I completely forgot I asked for a roll here. How long has it been? Derp.
My roll was for the
Grey Tallstrider. This skin can only be found in Mulgore (Adult Plainstriders) and the Northern Barrens (Ornery Plainstriders), though there are plenty of them in both zones. The particular bird I tamed for this review was found in the north-east corner of Northern Barrens, between Nozzlepot's Outpost and Sludge Fens.
Truthfully I've been thinking of trying a tallstrider for some time, the skin choice being a toss up between this one, the brown and the white, so I'm pleased to have been given an excuse to get one. Tallstriders are pretty underused on my realm (Azjol-Nerub EU), which is a shame really. Thay have always struck me as proud creatures so, after a quick sift through the Name That Pet Name Index, I named this pretty boy Kiburi, which means proud in Swahili.
For idle animations tallstriders have three: the basic side-to-side sway while opening and closing their beak (which I like as it looks like they're smiling), stretching upward with a "silent caw" and of course the classic preen, all of which are found in hawkstriders who share the tallstrider skeleton. (Please disregard the photo-bombing haunt.)
Up close it's quite clear that the grey skin isn't completely grey with a red head, but also has shades of pink, purple and blue as the red head merges with the grey body all the way down to the belly. Quite the rainbow, given the dull-sounding name. But then rainbow-necked grey tallstrider is a bit more of a mouthful. Being a vanilla model Kib has low-res detailing, making it a little hard, for me anyway, to tell if Kiburi's supposed to be scaly or feathery and the mane and tail are woefully 2D. His face also looks odd from the front to me, but the rest of him makes up for that.
Before the latest patch tallstriders had their own, unique running animation where they held their heads high as they "pranced" around. Quite fitting, in my opinion. However with the introduction of tallstrider mounts the run was changed to that of the hawkstrider's, presumably for the benefit of the rider. There has been a few complaints about this, though I for one don't mind the change. I find it endearing really.
There is a small issue with speed it seems however, and Kib will occasionally run ahead and then slow down to a walk until level. That can get annoying if you're paying attention.
Attack-wise Kiburi only has two animations, a basic peck and a lunging strike where he'll lean back on one leg before coming down heavily on the target with his beak. I honestly can't tell if the other leg is being used to attack too or is simply like that for momentum.
The tallstrider family special is Dust Cloud, which reduces the melee and ranged attack speed of all enemies in range by 20% for 30 seconds. Initially the cool-down is 40 seconds, allowing the enemies in a long fight a 10-second reprieve for non-Beast Masters. However a Beast Master with the 3/3 Longevity talent can reduce it down to 17.5 seconds, allowing the debuff to be applied permanently. This can be beneficial for the hunter or the tank in a group while in physical-heavy areas. Foxes share this ability in their Tail Spin, and so can make a more furry, if noisier, alternative should the tallstrider be preferred as Christmas dinner. The cloud also shows up in combat, looking as much as it sounds like: a cloud of dust.
As a bird tallstriders let out screeches, squawks and caws while fighting and taking damage, and a clucking sound when they die. The sounds are relatively quiet and can be ignored easily, especially at range and while in a group with plenty of other noises to drown it out. Outside of combat they make no sound what-so-ever, so tallstriders can be considered good pets for those who prefer quiet companions.
As a ferocity pet I specced Kib for max damage and took him through a random Hour of Twilight heroic. I was a little bit apprehensive to start with, knowing that people will still complain or joke about tallstrider pets. Thankfully no one in this group voiced any negatives about Kib, and we pulled some pretty decent dps together. It was nigh impossible to get a decent screenshot as the paladin insisted on standing on the poor bird the entire time.
I haven't yet decided how I feel about Kib. I've always had difficulties bonding with a tallstrider and also already have a fox (even if he technically is the guild mascot). He'll stay for a while longer, but I enjoyed the time I've spent with him thus far. He'll be staying until I make up my mind.
Even more awesome that he's been a crab color I've always hated so I love the appreciation he's earning from you; I got to see that model in a whole new light.
or cats have sambas i hardly use 
