The Pet Hunter Diaries: Thrill Of The Hunt

Dear Diary,

New Acquisitions: 9
Current Total: 151

Every time I write to you I feel like a big nerd. Oh who am I kidding, I am a big nerd.

As you can see, I’ve reached my pre-World of Warcraft expansion goal of 150 unique pets. One reason for that is I made out like a bandit leveling the last 16 points I needed to max Archaeology. It was a pain in the ass, but I managed to score two pets and a mount out of it. Not bad for about an hour of work.

Another factor which helped a lot was the Darkmoon Faire which was in town last week. Can you believe it’s only been my second time at the Faire since it moved to Darkmoon Island? And the first time didn’t even really count because I was only able to catch the tail end of it for a day or two. And yet I’m pretty sure I can play all the effing games there in my sleep now, seeing as I did them every day on no less than six characters to be able to get all the pets at once (now that they’re account wide). It didn’t exactly happen this month, but it sure as hell will next month.

Of course I’m ecstatic about my achievement, but at the same time…I’m getting this nagging feeling in the back of my mind like I cheated a bit because three new additions were actually redeemed through loot cards from the WoW Trading Card Game (TCG). I debated, I debated, I debated, and finally caved and just bought these dirt cheap common cards off eBay.

Okay, so I know it was the wise choice. It’s really not much different from buying aesthetic items from a game’s item shop, no? Probably cheaper too. Prices ranged from $0.99 to $4.50, and as several people have pointed out to me already, considering the time investment and effort it requires for me to gain one pet in game these days, the price is definitely worth it.

Still, I’m loathe to spend real money on vanity pets, because if I didn’t I would have all the ones from the Blizzard store already. Right now I only own Lil’ XT because he was a free gift for being a former WoW Mobile Armory subscriber as well as the Pandaren Monk and Moonkin Hatchling because when I bought them a part of their proceeds went to charity. Otherwise, I would generally prefer to leave “buyable” pets out of my collection as that just feels a little like an easy way out. After all, it’s the hunt that counts, no? Although, I guess one can argue that the bidding war I had over a couple of these cards can also be considered a chase of sorts.

Dear Diary, not saying I won’t continue to pad my collection in the future with more real life purchases, but how ’bout we just promise not to make a habit of it? Okay, sounds good to me.

Happy hunting,

MMOGC

Latest field notes and recently hunted pets:

Curious Wolvar Pup

Am a big moron. Not really “new” pet, but missed being counted after patch 5.0.4 (this is why I write, D.) Thought only had Oracle pet, forgot had done Children’s Day quest a million years ago for this little guy on alt. Which alt? When? Who cares! Was nice surprise “bonus” pet, reward for helping some orphans.

Sea Pony

Nothing more irritating than fishing pets, but surprisingly painless. Random guy on dock beside me hooked him in 5-6 casts, made me want to jump and beat snot out of him to steal sea pony. Luckily fished up my own in about 60-70 casts. Urge to kill gone immediately. Only available during Darkmoon Faire from fishing off shores of island.

Darkmoon Monkey

Between this month’s tickets and last month’s paltry haul on main, had just enough to buy one Darkmoon pet before Faire left town. Chose monkey, because everybody loves monkeys. Especially monkeys wearing red fezzes. This is truth.

Clockwork Gnome

AKA Jeeves’ lazy cousin as he will not fix your armor, sell you stuff or do banking, just stand there looking pretty. Unbeknownst to me, project had been sitting in archaeology queue under Dwarf artifacts for who knows how long.

Voodoo Figurine

Another archaeology find, troll artifact. From description: “Often powered by flasks of mojo, troll sweat, the flesh of tribal enemies, or by DEVOURING TINY PORTIONS OF THEIR OWNERS’ SOULS.” Uh, crap, what? Wait, there’s more: “But don’t worry. Teeny, tiny little portions. You won’t even notice they’re gone.” Oh, good. Was worried for a sec there.

Sand Scarab

From WoW TCG expansion “Tomb of the Forgotten”. Very common and also cheapest of pet loot cards purchased. Maybe people don’t particularly like bugs? Admittedly, little guy is sort of creepy. Takes certain kind of love to appreciate insect bigger than your boot.

Purple Puffer

From WoW TCG expansion “Throne of the Tides”. Looks horrifyingly ugly on card illustration, but surprisingly cute in-game. Like Sea Pony, swims around in own little bubble which floats after owner, quite cruel if you think about it. Am disappointed that despite name, little guy does not have “puffing up” animation. Missed opportunity.

Gregarious Grell

From WoW TCG expansion “Crown of the Heavens”. Sports mullet, lots of piercings, and will look fantastic and right at home running beside warlock alt. Wait, Sand Scarab, Purple Puffer, Gregarious Grell. Purposeful alliteration? Or myself just slow to pick up on “old news”? Either way, I shall dub him Grayson.

Celestial Dragon

Received this latest escapee from the celestial menagerie for completing “Littlest Pet Shop” achievement, requiring possession of 150 unique companions. Since Patch 5.0.4, pet achievement rewards apparently no longer mailed as he appeared automagically in pet journal. Reward for collecting pets — even more pets. Go figure.