Anyone Else...

[Saturo]

As an aside, I consider instance tames (especially at level) to be quite difficult, even if the beast can be trapped. You can be stuck working with four other people who could either help you or possibly mess things up for you, or you could be feigning your way through an instance alone. Plus, getting smacked in the face by an elite because your trap doesn't last long enough isn't fun either.

So while your instance pet may not be unique, it's still hard, IMO.

I agree. I usually make sure to have a group of friends with me if I'm trying to get an instance pet. Nothing's more frustrating that some idiot from the dungeon finder deciding he's waited long enough for you... >.>

Or a warlock who thinks you get your pet similar to what he did. Those guys tend to wait for you to start your tame, and then kill it and wonder why your tame didn't work. xD

We're a funny bunch, us evil casters. xD

[Kalliope]

As an aside, I consider instance tames (especially at level) to be quite difficult, even if the beast can be trapped. You can be stuck working with four other people who could either help you or possibly mess things up for you, or you could be feigning your way through an instance alone. Plus, getting smacked in the face by an elite because your trap doesn't last long enough isn't fun either.

So while your instance pet may not be unique, it's still hard, IMO.

The Beast is unique - shows up as level -1, and displays BOSS/SKULL when you mouseover him.

Yeah, he and the other tameable bosses are unique, but I'm talking about the trash mobs.

[zedxrgal]

I'm not sure exactly how long Araga has been around but in my five years of playing WoW I've seen her ONCE. That's it. Just one time and a male orc hunter had her as a pet and I saw them in a dungeon. He wasn't even on my server. I seriously doubt that even though she's going to be made into a common skin that all the sudden every hunter is going to get one and she'll turn into a belly button pet.

She's one of the rarest pets used now and I doubt that will change. Especially not when Echey's, Humar's and other 'cooler' skins are still readily available in the game. Araga is beautiful and cool yes, but it's not looking like she's going to be bellybutton cool.

If her turning into a common skin ruins her for you then maybe you weren't that attached to, or in love with her in the first place.

I tame rares specifically for the rare skins, so her being a common skin does affect my view towards her now. Yes, I am what you would call a trophy hunter. It's just part of my personality though, as a have a collection of rare minerals and crystals IRL (green double terminated Apophyllite FTW!)

I just fail to see why people are getting mad at others over differences of opinion

EDIT: oh gawd, a newbie? i havent been called that in a while

I hate to go back this far but I just saw it. Where, in my post did I call you a newbie?????

At I'm only speaking for myself but it doesn't make me 'mad' or even remotely close.

Everyone had their own opinion and are more then entitled to it. I hunt rares to because there is something about that specific beastie that really draws me to it. I very openly admit that Humar was one that was ruined for me simply because he was a belly button pet and he had another skin in the Basin. But every other rare I've tamed, which is pretty close to every pet I've ever owned has a duplicate skin somewhere else in the game. It doesn't bug me because when it all comes down to it it's still MY tame. My pet. My favorite pet is Snort the Heckler. His skin is one of the most common in game. But strangely across 4 servers I've never seen another hunter with him.

Hhhhhmmmmm .................................

Araga is a rare spawn skin yes. So why doesn't she become ruined for you knowing that other people on your sever and in the game as a whole has her, but yet if she becomes a common skin that's going to ruin her?????
I see it as being as close to the same thing. Regardless of availability to lack there of there's going to be other people out there with her. If you truly are attached to a pet and love them for being yours then it really shouldn't matter whether or not only you have her or 50 other people have her. She's still readily available regardless.

[Saturo]

EDIT: oh gawd, a newbie? i havent been called that in a while :lol:

I hate to go back this far but I just saw it. Where, in my post did I call you a newbie?????

I think Tulune meant her rank. xD

[Tulune]

I'm not sure exactly how long Araga has been around but in my five years of playing WoW I've seen her ONCE. That's it. Just one time and a male orc hunter had her as a pet and I saw them in a dungeon. He wasn't even on my server. I seriously doubt that even though she's going to be made into a common skin that all the sudden every hunter is going to get one and she'll turn into a belly button pet.

She's one of the rarest pets used now and I doubt that will change. Especially not when Echey's, Humar's and other 'cooler' skins are still readily available in the game. Araga is beautiful and cool yes, but it's not looking like she's going to be bellybutton cool.

If her turning into a common skin ruins her for you then maybe you weren't that attached to, or in love with her in the first place.

I tame rares specifically for the rare skins, so her being a common skin does affect my view towards her now. Yes, I am what you would call a trophy hunter. It's just part of my personality though, as a have a collection of rare minerals and crystals IRL (green double terminated Apophyllite FTW!)

I just fail to see why people are getting mad at others over differences of opinion

EDIT: oh gawd, a newbie? i havent been called that in a while

I hate to go back this far but I just saw it. Where, in my post did I call you a newbie?????

At I'm only speaking for myself but it doesn't make me 'mad' or even remotely close.

Everyone had their own opinion and are more then entitled to it. I hunt rares to because there is something about that specific beastie that really draws me to it. I very openly admit that Humar was one that was ruined for me simply because he was a belly button pet and he had another skin in the Basin. But every other rare I've tamed, which is pretty close to every pet I've ever owned has a duplicate skin somewhere else in the game. It doesn't bug me because when it all comes down to it it's still MY tame. My pet. My favorite pet is Snort the Heckler. His skin is one of the most common in game. But strangely across 4 servers I've never seen another hunter with him.

Hhhhhmmmmm .................................

Araga is a rare spawn skin yes. So why doesn't she become ruined for you knowing that other people on your sever and in the game as a whole has her, but yet if she becomes a common skin that's going to ruin her?????
I see it as being as close to the same thing. Regardless of availability to lack there of there's going to be other people out there with her. If you truly are attached to a pet and love them for being yours then it really shouldn't matter whether or not only you have her or 50 other people have her. She's still readily available regardless.

I meant my rank at the time of the post. And people tame things for different reasons. I don't get attached to pets, I tame rare and hard to get skins because they are rare and hard to get. It does ruin it for me that there are now going to be common mobs with her exact skin because I like to show off my rare tames. I already admitted to being a trophy hunter

[ToxicCreed]

I'm not so much a Trophy Hunter in the sense that I only tame for the Rarity of the skin. But I'll admit, I do feel sore for the fact that they are making it a common skin. After... I think 5 ish years (I started playing 3 months after Warcraft hit the US) and taming her back in the day has hit it's mark with me. It makes some of us oldies feel a bit like it's being made 'too easy' for many of the new players.

I've gone through several hard tames in which I know cannot be replaced. Araga was one, Loque'nahak was another, just recently I got Skoll. And then, back when I was running through UBRS, I tamed The Beast for the sheer love of the Red/Black Core Hound skins. I love all of them for what they are, not just because of the skin. But in my eyes, making something as rare are Araga in general is a blow to us oldies who did it the hard way And we didn't have to have it handed to us on a silver platter.

Ahhhhhhhhh the good old days of Vanilla, when Ursius 3 shotted my Shaman friend |D Those were the days! God I loved Ursius when she was an elite... just that sheer power behind her LOL!

[Raydex-of-the-dawn]

Ray here? She doesn't really mind when rares become common. I wouldn't mind if my own dear Old Cliff Jumper, Paranoia, became more common - because he'd be MY Paranoia, and MY Old Cliff Jumper, not some other pet. I love my Deadlock (Deviate Dreadfang) just as much as my Loki (The Beast) and Odin (Nuramoc). I'd love Loki even if he lost his boss tag and became a normal Core Hound. I'd love Odin even if every Chimera was purple <3

But I also see your point. <3 Unfortunately, we can't please everyone. At least Blizz tried, right?

[Sarayana]

But in my eyes, making something as rare are Araga in general is a blow to us oldies who did it the hard way And we didn't have to have it handed to us on a silver platter.

But my point is, you know that. Isn't that what matters? After all, if you see someone with a rare skinned pet you have no way of knowing if they camped for it for days straight or if they just got lucky. I stumbled upon both Arcturis and Araga, no camping necessary. That really wasn't hard, ya know?

[Vephriel]

When you go to a hunter's profile on the WoW Armory, you can actually see exactly which pets they have tamed.

At their page, go to view their Talents tab. This page will also have the pets listed on the right hand side with a dropdown menu. When you're on this page, go to your browser and click on View -> Page Source. (This is the path on Firefox anyways, not sure if it's different on other browsers). This brings up the HTML script for the page. I know it'll all look a bit confusing, but you should very easily be able to locate a section that says the names of that hunters pets. Beside them it will list the NPC ID and the name of that NPC. If you tamed Araga it will always be Araga there. Not only will you know that, but you can even say you have 'proof'. ^^

[Sarayana]

I know what you're saying Veph, but that's not even my point. (Not that it isn't a very valid point in this discussion though!!)

People play hunters in WoW for many different reasons, I know that. Some really do like the idea of having something as massive as a pet to show off their dedication to the game, the class, and the mechanic. I can totally respect that, though I have to point out that 1) it's Blizz's game and they'll do with their models what they please, and 2) there will always be new hard camps/tames.

My point is that even when that skin becomes "normal" (in the sense that it'll be more easily accessible, not that it'll necessarily be more used, as we often see the most commonly available skins being the least commonly used skins) it won't change your story. Sure, having a bright green devilsaur won't leave people as awestruck if Blizz decides to have a pack of level 11 giant green devilsaurs roaming Elwynn Forest at all times - but your beast won't be a [generic Elwynn devilsaur], it'll be King Krush, dammit! You know that. You camped for him, you optimised a gear set and created macros to facilitate the tame, you pulled off one of the hardest tames in the game at the time.

As far as personal accomplishments (and that's why we play the game, isn't it?) that's what matters, in my opinion. Does that make sense?

[Ket Shi]

My personal favorite pet is Mazzranache, and I'm delighted that his skin's getting spread all over the Southern Barrens.

Pink is my favorite color and I love birds, so it was love at first sight. As soon as my little huntress hit level 10, it was off to Mulgore to find the fellow. I've had 5 fun years with him, even if for a while he was slower than normal and had a poor set of skills. People love seeing the "pink flamingo" and he's a hilariously cute companion.

Do I mind that others will be able to get his skin at any time they please once Cataclysm hits? No! I want to see more of the adorable fellow and share good times with fellow Mazzranache others. Even in the unlikely event that he'll become as common as a Vargul Blighthound, I'll always stick with him because of the fun memories I cherish.

[Vephriel]

*nods* Don't worry, I know what you were saying too Sara. ^^ I just thought I'd add that fact as a 'cherry on top' in here since sometimes it's nice knowing that your pet retains its identity even beneath its tamed skin.

[Sarayana]

Yeah it's true, I can see many people using that feature of the armory.

I just think the game becomes too focused on the MMO part and not enough on the game. There's a tendency to forget that we play WoW to entertain ourselves. To some players, every little aspect of the game becomes a status symbol to show off to other players... It's just a pity when it becomes more about others than yourself.

Edit before anyone thinks I think rare camping is all like that: I don't. I think it's awesome and cool and a very fun game within WoW for some. The problem becomes when it's less about ones own experience in the game and more about how others perceive things... In my opinion, of course.

Edit (again): Thinking it over, this comment is probably less about the discussion in this thread and more about some observations I've been making lately... It's sad to see people genuinely feel the game is less fun because others have more things to show off with, whether it's titles, rare pets, gear, mounts, or whatever. I suppose it's inevitable for players in an MMO to compare themselves to others, but to have that make or break ones own enjoyment of the game... It just really saddens me that some people can't just enjoy it for what it is.

[Acherontia]

Interesting point, really; if WoW was single player I wonder how much our stables would change?

[Vephriel]

Ah, yes I know what you mean. Excellent points of discussion!

[ToxicCreed]

I always get my kicks when I pull out Emberflame. I hadn't realized until recently that he keeps his ?? Boss tag and remains a skull to EVERYONE around him XD And so when I was helping my lowbie friend she about FLIPPED out over it going O_O Why is your pet a skull!? xD

[Teigan]

I tamed Araga yesterday, finally. I had wanted her for that character for a long time. Why did I want her? Because she is, to me, more beautiful than the other lioness skin. Her face, especially her eyes, has much more character. Grys's first pet was a Mulgore lioness and I wanted an "improved" version when I got high enough level. Well, I was lvl 79 before that happened!
I can't say I'm upset that her look will become "common." Her look is, to me, more how a lioness should look. I'll be happy to see her lovely relations wandering around. And, as far as the "show-off" factor...honestly, who but another rare pet aficionado is really going to notice the difference between her and a regular lioness when you are lounging around Dalaran?
I do enjoy having noticeably unique pets (which Araga maybe isn't) that get comments. Who doesn't? But, that doesn't make the pet for me. I love the thrill of OMGSQUEETHEREITIS!!! but, I also have had great bonds with pets I can just walk up to a group of them and grab one. Sometimes, it's a better bond than with the ultra-rare. My dwarf has both a white worg and Skoll. I love Tannok the worg more than Galileo, honestly. If I had to give up one, I'd give up Galileo. Galileo may be awesomely beautiful, but Tannok is my boy.
Rare pets are fun. But it shouldn't turn into a GS BS type scenario.