Poll: What Do You Value Most In A Pet?

[Acherontia]

Pretty self-explanatory I'm just curious. All other things being equal--if all pets could do any job equally well, and had the same family skills, etc...

Do you value pet appearance & beauty most? Obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but do you admire a pet most for the way it moves & looks? Maybe what the appearance makes you think of--a scorpid that brings to mind a scorching desert sunset, or a wolf that looks like a dark storm?

Do you value a pet more if it is hard to find? Rare, a difficult camp or tame, challenging and so forth--even if the skin is common?

Or do you find the unusual skins more appealing? Even if the mob is only a quest mob and not even a rare--but is hardly seen tamed, and eye-catching?

Or do you like the personality of a pet--the whole package? The way it moves, attacks, wiggles around, its overall appearance and what it reminds you of, and the sounds it makes, despite how rare or common a beast?


*****


Personally I'm a combination of things, I love rare pets, rare skins, eye-catching beasts and difficult tames--I think we all do. But I love a pet's personality most of all; if a pet strikes me and I find that I utterly adore it, I'll keep it!

[Saturo]

I like my ghostwolf partly because he's so rare, but it's appearance is what sells me. Same for my hive queen and silithid.

[Azunara]

I chose rare pets, because that's what everyone in my stable is: A rare or hard to get pet. With Rak'shiri, I could've opted Sian-Rotam, but I chose Rak. My Shatter Hands wolf you'd have to go into an instance for. Krush is pretty self explanatory. As well, both Aotona and Silithid Ravager are hard to get.

BUT. I also chose them because they look neat. I would've gone Krush over Mosh, because I like Krush's skin, not Mosh's. And of course, my pets stay because they were a challenge to get. A personal accomplishment. That's what makes me choose and keep 'em. They were challenges, they all have a story of taming.

[Kurapika]

Personality, then appearance, then utility. At least with the pets in my stable. If I was to go out and tame something new, my choice would be based mostly on appearance and then utility. If the new pet doesn't have much of a personality, I find I don't use them much.

May be why I never clicked with my rhino.

[Teigan]

I often put personality and appearance above utility. Hence, Gryselde's owls. I don't PvP and their family ability is nearly useless in PvE. But, I love em!

[Kamalia]

I'd have to say a mixture of appearance and personality. The looks are what I go for, but good animations are the icing on the cake. But I also have a difficult time playing a pet if I find something odd about their animations, no matter how lovely their skin is. Pretty much why I'm so disappointed with the worg model... so many lovely skins, but they look like they're limping when they run...

[Rhyela]

I chose personality most because that's what keeps a pet in my stable. While a lovely appearance, rarity, and uniqueness are what draws me to something initially, if it doesn't have a personality I enjoy, I end up not using it much. For example, I have Loque'nahak. While he is appealing visually, he doesn't have much of a personality. Same goes for Rak'shiri and Snarler. They're lovely creatures, and I do like them, but they just don't have much personality to me so I don't use them all that often. My new little spider, on the other hand, isn't rare (though she was surprisingly hard to get, and is pretty unique), but I find her animations and personality adorable. The same can be said with boars. They aren't even remotely rare or even attractive to most people (except me because I adore boars/hogs IRL), but their animations and squeals melt my heart. Tallstriders are another one that I love, because they seem to have a "joker" personality, and they're kind of feisty.

So I suppose my order goes:

1) Personality (combination of sounds, appearance & animations)
2) Appearance
3) Rarity of Mob (rare spawn)
4) Rarity of Skin (unique skin)

[Quin]

For myself, the pet has to 'click' with me. Maybe its because I'm a role-player, but if the pet doesn't seem to suit my character, I just can't really keep it. I can break down and get a 'proper' pet for raids and such (currently a wolf), but for questing, role-play, and all that, it has to be the just right pet for my character.

I'm a little twitchy about certain noises, I admit. Some pets make sounds I just cannot stand. Others, I hate the way they move. Gorillas is one pet I just...cannot have I think. I have never, ever liked them, at all.

I love having a rare/unique skin, but I'm so just as happy with a 'plain/common' skin as long as the personality fits just right with my character. My very first Hunter has the Rake. She tamed him at level 10 and now, years later, she has him still and won't ever be without him, I think.

Kyl's pet, oddly enough, is a Warp Stalker. A pet I never really liked until Kyl became my main. Now, Rythar has a personality and a character that I just adore.

[VelkynKarma]

Usually if I opt to go look for a pet, it's first inspired by appearance, or the animal type. For example, I love hyenas in real life, so I want a pet hyena. Of all the skins, I think the red one looks coolest. Choice made.

However, whether or not they stick around depends on personality. Jia (my scarlet tracking hound) gained a personality the moment I tamed him, by spinning around and valiantly defending me against his former master. And he continued to display behavior that just felt like pure loyalty even if it was only AI logically. And that was enough for me to keep him.

Utility is almost never a factor in my pet choices. While I prefer Ferocity pets due to ease of use, there are plenty of Tenacity and Cunning pets I love running with just because they're fun and I can really see that character spending time with that kind of pet.

~VelkynKarma

[Silvarain]

the personality of the pet has to go with my personality. i never really wanted a cat until i saw the ghostsaber on petopia. running around with a ghost is what i do in RL so why not in game as well? lol. my favoeite colors are blue, green, violet, and silver so i go after pets with those colors. i also have a love of the phoenix myth which is why i had to have a phoenixhawk hehe.

[Kryte]

I selected personality.

I'm personally most drawn to the appearance of a pet, but, like Kyloriel, I need the pet to be able to bond with my character as well. There've been a lot of pets that I thought I'd like based on their appearance, but they just didn't work out.

[kamoodle5]

Personality is my vote although part of the reason for the pets I own is also for unique skins. I believe unique skin is what turns me on, but it's personality that keeps me attached to them to where I won't ever think of ditching them.

[Acherontia]

But I also have a difficult time playing a pet if I find something odd about their animations, no matter how lovely their skin is.

That's exactly how I feel. Hyenas, for example--the animations just turn me off. I loved how they used to stand back when their tails bugged, and then they fixed the tails and ruined their idle pose Worgs have terrible run animations but I still love them! Sounds make a huge difference, too; it's the one thing I LOVED about Loque'nahak. His sounds were, I'm pretty sure, unique to him (I think Gondria was more subdued but could be wrong) and utterly gorgeous. I just couldn't get past his goofy model.

running around with a ghost is what i do in RL so why not in game as well?

I think I missed something here, can you explain?

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

I voted personality. I start by picking a pet by looks, I don't care wether it is rare or common, just if I like the look of it and if it suits my character.
Then the sounds and animations play a big part in the decision wether to keep it or not. I tamed a hyena at one stage but hated the sound they make when they run off to attack, so I let it go free. I don't like the cat sneaking skill because it makes them go invisable and I like seing my pets, so I let a lion go after a while as well.

I'd never tame a rare/unique pet if I didn't like the look of it, that would just be a waste of stable slot
My taste does tend to run to slightly rarer skins though. My dwarf runs with a white bear, and my night elf tamed Timber. My draenei had a black warg, which isn't rare, but hard to get from Silverpine for a level 12 alliance character.

[Protego]

I voted appearances the most. Looks totally matter to me. Pets' gotta look right. Examples, the whitish Devilsaur, the albino "cats" and the albino lions.

[Silvarain]

well Acherontia, im haunted by the ghost of what could have been. i couldve done a lot of things differently and think about them often. i knew that things were... off... with me when i had to have the ghost worm as a pet, i named him Jim hehe. if i do go back to wow came Cat, i have a ghost owl to go tame