The Pet Hunter Diaries: Prepared For “Pandaria”
September 24, 2012
Dear Diary,
New Acquisitions: 4
Current Total: 155
Isn’t it amazing, how sometimes, even achieving a small, seemingly trivial goal can make you feel like a million bucks? I think because of this, some part of me will always be drawn to World of Warcraft — it is, in essence, a very goal-oriented game; there’s always something to be working towards, whether you’re a hardcore raider chasing heroic achievements, or simply like good old boring down-to-earth me, trying to collect 150 unique companion pets before the release of Mists of Pandaria.
In less than 24 hours, the expansion will launch, and I’m happy to report that I’ve completed what I set out to do well ahead of time, but why stop there? I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, a pet hunter’s job is never done. I’ve always been a rabid an enthusiastic collector of companion pets, which makes the upcoming pet capture-and-battle system feel like it’s right up my alley, but it’s also very exciting to see that more and more people are beginning to discover the joys of vanity pets, particularly those who have otherwise expressed little interest before.
For the last couple of WoW expansions I played until I reached the new level cap, and then stopped not long after that. I like raiding on occasion, but I’ve always been a proponent for more activity choices for endgame. Could pet hunting and battling be the answer to my ennui? That remains to be seen, but the last several weeks of doing nothing in game but focusing on amassing my pet collection has been very enlightening. Apparently, that alone has been enough for me to feel quite accomplished. But hey — I am, after all, your average everyday pet fiend.
I think I’ve done all I can pre-MoP for now. I’m sure that after Tuesday everyone’s pet collection including my own will explode, making the 150 unique pet achievement look like peanuts, but it was fun while it lasted. Now the question is, when I sit down to play tomorrow night, do I concentrate on starting my journey to level 90, roll a new Pandaren monk, or jump right into pet hunting? Choices, choices, choices.
And speaking of choices, I should also start thinking about assembling my pet battle team. The possibilities are endless:
- An all-flying ensemble? (Brilliant Kaliri, Firefly, Vampiric Batling)
- The Seasonal Squad? (Spirit of Summer, Peddlefeet, Feline Familiar)
- Mechs and robots? (Mechanical Chicken, Clockwork Gnome, Lil’ XT)
- Team We’re-So-Adorable-That-We’ll-Rip-Your-Face-Off-With-Our-Cuteness? (Lil’ Tarecgosa, Baby Blizzard Bear, Pint-Sized Pink Pachyderm)
That last one actually might not be such a bad idea, though the thought of someone beating up my little polar bear is too demoralizing and soul-crushing to even imagine; I just don’t know if I could take it.
To my fellow pet enthusiasts, see you all in Panda Land! It is my hope to meet you one day with honor on the pet battlefield.
Happy hunting,
MMOGC
Latest field notes and recently hunted pets:
Another baby bear! After two months doing Firelands dailies (didn’t always do them every day, that’s why it took longer) finally unlocked vendor to purchase this little guy. Probably obvious why I chose him first, as he is very cute, very cool. Having to spend more than 1000 gold to buy him, not so cool. Damn you, why do bear cubs have to be so stinkin’ adorable?
Several days later, unlocked second Firelands vendor to buy this pet. What a PITA this event chain is. Another 1000+ gold down the hatch, but now have my own little Crimson Lasher. No, definitely not feeding it any more burning scorpid gunk.
Spent weeks doing Tol Barad dailies, hoping for Alliance controlled every day in order for few extra commendations. Killed every Baradin Fox I came across, but after a pile of fox corpses still no luck. Screw it, finally just spent 200 commendations at the vendor for this pet and called it a day. Totally worth it. Has great dancing animation!
Checked AH periodically for hex sticks, buying any I could find for 5 gold or less (go to hell, sellers who list for 25g) to use on forest frogs in heroic ZA. Kitty stealth solo run ftw! Got lucky on third run, using second to last hex stick left in inventory. Finally got my Mojo!
MMO Gamer Chick 
[…] it seems everyone is getting ready, gathering pets, cleaning banks, making a raid gear list, and checking it […]
I hate to sound like a hipster or something, but from my perspective it’s a little sad that Blizzard had to “incentivize” companion pet collecting with the Pokemon battles (not that there anything wrong with that system in and of itself, might be fun). I was one of those that got stinky in the mail long before he had any use other than vanity. Those whose sudden interest arose simply for the competition potential have not really “discovered the joys of vanity pets,” IMHO. Plus, it sounds like they’ve created another time/gold sink with all the reputation unlocks and “exorbitant” prices. Remember when 1000 gold was an insane price to “buy” the “of the Shattered Sun” title?
LOL, sorry but you’re right, that does make you sound a little hipster! 😉 😛 I dunno, I think I used to feel like that too, when the new pet system was detailed I admit I may have had the occasional indignant “hey, I’ve been collecting pets years before it became *a thing*!” thought go through my mind. Like I said, pretty sure the 150 unique pet achievement will be peanuts come next week.
But now I’ve come to see it only as a good thing; when companion pet collecting gets more popular in MoP, I’m just happy there will be more people with whom to share my interest and enthusiasm (hopefully). You have to battle pets to catch them in the wild, and I’m sure I’ll be battling other players, but personally I’m not sure how big I will be into latter. It’s true that now there’s an incentive, but I think it’s great that if you’re just into the collecting aspect, you can still make it about that.
By the way — and now I put on my hipster hat — if you were a true pet collector, you’d know that pet collecting has ALWAYS been a time and gold sink! 😉 It’s definitely not a new thing. The investment involved is why I’ve always half-jokingly denigrated myself for my pet collecting habits.
Oh I’ve sunk some cash and time on obtaining obscure pets. Not often, though. I’ve even made a tidy profit on buying and selling once or twice.
Those first two were pricy. And I admire your perseverance in getting the final frog. It isn’t the pokemon mini-game that has gotten me interested in pet collecting so much as the fact that they are now shared across you account. I like the idea of my future alt newblets running around with utterly obscure pets.
I love the fact all the pet achievements are account wide too. So for example, I can get on my main, do 5 pet battles, log out, go onto an alt, do another 5 pet battles, and get the 10 battle achievement. I don’t have to worry about running into a pet on the “wrong” character, I’m adding to my collection even when I’m on my horde, and I can use my leveled pets no matter which toon I’m on! 😀
That’s something I’m loving about sPvP in GW2, as well. No matter what toon I am on, I am earning account-wide PvP credit. I never thought I’d like PvP, but GW2 has made me a believer, probably because they’ve so thoroughly separated PvP from PvE
Never thought I would say this relating to WoE, and as it relates to Pets and Pet Collectors as well those with an ungodly amount of pets enough to have their own Zoo. Well Pet Battling I never though I would say is a bit quite Fun!
I don’t have all that many pets, less than 50 so picking pets to battle with is not too daunting a choice.
It IS fun! I didn’t think it would be so addicting either (and I’m actually into this whole pet thing), but every new zone I go to now I feel this urge to do a sweep for pets I haven’t caught yet. Great to do whenever I have some time to kill.