Forming A Bond

[Melissa]

So let me first say hello everyone! Been reading these forums for a long time and now finally decided to sign up and post something

So... I'm a collector type of player, collecting mounts, titles, achievement points, non-combat pets, rare spawn hunter pets... But today I changed my mind on the last one and felt like sharing my story

So, I finished the Winterspring Frostsaber quest chain today on my Night Elf Huntress main. It was then that it hit me -- the frostsaber cub I've been questing with for the last 20 days... I suddenly would lose the little guy!
I've been reading many posts about how people tamed certain pets they had a bond with... In my eyes, there were much easier to obtain pets with the exact same looks! (Take for example Hawkbane) So I thought it was silly to camp such a pet... But today that changed.

I wanted to keep my frostsaber cub by my side, not just when I'm mounted. So I tamed one of the near Frostsaber Pride Watchers; it was my cub, but grown up. And I fell in love right away.

It was then I realised; Sambas, Terrorpene, Krush... They may have unique skins, but I never managed to form a bond with them... I had them just for a 'collection'...

And thus, now, I'm looking all over Azeroth, for the perfect turtle, devilsaur, and more pets, to bond with... That are not just for the looks.

And I just had to share this story with you all

[Lisaara]

Rares are nice but they're only nicer if you are bonded with them. Sure, Terrorpene....everyone has him but I love mine. Dormammu is one of my favorite pets. I also adore my brown fox, Liam, cause he's very special to Jessi.

[Rhapture]

I'm not sure if you know about this but you can actually buy a cub that looks just like the quest one at the Everlook inn.

I have the mount, hunter pet and mini pet and love my little family <3

[Melissa]

I'm not sure if you know about this but you can actually buy a cub that looks just like the quest one at the Everlook inn.

I have the mount, hunter pet and mini pet and love my little family <3

I know that, but what I loved (and made me really think about losing him) is that he actually grew during those 20 days -- Now he's grown enough to fight by my side

[Melissa]

Rares are nice but they're only nicer if you are bonded with them. Sure, Terrorpene....everyone has him but I love mine. Dormammu is one of my favorite pets. I also adore my brown fox, Liam, cause he's very special to Jessi.

Absolutely But I just never managed to actually bond with most rare spawns... I just had them because they were rare... The only rares I managed to bond with so far are Loque and Karoma But it's ofcourse awesome if others can bond with them! I just couldn't form a bond with them myself

[Nubhorns]

It's so nice to see people who haven't forgotten this. :)

I love my Kiwi(Krush) and Spider(Karoma) is my best friend as BM, but my favorite pet of all time, the one who's been by my side for as long as I can remember, is a common spawn in Blade's Edge Mountains. He's not even a unique skin. He's stuck by my side for many, many levels, tons of respecs, being abandoned and restored by the world's nicest GM, and dying countless times to save my hide(and many more times where we both died, hah). And while it's just a game and it all boils down to programming and code and pixels, I really feel like I've bonded quite a bit with him - and that's all that matters to me. Not his fur or his status as a rare or how unique he is - he's unique to me, because he's mine. There may be a million Thunderlord Dire Wolves and Barnabuses and Ember Worgs but there will only ever be one Umbergore.

Rambling aside, congrats on your kitty growing up and congrats on your bond. :)

[Rhapture]

I'm not sure if you know about this but you can actually buy a cub that looks just like the quest one at the Everlook inn.

I have the mount, hunter pet and mini pet and love my little family <3

I know that, but what I loved (and made me really think about losing him) is that he actually grew during those 20 days -- Now he's grown enough to fight by my side

Ah ok...that makes perfect sense I am just a pet junkie and enjoy when I can make a pair with a mini-pet and hunter pet or triplets with a mount, mini-pet and hunter pet. That's why I am so excited they are bringing back the ability to have your hunter pet out while mounted again

I really like the idea that your cub grew up to be your hunter pet instead of your mount though...it definitely reinforces the bond I think.

[MajorThor]

I'm not sure if you know about this but you can actually buy a cub that looks just like the quest one at the Everlook inn.

I have the mount, hunter pet and mini pet and love my little family <3

I know that, but what I loved (and made me really think about losing him) is that he actually grew during those 20 days -- Now he's grown enough to fight by my side

Kinda how I felt when I did the Ravasaur mount chain. You start with a hatchling that you gotta feed and stuff for 12 days and then he's magically big enough to ride and stuff. Really cool.

[Tsiya]

Welcome to the club!

[Comett]

Yay! < 3

I have to admit haha those quest chains tug at my heartstrings! You get quite attached after so long..

[Monocerus]

how good make a bound is!

I'm with my ghost saber Bastet since level 19, now at 85 she is the pet who I 99% of the times bring with me in my adventures.

And today The Light make my paths crossed with my old Owl Luna, when in the times of difficult I cannot keep more than some pets, I released her for the bound to see she fly away to the great hunt where she ascended from a common white owl, to a spirit owl and now we are bond together again.

[gigandetsgirl]

This is an absolutely beautiful story I had the same feelings as you during my Venomhide Ravasaur quest, and now I miss my little dinosaur so much. Per your post, I decided to check the raptors on Petopia and, what do you know... there is a raptor that looks like him!!!! I hope you don't mind if I steal your idea, but I absolutely love it. I'm going to have to tame him when I get home

Forming a bond with your pets really is vital. Like you, I have tamed rares before just for the sake of having them, but they seem meaningless without the bond. That's why I try to make up little stories behind each pet, too. My main hunter's pet, who has been by his side since level 11 and will continue to be so forever, is a simple black worg. No special skin, not even remotely rare. But she is his baby.

[Blackavar]

i agree completely a bond is needed with your pet, its sweet that you cub has grown up to fight by your side,

my bond was first with a lynx i named athene but she and i didnt fully click. then my sis while questing in barrens spotted humar, which when he seemed to have a longer respawn time we had camped for a while and even got killed by an ally and his bud since we were pvp. of course at that time humar had spawned as well and i rezed just in time to see humar pwn the allys butt by summoning all the cats in the area cuz the hunter had i asume acidently put down a immolation trap, in the end humar was killed that day. but when my sis is yelping with joy and telling me to get my butt from uc to barrens, i knew he was the pet for me and ive always had him out, weve been thro alot of wipes,icc, ony, questing from 26-85, farming bging, its been fun and ill never replace him . (heres to you Ohanzee, my loyal friend) /raises glass to all fellow hunters and their pets. (and heres to the pets that have been with us to the end )

[Nevyc]

To me, the best thing about the bonds that form is the surprise. I know for me the bond I have built with a handful of pets is totally unexplainable, and often times unexpected.

Most times I don't even realize it has happened until I try using another pet, and I find myself pained to dismiss the "bonded" pet away.

While I don't miss the days of smaller stables, I still only find myself using a very small number of pets.