How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Cataclysm?

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Ket Shi
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How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Cataclysm?

Unread post by Ket Shi »

I remember that, a few months back, many people were disappointed with the offerings at the time. There were a few new colors, foxes, mastiffs, and monkeys, and not much else.

Now, in the last months, they're added:

- New spirit beasts
- New parrots
- Seagulls
- Fiery turtle and ancient turtle
- Two-headed vulture colors
- Yellow warp stalkers
- Shale spiders
- Beetles
- Green tigers
- New ravager color
- Blue dragonhawks
- Darkhounds
- Helboars
- Silithid wasps
- New wasp colors
- Spiny crabs
- Big silithids
- Mount style scorpion/lion
- Rare spawns that drop an item that explicitly say "The desire to serve as a loyal companion, coalesced into a single priceless crystal."
- A variety of skins out in the world before, but not tamable, like Gezzarak

Honestly, it looks like the developers are really interested in hunter pets this time around. Age-old complaints about variety, unused skins, and cool new pets are finally being addressed, and a few new "surprise" pets like seagulls have popped up. I'd say the most telling thing is the Crystalline Tear of Loyalty -- the developers are pretty much coming right out and stating, "Hey, these are perks for hunters".

What do you guys think? Do you feel like you're being listened to? Happy with the selection offered?
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Mania »

I'm doing cartwheels.
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Vephriel »

I'm blown away by the sheer number of new skins and models we're receiving. As Mania mentioned on her blog, it's well over 90 individual new appearances. And it seems to grow every patch.

We didn't get everything we asked for, but I am completely satisfied even if this is the end of them. The only thing that Blizzard could add to make me happy now would be Hydras and Stags. ^^ (oh, and my purple crocolisk)

But honestly, I can live without them if it comes to that. I'm more than happy from the fantastic beasts we're already getting. ^^

(Seriously though...Hydras...do want. ;D)
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Redith »

I thought at first they didnt give a crap about hunters. Ugly dogs , foxes and seagulls. Realy thats all? Then when I saw all the new crap start flowing in, crabs, new warp stalker models, I was like ok Im good.
But now I am absolutely F***IN blown away by the sheer amount of new pets and pet skins. So happy. If they let hydras becaume tameable im going to have a huntergasim
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Yaone »

That crystal makes me happy and sad all at the same time.

But I do agree, I do love everything they are doing, and yes, seems like they are listening and taking action on what we want xD
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Ikult »

(Please note this entire post is my own opinion.)

I've been burnt by Blizzard many times over the years. I've played a BM Huntress since original beta (back when BM sucked royally), and forced the spec to work. We BM hunters were limited severely by our pet's scaling, and as Blizz slowly began to take out abilities that made pets unique, I felt very, very dejected. I miss Snarler having insane Resistances; BT with his 1.0 attack speed; etc. This did make some pets a lot more valuable than others in their family, and thus narrowed our "true" choices, but at least they were unique unto themselves.

Pet Normalization hit me hard.

Back when Spirit Beasts were announced, I felt finally that Hunters were being listened to (well, BM hunters, at least). I felt all loved until I found out that every single bloody SB is rare.

When the 25 pets / increased stables were announced, I got excited again, but then sobered: would Blizzard really give us a reason to have 25 pets? They have a poor track record with making 1-2 pets the "only" smart choice for parties / raiding; how would they fix this? Could they really expect us to need that many pets, or is this just a "gimme" tactic to shut us up?

Very happily, I've discovered my skepticism is misguided. Not only is it a nice "gimme" that Hunters have always wanted, but there truly is a need for so many variety of pet buffs! Old skins are becoming tamable / retamable; and though they can't please everyone, the new models and families they're putting in often show artistic development and careful consideration. As an artist myself, I can very much appreciate the thought, prep, effort, and many hours of work put into simply making a new family for Hunters.


TL;DR: I really feel like Blizzard has put years of Hunter comments and complaints to good use in Cata so far; including talents, new abilities (CAMOUFLAGE OMG OMG), and of course all the lovely new and old pets available!
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Kalliope »

Mania seriously put it best in the post on her blog about how many new looks we have available. We've gotten more options than ever before, and a whole freakin' lot of 'em are non-exotic. Going BM before LK was exciting because of those additions. With all of the pre-Cata hunter changes, it's exciting to be a hunter of ANY spec.

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Astratia »

I'm stoked!
When I first looked around at the new pets I was hardly excited. My only interest was the foxes which seemed to be easily obtainable.

However, with the new news of all the new skins, models and species I'm overexcited about the Cata release! I'm gaurenteed my stables will fill up rather quickly.
Not too quickly since I only hunt rares.. ^_~
I'm already sure to be taming Ashtail, the new Boweser turtle, that Spirit Beast that holds the old Ghost wolf modle and I'll even pick up a beautiful blue dragonhawk :3

So Cata.. can't wait for it!

PS: The grey item that drops off the rares makes me smile... hopefully it will help with other players letting some rares live for us hunters that camp for them days on end.

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by cowmuflage »

I'm happy that most of the new pets ANY hunter can use. I'd feel left out if they only put new exotics in I did think they were just going to do that but thankfully I was wrong.
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Aweena »

seriously i want a killer squirrel i did ask for it and its still not there all tho there is some killer rabbits, mice and prairie dogs

joke aside i really like all the new stuff would be cool with more but id not go greedy now there is a lot and im sure we wont find all of it during beta some will probably pop up in later paches like skoll and arctious did

(sorry for spelling and such am really tired)

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Rikaku »

I know I'm going to be the party pooper here but, before you reply to my post to comment about it: fully read it XD

I am thrilled at the sheer skin options cataclysm has brought us. There's so many new skins out there it's amazing. I love it.
Obviously I love the 25 stable slots, but this isn't about stable slots so thats rather moot. I also love the new way pet families are handled as well, but again, that isn't part of the topic so it's moot.

So on the topic of pet skins available AND pet options with Cataclysm, I'm rather unimpressed. Again I *love* the sheer variety of some of the pet families now, hell I may even go pick up a boar now (something I would've never done before the felboars made tamable).

However, everything is just seems lackluster. Wrath of the Lich King brought us 7 new families (Chimera, Devilsaur, Rhino, Silithid, Spirit Beast, Wasp and Worm.) The burning crusade brought us 6 new families as well (Dragonhawk, Nether Ray, Ravager, Sporebat, and Warp Stalker. Moths were introduced in TBC but I don't think they were tameable til Wrath, so add one more family to the expansion of your choice really.

Cataclysm? Only 5 new families: Shale Spider, Dog, Foxes, Monkeys, and Beetles.
Only about 2 of those were actually asked for in the "what would you like to see tamable in Cataclysm".
I feel like honestly, Blizzard *barely* listened to us in regards to tameable creatures. People wanted Stags, clefthoofs, Zhevras that were teased at us at Blizzcon 09, Hippogryphs, Stags.... None of those highly demanded were implemented. And those were the highest demands on the pet-tame table.

Further more, as far as some of the new families go, I'm unimpressed with their models. Personally the foxes and monkeys look like something pre-Wrath, not post Wrath. I don't mean to sound mean, but compare the model structure of a Grovestalker Lynx to a Darkshore Tiger and you'll see TBC did bring a higher model quality to their pets. (Now I'm not saying that EVERYONE has to like the model, I'm just saying on a technical standpoint, the Lynx has a much higher model then the Darkshore tiger). Now, compare Loque'nahak to that Grovestalker Lynx. Loque's model upgrade is way ahead of Grovestalker lynx to the point where it actually looks rounded and not "sharp cornered" like older models.

Now look at the monkeys and the foxes (I feel like an Old Spice commercial saying 'now look', lol).
The monkeys are basically a blown up version of a minipet and the foxes have very old looking textures and models for a pet created specifically for Cataclysm.

Most of the best looking models in Cataclysm, are old families (Sambas and the new scorpids); which while I welcome, I still like to hold Blizzard to their standard of generally making new pet families have some really good pet models. The Shale Spiders and the Mastiff are really the only creatures with fresh models from the new Cataclysm families.

Overall, I find the sheer variety of pet skins welcomed. However, no, I don't feel Blizzard listened to us in what we wished to tame nor do I feel really impressed with the new families. =/ Sorry.


A/N:
Just because I know SOMEONE will point out a bunch of stuff in regards to my post. I am ONLY talking about PET TAMING/AVAILABLE SKIN/MODELS.

I am absolutely thrilled with Hunter *overall* in regards to the Hunter itself and the pets when we look at the total Hunter changes. I am only not impressed with this one aspect.

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Rawr »

Ket Shi can u link the site that has the Crystalline Tear of Loyalty item, please :D :geek:

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Kalliope »

Rawr wrote:Ket Shi can u link the site that has the Crystalline Tear of Loyalty item, please :D :geek:
http://cata.wowhead.com

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Malazee »

Rikaku wrote:Stags, clefthoofs, Zhevras that were teased at us at Blizzcon 09, Hippogryphs, Stags
I see where you're going with your post, but in Blizzard's defense (Devil's Advocate here), none of those models really fit with the theme of Cataclysm at all. That's one thing that Blizzard has kept consistent across all the expansions: all the new pets families really fit with their environment. Shale Spiders go with Deepholme, Dogs go with Gilneas, Monkeys go with the Lost Isles, Beetles go with Uldum, and Foxes... well I guess those are Twilight Highlands and Hyjal? Are there even any stags, clefthooves, zhervas or hippogryphs anywhere in the new zones? Those things just don't really seem to fit with the overall Cataclysm theme.
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Rikaku »

Malazee wrote:
Rikaku wrote:Stags, clefthoofs, Zhevras that were teased at us at Blizzcon 09, Hippogryphs, Stags
I see where you're going with your post, but in Blizzard's defense (Devil's Advocate here), none of those models really fit with the theme of Cataclysm at all. That's one thing that Blizzard has kept consistent across all the expansions: all the new pets families really fit with their environment. Shale Spiders go with Deepholme, Dogs go with Gilneas, Monkeys go with the Lost Isles, Beetles go with Uldum, and Foxes... well I guess those are Twilight Highlands and Hyjal? Are there even any stags, clefthooves, zhervas or hippogryphs anywhere in the new zones? Those things just don't really seem to fit with the overall Cataclysm theme.
Fair enough response, but I feel the need to respond as well. :)

I don't see how Zhevras in barrens don't play to Cataclysm at all. Barrens is one of the most highly changed zones. Zhevras belong in Barrens, so why couldn't they have had the Barrens Zhevras get a tameable check?

Azshara, another highly changed zone and known for its Hippogryphs couldn't somehow fit? Nor Ashenvale or Stonetalon Stags with its massive changes to the zone didn't fit for Cataclysm?


And I disagree, Blizzard didn't keep it consistent with all the expansions. Sure, TBC was, all those pets did seem to fit rather well. But I don't see how Silithids, a famous creature from the whole vanilla WoW AQ lore fit into Wrath. It wasn't even used in Northrend, just the old ones were made tameable. And that's what a lot of players asked for really: older famous families wanting to be added as tameables. Silithids didn't fit into Wrath nor even really Chimeras beyond one tiny spot in Howling Fjord, why shouldn't Zhevras or Stags fit into Cataclysm?

I suppose I'm asking what is the theme of Cataclysm? I suppose it's rather subjective. To me its about the change of the entire world, not just the new regions involved in it. It isn't just about Vash'jirs new watery zone, its about losing Astranaar and Auberdine, its about seeing Even More Charred Vale, it's about Azshara getting a facelift, it's about the entire world. To me, it makes perfect sense for some of the 'Mascot' creatures of the most (in)famous zones, like Barrens, becoming tameable in Cataclysm.

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Sonam »

I'm another negative nancy. Although, I think the glass-half-empty opinions need to exist, in order for everyone else to be enthusiastic! I'm excited about the new stuff, but it really feels like something was missing. Long before I decided to finally break down and play a hunter, I loved checking out the pets and what would be added...was pretty fun. But this time, I don't know, I kind of expected a dramatic revamp. Perhaps I was pipe-dreaming about them breaking down the barrier and making 90% of beasts tamesies? Someday, Clefthoof, Someday. Or maybe balancing out the skins ratio a bit better, some of our dear companions are stillso far behind, even with the new. However, I will be throwing confetti with everyone else, just will do it a bit morosely.
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Mindsprocket »

Rikaku, you mustn't forget that the whole Exotics theme was introduced in Wrath. That's where Silithids and all the other old beasts fit in. Note that all non-BM hunters got in Wrath were Moths, Wasps and Birds of Prey. And Blizzard couldn't really say "Hey, BM-hunters, you get this new talent that allows to tame beasts no-one else can tame! And these beasts are Rhinos and Spirit Beasts! Yeah, that's it, nothing else really fits with Northrend."

And since BC took us to a different planet, they had to design a completely new wildlife anyway. The wave of new tameables was kind of a side effect of that I think. Cata has neither of those two features, it doesn't introduce a whole new category of pets, and it doesn't take us to a fundamentally different world. It's just the old world shaken up. That may be a reason why there're fewer new families in Cata. I guess Blizzard doesn't feel like throwing out pets that don't make sense to them just for the sake of it.

Though when it comes to making old families tameable, there might still be hope. There have been so many new pets in such a short time now and it's certainly possible that they aren't done yet. So keep you're fingers crossed. ;)

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Epicfail »

I like it. I also like pie. I feel both pie and hunter pets in cata are quite wonderful to behold...

ESPECIALLY the pie...

I'm just sayin.... pie.
I don't really feel like this is so much the "Post-Modern" era as much as its the "Pre-Zombie-Apocalpse" era. I consider myself more of a forward thinking guy and an era that just won't die is just as feasible as a coming era, where the dead come back.
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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Rikaku »

Mindsprocket wrote:Rikaku, you mustn't forget that the whole Exotics theme was introduced in Wrath. That's where Silithids and all the other old beasts fit in. Note that all non-BM hunters got in Wrath were Moths, Wasps and Birds of Prey. And Blizzard couldn't really say "Hey, BM-hunters, you get this new talent that allows to tame beasts no-one else can tame! And these beasts are Rhinos and Spirit Beasts! Yeah, that's it, nothing else really fits with Northrend."

And since BC took us to a different planet, they had to design a completely new wildlife anyway. The wave of new tameables was kind of a side effect of that I think. Cata has neither of those two features, it doesn't introduce a whole new category of pets, and it doesn't take us to a fundamentally different world. It's just the old world shaken up. That may be a reason why there're fewer new families in Cata. I guess Blizzard doesn't feel like throwing out pets that don't make sense to them just for the sake of it.
I totally get that. Trust me, I do.
My point was strictly to respond to the "these pets don't fit in cataclysm" issue. I was merely pointing out that technically if you set aside Silithids, they didn't fit in Wrath. I get that Wrath introduced Exotics. But as a species, Silithids played absolutely no part in Wrath, not even in any lore of the quests. They weren't part of Wrath of the Lich King, yet, Wrath brought them to us. To me, in order for it to really "make sense", it would've made more sense for Silithids to be introduced as pets in Cataclysm since we're returning to the old world.

I'm saying, why couldn't some of the old world pets get the same treatment. Is there really a good reason that some of the most-demanded and sought after pets in all the history of WoW can't be made tameable? It's more of food for thought, because personally, I don't buy the idea 'they didn't fit into Cataclysm'.

I suppose Blizzcon 09 made me bitter about the old families that arent tameable.

However, even if I completely ignore Zhevras and Stags and whatnot, I'm still not impressed with the Cataclysm pet models. So I still stand by feelings of "not too impressed". I don't feel blizzard listened to us all that much on the pet family tameables.
Mindsprocket wrote:Though when it comes to making old families tameable, there might still be hope. There have been so many new pets in such a short time now and it's certainly possible that they aren't done yet. So keep you're fingers crossed. ;)
I do. I totally keep my fingers crossed. I will keep buying expansions til I get my dang stag XD

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Re: How does everyone feel about the pet offerings in Catacl

Unread post by Bulletdance »

I'm happy with everything except that we did not get hydras or stone worms. Though the alliance lion mount pet makes up for i in my mind.
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