Random "Pet Theme" Challenge

[Acherontia]

For TygerDarkstorm / Fiona:



Creatures of the Northern Woods!



Dark Brown Bear, Golden Eagle, Lynx, and Red Fox!


For Comett / Tezzra:



Bugs!



Black Beetle, Blue Crystal Spider, Gray Worm, Blue-green Wasp, Yellow Silithid and Blue Wasp!


For Firekeeper77 / Fuzzykeeper:



Gothic Pets!



Spiked Black Widow, Brown Horde Scorpid, Black Mastiff, Black Crab, and the Brown Bat!


For Pengupuff / Linesk:



Pirate Pets! YARR!



Red Parrot and Brown Monkey!


For Pawtrack / Velyana:



Demonic Pets!



Red Plaguehound, Red & Purple Ravager, Red Spiked Raptor, Gray and Orange Felboar, and and Red Bat!


For Daranara:



Venomous Pets!



Bronze Scorpid, Violet Cobra, and Blue-gray Bone Spider!


For Naiaara / Jote:



Safari Pets!



Orange Hyena, Gosh'Haldir (get an Old World one if you can't find/don't want to search for this rare! ), and Blue Vulture!


For Belleirle:



Bioluminescent Pets!



Red Glowing Wasp, Glowing Blue Runed Dog, Purple Shale Spider, and Blue Spore Bat!

Again, very sorry for the delay--I totally didn't realize it was piling up. Feel free to PM me if it happens again, although it shouldn't!

Thanks for the compilation of requests by the way, Cialbi!

[TygerDarkstorm]

No worries Ache!
Seeing that lynx makes me giggle because Fiona's single pet challenge is a red piggy, some of which are located in the troll starter area, and those lynxes are there too. I kept staring at them wanting to tame one but couldn't find a stable master on that island for the life of me.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, I'll get on these in a bit.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Well, seeing as my worgen huntress has two of my assigned pets, and my lowbies only have 2 active slots anyway, I'm going to do a report on the lynx and eagle on Fiona, and the bear and fox on Ruffley.

So let's start with Fiona's new lynx friend, Ginger (like Ginger Snaps ^_^).


I've always liked the lynx skins (which are based on the old night elf cat form) but just haven't found the right hunter for one. This color is a very pretty brownish-red color. She has yellow eyes with an extra green bit in them.

As beautiful as this skin is, you can tell the model itself is aging when you give it a close inspection. As you can see in the above picture, the facial fur details and mane are rather low res and pixellated looking.

And looking at them from the side, like all the older cat models, they suffer the strange looking leg problems. The side view also gives you a little bit of a better look at how pretty this color is.

One thing I noticed as I was taking that screenshot, as she lashed her tail, you could kind of see the tail segment into the bone structure used to make it move. Thankfully I think it's only something you'd only notice upon close inspection.

For animations and sounds, I've finally started hearing the slobber sound at the end of the yawn, and it personally doesn't bother me. For those of you who dislike it, it is possible to turn it off. By your side, cats look from side to side and do the aforementioned yawn. One of my favorite things about cats is the way they run; they look so beautiful when they run.


Ginger protected me dutifully as we made our way down south from UC into Loch Modan for the golden eagle. Her damage was good, although not enough to hold aggro off her higher level SV mistress, which, for me, is to be expected anymore. Cats are also arguably one of the best pets to have around once they get Roar of Courage because the agility buff is so fantastic for hunters. However, this buff can also be covered by shamans, warriors, and death knights.

I intend to keep Ginger on Fiona as she matches so well and she's so pretty, flaws and all.

Next is the golden eagle, although I got a wee bit distracted on my way down to her. Ashtail was up and I ended up using my second open slot to make a new friend. >_>


So caught in a dilemma, I let Ginger go roam the mountains while I took care of my eagle challenge (and much to my surprise there were lynxes in Loch Modan ). Anyway, meet Goldie.


It is sooooooo disappointing that Blizzard hasn't gotten around to fixing the eagle models yet because this skin is *gorgeous*. The golden feathers look amazing and the white head looks regal.


The model is also fairly flawed looks wise too despite the beauty of the color. They're most noticeable from behind, however, on the above pic you can also see that the feathering detail also seems to appear a little low res.

The feathers, when viewed from the back, also stick up at weird angles.

For animations, these guys just flap by your side and then occasionally flap up over your head before settling into their usual position. Sounds wise, there's consistent flapping and they make seagull sounding noises in combat. Perhaps, the biggest disappointment with the eagle models is their lack of a true run animation. They drag their butts along the ground and basically do their idle.


Eagles are birds of prey and part of the cunning tree so they put out good damage. Snatch, their special, is most suited to PvP, however, it does have good PvE applications if you're up against hard-hitting melee humanoids. Some bosses can even be disarmed helping out both your tank and healer.

Goldie did not stay with Fiona. I desperately wanted to get Ginger back in my stables and the eagle models are broken enough to keep me turned away from them. If they ever fix them, Goldie will be returning as I think this skin is just amazing.

Ruff's reports to come in a bit.

[TygerDarkstorm]

I really need to stop distracting myself with TERA stuff. >_> Anyhow, on to Ruffley's reports.

First up is Riff, the dark brown bear.


Riff's colors are very pretty. As Cialbi pointed out in the single pet challenge thread, when you look at them from overhead, the fur along their spine actually looks more black than brown.


And as another person in the single challenge thread brought up (apologies for forgetting your name! >_<), their front leg looks weird where it gets near the stomach.

The side view also gives a good look at how pretty the color is and the way it looks in bright light.

The faces of these guys, like the black bears, have flesh colored ears, eyebrows, and snout. It's a little bit strange looking to me at first, but I'm slowly getting used to it.

Also from the front you can see that their wrists look a little awkward as well as seeing how the elbows appear to bow out from the body. I think this has to do with Blizzard sloping their backs.

Which leads us to the behind view. Bears have this weird triangle under their butt that runs under their belly as well. They also have the aforementioned sloped back which leads them to looking rather odd from behind.


Animations and sounds: bears are quiet by your side and their idle is to look from side to side while giving a silent roar. When in combat they make the appropriate grumbles and roars one would expect of a bear; noisy, but appropriately so. Bears have a run animation that has been described as bumbly, I believe, due to the nature of their back. Their swim is much the same as many other animals; a doggy paddle.


For combat, bears are tenacity so while not having abysmal damage, they won't put out nearly as much as a ferocity or cunning pet. Their special, Demoralizing Roar, is handy for some AoE threat as well as reducing your bear's incoming damage. This debuff could be useful in a group if your tank can't already provide it. I see bears' niche as a solo farming/questing tank pet; their special has little use in PvP, and I think most, if not all the tank specs, provide their own demo roar now.

Ruffley will be keeping Riff because I think his colors are lovely despite the model flaws and bears as AoE solo tanks have been growing on me.

And now meet Vixey, the red fox. ^_^


I've been wanting a fox in this color and Ruff nabbed one in Gilneas as soon as she hit level 10. Their green eyes are just gorgeous (and glowie), although their head is a little sharp and angular looking.


From the side you can see that the fur has nice texturing detail. The legs look a tad spindly, but otherwise the model looks okay. I think angular, blocky-like pets are just something Blizzard can't get away from sometimes.


Foxes sit on the coyote wolf skeleton and therefore share all the same animations. They occasionally howl, sniff the ground, and scratch themselves while they idle. In combat, foxes are VERY noisy so if you prefer quieter pets, I'd recommend a tallstrider in place of a fox. I'm a big fan of the coyote model run, but one thing I've kind of noticed with it on foxes is that their back seems to break around the shoulder area; this is most noticeable from behind the animal.


The fox special is Tail Spin which reduces the attack speed of all enemies (and critters) within 10 yards. For low level hunters, this can help the fox hold AoE threat as well as be an asset to a group where there could be some hard, fast hitting mobs, thus helping your healer and tank. The major downside to any and all AoE abilities like this is that means the pet will also aggro critters, and sense most critters flee when they're attacked, the pet will go running off after the critter, potentially bringing more mobs with it. Personally, I think this is easily manageable, either take the AoE ability off autocast, or pay attention to your pet. If you see your pet dash off, call it back. We have the capability to keep our pets in check and it's our responsibility to do so.

Ruffley also plans to keep Vixey as I'm really growing to love this fox color and how cute she is. She also looks nice with Ruff's fur color.

And with that, I'll take one of these for Ruffley.
Name: Ruffley
Level: 26 but feel free to roll a bit ahead
Pet Slots: ~10
Exotics: Not yet
No monkeys or gorillas please
Notes: Creatures of the Northern Woods theme completed for her

[Pawtrack]

Finished!

--

My theme this time was Demon pets, so I hopped on my gryphon and flew out to Outlands. While passing through Hellfire, I picked up one of the demon boars there, before setting off to go get my ravager. I landed, finding myself right next to some gnome place. I took a few quests and the flight path, and then ran out to go tame one of the many purple ravagers running around outside. I started to tame, and for some reason my freezing trap broke mid-tame. What? One of the gnome guards was shooting at the ravager I was trying to tame! D: I frantically tried to get aggro back, but it was too late, and half a second before the tame completed, a guard killed it.

I tamed another, farther away from the evil gnome guards, and promptly abandoned him, after disliking his name which I'd picked really before considering it that much. 2 Ravagers later then I expected, I finally had pet number 2 of my challenge, with a name that was much better then the first.

Hearthing, I flew up to tame one of the Bloodhounds from BRD. The tame was easy, and all that was left to do was get a bat and a raptor. I flew up to Tirisfall, grabbed a bat, and scroll of recalled back down to Stormwind, flying down to Booty Bay, and took the boat over to Ratchet. A quick fly over to Durotar, and I was done taming. The last thing left to do was to take a few screenshots and write up my report!

So here are the reviews! (I failed a bit here on the pictures, not all that happy about how they came out, really )


I like boars, their animations, sounds, etc., but... something didn't fit with this one. The flaws, or just general weird things, I noticed with the model were many, even though it's technically a newer skin then the old-world boars. The mane seems even more pixely, with weird black outlines, though it's so strange looking it might be intentional. The spikes on their back seem to have grown out of their backs, and the textures around it make it look strange and gross. The eyes look kind of blurry... and it kind of bothers me, I don't know why, but the rest of the model looks very sharp, while the eyes are sort of hard to see and faded. Their special ability is pretty much useless, and even if blizzard changed it, I wouldn't be keeping Spike, sorry to say -- I like the old world boars much, much better.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (based on animations, sounds, skin, model, and special ability) I'd rate him as a 4, maybe 3.


This model I actually liked fairly well, despite the weird face and claws. The spikes on their tail look extra awesome, and though they're model is fairly old, it doesn't have that many flaws. The two flaws I noticed were their claws (which look, just... weird. No way to describe them other then that) and their face from the front (lolwut? Very strange and ugly looking. Again, It's hard to explain, but really weird once you see it). However, I don't stare at my pet's face or claws all the time, so I can ignore the flaws, and I like the rest of the model. Even the color is quite nice, though never actually trying out any of the other Outland raptors before, I don't know how the color compares to others. I'm kind of neutral on their special ability. It's not as bad as the boar's, but I would prefer a Stun, Daze or maybe DoT. I will be keeping Screeth, for now at least.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (based on animations, sounds, skin, model and special ability) I'd rate him as a 7, maybe 8.


I like bats, but the bat models are just so... old. And full of problems. The mane is 2D, the claws on their wingtips are pixelated and weird, the have holes in their wings, their legs look weird and boneless (very hard to get a screenshot of it, but very easy notice how weird they look ingame), etc., etc., etc.. But aside from that extremely long list of glitches and old, ugly graphic problems, they're okay. The stun is nice, though such a long cooldown isn't. Unfortunately, this particular color is probably my least favorite of the entire four colors of bats. The animations are smooth and I don't see any real problem with them, and they're fairly quiet when fighting, not at all as noisy as foxes or monkeys. But, even at level 62, they are awfully big, and while that would be good in a BG, I don't recommend bringing a bat into a dungeon . Bloodgleam won't stay, as I already have a bat, and in a color which I like more.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (based on animations, sounds, skin, model and special ability) I'd rate her as a 6.


I've always liked this skin, but never gotten around to taming it... for several reasons. One was the special ability. Like Pin, it is channeled, meaning the pet will drop aggro after it is finished channeling the spell, meaning that Dogs, like Crabs, aren't the best pet to pick for tanking. However, where it lacks usefulness in PvE, I would imagine Lockjaw would be very good for PvP, though I haven't tried Devil out in PvP yet -- both he and I are too low level . Looks-wise, I like the model/skin, the animations are cute, especially his little idle skip/hop thing. I like the sound effects, very growly and demon-dog like. There are flaws with the model though, it being so old. Mainly the too-small back leg that, once you notice, you can't stop noticing. Their mane is 2D looking, and the textures on their paws look strange. Though it isn't technically a glitch, their nose/horns/face looks very ugly to me. Though I don't mind it too much, as it's not very noticeable when questing/dungeoning/etc. I'll be keeping Devil for now, though he may go if I'm ever in need of space in my stable.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (based on animations, sounds, skin, model and special ability) I'd rate him as an 8.


And it's time for the grand finale! Rip has the most interesting story of all so far. But first, his review.
A ravager was another one of those kinda-want-to-try-out-but-never-bother-to-tame-pets that I've always considered testing out. Honestly, though, the red and purple skin was never my favorite. There were a few things with the model that really bothered me: The strangeness of their legs, they're so spindly, how do they hold up such a big creature? And the weird... thing. There. In one of the screenshots. *Ahem* Er... anyway... the special ability seems like it might be good in PvP, though I'm no expert. They also do a cool flip when attacking, but it's so fast it's hard to get a screenshot of. But, the most interesting thing about this pet is not his looks or special ability or animations or anything. Now, not only was how I tamed Rip (un)interesting, but also how I almost abandoned him. I originally going to abandon him, but, the first time I tried it failed. Thinking I had somehow pressed cancel, as I was talking with a friend and a little distracted, I tried to abandon him again and again. But he was glitched and wouldn't go away. After a while, I gave up, and started running around and questing, and I really started to like the little guy. At first I was going to abandon him, but he really started to grow on me, and now I think he's one of my favorite pets! And that is the (not really) amazing story of Rip. And also the end of this review.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (based on animations, sounds, skin, model and special ability) I'd rate him as an 8, but I think I'll give him a 10 anyway.

--

Another one? These are fun.

Name & Level: Velyana, 65, but you can give me pets a few levels higher.
Exotics: Still too low... so close... only 4 more levels...
Pet Slots: Not sure exactly, but more then 5.
Additional Notes: I've done Gothic, Orange, Safari and Demonic theme

[TygerDarkstorm]

One totally awesome shot of a ravager flip.


And as a side note, I'd just like to point out that the raptor and ravager have some of the best group debuffs after the cat/spirit beast buff. Raptors provide sunder which is great to have if the agi buff is covered and you don't have a warrior or rogue in the group (not that rogues actually use expose armor).

The ravager buff is a 4% increase to physical damage. That may not sound like much for us because it only effects our autoshots, however, it helps them generate extra threat if you're out soloing, and it's fabulous for any group that has a lot of melee.

[Belleirle]

Sorry for the late post, rep dailies and raiding sucked up my attention. My theme was Bioluminescent Pets.

My first stop was Deepholm to grab a Purple Shale Spider. After surviving a sideswipe by the monster gyroworm, I spotted my target. The taming was uneventful and I quickly had my new shale spider. I named him Chitter, since they seem fond of chit chatting in that cave.

I like the shale spider model, nothing strikes me as off or buggy. Purple is one of my favorite colors of the spiders, along with the green Jadefang. I like the crystals on his face and the purple glow reflecting off the limbs. He's a quiet pet while idling about next to you. He shifts side to side and will flex his fangs/mouth parts. he is noisier in combat, making those high pitched sqeees that is normal of shale spiders. Chitter was able to hold aggro well was multiple mobs, even though I forgot to spec his talent tree. He did about typical dps for a tenacity pet. The special ability, Web Wrap, is able to be of use if he lost aggro on a mob; It would also be useful in pvp I would imagine. His buff, which is the same as Kings/Mark of the Wild would be good in groups with neither of those classes present.

We set off to Northrend to find a Blue Runed Dog.


I found the perfect one out near Amber Lodge. After giving it a quick look, I was reminded how the glowing parts are simialr to Frosty, my frostwyrm vanity pet. And that though led to the memory of the "fun" my guild had on Sindragosa in ICC.

I didn't really like the demon dog models in general, but this one really grew on me. I've come to really like this skin especially. I like the nice shades of blue with the glowing runes and feet, and the nice splash of while from the mane. I do think that the face/mouth/horns are kinda creepy and ugly on all these demon dogs. But I don't zoom in enough for it to really bother me. The steam/frost breathe stuff is a neat touch, even if I'm not sure what it is. She's a quiet pet while fighting and by your side. Sindi has the cute little bounce on her paws animation that is fun to watch and also has a cute run animation. She was good dps and an average tank for a ferocity pet. The special ability, Lock Jaw, which is a oin, is not best when soloing, but could be nice in pvp.

Together we set off for our trip into Outlands for our Zangermasrh destination.


Our first stop was to drop by and visit Blacksting, the only Red Firefly. As I set my ice trap, Black sting wanders over, and stops just short of my trap. He continues to wander around my trap without never touching it, I finally distract shot him over into it. As he froze into the trap, he slowly twisted his head from the side to stare straight at me, like something out of a horror movie. I figure this is maybe a sign of our relationship, and gave him the name of Omen.

I'm not a fan of the wasp models, they are creepy and seem very off in general about how the body parts look size wise. I don't mind most of the bugs in game, but this one sure has the "ewww, it's a big bug" look about him. The coloring doesn't seem to help him any better. The Orange eyes and dark body make him look quiet peeved at my hunter, which may be way this relationship is going. The one nice tough seems to be the nice pattern on the wings, although different colors would make them nicer. Omen is constantly moving around while idle, twisting his head from side to side, and looking like he might be cleaning his legs? He makes a light buzz sounds that wasn't too bad personally. He running/flying animation seems floppy. Like he flies a bit forward before flopping down and repeating this over and over again. He makes some loud swiping sounds while fight, and was an average tank and dps. His special, Sting, which is a 2 second stun, wasn't bad when soloing, but hardly a huge help. Most useful in pvp and maybe a group setting.

Last stop was a quick jot over to a nearby Blue Sporebat.

This pet was much more cooperative about taming, and I gave him the name of Luminate. I like the models of the spore bats, which are nice and no glaring off things about them. I like this blue skin the best, with it's nice vibrant colors and details. The glow they give off isn't way bright, which is a nice touch. They like to quietly weave and bob while they float next to you. They have a nice smooth animation when flying next to you. Luminate was an average tank, and good dps that had some more sounds but wasn't overly noisy. There special ability, Spore Cloud, slows casting of enemies and would be nice in pvp or a group setting where a class didn't already bring it to the group.

In the end, only Sindi and Luminate will be staying with me. Chitter was a nice pet, but I already have my lovely Jadefang. And for Omen, I decided to send him on his way before something bad might have befallen on Belleirle.

[Loki]

Some possible theme ideas for you here (apologies if you have already thought of/used some of them):

1) Seaside Pets - Seagull, crabs, turtles
2) Shelled Pets - Beetles, crabs, turtles, scorpids, poss. silithids
3) Mountain Pets - Cougars, snow leopards, white/grey/brown wolves, eagles
4) Nocturnal Pets - Owls, bats, black wolves, foxes
5) Frozen Wastes Pets - Polar bear, white cats, white fox, white birds, wooly rhinos
6) "Fantasy" Pets - Dragonhawks, wind serpents, spectral pets, red/white core hounds, old world chimeras
7) Big Pets - Core hounds, devilsaurs, rhinos, boss silithids
8) Spikey Pets - Rhinos, ravagers, boss silithids, spiked wind serpent, spiked chimera and spiked raptor, warp stalkers, spiked crab model, spikey type core hound, spikey spider model, felboar
9) Phantom Pets - Ghost saber, ghost boar, green ghost owl, Olm, ghost wurm, ghostly two-headed vulture, Lone Hunter, ghostly demon dogs
10) Fiery Pets - (not all literally on fire, but they look fiery) Orange beetle, orange/grey felboar, red two-headed vulture, Pogeyan, red core hound, orange spikey crab, red runed demon dog, orange dragonhawk, orange/black ravager, grey/orange scorpid, lava spider, red firefly
11) Cave Pets - Bats, grey/black bears, grey/black spiders, poss. dark colored wolves, moths, dark scorpids, shale spiders, poss. dark silithids, dark wurms
12) Gem pets - Scarab beetles, ghostly green owl, poss. runed demon dogs, shale spiders, red serpent (ruby), bronze scorpid, crystal spider, poss. fireflys

[Acherontia]

I like the Gem Pets and Spiky (although the Scifi is sort of that already) I've used the Northern theme, ghostly pets and a few of the others although by different names, all of which are quite nice themes I think

Very cool reviews so far guys, loving the pics

I LOVE the red demon dog's review, and actually tamed one for a bit (Rokad in Kara, who I then used for the full run!). I also loved the name "Screeth," Pawtrack!

Shall update the thread in the next day or so

[TygerDarkstorm]

Oh! I need to update my worgen's level; she's now 24 and not 18 as I have listed there. ^_^

[Pawtrack]

I LOVE the red demon dog's review, and actually tamed one for a bit (Rokad in Kara, who I then used for the full run!). I also loved the name "Screeth," Pawtrack!

Hehe, unintentional... uh idk refference ftw? Just googled the name XD. Originaly it was just a misspelling of Screech.

[Comett]

I love the story of Rip! Sometimes the best tames are those you didn't expect to like.

Tezzra is very excited about doing her challenge and shall start when she gets to 76/Sholazar - I want to get her camping asap XD

[Acherontia]

Lol, I actually just thought it sounded great SCREETH. Not a reference (that I know of), just awesome!

For Pawtrack / Velyana!



BUGS!



Tan Beetle, Red-Green Spider, White Wasp and the Blue Moth!



For TygerDarkstorm / Ruffley:

Gray Pets!



Gray Spotted Kitty, Light Gray Boar, Gray Parrot, Gray Bear, Light Gray Worg and the Gray Tarantula!

Shout if I missed anyone, please!

[TygerDarkstorm]

Damn, you know, I just soloed Deadmines at 19 on Ruff and I almost tamed that damned grey parrot. Should be a lot easier this time around at 26.

I look forward to doing these later; Ruff's got quite the project ahead of her.

[Pawtrack]

Lol, I actually just thought it sounded great SCREETH. Not a reference (that I know of), just awesome!

Hehe, then I guess neither of us knew what it meant!

Anyway, will get to taming soon!

[TygerDarkstorm]

All righty, using my new formatting from the single pet challenge here. I had the grey theme this time.


I'll review the pets from left to right, starting with the top left. I apologize for any bad/missing screenshots; I forgot to capture some of the idle animations and swimming animations.

Anyway, starting with Silver the grey worg.

The top left shot is a basic side shot to get a general idea of what the pet looks like. The color is okay. It changes in different lighting, the grey sometimes looking the color of OCJ, and other times just looking dirty.

The second picture is a close up of the ruff on the neck, showing how rough and pixellated it looks.

The third photo is the fur along their hip, showing an even worse example of the low res, pixellated fur. The fourth shows the same flaw, but on the tail.

The fifth photo is the fur that sticks out to the side of the cheeks--it's flat and looks as terrible as the rest of the fur.

The sixth photo is a close-up of how terrible the teeth look. Better than some of the other creatures, but still kinda bleck.

And the last photo is of the head, most notably of the weird looking texture on and around the ears.

As Porkers, Beaky and Silver did Deadmines with me, I forgot entire to get shots of them swimming.

Anyway, worg animations are simple. When they idle, they flick their tail and occasionally shake their head. I'm actually impressed how good the running shot looks because their run looks terrible from behind--kind of like they have a gimpy leg. They make typical wolf sounds in battle.


For combat, these guys are good pets. There's no animation for them casting Furious Howl, just a growl-like noise as they cast it. Furious Howl provides your party/raid with 5% increased crit. This buff is a pretty safe thing to bring if other standard buffs are covered; however, there are some other classes that can provide it. Being ferocity they will also put out great damage. They're an all around great pet.

I'm not overly fond of this model of worg, and generally not of worgs in general, although I think Ruffley will be taming either OCJ or Deathmaw.

Next is Snowfur the grey bear.

We start with the side shot; overall I was actually really impressed with her color. She looked stunning next to Ruffley. What makes this gal so pretty is that her skin seems to be a dark brown base with shades of grey layered over it with red eyes and ears.

The second pic is a close up of her right front leg where it clips into the body.

The third pic (bottom left); you can see that the leg looks a little weird (bear leg positioning is weird in general--I think most of it's caused from the slope in the back), and you can get a better look at her face.

The fourth pic is of the teeth and gums and how awkward it looks for them to be snarling in such a strange fashion. Their teeth are also weird looking.

The last photo is a closer look at their behind. You can't see it too well on a taller character, but there's a strange glow map under bear tails (so far most noticeable on the light brown bear), as well as the strange triangle flap of skin that runs to their stomach.


Bears only have one idle animation, and that's to roar from side to side. When they run their mouth gapes open and it's a run that's best described as bumbly (hence the goofy saying on the slide >_>). They make the standard bear roars and growls in combat. They do a bear paddle for a swim.

I'm actually quite proud of these combat shots, I managed to get a good one of Demo Roar worthy of Cialbi.

Bears are pets that I'm slowly growing accustomed to having on my hunters. They're great pets for lowbies (pre-4.1) because they'll eat *anything.* They also make pretty good tank pets. Demoralizing Roar, their special, reduces the physical damage of all enemies within range of the bear by 10% for 10 seconds. Not a bad little debuff--I'm sure it helped Riff, Ruff's brown bear, out quite a bit when she soloed Deadmines at 19-20. It also helps the bear keep AoE aggro, although I found that on Ruffley, she still has the tendency to pull aggro on adds even as a BM hunter who's just targeting what her pet's attacking.

As much as I *love* the way Snowfur looks with Ruffley, she won't be staying. Riff had to put up with a lot of crap from his mistress when she insisted on soloing Deadmines at level 18 for a parrot. Plus, I really love his colors too--I'd hate to break the bond I have with him.

And now we have Sathrah. I went and tamed the named spider from Teldrassil and let her keep her name.

I'm actually surprised that I kind of like the way Sath looks. The grey color is very nice looking. Nothing really to say about the first picture--it's just a full body shot for you to get a look at her.

The second picture is a close up of her fangs. The tarantulas have large mandible, fang things. I think one of the reasons I kind of like Sath is that the venom dripping off of them is white and not very noticeable.

Third pic is of her abdomen showing the sort of low res looking textures on it. The fourth pic is of her eyes, which kind of creep me out. What's creepy about the tarantula eyes is that they don't really look like eyes...they just sort of look like they were painted on and not animated or anything.

The last pic is something that's really hard to capture in a screenshot. But basically, the legs of the tarantulas clip through and overlap each other as if they're all coming out of one point of the body. The spindly spiders don't seem to have this issue.


Spiders don't have much in the way of an idle animation, they just move their legs around which is kind of hard to get a picture of. Another thing hard to get a pic of is the way the tarantula pets sort of shake when they run. At least their adorable swim animation photographs nicely. They make what could be described as chittering sounds, I guess, when going in combat.


Spiders are cunning pets and their special is Web--a ranged root that lasts for 5 seconds. It makes them great PvP pets, although the cooldown on web is 40 seconds so this ability is probably best micro-managed. Web could come in handy for groups to help save the healer or another squishy who's pulled aggro. Your pet can root them while the tank regains aggro. Being cunning pets, spiders will also put out good damage.

I am actually torn on whether or not to keep Sath. Ruffley has a spider already named Spindle, a little orange and black spiked spider. Both spiders look good next to Ruff so I may have to run with them both until I make a decision. Here's a photo of Spindle for you guys to compare:


(Split in half due to length.)

[TygerDarkstorm]

Next is Beaky the grey parrot.

This slide includes Beaky's looks and animations.

The top left photo is the idle where they fly really quickly up into the air, and the bottom left photo is the basic "Here I am!" shot. This bird is gorgeous. The color is varying shades of grey with a splash of red under the tail, white eyes, and greenish-grey feet.

The second photo on the top is to show the weird way in which bird wings flap in WoW--all angles. The photo on the top right is a close up of the way the feathers stick up weirdly on the back.

The bottom right one is of Beaky 'running.' Birds flap...a lot. It's all they do really, and it makes sense. Their swim is the same as their run I imagine. They make appropriate parrot sounding noises when going in combat.


For combat, Beaky does good damage being a cunning pet. His special is Snatch, a 10 second disarm on a one minute cooldown. This ability is most noticeably great for that annoying melee in PvP, however, it can also be a good group utility. Some bosses can be disarmed as well as humanoid trash mobs, helping out both your tank and healer.

I was in debate about keeping Beaky, but then I realized it's just because of his/her color and not because he/she developed a personality. And the reason I say he/she is because I keep referring to it as both he and she, which solidifies in my mind that Deedee is my bird (and after all the trouble it took me to get her, I'm glad ).


Next is Spot, the grey spotted cat; he's just one of the basic ones from Teldrassil.

All righty, first shot is the look at me shot--this challenge actually gave me a new appreciation for this cat skin. Once these guys start growing as a hunter pet, this color starts looking really beautiful.

The second photo is a close up of the back right leg and how weird it looks at the joints.

You can't see it very well in the third screenshot, but the shoulder almost looks as if it dips into the upper arm.

Fourth photo is of the front left leg, and unfortunately you can't see it very well, but where their elbow is, it points backward like normal, but the front of the elbow also points forward. One of those 'can't unsee' things for me.

Last photo is of Spot's face. I've always thought of the old world cat faces as 'smushed in'; they are very boxy looking, and as Lupis pointed out in the single challenge thread, the closer you get to these guys, the more prominently their brow sticks out over their eyes, making them look like cave...cats. Their eyes almost seem a tad too close together as well.


Thankfully the cat model flaws are made up for with good animations. Cats will stretch and yawn (accompanied by silenceable sound), and look from side to side when they idle. When they run, it is very smooth and natural looking (that running shot above is one of my favorites ). When they swim they do a standard kitty paddle.

For combat cats are *excellent* pets. Roar of Courage (139 (scaled by level) strength and agility on a 45 second cooldown) is arguably the best hunter buff that our pets provide us making these guys our number one choice for dungeons (if you like to min/max). However, this buff is also covered by a few other classes--death knights, shamans, and warriors. They're ferocity pets as well, which means they'll put out great damage.

Spot won't be staying with Ruffley as I'm really not fond of the old world cat models. And as much as I love the skin, I've already bonded with a black panther whom Ruff's tamed as a kitten and keeping until he grows into a saber cat.


And last but not least is Porkers, the grey pig. I nabbed him from Elwynn Forest.

The grey color boar is okay, but feels a little drab even though it's not just solid grey. He has darker grey spots on his flanks for some reason and a white stripe on his face and under his mane. His mane and tail tip are black.

The second pic is a close up of his face. I love the pink nose but the texturing on the snout looks really strange and low res, same with the tusks.

The third photo is where the neck should be, but as you can see, it's just a weird looking line where the head meets the body. The ear also looks oddly positioned.

Fourth shot is from behind to get an idea of how blocky and stocky these guys are.

Fifth pic is a close up on their pixellated, 2-D mane that looks terrible.

Sixth photo is where the hindquarter meets the body--it just looks a little strange to me.

And the last shot is a close up of the way the fur goes from looking okay to looking low res down by the hooves.


Thankfully pigs make up for their aging looks by having adorable personalities. For idles they sniff the ground, then wiggle their butt in the air, and they also look from side to side waving those tusks about. Their run is very suiting of their personalities as well--like turtles, these little guys will put their hearts out for you. Their swim is an adorable piggy paddle. For sounds, these guys grunt and squeal into combat.

For combat, boars aren't terrible. They're tenacity so their damage is okay. The one thing that keeps me from using one regularly is their special, Gore, which increases bleed damage taken by 30%. It's just not an attractive thing for me because I never play MM. I imagine these guys would be great solo tanks for MM hunters though. I probably wouldn't bring these guys to a group either because I'm the kind of person looking to cover what buffs/debuffs are missing that we need, and I'm pretty sure all the bleed classes bring their own bleed increaser with them. If I had to provide this debuff for some reason, I'd use a hyena just for a little bit more damage from them being ferocity.

Porkers won't be staying with Ruffley. I just can't get into the grey color and she already has Rocky, her little brown boar who's super adorable and her piggy buddy.


I think I'm going to take a break from these for a little bit. I look forward to reading other people's reports though.

[Acherontia]

I LOVE those panels!! The tribal sort of designs are awesome, as well as the color splashes--oh, and the reviews

I agree about the old-world cats' faces being weird--especially the too-close eyes I hadn't ever seen that forward-front-elbow glitch though... new "cannot unsee" for me too >.>

Also, that grey bear looked awesome with your worgen!

[TygerDarkstorm]

I LOVE those panels!! The tribal sort of designs are awesome, as well as the color splashes--oh, and the reviews

I'm glad you liked them. They're the reason my report was so long in coming, but they feel better than a slew of screenshots slapped in there.

I agree about the old-world cats' faces being weird--especially the too-close eyes I hadn't ever seen that forward-front-elbow glitch though... new "cannot unsee" for me too >.>

Yeah...I've been able to tolerate Shadow, her panther, but I just love the saber cats so much more, even though they have the funky elbow problem too.

Also, that grey bear looked awesome with your worgen!

I know! I was like "man if I hadn't spent all that time in Deadmines bonding with Riff I would so keep Snowfur." Part of me kinda debates about keeping her anyway or sending Riff on his way after he had to get killed so many times. >_>

[Cialbi]

Yay for Demo Roar screenshots! Almost as frustrating as trying to capture the puppy hop on a demon dog

Anyways, I wanted to point something out here. The lighting on these screenshots is considerable different than the lighting in the other screenshots, and that allows one detail to really stand out. Look at the bear's face, particularly the snout. It's blue! I think someone got into a blueberry thicket for his lunch. Just a detail worth pointing out to anyone interested.