Ban'thalos taming Question

[agnidragon]

So I've been trying to find Ban'thalos these past few days and my NPC scan keeps going off, and I keep not seeing Ban'thalos anywhere...

I've done all of hyjal + all the firelands stuff up to where I can do dailies for both hyjal and firelands...so I should be in the correct phase...(if I'm not please do tell me)

Is NPC scan just picking up hunter pets from a different phase or...whats going on? Its starting to get irritating having to constantly delete my creaturecache file...

Also...where the heck is ankha? I searched for him in wowhead and thottbot and apparently both sites don't have a page for him.

[7seti]

Ankha has a page: http://www.wowhead.com/npc=54318

When I'm rare-hunting I usually just mash a targeting macro. It won't trigger on tamed beasts unless they have the same name, and with the apostrophe in Ban'thalos there's no chance of that happening.

[Kurenio]

Yes it's most likely a hunter pet setting off your NPCscan. If you can do the dailies there isn't much you can do, but clear your cache and wait.

[Nanluin]

Getting Ban'thalos requires either a lot of patience or a lot of luck, because every time he spawns over the Shrine of Malorne, a literal flock of folks on flying mounts will take to the air: some wanting to watch the show, some wanting to try the tame, and some wanting to grief the tamers. It doesn't take long for the word to spread over guild channels and such that "Banth is up!". When Banth *does* spawn, you'll know it.

As with most of you here, I personally detest 'camping' a rare and much prefer the frequent, preferably odd-hour (low server population) flyover or drive-by, whilst doing other things or working an Alt. But given the pressure on these new Patch 4.2 pets, I knew that some camping was going to be required if I were to get them any time soon. I began my camp for Ban'thalos perched in the top of the tallest 'dead' tree at the Shrine at 10:00 server time, and Banth finally spawned at 21:46, making it an awfully l-o-n-g day in a tree, but I got the tame.

During that day, NPCScan went off multiple times with false positives for Banth, due to some hunter below doing dailies with his new Spirit Beast. For those time periods, use a targeting macro and once s/he leaves, you can quickly exit game and reset your cache (knowing that the same hunter will be back later for turn-ins and you'll get to do it all over again). It's all part of the price for using NPCScan, and the convenience of Alt-Tabbing out to other applications whilst camping a rare.

-- Nanluin

[agnidragon]

thanks a lot of the responses. I figure instead of doing the tree method everyone keeps talking about, I'll just keep call the flock in my quest log.

Don't need to spend time trying to find that exact position to tree sit...

Gotta say...finding the wotlk rares was a lot easier then this....

[Nanluin]

thanks a lot of the responses. I figure instead of doing the tree method everyone keeps talking about, I'll just keep call the flock in my quest log.

With any of the slow-fall methods, be sure to tag from as low an altitude as possible and minimize your (slow) falling distance. You'll take more of Ban'thalos's Harsh Moonlight than us tree-perchers, and it burns...it burns!

I like the notion of using the slow-fall "dismount" feature of Call the Flock. What I don't know is if that 'feature' continues if you take combat action or damage whilst floating down. You might want to test that out.

-- Nanluin

[Lazurianis]

Well I have Ban'thalos myself and I tried both methods, DO THE TREE-PERCH METHOD BY ALL MEANS! Ban'thalos will kill you before you even hit the ground. Just get in the tree to the left of the huge statue of Malorne lay a Freezing Trap get on your flying mount, fly up a little bit ABOVE the tree don't move foward, backwards, or stride to the left or right side by any means just move straight up.. dismount, tag him, and you should fall right on your freezing trap causing Ban'thalos to follow. You may die a few times like I did but it's probably another hunter setting it off. Here's a quick method that applies to both TLPD, Aeonaxx, and Ban'thalos; "Can't find him? Look up." Good luck and happy hunting

[agnidragon]

With any of the slow-fall methods, be sure to tag from as low an altitude as possible and minimize your (slow) falling distance. You'll take more of Ban'thalos's Harsh Moonlight than us tree-perchers, and it burns...it burns!

I like the notion of using the slow-fall "dismount" feature of Call the Flock. What I don't know is if that 'feature' continues if you take combat action or damage whilst floating down. You might want to test that out.

-- Nanluin

problem with tree sitting is the "peak" you can perch on in so narrow I spend tons of time trying to just find it...I sort of assumed deterrence while im falling could would help a lot.

I was sort of hoping Harsh Moonlight would have at least a 30 second or whatever CD...hmm...I hadn't considered the time it takes me to fall to the ground might get me killed by harsh moonlight even with deterrence....

[Thwip]

With any of the slow-fall methods, be sure to tag from as low an altitude as possible and minimize your (slow) falling distance. You'll take more of Ban'thalos's Harsh Moonlight than us tree-perchers, and it burns...it burns!

I like the notion of using the slow-fall "dismount" feature of Call the Flock. What I don't know is if that 'feature' continues if you take combat action or damage whilst floating down. You might want to test that out.

-- Nanluin

problem with tree sitting is the "peak" you can perch on in so narrow I spend tons of time trying to just find it...I sort of assumed deterrence while im falling could would help a lot.

I was sort of hoping Harsh Moonlight would have at least a 30 second or whatever CD...hmm...I hadn't considered the time it takes me to fall to the ground might get me killed by harsh moonlight even with deterrence....

I have actually seen this method in action where the hunter didn't fall on the statue. They didn't even make it to the ground. They pegged Ban'th. Hit slowfall. Popped Deterrence halfway down and still did not hit the ground before they died. My best friend ended up with Ban'th that day with the tree method after I showed him where to stand.

Ban'th's Harsh Moonlight doesn't really have much of a cooldown. He can pop you with about 3-5 before you even know what hit you and it doesn't just hurt. It REALLY hurts. He can literally spam it just as fast as a balance druid and can do it while he moves.

As for getting on the tree. Get on the smallest flying mount you own and mouse move forward an inch at a time once you found the 'solid' part of the tree. Once you get to the peak of it, press x. If you aim just right and press x, but don't move down, then you are on the tree. Also, my best friend is a Tauren, so size doesn't matter. :3

[Nanluin]

problem with tree sitting is the "peak" you can perch on in so narrow I spend tons of time trying to just find it...I sort of assumed deterrence while im falling could would help a lot.

It's a pain to find that 'magic spot' to perch on, I agree. I had never perched in a tree before I wanted to do this tame, and had to practice it in order to figure it out, and even now it still takes several tries to find the 'sweet spot'. Note that the key is to find the tiny spot at which your mount cannot move straight down: they will still be flapping their wings, but won't move in the straight downward direction (the "X" key with standard defaults). If you dismount at that point (and it does look visually like you have stabbed your mount through the heart with a wooden stake, poor kid), you will find yourself standing on the tip of the tree. If you mount up again, your mount will animate as if they were standing on the ground.

The tame can be done using other perches or slow-falls, and a properly used Deterrence is critical to survival in those cases. The key seems to be in *delaying* your use of Deterrence until Banth just reaches the range/time at which he uses Harsh Moonlight. I don't know the range, but the spell does have a 2 second cast time, so a ~2 second delay after the tag before popping Deterrence was the rule that I followed. Most people seem to hit it too early, and then die after Deterrence has run out. When you're in the middle of a tame attempt, 2 seconds seems forever....

-- Nanluin

[MajorThor]

I just can't seem to get on top of any trees near Sanct of Malorne AT ALL. I keep falling strait through the thing and to the ground. How do you do this?

[Novikova]

I get on my smallest flying mount. Gryphons and the Headless Horseman's Mount are great for this then kinda wiggle until I can push x and not fall.

[Nanluin]

I just can't seem to get on top of any trees near Sanct of Malorne AT ALL. I keep falling strait through the thing and to the ground. How do you do this?

Don't dismount until you know that your mount will not move straight downward. That's the indication that they have hit something solid beneath them (collision programming-wise), when they can't be moved downward through it or beside it. If you hit "X" (your sit/move down key) and the mount suddenly stops moving down, then you've found the 'sweet spot'. Only then do you dismount.

-- Nanluin

[MajorThor]

I made it to the top of the left tree that bends a little bit behind the Malorne statue!!!!


Now, to wait the endless wait for this Spirit Beast. I just hope I'm phased right. I did all the Hyjal Quests and enough to get into the Molten Front, again I just hope I'm phased right.

[Thwip]

I made it to the top of the left tree that bends a little bit behind the Malorne statue!!!!


Now, to wait the endless wait for this Spirit Beast. I just hope I'm phased right. I did all the Hyjal Quests and enough to get into the Molten Front, again I just hope I'm phased right.

If you can get into the Molten Front then YES you are phased in the proper phase for Ban'th.

[Heleos]

Sidenote: Olm looks so much cooler.

[Arisia]

Sidenote: Olm looks so much cooler.

Respectfully, having tamed both, as well as Hell-Hoot... I disagree. Ban'thalos, with the wing 'light show' and the swirl of sparklies that follow him wherever he flaps, to me, is majorly cooler.

But to each their own. I must admit I liked Hell Hoot better than Olm, so he's not high on my list.

Luck to the Op on getting the critter they like best.