How To: Tame Pets With Appearance Buffs

[Vephriel]

IS it last (today) hotfix and there is no more "Ghost Wolves" in Ashenvile?
At least I can't see any... They r all gray even without any "ghost" effect in both wild or after taming

They don't become ghost wolves until you damage them a bit.

[Nyalia]

Posted this in the Blue-Mist Carrion Ghost thread already but adding it to this generalized pet list thread as well.
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If you tame this pet with the full aura and let it die/die yourself, it does not revert to the "plain" appearance. There is actually a "half" aura stage that results, fainter than the fresh one but noticeable compared to the standard tame result. The bird retains a fainter aura around the torso/wings but loses the undearneath aura.

Full aura -> Post-death aura -> no aura

[Agravaine]

IS it last (today) hotfix and there is no more "Ghost Wolves" in Ashenvile?
At least I can't see any... They r all gray even without any "ghost" effect in both wild or after taming

They don't become ghost wolves until you damage them a bit.

Yep. They still do, I got mine 15 minutes ago after many tries. Thanks to everyone who tested it... and here's hoping they'll be grandfathered in.

[Acherontia]

Right. Some of you might hate me for this, but I've posted on the EU in-game support forums asking about this method and whether it's an exploit--and if so, if people can get in trouble for it. I've also mentioned which pets are buffed with damage buffs, explained that the buff is cleared upon death, and explained how to fix the exploit if it is one.

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/981629642#1

The reason I've done this is because there's been a lot of concern about whether we're gaming the system, and I admit I have a nagging feeling of unease now. I'd rather clear the air and find out for sure (for all of us) rather than get people in trouble down the line. I think this is the right thing to do one way or another, although it might lose us the pets--I think otherwise we'd lose them anyway, and here I'm trying to give alternative methods of fixing that don't utterly remove the pets.

Unique Pet Tames - Exploit or Not?

Recently the I found a way to tame pets that have appearance buffs. The hunter community has known about some of these pets for a long time, and there's been plenty around--the oil-coated wolf, for example. The recent method allows us to tame pets with glow effects, spark trails, fire shrouds etc. We've been testing them pretty extensively and I think we've found them all. The problem is, one or two of them are actual damage-effecting buffs.



* These buffs (both of the damage ones and most of the appearance ones) disappear upon pet or hunter death.



* These buffs ALL clear upon entering arena.



* Buffs with timers still obey their timers, dissipating after the timer is up.



This rather limits the actual "exploitability" of the pets, but I (and the other hunters) would still like to know if this is an exploit, and if the pets will be removed--and for that matter, is it possible to get into trouble for this?



The tames are being done merely for "catchy" appearances, and they do clear upon death, but it's still worrying some of us that we might be doing something wrong here, since it's probably not an intended mechanic.



Incidentally, if a dev reads this, DOES consider it an exploit and wants to fix it (assuming a hotfix isn't already ready), they can be fixed by...



* Removing the PetAbandon() script. This would leave previously tamed pets in game but remove the ability to tame more with this method.



* Clear all pet buffs/debuffs (in the ARENA way) every time a pet is stabled or the player logs.



* Put timers on the buffs of the following pets: Blighthound, Tainted Bat/Spider/Bear from Blasted Lands, Spiteflayer. This would fix just the damage-buffed pets.



If a GM wants to ask me about the exact method, feel free to do it here or in-game. I'm hesitant to post it without prompting in case it IS considered an exploit--don't want to get people in trouble.



Thanks for any info you can give!

~Acherontia

That said, I don't think they read the EU forums anyway -.-

[Vephriel]

I think it's a good idea Acherontia. They're going to know about it at some point if they don't already, might as well be up front about it.

[Acherontia]

I hope you're right. I don't want a ban, and I can certainly remember how upset I was logging in to find my worgen had become a white wolf : /

If any of you are on the US support forums, feel free to copy/paste the post. I imagine you'll get a response faster lol >.<

[Kalliope]

Good plan, Ach; it's a show of good faith, really.

Keeping fingers crossed for positive news!

[Ceramicrain]

I hope you're right. I don't want a ban, and I can certainly remember how upset I was logging in to find my worgen had become a white wolf : /

If any of you are on the US support forums, feel free to copy/paste the post. I imagine you'll get a response faster lol >.<

I copied your post and put it in the Hunter Forums and the Customer service forums for the US. Im also worried about it being a problems since I myself have tamed a few already.

[Cialbi]

Funny; I was considering sending you a PM suggesting that you do just this, Acherontia. You did figure out the method that enabled Zwiggy's exploits, so coming clean should be the best insurance against you being punished. Not that you are likely to get punished; rather, I was simply worrying.

[Acherontia]

Tbh I think Zwiggy was trying to point out that it was an exploitable method, not bragging--if he was bragging, then bah to him. In any case, I'm not worried about being punished because someone else exploited--I'd be worried because I was the one who found it and blatantly posted about it

Granted, it's not a huge deal gameplay-wise (even if you DID nab something with a buff, the first time it dies, poof gone--and it's not max level anyway, which won't put it above a normal 80 version by much if at all)--but I was still a bit worried.

Thanks for copying over to the US forums by the way!

[Cialbi]

Posting these so that we can keep an eye on them:
Customer Service thread; Hunter Forum thread

Good job on posting these, but you may want to give the credit (and blame) to Acherontia. You may very well wind up with a GM contacting you instead of her

[Acherontia]

Posting these so that we can keep an eye on them:
Customer Service thread; Hunter Forum thread

Good job on posting these, but you may want to give the credit (and blame) to Acherontia. You may very well wind up with a GM contacting you instead of her

Actually, that's a good point. You may want to include a "copied from -link- on EU forums" or something like that, just in case!

[Ceramicrain]

Yeah i edited them to say that i copied the post upon your request into the US forums and posted the link to your original post.

[Grigg]

I haven't tested all the pets for this yet, but I can confirm that my Angered Arakkoa Protector does in fact retain his blue mist even after dying.

[thorazyn]

Edited: False alarm, my bad. Flaming boar is still extant. Enjoy!

Looks like they've hotfixed the flaming Armored Battleboars Mine disappeared from an active pet slot, and attempting the tame/quest again, the flames looked different in the trough, and the tamed pet did not retain the appearance buff.

[ummeiko]

That's odd. After reading your post, I checked my boar and it's still flaming as usual. Though it might be one of those "requires realm restart" hotfix because Illidan hasn't been restarted.

[Acherontia]

I'm not sure Thorazyn, but my battlegroup was restarted a bit earlier, and my flaming boar is still here and, well, on fire

[thorazyn]

Hm, maybe I'll keep trying. The tamed (and named) fiery boar definitely went away, although the other pets I've tamed seem fine. Tried taming it again through the quest but it seems bugged (buggier?) now -- boar comes out as non-buffed, or doesn't respond to call pet at all.

[WildcatTM]

I too still have my flame. I think the flame boar is the coolest one so far.

[thorazyn]

Huzzah, Brisket is back! Perhaps my cat (or I) accidentally hit the petabandon macro. Although I now have a bugged level 4 boar in my stable that I can't summon or abandon... Hm.