Random "Pet Theme" Challenge

[TygerDarkstorm]

I was going to bring the blue snout up in my appearances part, but in the snowy pictures it looks grey so I left it out (and may have forgot about it since I was writing up the reports at like 1 AM >_>). But you're right, in Darnassus' light, her snout is much more blue.

The other thing I forgot to mention is in the bottom left pic on that panel, my poor bear's back is breaking.

[Pawtrack]

Sorry for taking so long :\

--

This time my theme was bugs!

After a rather uneventful flight around the world, save for the many rares found (Quirot, Mother Fang and Snarler all tamed), I went out to Silithus to take screenshots and then write my report.

First, Sanddune the beetle.


The beetles' special ability is Harden Carapace, which reduces damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds -- just like the turtles' Shell Sheild (it even shares the same graphics)


Harden Carapace in use.

Their animations are nice, though the weird curling up thing they do in combat is... er... weird looking. They lack a swim animation, and I would assume a jump animation (not that it matters). The only real thing that bothers me is the texture around the mouth, which is weird looking, and I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. The pattern on their shell is very pretty, and the brown color is one of my favorites. Being Tenacity, beetles make good tanks, and their special ability makes them especially good ones. I will definately be keeping Sanddune

Next, Sky the moth.


The moth's special is a spell interrupt, and as un-moth-like as it may seem, they are ferocity pets. O.o
The coloration of this particular moth was quite nice, blue and purple with some bits of white and darker blue, though not my favorite color, I liked it fairly well. Unfortunately, the model is not as nice as the coloration. Moths suffer from pixelated antenna, bad fur textures, and glitchy wing animations. See above screenshots. I will not be keeping Sky, but I enjoyed questing with her.

Next, Icewind the wasp.


The wasp's special ability is a 2 second stun, but wasps they are ferocity a bat would be better for PvP.
I love Icewind's colors, the black on white is very pretty. Unfortunately it is extremely hard to get good screenshots of her! Her mouth has the same strange texture on it as Sanddune's, but that's the only thing I dislike about the model. The animations are nice, and Icewind is quite quiet compared to the firefly models. I like her animations, especially her idle, where she grooms herself. I will be keeping her, without a doubt!

Last but not least, Venomspike the spider.


Well, not much to say here about the special ability or animations. The spider's special is Web, and being cunning they are great for PvP. The only real problem with the model I saw was the eyes, which look a little low-rez and weird. The coloration isn't my favorite, as I don't think the red fits very well with the green. Spiders aren't all that loud or big, and their animations are very good and not that glitchy. The only low-level versions of this skin are rare, but not that rare. Mother Fang is the lowest level version, being level 9, and because of that has a very short respawn timer -- making her fairly easy to get even at level 10. For now I will be keeping Venomspike, and she will be put to good use annoying horde in BGs.

--

Well, um, sorry that sucked so much? Been pretty busy, so couldn't put too much work into this <.<'

No more for me, maybe I'll start doing these again when I have more time on my hands.

[Acherontia]

Ha, that's quite all right There's no timer to these, as I think I myself have proven >.<

Anyway--how did the pets look with your hunter? I love the pics, but did any stand out as "matching sets" so to speak?

The wasp looks pretty awesome, I must say!

[Cialbi]

The wasp's special ability is a 2 second stun, but wasps they are ferocity a bat would be better for PvP.

Not necessarily, though. Since you're keeping Icewind, I'll point out the advantages of a wasp in PvP. You get access to Swoop, which is to be used instead of Dive (not both at the same time; that's a waste of focus). So, a wasp can immobilize your opponent for one second, and already be in melee range by the time that second is up. This means that avoiding Icewind's Sting is next to impossible unless Hand of Freedom or an equivalent buff has been applied to the wasp's target. On top of that, your pet gets to spend those 2 seconds merrily gouging your opponent, unlike a bat that applies its stun at range and then flies into melee range and begins attacking. Finally, the CD on Sting is shorter than that on Sonic Blast. So, Icewind can be a very potent PvP pet!

[TygerDarkstorm]

The wasp's special ability is a 2 second stun, but wasps they are ferocity a bat would be better for PvP.

Not necessarily, though. Since you're keeping Icewind, I'll point out the advantages of a wasp in PvP. You get access to Swoop, which is to be used instead of Dive (not both at the same time; that's a waste of focus). So, a wasp can immobilize your opponent for one second, and already be in melee range by the time that second is up. This means that avoiding Icewind's Sting is next to impossible unless Hand of Freedom or an equivalent buff has been applied to the wasp's target. On top of that, your pet gets to spend those 2 seconds merrily gouging your opponent, unlike a bat that applies its stun at range and then flies into melee range and begins attacking. Finally, the CD on Sting is shorter than that on Sonic Blast. So, Icewind can be a very potent PvP pet!

I think a lot of people are still in the mind set that all PvP pets must be cunning pets.
But you are absolutely right in your assessment of the wasp and its capabilities.

[Cialbi]

I know that the mindset of DPS->Ferocity, PvP->Cunning, Soloing->Tenacity is still quite prevalent; I'm constantly trying to shatter that assumption whenever and wherever I see it. If I can get somebody to at least start using Cunning pets for DPS, then I've helped them; ravagers, wind serpents, and dragonhawks suddenly become viable and potent options. I don't like calling people out on this, because I'm not trying to belittle them. So, if this applies to you, Pawtrack, don't feel bad; I'm only encouraging you to try out more options. A lot has changed these last few months, and for the better, with hunter pets.

...I'll stop derailing, sorry!

[TygerDarkstorm]

Couldn't have said it better myself.
It's one of the reasons when I'm reviewing a pet I like to add in the combat section how the pet and its ability would fare for both PvE and PvP.

And now I'm done derailing too.

And because I can't resist, I'm going to take another one of these.
Name: Ruffley
Level: ~31 but feel free to roll ahead
Pet Slots: ~10
Restrictions: No monkeys or gorillas please, and feel free to roll rares if they fit the theme
Notes: Creatures of the Northern Woods theme, and Grey theme completed

[Daranara]

Hey guys, just popping in to say I'm sorry my reviews aren't done yet; I got hit by pseudo-burnout pretty much immediately after requesting this. Am feeling better now, though, so look for my review over the weekend sometime!

[Pawtrack]

The wasp's special ability is a 2 second stun, but wasps they are ferocity a bat would be better for PvP.

Not necessarily, though. Since you're keeping Icewind, I'll point out the advantages of a wasp in PvP. You get access to Swoop, which is to be used instead of Dive (not both at the same time; that's a waste of focus). So, a wasp can immobilize your opponent for one second, and already be in melee range by the time that second is up. This means that avoiding Icewind's Sting is next to impossible unless Hand of Freedom or an equivalent buff has been applied to the wasp's target. On top of that, your pet gets to spend those 2 seconds merrily gouging your opponent, unlike a bat that applies its stun at range and then flies into melee range and begins attacking. Finally, the CD on Sting is shorter than that on Sonic Blast. So, Icewind can be a very potent PvP pet!

Heh, good point. I'll stop being all narrow-minded and stubborn. The range, and to a lesser extent, cool-down I was not taking fully into account. <.<' heh...

Ha, that's quite all right There's no timer to these, as I think I myself have proven >.<

Anyway--how did the pets look with your hunter? I love the pics, but did any stand out as "matching sets" so to speak?

The wasp looks pretty awesome, I must say!

Well, I don't know if any of them fit that well. Sky and Icewind fit the best. Sanddune is just this big bulky bug beside a small, skinny night elf . Venomspike fit a bit more, her green markings fit with Velyana's green hair.

[Acherontia]

For TygerDarkstorm / Ruffley!


Reptiles!




Rare Green Cata Croc, Blue Raptor (he INSISTS he's warmblooded though o.o ), White Snake, Red Turtle, and the 'Yellow' Wind Serpent!

If you can't find / don't wish to camp Mahamba, then by all means take any other croc you like

(I just realized that this is essentially a "GO TO WAILING CAVERNS" set of pets , sorry bout that--although I guess at least they'll be mostly in one place!!)

[TygerDarkstorm]

No worries! If Ruff can solo Deadmines at level 19, then I'm sure she can take on WC at level 31.
And well, I've seen Pogeyan and Tsu'Kalu twice now, I think it's time to pay Mahamba a visit.

[Daranara]

Daranara-the-Younger, checking in! My theme this time was POISONOUS PETS! Oooo, scary!

Let's have a see, shall we?

First we had:


Dark grey bone spider! ...Erf.

Not a huge fan of spiders. They give me the heebies. But hey, you never know! Maybe -this- time I'll like them.

So I head over to Southshore to grab one. *moment of silence for Southshore*



They were pretty easy to find, and even easier to tame, once I took care of their handlers. So let's have a look at Skitters.



Skitters is kind of a greenish-grey with darker spots. His legs are bony (literally) and are sharp. The "knee-plates" have pokes coming out of them, as well as from her rear, as you can start to see in the middle there. He has bright purple eyes, and purplish webs on his legs.



You can see here the webs better. You can also see here how his coloring fades towards darker as you get towards his rear. He's a fairly well put together spider, overall.

His special is web, which you've all seen before. It has it's uses, but is pretty pvp-centric.

He kept aggro about as well as I expected, but our time together was short. While he did not immediately repulse me, I wasn't happy to have him here, so I let him go.

Next up!



Bronze scorpy! Yay!

They live in Durotar, so I was all set to have some sort of sneaky adventure to get in!

...turns out there's not much sneaky about it. Pretty much as soon as I stepped in, there one was.



Confident in my ability to outlast a level seven scorpid, I didn't even bother trapping him.



And then she was mine. Let's have a look at Molly!



For a "bronze" scorpion, Molly has quite the range of colors, ranging from dark brown, into lighter, and yellow, and even green! she has bright yellow spots, kind of like freckles. Unusually, she also has a set of eyes way up on her head. This, to me, kind of gives her an expression kind of like o3o. She wants to give you kisses, but you shouldn't kiss your scorpid.



From the rear, you can see the undersides of her plates are green! Neat!



As far as usefulness in combat, I think she's pretty good. She's a pretty okay tank, as is expected of a tenacity pet. Her special is a disarm, which I figure is probably more pvp-oriented, but it's fun for lolwhirlwind fun.

I kind of liked Molly, but I already have Maggie, who is a different color of scorpy, so she was off!

Last but not least, we have:



Purple cobrasnake! Hurray! Here she is! (if this seems familliar, I pulled it wholesale from the last time I had this pet)



This is Marina. She is quite the pretty snake! A bit of a pain to get to, because I get lost easily and am predisposed to hate Wailing Caverns (I died there once. At 80. By falling off of something. There were witnesses.). But I persevered on, and soon she was mine!



She's very... pink. Much more so than I at first realized. But when she's not pink, the purples in her scales are vibrant and lovely, and the blue stripes help provide contrast. The fins along her back are quite neat.



Along her jaw she also has a set of fins, which read to me as scaly facial hair and I am now regretting making her a girl, despite the colors.

Also just look at her expression. This is a freaking smart snake, and she knows she's smart, and she's plotting. I'm not sure we should be left alone together.

Her animations are shared with the worms, which I found adorable on them but a little sinister on Marina here. Probably the expression again. But it also means they get this!



This is possibly the worst picture of it, but it's the unburrowing animation some worms get when they come above ground. It's kind of neat to watch a cobra do it, but a little strange, too. It's definitely the oddest part about the two sharing base models, but it's not a distraction, really.

Combat wise, she was nothing to write home about. Though the animations where she whips out her fangs to bite are vicious and kind of fantastic.

Will I be keeping her? No. I'm not a fan of the color scheme, and I have a raptor, that's got me covered buff-wise.

CONCLUSION

Total:
Pets not keeping: 3

Erf, this wasn't a very good set, I guess. They were interesting, to be sure, but not much for me.

Okay, so if I promise to not take forever to do it again, may I have another?

Name: Daranara-the-Younger
Level: ~35 but feel free to roll ahead
Pet Slots: ~10
Restrictions: None!
Notes: Reptile and Poisonous themes completed (but hey if that's what you want to give me again I suppose I'm game!

[TygerDarkstorm]

Okay, finally got all my panels and everything made for this. Sorry it took so long, I think I hit a burn out phase trying to do this, my single pet challenge, and my personal pet challenge all at the same time. >_<

So anyway, Ruffley had the Reptile theme. I apologize in advance for some of the screenshots in WC. I only have 2 active slots and I didn't want to have to run back and forth between Ashenvale and WC so I did the screenshots inside as I went.


We'll start with Molly, my Mahamba. <3
It took me about two days, I think, of camping before Mahamba spawned for me, and then I was torn on what to name her. I really like her given name and what it stands for (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahamba in case you're wondering), but after reading through a couple of threads here about how people hate it when you give a rare it's wild name, there's usually a nagging voice in the back of my head. Mahamba eventually told me that calling her Molly was fine and that she preferred it--I've grown to really love the name for her. ^_^

Looks:

Molly is a beautiful blue-gray color with a teal colored belly--the teal extends up her body (and on her feet) kind of like stripes which makes for a really nice effect. Her fins are green and her spikes and teeth are a silver color (top left).

Her tail has three spikes on it, and when she wags it, you can kind of see where the joints are instead of it being fully smooth (top middle). Another really weird thing I noticed, that's hard to capture in screenshots, is her very back feet. As she shifts her weight back and forth, her ankles break (top right).

She has a nice, flat, crocodile head filled with real sharp teeth instead of bad texturing (bottom left). Her eyes are also a gorgeous light blue glow map.

And one last strange thing that I noticed Lupis point out in the single pet challenge thread is where their legs connect to their body (bottom right). I'm not sure if those are supposed to be fat rolls, or if they're left over from when the designer was sketching how to draw the beast and they made it to the final model or something.

Animations and Sounds:

Now, anybody who's ever had an old world croc knows just how noisy these suckers can be while idle, however, if that's the only thing keeping you from taming a croc, I recommend a Cata croc skin. Molly doesn't make a peep by my side and just makes her usual hissing and snapping while in combat.

Crocs have two idle animations, their usual one is them swinging their tail and shifting their weight (top left) and the second is the side to side head snap (bottom middle).

The crocolisk run is often described as being waddly and back-breaking (top right, bottom left). This is true, although I find that the bigger the croc gets, the less their back seems to segment. Crocs look the most natural in the water, floating there like a log when idle and using that big tail like a rudder (top middle, bottom right).

Combat:

Crocolisks have a couple of different attack animations. They lunge and bite (top right) and they swing and bite (bottom left). They're tenacity pets so they won't kill your DPS, but they won't do as much damage as a ferocity or cunning pet.

The crocolisk special is Ankle Crack (reduced movement speed by 50%) (bottom right). This ability is fabulous for soloing, chasing down runners, and in PvP. I don't go far without my crocs anymore, especially on SV hunters. Ankle Crack lets you unload all you want into your target with the reassurance that it'll be dead before it reaches you. It's also a handy ability to have around to keep runners from getting too far in a dungeon, or to kite that pesky melee in PvP.

Next we have Bask, the orange turtle.
I went and tamed one of these guys from the Hinterlands so nothing real special.

Looks:

I've never really gotten into this turtle skin before, and I still don't like it now. I'm not fond of the fleshy, orange color. They have a black shell that has a yellow outline and stitching (top left). The stitching effect is just weird looking. The other complaint about the older turtles, for me, is the way their shell looks pieced together, and the top piece looks like a cork or something.

The old model turtles are typically described as looking kind of 'derp'; I wouldn't say that they're stupid, but they do seem to be a little dopey (second). Their claws and tusks are low res looking, but at least the tusks seem to be real. Bask also has beady little teal glow map eyes.

When looking at Bask from the front, is strange eyes sort of creep me out (third). And also, there's a really weird section in the front of his shell that's the same color as his skin, which looks really weird (top right).

Animations and Sounds:

Turtles don't really make much in the way of noise that I've noticed, or I'm just not paying close enough attention. They have two idle animations; their most frequent one being the side to side look (top left), and the more rare one being where they stretch their necks out like they're testing the air (top right).

Their swimming and running animations are pretty much the same (bottom left and right), but that works for them. Their swim varies a little in that it looks like they're kicking their feet to the sides, but the two still look very similar.

Combat:

Turtles are very hardy little tenacity pets for combat. They really only had one animation that I noticed, and that's to stick their neck out and bite their opponent. Their damage is about average for a tenacity pet, but not as good as a cunning or ferocity.

The turtle special ability, Shell Shield, reduces damage taken (by the turtle) by 50%; combined with cower, this makes turtles and beetles arguably the best 'true' tank pets for soloing and handling tough elites. While I wouldn't recommend one of these guys for PvP (in fact, if you're looking to take PvP seriously, you shouldn't be using a turtle ever), however, these guys aren't a bad option to have around in a dungeon in case shit hits the fan and the tank is having trouble. Gogo mobile tank pet, a MD and Mend Pet, and your turtle (or beetle) is in business to save the day.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Next is Luminos, the orange, I mean yellow wind serpent. Even after seeing Lupis point out the differences between this guy and the other yellow wind serpent, I still see no difference between the two skins whatsoever. Anyway, this guy is one of the Deviate Coiler Hatchlings found right inside the entrance to WC.

Looks:

Luminos looks more orange than yellow to me, with a teal belly, stripes, and eyes (top left). I both like and dislike the colors, and overall, I like a lot of the other wind serpents better and tend to avoid this color. The only major flaw with the old world wind serpent models is their crest, it's very 2-D looking, especially when viewed from the front (top middle).

When viewed from the front, their belly almost seems to have a sheen on it (top right). The tips of his wings are green, and the feathers alternate between an off-white-yellowish color and a muted teal.

The back of these guys is kind of interesting (bottom right). Along with the base of orange is teal stripes, and underneath those, darker, brownish colored stripes. The scale detail on Luminos is also very well done. Overall, a very solid model, although a little strange in color to me.

Animations and Sounds:

Wind serpents don't make any noise while idling, and while in combat they make hissing noises. They don't have a true idle animation, they just hover next to your side flapping their wings.

When you run, wind serpents sort of look like they're caught in a wind tunnel, which is pretty funny to see (top left). Their swim, however, is absolutely gorgeous (bottom left, right). When idling they use those wings like paddles, and then, to swim, they tuck them to their sides and slither through the water.

Combat:

Wind serpents perform really well in combat being cunning pets. They have a couple of different attack animations, the tail whip (top right) and the wing slap (middle left). When they go to cast their special, their wings light up (bottom left), which I think is really cool looking.

The wind serpent special is Lightning Breath which increases all magical damage taken by 8%. This special makes wind serpents the second best choice for SV hunters to have on hand (after cats) because it affects all of their damage, and makes wind serpents a handy pet to have around for caster heavy groups. I'm not sure if they share this debuff with any other classes, however.

Next is Blue, the blue raptor (I'm so creative -_-). He's located all the way down by the portal to inside WC.

Looks:

I was actually surprised to find that I really like the way this guy looks (top left). The different shades of blue are gorgeous. One of my favorite things about this skin is the fact that since it has no stripes, it has no grotesque stretching of the stripes across the shoulder (top middle). His feathers and jewelry are a mix of gold and burnt orange (top right). My biggest complaint about him is when viewed from the front (bottom); his eyes look like they're bugging out and it makes it hard to tell if he's looking forward like a proper predator should be.

Animations and Sounds:

Raptors are quiet by your side and very noisy in combat with their high-pitched roars. They also don't really have much of an idle animation other than twitching their claws and shifting their weight. They run and swim much the way I'd imagine them to in the real world. Their run is nice and smooth and their swim is reminiscent of the devilsaur's--big powerful hind legs kicking.

Combat:

Much like with their other animations, the raptor's combat animations are much like how they would be in the real world. They lunge and bite (top right) and they do a jump kick (enemy raptor, bottom left). Raptors, being ferocity pets, put out great damage.

The raptor special ability is Tear Armor, which reduces an enemy's armor by 4%, stacking 5 times. This ability is great for any group that's melee heavy and missing a warrior for sunders. It will also help boost the raptor's own damage (and threat if you're soloing) since everything they do is physical. I wouldn't recommend one for PvP unless your teammate(s) have any CC's you might need covered. It is possible to solo with a raptor (mostly as BM as I find a KC is about all it takes for any pet to hold aggro), although they'll be very squishy compared to a tenacity or cunning pet.

And last, but not least, is Hubert the white cobra. These guys can only be tamed in WC by killing every boss in the place and doing the last boss event.

Looks:

I LOVE this snake. I used to have a white one a long time ago, and then got rid of it. Hubert looks fantastic next to Ruffley. He is far from a plain, boring white (top left). His base skin is white, and on his back he has dark green stripes. His belly is a mix of teal, dark green, and black. His frills start of purple where they touch his skin and then branch out into a bright teal.

Serpents are *very* intelligent looking--they always look like they're up to something (top right). This skin has lovely purple glowing eyes (bottom left) and some cute little facial frills. When looking at these guys super close up, they almost seem to be a little low res, but other than that they're very solid.

Animations and Sounds:

Snakes make hissing noises in combat, and that's about it. They also share animations with worms, but where as worms look cute, snakes look devious...very devious. For their idle, they look from side to side (top left). Their run is a very smooth slither (top middle). And one very unique thing that the serpents do is when you use call pet on them, they actually burrow up from the ground (top right). Serpents also have a very neat swim where they stretch their bodies out and wriggle through the water (bottom).

Combat:

Snakes only have one combat animation, and that's to lean forward and bite, showing off those fancy fangs much like a real snake would. They are cunning pets which means they'll put out some great damage.

The serpent special is Corrosive Spit, which works exactly the same as a raptor's Tear Armor, except that the snake can cast it at range, which is kind of cool. (See raptor report for list of usability.)

Of all these pets, I'm only keeping Molly and Hubert. I had thought Ruffley would be getting a brown Cata croc, but Molly just looks amazing next to her, as does Hubert. I'm debating whether to change Hubert's name to Devious.

[Miraga]

*sneaks into thread* Could I get a roll for this? :3

Miraga
Level 85
4 pet slots
Exotics fine, only restriction is no undead pets if possible [sorry but not a fan D:]
Have had: reptiles, luminescent and Egyptian pet themes!

[Isjaki]

if you have the time... i'd love to take part in this project

Name & Level: Shazana / 80 (waiting to be leveled)
Exotics: sure
Pet Slots: 3-5
Restrictions: no spiders (if possible)...
Armory Link/Screenshot (Optional):
Shazana and Jasper

Additional Notes:

[Vinessa]

if u have time, i want to be pat of this

Name & Level: Rosebeef, lvl 85
Exotics: Yes!!
Pet Slots: i have 4 free slots in total (:
Restrictions:No monkeys/gorillas pleaseeee
Armory Link/Screenshot (Optional): http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/r ... sebeef/pet

WoWScrnShot_050111_201944.jpg (289.16 KiB) Viewed 3447 times

Additional Notes: something HAAAAAAARRRRRDDD please xD!

[Cialbi]

Additional Notes: something HAAAAAAARRRRRDDD please xD!

Forgive me for butting in, but what kind of a challenge do you want? Something rare and heavily camped like Sambas, or something that's just plain hard to tame like a Sunblade Dragonhawk?

[Vinessa]

Additional Notes: something HAAAAAAARRRRRDDD please xD!

Forgive me for butting in, but what kind of a challenge do you want? Something rare and heavily camped like Sambas, or something that's just plain hard to tame like a Sunblade Dragonhawk?

It doesnt matter (: both of them would be cool

[Acherontia]

Oh, wow, INTEREST I haven't seen any posts on here in awhile, I'll see about getting some rolls up later today