Duskstalker has changed his spots (not Duskfang)

[Alwayz]

Very nice. It's almost like taming a mount.

[Nahth]

I personally am less than thrilled with this development. When I first joined WoW, I found the spotty black panther cats and thought that they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. When I made my troll huntress, I knew I had to have one. However, I knew first, that rare spawns were occasionally better than regular ones, this being back in 2005 when this did happen, and on top of that, I didn't want to wait until level thirty to get one from Stonetalon. Upon the discovery of this cat, I knew I had found the pet for me.
I had an epic adventure running my level 12 troll over to Darnassus to get Duskstalker, and she has been my best and only stable companion ever since. And now she is reskinned to a snow leopard?? Personally, I would rather have a crazy black with white spots kitty than a (sort of) regular white with black spots.
I am deeply attached to my cat, as I said I have had this very same one for five years now, with no abandoning and retaming or anything. I am not looking forward to retaming a regular spotty black panther and pretending that it is the same cat I have had for these five years. Even when I quit and rejoined she was still there, waiting for me. I value her more than my actual character.
Oh well, I suppose all things change with time. I am happy for all the people who wanted this skin, congratulations to you all, but keep my kitty, her name is Lirael, in your thoughts, because I will miss her very much. Goodbye my lovely Lirael, it's been fun T_T

[Tilo]

thank you for this update, as my 3rd space goat hunter has a white theme going on, was easy to find so I picked em' up.

[Rhyela]

Wow, that's a really lovely kitty. Yay!!!

[WildcatTM]

I tamed him earlier today. I really do hope his skin changes. Thank goodness I have 75 pet slots at my disposal (3 Hunters). I can't wait for my 4 Hunter without a doubt.

[Mania]

Nahth, I have had one of those spotted cats from Stonetalon since I was level 23, back in the beginning of 2005. I love Cloud to death - he will always be with me.

However ... I do believe that he's going to grow up and finish moulting his baby colors now. In my mind he's always had the saber cat look. On that level, it makes me happy that there is a thread of continuity between the dark spotted cat and the white spotted saber cat.

I know it's not the solution for everyone. I completely understand the reservations about this change and the other cat changes as well.

I'm not arguing I'm .. wait, what am I doing? Adding a data point, I guess.

[WildcatTM]

I personally am less than thrilled with this development. When I first joined WoW, I found the spotty black panther cats and thought that they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. When I made my troll huntress, I knew I had to have one. However, I knew first, that rare spawns were occasionally better than regular ones, this being back in 2005 when this did happen, and on top of that, I didn't want to wait until level thirty to get one from Stonetalon. Upon the discovery of this cat, I knew I had found the pet for me.
I had an epic adventure running my level 12 troll over to Darnassus to get Duskstalker, and she has been my best and only stable companion ever since. And now she is reskinned to a snow leopard?? Personally, I would rather have a crazy black with white spots kitty than a (sort of) regular white with black spots.
I am deeply attached to my cat, as I said I have had this very same one for five years now, with no abandoning and retaming or anything. I am not looking forward to retaming a regular spotty black panther and pretending that it is the same cat I have had for these five years. Even when I quit and rejoined she was still there, waiting for me. I value her more than my actual character.
Oh well, I suppose all things change with time. I am happy for all the people who wanted this skin, congratulations to you all, but keep my kitty, her name is Lirael, in your thoughts, because I will miss her very much. Goodbye my lovely Lirael, it's been fun T_T

You can always have someone climb onto your account, tame the same skin, name it Lirael, have them max it, and then ... boom. Solution in 2 hours! I should get paid for consultation. Oh, wait ... I do. All before Cataclysm of course.

[Kalliope]

Nahth, I have had one of those spotted cats from Stonetalon since I was level 23, back in the beginning of 2005. I love Cloud to death - he will always be with me.

However ... I do believe that he's going to grow up and finish moulting his baby colors now. In my mind he's always had the saber cat look. On that level, it makes me happy that there is a thread of continuity between the dark spotted cat and the white spotted saber cat.

I know it's not the solution for everyone. I completely understand the reservations about this change and the other cat changes as well.

I'm not arguing I'm .. wait, what am I doing? Adding a data point, I guess.

*nods to Mania* It's the heart of the pet that stays. And that's up to the hunter. I've had a number of pets choose to morph on me. Because Chatter's been missing, I've been very seriously considering what I would do if he turned up again with a different look. Without knowing what he might become, I can't say what I would do in his specific case. What I *do* know is this: it's up to the pet and the hunter whether the soul of the pet or the look of the pet is more important in defining said pet. Kalliope's pets are defined by their souls. Their appearance matters less. I know who they are. Kallimon's pets are more specific to the actual beast tamed. Were Gumbo suddenly to decide to change appearances, I'd probably go with it as a molting thing. I play it both ways depending on my hunter and the situation. But then, I care less about having every single skin I like and more about my pets themselves.

Within every hunter and every pet, soul or appearance takes priority. Once you figure out which one that is, you can choose what to do with your pets.

[Vephriel]

I can only imagine how hard it would be to abandon the same pet you've had for years and retame it for the same appearance....sure it would look the same, but that specific beast isn't the one that's been tamed and with your character all that time. It's like your fish dying when you're little and your parents go out and buy one that looks exactly like it. Not the same.

My sympathies to those who are having to make difficult decisions. I understand completely.

[Nahth]

Thank you all for your kindness and support. I am trying to reconcile myself to this change, I guess my biggest concern is, will this cat still feel like my Lirael on the inside? suddenly she will be large, bulky, and inverted colours! I have always thought of my cat as being the way she is, but it is true that things change over time, and my cat is no exception. And I do believe it is what is inside that counts, I'm just not sure I can convince myself that what's inside is the same if the outside is all funny xD. However, I will not be abandoning her and retaming a look-a-like. She is my Lirael, and always will be, no matter what she looks like.

[Nahth]

[

Here's my kitty!

[Vephriel]

When I think about it more, I realize the situation would very much be dependent on the pet itself.

For example. My dreadsaber, Azzam. There was a whole crazy night that led to my taming him, and he was not a pet I chose due to colour or appearance. I tamed him because of his personality and who he was. If I were to wake up one day and found that he was suddenly, say, the orange tiger model. It wouldn't phase me. He's still the Azzy that I had tamed, and I would be completely fine adjusting to his new look. He was still the same pet.

But then I think of a pet like Skorn. If he were suddenly swapped to a white devilsaur, I wouldn't know what to do. Skorn has to be black. That's him. And it would break my heart to even think of abandoning him, even if he were a new colour, because that specific devilsaur has been with me for years.

Ugh....very hard decisions. =x

[Kalliope]

Lirael is lovely!

All I can say, again, is that it's between you and your pet. I keep running through scenarios in my head about which of my pets could or couldn't change and why...but it's still all theoretical, so it's very very hard to say. I also have the added...."benefit"....of having had to start over from scratch once. I had to give up all my babies (and Kalli herself), then retame them. I could not have lived with myself if the real pets hadn't come home. And Atalanta, my ghost saber who was one of the originals I'd had to retame, even left home briefly when I brought her mate Hippomenes (Loque) home just before the expanded stables. I could never have done that if I didn't know she'd be waiting for me. But I learned that ultimately, for me, the soul of the pet is out there and takes priority over the pixels.

Now this doesn't mean everyone has to be that way, since everyone's had different experiences. I'm just extending my most heartfelt support to those who are faced with this hardship, because I've been there. And we got through it. *snuggles Ursa and dashes off to snag tissues from the clinic*

[Nahth]

I went through a similar experience with my Undead wolf, Kerrigor, who was displaced for Arcturis when he came out. I doubt I would have been able to deal with letting him go either had I not known exactly which wolf I had tamed, and how to get him back. For some reason, this feels much different, I think because of what Veph pointed out about how sometimes, depending on the pet, it seems like it has to be a particular colour in order to match your perception of it. (Pardon me if I misinterpreted what you were saying, Veph). For me, Lirael has always been the classy, aloof lady in the black dress (Imagine my shock when she sat down and danced like a druid during the time when party grenades made your pets dance) and somehow, this new skin doesn't seem to suit her. Alas. But thank you again for your support, and the tissues /hysterics


Perhaps we should have a complimentary forum to the "Clinic for Overexcited Hunters" Forum, a "Pity Party for Upset Hunters" Forum. ... I believe some of the people over on the thread about Rak'Shiri are feeling the same way I am about these changes

[Shadowkaizen]

Wow...this is so cool...I don't even know what to say.

[Kryte]

=/

I'm glad Blizzard is making new skins available, but I really wish they wouldn't hack apart old rares to do so. I, too, am upset about this change, as Duskstalker has been the companion of my Night Elf hunter for several years now. All the talk about a pet's inner "soul" doesn't really change the fact that a faithful friend is going to be ripped away and forcibly replaced with an imposter.

I suppose that every beast is someone's darling, but I'm still very angry about this. I also don't know why they saw fit to throw a bright white cat in the middle of a forest instead of someplace more fitting.

[erwil]

Nahth, I have had one of those spotted cats from Stonetalon since I was level 23, back in the beginning of 2005. I love Cloud to death - he will always be with me.

However ... I do believe that he's going to grow up and finish moulting his baby colors now. In my mind he's always had the saber cat look. On that level, it makes me happy that there is a thread of continuity between the dark spotted cat and the white spotted saber cat.

I know it's not the solution for everyone. I completely understand the reservations about this change and the other cat changes as well.

I'm not arguing I'm .. wait, what am I doing? Adding a data point, I guess.

I agree with Mania. And I do understand the bond that people grow with their pets, but I still think some are taking this a little bit too seriously. Bliz has thrown a candy bucket at us, but people still complain. Try to think of it from a dev's pov.
Things might still change, it's beta after all.

[Lisaara]

Nahth, I have had one of those spotted cats from Stonetalon since I was level 23, back in the beginning of 2005. I love Cloud to death - he will always be with me.

However ... I do believe that he's going to grow up and finish moulting his baby colors now. In my mind he's always had the saber cat look. On that level, it makes me happy that there is a thread of continuity between the dark spotted cat and the white spotted saber cat.

I know it's not the solution for everyone. I completely understand the reservations about this change and the other cat changes as well.

I'm not arguing I'm .. wait, what am I doing? Adding a data point, I guess.

I agree with Mania. And I do understand the bond that people grow with their pets, but I still think some are taking this a little bit too seriously. Bliz has thrown a candy bucket at us, but people still complain. Try to think of it from a dev's pov.
Things might still change, it's beta after all.

My thoughts exactly. We've been BEGGING for these models and people are still not happy. Makes me facepalm a bit.

[virgo02]

I l o v e this cat! soo pretty hehe.I tamed it this morning on my horde.Flew from auberdine to teldrassil.A little fatigue but went away once i hit teldrassil territory.Same spot as the old version

[Azunara]

Okay. Nahth. I will not let this slide without further interrogation...

You're a Sabriel fan too?