Random Pet Challenge [v4.0]

[TygerDarkstorm]

I love all my rolls i will be doing both for Nahame if that is alright?

Should be a blast to run her over there.

If you would like to, you're welcome to, but it says or because Nahame is a tauren and that yellow wasp can only be found at her level in Loch Modan as a rare so you were given an alternate, easier option should you not be able to easily/comfortably get into an Alliance zone.

[Rhyela]

Nef, I'm with you on the ravagers. I really want to like them, but I have an almost impossible time clicking with them. My only success story thus far is on my undead hunter Freida. She tamed the blue and green one from the draenei area, and they're pretty much inseparable. I don't even want another pet on her now.

As for my new roll, I think Dansen and Steve will get along just fine.

[Nhee]

Yeah, I feel the same about ravagers. The only time I've bonded with one was way back in TBC, when my dwarf picked up Nikita the Razorclaw Hatchling in Hellfire. It's a shame since there are so many pretty variants, like Tyke.

That selfie I've never played a male human, and didn't realize just how expressive they are. Steve raising the roof in the background makes it even better!

And can I just say thanks Tyger for keeping this thread active. I was feeling really burnt out, trying to juggle college, life and a semi-serious raiding guild on my main. I've now 'demoted' myself to a social member and is focusing on alts, and it's honestly made me enjoy playing so much more. Cheers!

[Ana]

Nefretiti - Bixy looks so cute

Rhyela - LOL that screenie is so fun ;D

[Teigan]

My assignment was the Orange Beetle. I decided to check on Roth-Salam in Dustwallow Marsh. She was there, so I tamed her. My first impression was that she was rather "meh". Even Hati didn't like her. As you can see, he's trying to eat her leg. Since I was not very taken with her to start with, I gave her a rather random name made up of parts of her NPC name: Rotha. It's not too great... But anyway! When I spent some time with her, I changed my mind and ended up really liking her.



First off, the lighting in Dustwallow does not do her justice! This beetle is actually quite vibrant and pleasing to the eye. The markings on her back are actually a gradient of blue to green, which looks iridescent. Under the right lighting, she really shines. The orange has nice tones of gold and copper, which makes the blue-green markings really pop. It's also a pleasing counterpoint to the very blue Hati. They make a striking duo. All in all, I love her skin.





Her model is quite good too, especially considering its age. It's old and it shows but overall, it's held up well. It's well animated. At a walk and a jog, she moves very smoothly with a bouncy, perky gait. At a gallop (when following me on a mount), she gets a bit spastic, but not nearly as much as some pets. Her swimming animation is cute and goes well with her other animations. She kind of paddles happily along. Her fighting animations are also mostly good. She has two attacks. One is a rear and lunge sequence and other is an inexplicable "butt curl". The screenshot isn't the best, but she tucks her rump under as though she is stinging the enemy. I checked...no stinger. I can only assume she is like a bombardier beetle (they shoot near boiling, caustic chemicals out their bums to deter predators...neat trick!). Under the effect of Bestial Wrath, she's quite impressive. The new orange Wrath looks good on her and she's enormous.











Size-wise, she at a good middle ground between too big and too small. She's large enough to have a good presence, but not so large that she gets in the way. There is one thing about all beetle that bothers me, and she is no exception. When they move, parts of the carapace stretch or jiggle as though they were flesh and not hard chitin. That should not be happening! But, it is and I like beetles, so if I want one I just have to overlook it.
As for sound effects, there isn't much to say. She's a very quiet pet, only quietly hissing during fights.
She has a typical beetle diet, of course. Fruit and fungus. Her feeding animation is essentially the same as her fighting animations. She either does a little lunge or a kind of pounce-curl. I fed her alot of mangos, because it was cute In fact, the name Mango would suit her better than the one I gave her.
Now, on to actual gameplay. Since Legion removed nearly all pet abilities, pets are pretty much created equal as far as damage, I think. So, I didn't notice a difference between her in ferocity spec vs say, a wolf in ferocity spec. I have opinions about this, but this isn't the place for them. She does tank better than a wolf though! Beetles, thankfully, got to keep their shell shield, so they shine as tanks more than other pets who were completely stripped down. Shell shield is a blessing, especially in a tight spot. So, she's fine for DPS. As fine as anything is anymore. But, her best use would be as a mini-tank in tenacity spec for running around doing WQs or soloing things.
All in all, this beetle was a pleasure to run around with. Beautiful and useful. I can't keep her right now, but one of my hunters will be keeping her. I'll call her Mango



And with that, roll me another please!

Name: Briarlee
Level: 100
Exotics: no
Restrictions: no mechs

Name: Seirsha
Level: 100
Exotics: no
Restrictions: none

[Aweena]

Had the same thought with Zeti's first challenge, that it would be a boring skin, but on closer inspection... well you will see soon enough!

[Nefretiti]

Seri got the white hydra but as she's keeping to a dark theme among what few pets she has I decided to hit Alcaz island to nab a black one.




Meet Soot



Seri brought her along to the Iron Docks to recruit a shipwright for her garrison (Yes I still occationally do Draenor stuff so sue me )




Animations : attacks mostly seem consist of the hydra lunging and biting with it's middle head.
Swimming seem nice and natural for the model. they propell themselves forward with their tail.



Running is this akward waddle as the model has only two legs unlike their Draenor cousins.

The model itself is kind of dated and parts of it could use work but over all it's not as bad as it could be and the hydra is a fun and unusual pet that makes a decent tank and a fairly nice dps companion on your travels.



Impression : while the model is dated and kinda clunky in places I personally like the hydras and Soot is most likely staying in Serinar's stables, she may be joined by a purple draenor cousin at some point as well.

[Rhyela]

Teigs: I loved your report. I may have to give beetles a second look, thanks to Rotha/Mango (agreed that Mango would make a great name).

Nef: I never noticed til your screen shot that hydras have an adorable swim animation. I love how their feet curl back. :3

Nhee: Yes! Humans, male and female, are quite expressive with the selfie cam!

[Ana]

CHOMP mmm beetlelegs That was too fun

[Nhee]

Great reports I've never really considered taming a beetle, but Rotha/Mango looks stunning. Soot is really cute as well. I've tried running with a vanilla hydra on several hunters, but I just cannot get over the awkward run

Well, my classes this morning were called off, so I took the opportunity to level level level! So finally..

This is my report on the Orange Hyena, which I used from level 13-20


I was given the orange hyena for my new draenei hunter, Odarin. The lowest level hyena was level 13, so I spent 3 levels herbing and mining in Elwynn Forest before I begun the long trek from Darkshore. Surprisingly Ashenvale didn't give me any problems, and soon enough I was in the Barrens. Since I'm so used to playing horde, I ran into an orc camp without thinking, and died rather stupidly.
After recovering my body and hiding in the mountains like a coward waiting for PvP to go away, I was finally ready to go get me a hyena! I arrived at the oasis, where several centaurs were running about with their packhounds. I gave the nearest one an arrow to the face, and tamed my hyena with no problems.



After hearthing back to Stormwind, I decided to name her Bella, after Bella Goth from The Sims. She is known in the games for being the most beautiful woman imaginable, so I thought it would be funny to give that name to a pet who has possibly one of the ugliest models in game.
And about that model...



Yeah, it sucks. Hyenas have all the hallmarks of aged vanilla models – sharp polygon angles everywhere, animations deforming the model, stretched pixelated textures, and overall wonkiness. This is a real shame, since hyenas are such awesome animals, and it feels like they have kind of been forgotten by Blizzard.


A face only a mother could love.

Thankfully aged models don't bother me too much, as long as the pet has personality and good animations. And once I got to examine Bella closer, she really started to grow on me.Like Sadeas the tarantula, Bella would never be standing still. She'd always sniff the ground and scratch her ear with her hind leg. Even the regular idle animation is very animated.



The run animation is just adorable. I don't really know how to explain it, but it reminded me of how a boar runs, or how a spring moves, scrunching up before stretching out. I hope the screenshots are clear enough!
The swim is, of course, a cute doggy paddle. I loved how she would keep threading water when idling.



I could not for the life of me get any good attacking animations. Everything just died too fast, even if I just sent her in without attacking myself. But they are basically the same as the smaller wolves, mainly consisting of lunging bites. There is weight to the attacks, and they look sufficiently vicious. Bella was clearly audible, growling and howling whenever I sent her to attack, or used kill command. I personally like noisy pets (for instance, my main has both a teroclaw chick and a number of tallstriders), so I didn't mind at all.



After hitting level 15 we ran a dungeon. It went as expected, a complete faceroll with everyone in heirlooms. Bella tanked a bunch of mobs and took hardly any damage, which really says something about low level balancing, since she was in ferocity spec.
I actually regret doing that dungeon, since I somehow managed to gain 3 levels in there, significantly cutting down the time I got to spend with Bella. Oh well.
Afterwards we went back to Redridge to quest. My leveling was sped up even further when we found two rares who were just begging to be killed, and after just a few more quests I dinged 20.



I'm very sad that it's time to get a new pet already. I didn't even get to the start of the kick-ass Rambo quest chain! The levels just fly by at this stage, it's ridiculous. I might actually lock Odarin's exp and complete Redridge with Bella, cause I really don't feel like I spent enough time with this pet. If so, I may write a part two to this report, in case I have more to say.


on an unrelated note, the restored Stormwind Park is so cool!

But I am able to give her a verdict now. There's no getting around it, the model has not aged well. If a pretty, polished model is a must for you, then this pet is not for you. However, if you are able look past the wonkiness, you may very well end up falling in love with a hyena. What it lacks in quality, it more than makes up for in animations and personality. Plus, in a sea of sparkly spirit beasts, you will definitely stand out with your ugly mutt. I think the fact that I'm considering halting my level just to keep Bella for longer says enough about how much I enjoyed having her at Odarin's side. She is definitely a keeper!

On to the next one
Name: Odarin
Level: 20
Exotics: Yes
Restrictions: 10-20, No mechanicals, no more hyenas for now.

[TygerDarkstorm]

And can I just say thanks Tyger for keeping this thread active. I was feeling really burnt out, trying to juggle college, life and a semi-serious raiding guild on my main. I've now 'demoted' myself to a social member and is focusing on alts, and it's honestly made me enjoy playing so much more. Cheers!

Honestly, the thanks is all to you guys! I'm so excited to see this thread active again! I will dole out more rolls either before I go to work or Sunday. Friday and Saturday are my days with my boyfriend. ^_^

[Rhyela]

That was a wonderful report, Nhee! I also like the hyenas despite their aged look. They're active and I love their growls and yips.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Giggles takes offense to hyenas being called ugly. I keep hoping Blizzard will show them some love and update their skins. They sit on the coyote skeleton so I feel that aids in their personality.


All of your reports are so wonderful to read! Rhyela's selfie shots have made me start playing with my selfie camera more on Plexi, though my shots don't seem to come out as well as hers. I have fun going through everyone's stories and seeing how they feel about the pets assigned. Reports here have gotten me to rethink the way I feel about certain pets. I know I was rolled sporebats, which I used to hate, until I learned to love them. I still hate gorillas and monkeys.

Teigan(Briarlee):
Diseased Grey Bear


Teigan(Seirsha):
Black Owl


Nhee(Odarin):
Guardian Hound

[Ana]

EQ Tårnfalk agrees that WoW Hyenas looks SOOO awesome.. I wish Eddie was this detailed - but he makes it up in personality

[Aweena]

The brown stag

I used this on Zeti from level 10-20 and my first thought was damn this is going to be a boring skin..... BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!

The model is old and it shows angels and weird sharp edges all over and the pinched in snout/muzzle?
The skin however once you look at it a little closer is gorgeous and more vibrant than i first thought the most eye catching one being the tail, rump and hind legs they have a popping white patch with black trim, on closer inspection the eyes and top of the rumps side has a little white spots like left overs from it was a little bambi.




Gorgeous!

Now running is a smooth gallop it looks a little funny at times due to the pet being so small next to Zeti but its elegant and fits the family of royal stags.




Swimming is a little lackluster but the pet is a land dweller so ill say it is fitting its a paddle with its tiny legs and it hardly moves them.




Sounds.. Not sure it has any i haven't heard any sounds at all while running with it.
Animations well in idle it looks around and shakes it head ever so slightly i figure it is build on the old horse skeleton, fighting is a series of kicks i still wish they would let animals with horns head butt their enemies. Sadly i did not manage to get any Screenshots of fighting the mobs died to fast.

Tanking it did it quite well have not had much problems then again at these low levels it is hard to tell, mostly we oneshot anything at my level or a little under the level if not we two shot em.

The stag has smack which has changed a lot over the years cant say much about it really but the stag is not lacking in skills nothing is special either.
All in all i feel Ztega was a nice addition to my stable and he will be staying i also think stags are a bit underappreciated they make sweet wonderful pets both in tanking and dps.



Next roll.
Name: Zeti
Level: 20
Exotics: no
Restrictions: None

[Rhyela]

Aww, I'm glad that Ztega grew on you! He is a handsome fella.

[Aweena]

The yellow Firefly Disclaimer just realized i ahem went with the green one.....


So uhm Ashkii navajo for boy, im a little frazzled to only now notice i got the wrong one.....
First impression it is very brightly colored.

The model is old and it shows but somehow it suits a wasp like Ashkii fine to have angels and sharp edges.


The skin is a really nice glowing Greenish yellowish with a golden Carapace on his upper back and black belly.

It is a bit hard to see in the pictures

Idle animations are very lively the pet will clean its head and antennae pretty often, running and walking and swimming are pretty much all the same it flies at different speeds it irked me a little after reading the beetle review that the stinger and back body part are weaving up and down oddly but that is all my issues with this pet.
Fighting animations is a bit hard to describe it lunges forwards and claws with its legs as well as stinging with its rear now and then.



A neat little gimmick with this pet is that it leaves a trail of "Fairy dust"


All in all i find the pet nice and cool it seems to do nicely both as tank and dps it also has smack.

on that note well uh ill go get the right color wasp and a fox....
or if you want id like a new roll.

Name: Nahame
Level: 30
Exotics: no
Restrictions: Mechanicals

[Nhee]

Haha, nothing worse than making a long trip like that and realising afterwards you got the wrong pet. Great reports

The Kurken eh.. My least favourite corehound. This will be interesting.

[Teigan]

Well, Tyger, you've given me quite a challenge with the diseased bear. I've never been comfortable with the diseased ones, and now that they are hi-def....oooh boy. I'll give it a shot tho, cause it's not called a pet challenge for nothing!

Nhee, I loved your hyena report. It made me miss old Maggie. She was a red hyena from back when Scarlet Hounds were hyenas. I had her for ages, but somehow lost her along the way. Maybe I should tame a red one and say it's her, even tho I'm a little stuck on the "shiny" new models....She was a good mutt.

Aweena, that gives me a different perspective on the brown stag. They really are quite pretty. I'd never noticed. And the pic of your tauren hamming it up with the wasp was priceless

[lilaughingwolf]

Sorry so late...lots of RL stuff going on

Ok, I was given the Beige Stegodon.


Violet needing a break from Legion duties traveled back to home and the call of a new companion. Randomly picking Desolace to start her search.



Once she arrived she noticed this lone older male wandering around.



After watch him for awhile she decided she had found her new pet....or so she thought, seems he had other plans as he charged explosively up to her ready to fight. Moved and impressed with the fire in this old guy she was even more determined to make him her new companion.



Finally changing her new friends mind he settled right down and took to traveling and fighting with her and Hati with great joy, seems this old bull NEEDED this as much as she needed the change as well.



Naming him Titan for the size of his heart and fight, they enjoyed many adventures together and many fights.



Happy with his new home, the old bull now had a shine in his eyes that once were dull. Once again...hunter and beast travel on into the great unknown to adventure untold....



Ok, this big boy was really easy to find. Still old blocky model...would be super awesome if they could give these guys a touch up like they did the kodos. Not a bad tank pet, kept aggro really well and seemed to really take the hits and kept going. These little "Tonka Truck" (the old saying Tonka tough) pets are compact, decent, and other than the old blocky skin rather neat. I think since I have the room he gets to stay.