There has to be a Different Way...

[Illahren]

So I just tamed Krush. Yay for me, or at least that's what I thought I would be feeling. I'm not. I'm hyped up, don't get me wrong, but not anywhere near as elated as I expected to be feeling after taming the dinosaur I've been chasing for oh so very long. Problem is, there were too many heartbreaks, too many times when outside interference of some sort caused me to lose out on a tame of a pet I've had the number of for a very long time, and I think all of that negative emotion has just been simmering for a good long while.

It's had me thinking and I've come up with a few ideas, but I decided to come ask the Petopians for some of your thoughts on the matter. Here's what I've been wondering...

I'm all for hard tames, Krush was a blast more than a year ago when everyone was trying to figure out if a solo-tame was possible, it was fun to setup an entire gear set centered on haste and on-use triggered effects to put his tame in the average hunter's wheelhouse. But that was a year ago and more and after multiple heartbreaks, the chase became a drain.

Here's my question: what if there was a different way to tame a pet? We here are all tamers, but if there was a different way to get our pets, would anyone really object? Luck plays such a huge role in a Krush tame, (in fact the entire goal of upper-end tamers is to do everything we can to reduce the power luck holds over our encounters with rares) what if there was a way to get rare pets based on merit?

Everyone remembers the quest series that awarded hunters with the Rhok'delar set. It was about singular player skill. Why can't we get pets of quests series like that?

I'm sorry if I sound negative, I just got aggravated with the system we have in place the moment I started taming the pet I've been chasing for months and wondering how long into the tame before someone outside of my control came along and threw all my hard work out the window.

Why must we sit around and wait for the enviroment to spawn randomly a pet we want? Why can't we do something to cause such an occurence? If a hunter and their pet are supposed to be a duo, two sides of a coin, one whole class split in two, why are we stuck in a system that demands we interact with and tolerate outside interference in order to gain what we desire? Quest progression, phasing, something else must be possible, right?

Again, don't get me wrong, I like the comraderie that is readily apparent when talking to fellow tamers, people who have experienced the highs and lows of the current style of taming, but, just because we're good at it doesn't mean it's not flawed, it just means we've grown used to the way things are and found the best methods of working within the rules we've been given.

Why don't we demand better? What other ideas are out there? What other ways would people like to get their pets? To earn their beastial compatriots?

[Calomel]

I think that your suggestion would have been a good one for, say, the level 10 "here's your first pet" quest. I haven't yet rolled a lowbie hunter to see if there is still a level 10 quest since 4.0.1, but I think that's what you're talking about?

If you're talking about some sort of 'legendary' type quest that awards a pet, instead of gear, I think that the idea is interesting. A kind of companion badge of honor with a unique skin?

[Lisaara]

Well....I'm really content with what we have. While you may not have your thrill, I have mine just fine. The thrill of the hunt never dies and when NPC Scan goes off, my heart still races like a russian race horse.

[Novikova]

Oh, I despise camping for a rare like I despise being set on fire. But. I doubt the rares will ever go away (Or that I'm gonna stop drooling over that blue scorpid, Sambas or FIRE TURTLE) so such as it is, I'll be up at 5AM a few times. x_x *ded*

[Illahren]

That's somewhat the point of the discussion and this search for a better way Tal. Again, we'll use Krush as an example. (Ftr, any multi-point spawned pet can be substituted if you'd like...)

To tame Krush, you either have Option A or Option B.

Option A: Camp a single point for what could be an eternity, if indeed it is a six hour respawn with a reliance on the RNG gods, whether or not you're currently in their favor. Option A puts you on spot for an immediate acquisition of your target tame the moment it spawns, however long after you start sitting for it to arrive in the first place. There are a few ways a hunter can improve their chances and reduce camping time, namely by attempting to discover some sort of spawn pattern and nailing a possible spawn time down. In this instance, knowing where it last was and knowing the pattern means you'll know where it will be next and hopefully how soon the next appearance of the targeted rare will actually will take to arrive. Of course, there is the issure with two seperate factions able to tame the target and an inability to actually talk to each other in game. (Taming and naming pets as an oddly fun way of breaking down those barriers....) Option a hunters check the AH for new occurences of dropped blues from their targets on both AH sides, which means the creation of a non-hunter alt. The more info they have, the better.

Option B: You make a run at every spawn point on a cycle, constantly traveling and either spam-clicking a target macro made in game, or relying on an addon to catch sight of what you may miss. Addons like NPCScan or Silverdragon are now almost crucial for hunters looking to partake of Option B considering some paths require them to cover large ammounts of ground as quickly as possible. This option has mobility as both it's strength and it's weakness. In fact, mobility is a double edged sword here as a negative and only one sided as a positive. Krush has five spawn points spread across 3/4 of the basin and alot of the time a hunter is looking for a target, they're not actually in range of their target in the first place. They are able to circle the basin in a short time, but there are no promises they will get to the spawn the moment it arrives. At worst, circling only for Krush and cutting the corners where they can be, I think the best that be done checking all the points is a two and a half minute circle. So if Krush spawns at a point right after you've left, let's say he appears just as the hunter's ability to recognize an appearance happens has passed, the pet you've been circling for has two and a half minutes to path wherever it may be directed in one of the most consistently farmed, if not the most highly trafficked zone of World of Warcraft.

Again, like Option A, Option B has ways to increase a hunter's chances. However, unlike option A, Option B's cost money. Lots of it. Roughly what, 8k gold on the low end to get your mount clipping along as fast as it's wings can carry you? Maybe you knock that circle down to a two min swing around.

Here's an interesting idea. Take a second to go look up all the posts on this forum that involve tips on how to tame the most sought after pets in game. Pets like Loque or Krush or Aotona or Gondria. Count how many times people say "download Npcscan or silverdragon and turn your speakers up". Minimize or reduce the screen to where you can do something other than the game, go clean or do homework or watch tv or a hundred other things that include the person camping not actually playing the game they love to play. Where's the skill in that?

[Novikova]

The answer is there isn't. I think it's pretty crappy/depressing and I really don't enjoy 'rare hunting' or getting up at UnGodly O'AM. Or that I'm really just sitting while I want to be playing a video game (As it sits, my WoW time is fairly limited). As such it's a fairly 'hope you like getting up mega early' or 'hope you like getting lucky' sort of thing.

I'm still after Skoll who is supposed to be an 'easy tame'. Pshyeah right, there's always at least another hunter circling, not to mention some wanker who admits to killing him over and over for lolz.

[Lisaara]

The skill is there. It's a skill called patience. If you have patience, the said skill will pay off with the pet of your dreams fighting beside you. ^_^

[Novikova]

Patience, possibly. Also the *ability* to sit at the computer for hours and hours. Some folks like parents might not have that kind of time and this is a good option for folks who might like say, a spirit beast. I don't want to hurt my grades because I have to sit and hope and hope a pet I really want spawns. Sorry. Glad you enjoy it, but I don't. It's like a cup of tea I suppose.

Edit: Hopefully that doesn't sound snarky. It just would be nice to say, have a ghost something or other for folks who don't have the ability to sit 24 hours with NPCscan or want to spend what little WoW time one has parked and listening for NPCscan/macro. It would still leave in rares for those who like to camp and offer one for peeps who don't/can't. It's all a matter of taste. That said, I am happy when I do get them. I'm just incredibly moody and dislike it. That is, I dislike being moody. Though this forum rocks while I camp Skoll.>> I am glad peeps here are so kind.

[Lisaara]

Patience, possibly. Also the *ability* to sit at the computer for hours and hours. Some folks like parents might not have that kind of time and this is a good option for folks who might like say, a spirit beast. I don't want to hurt my grades because I have to sit and hope and hope a pet I really want spawns. Sorry. Glad you enjoy it, but I don't. It's like a cup of tea I suppose.

Edit: Hopefully that doesn't sound snarky. It just would be nice to say, have a ghost something or other for folks who don't have the ability to sit 24 hours with NPCscan or want to spend what little WoW time one has parked and listening for NPCscan/macro. It would still leave in rares for those who like to camp and offer one for peeps who don't/can't. It's all a matter of taste. That said, I am happy when I do get them. I'm just incredibly moody and dislike it.

I work 40 hours a week and still managed to do some heavy duty camping. It may take longer when it's a work day compared to my day off and less time(if any) to camp but I know eventually my patience and working around my schedule will grant me the pet I desire.

How would they determine that? How can they know you're sitting on the computer at home? *imagines the uproar that would start should that ever be implemented and shudders* Oh the drama that would start on the forums.....

When I camped loque, I still slept but kept wow on and just woke up every 30 minutes to ensure I didnt get logged out. I did this during my 3 days off, mind you. It paid off and he was my very first spirit beast.

[Novikova]

I don't advocate getting rid of the rares or camping because some people do like them. But having one pet that's cool like a spirit beast available through a loretastic quest would be rad.

[Lisaara]

it could work long as it was available to all hunters and not exclusive or anything. But seems to be no challenge unless the quest was a royal PITA to complete like the legendaries are.

[Novikova]

That would be a good idea. And for better or worse, doing the MC quest at 60 made me a much better hunter. I /had/ to learn to kite, run into and out of melee so I didn't die horribly and manage my aoe against mobs. Though, I believe that the ability to kite things around is entertaining /and/ useful. It might be a good quest to let hunters get a feel for what they do too especially with this focus business.

[Acherontia]

http://forums.wow-petopia.com/viewtopic ... 48&start=0

Never mind the bit about them being stronger, but it'd be nice to have a quest where you get a pet that really means something.

[Sasrei]

I can understand how frustrating it can be, especially when you are camping for so long the rare finally spawns and someone comes and kills it.. Ive had it happen so many times its just frustrating, but if anything.. it made me like my pets even more. If rares were that easy to find it wouldnt be any fun, the thrill of finding them is pretty awesome.. hence why I am in the basin alot.. still don't fully understand it myself.. but I haven't had any complaints from my awesome guildies who give the ones I find a good home.

Camping = not fun. But finding = fun. I understand how it is, when you see the rare spawn and your just not only excited but freaked out that someone will come and kill it. I really wish blizzard would implement a whole.. you have it in tame noone can attack it. But then again I can see so many people abusing it to..

The idea is interesting about a quest that spawns something epic you can tame. I think it would be kind of fun, I mean we do have unqiue pets that spawn from quests, but a unique creature spawning from a hardcore quest line would be cool, I guess it would be like the Shy rotam and Echey quest lines which are all about hunting..

[VelkynKarma]

It's also all about your mindset and how you approach it I think.

Camping solo is no fun. I agree on that. It's boring, because you just anxious wait and stare at a spot on a screen for hours at a time, you get edgy every time somebody else does a flyby because ohgod what if they gank your pet when it spawns, and you'd rather be doing something else but are too afraid to leave your post to go do a random dungeon or battleground.

But camping with friends is a blast.

No, seriously. In the Petopians guild, we have nights when somebody will announce they're hunting Skoll or Loque or Krush and half the guild swarms to the zone in question and just fills up all the slots. With everybody there, a number of things happen.

1) You instantly feel more relaxed. In your example with Krush, all five of his spawn points are taken up and watched by a friend guaranteed to let you know when he pops and who will try to tag him for you until you can get there. Plus, frequently people who keep moving up and down the pat points anyway, just in case.
2) Boredom is alleviated. Now you have people to chat with, so it's not like you're just doing nothing. Maybe you can't go run a battleground or a dungeon, but it's not like there's nothing at all to do. We've had some GREAT camping sessions on Nesinwary. When I basically let another guildie 'borrow my npcscan' as it were and park at a spawn point for somebody else, I usually have a book or something with me to read while I wait, but I almost never use it. We have hilarious and silly discussions while we camp and one we even started a religion. Camping was fun.

I agree I'd love to see some additional ways to catch pets (I think the baby hunters with auto-pets is nice, even if I wish a few of their choices were different). And I love the idea of a questline or something that offers a unique pet too, instead of a bow or something. But camping can also be fun, and furthermore it shows you're dedicated to your class and your pets. Remember that spirit-beasts, at least, really are trophy pets intended for hunters since, other than Loque, there are no achievements attached to them or terribly worthwhile gear that they drop.

~VelkynKarma

[Calomel]

it could work long as it was available to all hunters and not exclusive or anything. But seems to be no challenge unless the quest was a royal PITA to complete like the legendaries are.

This. Lengendary quests are legendary because they're such a challenge to complete. If there were to be some kind of uber pet to be had from a legendary quest, I'd want that pet to mean something. I'd want my hunter to struggle for it and feel the accomplishment of earning that companion.

[Lisaara]

It's also all about your mindset and how you approach it I think.

Camping solo is no fun. I agree on that. It's boring, because you just anxious wait and stare at a spot on a screen for hours at a time, you get edgy every time somebody else does a flyby because ohgod what if they gank your pet when it spawns, and you'd rather be doing something else but are too afraid to leave your post to go do a random dungeon or battleground.

But camping with friends is a blast.

No, seriously. In the Petopians guild, we have nights when somebody will announce they're hunting Skoll or Loque or Krush and half the guild swarms to the zone in question and just fills up all the slots. With everybody there, a number of things happen.

1) You instantly feel more relaxed. In your example with Krush, all five of his spawn points are taken up and watched by a friend guaranteed to let you know when he pops and who will try to tag him for you until you can get there. Plus, frequently people who keep moving up and down the pat points anyway, just in case.
2) Boredom is alleviated. Now you have people to chat with, so it's not like you're just doing nothing. Maybe you can't go run a battleground or a dungeon, but it's not like there's nothing at all to do. We've had some GREAT camping sessions on Nesinwary. When I basically let another guildie 'borrow my npcscan' as it were and park at a spawn point for somebody else, I usually have a book or something with me to read while I wait, but I almost never use it. We have hilarious and silly discussions while we camp and one we even started a religion. Camping was fun.

I agree I'd love to see some additional ways to catch pets (I think the baby hunters with auto-pets is nice, even if I wish a few of their choices were different). And I love the idea of a questline or something that offers a unique pet too, instead of a bow or something. But camping can also be fun, and furthermore it shows you're dedicated to your class and your pets. Remember that spirit-beasts, at least, really are trophy pets intended for hunters since, other than Loque, there are no achievements attached to them or terribly worthwhile gear that they drop.

~VelkynKarma

This! Even better -- When you meet a new friend via the area, whether hunter or not. :3 Makes the experience memorable and you gain two friends instead of one.

[Tilo]

I can't honestly say I've ever felt disheartened after a tame on either of my hunters due to griefing, mishaps, or just the waiting game.

Regardless it's always as others have said a rush of getting that rare, or pet you want; then just relieved that the long, long wait is over, then I can move on with other adventures.

Quite true it is mindset before you go about it, are you optimistic? Do you anticipate it'll be a long haul? did you bring enough coffee & pie? These things should be considered so you aren't well, I guess depressed about camping or circling with your head cut off then only find out that furry creature on the east side of sholazar basin was only a gorilla & not loque'nahak...yes it's happened to me too hehe.

Personally, I expect the worst; expect to be there forever, however lately that time frame has lowered on most of my tames save for loque'nahak on my second hunter, looking back I should've just stayed in one place.

My point is, I do my best to not have expectations...then I won't be disappointed if the pet doesn't show up, just, well means I'll be there longer...but I've already prepared myself for that. ''shakes her coffee mug'' ^^

I really like your idea of having a quest say, for each talent tree for a specific 'cool' pet, however there in lies folks saying it's not 'cool' looking, or isn't in this or that shade of whatever color to match their armor, but it's still a neat idea.