Random Pet Challenge [v4.0]

[TygerDarkstorm]

Apologies; didn't see your roll Fin. >_<

I'm bad and being lazy about reporting my shale spider. xD

Finduilas(Rhanya):
Purple Fire Spider


::OR::

Red and Purple Ravager

[Finduilas]

No problem Tyger. But I think I can only hand in my report next weekend. I have to go back to work next week.

[TygerDarkstorm]

No worries; take your time.

[Zhui]

Wow, so it's been quite a while since I got my roll of black fox. My little hunter Carasyn is now a worgen named Meryanne and she's now 71.


When I started out yesterday morning, Mery was only 68 and had just been transferred from an inactive account. I needed to get to to 71 so I could level with my boyfriend's warlock, and decided that I needed a new companion to start off my Northrend journey. I was browsing the forums here on Petopia and remembered the pet challenge, so I went looking for my last roll to see if that was a possibility. I could have gone with the ghostly worg, but I didn't have any northern EK flight points and was eager to start leveling.

So, I headed to Redridge to grab one of the black foxes there.




I really love the fox model. I keep forgetting that I do and never seem able to keep one in my stables. I particularly like the colors of the black fox. He's really more grey than black, with a lovely gradient from ears to tail. I almost named him Socks, but I feel that's a better name for a pet with white feet. I decided to head to Howling Fjord to see if a better name would come to me.



He has a very smooth, loping run and looks natural beside my worgen.








I'm still not very good at taking combat screenies. Also, things died really fast, even though I was only auto-attacking. I did manage to grab some amusing shots though. This little guy is clearly not afraid to take on bigger foes than he. I decided at this point to call him Misery, since he clearly enjoyed bringing misery to his enemies. He looks so happy doing it too!I love the little yipping/growling sounds he makes when he attacks.




He's a natural in the water, swimming effortlessly beside me with his little doggy paddle.




And of course, what's a post about foxes without having a shot of them doing their trick. I particularly like the one where his expression is like the jack-o-lantern.



Speaking of expressions...

All in all, Misery will definitely be a keeper for Meryanne. He'll be her companion throughout Northrend.

I'd like to try again, this time with my draenei hunter. Her stable is sadly fairly empty.
Name: Emaarae
Level: 90
Exotics: yes
Restrictions: No spirit beasts

[TygerDarkstorm]

Zhui(Emaarae):
Ghostly Tan Bat

[TygerDarkstorm]

Ugh, this is so overdue and I'm so lazy. xD
I've had a lot of this done for a while, I've just been too lazy to make the report. I am missing screens for running and swimming but if I don't post this now I probably never will.

So I took Kat to the Jade Forest to tame one of the green shale spiders there because ugh getting Jadefang is kind of a pain and I'm pretty sure I can't do the daily to get up to her spot anyway. Anywho, this is Alyss.


After taming she actually grew in size which made me happy as I don't like super tiny pets.

(Right one is the wild one.)

I've never had the green shale spider before but I fell in love with Alyss despite her not matching my Gronnstalker armor. Most of Kat's stables look to be based around that armor, which is I think one of the reasons I want to overhaul her pets. Anyway, green shale spider. Now, these guys are kind of weird because they set an odd sort of precedent. Shale spiders don't look alive in the least bit, even the noises they make are very reminiscent of rocks grating against each other (it's also very high pitched and can be irritating for a lot of people). So if these guys are just a bunch of rocks and crystals brought to life and hunters can tame them, what's stopping things like gyreworms from being considered "alive enough to tame?"

But I digress. I am also missing shots showing off Alyss' carapace, but suffice it to say, being a newer model, that she looks very clean and sleek and I like the glowy crystals that the shale spiders get. Somehow these rocky little guys end up being pretty freaking adorable. I'm not sure how since they can't really show emotion, but they're cute and I'm glad they don't seem like they're using the crab animations anymore.


Combat animations are nothing special. They lunge and "bite" and I imagine being hit by a rock probably hurts pretty bad. Being made of rocks also defaults them into the tenacity category (though you can manually change this by pressing the n key and going to the pet tab). They make pretty solid soloing pets, especially now that they have this!

Why yes, that is the big yellow turtle/beetle dome. While keeping their 5% stats buff, shale spiders have lost their 2sec stun and had it replaced with the 50% reduced damage bubble. PvE players rejoice, PvP players cry a little. I feel like this new patch has tried to steer hunters away from having nifty PvP pets. Having more buffs is good, but at the cost of PvP utility... I'm not so sure. Also, we already had 2 soloing pets, granted neither was an exotic so I can kind of see why they changed it. I'm a little on the fence about the change, however, I'm not a PvPer so I was actually pretty excited to have Alyss by my side helping me knock out some of those pretty tough (for me anyway) elites on Timeless Isle as I work towards getting enough currency jiggers for a new bow.

All in all I believe I plan on keeping Alyss over my current orange shale spider as I really like her soft silver and green colors and she makes for a great soloing pet, especially since I don't always get along with turtles and beetles.

[Zhui]

Emaarae, my draenei hunter, got ghostly tan bat. Since the only one is in Tirisfal Glades, I hopped a taxi to Western Plaguelands and then flew the rest of the way. Fangor was rather easy to find.



The tame went off without a hitch, though I wasn't quite quick enough to catch it a good shot of it. He seemed a little lonely hanging out there, as if the other bats didn't want anything to do with him. I decided to keep his name as Fangor, since I thought it fit him pretty well.





In Tirisfal, the bat looked almost solid. However, once I got him into a well lit area, it was very easy to tell he was a ghostly apparition. I think that helps with some of the problems with the bat model. It's harder to see some of the weird stuff going on. He's actually pretty big which surprised me. It was hard to get a good shot of his wing-span.








I don't really play Emaarae much except to do a bit of old instance farming, and everything dies so fast there was no chance to see what Fangor was capable of there, so I decided to go do the blasted lands quests. Fangor's special attack which I can't remember the name of, sonic pulse I think, gives a 5% multistrike buff. His attacks are kind of boring. He flies in and bites, and sometimes does something where he hits the enemy with his feet. He kept agro very well, and I was able to take on multiple mobs no problem, even with his spec defaulted to cunning.



After I turned in the quest and got the invasion achievement, I took Fangor for a swim in the lake behind the keep. His swimming animation is the same as his flying animation, nothing special there.

All in all he's a very solid pet. However, I was unable to bond with him, so I won't be keeping him on Emaarae. I'm planning on making an undead hunter, eventually, just to pick up all the undead and rotting pets, so maybe he'll find a place in her stable.




I'd like to try again.
Name: Emaarae
Level: 90
Exotics: yes
Restrictions: No spirit beasts

[TygerDarkstorm]

Zhui(Emaarae):
Blue w/Purple Deep Sea Crab

[Zhui]

I got the blue with purple deep sea crab. I tamed this little guy last week, but hurt my foot right after and wasn't able to log on to WoW for a bit. When I did, I totally forgot to get any combat shots, even though I specifically took him to Timeless Isle for that purpose. Also, I never got Emaarae her weapon from there, and it matches her transmog perfectly. I -did- get plenty of shots while in Vash'jir and of how the crab looks when in very bright light at the shrine. I've also decided to try writing this as an rp, to try and get my creative juices flowing again.

I was feeding my animal companions in their stables when I got the call. It was, at first, a slight buzzing in the back of my mind. I ignored it, thinking it was simply my head aching from the weariness of a long day. However, when I tried to sleep, the buzzing grew more insistent and I knew what it was. Somewhere, a creature was in need. It did not happen often. In fact, only three other times that I can recall throughout my two hundred years of life. Only one of those creatures still remained with me, but all had been life-long companions, for their length of life.

So, I set out, letting the feeling direct me. At first, I was confused. I found myself on a very small island, one that was in contention between the Horde and Alliance. I was close, and yet very far away. It took me longer than it should have to realize that where I needed to go was underwater. And then, I had to backtrack, for I had no way of doing so safely.

Finally, after finding a member of the Earthen Ring who had remained behind to study the undersea area of Vashj'ir, I was able to make my way.

I found myself falling in love as I let the seahorse take me through the kelp forests. It was so beautiful, I often had to stop, just to look around.



Even once I went deeper, towards the Abyssal Depths, the phosphorous lights of all the creatures made for a surreal beauty. And the giant creatures. One, I could tell was dead. I paused to mourn before the buzzing directed me somewhere beneath where the shell of the beast sat.


There were so many wondrous creatures swimming and scuttling about the sea floor and around me. I was in awe, as always, at the diversity of life in the universe, even on one small planet. A sound cut through my wonder, and I saw what had been calling me. One of the spiky crabs had one of its claws caught beneath a glowing rock and two odd murlocs were stabbing at it with tridents. I quickly dispatched the murlocs and removed the rocks. The crab, resilient as it was, scuttled out of the way, then sat watching me.

I went about trying to gain its trust. Like the others, this beast was surely meant to be a companion.





The crab was quick to accept my offers of food and settled contentedly by my side.


After making certain he was uninjured, I invited him to swim with me back to the surface. He agreed and swam with an eagerness beside me. His claws and legs aided in his efforts, and he was like a bullet in the water. I wondered if he would be so quick on the land.


While swimming and enjoying the sensation and the view, large shadows passed over us. I glanced up to see giant eels undulating through the water. I hoped they would ignore us, and kept swimming.



Just as we reached open water, one of the beasts attacked! Together, the crab and I fended it off.



Finally, we found our way out of the depths. I took the crab with me back to the Shrine in Pandaria where my temporary home was to get a better look at him outside his natural habitat.

He was just as beautiful outside of the water as in his habitat. Dark and light blues with purple shadows made up his carapace, and lines of phosphorous pink down his claws and back made him pop out of his surroundings. The spikes on his abdomen made him look dangerous. I decided to name him Phosphor, since he glowed so much.







I hope that Phosphor will continue to grow and aid me in my journeys.

[TygerDarkstorm]

That crab is gorgeous! And he looks great with your hunter.

[biscitandchina]

Name: Biscit
Level: 90
Exotics: yes
Restrictions:no spirit beasts or spiders

im looking for one to take to draenor

[TygerDarkstorm]

Biscitandchina(Biscit):
Brown Goat

[Zhui]

That crab is gorgeous! And he looks great with your hunter.

Yes! I fell in love with this crab model back on my first hunter when I leveled through Cataclysm. Grabbed one of the blue ones in Theramore, and he was her companion all the way up until Northrend, when she got a rhino. I was super surprised with how good this one looked with my draenei too. I thought he might be a bit too dark a blue (though I'd still end up keeping him), but no, he's just the right color to be an accent.


Anyway, I would like another, for my human main hunter.

Name: Lorinela
Level: 90
Exotics: yes
Restrictions:no spirit beasts

[TygerDarkstorm]

Zhui(Lorinela):
Light Grey Bone Spider

[Nyshandra]

Name: Khelynn
Level: 48
Exotics: no
Restrictions: She's a low level Dwarf, so I'd prefer something Alliance-safe
Rares I Have: none

[TygerDarkstorm]

Nyshandra(Khelynn):
Yellow Hyena

[Nyshandra]

I was tasked with taming a yellow hyena. Seeing that they were mostly found in The Northern Barrens and Dire Maul, I headed out from my current home of Tanaris.

After a long trek through sand, sand, flood, flood, flood, and forest, I arrived outside of Dire Maul.

I found a good candidate after only a few minutes of looking around.

A little bit of coaxing (and a little bit of freezing) had the hyena running to my side.



We took a few minutes to get to know each other, not sure what we thought of this new friendship.

It was time to head back to Tanaris. Along the way we took a brief swim in the waters of Thousand Needles. I was impressed to find hyena's handle water well with a smooth doggy-paddle.

Resurfacing found us face to face with a turtle, so I decided to see what the hyena could do. A few growls and snarls had the turtle's full focus on the hyena.

We continued on our way back to Tanaris. Though we arrived in a small sandstorm, there were still several silithid to be dealt with.


The hyena quickly tore through anything I sent him after and seemed completely unphased by getting stung by one poisonous silithid.

At this point it was time to set camp for the day. I took one more good look at my new companion, then retreated to camp.




I was a bit skeptical of this one at first, I'm not usually a huge fan of the hyena, but it turned out that it matched my new hunter fairly well. When tamed, the hyena is (by default) a ferocious pet with a bite attack and a haste group buff. It does make a soft howl when it buffs, but it's pretty quiet and I didn't even hear it the first couple times I hit the button. It also has the snarl-y battle sound that is typical of hyenas when fighting. It doesn't seem to have any other sounds. The model is quite old at this point, and it shows in a few sharp corners on the belly and knees. It has surprisingly smooth animations though, including a doggy-paddle swim and a ground sniffing idle animation.

Overall, while perhaps not the most exciting pet out there, I think it's a decent choice to keep around if you ever need a haste buff.

[Rhyela]

Now that Rhyela has hit level 100 and has some stable space, I think I'd like to try this! (I also do not have a job atm, which makes it a bit easier.....)

Name: Rhyela
Level: 100
Exotics: No
Restrictions: Too many - wolves and cats / Dislike model - raptors and ravagers (pre-WoD)
(I hope that isn't too terribly restrictive!)
Thank you in advance!

[Britty]

This seems quite interesting! I was originally going to do this on my main, but I realized she had way too many pet families that I would "restrict" because I have bonded quite well with one pet in that particular family, and would be doomed to fail. My second hunter I don't quite have feel for yet, so I'm hoping this will let me bond with some pets I may not have otherwise considered for her.

Name: Brittania
Level: 92 (feel free to do up to level 100 tames- just means it might take longer for the report)
Exotics: Sure.
Restrictions: Nothing diseased or undead, No Monkeys, No Gorillas.
Rares I Have: Terropene, Loque'nahak, Aotona, King Krush, Olm the Wise, Pogeyan, and Mahamba
Rares I have on my main:(can't do the challenge on her, but reports for these are just as fine!) Loque'nahak, Quall, Karkin, Deth'tilac, Prince Lakma, Mazzranache, Terropene, Savage, Skarr, Sambas, Ghostcrawler, Ban'thalos, Magria, Karoma, Skoll, Portent (Red, Blue, Purple), Amaukwa. Lazily working on:Gondria, Ankha, Portent (green)

Thanks in advanced

[TygerDarkstorm]

Rhyela:
Green Chimera


Britty(Brittania):
Blue Cataclysm Crocolisk