Tracking and flaring hidden pets - the verdict?

[Quiv]

While 4.2 introduced the concept of challenge tames, MoP took it in a new direction with the hidden pets you have to track and flare.

We ended up with 9 that acted pretty much the exact same way, set courses and tracks. A 10, Bombyx, added a twist to the concept with seemingly random wandering paths.

Now that the expansion is nearing its end, what is your verdict on this new tracking/flaring twist on the challenging tames?

My personal verdict: I like the direction they are going in, it means they are thinking outside the box. I didn't care for the implementation, it seemed a bit basic in my opinion, but a great direction. I would like to see some more intricate and thought out tracking mechanic that is more rewarding. Overall, though, I loved it and hope they keep moving in this direction.

Edit: I didn't include the spirit porcupines since their challenge was similar in model to the 4.2 challenge tames. Tracking and flaring tames was a whole new direction.

[Vephriel]

I'm really fond of the new taming methods and hope that the ideas continue to expand. I basically agree with everything you said, in that they did become a bit repetitive after a while, but I'm still glad that they came up with them and seem to be going in that direction.

[Lisaara]

I hope they do more. I love the short respawns, I love actually 'hunting' for my pet rather than waiting for NPCScan and hoping to not get griefed.

[Nevish]

I'm really fond of the new taming methods and hope that the ideas continue to expand. I basically agree with everything you said, in that they did become a bit repetitive after a while, but I'm still glad that they came up with them and seem to be going in that direction.

Agreed. It's a good system that can be expanded upon in numerous ways that removes the grinding element while keeping the thrill and convenience of not having to camp for 12+ hours.

[Quiv]

I just realized I totally put this in the wrong forum. Meant to be Pet Discussion. -_- oh well

[Lisaara]

I just realized I totally put this in the wrong forum. Meant to be Pet Discussion. -_- oh well

I reported the topic to Wain. He can move it.

[Malackai]

I'm really fond of the new taming methods and hope that the ideas continue to expand. I basically agree with everything you said, in that they did become a bit repetitive after a while, but I'm still glad that they came up with them and seem to be going in that direction.

Agreed. It's a good system that can be expanded upon in numerous ways that removes the grinding element while keeping the thrill and convenience of not having to camp for 12+ hours.

idd
How about that rare spawning mechanic they are using on the new island now (the one with the fish gorged crane or the empty shell)? I would like to have that kind of new tracking for new beast.

But instead of it being in plain sight you find those little tibits in more secluded areas or even hidden areas. Or perhaps more in plain sight hints that send you of to a more secluded area and there you find new hints to start tracking etc.

[Myrrmi]

I love the tracking system. It brings out what the hunters are about, and it prevents griefing. I hope they'll make more in next expac.

As for the new fancy spawning mechanism - I like it, too, although I with it was just a bit more complicated. And the summoned pet should be unique, just as the tracking spawns were.

[Equeon]

I personally am really wishing for a true challenge pet- one that you have to track down via flaring, but also with a trick mechanic once you've found it.

[ligewolf]

Overall, its awesome we as hunters get pets "all to ourselves" since unless we flare them and mark them out, no other class can camp them and kill them just to get a kick out of it like it was back in wrath. Since cata, we have had various taming challenges. Personally i think the could vary the challenges i bit more. However, i didnt like the spawn timer on the mop "rares". They weren't rare at all, they were up all the time and that made it lose some prestige to taming one.
Dear Blizz, we as hunters, do not like being hand fed when it comes to farming rare pets.

Love the challenges, hate the quick spawn timer.

[Makoes]

Personally I love the track rares, I love how only hunters could find their tracks, and flare them out. The only thing I would have liked is for the rares to actually do something when the hunter flares/attacks or starts taming them. Having them just keep walking along like nothing was happening always seemed a bit off to me.

Would be cool if they implemented more things to track like this but added a twist where when you "flare" it out, it runs off and you have to chase it and keep flaring it out and it has a debuff where you have to exhaust it, by flaring it out X many times before its tired enough for you to tame. So first you track it, then you hunt it, then you tame it.

[Nevish]

I'm really fond of the new taming methods and hope that the ideas continue to expand. I basically agree with everything you said, in that they did become a bit repetitive after a while, but I'm still glad that they came up with them and seem to be going in that direction.

Agreed. It's a good system that can be expanded upon in numerous ways that removes the grinding element while keeping the thrill and convenience of not having to camp for 12+ hours.

idd
How about that rare spawning mechanic they are using on the new island now (the one with the fish gorged crane or the empty shell)? I would like to have that kind of new tracking for new beast.

But instead of it being in plain sight you find those little tibits in more secluded areas or even hidden areas. Or perhaps more in plain sight hints that send you of to a more secluded area and there you find new hints to start tracking etc.

Actually really dig this. I'm a sucker for world exploration, and it'd be awesome if there could be random bits of the zone map that just look like empty groves or caves, but hunters would be able to find tracks or signs that something is living in there. Kind of like the Hidden Groves from Pokemon Black 2 and White 2.

[Quiv]

I would love the idea of a more indepth and challenging tracking/clues based tame. However, Rolo's Riddle on the PTR (a quest that involves you look for clues using hints) prove that just about anything will be broken down on wowhead or youtube. With the current tracking system, you know the path of the mob but have to take the effort to get out and look and flare. Bombyx added a nice unpredictable element but that become less about actual tracking and more about flare on CD and hope you get lucky.

If they could do a way that couldn't be so easily broken down on wowhead/youtube and still be indepth and challenging.. im all for it.

Or maybe a hunter/hunter pet version of the green fire quest chain

[Sar]

Loved the initial rare tracking methodology. Not so much Bombyx, it was a bit of a pain. Liked the Spirit beast taming implementation as well, even if Degu was a pain in the arse, the other two were one shot tames

[Dewclaw]

Love the idea, but I suck at it.

[Koru#2654]

I personally love the idea. I defiantly think they should add more.

[Ana]

i HATE rares that wanders around over a huge area... its oki if they hidden and can be seen by flare but tracking a mob through a zone? no thanks.... i had such grief with my white tiger....

[Lycanthea]

I loved the idea but the implementation left a bit to be desired:

1) It was too easy to camp a point along the path and not actually have to do any tracking at all. If the path wasn't fixed and was random - with the rare being able to change direction randomly and wander all over the zone rather than follow a path - it wouldn't be possible to camp and would force hunters to actually do the tracking. I'd like to see this in future.

2) Once you had flared and marked, there was no further challenge - not even a knockback or interrupt or something to make it harder to actually tame it... I would like to see some kind of challenge / tactics required to tame these once they're found.

It would also be awesome if there was a super hard to find & tame rare like this that would track over a whole CONTINENT


As some others have already mentioned, I'd also really like to see mobs that spawn with a zone event (like weather, fishing competitions etc) and some that spawn at certain times of day / month / year (e.g seasonal events like brewfest - a tameable brewfest ram would be awesome btw).

Also, about the challenge tames in Cata and MoP - they're too easy... I think the main reason hunters love finding mobs you aren't supposed to tame and using "creative use of game mechanics" to tame them is because its such a challenge... its hard to accomplish and takes multiple attempts to get it right (I'm thinking the white worgen back in wrath, the burning boar kill/revive tame and the ghostly blue summoned arakkoa kill/revive tame in particular). Blizz has tried to give us something legit to replace those (thanks Blizzard! ) but they've made them too easy. I get that there are younger players and all... but perhaps they can make challenge tames of varying difficulty from quite easy all the way up to insanely hard?

[HunterFTW]

Personally I love the track rares, I love how only hunters could find their tracks, and flare them out. The only thing I would have liked is for the rares to actually do something when the hunter flares/attacks or starts taming them. Having them just keep walking along like nothing was happening always seemed a bit off to me.

Would be cool if they implemented more things to track like this but added a twist where when you "flare" it out, it runs off and you have to chase it and keep flaring it out and it has a debuff where you have to exhaust it, by flaring it out X many times before its tired enough for you to tame. So first you track it, then you hunt it, then you tame it.

as i read this idea for an added tame method i was like "Blizz hire this guy"

as for the topic i loved it even though the pink crane made my eye hurt abit.i felt more like a hunter instead of a camper.but like others have said in IRL when an animal is revealed they don't just keep doing there thing they ether attack or they flee.and with bad guys in movies when you expose there plans they try to kill the person that runed there plans before they try to still go through with the idea.so maybe for the prediter like pets like a wolf they can attack you are they call for there pack to attack you and for a pet like turtle they can hide in there shell and you have to nock the shell around till they come out or use the camo to hide for abit till they come out.OR use our own pets to track them down like with IRL hunters they use there pets to track down the creature they are hunting.

[Xota]

I thought it was too trivial to find / tame the pet. It felt anticlimatic to tame whatever the name of the quilon was. Taming King Krush was a lot more thrilling, stacking haste out the wazoo, having a sacrifice pet to break fear and then abandon. My adrenaline was actually pumping.

I think the spawn rate needs to be rarish, but not super rare. I liked the cataclysm model, where it wasn't impossible to run across a rare spawn, but they weren't constantly up. Part of that does include non-hunters being able to find and kill them. I know that leads to frustration, but its a good way to control rarity. You don't have to camp out for weeks at a time, trying to guess what 2-3 times a week the desired rare spawn is up for 3 minutes before being killed, but the desired rare spawn isn't 90% guaranteed to be available whenever you get around to taming it.