Pets We All Adore

[Rhyela]

I've noticed lately, by looking through different threads of pets we own currently or want to own, that several are the same. For instance, there are a lot of King Krush or King Krush hopefuls, tons of Loque'nahak, many Strider Clutchmother fans. What is it about these certain creatures that appeals to so many of us? Is it their rarity, their color, their uniqueness, or something else?

For me personally, I initially wasn't interested much in King Krush because I was unsure if I liked his vibrant green color. But slowly but surely, by looking at him on petopia, I started to like him. But it wasn't until I saw him in the wild for the first time that I instantly fell in love. I was awed by his majesty, his size, and his...aura. I don't know how else to describe it. It was an instant attraction like I haven't felt towards a pet in a very long time. I had to have him. And then when I repeatedly failed in my attempts to tame him, I found a respect for him. He wasn't going to yield to just any old hunter, I had to prove that I was worth fighting with. And so began the obsession that ultimately led to the most amazing pet I've ever owned or ever will own - Apollyon.

With Loque'nahak, it was a little different. Originally I didn't care for any of the spirit beasts at all, but slowly I began to grow curious about them. First up to be tamed was Arcturis, I happened to stumble across him in Grizzly Hills one night and decided to give him a whirl. He was neat, and I liked his spirit puddles, but I'm just not a fan of the bear model and so he was released. Then, one night my husband was mining in SB and found Loque'nahak wandering amongst the gorillas. At first he was going to tame it, but realized he didn't have BM. Then he jokingly (or so he says) said he was going to kill him, so I yelled "Nooo!" and immediately flew out to tame him. Amazingly, he was still there. I used him for a while and loved his roar, but little graphical oddities bothered me. So when I found Gondria, I released Dante (L'n). But then, go figure, I started seeing L'n everywhere, and it made me miss him. A kind GM restored Dante to me and I released Shikon (Gondria) back into the wild temporarily. So L'n isn't my favorite, and he doesn't get much use; but after losing him once, I realized that I really do like him and won't be releasing him again.

And finally, the Strider Clutchmother has always been the "apple of my eye", so to speak. Since the very beginning, five years ago, when I first started this hunter on my husband's account on Lightbringer, I wanted Strider Clutchmother. She was a welcome sight any time I quested in Darkshore or ran by her location to get to Astranaar. It was always a welcome sight to see her bright blue figure striding gracefully amongst the wilderness with her two fledglings in tow. She has a commanding presence and almost demands respect. And now, five years later, seeing her gives me fond memories of when I was a noob hunter learning the ropes, and questing with my younger brother. Those were really good times, so having her now as my pet is almost like a memento of those times. No matter how many times I've released her to make room and tamed her again, my bond with her is always the same. That's why I felt the need to get her again before Cataclysm. Those teal striders in Swamp of Sorrows just aren't the same as my beautiful Clutchmother, and no other tallstrider will ever come close when it comes to the warmth she brings me.

So what are your reasons for taming some of these most-adored pets that we all seem to be drawn to?

[Vephriel]

Ooh pet discussion topics are so interesting. ^^

I actually don't own any of the three mentioned beasts you brought up, so perhaps I'll talk from the other side of the fence here. x) King Krush is certainly a magnificent Devilsaur, and I'm sure I would have fun taking on the thrill of the tame. In the end, though, green just isn't really 'my colour', and my Devilsaur quota has already been filled by Skorn, so KK doesn't hold any interest for me. The Clutchmother has never been a pet I desired either. Though beautiful, she's also just not quite to my tastes in colour and appearance.

As for Loque'Nahak, I did own him for quite a while, and enjoyed him. However...I ended up realizing something about all my Spirit Beasts. They were soulless to me. For some reason none of them had personality or a bond that I could connect with. They were stunning to look at, thrilling to hunt down, I liked having them out to admire them. They were empty though, like ornamental shells with nothing inside. Even the names I gave them didn't really stick, I always caught myself referring to them as their NPC name. It was difficult to realize all of this, but once I did and let them go I was much happier going back and finding pets that I truly clicked with. And I'm certainly not saying it's like that for everyone, I know plenty of people have found their ideal dream pets in the Spirit Beasts, and that's great! I just don't think they're for me after all. I was even thinking that I'd retame them in Cataclysm, but the more I go without them the more I think I don't need to get them back at all.

[VelkynKarma]

Hrm...I only have one of the pets you mentioned, that being Loque'Nahak. Originally I hadn't intended to hunt for him at all; he has a gorgeous skin and I liked the altered cat look, but not enough to spend days camping him.

Then I came across him accidentally while grinding leather in Sholazar and leveling my blue wasp. I asked around at first to see if anybody wanted him, but got no responses, and just...all of a sudden, I just had to have him. And he grew on me a lot from there. He's gorgeous, I love his noises, I love his appearance, and he's just so graceful and serene. He's my winter-kitty, I take him out in a lot of snowy regions, and he's slowly developing his own personality.

Like Veph said, I already have my own white devilsaur that I adore, so I have no need for Krush. I did see him in the wild once with a bunch of guildies in Petopia, and even seeing him for those few brief moments had me enraptured with him. He is a powerful and handsome creature, and the thrill of the tame has got to make him worth getting.

I'm not a huge fan of tallstriders, or the Clutchmother specifically (I prefer other color schemes). But I'd have to say the unique-ness of her skin--and indeed ALL the skins listed here--are probably what make them so popular.

~VelkynKarma

[Kittykat]

The first pet I ever "just had to have" was actually just an ordinary orange windserpent south of Camp Taurajo in the barrens. I saw it gracefully swooping along, and I just had to tame it.

Eventually I let her go, but for a while we were inseparable.

I got kind of burned out on my hunter for a while. I wasn't sure I would continue to level her at all, but one day I saw a hunter with Loque and I just wanted that cat so bad.

I kept on the painfully annoying process of leveling (this was before heirlooms of any sort, so I was going back over ground I had already covered with my main) and tamed an albino devilsaur to help me out. I had decided on a devilsaur, and PinkyWinky was the first one to cross my path. She was strong and protective, and made me smile too. I never bring her out anymore, but she did good.

Once I hit 77, the time had finally come to start hunting Loque.
I hadn't heard of NPCscan at that time, I just made a really simple /tar loque'nahak macro and started riding around. I figured it might take weeks to even see Loque at all... imagine my shock when my first late-night circuit around the Basin THERE WAS LOQUE!

My hands shook as I set out my frost trap and hit tame. It felt like the longest 20 seconds ever, but sure enough, a gold flash and Loque was mine!

When I got to 80 and found out I would really have to spec survival and tame a wolf in order to be more competitive in raids, I was terribly disappointed. None of the wolf models in the game really "click" with me. I tamed one, and named him a nice name, but he was never "my pet" just a tool for raiding.

I am hoping the unique oily look of my new wolf will help me get past the "I don't like the wolf models" thing. Sigh.

[Arkiss]

My first "gotta have it" tame was Washte Pawne back at level 20-something, the amazing colour compared to the other gold windserpents caught my eye, and I had to have him. I ended out dumping him for Arikara when he still had the unique summoning noise, though in my mind he was still Daigoro, just more impressive. I often regret ditching him, but my current stable is full of rares and special pets.

After that I got King Bangalash, and that was an exciting tame though only from the difficulty involved (I was only after his skills, back in the day when we hand to teach our pets via taming other beasts. Not fun but Cobra Reflexes was worth it) but I only kept him for a few levels until I made it to Winterspring and saw Rak'shiri. That was my first "stop everything you're doing and TAME!!!" moment, and it was a harrowing adventure to get within range while being eaten by stealthed cats. I still have Rak, and it doesn't matter how "common" a rare he and his doppelganger Shy-rotam are, I will never give him up.

Being SV I never had the drive to collect the spirit beasts, KK or rare core hounds, but maybe BM will be semi-viable after Cata and I can give it a shot? I'd love to tame Loque or Skoll.

[Jangalian]

In the end, though, green just isn't really 'my colour', and my Devilsaur quota has already been filled by Skorn, so KK doesn't hold any interest for me.

Veph, I will always think of you with your black buddy. xD It's just so iconically you.

Hm, everyone already knows about my love for big Krush, and yes, that's what I kept his name as. It fits him. I have Loque, but don't use him. I have Arcturis, but don't use him either. Rak'shiri is my other baby, but after that....I'm kind of at a loss. I don't even have a fifth pet. I tried a firefly for a while, but...I don't know. I'm eagerly waiting a chance to tame a mastiff or a fox. =D Or even an attractive warpie.

[Illahren]

Need and Greed. Simple and straight to the point. We spend hours and days camping certain skins and circling spawn points, for simple need and greed and nothing else. I know that sounds negative and it may cause an uproar, some people will swear they have better motives fueling their taming practices, but the truth is that these skins we all love, we love because they can still stop Wow Traffic.

I have played WoW for almost 4 and 1/2 years and I have been asked the "why go after that one" or "what's so special about that one" question a hundred times. The answer is as simple today as it was back then. "I want it because it's special. Because instead of you continuing on your way mindlessly going about a farming path or questing to kill these six or eight or twenty npc's, you just stopped your routine to ask me about my pet."

These unique skins, these certain few pets, they are a hunter's last stand against the growing wave of un-originality that currently plagues most classes in this game. What's the buff for Icecrown at now? 30%? Anybody with time to clear a few heroics can gear themselves well enough to kill the Lich King. Anybody with enough time can get a 310 flight mount through the holiday achievements.

But this sick looking, white furred, green spotted beastie beside me? To get this, this pet took me weeks of circling, of fighting off fellow campers, of enduring the frustration of PvP'ers running by and screwing with my tame. This spirit beast took hours of pouring over maps, of checking forums, of carefully monitoring kill times and counting sightings from my fellow players.

What's that you say? You found that one in an hour while farming, lucked into it without trying. Yay for you, says I! Truly excited and not sarcastic. Excuse me for a moment ... Dismiss ... Call Stable. Do you have a wolf for raiding? Probably just a random pickup, right? Took you all of about eight seconds and a quick flip to "at war" with the Sons of Hodir, right? Yeah, well, this beastie looks like someone shoved it's paw into an electrical outlet until he held the charge coursing through his body. Still not your flavor? How about this blue and purple feathered mohawk-touting wonder, or this green skinned monster that forced me to stack so much stam and haste for the tame that I felt like I had switched gear sets with a raiding mage-tank from the days of Gruul? How about this snow leopard that actually disappears in the snow, reappearing only when he's about to shred tendons from behind? This lion used to be able to hit so fast that mages turned and ran the other way in vanilla. This raptor used to be able to run down epic mounts. This serpent used to appear in a flash of smoke when called. Aqua-skinned tiger? Check. Blue-skinned, white coated gorilla. Woot! You have a black skinned lion?!? Sholozar or Barrens? SHOLOZAR?!? /IGNORE. Barrens? Cue the damn music.

Blue ghost wolf? "I hear the angels." Purple and yellow warp stalker? /stand /applause.

OP, you ask what makes these pets special to us. The answer is that there are certain pets that seperate the good from the bad, from the players who understand, I believe, what this class is about vs. those who play a hunter because it fits their raiding style the best. If a pet forces other players to recognize that it's not just some run of the mill leopard or a dinosaur anyone who throws fifty-some points into the BM tree can go get by hitting up Un'goro, then that is the pet that holds value to me.

Do I have stories for each? Of course I do. But I wouldn't have those stories if I had never gone after the skin in the first place, and so in the end, that's the root of what makes them special. Greed and need. I want THAT one because THAT one stands alone. Because that hunter over there is good at what they do and yay for them, but their pet is at best a stat stick and a raid buff and nothing more. When THIS hunter shows up to clear trash, or take names, or down bosses, people are going to KNOW that my pet is not run of the mill. That is why these certain few are special.

[Tilo]

Illahren: Took you all of about eight seconds and a quick flip to "at war" with the Sons of Hodir, right?

Is this for the ghostly jormunger?

True, many people want this or that just cause "it looks neat", I know I've been there myself on several occasions, & true there's several folks maybe not the vast majority who go out of their way to take the time, to do the research for that ''one, or two, or three'' pets that they really like for whatever reason.

It doesn't always have to be black & white; need & greed, there might be a mix in there, I want X-Pet because it's so _____________, but has a place in my heart for ______________ reason.

Looking at my stables now...

Soon as I went BM with my 1st hunter & saw King Krush read up on him, I've always loved dinosaurs since I was a kid, & for my first hunter Krush was 'the' dinosaur pet to obtain; 20hrs of dedication I had him. Yoshi aka Reptar is massive! He storms with me through town "Roaring" at passerbys who 'cheer' or inquire how long it took, through dungeons to tear the flesh from humans & wolves alike, & just to be with me when I'm treading the snows in icecrown. He's a great buddy...

On my 2nd hunter it's Mzuka(ghost) Loque whom' was my final pet I wanted before Cata., spent 44hrs, & he was worth falling asleep at the keyboard for; he's not nearly as grand as King Krush he's more subtle, sneaky, ready to be at my side & eager to shred at trolls & dragonkin, but mellow while we go fishing in dragonblight, or run along the forests of grizzly hills...

Some of my pets are for sentimental reasons afore mentioned in previous posts, those are a little more close to my heart in my opinion, regardless of the time it took, & some I just like how they are, they're silly attitudes, mannerisms, & frankly they're just wonderful to have & to be around, I like all my pets though some a little more than others, they're all appreciated.

[Illahren]

Not for the Ghost Jormungar, simply for the wolves found in the area owned by the Sons of Hodir. Any time you need a wolf without having to level one, go there and switch your status to at war. It will allow you to tame one of their wolves that are found there. It's a quick and easy way to get a raiding bandage pet, in this case a wolf with Furious Howl, for moments of accidental pet loss during raid. In my case, moments defined by personal idiocy:

Months back I placed my Krush Macro (Beastial Wrath, abandon pet, haste use-procs, yadda yadda) directly beside my tranq shot on my bar. Then I followed my raid group into a heroic attempt on the first boss in ToC25 and we wiped. The conversation that follows is not exact quotes but went something along these lines...

RL: "Cmon, hunters! You have to make that shot if he enrages!! He goes red, you go bang, he goes un-red, we win. What happened?"

Hunter 1: " Man, I don't even have tranq shot on my bar. I've never had to shoot it before, so i was waiting on the un-red like the rest of you. Ill always does the shot."

RL: "Seriously, what if Illahren was dead? Put the shot on your bar! Illahren, why no shot?"

Me: "I don't know man, I swear I hit it. I swear I hit that shot."

Shadow Priest Friend: "Hey Ill, where's your pet? You already rez it? I can't find it's body."

Me: "No, I didn't rez it. How can you not find my wolf? He's blue and electric and ...oh no."

RL: "Oh no, what? Where are you going?"

Me: "Storm Peaks."

RL: "We're in the middle of a raid!! You can't leave! That's not...I mean...PUT THE SHOT ON YOUR BAR HUNTER!!!"

[Rhyela]

Illahren, I would have to respectfully disagree with the need & greed. I'm sure there are those of us who want or have a pet because it's a trophy pet. Honestly, I liked red devilsaurs before I liked King Krush, but the color grew on me. At the time I had no idea he was a rare elite mob, I just liked the green color. Then I found out who he was and yes, that did appeal to me, but being needy or greedy wasn't the reason. The main reason was the color. He matched my hunter's hair (yes, I am that vain ). The uniqueness was just icing on the cake. Do I like when people clap at him? Of course! But if a million people had him on my server I wouldn't love him any less. I fell in love with him the instant I saw him in SB walking around. If it hadn't been for that instant connection, I'd have gone back to Un'goro and gotten Deathclutch back. But once I saw KK in all his green glory, I knew he was THE pet for me. Not "a" pet, THE pet.

But Strider Clutchmother? Come on, you can't honestly believe need or greed has anything to do with having her as my pet. I did not tame her to show her off to anyone. I don't expect gasps or whispers from the common folk about my teal tallstrider. I got her for the simple fact that she was always there in Darkshore where I spent tons of time questing with my brother. Her presence became like a comfort to me, I enjoyed going out there just to find her (and at the time, kill her ). SC has absolutely nothing to do with showing off or anything of the sort. She could have been just a brown named strider for all I care, it's all the same to me. I love her because she reminds me of those times my brother and I spent running around together, not caring about DPS or gear (unless it looked cool) or doing instances. It was just us and all the time in the world, and I treasure that. And for some reason, she's one of the things I see when I look back into my memories of those times, simply for the fact that she was unchanging and constant, and it always gave us great joy to see her walking around. So it has absolutely 0 to do with her being a trophy pet (and I doubt she could be considered a trophy pet, to be honest).

Not to mention my pet Naphthali, a little red spider that is neither rare nor unique. I saw a critter version of that spider in ICC and was immediately drawn to its bold coloration. Initially I looked for Naraxis because it was close to SW and typically there when I'm on an alt, but it wasn't there. So, I went to the next closest place which was ZG and picked up a run-of-the-mill Razzashi Broodwidow. Little did I know that the taming experience (which was more chaos than anything) would make me bond with that little spider more than I had anticipated. She's not rare, she's not unique, she's not even really a challenging tame. I liked her firstly because of her lovely appearance, but it was the personality she immediately developed that kept her by my side, and I still have her and will always have her.

Need and greed for me? Not even close.

[Tahlian]

I think the first time I ever truly fell in love with a pet was Daishar - or Rak'shiri as she was at the time. Way back in Vanilla, when Tahl was still a nelf. I was doing the horrible Wintersaber rep grind, and got attacked no less than four times by that damned blue cat. The fourth time I decided that if she was going to keep going after me like that, I may as well keep her, and tamed her. I have never for a moment considered getting rid of Daishar for anything, and I never will. The yawn sound may get tiresome every now and again, and when it does, she gets to go lie by the nice warm fire while one of her quieter fellows does the heavy lifting. But she'll never go away.

I never expected to get as fond of Clayburn as I have. I got a devilsaur just for kicks. There was another hunter in my circle of acquaintances who already had the black one, so I opted for the red. Then Clayburn started developing a personality, and then he became the highest-dpsing pet I could use while raiding...and then he became the "marker" for the melee to run to. I did abandon him exactly once. It was in an attempt to have him undergo a skin shed and become King Krush. My Krush tame was destroyed by a night elf rogue, and I was furious..then horrified. Clayburn was gone, and that idiot night elf had made sure he wasn't coming back. Fortunately for me, there's a Waygate to Un'goro in Sholazar. I threw myself through that gate and started looking for my buddy, retamed and releveled Clayburn. That's when I knew that Krush was going to have to wait till Cataclysm - Clayburn was destined to stay red forever, and I was never letting the big galoot go again, even for a heartbeat. He may not be special, he may not be rare, he may not have feared me a half-dozen times and hit like a truck towing other trucks...but he's Clayburn.

Loque's...kind of an odd case for me. I had always loved the skin, but had never had a hunter of level to tame him. When my Tauren hunter got old enough to look for him, I never found him, and Oakleigh wound up with Gondria and Skoll. So then I faction-changed Tahlian and began leveling him from 70 to 80. And as he leveled through Sholazar and Zul'Drak, I came up with a reason, a story as to why that spirit beast might seek him out. It was RP, it was perfect...and Loque refused to spawn for me. Finally I gave up and finished leveling Tahlian to 80. One morning before work, I took Tahl on a spin around the Basin to mine saronite and who should I find waiting for him among the gorillas but the mighty spirit beast, there to let my poor belf boy know his trespasses against the creatures of the Basin while in the employ of Hemet Nesingwary had been forgiven. And even though the poor beast's damage isn't all that great right now, he's another keeper. (You can sort of tell why I'm so glad we're getting 25 slots in Cataclysm, can't you? )

[Arisia]

I'll heavily disagree with the whole need and greed thought myself. Each of my hunters has a favorite pet, and most of them are pets any hunter could tame.

Aerye: my first toon ever. She has Merlyn, her wonderful blue tiger. Yes, she's had it from the time when only Horde could do the quest, or you had the stalk from heck to find Rak'shiri, but from the day I tamed him, this has been her pet, period. Anyone who wants one can tame one now-- just go to Winterspring and do the quest chain... but Merlyn will always walk next to Aerye.

Arisia: for most of her toon life, her orange tiger Solstice was her one and only. Yes, we've added to the stable, and Myst (Gondria) as well as Arcturus are in her stable, but you'll just as often see her with her war hound Sardonyx-- again, a pat any hunter of that level can tame.

Wynd: her one and only pet is LightSpeed, her purple hyena. And yes, she is BM specced as are all my hunters... sad but true, I really love levelling hunters.

Nyte: Eclipse, her black lion *is* a rare (he's Humar) but any hunter who wants one can get a black lion at 77.

NONE of these pets are made lesser to me because they might be common. ALL have stores, and I really do love them all... while yes, to some it might be the "need & greed" thing; not to all of us.

[Illahren]

Ry, I'm confused. How is picking the green one out and going specifically for it over any other color used not greed in some way, shape, or form? If you wanted a devilsaur, than any devilsaur would do. Specifically going after the sole green one for whatever reason it may be, is an act of greed on some base level. I want that one because it matched my hair. Want is the key word there.

Your original post asked what was special about certain pets to the lot of us. A red spider was not one of them mentioned nor would your post have made much sense if you would have initially included it along with the others. You mentioned a spirit beast (still to this day possibly the most difficult of the four to tame), a rare tallstrider (it's coloring, not when discussing availability), and King Krush (who still remans the single hardest tame in the game to manage solo). Those were the pets you mentioned which led me to believe the posting string was merely about the popular skins that, all for one reason or another, have a sense of rarity to them. The connection between the three being their actual skins. One green dinosaur, one white furred/aqua spotted leopard, one teal bird (not entirely certain on color models for tallstriders, there may be more teal ones available elsewhere in the game).

No offense meant by this, but I highly doubt you and your brother would have made multiple trips to kill a named run-of-the-mill tallstrider that looked just like every other tallstrider in the Darkshore area. It's coloring was probably what set it apart from the rest and made it a random target of your duo-themed adventures.

At the moment, I'm somewhat lost as to where this posting string is going. More than a few of you now have made mention of your pets that any hunter can get. That was not what the string was about. The original post was not about random pets we all have aquired over our years or months as we have gone about our business in the game. It's well and fine to disagree with my claim that going after the "specials" is based in some way or fashion about need or greed, but mentioning these easily earned pets anyone can have is not an answer to the question asked by the opening post of the string.

The question posed is "what is special about these select few exceptional pets to the entire group" not "what is special about these select few pets and your own to you personally".

[Arisia]

Illahren-- I think the only problem is in interpretation of the original question. ::

Rhyela posed:
>>I've noticed lately, by looking through different threads of pets
>>we own currently or want to own, that several are the same.
>>For instance, there are a lot of King Krush or King Krush hopefuls,
>>tons of Loque'nahak, many Strider Clutchmother fans. What is it
>>about these certain creatures that appeals to so many of us?
>>Is it their rarity, their color, their uniqueness, or something else?

When I read it, yes, I noted that they were asking about unique skinned pets, but it seemed that the question expanded when Rhyela also commented on tames for things like the white devilsaur, which is not, in all honesty, that hard to find or tame. From there, people like me, since I can speak for me (grin), have some unique, or lesser known skins, but they are ones that really any hunter of the level can tame without going to extreme measures. I know when I read the "need and greed" argument you made, I disagreed. I have several "unique" skins that are hardly either, since they are so readily gotten, hence my comment back.

Yes, I am sure that there are those who play hunters who LIVE to be server first for superdeluxeimpossible tames. But there are those of us who just like the way a pet looks, how it walks next to us, how it attacks... and yes, some of those pets are rare... and darn hard to get for a few.

What I am posing in reply to your argument is that I know I, and those like me, would tame the same pet had there been herds of them racing across the tundra. :: Heck, at least for me? There are a LOT of times that would have made me so darn very happy!

[Kalliope]

I fell for Krush the same way you did, Rhy. There's something about The Green that just spells "dinosaur" to me. Seeing him makes me happy. Having to win Theseus the hard way only endeared him more to me, but it was not what drew me to him. It was love at first sight, once I'd actually seen him.

Loque was another matter. I was never attracted to his sleek form, preferring the old school cat forms. But I always respected him and was glad to see him in person when I could. He was the first rare I saw in Northrend, back in the first week. I was herbing and was too low a level to tame him, even if I'd wanted to. I should have taken it as a sign. I tried taming Arcturis as my Hippomenes, my companion to Atalanta the ghost saber, but once I deleted my blood elf hunter, the spark was gone. I was never attached to the Arcturis model, just the laser bear concept. I despaired, as I missed Hippomenes, who had been a true and loyal laser companion on the original baby Kalli, but Kalliope has been attached to Ursa the black bear ever since I first laid eyes on him on Petopia all those years ago. I'm not sure when I realized that Loque had grown on me, but suddenly, I could see Hippomenes in a new form. Out of all the spirit beasts, Loque carries the most personality to me and has always looked "the best" in my eyes, even if he originally wasn't my taste. I won't know until Cataclysm if this is a true match, but I'm hoping that it will be; I miss Hippomenes and so does Atalanta. (I'd rather see them be a matching pair of cats than "ghosty" pets anyway.)

The clutchmother was a respect tame. I'm not hugely attached to any particular tallstrider skin; I get attached to the tallstriders themselves. Stilts, my brown one, is my baby and my favorite. Pinky (Mazz) and BlueBoy (CM) are a cute pair, but there's a reason they're on an alt, y'know? Yoninah and Babykalli are pretty much "pet holding" hunters for me; they have the pets who are close to my heart - MINE, not my hunters'. It's a significant difference to note, cause it means I'm not totally bonded with them or their pets. As to why I tamed her, I'd always wanted a collection of the colorful tallstriders, but never had a name chosen for the clutchmother. When the news broke that she was going extinct, I had to tame her. She was the first rare spawn I'd ever seen in WoW, so I wanted to honor her in some way...this was it.

So out of the three "high profile" pets mentioned in the OP, I really am only attached to one and a half of them. (Loque won't be a true attachment until I've actually tamed the new Hippomenes and gotten to know him better.) I don't really tame high profile pets. I tame the ones I like, period. Atalanta wasn't even supposed to be a ghost saber; she was meant to be a regular snow leopard. But I was talked into taming a ghost saber instead and that's how she's been ever since. I may have some pets who can morph, but she's not one of them. It's very funny how that works; I get no say in it. It's all the pets. Atalanta likes being ghosty.

I digress.

Some hunters are drawn in because the pets simply look cool. Some want to be gawked at in Dalaran or wherever else they go. Some like the thrill of the hunt. And others feel an inexplicable personal connection to a pet, which just so happens to be a high profile one. It takes all kinds.

[Rhyela]

Rhy (fixed that for you ), I'm confused. How is picking the green one out and going specifically for it over any other color used not greed in some way, shape, or form? If you wanted a devilsaur, than any devilsaur would do. Specifically going after the sole green one for whatever reason it may be, is an act of greed on some base level. I want that one because it matched my hair. Want is the key word there.

I suppose it depends on your interpretation of greed. When I think of greed, I think of wanting a pet solely for the attention it brings you, for the fame and for the glory. Am I not allowed to like something just because I like it? Greed, in my interpretation of it, had nothing to do with it. Had I said, "I wanted Krush because he was rare and is a trophy pet," that'd be more my definition of greed. Taming a pet without any sort of actual attachment to it or strictly to wear as a badge. I wanted Krush because of his color. I like green IRL. Jade is my favorite stone. Does like=greed? Does liking jade mean I'm greedy for it? I suppose I just don't interpret or define greed the same way you do then. In your eyes, it's greed. In mine, it was because I liked the color green. But upon seeing him, I fell in love with his presence. There was something about that devilsaur that hooked me immediately. I've seen tons of devilsaurs but none of them really felt the same. I even love looking at screenshots that other people post of him because to me he has this strange beauty to him. Notice I did not mention anything about him being rare. His uniqueness is honestly quite irrelevant to me. If there were 100 of them in Un'goro, I'd have likely gotten one of those first (just like how my first devilsaur was any normal red one). Krush happens to be a rare, I can't help that his skin is unique. But I still fail to see how that can be defined as "greed". Do I smile when someone cheers at him? Sure! But if there were a million more like him and no one cheered at him, I wouldn't give a fly's nads. I love Apollyon because I love him, not for fame and glory.

Your original post asked what was special about certain pets to the lot of us. A red spider was not one of them mentioned nor would your post have made much sense if you would have initially included it along with the others. You mentioned a spirit beast (still to this day possibly the most difficult of the four to tame), a rare tallstrider (it's coloring, not when discussing availability), and King Krush (who still remans the single hardest tame in the game to manage solo). Those were the pets you mentioned which led me to believe the posting string was merely about the popular skins that, all for one reason or another, have a sense of rarity to them. The connection between the three being their actual skins. One green dinosaur, one white furred/aqua spotted leopard, one teal bird (not entirely certain on color models for tallstriders, there may be more teal ones available elsewhere in the game).

Originally that was my intention for the thread, why do we tame the pets that everyone else seems to have. However, people started talking about the reasons they tamed their beloved pets and being the pet lover I am, I had no problem with the thread going that direction. It's obvious that people like to express their feelings towards their pixellated friends, so I don't mind the direction of the thread taking a slight detour.

No offense meant by this, but I highly doubt you and your brother would have made multiple trips to kill a named run-of-the-mill tallstrider that looked just like every other tallstrider in the Darkshore area. It's coloring was probably what set it apart from the rest and made it a random target of your duo-themed adventures.

Well yes, you would be right there. It's kind of hard to miss a teal tallstrider amongst the brown, drab landscape. But it's the memories that I link to her that are special to me, not necessarily the mob itself. It's like how when you think about your childhood, your brain might connect it to the cookies your mom used to make for you. It's just something that sticks out that makes you remember the good times from yesteryear. We obviously did a lot more than just run around in Darkshore from 1-50-something, but when I think about when we first started playing this game together, that tallstrider was always there so my brain just made that connection. That is why she is special to me. Again, not really sure where greed plays a part. I was greedy in the sense that I wanted the green loot she dropped back then, but NOW, greed isn't even close to being the reason I sought her as a pet. I just wanted a physical piece of those memories alongside me.

At the moment, I'm somewhat lost as to where this posting string is going. More than a few of you now have made mention of your pets that any hunter can get. That was not what the string was about. The original post was not about random pets we all have aquired over our years or months as we have gone about our business in the game. It's well and fine to disagree with my claim that going after the "specials" is based in some way or fashion about need or greed, but mentioning these easily earned pets anyone can have is not an answer to the question asked by the opening post of the string.

The question posed is "what is special about these select few exceptional pets to the entire group" not "what is special about these select few pets and your own to you personally".

Again, my original intent was asking why many of us seem to have tamed these obviously unique pets. Did we want them because they were unique?; rare?; or was it something else? But like I said, I don't mind that it took a slightly different direction. This is the Petopian forum, so naturally I'm quite open to any discussion pertaining to our beloved pets.

And to be quite honest, I would really rather not this thread be turned into a debate on the definition of the word "greed" because you see it one way and others see it another. So for now, I prefer to only reply to posts in response to someone's pet and why they care for it. No offense, but I just really dislike debates over trivial technicalities. You bring up valid points of course, but that doesn't take away from the fact that some hunters tame for greed (fame and glory), others tame for an honest connection, regardless of rarity. I love my pets, or I wouldn't still have them.

[Arisia]

Rhyela- I have wanted to ask, and always forget; what is the feeding animation when you toss Apollyon some food? I'm hopelessly in love with the thought of a devilsaur, but have a full stable ATM, thus no dino for me until the stables grow, but I am so curious as to that. ;D

((not wanting a tiny thread hijack, but wanting to ask before I forget again -g-))

[SpiritBinder]

Well I'll just stick to 2 which have the most special place in my heart for different reasons.

I'll start with my 1st pet. When BC came along, I decided to re-roll my hunter, and of course I really wanted to be blood elf. I was one of those who was easily attracted to the beauty of their world. The style of their city, the gardens and even the wildlife around them, burned with a fiery passion, and it was that which pulled me in.

Before it even came out I was on the net a looking at all the new pets coming available and then I saw him, that beautiful red lynx. It's colour took my breath away and I was in love. When it cam time to create my toon, His hair was wild and red and his heart was set on his soul mate. Other pets came along, and I loved them dearly, but he was always there, ever vigilant. I had my 1st pet all the way up to nax in wrath, but as more pets became available, that were one of a kind and exclusive, the day came for me to realise him. (in fact I had to release him for the slot that Garwul took) I still miss him so, and as soon as our stables get bumped up to larger numbers, He is the 1st one I will be looking for.

My 2nd one, would have to be my ghost wolf. At the time the information about these came out, it seemed fate that I should chase one down. My best friends playing at the time, were both a priest and a shammy, both need to nab him. It took many attempts, and allot of waiting between bloodlusts, but I remeber us all just as excited and myself when We got him, cheering on vent and jumping around all over the place, good times . I was lvl 70 at the time and had never leveled a pet from such a low lvl before. Starting as a lvl 30 (pets did not auto lvl back then) I had a good 40 lvls to get to know him. We ended up eating allot of wasps in Zanga and farmed up 2 wasp mini pets in the process! (one for myself and my priest friend ) but we made it to lvl 70. One cannot experience that anymore with pet auto lvling, for good or bad, but I will never forget it. (and I still <3'ed him even when wolves only buffed melee and very badly at that )


He also kicked in a small obsession with the his blue spirit like qualities, bringing me full circle to where my hunter is today. and his pets being that of guardian spirits that are connected in life and death.

[Vephriel]

Rhyela- I have wanted to ask, and always forget; what is the feeding animation when you toss Apollyon some food? I'm hopelessly in love with the thought of a devilsaur, but have a full stable ATM, thus no dino for me until the stables grow, but I am so curious as to that. ;D

((not wanting a tiny thread hijack, but wanting to ask before I forget again -g-))

Devilsaurs usually do their bite attack animation, though I think sometimes they do the stomp as well. I believe all feeding animations are just the pet's attack ones. :3

[Rhyela]

Apollyon more often than not does the stomp when he eats. Actually I don't think I've seen any other animation, but then again I don't have to feed him very often with the talents he has. It is cute, he really must get into that salted venison!!!