Random "Pet Theme" Challenge

LupisDarkmoon · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:20 pm

Argh, I'm getting there on mine. >< FIguring out screenshots still.
And Varethyn, I recognize one name! Unfortunately it's not one of those pets... But Offler the crocolisk. The crocodile god in the Discworld series, yes?

Varethyn · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:42 pm

That he is

I'll give you a cookie anyway ^_^

LupisDarkmoon · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:48 pm

Yayyy! *Noms* Discworld FTW! Although I have yet to name a turtle pet Om.
/ends derail

TygerDarkstorm · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:15 pm

So...I totally forgot about rep when it comes to purchasing flying and only had to pay 200G for my Azerothian flying. XD

This will make these challenges so much easier.

Lehana · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:46 pm

Hah this looks neat. I'll give it a try. Hmm, my stables are full on both my hunters, but I think I can clear out 5 slots for my low level hunter.

Name & Level: Damiz 45
Exotics: No
Pet Slots: 5
Restrictions: None
Additional Notes: I am willing to level up to level 50 to tame pets, and I am willing to tame rares and hard to get pets.

LupisDarkmoon · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:10 pm

Screenshots?! NO WAY!

Anyway! My WAY overdue Jungle Theme report.
I was assigned a tiger, a river croc, a black monkey and a silver parrot.
All of them were named roughly after Aztec/Inca things. They're very, very, very bad names, but whatever.

1. Teotelecan, the tiger.

I quite enjoyed fighting with Teo. He was no better than my other six or seven cats, I admit, but he was pretty.

Model/Skin: The typical cat model isn't a favorite of mine. It looks a bit too low to the ground, with short legs and a funny looking tail. However, the saber model is one of my all-time favorites. I have a tiger saber already, so Teo felt like a miniature. The skin, however, I like a lot. Tigers seem lackluster at first, but they have beautiful eyes and very nice stripe details. They really glow in good lighting, too. Overall, a very nice, if not exactly sparkling, skin.

Sounds/animations: The sounds are a bit bland. Cat sounds. Roars, growls, more roars. Nothing too loud, nothing obnoxious, although I don't really like the "Auuuugh" sound they make after getting hit by a critical strike. The animations are nice, especially the run animation. Very smooth and fluid. Attacks are simple swipes, and idle are stretches. I like the stretch idle, although some people don't like the loud yawn that follows.

DPS/Tanking: I specced mine for pure DPS, and he was a pro. The special skill is quite nice, very useful if you lack a DK. Tanking was pretty good, but he didn't have an AoE taunt and was a bit squishy.

Overall: I have a LOT of cats, so Teo won't be staying. However, he did help me see my Shango in a different way.

2. IncApe, the black monkey. (Oh gods, attack of the bad names!)
IncApe was almost named Incapable because I hated him so much. >.<

Model/Skin: Eeeewwww on both Model and Skin. The model is very blocky, most specifically the face and the tail. The tail is in clear segments that just look terrible, and the face is similar. As for the skin, it's okay, but the eyes creep me out. If it had better eyes, then I'd be able to tolerate it. The black coat is fairly appealing, at least.

Sounds/animations: Another Eeewwwwww. The sounds are very loud and very, very common. He doesn't shut up. Not for those who like quiet pets! The animations are so-so. Walking is actually pretty nice, a smooth walk with rolling shoulders. I think he gets confused on which way he's going when he runs though... His front half moves sideways and his back end moves forward. NOT fun. As for swimming, he sort of swim/floats, which is kind of disturbing after a while. He looks like a dead body in the water... His attack animations are okay, but his hands sometimes go through the ground or bend strangely.

DPS/Tanking: Erm, I didn't give him that much time. But he's a pretty good DPS pet, I admit. As for tanking, he's mediocre, but no worse than any other cunning pet. The special skill he has is pretty nice in a PvP perspective, but in PvE I didn't see that much in it.
Overall: IncApe is OUT. I really, really despise the Monkey model. However, I might give Gorillas another chance.

3. Quetzof, the river crocolisk

Model/skin: I really like crocolisks, model wise. They look big and lazy and fat, which is kind of adorable. I love their long, broad tails and flat heads. This skin, however, isn't really my favorite of the bunch. He's mostly various shades of blue-green, with a bit of gold thrown in. However, unlike the others, the gold on him seems dull and lifeless. Overall he looks... boring, somehow. Too many cold colors and not enough warmth. I do really like the big dark scales on his legs, though.

Sounds/animations: Many people have complained about the "Vader Hiss" and I can admit that it's pretty loud. I actually like it, though - it keeps me aware that I have a pet. >.< It is loud, and it's pretty common, so people who don't like loud pets probably don't want a croc. However, I'm used to it. Vall has the ghost hydra, and THAT is a loud pet. Animation wise, I have no complaints besides the jerkiness of the run animation. The attacks are nice, the swim is great. Very natural.

DPS/Tanking: I specced him full out tank, and tank he did. Very well, in fact. He's not a turtle or a beetle, so I still think of him (unfairly) as a "semi-tank", but he rocked. His DPS was okay, but not all there. As for his special skill... Another skill I can see being used in PvP, but not PvE. A slow isn't that useful unless you need to stop a fleeing mob.

Overall: While nice, I don't think I'll keep him. I have a ghost hydra as a tank, and I don't need another crocolisk.

4. Aztexica, the grey parrot

Model/skin: Very appealing. I very much approve of the parrot model, which seems very spunky and fancy despite its obvious age (Waaayyy too few Polys). The skin is one of my favorites for parrots, a very nice silver with sharp red accents. The silver, I noted, has "layers" of sorts. The base of each feather is dark, shineless grey, and the tips are bright, shiny grey. It makes him look like he has stripes despite being all silver - very nice in many lightings.

Sounds/animations: The parrot sounds can be annoying to some, I know. I like them myself, but again, I'm very tolerant to pet sounds (HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!). Other than that, it's fairly quiet, and I like the squawks more than the owl sounds myself. The owls sound like rusty wheels, not owls! As for animations... That's one problem I have with this pet. His flap animation, as I've seen with all parrots, is unusually fast, like he needs to flap much faster to stay aloft. It's not that bad, but a bit annoying. Other than that, there's no problem. His attack animations are nice, swooping down to claw at the enemy, and his idle is simple. As for swimming, he uses his wings to propel himself through the water - very cute.

DPS/tanking: I'm not fond of cunning pets usually. However, he did pretty well overall. Nice DPS, and a nice tank - a good all-around pet. His special skill is fairly useful against some mobs, but not great for others... He's specialized. I'm sure Snatch would be great for PvP, but in PvE you really need to pick and choose when to use it. Darnit, I'm not good at that! xD

Overall: I really enjoyed this pet. I think I'll be keeping him at least for a bit, although I think Aotona will replace him once I recapture her. Or, I might keep them both.. The silver really is pretty...

Yay! That was very fun! :-D

Another? :->

Vallrok, Horde
Level 80
Exotics? Sure
Stable Slots: 5 or 6
Restrictions: None - rare spawns and hard to get pets are fine!
Notes: Already have all the SBs I can get and almost all of the saber cats, but I'll happily report on those.

TygerDarkstorm · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:34 pm

K, winter theme. I'm going to start with the first four pets I tamed, then I'll do one for the fifth pet since I only have 4 slots.

Let's start with the white wolf. First I went looking for Death Howl, no luck, so I went to Mulgore to look for Ghost Howl. First sweep, nothing, but I did get to see Mazz and his little babies. ^_^

So cute.

Second sweep I see a couple of baby hunters around and then, bawooga, Ghost Howl.

I hope none of the baby hunters wanted him, but I needed this guy because I'm too lazy to try and queue for AV.

All right, looks wise these guys are actually kind of pretty, although rather bright. Their muzzle is a little boxy looking and their ruff is VERY 2-D looking. I think it's worse on the worg models than on the coyote ones.

Their claws are low res, but that seems to be pretty standard. The color isn't bad, but as I said before, a little too bright. It makes them look very clean.

Animations wise, these guys are a little bland for me. They just stand there and shake their heads every now and then. Their fighting animations are nothing spectacular either, they just stand there and bite their enemies over and over. You can see my report on the wolf's special ability in my last review. ^_^

Next is Honey the bear.

Now, as I've said, I'm not usually one for bears, but I actually kind of like the polar bear model. The fur is a nice simple white and doesn't feel overly bright. They have bright blue eyes that look sort of intelligent. They are still subject to the same flaws within the bear models, however.

I missed this on my last review of a bear, but from behind, they have this weird, like extra pouch of...something...that goes from their butt all the way up to their neck.

Like I said before, I have a love/hate relationship with bears. I dislike their run, but I do like their combat animations. Their special ability could come in handy too. Venjin already has a bear that she really likes, so Honey will not be staying, but I will be taming a white bear on my baby hunter that will collect white pets.

Next is Rex. I went and tamed Duskstalker instead of a standard white leopard.

Ah saber cat models, how I love thee. This guy has stunning green eyes and his face does not look smushed in like the old world cats. They're one of the few models in the game where the claws don't look depressingly low res. One thing I did notice about the model that's weird is their front left elbow; it sort of goes both backward and forward. Other than that I have no real issues with the model; he's one of my favorite cats.

I love these guys' animations. If you don't like the yawn noise, there is a silence option for it. I never hear the slobber part in the end, so it doesn't bother me at all. They make all the standard cat idles, they look side to side and they yawn. When fighting, they use both their claws and teeth.

Cats have arguably one of the best buffs for hunters of all specs, however, it's shared by both death knights and shamans. For serious PvE, cats should probably be in your top 5 roster unless you'll always have a DK or shaman on hand. I'm not sure I'd use one of these guys for PvP, unless you have a pre-planned group and you know you'll be protected and can sacrifice the CC.

Rex won't be staying with Venjin, my white collector has him already so he has a happy, loving home already. ^_^

And last for now is Avalanche the white owl. ^_^

I'm not usually a fan of the owl models, but this guy is rather pretty.

Eek, my head!

What's kind of neat with these guys is that they're not just white, they have some yellowish-brown tones to them as well. They also have black feet, black eyes, and their beak is bronze and then turns black where it touches their skin. Like the wolves, their feathers have weird break points on their back.

These guys flap up by your shoulder, and occasionally she'll flap up into the air, then settle back into their usual spot above your shoulder. These guys are neat to watch fight as they swing their claws in their enemies' faces. As mentioned with the undead hawk, Snatch can be a very useful ability for both PvE and PvP, preferably micro-managed over leaving it on autocast.

Avalanche will not be staying with Venjin because she has Aotona, but I will consider taming this pretty bird on my white collector.

And now onto the fox; report for it will come in a bit.

TygerDarkstorm · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:32 pm

All righty, on to Vermillion, the arctic fox.

Going to get this guy started off kind of amusing/annoying. I've never had a problem boarding the zeppelins on my flying mounts, but the zeppelin to Undercity decided that I was not allowed to ride it on my green proto drake.

Anyway, waited around for the zeppelin then flew out to Gilneas where these little buggers are easy enough to find right over the wall.
Looks wise, I rather like foxes, there's something adorable about them. I personally think that their models look more cleaned up than the older ones, like, compared to Rex. The fox doesn't have any funky leg problems (other than them maybe looking too skinny). The skin/fur overall are just very clean looking. The color really isn't so much white as it is an icy blue, bearing them a resemblance to Ashtail (which is who my boyfriend thought I had tamed :lol:

) The biggest difference between these guys and Ashtail is their eyes. The white foxes have soul-stealing red eyes.

As for animations, these guys are sitting on the coyote wolf skeleton so while idle they'll sniff the ground or scratch themselves. If you've never had a fox and hate noisy pets, these guys are not for you, and if you need the debuff they bring, I'd recommend a tallstrider. Foxes are very noisy, but after running with a devilsaur all the time, noisy pets don't bother me, I find it charming. Foxes also come with a Play ability that lets them do the coyote model dance; very cute.

In terms of special ability, I suppose tailspin could come in handy, however, foxes have been getting themselves a bit of a bad rep recently because tailspin affects critters, the critter goes running in terror, fox chases critter once all baddies are dead, fox pulls another group in the dungeon. This problem can be solved by micro-managing tailspin and/or making sure you kill any critters you see in a dungeon. I suppose you could use these guys going against a melee heavy PvP group, however, I personally would rather have a CC effect of some sort over 20% reduced attack speed unless I knew my team could protect me. Foxes are also a pet that I would probably only run around with for looks as I'm not sure how entirely useful Tailspin is in a PvE environment--I think they're are better buffs/debuffs that could be brought if you're really looking to min/max.

I'm not sure if Vermillion will stay with Venjin. I think the foxes are cute, but I'm not sure if he'd see a whole lot of love in my active slots. I think he'll be getting released for now, and I may tame a fox in the future.

And I totally lied about Rex. I thought I was going to dump him because I have sandy, an old world lioness model, but there's something about Duskstalker's skin/model that draws me in. >_<

Sandy:

Rex:

Any thoughts?

Also, another please. ^_^
Name and Level: Venjin, 80
Exotics: Yes
Pet Slots: 7
No Restrictions

LupisDarkmoon · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:06 pm

Hmmm. I gotta say Rex myself, even though I really like Sandy. Rex is slightly blue, which looks really nice next to your blue hunter.

TygerDarkstorm · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:23 pm

Yeah, I'm thinking about keeping Rex too. There's just something about him that cliques with Venjin.

Tydarus · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:41 am

I'd like a theme, this looks like fun!
Tydarus
Level 68, but will take anything within a couple of levels
Exotics - yes, soon enough!
I think I have 5 empty stable slots. Thanks!

Pawtrack · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:34 am

Alright, my theme this time was the color orange!

First up...
Jasper the orange raptor!

I always liked raptors, though the special doesn't seem the most usefull. The pink/orange coloration isn't my favorite, though the green eyes and cyan feathers and stripes stand out beautifully against the peach-colored skin. The animations are good, and there aren't too many problems with the model. The teeth are a little flat and pixely, but that's about it. Their sounds might get a little grating, but I don't mind them too much.

Next up...
Tigerseye the orange spider!

I have to say, the tarantula models are my one of my favorite models for the spiders, along with the bonespider models. The coloration is nice, with the green venom contrasting well with the orange skin. The animations are nice, though the model needs work in some places -- the venom dripping down from the fangs is pixely and not convincing at all, and the hairs sticking up off the back do not look like they fit on the body. Still and all I like their model. Their web ability is nice, but more useful in PvP (though I suppose it could be good at stopping runners in dungeons?) and their cunning, so they're a nice mix between damage-only and tanking pets.

Next up...
Sandstone the boar!

Why haven't I tamed one of these guys earlier?! I love the boar models and animations and... ah, they're just so cute! My first pet on my first hunter, so I may be biased... but still they are just so cute! <3 The sandy-yellow color and stripes on their flanks make them even more adorable. Unfortunately their ability is quite useless in soloing and if you're doing dungeons, why are you bringing a tank pet? :roll:

I wish their ability was more useful, but what can you do? Their animations and sounds are just adorable (but the squealing could get old, I suppose) and the only real problems with the model is the mane, which is pixelated and weird. The eyes are also a little weird, too, completely black, but their other cuteness outweighs the weirdness of their eyes.

Next up...
Flint the tiger!

Well, I've tamed a tiger before, can't say I was impressed by him. The model/skin is nice and all, but I still prefer some of the other cat skins to the tiger one. Their orange fur and green eyes are very pretty and contrast well, and their black stripes stand out against their bright fur. They have the same old cat model, so not much to say about that... the teeth look pixely, and the claws are always retracted, etc. etc.. The cat's ability I honestly don't use much, they're too slow when they stealth lol *is impatient* however, their stealth ability is quite useful in BGs like WSG or any other BG where you have to go on D.

And last but not least...
Ruby the dragonhawk!

I'm not too fond of dragonhawks, but I liked the more muted colors on this one... If you can call them muted. The special ability is not that useful, and to me dragonhawks are more of show pets. Not much to say about them. Their model and animations are nice and smooth, and since they are more recent models, they are fairly good looking. The colors are nice, oranges and yellows, and I liked his... frilly, fancy-ness. Not a good fit next to a night elf, but a very pretty pet and a rare one as well, on alliance at least.

And sorry for the dark screenshots, night is not a good time for trying to take pretty pictures.

TygerDarkstorm · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:58 am

Um, no offense Pawtrack, as I know they're your opinions, but raptors, cats, and dragonhawks all have fabulous abilities for hunters and groups.

Cats are arguably one of the best hunter pets to have around when you don't have a DK or shaman handy. Also, you don't have to leave prowl on autocast; I never do because I'm too impatient for the slower movement speed.

Raptors provide a sunder debuff, very desirable for melee and when you're missing a warrior.

Dragonhawks are arguably one of the best pets for SV hunters after the cat as their debuff scales with SV's mastery and is fabulous for groups with casters.

Sorry, this is nothing against you, but I don't want people to get these pets confused thinking their abilities are bad when three of those pets you tamed are top DPS pets.

Kalliope · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:45 am

First time doing this - I just love the concept of themed pet assignments!

Name & Level: Yoninah, level 30 tauren
Exotics: No
Pet Slots: 3-5 is fine; don't feel compelled to assign the max if it doesn't feel right

Restrictions: Would prefer to avoid cats if at all possible; she already has three (but don't worry about it if the theme calls for one)
Armory Link/Screenshot (Optional): http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/nesingwary/yoninah/simple

Might take me a bit to actually handle said assignment, but rest assured, it'll happen.

Acherontia · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:43 am

Rolling themes now

Acherontia · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:11 pm

Awesome reviews and pics, again

And Tyger, I'd totally go with Rex--he looks good with your hunter for some reason ^^

For Varethyn:

Pirate Pets! YARR!

Green Parrot, Dark Grey Monkey, and the Blue Turtle!

For Lehana (Damiz):

Undead Pets!

Undead Boar, Brown Diseased Bear, Undead Hawk, and the Diseased Wolf.

If you have trouble getting ahold of the Undead Hawk, like if you've done the quest chain/can't get someone else to do it, then don't worry about it!

For LupisDarkmoon:

Scifi Pets!

Green Outland Chimaera, Red Nether Ray, Blue Spiked Raptor, Purple & Orange Ravager, and the Red Warp Stalker.

For TygerDarkstorm:

Demonic Pets!

Red Demon Dog, Corrupted Red Raptor, Red Felboar, and the Reddish Ravager.

For Kalliope:

Gothic Pets!

Black Owl, Black Worg, Brown Bone Spider, Black Scorpid.

For a switch, I was tempted to assign you the Blackrock Battle Worg from Elwynn, and/or the Fjord Hawk from Howling Fjord, but that reaaaally doesn't seem fair for a Horde lvl 30 :lol:

Sidenote: From now on, can those who have done multiple Challenges list the themes they've already done in Notes? I'm already having trouble keeping up :lol:

Thanks!

Kalliope · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:51 pm

Acherontia wrote:

For Kalliope:

Gothic Pets!

Black Owl, Black Worg, Brown Bone Spider, Black Scorpid.

For a switch, I was tempted to assign you the Blackrock Battle Worg from Elwynn, and/or the Fjord Hawk from Howling Fjord, but that reaaaally doesn't seem fair for a Horde lvl 30 :lol:

*grin* Oh, but you don't know Yoninah! She's done crazy treks before!

Will see what happens, though.

Lehana · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:08 pm

Acherontia wrote:

For Lehana (Damiz):

Undead Pets!

Undead Boar, Brown Diseased Bear, Undead Hawk, and the Diseased Wolf.

If you have trouble getting ahold of the Undead Hawk, like if you've done the quest chain/can't get someone else to do it, then don't worry about it!

I'll have no problem getting the undead hawk, I already have one.

I'm pretty excited. This pet theme is exactly why I wanted to this. These are pretty much all pets I'd never tame on my own. I'll get started right away.

TygerDarkstorm · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:23 pm

Yeah, I decided to keep Rex on Venjin, he looks good next to her.

Demon pets should be interesting, I did reports on the red raptor and red demon dog for the single pet challenge, so I may ninja some of those screenshots. :lol:

And I'll remember to start including themes I've already done in my rerolls, although I don't mind a duplicate theme if there's different pets involved.

LupisDarkmoon · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:53 pm

Rawr, Scifi! Looks fun, I'll get on it!
You happened to choose my favorite color for the Outland Raptor and the Ravager. I love them all. Except that 'stalker... Oh well!

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