Random Pet Challenge [v3.0]

[Nimae]

Hi there, I'm a newbie forum member. I've been lurking for a while, and this site / forum has always helped me find awesome pets for my hunter. I've finally decided to join, as I'm looking to try new pets that I otherwise wouldn't tame. Great idea, I'm excited!

Name: Nimae
Level: 85
Exotics: Yes, please!
Restrictions: None.

Thanks!

[Kormai]

Peshooter: I'm really glad you like the pet and I hope you like the next one!

Concussion: Allow me to welcome you to the forums! Nice to have you...I feel honoured you'd join to post in my thread!

Why do I like alts so much?

Peshooter
Beige Moth


Taizak (Cailan)
Ancient Sea Turtle


Concussion (Nimae)
Ghostly White Demon Dog


If either of you would rather not go into an instance/raid let me know and I can reroll.

Happy hunting

[TygerDarkstorm]

Your thread is awesome Kormai.

I'm gonna go ahead and request one for my troll.

Name: Venjin
Level: 80
Exotics: Yes
No gorillas

[Kormai]

Awww thanks

Tyger (Venjin)
White Tallstrider

[Daranara]

Daranara the younger, checking in!

My target this time?


The yellow scorpid!

Before we begin, let me tell you about my history with scorpids. It isn't that I don't -like- scorpids. I was just... ambivalent about them. I knew somewhere there were lots of people who had scorpids, and surely they liked them, and that was okay! But for me, scorpids were... disposable. They were pets, but not really. They were pets for going to get OTHER pets. When I went in to get my MC corehound, I brought a scorpid along. Not because he was going to be useful, but because I needed to take in SOMETHING to help out until I could get the BETTER pet. There were no skins that appealed to me either, which didn't help matters any.

Enter Moonseeker. This little guy changed my entire outlook on scorpids. No longer did I feel that they were throwaway pets for convenience! These critters were worthy of respect in their own rights! And now they even had a nice skin, to boot!

So it was with interest that I looked forward to this challenge.

I ground my way up to 30, fast as I could, then made my way to the Desolace. I didn't have any flight points on Kalimdor further south than Astranaar, so I had to run it, oops. Not a ton of fun, but what can you do? Anyway, once I made it there, I snapped up the first level 30 scorpid I found.

Meet Maggie.



Let's take a closer look at her, shall we? Maggie is a bright yellow color that bleeds into green in most lights. I'm kind of a fan of the eye-blinding neon greens, so that's all well and good. The dark patterning on her shell contrasts nicely and ands some visual interest. I'm still not certain about the... fuzz? Pokey bits? The dark edging you can see on her pincers, tail, and assorted other parts of her.

But the neat thing about her you can't even see from the front!



Check out the undersides of her plates! It's a deep red that fades into black up at the edges. It's a nice little bit of detail.

There is, however, one thing that creeps me out about her.



Sorry for the weird angle, but it was as good as I could get. Have a look inside her mouth! Is that... more teeth? GREEN ones? Are our scorpids monsters from some sort of nightmare where things have multiple rows of teeth? D: D: D: Check YOUR pet for nightmare teeth today!

...To be honest, just looking at it is creeping me out a little. Let's move on!



Aaw, she found a friend! I want a pet armadillo so badly.

Anyway, animations! They have the standard set of scorpid animations, which means wiggling and claws-in-the-air silent "WOOHOO HORRAY : D" cheers for idles. I'm okay with that, aside from the fact the woo-hoo animation reveals... yeah. But moving along is pretty smooth, and about what you'd expect. I forgot to take her swimming, so oops. Combat animations are nice, with her pinching and swiping with her claws. I do wonder why she never stabs with her tail, even though they have no poison anymore, but ah well.



It was actually her fighting that made her grow on me. We're both only level 31, so neither of us have all of our aggro tricks yet, and I'm leveling this alt marksman instead of the usual BM, so if I don't watch it I'm yanking aggro off of her no matter what, but she gives off the air that she's still trying. Even when I'm hobbling backwards like it's going out of style and trying to kite it off me or keep it away, the occasional glimpse of Maggie I see as she scuttles along behind him pinching and pinching for all she's worth still warms my heart.

Oh! and the disarm! We were tearing up satyrs, so it actually came in handy! I'll admit it's probably just me, but watching them lunge in and suddenly it's "haha! no weapon for you!" amuses me. She'll be good for when I poke my nose into battlegrounds.

Overall, I am shocked at how much miss Maggie grew on me. She has definitely found a forever-home on this alt. We may look into molting into a new color at some point, but she's still going to be around.

Alts are such fun to do this on. May I have another?

Name: Daranara
Level: 31 (but up to 35 is okay!)
Exotics: N/A
Restrictions: No scorpids or moths, please.

[Kyria]

Can I ask for another roll for Cailan? Don't worry, I'm still going to tame the turtle! I'm just going to tame him on Taizak, because while both my hunters have Terrorpene, Taizak is not as attached to Vesta as Cailan is to Alastor, and I'd like the poor thing to have a fighting chance. XD

[Nimae]

Thanks for the welcome, Kormai! I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was assigned the Phase Hound. I hadn't tamed a Dog before, and the ghostly demon dog model already appealed to me.

Here's my preliminary assessment (pics and story below):
•Model: Demon dog
•Skin: Ghostly White (Phase Hound)
•Animations: Playful idle animation. Strikes forward with right front leg when attacking.
•Sound effects: Gutteral attack growl, fairly intimidating!
•Food requirements: Pretty much anything...bread, cheese, fruit, fish, meat. Easy keepers!
•Tanking ability: Holds fairly good aggro against typical NPCs.
•DPS output: At level 82, Survival spec: 1.2k dps. BM spec (BW, Kill Command): 3.5k dps. Surprisingly good!
•Pet family abilities: Lock Jaw (4 sec. pin)
•Utility: With Lock Jaw, definitely my PvP pet. I may take her raiding if I go as BM spec.

Now for the story and pics. Off to Karazhan I went!


The Phase Hounds seem to hang out in one big room, just hanging out in big groups. I felt kinda bad breaking up the Doggie Disco, but I had a companion to tame:


Meet Chupacabra! The name jumped to mind first, and seemed to fit. Plus, since I'll definitely be using her in PvP (Lock Jaw is an awesome ability), I figured that would be an entertaining name for Allies to die to.



I figured I'd take a quick tour around to try Chupacabra's skills. Once I landed in Twilight Highlands, a worg volunteered to die. As you can see, Chupacabra is tiny but fierce:


We then headed to Vashj'ir to test out her swimming ability. Unfortunately, her animation is a choppy run and, when sitting still, she simply stands in place:



I'll definitely keep her, as I've already fallen in love with the eerie model, adorable idle animation and her spunky attack animation. A final picture (let me know if I've submitted too many, first post and all!):


Thanks a lot, this was fun! If it's all right, I'd like to reroll as well. I'm happy to keep refreshing the stable!

Name: Nimae
Level: 85
Exotics: Yes, please!
Restrictions: None.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Awww thanks

Tyger (Venjin)
White Tallstrider

The tallstriders...they're out to make me love them! O_O

I'll get on it in a bit.

[Lupis]

...I had a report to do on Tain, didn't I?
Right.
Here's my INCREDIBLY LATE Scorpid report.

I had to tame the grey scorpid.

Model: I'm not very fond of the regular scorpid model. I like it with some skins such as the beige one, but overall I much prefer the Madexx model. This skin really seemed to show off the parts of the model I dislike - mostly the roundness of their pincers. I like sharp, blade-like pincers, not round fat ones! Overall, not my favorite model. It seems like it needs to be sharper.

Skin: I actually like this skin quite a bit, or liked it. It's a nice grey, quite shiny, with bright orange. I still like it, but only in pictures. The reason? In game, it has a glossy covering that makes it look cloudy. The silver is dulled and the orange is similarly less bright. It just seems dull... Which is very sad, I love the skin in pictures.

Sounds: Typical Scorpid sounds. Hissing, screeching, clacking. Not my favorite, as they're a bit high pitched and that can be annoying. I do like their walking sounds, though.

Animations: Fairly nice, swinging and slashing with their claws. Idles are very cute. They wave their claws around happily, which is quite the cheery looking emote. Running is very smooth, and I really like how their legs move. And of course, the swimming animation is awesome. I love it. They swing their claws and use their tails to push themselves along.

DPS: Fairly good, but as a tanking pet, not ideal. I can't blame him though, as tenacity pets are tanks, and tanks... Well, tank.

Tanking: Quite nice. Not a turtle/beetle, but not many pets are. He was quite sturdy and strong.

Special skill: One of the more useful skills, his Disarm is quite useful when attacking humanoids with weapons. I don't PvP, but I can see it being useful there too.

Overall: Because of the dull skin, it's not my favorite and I let him go free after not too long. However, I can see myself taming a different color scorpid at some point!


Another? Also, forget my roll for Rassaa for now... I filled my stables. I may end up with a free slot at some point though.

Tain, Horde
Level 52, BM
Not high enough for Exotics.
Restrictions? None.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Venjin and Snowbeak reporting for duty!


So yeah, tallstriders...they're really determined to make me love them...and it's worked. I've tamed one for my baby hunter's challenge (she has Bitty the clutchmother), Venjin tamed a gray one for her safari theme (Itty), and now she's tamed the white one. ^_^

First things first is Snowbeak's looks. I find tallstriders to be really solid pets for such an older model. They have no glaring flaws other than their manes and tails looking a little 2-D, which is nothing new with older pets. This white color is absolutely gorgeous and I'm totally planning on nabbing one for my white pet collector.

The really beautiful thing about them is that they're not just white and black. If you look closely, their mane, throat feathers, and tail are actually a really deep greenish/teal color. It looks absolutely love against their white feathers and skin. They have beady little red eyes. Tallstriders are very proud creatures and they sure let you know it!

After running around with Bitty for 5 levels I have learned something very important about tallstriders--they are PACKED with personality. These guys can amuse themselves and beg you for attention all in the same go. They are fierce and loyal protectors, and they also like to have a little fun. They have won me over.

I love tallstrider animations. They are pretty quiet by your side. Every now and then they'll clean themselves or give a little silent caw. They look like ostriches when they run, which is rather fitting.


And when they swim and go into combat, it's adorable. When they swim, they kick with those powerful legs, flap with their useless little wings, and they sort of use their head to help propel them.


Dust Cloud is the tallstrider special which reduces melee and ranged attack speed. Useful in a group/PvP if your tank (or you) are taking quite a beating from hard hitting mobs.

Snowbeak and I also paid a visit to Mazz and his new babies. ^_^


Overall, I absolutely adore tallstriders now. Venjin won't be keeping the white one as I find that her gray one suits her better, but I'll definitely be homing a white one on Xyrah, my white pet hunter.

[Moonlost]

Sorry for being so late with this, I just haven't been playing with Tatten lately.

So, I was assigned to go pick myself up a teal tallstrider. Given my level, than meant swinging by Darkshore and picking up the rare Strider Clutchmother. Thankfully, this lovely lady does not have a long spawn time and Tatten soon found her quarry strolling in the forest, fledgelings in tow.



After making sure the little birds could survive without their mother, I quickly returned to Stormwind with my new friend, now named Lyre, following closely. We were soon assigned to go help out in Redridge with the troubles they had there. Lyre quickly proved herself to be a steadfast companion, facing even the mist dire of opponents; a ferocious black dragon who assaulting the local countryside.



He was no match for the two of us though.

So, onto the review.

Model: As mentioned above, I was quite impressed with the tallstriders. I never really tried one before, I'm now thinking I may have been missing out. As reported by Tyger above me, tallstriders are pretty proud looking creatures. Very regal, although a little goofy at times. They're silent for the most part too, unless they're sent in to attack, in which they'll screech in a surprisingly deep tone. Well, more deep than you'd expect from a bird. My absolute favourite part of the tallstrider is it's beak. I just love how the colours ripple along it. <3
The only issue is a personal one. If you look closely at a tallstrider, with graphics turned up anyway, you can clearly see that, asside from the little bit of a mane they sport and their tail, they're featherless. The patterns on their body clearly point to them having a flat hide more than a vibrant plumage. It doesn't bother me too much, I'll always see Lyre sporting a fine coat of feathers in my mind, but it can be a bit jarring looking at the wrinkled hide.



Utility: I can't speak too much on tallstriders form a PvP perspective, as I don' really PvP, but I can imagine their ability, Dust Cloud, would be a very handy thing. In PvE, well it depends on the situation. Soloing, it's very handy to have. An enemy attacking less often means Lyre needs less healing. I can see it being pretty useful in dungeons too, however I'm not sure if the buff works on Raid bosses. As ferocity pets, Tallstriders are able to dish out a fair bit of damage too. Ultimately, I'd say these plucky guys are a pretty well balanced pet.

Food: Tallstriders have a pretty varied diet of fruit, fungus, bread and cheese. I was always able to pick something up from either an innkeeper or a general merchant for Lyre to eat, so keeping a tallstrider happy is an easy enough thing to do.

Final Thoughts: As much as I love the current tallstriders, it would be awesome to see the family fleshed out a little more with a few other models. I can see wild Hawkstriders easily fitting into the family, as with the Anzu model. Perhaps just a new, smoother version.
Lyre accompanied me for at least 4 levels, and I found I really liked her. Certainly a lot more than my previous assignment, the blue-white fox. I just love the sounds she makes, the way she moves both running and idling. As such, I think she'll be a permanent part of Tatten's stables.



I'd love to do another one, perhaps this time for my goblin.

Name: Slumlost
Level: 39
Exotics: Too low level alas.
Restrictions: None I can think of.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Tallstriders have this way of growing forcing their way on you until you love them.

[Moonlost]

Tallstriders have this way of growing forcing their way on you until you love them.

Oh yes, I can agree with that.
I think it's just a matter of finding the right colour for your character though. I'm sure I wouldn't have liked Lyre as much as I do if she were, say, purple. Not that there's anything wrong with that skin colour, just that it wouldn't feel as right as the teal seems to.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Yeah definitely. The teal one looks great next to your worgen. ^_^

[Arthri]

Name: Arthri
Level: 85
Exotics: Wont be used but ill still get them
Restrictions: No tenacity pets and no cats please

[Peshooter]

Well, I went and got me the moth. Now I at first the thought of a moth as a pet was absolutely appalling, although the moth overall grew on me. Now I named the moth Flutters, I am not very good with names, and other than the fact that Flutters was a plain Jane and boring in color, she did well. I got used to the flapping noise which I hear is something that some people dislike, and the attack noise was kinda interesting. She swam just like she flies, and overall I actually like it. But alas, I let her go because I would like to get a more colorful one later. And I apologize for the lack of pics, I am still getting used to taking screenshots, and must get better, hehe. But here is one of me and Flutters with Thassarian and a lich.

MeAndFlutter.jpg (32.77 KiB) Viewed 2769 times

Well, this is actually getting really fun, so I would love to go again.

Name: Peshooter
Level: 71
Exotics: Yeah.
Restrictions: None

[Peshooter]

Ok, this is going to be a noob question, but how do you get the pictures to actually show up in the post instead of a link to see them. Thanks in advance.

[Moonlost]

Ok, this is going to be a noob question, but how do you get the pictures to actually show up in the post instead of a link to see them. Thanks in advance.

Hehe, no worries about the noob question.

There's a few different ways. I link mine from an image-hosting website, which kinda auto-shrinks the image down to fit in the forum frame.
For files hosted here, view the image you linked, get the html, post that in your subject and wrap it with the image BBcode.

So, for example, to show the screenshot you put in your previous post, the code would be:

Code: Select all

 [img]http://forums.wow-petopia.com/download/file.php?id=7519[/img] 

[TygerDarkstorm]

To add on to Moonlost, if you happen to use Photobucket, it has different sharing options, one of which is the image code, if you copy that and paste it in your post, it automatically tags it and everything for you.

[Cialbi]

Camouflage moth!