WoW Petopia Community

Based on my experiences so far, this is the method that I use when looking for the rare pets. Just follow these 3 somewhat simple steps.

Don't know where to start?
Firstly, watch Kalliope's "Where The Wild Things Are" Series on the pet you are interested in. Lookup a map route of the rare you are searching for. Pick and end, follow the path as accurately as you can. don't worry about how fast you're going, just focus on accuracy and of course, looking for tracks. You will definitely find a track eventually. 2-8 hours isn't that much of a long spawn timer, and you won't have to worry about much competition since they are so hard to find, so any time you look, there's a high chance that they are definitely spawned and moving, hidden.

When you find a track
Again, from experience, follow the footprint. if you are unsure what direction it is going (like I am all the time), then stop, turn around, and backtrack the route you just took. If new prints have arrived in places that you just checked, then it is obviously going in the opposite direction. if not, it is ahead of you. in either case, Try to get ahead of them.

Exposing for taming. THE FLARE TRAP
As stated in the previous step, Get ahead of them. Get as ahead as possible until you are certain that they have not passed the point you decide to get ahead at. Pick a spot on the walking route that you know they will walk past. If you are with a friend (which for every hunt so far, I have been) Then this step is much easier. Have your spot constantly flared. When your flare expires, have them cast a flare, and vice versa. if you are uneasy that the rare won't walk in your spot, then flare around it as often as possible. if done correctly, it should walk right into your flare trap, exposing it for tame.

If you are alone like I was when hunting Patrannache (which is stated to be the hardest one to pinpoint) Then find a spot that is easy to distinguish tracks (after doing research) that you are 100% certain the rare will be at. then, just wait for a track to appear and throw your flare. you won't be waiting long if you are aware of direction and you have gone a suitable distance ahead. In my experience, I went to the start of the route and waited for Patrannache to walk to me. when I saw a track appear right before my eyes, I threw a flare next to it and voila!

I hope this helps any unprepared hunters looking to tame these great, challenging pets!

I'll second to bring a friend if you are able. They dont even have to be a hunter. My best friend came with me-and she was not on her hunter but rather her pally-and having her along made a big difference. Even if she could not see the tracks, she could stand in my flare and keep an eye out while I looked for more tracks. She also was very helpful in keeping the mobs off of me while I tried to follow the tracks.

With her help I was able to get Savage and the red dragon turtle. I went after and got Pat myself, but I could see a big difference in going at it solo as opposed to with a buddy.

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Plus five more hunters, a shadow priest, a boomkin and a rogue.

Going after Pattrinache on my other hunt having problems with tracks being "gone" from say singing marshes, silken fields... twice I've tracked them to that area or similar, & not find another track to follow up on, gone ahead a little waited & nothing, is this common? It's really frustrating ><

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It can be very frustaring. His trail is so long and winding, I think whatever dev programmed that has a bit of a sadistic streak. O_o

Ah, I kept loosing the trail too, the best thing I can suggest is keep backtracking to the track that you last found and then range out from it again, following the direction the back of the track is facing. It is a hard one to trail, being so tiny and hard to see-make sure ground clutter is turned low in your settings.

I would suggest also, if you cannot find him at all but know the general direction he is moving in, just consult the maps that are in the stickied topic and move on ahead of him for a bit, looking for more tracks. It took me about 30 mins to get him after doing that, but it did eventually happen. One good thing about this method is that some random non-hunter isn't going to see him walking around in the wild, think rare spawn and try to kill him.

The best thing about this, hunting down the tracks method, is that so few people seem to know how to do it, or that it is even there. I've seen very, very few hunters in my realm that have tamed any of the rares, and for the three that I was after, the moment I decided to go look, I eventually found the trail that same hour-because nobody is bothering or knows how-to track them down right now. Most hunters are likely too busy leveling right now to bother with them. Its a much nicer way of getting what you want without having to camp on a spawn point with three other hunters and the two or three rude jerks who want to kill the rare spawn just to troll people.

Good luck hunting down Pat! He is gorgeous when he is tamed.

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Plus five more hunters, a shadow priest, a boomkin and a rogue.

Well with the five rares I currently have between my two hunters when the rare would get to an area I knew I would not be able to see its tracks I either went ahead or back to an open area where the tracks were visible that I knew it'd path to, or from. Regarding Pattrinache for both of my tames *yep just got em at 10a this morning* I just waited along that long stretch south where he almost goes straight but teeters here & there & I got him.

So I think also that's a good idea too, is if you know the rare is going to path through a jumble of things on the ground, as Shade said, go ahead or check behind, & find an open clearing where the tracks are visible, that you know it'll path to or from.

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Avatar ➸ LupisDarkmoon [✔]
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