I've never really found a Spirit Beast before...
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:48 pm
Well, as some of you may recall, I do have Arcturis, yes. A priest that was leveling through the area announced that he had spawned, and I was the only hunter interested since it was absurdly late at night. So, I've been able to tame a Spirit Beast, yes.
I just never knew that there was something special about finding one yourself.
I was online at another absurd hour last night, and so was a friend (she has an excuse, being partway around the world
). She mentioned that she had managed to tame Sambas, which is pretty incredible on a crowded server such as Cenarion Circle. But, she still lacked a Spirit Beast (wtb non-rare SB so that hunters don't have to get lucky in order to get a healing pet!), and I knew that the absurd hour would work to our advantage. So, I sent her to look for Ghostcrawler, while I flew to nearby Twilight Highlands (my hearthpoint is in Loch Modan). No Karoma. So, cue impatient wait for the Menethil Harbor-Howling Fjord ship, followed by a not-too-unfamiliar flight up north (I've tried to find spirit beasts since 4.0.1, partially because I'm crazy and partially because I really want my friends to have one). Grizzly Hills, one spawn point that I know all too well. There was a yellow dot on the minimap labeled as some sort of Stag or whatnot. Shot the offending ungulate, and took off to Zul'Drak. Search the southern spawn points; nada. Go to that weird crater; not even a blip. So, I fly over that oversized stairca- IT'S GONDRIA!!1!!!1!one
Darn see-through kitty is so hard to see against the snow! I calmly instruct my friend to get to Zul'Drak; now. I land, and launch a Freezing Trap in Gondria's path, only to see the purple kitty pause, and walk away. Ohh, someone thinks she's too clever to get trapped, huh? Not so! I put a trap right behind her as she strolls casually up to a wall (umm, nice brick?), she turns and doesn't stand a chance. So, I now have an ice cube sitting on snow. Exciting. Since I have yet to enter combat (stupid me had neglected to tag Gondria), I switched from BM to SV for the shorter trap CD, and finally remember that I really should tag Gondria! Afraid of one-shotting her or otherwise screwing up royally, I jab at her with my polearm, and retrap.
I wish I hadn't switched to SV; I've never been so irritated by Lock and Load procs before! Turns out that after careful study, I learned that a couple pistols show up briefly over your character's head upon proccing LnL, and said pistols quickly fire in succession then fade away. So, every time I refresh Freezing Trap, I get a horrible scare that I just shot Gondria or something. Bleh.
So, after who knows how many LnL procs, and her having to go AFK for a few minutes on top of that...
Following my example when I had tamed The Beast with her shaman's aid back before 4.0.1, she gave me the honors of picking a name. So, going off her character's name, Periewinkle, I decided that a gemstone would be a good idea, and a purple one at that. So, meet Amethyst!
Yes, I did get permission to leave her hunter's name in the screenshots
Gah, I hate making long-winded posts, but I wanted to share what the thrill of the hunt can feel like. I should count myself lucky that I was very calm and collected during the whole ordeal, although it sure felt like I was holding my breath until I finally saw that flash of light bring Gondria from a level 77 neutral rare beast to a level 82 Spirit Beast. Thanks for reading!
Edits made for typing errors.
I just never knew that there was something special about finding one yourself.
I was online at another absurd hour last night, and so was a friend (she has an excuse, being partway around the world
). She mentioned that she had managed to tame Sambas, which is pretty incredible on a crowded server such as Cenarion Circle. But, she still lacked a Spirit Beast (wtb non-rare SB so that hunters don't have to get lucky in order to get a healing pet!), and I knew that the absurd hour would work to our advantage. So, I sent her to look for Ghostcrawler, while I flew to nearby Twilight Highlands (my hearthpoint is in Loch Modan). No Karoma. So, cue impatient wait for the Menethil Harbor-Howling Fjord ship, followed by a not-too-unfamiliar flight up north (I've tried to find spirit beasts since 4.0.1, partially because I'm crazy and partially because I really want my friends to have one). Grizzly Hills, one spawn point that I know all too well. There was a yellow dot on the minimap labeled as some sort of Stag or whatnot. Shot the offending ungulate, and took off to Zul'Drak. Search the southern spawn points; nada. Go to that weird crater; not even a blip. So, I fly over that oversized stairca- IT'S GONDRIA!!1!!!1!oneDarn see-through kitty is so hard to see against the snow! I calmly instruct my friend to get to Zul'Drak; now. I land, and launch a Freezing Trap in Gondria's path, only to see the purple kitty pause, and walk away. Ohh, someone thinks she's too clever to get trapped, huh? Not so! I put a trap right behind her as she strolls casually up to a wall (umm, nice brick?), she turns and doesn't stand a chance. So, I now have an ice cube sitting on snow. Exciting. Since I have yet to enter combat (stupid me had neglected to tag Gondria), I switched from BM to SV for the shorter trap CD, and finally remember that I really should tag Gondria! Afraid of one-shotting her or otherwise screwing up royally, I jab at her with my polearm, and retrap.
I wish I hadn't switched to SV; I've never been so irritated by Lock and Load procs before! Turns out that after careful study, I learned that a couple pistols show up briefly over your character's head upon proccing LnL, and said pistols quickly fire in succession then fade away. So, every time I refresh Freezing Trap, I get a horrible scare that I just shot Gondria or something. Bleh.
So, after who knows how many LnL procs, and her having to go AFK for a few minutes on top of that...
Following my example when I had tamed The Beast with her shaman's aid back before 4.0.1, she gave me the honors of picking a name. So, going off her character's name, Periewinkle, I decided that a gemstone would be a good idea, and a purple one at that. So, meet Amethyst!
Yes, I did get permission to leave her hunter's name in the screenshots
Gah, I hate making long-winded posts, but I wanted to share what the thrill of the hunt can feel like. I should count myself lucky that I was very calm and collected during the whole ordeal, although it sure felt like I was holding my breath until I finally saw that flash of light bring Gondria from a level 77 neutral rare beast to a level 82 Spirit Beast. Thanks for reading!
Edits made for typing errors.
And yes, Lock and Load procs are scare-inducing for sure. >_< Although honestly, I feel like I've done something wrong when my traps hit without the survival sound cue now that I'm marks again. 
(Totally irrational thought, of course...) Grats to you and your friend on a successful tame!