Random Pet Challenge [v4.0]

[TygerDarkstorm]

If you don't want to get super detailed, that's okay. I know these things can get a little time consuming (I've done my share of very in depth reports). Just a little info on how the pet looks to you, why exactly you may or may not like this particular pet/skin and how you feel with it running around next to your particular character.

I look forward to seeing your report.

[Maunkitten]

For this challenge, my human hunter Anouska Tatterton was assigned the turquoise tallstrider to tame, and I immediately thought 'Clutchmother!' This has always been a pet that intrigued me, but for some reason I never got around to taming one!
First things first, I shipped my girl off to Darkshore. With a wave to her shale spider Anansi, she set off to track down the elusive Clutchmother.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 235445.jpg

Anouska thought perhaps riding her tallstrider would help, chatty bird that she is. And wouldn't you know it, maybe she was right, because it wasn't long til she and Ahimsa stumbled across her!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 235942.jpg

She dismounted as quietly as she could and extended her hand.. the Clutchmother wasn't impressed but Anouska couldn't tear her eyes away from the beautiful bird! Eventually, through the coaxing of lots of treats and Ahimsa's glowing recommendation (we think), they bonded. And how!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 000014.jpg

Unfortunately her fledglings weren't as happy. Anouska had to play dead so the proper goodbyes could be said.. and also so the Clutchmother wouldn't end up killing her own young. >_<
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 000042.jpg

Anouska hearthed to the Shrine to get a good look at her new companion and decide on a name. I stared at her for a bit, watched her adorable animations and how her butt heathers swayed from side to side. ^_^ Finally, I decided on the name Qarth.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 000200.jpg

A shot of Qarth in all her glory- she has purple feeeeeets! She walks very gracefully, her head bobbing up and down gently. Her vocalisations are soft and adorable. Also.. hello? The PetEmote emotes for tallstriders had me squeeing and laughing alternately! She is so striking. Her facial expression is very soft and benevolent, but it can also look.. less than enthused. Unlike some pets, she even stands out in gloomy lighting. Of course in bright lighting like this, she is phenomenal. Just shimmers!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 000518.jpg

Anouska decided to take Qarth and Ahimsa to her favorite place in Pandaria, a pool near the shrine. They all looked so pretty here!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 001106.jpg

Though she was a graceful swimmer, Qarth seemed a bit afraid of the water.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 001136.jpg

I have never done a battleground with a tallstrider, and I wanted to see how well the armor reduction worked as a hunter in one. So we queued for a random! They were quite excited to get into the fray, and I was excited to see how well the ability would do!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 002630.jpg

....um. Well then.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 003244.jpg

However Qarth is absolutely adorable when she runs. That neck stretched out! The seemingly perpetual grin! The wiiiings!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 003351.jpg

After this they headed to Anouska's farm, where she was still digging up rocks. She asked Qarth for a hand, but this plucky lady has a sense of humor..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 004937.jpg

Please excuse the horribly cluttered UI, I just wanted to show the PetEmote that made me laugh out loud for a good while.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 005056.jpg

On our way back to the flight master, I finally figured out what her AOE was really great for in PvE situations! SURPRISE WORG AMBUSH! Here they are kicking butt together.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 010454.jpg

Best friends forever! I love how they look together, love the animations, the ability is proving situationally useful, and hello? This model is gorgeous- and has personality! Smitten!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/ ... 010551.jpg

Overall I LOVE Qarth, and I am so glad I got the chance to tame her. I would have forgotten til the end of time otherwise, and definitely have been missing out!

I would love another roll.

Anouska
Level 89 (can roll 90)
Exotics: Yes
Restrictions: Nope! If I already have it, I'll review anyhow.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Malanade]

I was given the task to go and find the not-so-elusive brown cataclysm crocolisk. I thought I could just go to Uldum but I decided since I was levle 90 I should just go to the dread wastes. After waiting for someone to finish questing, I landed and began to tame one of these bad boys. I was ecstatic to see how big they were! I have never tamed a crocolisk because they did not appeal to me, but I thought perhaps this would change my mind.


Compared to the normal sized crocolisks, however, I was very disappointed at his shrinking. I decided to give him the name LilSnappy and go off on a random mob killing adventure to see how well he did, and I put him in tank spec.

He was doing relatively alright, because it wasn't fair to compare him to my baby Loque'nahak, whom I favor over all. He didn't seem to have any special abilities other than ankle biting, which I was a bit sad to see. But I couldn't really be disappointed as I was spoiled to bigger and better things.

I was however disappointed in his health by the time we managed to kill the turtle. It seemed to be a favorite finishing health level no matter what I fought. I was terrified at the thought of fighting multiple mobs.

Everything was going fine until we fought a basilisk. A harmless, gemmy basilisk.

Can it be? Did he use cower? Is he taking a nap from all the use I put him through?

No, he was indeed dead. Not one minute later after his last fight and being healed up, he was dead. And I caused it. I found his dead face to be extremely amusing, as cruel as that may be.

Cut down in his prime, LilSnappy failed in where my other pets shined. I was confused. Even after switching him to DPS, he still failed to survive.
So I took him back to tank spec and went to do a daily for the Tillers.

I don't want to talk about the horrors the goats gave us. To redeem him, I took him to help me farm. He was rather excited.

He did extremely well in fighting those evil hawks and wiggly little fiends. He is a beautiful skin, as well. I absolutely loved his eyes, especially from different directions as it gave him a derpy look.

LilSnappy was not a disappointment, but I do no think this is a magical love story and I will probably not be keeping him, as cute as he is with baby.
But I'd love to do this anyways!
Malanade
Level 90
Exotics: Yes
Restrictions: No, no restrictions this time

[TygerDarkstorm]

Maunkitten(Anouska):
Black Fox


Malanade:
Tan Spider

[Maunkitten]

I should have mine up tomorrow! Sorry for the delay, the kidlet caught a stomach flu and things have been nuts!

[TygerDarkstorm]

No worries. Hope everyone gets better soon.

[Maunkitten]

I went in a bit of a different direction this time, because when I went to find the black fox for my random pet challenge, a story kind of sprouted and I had to write it down.

First will come the story and pictures, then the technical review. ^_^

The 'bad luck fox' is what they called her. The people of Lakeshire were sick of her, and who could blame them? Chickens, pigs, backyard dogs, and even a hutch of bunnies had been made off with. Telltale black fur was left behind in place of the reddish brown fur that any true fox has, the people said. She was obviously malicious, a demon maybe. Farms that had their animals carried off were said to have horrible growing seasons afterwards, attributed to her taint on the land she hunted from. They wanted her pelt, and they were paying a small sack of silver and a moldy leather helm to anyone who could do bring her down.

Anouska smiled to herself as she headed out of Lakeshire, to where the fox purportedly roamed. She would find her alright, if she even existed at all. She'd find the 'bad luck fox' alright, but not to kill her. If she existed, she was coming home with her.


She circled the reported den for a few moments, just enough to spot unmistakable fox tracks around a large rock. Splintered bones also littered the area, a sure sign of some kind of carnivore activity.


Anouska sat with her back against the rock, which was still warm from the sun's rays, and pulled a single trout from her pack. She set this on the ground beside her, adding to it a handful of blackberries. Her previous encounters with foxes taught her that some love berries just as well as meat. She sat, still and silent, for what seemed like hours. Finally..


The fox gazed at her, snarling and showing teeth. Her feet were scarred and scabbed, as well as her ears, one of which had a chunk torn out of it. She was mangy and painfully thin. Realization dawned- she had only been stealing livestock from Lakeshire because her own food sources had grown scarce. The orcs and gnolls in the area had surely seen to that. Anouska held her breath, still waiting. Finally.. the fox came over and gazed up at her. Blue eyes met gold and held for a long moment. Then a wet nose pressed into her palm. They had bonded. Anouska couldn't help but do a little cheer.


Imagine her surprise when the fox mimicked her!


After feeding Siouxsie a few more fish, giving her a good bath, and bandaging the open wound on her ear, they were off to get to know one another better. Unfortunately, Siouxsie was still highly aggressive to other people, other animals, and even intimidating looking rocks. They would need to work on that. They headed to Gilneas to lend a hand to the Ally forces there. As expected, Siouxsie had a lot of aggression that served them well in the battle.


Until she bit the commander of the Alliance forces squarely in the tush. Then they had to book it out of there!


Clearly Siouxsie needed some anger management. Anouska thought long and hard, and suddenly the answer became clear. If anyone could help expunge negative emotions, it was.. these guys.


A day of meditation proved to be just what the doctor ordered, and near the end Siouxsie was sitting calmly and allowing the Pandaren to touch her- just a little. But it was progress, even if she wasn't thrilled.


"Hey, Siouxsie! Don't eat the nice woman's pet moth! Put down that cricket! You just ate a pile of fish!"


Well, no one said it would be an overnight fix. xD Look at that sheepish face!

The Review:
I took the fox with me to a battleground, to do some dailies, and to an anger management seminar/questing spree in the Kun-Lai Summit.
I love the fox model. The cheeks and tail are a teensy bit blocky in all skins, where they were going for fluff. I can appreciate the attempt at fluff though, so it's easy to forgive for me. Foxes have that awesome flavor ability, Play, that I just can't get enough of. However their family ability, Tailspin, is just so-so. It's entirely situational, but useful, though I love other family abilities more. As an aside, the PetEmote addon has some fantastic emotes for foxes! It just added so much more to my experience. The skin of the black fox models has piercing golden eyes, which I love. The entire skin gives off a tuxedo cat vibe and I really enjoy that. I'm at a crossroads now- do I keep Ashtail, whom I named Hyacinth? Or do I keep Siouxsie, the spunky, slightly cantankerous fox who matches Anouska's hair color so perfectly? It's a hard decision! Overall I am very glad to have tamed her, even if I am now faced with a predicament!

[TygerDarkstorm]

I love that story that came along with your fox. ^_^ Very fun to read.

[Akycha]

Ack! I totally forgot I had one! I came today to ask for one. *blushes* Well I got one there for me already. I'm going to do the report on Sekai, since I've already tamed that skin and she's one of my favs(and there is a great story behind getting her). Going to have to dig through my screen shots and see if I have an old ones of her around from when I first got her. So my report will be up in a couple days.

[TygerDarkstorm]

No worries; look forward to seeing it. ^_^

[Thorka]

Name: Thorka
Level: 30
Exotics: Can't tame them.
Restrictions: No more raptors, please! I have too many
Rares I Have: Mahamba, Takk. (These aren't unique, but they're rares! o:)

I look forwards to participating c: Good to see some recognition for the less loved pets out there.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Welcome!

Thorka:
Green and Blue Ravager


::OR, since I don't know your faction::

Brown Bat

[Ali-Cat]

Name: Azuritta
Level: 40
Exotics: Can't tame them.
Restrictions: None, at the moment
Rares I Have: Humar The Pridelord.

Can't wait to see what I get! I've only been playing WoW for a year now, and I'm still learning, so I'm wondering what else I just might learn!

[TygerDarkstorm]

Ali-Cat(Azuritta):
Red Spider


::OR::

White Striped Cat

[Thorka]

Thorka here, reporting that I tamed my pet c: I won't say what I finally decided on, as it's a surprise, but lemme just say that I do enjoy a challenge, and this little guy certainly has a story behind him!
I'm going to take him to some dungeons with me and quest, so expect my report to be up in a few days! I have to say thank you for the opportunity to try something new, as I think I found one of my new favorite pets I've gotten so far.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Awesome! I look forward to the report.

[Thorka]

The Tame

I decided upon a green and blue ravager, as it posed a challenge to me. That being, it was located on Azuremyst Isle, the draenei starting zone, and a small, isolated island that could only be reached via hitching a ride from Teldrassil. That, and I've never tamed a Ravager before. They never really caught my interest, but now that I had a reason to tame one, I wouldn't push it away. After all, they did fit my hunter's theme, she being a fan of reptiles, avians, and bugs.

I started my adventure in the lush forests of Stranglethorn, off the Grom'gol Base Camp that hugged the coast of the Vile Reef. A few friends of mine were on their way to help with my tame, as it'd prove to be a long and arduous journey all the way to Azuremyst. The least I could have was some company!
So, within the hour, my adventure began, as all good adventures do.
With a pretty kickin' group picture.



My friends, Azuritta, her wolf Aurora, Hargu my crocolisk, and Totemcowmoo were along for the ride. Totem insisted it was a fruitless task, but nevertheless, we were off in a rush, and Azu assured it was worth a shot. And, well, as you can see by the picture at the top, it certainly was.
Given the gift of waterwalking by Totem, who insisted he lead the way, we sped across the Vile Reef and into the coastline of Westfall.



It got boring.
Like, fast.
Like, really, really fast.
So, we took the opportunity to explore.
And what did we find, lurking along the dropoff point?



A shark!




Totem murdered it.
After holding silent vigil (ie; We all brbed to get food at some point.) for our slain fishy friend, it was a moment's notice before we pulled into Stormwind harbor, lurking beneath the surface for our chance to board the ship without being spotted by any wary Allies.
At one point, a little goblin on a makeshift raft even floated by us, but it was too late for me to grab a screenshot by the time he disappeared off screen.
Eventually, the ship pulled up to port.



Once in Teldrassil, we wound down a bit.

We saw the sights!



Met the locals!



Boarded the ship and almost saw Totem pee himself!



Soon, we were in Azuremyst, and might I say, it was rather breathtaking. The scenery was perfect, and I wouldn't blame the ravagers for living here. The local stags, cats, and striders seemed to adore it.
Even Hargu seemed to start growing attached to this new place!



Walking along the coastline, we came upon a crash, most notably filled with ravagers. But these ravagers weren't the ones I was looking for. No, finding a key, I came upon a mess of cages, and...



My new pet?
Breaking him out of the cage, I was greeted by a very angry, very antsy ravager, and instantly began to tame him.



Success!
I took my time to look at my new friend. He certainly wasn't a model I'd paid any attention to, but I found myself slowly becoming attached. His sharp features, coupled with the easy blend of blue and green easily grew on me, and his idle and swimming animation also wormed their way towards my heart. The sounds he made upon battle consisted of a shrill, hissing cry, and when he walked, sounds like those of a spider followed his every step.
I decided to name him...
Dranosh - Orcish, meaning Heart of Draneor.
We celebrated our victory with an RP, the next day marking the time I would put my new pet to the test.



Woohoo! Go team Kidnap-Totem-To-Raid-Stormwind-And-Capture-A-Pet!

Battling

I quickly learned one issue with my newfound friend.
There were some issues with holding aggro.
So, I specced him as tenacity and tried to test out how good he'd end up performing.
Needless to say, I still generated a good deal of aggro, and I found myself favoring my crocolisk after awhile. But, I figured it was an issue of favoritism, rather than actually judging Dranosh. After all, Hargu is nearly always on my active roster, and she's been a long favorite of mine ever since I was able to tame her.
So, queuing up for a dungeon, we lied in wait while I leveled up my skinning in anticipation.



Alas! We got Scarlet Monastery, and not having done the new update, pounced on the chance to best this new challenge.
Dranosh was... okay. He died once, and I had to revive him, which rarely happens with my croc. Still, he managed to pull me through the dungeon with relatively little aggro, and I was thankful for that. However, with questing, this seemed to be less of the case, as it

So, final verdict?

Overview
I love this pet, really. I'm just not sure if he would be something I'd go for, given normal circumstances. However, I'm pretty sure Dranosh will find a happy home in my stables. I just can't see myself giving this little bugger up.

Model: Loving it. Ravagers look awesome, I can't deny that, and Dranosh is no exception. I especially love his spines and jaws. 8/10
Skin: Spot on. The color fade from blue to green works very well on this model, and gives him a cool tone compared to the other, more sticking-out red ravagers in the area. 7/10
Animations: Definitely my favorite part of this pet. His little spin midair when he attacks is simply fantastic, and definitely adds a lot of personality to him. His swimming animation is to bunch his legs up and kick out in the water, which I quickly found endearing. His idle though, is probably my favorite. The ravager swings his head from side to side, quivering with his spines on end erratically in a very buggish manner, on the lookout for danger. This model has aged well, imo, and is certainly one of my cooler looking pets. 9/10
Sound effects: Not much to say here. I've only heard Dranosh make two noises, that being the squishy, strange noise that comes with spiders walking, and a shrill, clattering hiss upon being sent into battle. 6/10
Food requirements: Simple meat. Not much to say, though the availability of it is certainly a plus. 7/10
Tanking ability: Meh. 5/10
DPS output: Good for his level. I'm pretty dumb with DPS meters, and mine wouldn't work, so I can't say for sure how good he is, but he gets the job done and gets it done fast, so I'm a fan. 7/10
Pet family abilities: Ravage. It's okay, it allows the target to get 4% more physical damage for 25 seconds. Can't say how well it's affected fighting at this point.5/10

Overall Verdict - 7/10

Glad I got to try this out, definitely would again! I'm going to end up keeping this lil' bugger, if not for the sake of becoming attached. I even found a personality for him! Dranosh, my skittery little ravager, is happy and loyal to be out of his cage back on Azuremyst. Now, if I could only get him from running away and moving around, that would be the day I reach level 90. *snrk*

- Thorka

[Raziella]

I can never resist wanting to do at least one of these pet challenges on a hunter.

Name: Thorda (dwarf)
Level: Any pet at or below 20
Exotics: Can't
Restrictions: None

[Bhadra]

Haven't found the perfect pre-exotic pet for my hunter, so want to give this a shot.

Name: Naeira
Level: Anything around level 30 or under is good
Exotics: No
Restrictions: No Cats, Foxes, Crabs

[Eternallylostx]

Agh. I haven't been here or thought about the roll in forever x_x;

If you don't mind, giving me a new one? I'll try to get the old one when I'm totally bored and say "I should do this".

Name: Lasgif
Level:90
Exotics: Yeah
Restrictions: No dogs or insect-like things. I'll go after rares.