, but I'd like to see it if possible.Still, if you've been looking for a way to show off your pet's build (or get advice on it from other Hunters), this calculator is a great tool.
Cutting down on grind time for lowbie pets
Mania's Arcania, which is the new home of the Petopia blog, has a really interesting look at a frustrating problem for hunters-- leveling a lowbie pet with a high level character. Say you're 70 and you want a Ghost Saber. Because the Ghost Saber spawns at only 19 or 20, the only way to currently level it is to basically let the hunter tank (or kite, more likely), and simply bring the pet along for the ride.So how could we fix this? One of Mania's commenters has an interesting idea-- whenever a pet is tamed, it is automatically brought within a few levels of the hunter taming it. If you're 70 and taming a level 20, then when the little green ding flare rises up after taming, the pet suddenly becomes level 65, which is good enough to make the pet not so useless. It doesn't quite make sense (why would a pet be so much more powerful just because you tame it?), but it does take out the unnecessary pet grinding. Mania has other ideas that work well, too-- either make the pet experience relative to the pet (not the hunter, as it is now), or reduce the amount of experience needed anyway. Another idea mentioned is to make the latest rank of Growl open to any tamed pet of any level, but I don't see that working-- even if a level 20 could hold aggro against a level 60+ mob, it's not going to last very long.The only other suggestion I'd have is just to implement a different way to level pets-- maybe a turnin or a special quest at pet trainers that cuts down on the grinding time and method. But no matter how you do it, there's no reason hunters should be forced to go through all this just to get the pet that has the look they want.
Most popular hunter pets according to Petopia
No, they don't have precise stats from the game, but Mania does let us know what the most visited pages on Petopia are -- and considering Petopia is the definitive resource for Hunter pets available on the internet, I'd say that their data has value. While Mania doesn't give us a full listing of pets, he tells us that the most-visited pet page belongs to the Ghost Saber and that the number two spot belongs to the game's only black lion, Humar the Pridelord. And the award for least-popular pet? It looks like that goes to the Webwood Lurker in Teldrassil. (And now I'm tempted to go tame one just so they won't be so lonely.)
Get your own Ghost Saber
Petopia has posted a Ghost Saber gallery, featuring pictures of, as far as I know, the only translucent pet in the game. It looks like it's stealthed, but to everyone, all the time (of course, when it's stealthed to other players, it's invisible to them, but you know what I mean). The gallery has some fun shots of this very unique pet.Petopia promises a "how to" on where to get your own soon, but if you don't want to wait, apparently it spawns at level 19 or 20 from "Glowing Cat Figurines" in the northernmost Naga area in Darkshore. Find cat figurines on the ground (Dwarven treasure tracking will find them, apparently), open them up, and there's a chance that the Ghost Saber will spawn. Tame him and he's yours. He may die soon afterwards (since the spawn has a usual despawn time), but even if he does, you can simple ressurrect him as long as you've tamed him as your pet.The low level of the pet, unfortunately, doesn't really make it easy for hunters who are already high level (since to get this guy up to 70 from 20 would just take way too long). But if you find one that's 19, it's perfect for battleground twinks or up and coming Hunters who want a cool, different pet.
More pets for Hunters-- bug or feature?
Petopia (which has been a great Hunter resource for a long time, but only recently added a great blog to the mix), has a really interesting note for Hunters: you can now, apparently, tame an extra pet.It's always been annoying to be a Hunter in search of a new pet-- you have to either stable or permanently abandon the one you have with you, which leaves you without a pet for a while. And considering that taming new pets is how you learn new pet abilities, it's a pretty important thing to do. So for a long time, Hunters have asked for a way to tame new pets without having to go without their old ones for a while. And apparently, that's what Petopia found is now live in the new patch-- when you want to tame a new pet, you need only dismiss (not abandon) the pet you have, and you are able to somehow tame another pet.If you then go back to the Stable Master, your dismissed pet will have been placed in any stable spots you have open. If you don't have one open, but then buy one, Petopia reports that the dismissed pet will appear in your purchased slot, and that all three pets will be available to you, even after you log in and out. You can even dismiss and tame a pet multiple times-- at one point, Petopia had a total of five pets (two inaccessible from the stable) to juggle at a time.This a huge feature to be undocumented, which actually leads me, and a few other players, to believe that it's a bug. People who have tried it report that some strange things are happening-- selected pets are showing up in the wrong place and so on (although from what I've seen, no pets have actually been lost yet-- then again, there's always a first time, so go for this at your own risk). It could be, also, that this was a feature Blizzard was building in, but didn't get done in time for the patch, and is being found in its early state by Hunters. In the meantime, now might be the best time to go learn those new pet abilities you've haven't been able to pick up because you didn't want to abandon your three best friends.
An overview of 2.1 Hunter pet changes
Just in time for the impending release of 2.1 on the live realms. Petopia has created a page with everything hunters need to know about pet changes in the new patch.We already reported about a few of the new pets to be found, including a cool purple tallstrider, but there's at least one more out there called the Skettis Kaliri, probably found in the Arrakoa capital, a new quest area. In addition, there's those two new pet skills, Avoidance (which should help with DPS pets in raids and instances), and Cobra Reflexes, which increases attack speed at the cost of damage per attack. In tests, Petopia says it does increase DPS overall, but it remains to be seen how it will work on the live realms. Both skills should be trainable at the pet trainer (although that may be only for the test realm, again not sure).If you're a hunter (or just want to know what you might be facing in the high level battlegrounds-- I would hate to get beat up by a purple dodo), Petopia's page is definitely worth a look before the patch drops as a great overall view of what's happening in petland.
