Dragon Companions?

[Acherontia]

I dunno how many of you fellow Petopians are following the official Blizzard Cataclysm pet threads, but apparently a LOT of people are requesting dragon pets.

I don't know about you guys, I mean I know dragons are intelligent/sentient, but I've always dreamed of a proper black drake pet. Rawr!

Most of the "GIEF DRAGONS" posts in both the EU and US threads added things like "but BM only" or "special quests" or "level requirement," even rep requirement, to make dragon companions special rather than run-of-the-mill pets.

I made a full post on the topic on the EU forums, if anyone wants to copy it over to US or quote it about they're welcome to, but the ideas I think might be cool are here:

Official Forum Linky

Basically I liked the idea that they would be intelligent companions, and that you'd have to do quest chains for the dragonflights to unlock them--and that they would possibly come with premade names!

What do you folks think? Dragons or no dragons? If you want dragons, would you want them to be special pets, spec-specific, requiring rep, or needing long chains or a minimum level? I personally miss long & epic quest chains in WoW, but that's another story for another day

~Acherontia

[Rhyela]

I personally wouldn't want one. It just...wouldn't feel right to me, I don't know why. I guess just the thought of having a dragon do my bidding doesn't sit well with me. Regardless of how you end up taming them, or how they end up becoming your pet/companion, the fact remains that after taming, they'd still follow you around and mindlessly do whatever you command, just like any other pet. I just think they're too special for that.

Maybe I'm weird.

[Chrizesu]

The reason dragons aren't tameable is actually due to lore.

[Teigan]

I do find it somewhat inconsistent that we ride them into the ground as mounts, but they aren't tameable. Kinda like skinnable worgen. Does not compute.

[Kryte]

I personally wouldn't want one. It just...wouldn't feel right to me, I don't know why. I guess just the thought of having a dragon do my bidding doesn't sit well with me. Regardless of how you end up taming them, or how they end up becoming your pet/companion, the fact remains that after taming, they'd still follow you around and mindlessly do whatever you command, just like any other pet. I just think they're too special for that.

Maybe I'm weird.

No, I totally agree with you. I understand the desire to have a cool pet, but there's something very discomforting about trying to tame a dragon (or, for that matter, a worgen). And I feel it diminishes them as characters outside of their role as hunter companions. Hunters specifically tame beasts... it should stay that way.

The idea of long and involved hunter quests, to get a special bow or a pet or whatever, though, is something I can get behind and would actually love. Just... not for something like a dragon.

[Ryno]

First, dragon minipets.

TOMORROW, GNOMES!!

/throws a look at Father Winter's Helper Pets

...crap.

[Saturo]

First, dragon minipets.

TOMORROW, GNOMES!!

/throws a look at Father Winter's Helper Pets

...crap.

-.0

[Acherontia]

The idea of long and involved hunter quests, to get a special bow or a pet or whatever, though, is something I can get behind and would actually love. Just... not for something like a dragon.

Definitely. It would add a feeling of EPICness to something that's now just bland, that we're having to inject our own personalities into via backstories and rare tames. I think half the reason we camp rare spawns, tames etc is because most pets just don't feel special; it's all so run-of-the-mill.

If individual tames were much harder or more memorable somehow--like tracking down a tameable individual in a sea of untameable versions of that mob, or having that one rare color actually avoid you--it would be awesome. Or if stats did vary by animal, with rares having good to great stats of course (so people camping rares weren't disappointed) and the better-statted mobs being larger or slightly unusual looking.

This and pet personalities, or interaction, would add a whole new dimension to hunters and their relationship with their pets. Yeah, I know it's only ONE class in WoW, and it doesn't actually affect mechanics as such.

But imagine starting the game and having your first pets growling irritably or wagging their tails at you when you feed them, etc. And then getting a quest chain at 80 to go back to your hometown, where animal x. has been spotted?

"Acherontia, they say the white-faced bear is a Spirit Bear, and has come to bring wisdom from the Tauren ancestors. Go and contact it, and see what it wants..."

Anyway RE the dragons, I know why they aren't tameable, but Blizz is dumping lore out the window anyway : / I just always pictured a black drake as a very cool companion. I'll have to mock up a screenshot later for lols

[Tyuriwen]

I for one have always looked up at dragons as a superior race, so it wouldn't feel right to me to have one as a pet. I know we have whelplings as companion pets, and drakes as mounts, but I can't see myself ordering around a dragon. A DRAGON. >.< As Kryte said, we're Hunters, who tame Beasts to do our bidding. I'd never put dragons on the same level as wolves or birds, regardless of the intellect some species might possess.

I usually see the drakes we ride as equal to the races that ride them, especially the Red/Bronze/Nether drakes, as we did favours for their races, we can be accompanied by them into battle. The same doesn't really go for the other drakes, but that's just the way I see it.

[Acherontia]

Interestingly too, on that note (dragon mounts) is the Draenei quest on I think Bloodmyst.

Now, I'm a Horde primarily so I could have this wrong, but the gist of the quest from what I remember reading goes like this:

The green dragonflight allowed some night elf fighters to ride them into battle because of some favors done for them or some such. The black dragonflight was infuriated by this, and sent a black dragon to kill not only the elves but the green dragons as well.

So some of them aren't even particularly happy about being mounts, I think!

[Suicune]

I can see a long quest after a rep grind for a Drake to be summoned, NOT tamed, and as someone mentioned, with a pre-set name, similar to Warlock Demons. Only reason being, as someone else mentioned lol- is the mounts we have, and not Protos- I mean Netherdrakes in particular, as they speak to you directly as you pick your color in Shatt. The drake would be a summon, like a special spell where a drake of the AI variety would be spawned to assist with an attack for a set amount of time, possibly needing a reagent to call it. Heck, it could even be a 'bond' placed on your character with a drake that worked as a proc, where said drake would swoop in at random times- I like that idea! It wouldn't be slavery, nor would it be making it do your bidding, it would be simply assisting you in it's own way. Not sure how it can be added in smoothly, but that's my take in it. I love Dragons in all shapes and forms, and would fancy having a buddy to assist me by scorching enemies booties, of their own accord.

Bleh, I'm a little out of it since I just woke up a little bit ago from a weird dream/nightmare O_O;;
This would be better explained and all that if I was more coherent. /sigh

[Kurapika]

I'm honestly really torn on this one. On the one hand, I think it would by lovely to be able to tame a dragon as a pet. Whether the dragon would be and "ordinary" pet, or a special summon like Suicune described would be awesome!

On the other hand, they are fully sentient beings, and having one as a pet would be too close to slavery. Now, I do not in any way consider the hunter-pet bond as such, but I'm not sure if I can describe it better than that.

Hmm, maybe a new hero class could be formed. A group of people who having served with the flights for a long time, are partnered with a young drake with the idea of them both getting stronger and learning from one another. Not sure if the game mechanics of that would work though.

[Tyuriwen]

Hmm, maybe a new hero class could be formed. A group of people who having served with the flights for a long time, are partnered with a young drake with the idea of them both getting stronger and learning from one another. Not sure if the game mechanics of that would work though.

Sounds very Dragon-rider-esque! You start off with a baby dragon as you level, and it grows as you grow in level,developing a bond...still, I feel that's more for a mount, rather than a pet. =) Like the Horde raptor, for example! Taking care of it till it grows into your faithful mount. <3

[Sarayana]

I do find it somewhat inconsistent that we ride them into the ground as mounts, but they aren't tameable. Kinda like skinnable worgen. Does not compute.

I'm assuming they will be fixing this in Cata...

As for dragons being pets, it really doesn't suit the hunter class. We form a bond with beasts, not dragons. It's just not who we are. Now if there was to be a hero class, as someone mentioned, and they made it along the lines of the white lion in uhm... Warhammer? - then that'd work for me. You know, lifelong bond and all that. But as it is, with dragons steeped in WoW lore as they are, I'm very opposed to having them be tameable.

[Razzy]

No. They are beasts*, but they're superior beasts. It's why Wyverns, Gryphons, and Hippogriffs should never be tamable as well. They're superior to the common animal.

*giant lizards that can has a magickz and fly.

[Sarayana]

No. They are beasts

Alexstrasza disagrees with you.

Edit: Not to mention, if they were beasts that just weren't tameable, Blizz would have categorised them as such. As it is, they have their own categorisation. Not beasts. And definitely not hunter beasts.

[Razzy]

Alexstrasza disagrees with you.

Oh, you know what I mean. xD

[Bulletdance]

What about Sprite Darters? I think they'd make fine pets.

[Dakonic]

I don't want an actual dragon I want a brand knew species that looks like a dragon minus the wings and more spikes. I know we have warpstalkers they just resemble mutated lizards that waddle. I wan't a dragon-like creature that has a more cat-like gait.

[Sarayana]

Alexstrasza disagrees with you.

Oh, you know what I mean. xD

;P