Basically, I recently underwent a period of boredom. Hunter boredom, to be precise. I abandoned one of my pets and went on a quest to find my perfect last stable slot companion. To give you an idea of what I already have, and what I felt was missing, let me give you a brief rundown on my other 4 slots.
My main pet, my buddy and raiding partner that I've had since level 42, is Snarler, the rare black wolf from Feralas. His name is Atropos, so that together we are Acherontia Atropos--scientific name for the Death's Head Moth.
My other pets:
Tank Pet: Shadowstep; white/purple Warp Stalker
Spirit Beast: Zodiac; Skoll (server first tame I believe), sometime companion and too beautiful to ever ditch... I actually abandoned Gondria (Nightmare) whom I'd camped for weeks to get this guy. Nightmare and I just didn't mesh
PvP Pet: Talisman; blue/white chimaera (Lord Lakmaeran npc)
So anyway, my last stable slot first was Lachesis, the rare cheetah named Dishu from the Barrens and my first pet. I didn't love it as much as I thought, and so I tried out the scarlet hyena, named Styx. Loved him to death but first the tail animation was very badly bugged, and now they hold their head in an utterly unloveable way
Then I had the Ramparts riding wolf. The minute I found out it had become tameable I ran and got it, I LOVE the skin--but my husband tamed one too, and I got sick of seeing his (Awesomecakes) around all the time (incompetent--he's Survival and let it run amok, which drove me to dislike it!). He was named Thrakk and I adored him, but I went back to my first love Atropos and decided to abandon Thrakk for one reason.
I had a thousand pets I wanted to tame! I wanted to try out a ton of different WoW beasts as companions. I tamed the red Nether Ray, which I named Bloodwraith and LOVED. But again I grew curious about other pets! I tamed the ghost worm from the Storm Peaks quest, named him Innuendo and hung out with him for awhile, but he seemed to lack personality. I tried a diseased bear, which I also loved for various reasons. I tried Dreadtalon, the black/white condor from Dragonblight; his face was ugly! I tried a Daggercap Hawk (the black hawks) but their run animation is goofy--they hover rather than fly forward
Well, here's where it gets fun. I decided to actually go around and tame every single pet I'd ever had an interest in. First on the list, Durotar Tiger:
I didn't have him long. I love the skin, LOVE it, and the feeling of a big cat by your side is very cozy so to speak--and I loved his bleed on rogues. But I just can't get over that model's weird face
For the same reason, I abandoned this (also never named) kitty:
Well, I then decided to go nab one pet I've always wanted. The purple tallstrider, Lost Torranche!
With this pet I should mention my standard naming convention. I love having pets where I can point to them, and tell Alliance players their names! Zil'nok is Thunder seen by Alliance, and Thrakk (the war wolf) 'meant' Heroic. Anyway, I liked the tallstrider, but he was a LOT smaller than I'd expected, and he had no jump animation for Eyes of the Beast. Silly, I know, but I had more creatures on my list...
Uruk was the core hound from the Draenei zones. I looooved his face(s), but the goofy short tail, the unweildy body, PINK glowing eyes, and the STOMPING quickly got on my nerves. It also struck me as odd that a pet good for stopping casters wasn't Cunning
Thus I bid Uruk, too, a farewell. (Uruk = Omen said to Alliance.)
Next came Blue. I was at a time when I really started gearing my hunter up, and I wanted to see if Devilsaurs truly were better than wolves for PvE damage. From what I've heard, Devilsaurs can top wolf dps 1v1, but when Furious Howl's hunter buff is taken into account, wolves are still tops. In any case, I did like Blue but he just didn't seem to have a ton of personality, and he always did less damage than my wolf regardless.
I decided to move on and try another pet, but I knew Blue wouldn't be forgotten--he was too darn big
I tried out the brown wolf Bjomolf from Howling Fjord. I LOOOOVE his skin. He looks like silky chocolate, or something along those lines, and boy do I love chocolate. His eyes glow like coals, and if I had enough stable slots, I'd keep him too. Yes, I'd have a stable full of wolves!!
I tried a few birds after this, and gave Gutripper a shot, but his skin is pretty lackluster and gray, and he's another of those hovers-instead-of-flies creatures.
I tried a Rhino pet; I love the blue rhino skin. A proto-drake tried to eat him as the tame finished, but luckily that failed
After this, I tamed another wolf that I named Uruk (this time, meaning Howl). I didn't have him long, and it was for only one reason: I wanted to see if it was worth keeping a pet to match my Crossroads guard uniform ;D
He was fun, but he also made me remember how much I love another Worg pet, one that I happen to have on a white-haired alliance hunter alt. The night elf's is named Stormwraith, but I named mine Zuggossh: the one I tamed was one who had in Alterac Valley stopped a rogue from restealthing after killing my rogue, allowing incoming Horde forces to finish him off. Zuggossh is what Guardian looks like when said to Alliance.
I abandoned this pet in Tirisfal, sad to see him go, but knowing he just doesn't match my dark, wicked orc huntress. That, and I can only look at that goofy owl-face head-on for so long, and on two hunters it's just too much. My god I LOVE it from the side, the long narrow snout and elegant neck, but from the front he's just silly
Anyway, next on my list was a bat I found in Tirisfal. I actually found this a beautiful pet, bar the badly-colored low-resolution claws on the wingtips. But he glides smoothly when you run, and he's HUGE, delightful to have at your side. And he has a stun. I'd tried a ravager, but they just don't have enough personality (read: face) for me. The bat's stun, and it's placement within the Cunning tree, made him another of those pets I'd keep if I had the room. Kazreth = Soldier when seen by Alliance.
In the end, though, I realized the pet I missed most was the one I abandoned to begin with, my sturdy war wolf Thrakk. I got myself the PvP wolf mount (I was actually grinding the marks for ages when that honor-for-marks patch went through) and now have the pet back to match it. Time will tell if he replaces Atropos as my raiding pet or if I swap them out now and then. They both match me, and I love them both, so I guess it'll depend on my mood that day!
As it stands, though, after I retamed him (careful to get the same wolf I'd tamed the first time, and not kill the other in the patrol just in case I was wrong--sentimental, yeah >.>) I realized how much I'd missed him. And hey, when I mount up, it looks like my pet is my mount, which is awesome!
In the end, I can't help but wish I had more stable slots. But I am glad I took the time to go around and tame so many beasts, to fight alongside them for awhile and see what my hunter goes with best. For my little dwarf alt with the sun-colored beard, only The Rake will suffice; my orc is, however--like me--a wolf gal at heart!
