Random Pet Challenge [v3.0]

[Blackavar]

awsome cant wait, will do a report on quests/dungeon if i have time and a bg report, questing and bg will be easy dungeon if i have time will do

[TygerDarkstorm]

So...I swear I haven't totally forgotten about this. >_>

My challenge this time was: . This is the spirit beast, Karoma, not to be confused with the ghost wolf from BC that was briefly tamable.
You can see Xella's report about the Grimtotem Spirit Guide here.

And with that said, let's begin:

Like many people, I was beyond ecstatic when Blizzard re-implemented the ghost wolf skin as a tamable pet, and her being a spirit beast didn't bother me in the least. My wolf has earned her name from an excellent book called The Sight. Anyway, she has easily become my favorite spirit beast to use.

Looks wise I find the ghost wolf skin covers most of the flaws of the old world wolf model, but it can still be a little strange looking. The little spiky hairs on the backs of the legs being one of those strange things (bottom left). I think they're supposed to represent the feathering wolves get on the backs of their legs, but they look more like defensive weapons or something. One nice thing that the skin hides is the goofy way the ruff sits on their back--it looks more smoothed out with this skin (2nd from bottom right). The goofy snarl still looks just as weird, however (2nd from bottom left). And when viewing Karoma from the front, her face sort of seems to disappear and you can see right through her.

Animations and Sounds:

So wolves have three idle animations, however, Karoma did NOT want to do the howl one so I'm lacking a screenshot for it. Their other two idles are the scratch (top left) and the ground sniff (bottom left). The old world wolf model has one of my favorite run animations; they sort of lope along and it looks pretty graceful (bottom middle). Her swim is a basic doggy paddle (top right and bottom right). Sound wise, Karoma's barks and growls are actually sort of ghostly sounding while she's in combat, which is really cool.

Combat:

So for the combat, I did the usual of putting Larka on a dummy and capturing her animations, and I also did a battleground with her.
I'll start with her fighting animations. She has two basic animations, a lunge and bite to the left (top left) and a lunge and bite to the right (middle left). I found a strange shot of her under BW where it looks like her jaw is completely unhinging (bottom left). I also managed to catch a shot of her using Spirit Mend on herself (top right).

And now to the nitty gritty. Spirit Beasts have three special abilities. The first is Prowl, allowing them to stealth and gain a bonus to their first attack. The second is Roar of Courage, which is arguably one of the best hunter buffs to have around as it gives a bonus to agility and strength. The third spirit beast special is Spirit Mend. Spirit Mend is a single target heal ability that works just like druids' Regrowth spell. It's also decently powerful, making these guys great for soloing and PvP.

I did do a BG on my hunter like I promised, granted, I hadn't played the game in a while so I was a bit rusty, especially since SV is my PvP spec. But anyway, I felt that I did decently well considering my crappy gear level and lack of any real skill. Karoma definitely makes for an excellent PvP buddy. The ghost wolf skin is kind of hard to see and that heal is definitely powerful for keeping yourself alive in a tight pinch. Not to mention the decent amount of damage Larka was putting out since I never really saw her get focused during the BG. Overall, they're definitely handy pets to have around in both PvE and PvP and in the right hands can probably be really powerful.

I might come back and do another one of these once I figure out which hunter I want to use and hope that I don't forget about it. XD

[Azunara]

TYGER.

TYGERTYGERTYGER.

I love that book series. >.> Carry on.

[TygerDarkstorm]

I <3 Fire Bringer and The Sight. ^_^

[Azunara]

Just reread Fire Bringer the other day, actually. I think I might reread the Sight again.

[Aeladrine]

And now for something completely different:

Donachan
Orange Dragonhawk

This will be image and text heavy, beware.

I already had this beautiful pet on my other character. I was planning on taming it on Dona, since she's who I asked for the challenge on, but I simply didn't have the time. So, sorry for my report being so late, but I had to make some changes!

When I logged onto Aela, it took me a minute to figure out why I wasn't running around in the gloomy, purple-tinted lands of the Forsaken. I'd just recently headed out to Stranglethorn in the hopes of leveling some more.

Now, Aela has been running around in the Forsaken lands for so long that she and her pets would almost burn my eyes. There's a reason she's already Exalted with UC. For all her ginger hair and blood elf heritage, Aela tends to be rather subdued. She's quiet and prefers to just blend into the woodwork in social situations. She's not an RP character and is not on an RP server, she just gives off that feel. She gets wanderlust a lot and tends to stop questing to go gather herbs.

Now, she only as three pets so far: Cinnamon, Ginger, and Cayenne. They're all redish or orangeish-- they have the same colouring as the blood elf. Especially Cayenne, with her glowing green eyes. Aela has different bonds with all three of these pets. Ginger is incredibly protective and is likely to kill something before Aela can even tag it (I think this may be due to lag, but it happens a lot more with Ging than with anyone else). Cayenne is playful, but time in the Forsaken lands has made her more subdued. She likes to play with her opponent before dispatching them. Cayenne is also the closest to Aela. Many, many hours were spent getting from UC to Dun Morogh to tame this fox and, when Aela finally got there, Cayenne was jumping around, racing through the area, and killing little bunnies for fun. She as so happy and carefree, Aela knew she had to be hers.

That brings us to Cinnamon, the dragonhawk who I'm doing this report on. Aela started her journey with Cinnamon. They were both a lot more serious at the time and far less likely to socialize. Aela did so much wanderlusting I'm surprised she leveled so quickly. The thing was, she wanted to get out of Blood Elven lands, to go far and see many things. Cinnamon, however, simply wanted to curl up at home and stay there. She's serious, silent, and likes nothing better than resting after some hard work. But, after a while, she didn't even want to work anymore. All she wanted to do was sleep and I could feel her dislike of everything we were doing. So, she got put away when Aela went to Undead territory and hadn't been out since.

Now, Cinnamon had never left where she'd come from, so I decided to travel all the way back to Silvermoon before I brought her out of the stables.



Cayenne and I boarded the zeppelin and made our way back home, which was quite an adventure. It was a nice trip for Cayenne, too, since she'd never been to Silvermoon.



Somehow, I fell of the boat when we changed zones. I'm not really sure what happened, because the second I zoned in I was falling. I died, obviously. I figured Cayenne probably pushed me (she would) so when I rezzed I pulled out Ginger instead.



...She was stuck in prowl again. So, out came Cayenne again, head bowed and apologizing for getting me killed. I mounted up and went on my way.

UC was the same as always, a familiar place that I was glad to see. Instead of heading into the main city, however, I went to the Orb.

While UC was the same, Silvermoon seemed like an entirely new place to me. It was bright and loud. I quickly found, however, that it was still as familiar as UC, because I still knew exactly where to go to find my old friend Cinnamon.



The old girl wasn't too happy to be pulled out of retirement before I hit 85, but she put up with it for long enough to fly at my side.




When we left Silvermoon to check out some familiar sights, I noticed something about her skin.


According to Petopia, these two should have the same skin. They do, in a way, but there is something... different about the blood elf starter pet. As you can see, Cinnamon's "red" area is darker than the other's, though their "orange" area is the same. Her red feathers also seem to have more detail than that of the regular dragonhawk's. Something interesting, I think (though it may just be an outward sign of her irritability and grouchiness).

Now, Cinnamon has a fire breath attack, I don't know how useful it is, I don't really care. Because day-uuuuum does it look cool.


However, Cinnamon will be returning to the stables until Aela hits 85 and can have five pets with her. As much as I love her, I prefer ferocity pets by far. Cunning pets simply don't make me a happy camper.

When I hit 85, however, she will be rejoining the rest of the family. She's one of the five who I want to be Aela's main pets, the ones who are almost always with her (which can be seen in the very pretty sig Snookie made me, which does feature Cinnamon).

I do love this pet, and for anyone who thinks they're pretty and sort of maybe kind of wants one: DO IT. Get it. It's pretty, the flapping of its wings is a lot less annoying than that of the birds, and it moves in the most beautiful way. You may never actually fight with it, but it's good to have in your party.

...Think of it like Aerith in FF7. She doesn't actually fight, but you always have her if you can because she will heal your butt off.

Okay, that comparison would be more apt if I was talking about a spirit beast. But still. If you think you might possibly want it, go tame one. Try it out, see how it looks next to you, see if it causes any stirrings in your heart (no, not your loins, your heart). You might just end up finding your new best friend.

EDIT;
Name: Donachan
Level: 74-76 (currently at 74, need to level to 76 anyway, feel free to assign things up in there)
Exotics: Yes
Restrictions: None
Rares I have: Arcturis

ONE THING: If possible, I'd love a rare!

[Kormai]

According to Petopia, these two should have the same skin.

I can only guess that you didn't click on the link in the assignment because according to Petopia the one I assigned you and the Belf starting pet are two different models.
Belf starter:

Assigned pet:


I'm not saying you gotta go tame the other one, I don't really care. Just for future reference there are two orange Dragonhawks that look very very similar but the colours and detailing is different.

Donachan
You said 76 and you wanted a rare...
Loque'nahak


:::OR:::

Purple Hyena

[Aeladrine]

Hmm. I had clicked it, but for some reason it had said the Belf one fell under that category. Oh wells, I probably managed to mess it up somehow. xD I had gone and looked at something like three am. D:

OH MAN THAT IS SOOOOO PERFECT! He's actually the reason why I'm trying to get to 76!(:

I'll probably end up trying both out, just because I love me some hyenas, but plan to most definitely see that gorgeous spirit beast get a review!

...It may take me a long while, though. So don't plan to see it just yet. xD

[TygerDarkstorm]

Let's do one for my little baby drae back home on my original server.

Name: Nattalya
Level: 11 (feel free to roll up)
Exotics: Not yet
No Restrictions
Honorable Mentions: Vultros

[CrystalKitten]

I think I'd like to try this out!

Name: Thyira
level: 85
Exotics: Yep!
Restrictions: I don't like the really leggy/creepy looking spiders (think... the bone/widow spiders..).. I'm an RL arachnophobe... ANY spiders that aren't leggy/creepy I'll at least try, though. Also, Gimme 2 options if the first roll is something that requires camping.. as I'm not sure how much time I'll have for camping.

[Aeladrine]

Just caught Loque!(: Will update with my real report, for now just have some pictures!




I flipped out when NPCscan went off because it happened literally the second I tabbed out. So there aren't really any taming pictures. xD

Here's what I can tell you so far: I love his model and I love the way he moves. I named my Loque Absino and, let me tell you, he is simply a ork of art. He's so fluid, I almost feel like if we walk over a drain he'll just disappear!

More to come!(:

[Kormai]

Congrats Aeladrine! That was pretty fast

Tyger (Nattalya)
Bronze Scorpid


CrystalKitten
Green Core Hound


Enjoy

[TygerDarkstorm]

Whoo, my baby drae has quite the run ahead of her.

[CrystalKitten]

Allright, so I already tamed a green corehound a while ago, so I'll just write a bit about it and then ask for a reroll I guess (lvl 85, exotics: yes, no creepy leggy spiders please)?

Now on the corehound.

I'm NOT a huge fan of the green. I had tamed it originally as I wanted one, but couldn't get the red at the time. I just found the green to be almost a bit.. pukey coloured? I'm not sure... Maybe green just isn't my colour in general.

I like the corehound concept in general, but if you're a stickler for REALLY well done models/effects, the molten drool is a touch... out of place would be the best word I guess. I can use corehounds, but I will admit that the way the drool sticks out, doesn't blend overly well with the model bothers me a bit.

I used mine largely in pvp or for soloing, although I didn't use it much. It's size can make it a little difficult to target around if you need to precision click-targetting. The hysteria buff is nice for soloing content.

Corehounds are VERY loud though. Not only their footsteps, but their growl is always very loud, and seems to NEVER fad with distance. The bugger can run halfway across the battleground and still sound as if it's right next to you. It can be a bit unnerving at times.

[Aeladrine]

It may be a long while before my report. Real life has suddenly and quite obtrusively gotten in the way. If you want to know more on why, there's a thread in the off-topic board.

EDIT:
I have some time right now, so I'll do my report (there won't be any more pictures, though. Sorry).

First of all, I just want to say how much I love this pet. I've wanted him since he first came out and this challenge finally got me to get off my butt and get him.

The first thing I did to tame Loque was a two level grind. I pulled out Kairos, who I hadn't played with in a very, very long time. He and I went and did some archaeology, and I found my love for him kindled anew. The grind went surprisingly quickly, probably because I've always been a bit of a wanderer at heart and I have no love for questing. The two of us went to Sholazar Basin, ready for the long wait like what Flutter and I had for Arcturis.

Four and a half hours in, I tab out to talk here on the forums for ten minutes or so and the second I do he pops up and I flip out. It's funny, I've always been chill when it comes to taming rares, always the one with the cool head. Not this time. I'm screaming and flipping out and my mom is trying to ask me what's going on and did it spawn and the only thing I'm saying is "EEEEEEEEEEE". I dismiss Kairos, having totally forgotten that he was with me, and totally almost fumble the entire tame. Somehow I didn't, somehow my shaking fingers managed to hit one twice to fight and stop fighting and lay the trap and then I couldn't find my tame button where was the tame button omg I'm gonna lose him. Somehow I find it and he's tamed and I'm just sitting there with my mouth open, totally not comprehending what just happened.

And then my mom asks me, "So did you kill it?"
....what. What. WHAT? NO I DIDN'T KILL THE CAT WHY WOULD I KILL THE CAT WHY WOULD YOU EVER ASK ME THAT

"Well, I would have killed it."
THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE A HORRIBLE PERSON WHO DOESN'T PLAY A HUNTER AND IT'S SO PRETTY WHY WOULD I KILL IT YOU ARE SO HORRIBLE

"...So what are you naming it?"
lolabsino

"lolfail"
lolyessss

And, and, and... I can't get over the fact that I actually have Loque'nahak as a pet. He's so perfect. He moves so gracefully. He fights so beautifully. He heals me when I do something stupid like fall. ;D; He likes archaeology.

I don't really do dungeons or PvP much anymore, but I think I'll try just to take him around places. I love him so much and he's never going to leave my party. He's like Aerith except cool.

I'm sorry, this is a horrible report.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if you don't know which Spirit Beast you want but know you want one, try Loque. His skin is gorgeous, his animations are flawless, and he's basically perfect.

gonna go do stuff with my prettykitty now, bye<3

Name: Donachan
Level: 76 (feel free to assign up to 80, I seem to level faster when I have something I'm supposed to tame)
Exotics: Yes
Restrictions: None, but I'd love some rares or regulars, don't really care which!(:
Rares I have: Arcturis, Loque

[Kormai]

Don't worry about it Aeladrine, take care of yourself Loque can wait.

CrystalKitten
Seagull

[Aeladrine]

Don't worry about it Aeladrine, take care of yourself Loque can wait.

Oh, it's gotten a good bit better. Yesterday no one really had any idea of what was going to happen, but now we do. I do have the time to do challenges (and I did update with my report(: ).

[TygerDarkstorm]

Actually, cancel that request. It's taking me no time at all to re-level Nattalya so I'll go along with her given challenge, it just might take me a couple of days.

[Kormai]

Please let me know if you're not sure how to get this one or if you don't plan on doing the really really long Sons of Hodir quest line.

Aela (Donachan)
Ghost Jormungar

[Aeladrine]

Yeah, I'm not going to be able to do that one. D: Sorry. But I'm at like... neutral with them.

It's funny, I'm totally willing to camp for forever, but not willing to quest. xD

Sorry. :C