Its Gone....

[Stephen]

Personally, I preferred the rare spawns with longer timers. I don't see why we couldn't have both of them. To me, there is nothing really that exhilerating about seeing what I thought would be a rare mob, tamable or not, and killing/taming it - only to see it there again a few minutes later. When I killed my first rare in WoD, I felt excited and lucky, and it felt good. When I saw it again within minutes, that excitement was dampened for me. I enjoyed the challenge of being the first to find a rare spawn for a tame or kill. Sure, it was frustrating if someone swooped in to wreck it for me somehow - but the internet is full of assholes and I've just kind of come to accept this fact a long time ago, and just gathered myself up to try again some other time. Rarity has always been appealing to me, personally. I understand why some people might not like it, and I think adding in something to appease people who feel that way is fine. But I do hope they bring back at least one rare hunter pet, because I enjoyed the challenge of finding them. I enjoyed the competition. I enjoyed the uniqueness ( even if it only lasted for a time ). It felt nice if I had a pet that was still somewhat rare, and another hunter would whisper me and say "Whoa, where did you get that?" - and I could share with them my tips and info and in many cases go with them on the hunt to help them acquire it for themselves.

But, thats just my two cents on the subject.

Well said! This guy gets it.

[Castile]

Also, whoever said that Blizzard has moved away from this approach can you please reference your sources? As far as I can tell just about every expansion has had a different approach to taming so it's a bit presumptious to say "blizzard is no longer doing X or Y," and last I checked there are still plenty of Mobs that are rare spawn/rare loot etc not to mention the voiced disappointment from hardcore pet hunters.

It was spoken about widely on the Beta forums for warlords and at a previous blizzcon - which is why the timeless isle rares are all shared taps. This was the pre curser to them changing quest mobs, rares and the new spawns you find in Warlords. The fact of the matter is they are moving away from this sort of "ultra rare one person only" system. You only have to look at the game now and how it was to see what they are doing...

[Sabrewulff]

Also, whoever said that Blizzard has moved away from this approach can you please reference your sources? As far as I can tell just about every expansion has had a different approach to taming so it's a bit presumptious to say "blizzard is no longer doing X or Y," and last I checked there are still plenty of Mobs that are rare spawn/rare loot etc not to mention the voiced disappointment from hardcore pet hunters.

It was spoken about widely on the Beta forums for warlords and at a previous blizzcon - which is why the timeless isle rares are all shared taps. This was the pre curser to them changing quest mobs, rares and the new spawns you find in Warlords. The fact of the matter is they are moving away from this sort of "ultra rare one person only" system. You only have to look at the game now and how it was to see what they are doing...

yep its less fun now for many hunters

[Stephen]

Also, whoever said that Blizzard has moved away from this approach can you please reference your sources? As far as I can tell just about every expansion has had a different approach to taming so it's a bit presumptious to say "blizzard is no longer doing X or Y," and last I checked there are still plenty of Mobs that are rare spawn/rare loot etc not to mention the voiced disappointment from hardcore pet hunters.

It was spoken about widely on the Beta forums for warlords and at a previous blizzcon - which is why the timeless isle rares are all shared taps. This was the pre curser to them changing quest mobs, rares and the new spawns you find in Warlords. The fact of the matter is they are moving away from this sort of "ultra rare one person only" system. You only have to look at the game now and how it was to see what they are doing...

Can you please post a link to what you're referencing? Because BETA forums are well....BETA forums. I agree that taming methods have changed dynamically, but that is true for all expansions really. I am not opposed to say the challenge tames of Firelands or the pawprint tracking in MoP. I would just prefer the next cool spirit beast or rare pet to not be another hand-out Oprah freebie pet lol. I would rather it be something at least marginally challenging. For example, they made the Alani mount still time consuming/rewarding to get as an answer to the much more rare and difficult TLPD and Aeonaxx mounts. I guess I just don't see where you're coming from. I don't remember seeing anywhere that rares are being devalued or taken out of the game.

[Castile]

I would just prefer the next cool spirit beast or rare pet to not be another hand-out Oprah freebie pet lol. I would rather it be something at least marginally challenging.... I don't remember seeing anywhere that rares are being devalued or taken out of the game.

Ok well now you're just being condensending...if you think Gara is a "freebie" it's only because alot of people on this forum did ALOT of hard hours and work into solving the puzzle in BETA. You might think it's easy as cause you read the guide and boom theres your pet but if you didn't know where to get all those things it would of been very challenging.

You can disagree all you like about what beta is and what it isn't but thats where the game is developed. I was in it and saw all the feedback and the majority of players like the new system. They might throw a rare in later so you can be a "hunter" again but then again they may not and go with what the majority of testers said. At the end of the day it's their game.

[Kyonarai]

Honestly, my favorite tames were the ones that were hard in the organic sense. As in, it was actually difficult to tame them, not because of a long respawn timer or because of people griefing. I loved the thrill of my Grim totem spirit guide tame the most...having to time it perfectly and use all manner of haste gear/buffs and a shammies heroism to get my cast time down enough to tame.

I also loved taming 'the beast' back when he was the lowest level red corehound you could get. That was a difficult and incredibly enjoyable tame, when I FINALLY saw the golden light go up after trying so long on my baby hunter who was just high enough to tame him. Fighting the knockback and the interupts he does as well as only having my hubby's priest to keep me alive.

I liked my oil stained wolf tame, as it has fond memories attached of being a part of this community, as I was the first one to tame one and post on here after the initial sighting, after spending all afternoon trying to figure out how to tame him.

I liked the spiders and the porcupine tames, where you also had to do different mechanics to get them.

More than anything, I love the special pets that date my character. That show that I have been here since the beginning of this long and wild ride. I have nearly every single now-unobtainable pet aside from the ghost hydra and slime, because I mistakenly decided to level my shaman first that expansion, but even she has work to show for that. The Blessed grieves of undead slaying are part of her regular transmog outfit.

And even then, I love all of the new and beautiful pet models they come out with each expansion.

[Sesamee]

Can you please post a link to what you're referencing? Because BETA forums are well....BETA forums. I agree that taming methods have changed dynamically, but that is true for all expansions really. I am not opposed to say the challenge tames of Firelands or the pawprint tracking in MoP. I would just prefer the next cool spirit beast or rare pet to not be another hand-out Oprah freebie pet lol. I would rather it be something at least marginally challenging. For example, they made the Alani mount still time consuming/rewarding to get as an answer to the much more rare and difficult TLPD and Aeonaxx mounts. I guess I just don't see where you're coming from. I don't remember seeing anywhere that rares are being devalued or taken out of the game.

I partially agree with what you're saying as I like that there are/were rare and really hard to get pets in the game. But then you go and say "hand out Oprah freebie pet" and it makes it hard to be on your side. That's just rude. While nobody's opinion is better or worse the way you say it can be. My favorite pet is a common white cat from Winterspring. Easy freebee pet wandering by the side of the road. That doesn't make her any less valuable to me.

Not everyone enjoys long rare camps or the fact that some pets are really hard to get. I get that too because, as I said previously, while I enjoy the rare pets it's not what makes or breaks a pet for me. I've released plenty of hard to get rares and kept many common pets. And for what it's worth Blizz does seem to be trending away from the long spawn timer rares. Like every aspect of the game some people will like it and some won't. At least we're getting really cool looking pets and interesting new ways to tame them. Sure bragging rights to long camps for the uber rare pets are fun but so is this. JMO

[Stephen]

I would just prefer the next cool spirit beast or rare pet to not be another hand-out Oprah freebie pet lol. I would rather it be something at least marginally challenging.... I don't remember seeing anywhere that rares are being devalued or taken out of the game.

Ok well now you're just being condensending...if you think Gara is a "freebie" it's only because alot of people on this forum did ALOT of hard hours and work into solving the puzzle in BETA. You might think it's easy as cause you read the guide and boom theres your pet but if you didn't know where to get all those things it would of been very challenging.

You can disagree all you like about what beta is and what it isn't but thats where the game is developed. I was in it and saw all the feedback and the majority of players like the new system. They might throw a rare in later so you can be a "hunter" again but then again they may not and go with what the majority of testers said. At the end of the day it's their game.

I apologise, I did not mean to sound condescending. I don't want to offend anyone. However I still respectfully disagree with you. While I chose not to use my own BETA invite in favor of not spoiling the game upon release, I did follow what was happening in the BETA as far as what was happening with Gara. What I saw was a lot of utterly stumped and confused players not doing much until someone posted datamined information on the official forums. I'm sorry if that sounds blunt, but I didn't see much else. If there was no datamining then I think you would have an argument for Gara not being a hand-out pet, but unfortunately it is extremely easy to attain this pet. I was able to solo the whole thing at level 91 in only a couple of hours-fun, but not the least bit challenging, which I feel subtracted from the overall "reward." I really wish they made the questline more challening. Something on par with the warlock green fire quest. Maybe they will in the future, my fingers are crossed.

[Stephen]

Can you please post a link to what you're referencing? Because BETA forums are well....BETA forums. I agree that taming methods have changed dynamically, but that is true for all expansions really. I am not opposed to say the challenge tames of Firelands or the pawprint tracking in MoP. I would just prefer the next cool spirit beast or rare pet to not be another hand-out Oprah freebie pet lol. I would rather it be something at least marginally challenging. For example, they made the Alani mount still time consuming/rewarding to get as an answer to the much more rare and difficult TLPD and Aeonaxx mounts. I guess I just don't see where you're coming from. I don't remember seeing anywhere that rares are being devalued or taken out of the game.

I partially agree with what you're saying as I like that there are/were rare and really hard to get pets in the game. But then you go and say "hand out Oprah freebie pet" and it makes it hard to be on your side. That's just rude. While nobody's opinion is better or worse the way you say it can be. My favorite pet is a common white cat from Winterspring. Easy freebee pet wandering by the side of the road. That doesn't make her any less valuable to me.

Not everyone enjoys long rare camps or the fact that some pets are really hard to get. I get that too because, as I said previously, while I enjoy the rare pets it's not what makes or breaks a pet for me. I've released plenty of hard to get rares and kept many common pets. And for what it's worth Blizz does seem to be trending away from the long spawn timer rares. Like every aspect of the game some people will like it and some won't. At least we're getting really cool looking pets and interesting new ways to tame them. Sure bragging rights to long camps for the uber rare pets are fun but so is this. JMO

I see what you're saying and I totally agree. One of my all-time favorite pets, Echeyakee, is extremely easy to attain. I don't think the rare pets necessarily have more value than the other pets or that they make the hunter more prestigious. I just enjoy what the OP calls "the thrill of the hunt," and have also found it to be lacking in MoP and thus far in WoD. So I ask: Why not have both? A cool looking pet for those that don't enjoy the extra effort (and sometimes aggravation) and a cool looking pet for those that do?

[Lisaara]

And the point everyone else was making(save for the OP arguing the opposite) is a camp is NOT a challenge. A challenge requires you to do something, such as Gara's questline(which was a challenge, especially if you didnt read the guide at all or did it at a low level). Sitting there with NPCScan/SilverDragon and tabbing in and out is not a challenge or effort of any kind. The camp is what Blizz is moving away from cause it's boring and not challenging to sit there and do nothing. That's why they've started adding in the challenge tames, the quests, and the tracks.

It's fine if he likes it, but it's not fair of him to dismiss that many other hunters do not like sitting there and camping for hours, becoming irate and the like. That's where a lot of us are getting a bit on edge. If you voice your opinion, you'll have to expect and respect other opinions too. It's a give and take.

Personally, I'm all in favor of challenge tames, quest lines, and tracks. I'll never again be in favor of just sitting there staring at a screen for hours on end and I'll never consider that a challenge of any kind. That is my stance and I'm sticking to it.

[Sesamee]

I see what you're saying and I totally agree. One of my all-time favorite pets, Echeyakee, is extremely easy to attain. I don't think the rare pets necessarily have more value than the other pets or that they make the hunter more prestigious. I just enjoy what the OP calls "the thrill of the hunt," and have also found it to be lacking in MoP and thus far in WoD. So I ask: Why not have both? A cool looking pet for those that don't enjoy the extra effort (and sometimes aggravation) and a cool looking pet for those that do?

I'd be fine with both myself. I'd rather have the challenge tames, tracking, and quest lines if it has to be one or the other but if Blizz wants to do both there's nothing wrong with more options. I just don't really see camping for endless hours as "hunting". But that's an opinion or POV and mine is different from others.

[Sesamee]

And the point everyone else was making(save for the OP arguing the opposite) is a camp is NOT a challenge. A challenge requires you to do something, such as Gara's questline(which was a challenge, especially if you didnt read the guide at all or did it at a low level). Sitting there with NPCScan/SilverDragon and tabbing in and out is not a challenge or effort of any kind. The camp is what Blizz is moving away from cause it's boring and not challenging to sit there and do nothing. That's why they've started adding in the challenge tames, the quests, and the tracks.

It's fine if he likes it, but it's not fair of him to dismiss that many other hunters do not like sitting there and camping for hours, becoming irate and the like. That's where a lot of us are getting a bit on edge. If you voice your opinion, you'll have to expect and respect other opinions too. It's a give and take.

Personally, I'm all in favor of challenge tames, quest lines, and tracks. I'll never again be in favor of just sitting there staring at a screen for hours on end and I'll never consider that a challenge of any kind. That is my stance and I'm sticking to it.

I think camps can be extremely challenging. There are different types of challenges. I didn't find the Gara quest particularly difficult, it was the first thing I did right after I hit 100, and was in greens and SoO gear. I can see how it was challenging for those who did it at much lower levels but for me not so much.

My Aeonaxx camp was a huge challenge....and one I will never do again. A grueling camp takes determination and perseverance (and the logistics of arranging others' help so you can work, eat, walk dogs, shower, etc instead of sitting at a computer for 588 hours in a row....). It's no cake walk. It may not take "skill" per say but it is definitely a tough challenging ordeal and I value the mount I got from it all the more for it. The fact that Aeonaxx finally spawned 45m before CRZ went live on servers helps too!

I can definitely see how so many of us, having been there done that got the t shirt, are just over the camps. While I'm not as strongly against them as others I think I'm camp-fatigued and so am loving these new ways to tame.

I do think one single relatively short quest for a Spirit Beast at the opening of an expansion isn't nearly enough. I'm disappointed that there weren't a few other similar pets released. I'm sure there will be more in the future but it would have been nice to have several like we did with MoP's release.

[Stephen]

I also find the camping method much more challenging. You have to stake out the beast for long periods of time, there are multiple spawn points (usually) that you have to choose from or get lucky, and there are TONS of other players competing for the same thing. While the waiting can be tedious to some, I find the "thrill of the hunt," is much better represented in these types of tames.

-as opposed to-

Gara. I enjoyed the quest line, it was a neat little story in the game for hunters. Unfortunately it was easy. Very easy. Too easy. I was able to solo the entire thing at level 91 in only a couple of hours and I am by no means exceptional at the game- my item level was only something like 565 or so and I'm more of a casual gamer, my dps is nothing spectacular. You can say "well you didn't figure it out on your own," but no one did. Maybe that one guy that did the datamining, but no one really did it on their own the way it was intended (without that data). So that makes us all guilty. And call me vain if you'd like, but seeing every hunter in the game with the same "unique," pet almost completely took away the "epicness," of the whole thing when the reward turns out to be not so special afterall.

I just find it hard to compare Gara or one of the porcupines or whatever to a pet like Loque, King Krush, or similarly a mount like TLPD or Aeonaxx. These pets are almost like status symbols in the game or Titles that you recognize as difficult accomplisments. I'm not saying one has more value than the other, but I personally believe the more difficult to acquire pets are just a thousand times more "epic," or rewarding. I have nothing against the players who are not up to the challenge.

Edit: Just wanted to add that maybe what I feel is lacking in the newer tameables (and what I enjoy so much) is the spirit of competition? Because this is simply a computer game it's hard to argue one method of virtual pet hunting requires more skill than another. I think we would all agree that Loque is a thousand times more difficult than Gara or that Aeonaxx is a thousand times more difficult than say the new Corehound mount. However, I think one solid point I do have to stand on is that with the newer rares there is absolutely ZERO competition.

[Castile]

Here is the Gara thread - 47 pages of hard slog of people on these forums (not just datamined information). When you rubbish the gara questline you are spitting in the face of the work of these people. You had it "easy" because of the work of others.

http://forums.wow-petopia.com/viewtopic ... 53&t=22655

You don't understand me, thats fine because I really don't get you. I don't get you calling people "lazy" because they won't sit still in one spot or that challenge tames aren't as prestigious (even though they take actual skill at your class to tame) enough pets. I've done the camp and gotten every rare spirit beast and completed every tracking and challenge tame on the molten front...and I think Gara was just fine as well, especially for an opening of the exanpsion pet.

[Stephen]

Here is the Gara thread - 47 pages of hard slog of people on these forums (not just datamined information). When you rubbish the gara questline you are spitting in the face of the work of these people. You had it "easy" because of the work of others.

http://forums.wow-petopia.com/viewtopic ... 53&t=22655

You don't understand me, thats fine because I really don't get you. I don't get you calling people "lazy" because they won't sit still in one spot or that challenge tames aren't as prestigious (even though they take actual skill at your class to tame) enough pets. I've done the camp and gotten every rare spirit beast and completed every tracking and challenge tame on the molten front...and I think Gara was just fine as well, especially for an opening of the exanpsion pet.

I'm sorry if I've offended you. Earlier you were very quick to call me condescending, but yet are now twisting my words which I find a little rude. I have no ill feelings towards you, can we please keep this civil? I was enjoying the discussion.

Anyway, linking that forum thread was not necessary as I've already read it in its entirety. I never said the Gara quest line was "rubbish," not even close. If you read my posts you will see that I actually enjoyed the little quests. I think it sounds a bit entitled to say "I am spitting in the faces of those that did the work for me," because in actuality what work did they do? Could you please show me? Everyone in that thread was completely stumped-they had to ask for hints from a developer and ultimately data mined all the "work," as you call it. Personally I don't consider playing around on a test version of a video game work, but that's just me. So please excuse me for not acknowledging the BETA testers because 99% of them had it "just as easy," as I did.

[SpiritBinder]

Hey Guys and Gals,

Just be mindful of circling arguments. By all means please discuss you opinions as this is actually a quite relevant topic to hunters and their pets. That said and it will definitely have a variety in options due to its nature, but if you find you are retyping the same argument/opinion again and again, probably best to stop. If those reading are not enamoured by your personal point of view on the topic, typing it again is probably not going to convince them.

and I'll leave this here just in case some are a little unsure what is and isn't OK to pop in a post... Forum Rules

[Wain]

People like different things. There are only a couple of long-camp rares in this release and people who prefer long camps are entitled to express disappointment that there weren't more. Perhaps there will be some in later patches but it just wasn't the emphasis for 6.0. Attempting to paint your preferred style of hunting as somehow superior to others, whether you say so directly or in a passive-aggressive manner, is only going to invite argument and anger. Doing so any further will get the thread locked, as everything has been said already. Keep it civil and impersonal, please!

[Novikova]

Yeah. I think my main beef was with the 'you just want a HANDOUT! No effort pet!' kinda posts. Well, no. I still gotta go find it and tame it. Just because I don't want to camp for ages with NPCscan up doesn't mean I demand freebies.

[Lisaara]

Yeah. I think my main beef was with the 'you just want a HANDOUT! No effort pet!' kinda posts. Well, no. I still gotta go find it and tame it. Just because I don't want to camp for ages with NPCscan up doesn't mean I demand freebies.

That's pretty much what my beef was.

[Krysteena]

Yeah. I think my main beef was with the 'you just want a HANDOUT! No effort pet!' kinda posts. Well, no. I still gotta go find it and tame it. Just because I don't want to camp for ages with NPCscan up doesn't mean I demand freebies.

I think we can agree that this was the issue here.