WarcraftPets Database & guides for collectors of World of Warcraft Companion Pets http://www.warcraftpets.com/ en-us Blossoming Ancient Available at the Blizzard Store http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/blossoming-ancient-available-at-blizzard-store/ Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:45:00 EST [description]There's a new companion for sale in the Blizzard Pet Store, the Blossoming Ancient! [source]

This pet costs $10 and once redeemed is applied to single Battle.net account.

Born from a seed of one of the Ancients, these spirited saplings are destined to regrow and heal Azeroth from the devastation caused by the Shattering. Adopt one, and you’ll be rewarded with joy throughout the year - as each new season begins, the Blossoming Ancient changes, bringing new life to its surroundings.

As the description mentions, this pet will change its foliage depending on each season. It has a different look for Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring; it's like a whole new pet each time!

So if you're interested in the Blossoming Ancient, head over to the Blizzard Pet Store (US Store/EU Store) and adopt your very own! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/blossoming-ancient-available-at-blizzard-store/ 5.4 PTR: A Pet Collector's First Look at the Patch http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-4-ptr-pet-collector-first-look-at-patch/ Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:42:00 EST source]

First Glimpse of 5.4 PTRHere are some highlights of what's to come in 5.4. Keep in mind that these patch notes are subject to change over the course of the PTR.

  • A new pet battle tournament is available on the Timeless Isle, more details coming soon!
  • Players are now able to trade in any 3 of the same family specific Flawless Battle-Stones for a single Marked Flawless Battle-Stone.
  • Aquatic type's passive effect now reduces damage from damage-over-time effects by 50%, up from 25%.
  • Critter type's passive effect now makes critters immune to roots, stuns, and sleep effects.
  • Dragonkin type's passive effect now activates after an attack brings a target's to below 50% health, up from 25%.
  • Elemental type's passive effect now only affects negative direct effects of weather. (E.g. Sandstorm's accuracy reduction won't be applied, but the damage reduction will.)
  • Magic type's passive effect now caps damage taken at 35% of maximum health, up from 40%.


There are also some adjustments to a few pet abilities as well as two UI updates. Check out the full list of changes here.

Datamined Discoveries
In addition to the official patch notes, Wowhead discovered four new possible pets coming in 5.4. [source]

  • Crafty (Bind on Pick Up)
  • Moon Moon (Bind on Equip)
  • Rascal Bot (Bind on Pick Up)
  • Essence of Xuen (Bind on Pick Up)


Last but not least, Wowhead datamined a new Darkmoon Faire world boss. This newest addition seems to be a direwolf and may drop a few special items, including the pet Moon Moon! [source] ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-4-ptr-pet-collector-first-look-at-patch/ Raiding With Leashes II: Pet Interactions & Animations http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/raiding-with-leashes-pet-interactions-animations/ Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:30:00 EST raid dropped pets can be fierce opponents in a battle, but ever wonder what these pets do when they're not going head to head in combat?

It turns out that these adorable companions can be pretty active when idling about in the world next to you. Each one has a unique interaction or animation that you don't want to miss out!

Lil' Bad Wolf idle animations


Who knew that these little scamps could be so energetic? Bring out these pets and if you wait long enough, you just might see something neat happen!

Curious about which other pets do more than just look cute?

Check them all out by using the WarcraftPets Pet Filter and selecting "Has Interactivity". You'll be amazed with how active your pets are when you're not looking. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/raiding-with-leashes-pet-interactions-animations/ Possible Family Passive Adjustments In 5.4 http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/possible-family-passive-adjustments-in-5-4/ Sat, 01 Jun 2013 14:43:00 EST Pet FamiliesThe discussion of pet family passives is still open, and Crithto recently presented potential changes to a few of them.

These are not yet finalized and if any adjustments are made, they are likely to happen in Patch 5.4. [source]

  • The Magic passive now caps damage taken at 35% of maximum health, buffed from 40%.
  • The Dragonkin passive effect now activates when the enemy is taken below 50% health, up from 25%.
  • The Aquatic passive now reduces DOT damage by 50%, up from 25%.
  • The Elemental passive effect now only affect negative, direct effects of weather (e.g. the accuracy reduction of Sandstorm won’t be applied, but the damage reduction will).
  • The Critter passive now makes critters completely immune to roots, stuns, and sleeps.


What do you think about these changes? How will they affect your battling gameplay?

Let the developers know by leaving some constructive feedback on the official thread! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/possible-family-passive-adjustments-in-5-4/ Patch 5.3: Known Issues for Pet Collectors http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-3-known-issues-for-pet-collectors/ Thu, 30 May 2013 10:56:00 EST
Patch 5.3: Known Issues for Pet Collectors
Longest Day Achievement
Many players are reporting that they are not receiving the reward for completing the achievement The Longest Day. Additionally, the achievement may not be behaving as intended, and it may not correctly log completed dailies.

Developers are working on a fix, but in the meantime players that have fulfilled the necessary requirements for the achievement can submit a ticket and request the reward. [source]

Opening Too Many Bags
At the start of Patch 5.3, opening one too many Tamer bags resulted in a three day account suspension. This was a (possibly unintended) side effect of a hotfix to curb an unrelated exploit also involving opening loot containers.

Since then, Mumper has stated on Twitter in regards to this issue,

"We are proactively reviewing any account that received suspensions for opening multiple loot bags and will overturn as unnecessary."

Players have petitioned their suspensions and most have been reviewed and the suspension overturned. In a few cases the game time was refunded to eligible players.

Although Blizzard has taken step to ensure players are not wrongly punished, opening many Tamer bags may still trigger a temporary account ban, so it is advisable to open any loot bags as you receive them rather than accumulating and opening many at once. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-3-known-issues-for-pet-collectors/ World of Petcraft #32 http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/world-of-petcraft-32/ Tue, 28 May 2013 14:31:00 EST World of Petcraft strip every month.

World of Petcraft #32
About the Artist
Meaghan McLaughlin is an aspiring artist and the author of "Nerds Illustrated." She's currently available to create custom WoW artwork. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/world-of-petcraft-32/ Patch 5.3 is Live with 20 New Pets! http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-3-is-live-with-20-new-pets/ Tue, 21 May 2013 13:25:00 EST
Patch 5.3 is Live with 20 New Pets!
Here are the highlights of Patch 5.3. For a full list of all the changes, check out the official 5.3 patch notes.

20 New Pets to Collect!

  • 10 new pets that drop from three Burning Crusade raids - Tempest Keep, Karazhan, and Serpentshrine Cavern. Upon collecting all of them, you'll receive a pet reward!
  • There's a new pet with a unique interaction, but it's not available yet and it's unknown when it will be released.
  • 3 new pets from bosses in the Throne of Thunder raid, one of which only comes from the LFR version of the instance, while another can only drop from Normal or Heroic mode.
  • Lend your aid to the Darkspear Rebellion to gain access to the quartermaster who sells a baby hydra!
  • 2 new drops from creatures on the Isle of Giants and Isle of Thunder.
  • Enjoy pet PVP? There's a new reward for winning 250 battles with a team of max level pets. Let's rumble!


View All New Pets

In addition to all of the pets mentioned above, a new elusive wild pet can be found in the farthest continent of Azeroth. Be on the look out for the Unborn Val'kyr!

This undead companion can spawn in any zone in Northrend, and in a recent interview with Game Diplomat, Mumper confirmed that player actions (other than capturing or killing the Unborn Val'kyr) have no affect on this pet's spawn. [source]

The Unborn Val'kyr may defeat many a foe, but it also has the ability to give life, not just take it. When summoned outside of a battle and brought near a deceased non-battling critter, this dark angel will breathe life back into the dead!

New Features and Changes

  • Family-specific Battle-Stones are now BoA!
  • The Pet Journal will save your pet ability selections for each pet, even when you switch pets in and out of your current team.
  • The world map shows the locations of Pet Tamers with a green paw marker.
  • There's a new achievement for completing all Tamer dailies in one day. This achievement rewards a BoA Battle-Stone, Marked Flawless Battle-Stone.
  • There are new Pet PVP achievements and rewards.
  • New Pet PVP weekly that rewards Valor Points and the new Brawler's Pet Supplies.
  • Your statistic window pane now tracks wins from queued Pet PVP matches.
  • You can spectate wild pet battles and pet battle duels. Matches against Tamer NPCs are not visible.
  • The Beasts of Fable daily has been split up into three parts, all of which can be completed daily. Each quest rewards Fabled Pandaren Pet Supplies.
  • The Beasts of Fable reward bags have a chance to drop a Pet Treat. Talk about an incentive for your pets (and you) to earn those levels!
  • You now have a chance to loot family-specific flawless Battle-Stones from the Pandaren Spirit daily bags.
  • Pandaria Pet Battle quests also reward Lesser Charms of Good Fortune and Valor Points.
  • Experience is now rewarded for all Pet Battle quests.
  • Not having much luck finding a Battle-Stone from the daily bags or wild battles? A new feature to slowly increase your chances to find a Battle-Stone has been implemented.
  • Pets have an increased chance to hit higher level opponents, and many attacks have had their damage increased at the cost of accuracy.
  • Many pet abilities have been updated and changed.
  • The Tiny Carp companions can now be caged and traded. Happy fishing!


Whether you enjoy Pet PVP, PVE or both, this patch is loaded with goodies for everyone. Time to get collecting and battling! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-3-is-live-with-20-new-pets/ 5.3 PTR: Tiny Carps Tradable and Unborn Val'kyr Update http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-ptr-tiny-carps-tradable-unborn-valkyr-spawning-clarifica/ Wed, 08 May 2013 01:34:00 EST Tiny Red CarpTiny Carp Pets Tradable in Patch 5.3
The patch notes for the 5.3 PTR were updated recently to include a change to the Tiny Carp companions. [source]

Tiny Blue Carp, Tiny Green Carp, Tiny Red Carp, and Tiny White Carp are now tradable, and can be caught more than once.

This is great news for players who are unable to fish up the carp pets themselves. So anglers and collectors be sure to save any extra Tiny Carps you may have fished up. Who knows how much they will be worth in 5.3!

Unborn Val'kyr Spawning Clarification
It's still a mystery what triggers the spawning of the Unborn Val'kyr (coming in Patch 5.3), but one thing is for certain - players will not be able to force these haunted angels to spawn, as confirmed by Mumper on Twitter. [source]

"Players have no effect other than capturing or killing what they find."

Looks like we'll have to continue brainstorming what type of server conditions are required to spawn this elusive wild pet. If you happen to spot one, be sure to take note of environmental details. Hopefully by comparing notes, we'll figure out the mystery behind the Unborn Val'kyr! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-ptr-tiny-carps-tradable-unborn-valkyr-spawning-clarifica/ Children's Week Pets: Collect 'em and Battle 'em! http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/childrens-week-pets-collect-and-battle/ Thu, 02 May 2013 09:20:00 EST

It's that time of year again... quite possibly the best pet collecting in-game holiday in WoW — Children's Week!

From April 29th through May 6th, several Orphan Matrons throughout the world offer you quests to care for an orphan. As thanks for your kind deed, you'll be offered a chance to pick one out of a few different pets at the end of each quest chain.

Curious where to pick up the quests and how to complete them? You'll find maps and step-by-step walk-throughs in our definitive guide:

WarcraftPets' Guide to Children's Week

You can complete these quests once per character, making it possible to collect a different pet on each one. Add as many or as few to your collection all in one week! Plus, nearly all of these pets are tradable. So you can find some great deals on them in the auction house.

Children's Week Pets In Battle
Most of the pets rewarded during Children's Week are from the Critter family. Magic, Humanoid and Aquatic are also options, although less abundant.

If you're looking for an effective counter against Critters, try out the Curious Wolvar Pup! As a Humanoid, it takes less damage from Critter attacks. On top of that, it has a few attacks that are strong against Critters, such as Bite and Maul.

Another interesting pick is Scooter the Snail. Elemental attacks are weak against this pet, and its ability Dive is strong against Elemental types. Who knew a little snail could pack such a punch?

Before you head off into battle with your new friends, you may want to use a Battle-Stone to upgrade them. Each Children's Week pet starts off as [uncommon] quality. This doesn't stop them from being awesome and adorable companions, though! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/childrens-week-pets-collect-and-battle/ Pet Maps, Scaling Abilities, and Site-Wide Ranks http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/pet-maps-scaling-abilities-site-wide-ranks/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:10:00 EST
New Location Tab
There's something new in each pet's profile... a Location tab!

New Location Tab

We've teamed up with Wowhead to provide zone maps marked with the location of every pet you can find in the world. Here are a few key features:

  • Location data is powered by the most current data collected by Wowhead. It's further refined based on our own observations. So these are likely to be the most reliable pet maps you'll find!

    Note that we're still in the process of tweaking some data, so if you see any mistakes, please let us know!
  • Simply hover over any pin on the map for exact coordinates.
  • Pet "adds" that join a battle (but aren't native to the zone independently) will provide an alert on the map in place of pins.


Popup Locations
For added convenience, maps are also accessible through a pet's tooltip. Just click on the lightly underlined zone and the map will open in a lightbox popup. This is particularly helpful when using our Pets by Zone feature.

Pop-up Locations
Abilities Scale with Level, Rarity and Breed
Have you ever wondered precisely how much damage that pet you're leveling will do with its primary attack at level 25? Or how well it will heal?

Well, wonder no more!

Now when you adjust the level, quality, and breed using the stat calculator (found in each pet's Battle Info tab), the pet's battle abilities (shown beneath) will scale according to your choices. So you can see the exact damage and healing values done by any pet of any possible configuration!

Abilities Scale with Level, Rarity and Breed

Site-Wide Rankings
By popular demand, we've added your realm ranking and your site-wide ranking to your pet collection stats.

Site-Wide Rankings

Site-wide rankings are first determined by pet score, then by the total number of collected pets, and lastly by your most recent login date.

This feature helps you to easily see your realm standing and how close you are to ranking on our Top 500 Collections list without having to check those pages.

Thanks for Your Continued Support!
Updates like these are made possible through the continued support of players like you. We'd like to extend an extra special thanks to our Site MVPs, who have gone above and beyond to support our efforts. You guys are the greatest!smiley ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/pet-maps-scaling-abilities-site-wide-ranks/ April 25th WoW Developer Q&A: Pet-Related Questions http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/april-25-developer-qa/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:35:00 EST full transcript of the session here.

  • Q: Wild battle pets, released after 5.0, have gradually gotten less and less breeds. Is this because of the pet "gem slots" Cory talked about? If not, will pets continue to be released as mono-/dual-breed pets?

    A: No particular reason tbh. We try to vary up the breeds based on what type of pet it is. Reward pets are locked to one breed for obvious reasons but we plan to keep adding lots of multi-breed pets in the future.

  • Q: Epic pets soon? And if so is it just going to be through an item like epic pet battle stone, or something more interesting?

    A: Current plan is to introduce a couple epic pets in 5.4. We are working on a cool, new way to obtain them as well. Pretty hyped about it.

  • Q: About rare pet battle-stones, i have about seven of a family that i don't need anymore, any chance we may be able to "trade" them for other family stones?

    A: Working on something for this exact issue in 5.4. I feel your pain.

  • Q: Will Battle pets caught in the wild be tradeable?

    A: Great question! This is something we went back and forth on quite a bit before MoP shipped. We are very happy with the call we made though. Love the fact that players are actually out in the world, catching pets and not sitting in town.

  • Q: In pet battles, I feel you made us fight Legendary pets too early, in future expansions are all the pet battles going to be Legendary?

    A: Lots of things we can do to make fights interesting outside of a pet being legendary.

  • Q: Can we ever expect to see a more in depth pet battle pvp system? With how popular they are would you guys be open to adding a win/loss tracker. I see that we are getting a win tracker but a rating or season type system would be amazing!

    A: We are taking a watch and see approach on it. We added a weekly quest and some tracking to 5.3. If that pans out successful, we will continue to add to the PVP side of pet battles.

  • Q: Will there be any spectator mode added to Pet Battles?

    A: 5.3!
]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/april-25-developer-qa/ Pet Family Passive Changes Possible In a Future Patch http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/pet-family-passive-changes-possible-in-future-patch/ Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:15:00 EST Elemental family). It was noted that some changes to specific passives may be coming in a future patch. [source]

There are currently four pet passives that are being considered for retuning. Here are the possible changes. These have not been implemented yet and should not be considered final.

[description]
  • Elemental - 50% damage reduction for the turn one is swapped in.
    Our goal being that we’d rather have a passive in place that increases the strategic depth of elemental pets, and is clear in its intention and functionality.
  • Aquatic - Harmful DoTs reduced by 50% (up from 25%).
    Because few creatures have more than one DOT, this ends up being a less than steller damage reduction over the course of the battle.
  • Critter - Immune to CC completely.
    We'd like critters of all speeds to benefit equally from their passive, so we're considering making them immune to crowd control effects completely. This would include stuns, roots, and other incapacitating effects.
  • Magic - Cannot be dealt more than 35% of total health in one move (down from 40%).
    When balance changes were made to reduce the damage of some very heavy-hitting abilities, this passive was indirectly nerfed. We're thinking if we buff the effect to 35% of maximum health, that should compensate for previous adjustments.


Crithto goes on to explain a little further about the potential changes to these pet family passives, and you can read more here.

Keep in mind that nothing has been set in stone yet, and Blizzard is welcoming constructive feedback on these changes. Stay tuned, we'll have more details on any updates! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/pet-family-passive-changes-possible-in-future-patch/ Coming Soon: Homage to Bad Robot Productions http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/coming-soon-pet-homage-to-bad-robot-productions/ Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:27:00 EST J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. [source]

Bad Robot
One of the core values we live by here at Blizzard is “Embrace Your Inner Geek.” We play countless games, we collect comics and card games, we love cutting-edge technology and computer hardware, we’re fascinated by science and discovery, and many of us are movie buffs. Movies represent the combined imaginations of talented writers and visionaries, artists and operators, editors and producers, that can culminate in an awesome cinematic experience.

Pet Details
Not much is known about this pet yet, however it was stated that players with the Engineering profession will be able to craft it and everyone will have a chance to collect one. Currently, there isn't a specific release date or patch for this pet.

Stay tuned, we'll have more information on this Bad (or Awesome) Robot as soon as it becomes available! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/coming-soon-pet-homage-to-bad-robot-productions/ 5.3: New Battle Pets Summary and Visual Preview http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-new-battle-pets-summary-and-visual-preview/ Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:35:00 EST
Keep in mind that this list isn't final and sometimes a few pets don't make the cut.

5.3: New Battle Pets Preview
Upcoming Pets to Collect
There are currently 20 possible pets being released in the next patch. Many of which will come from early Burning Crusade raid instances such as Karazhan, Tempest Keep, and Serpentshrine Cavern. The bosses in these raids will be surprised to see us again!

Other companions that you'll likely find in Patch 5.3 include a new wild pet in the form of an Unborn Val'kyr, new achievement pets, more pets from the Throne of Thunder raid, a new Blizzard Pet Store pet, a pet for winning queued PVP matches, and more!

Learn more about each of these 20 pets: Unlisted and Upcoming Pets ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-new-battle-pets-summary-and-visual-preview/ World of Petcraft #31 http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/world-of-petcraft-31/ Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:15:00 EST World of Petcraft strip every month.

World of Petcraft #31
About the Artist
Meaghan McLaughlin is an aspiring artist and the author of "Nerds Illustrated." She's currently available to create custom WoW artwork. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/world-of-petcraft-31/ 5.3 PTR: New Pet, New Achievement, and Accuracy Change http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-ptr-new-pet-new-achievement-and-accuracy-change/ Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:05:00 EST source]

New Pet Store Pet
The latest addition is called the Blossoming Ancient. This pet is currently listed on the PTR as a Pet Store companion, Bind on Pick Up and not cageable.

While we've seen Ancients before throughout Azeroth, this companion version has a very unique feature. Depending on the season, the Blossoming Ancient will change color!

New Blossoming Ancient pet!
Image courtesy of MMO Champion

Whether winter, fall, summer or spring, it has the appropriate foliage for all seasons! Now if only we could decorate it for Winter Veil!

New Achievement
Traveling from Tamer to Tamer may have an extra perk in 5.3. A new achievement called The Longest Day was datamined in the latest PTR build.

So far the only criteria of the achievement is to complete three Tamer dailies. The dailies are low level, but keep in mind that this may be updated in the future.

After completing this achievement, you will receive a new type of battle-stone, the Marked Flawless Battle-Stone (not to be confused with the tradeable, generic Flawless Battle-Stone). The new stone is BoA but can be applied to any pet family-type.

Accuracy In Pet Battles
Crithto recently wrote up an informative article detailing the changes being made to accuracy in 5.3. [source]

Here's a quick summary:

  • Pets have had the base 5% chance to dodge removed, and the chance to miss a higher level pet has been reduced from 5% to 2% per level.
  • Because of the removal of the base dodge chance, some abilities with 100% chance to hit needed to be retuned to keep them balanced. These attacks have had their damage increased by 5-15% but their chance to hit reduced by 5-15%.


Check out the article for a full list of abilities that will be affected by this change. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-ptr-new-pet-new-achievement-and-accuracy-change/ Three Resources for Pet Collectors and Battlers http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/three-resources-for-pet-collectors-and-battlers/ Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:05:00 EST new addons to new websites. Here are three that could be just what you've been looking for!

RepCheck
RepCheck
Tired of searching through each of your character's reputation tabs to see which one has enough favor to purchase a reputation vendor pet? RepCheck simplifies the task, and makes it easy to see which pets are available for each toon.

After entering your region, realm, and character name, RepCheck will present you with a filterable list of all your reputations. Each one is listed under its corresponding expansion, which makes sorting even easier. You can filter for a number of items, but best of all... pets!

Give RepCheck a try, and you may find that you're eligible for a reputation pet you didn't even know about!

Battle Pet Tamer Guide
Wowhead has put together a comprehensive guide on the Tamer quests, dailies, and rewards. It showcases the quest chain necessary to unlock each continent's Tamer dailies, as well as the location for each Tamer.

With all of this knowledge under your belt, you'll be able to go out there and tame the world with ease!

Global Pet Battle League
We're excited to announce that registration for Season 2 of the Global Pet Battle League is now open! Interested? Here's the GPBL in a nutshell:

Players from all over the U.S.A. and in many other nations can bring their roster of pets to participate in our tournaments. Up to 64 players will compete each season for bragging rights and the title of GPBL Champion!

Here's how you can participate:

  1. Visit the Global Pet Battle League website for all necessary info.
  2. Be sure to read the RULES page in detail and make sure you can be available for the Qualification and Tournament dates listed on the main page.
  3. Once you understand the rules, click the "Register" link (top navigation) to enter your info and sign up.


Once we've received your registration, you'll be notified of the start time for qualification play (if necessary) and your seeding in the tournament bracket itself.

Official start times will be announced and sent to all registered participants. From there, all you need to do is show up with your roster of level 25 pets and get ready to battle!

Put your skills to the test in this competitive Pet Battle environment. Register now and get your chance to show all of Azeroth that you ARE the very best! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/three-resources-for-pet-collectors-and-battlers/ WarcraftPets Turns 6, Celebrating Six Great Years! http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/warcraftpets-turns-6/ Sat, 06 Apr 2013 07:35:00 EST launch of WarcraftPets, and today we're celebrating our 6th anniversary and six wonderful years of pets!
WarcraftPets - Celebrating 6 Years of Pets!
Six Incredible Years
Through the many years we've evolved so much, and we thank you for continuing to support us. Thanks to your contributions, our community has grown and become a great resource for pet lovers, both collectors and battlers alike.

Year In Review
The past year has been a whirlwind of new additions, features, and of course, many new pets!



We'd like to thank everyone again, especially our Site MVPSite MVPs, for continuing to support WarcraftPets. We wouldn't be here without you.

And as always...

Happy Collecting!
]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/warcraftpets-turns-6/ Lil' Ragnaros On Sale In the Pet Store! http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/lil-ragnaros-on-sale-in-pet-store/ Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:29:00 EST Lil' RagnarosSummer is inching closer and closer, and what better way to prepare than by adopting a mini-fire lord to add to your collection!

Lil' Ragnaros is currently on sale in the Blizzard Pet Store for 50% of the original price. [source]

Don't forget that the Pet Store sales are regional, so be sure you're purchasing from the correct store.
The US sale can be found here, and the EU sale here.

Whether you're looking to add him to your own collection or as a gift for someone else, don't delay! The sale ends on April 9th, so act now while it's still hot. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/lil-ragnaros-on-sale-in-pet-store/ 5.3 PTR: Spectate Battles, Hit Chance & Beasts of Fable http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-ptr-spectate-battles-hit-chance-beasts-of-fable/ Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:05:00 EST already covered the new wild pet, achievements, and Burning Crusade raid dropped pets coming in 5.3, but now there's more!

Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.3 PTR
The patch notes for the 5.3 PTR was recently updated. [source]

Here's a summary of all the updates and changes.

  • You can duel (pet battles) with your raid and party members in dungeons and raids.
  • Wild battles and duels can be viewed by everyone, not just the participants.
  • There are updates to hit and miss/dodge chances. The base chance to miss or be dodged has been removed in battles between pets of the same level. Additionally, the chance to miss when fighting a higher-level opponent was reduced.
  • The in-game statistics window will now track your max-level matchmaking PVP wins.
  • The Pet Journal will save your choice of abilities for each pet when you swap them out of your active pet team.
  • Family-specific battle-stones are now BoA.
  • The Beasts of Fable daily quest has been broken up into three parts. You can complete any or all of them, and receive up to 3 daily bags per day. Additionally, these dailies will also reward a new consumable that boosts your pet's experience gain for a period of time.


You can check out the full official patch notes here.

The PTR is coming along, it's a wonder what other interesting features they will come up with next! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/5-3-ptr-spectate-battles-hit-chance-beasts-of-fable/ Multiple Pet Summoning Follow-Up, Plus New Filters http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/april-fools-plus-new-filters/ Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:52:00 EST summon multiple pets in 5.3... with a catch. Well, we have a confession...

April Fools!Lost of Lordaeron???

Yes, we're sorry to say that there is no such thing as VMR (variable model rendering). So fortunately (or unfortunately), there will be no one running around with hundreds of 8-bit pets in tow.

But in our recent interview with Cory Stockton, Cory did state that they fully intend to implement multiple pet summoning in some capacity down the road. When they do, we're certain that pets will render in all their usual stunning glory.

New Pet Filters (And That's No Joke!)
As a consolation prize, we do have some shiny new pet filters for you to play with. These filters have been sought after for some time!

Ever wonder which Aquatic pets can deal Beast damage? Or which pets you already own that are able to perform Mechanical attacks?

Wonder no more! With our new Attack Type filter group, you can find the perfect counters to popular pets and pet battle strategies. Enjoy!

Special Thanks + Drop Us a Line!
We'd like to extend a special thanks to Drrum (known in WoW as Michelle De Rum) for providing us with most of the artwork for our April Fools' joke. You can enjoy more of her creativity at Drrum's Pets and Mounts Gallery.
Feedback: Did you enjoy our 2013 April Fools' Day joke? Were you fooled? Take a few moments to send us your feedback!
]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/april-fools-plus-new-filters/ Summon Multiple Pets in 5.3, But with a Catch... http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/summoning-multiple-pets-but-with-a-catch/ Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:40:00 EST But there's a catch...

Summon an army of pets - but what's the catch?
Technical Constraints
In an exclusive interview with two of WoW's programmers, we learned why players could only summon one pet at a time (until now).

Each pet summoned requires a tiny bit of computing by the server. A single pet following each player is manageable. But multiply that by 10, 20 or 100? You end up with major lag spikes that inevitably crash the server.

This actually happened back in 2008 due to a known bug. Under certain conditions, players could desync from the server and summon an army of pets, only to resync and bring down the server moments later. So WoW's programming team developed a new technology to address this issue.

Variable Model Rendering
The programming that makes this possible was dubbed "VMR" or variable model rendering. This technology works in the same way that players can turn down their video settings to improve the game's performance. Only this is done automatically by the server based on its changing load. Blizzard decided to give players the ability to summon multiple pets as the first way of utilizing this technology.

In the case of pets, if enough people summon too many pets at a time, the game will automatically adapt by reducing the polygons and lowering the resolution of all currently summoned pet models.

A Preview of VMR for Pets
Blizzard programmers were kind enough to share with us a few model captures of VMR at different stages.

A pet rendered with 100% VMR appears normal. But as more pets are summoned realm-wide by multiple players, the VMR automatically scales downward.

Grassland Hopper at 90% VMR
Grassland Hopper at 90% VMR

Perky Pug at 75% VRF
Perky Pug at 75% VMR

As a pet's VMR drops, the model becomes more geometric, with less refined textures. Even special effects are reduced.

Restless Shadeling at 60% VMR
Restless Shadeling at 60% VMR

Below 50% VMR, you can see how WoW's newest pet models (like the Swamp Croaker) begin to look more like WoW's earliest pet models.

Swamp Croaker at 45% VMR
Swamp Croaker at 45% VMR

Eventually polygon counts fall so low that only basic shapes are supported.

Ghostly Skull at 30% VMR
Ghostly Skull at 30% VMR

Below 30%, VMR adapts with video rendering techniques that even predate World of Warcraft.

Pengu at 20% VMR
Pengu at 20% VMR

The programmers we spoke to explained that these older rendering techniques have a long and proud history of video game stability.

Fox Kit at 10% VMR
Fox Kit at 10% VMR

Lost of Lordaeron at 1% VMR
Lost of Lordaeron at 1% VMR

VMR is certainly going to take some getting used to. But on the plus side, we'll all be able to show off thousands of 8-bit pets!

And how will this effect pet battles? Just think of them as retrogaming within WoW.

Waka, waka! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/summoning-multiple-pets-but-with-a-catch/ Patch 5.3 PTR: New Pet PVP Achievements and Raid Pets http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-3-ptr-new-pet-pvp-achievements-raid-pets/ Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:43:00 EST source]

Wild Unborn Val'kyr
Preview of a New Wild Pet
Mumper posted a small screenshot (pictured right) of a new wild pet coming in 5.3. [source]

"A new battle pet wanders the vast expanse of Northrend in patch 5.3. The elusive Unborn Val'kyr awaits!"

New Pet PVP Achievements
If you enjoy Pet PVP, there are four new achievements that may interest you. One even rewards a new pet while another a title!

  • Brutal Pet Brawler - Win 250 PvP pet battles through Find Battle with a full team of level 25 pets. Reward: Stunted Direhorn.
  • Deadly Pet Brawler - Win 1000 PvP pet battles through Find Battle with a full team of level 25 pets. Title: Trainer.
  • Merciless Pet Brawler - Win 10 PvP pet battles through Find Battle with a full team of level 25 pets.
  • Vengeful Pet Brawler - Win 50 PvP pet battles through Find Battle with a full team of level 25 pets.


New Raid Dropped Pets
Burning Crusade raids are getting some re-tuning in preparation for a second batch of raid pets.

There are a total of 10 to collect. They drop from Karazhan, Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep.

  • Lil' Bad Wolf
  • Menagerie Custodian
  • Netherspace Abyssal
  • Fiendish Imp
  • Tideskipper
  • Tainted Waveling
  • Coilfang Stalker
  • Pocket Reaver
  • Lesser Voidcaller
  • Phoenix Hawk Hatchling


Collecting all of them rewards the achievement Raiding with Leashes II: Attunement Edition and the pet Tito!

View All 5.3 Datamined Pets ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-3-ptr-new-pet-pvp-achievements-raid-pets/ Clarification On Seasonal Pets, Like the Qiraji Guardling http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/clarification-on-seasonal-pets-qiraji-guardling/ Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:50:00 EST Qiraji Guardling"Winter" as we know it officially ended recently, and although the Snowy Owl has gone back into hibernation, the Qiraji Guardling has yet to start spawning.

Cory "Mumper" Stockton clarified on Twitter about the status of the Guardling companion:

"The Qiraji Guardling will be available in the summertime. Still a few months to go."

So when exactly can we expect to see the Guardling in Silithus?

Real-world summer starts in June in the northern hemisphere, however it's entirely possible for this wild pet to start spawning a month earlier. If this is the case, it would match up with the Snowy Owl, who made its first appearance one month prior to our real-world winter.

We will just have to wait and see!

Pets Not On the Fish Time-schedule
The speculation that these two pets would follow a similar (if not exact) pattern as the Summer Bass and Winter Squid doesn't seem to hold true, and now we have confirmation of this from Cory:

"Seasonal pets will follow the pre-existing seasons starting in patch 5.3. Note that the existing fish are available for spring/summer and fall/winter. The pets are available only in the Summer and Winter seasons so the dates are not the exact same." [source 1/2] [source 2/2]

So although the fish don't seem to mind the extra heat/cold, the Snowy Owl and Qiraji Guardling must have more particular tastes in seasons! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/clarification-on-seasonal-pets-qiraji-guardling/ Rankings by Pet Score, BattleTags and Other Updates http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/rankings-by-pet-score-battletags-site-updates/ Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:55:00 EST pet score.

Score a New Rank!
Top 500 Pet Collectors
Pet score is a numerical assessment of your pet collecting efforts. Your score is primarily determined by the total number of unique pets you've collected and the quality of those pets. To a lesser extent, your pets' levels play a role.

Prior to the introduction of pet score, all collections were ranked according to the total number of pets collected. However, with the addition of qualities and levels for pets, it no longer felt proper to rank collections solely based on the number of pets collected.

We've also given pet score a little more visibility across the site. User profiles now show realm rankings according to pet score rather than the number of pets collected. In addition, pet score is shown underneath site comments and to the left of forum posts, beneath a user's avatar.

Rankings apply to WarcraftPets' Top Pet Collections and to Realm Leaderboards.

Top 50 → Top 500
With the popularity of pet score, showing only the top 50 collectors felt a bit too restrictive. So we've updated the Top Pet Collections list to show the top 500 collections, rewarding many more collectors for their pet collecting prowess.

So if you're an avid pet collector, check the new list — you might discover your name somewhere in there!

Pet Score = Zero?
We introduced pet score two months ago, giving our most active members plenty of time to unlock their scores. However, anyone who hasn't unlocked their score yet still has a score of zero, regardless of the number of pets they've collected.

Once a user logs into the site and reimports their collection, they're score will update and they'll be ranked accordingly.

BattleTag® Support
For all of you pet traders who are active on our pet trading forums, we've added support for Blizzard BattleTags®, allowing you to add and edit your Battle.net BattleTag® within your WarcraftPets account.

Once you've set your BattleTag®, it will appear to the left of your forum posts (beneath your avatar). Adding your BattleTag® can make it much easier to coordinate in-game pet trades with collectors on other realms.

According to Blizzard:
A BattleTag® is a name you choose to represent yourself on Battle.net. You may set your BattleTag® from within your Battle.net account.

Other Updates
We've implemented corrected base qualities to all non-battle pets. This update will increase the pet score for many of our users. Base Quality has also been added to the General Info tab of all pet profiles.

In addition, we've removed Captchas site-wide for Site MVPs, since their accounts have been verified. This also provides another minor perk to our elite members.

More to Come...
Some other sweet updates will be coming soon, including an expansion of pet collection filters and a Power Search feature. We expect these updates to go live sometime in May.

We thank you for your continued support of WarcraftPets, making regular updates like these possible. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/rankings-by-pet-score-battletags-site-updates/ World of Petcraft #30 http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/world-of-petcraft-30/ Thu, 14 Mar 2013 07:00:00 EST World of Petcraft strip every month.

World of Petcraft #30
About the Artist
Meaghan McLaughlin is an aspiring artist and the author of "Nerds Illustrated." She's currently available to create custom WoW artwork. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/world-of-petcraft-30/ Patch 5.2: Updates and Known Bugs http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-2-updates-and-known-bugs/ Fri, 08 Mar 2013 07:45:00 EST UPDATE: Player experience earned from Pet Battles was hotfixed. A blue post provided some clarification and insight on how experience is calculated. [source]

It's been a few days since Patch 5.2 was released, and a few bugs were discovered along with some updates to existing content.

Darkmoon Tonk
Update to the Darkmoon Faire
The regular Darkmoon Faire dailies now reward Darkmoon Game Prizes. These packages will always contain a faire ticket, but now they also have a small chance to drop any of the Darkmoon Faire vendor pets! [source]

Note that it's unlikely the Darkmoon Eye will also come from the Darkmoon Game Prize. This pet will probably remain exclusive to the Darkmoon Pet Supplies.

Known Bugs In 5.2

  • Player experience earned through successful battles is slightly over-tuned, and a hotfix will be implemented to address this issue. [source]
  • Pets that can only be obtained once, such as companions rewarded from achievements, were changed so any earned after 5.2 was released would only be of a single breed. However, pets that were earned prior to the patch still retain their original breed(s). Developers are looking into a way to change these existing pets into the new single breed. [source]
  • The Gusting Grimoire is currently uncommon quality. It will be hotfixed to the intended rare quality in the near future. [source]


If you notice any other 5.2 pet-related bugs, feel free to discuss them here.

Updates to Pet Battle Guide
In light of the new mechanics added to Pet Battles in 5.2, we've updated our Guide to Pet Battles with all the latest information:

Updated Guide to Pet Battles ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-2-updates-and-known-bugs/ Patch 5.2 is Live with 23 New Pets! http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-2-live-with-23-new-pets/ Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:50:00 EST
Patch 5.2 is Live with 23 New Pets!
Here's a summary of what to expect in the latest content patch. For a full list of all the updates, check out the official 5.2 patch notes.

23 New Pets to Collect!

  • The Gusting Grimoire is the common pet loot card from the latest TCG expansion deck, Betrayal of the Guardian
  • 4 new wild pets on the Isle of Thunder.
  • There are 3 new raid pets that can drop in Throne of Thunder LFR, Normal or Heroic mode.
  • Completing a new quest to defeat Elite Battle Pets rewards the Red Panda and will unlock a daily. This daily has a chance to yield additional panda pets!
  • Do you like dinosaurs? The Isle of Giants has 4 new baby dinosaur pets to collect as well as a quest reward pet for gathering up 999 dino-bones.
  • 2 new pets that drop from (rare) elites.
  • Better get your angling gear ready, because there are 4 new fish companions just waiting to be fished up!


View All New Pets

New Pet Battle Features

  • Got inventory space? Battle Pet Bandages now stack to 25 and are BoA!
  • Forfeiting a battle will no longer despawn your wild pet opponent. Additionally, your active pet team will take a damage penalty for fleeing. Note: This penalty should not affect Tamer Battles.
  • Players at max level will have a chance to receive Lesser Charms of Good Fortune from a successful Pet Battle. The opposing team must be within 5 levels of the highest level pet on your active team, and higher level opponents have a better chance at yielding a charm.
  • Players that are not level capped will receive player experience for winning a Pet Battle against a pet that is within 5 levels of the player's highest level pet.
  • PVP Pet Battlers rejoice! There is a chance to earn a Battle-Stone from a successful PVP battle.
  • Pet resilience is a new mechanic that grants a pet that has been recently affected by crowd-control, immunity to crowd-control for a short period of time.
  • Many pet attacks and abilities have been re-tuned to help balance gameplay.


Patch 5.2 offers a large list of pets to collect and new opponents to battle, so what are you waiting for?

Go get 'em! ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-2-live-with-23-new-pets/ Blizzard's Cory Stockton Talks Pets - Interview #2 http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/interview-2-with-blizzards-cory-stockton-on-pets/ Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:15:00 EST Blizzard's Cory Stockton Talks PetsBreanni (Brian) recently had another exciting opportunity to speak with Lead Content Designer, Cory "Mumper" Stockton about... you guessed it, pets!

If you missed the first interview back in December, click here to give it a listen.

In this second interview, various topics were discussed, including the development and implementation of pets, plus some of your questions!

Highlights:

  • For Patch 5.2, some adjustments were made for a few pets that had respawn rates that were lower than intended.
  • Pet Battle "end game" includes more Tamer battles, but Blizzard would like to expand into other areas and aspects of the game for the more seasoned battlers.
  • The pet level cap could be raised in a future expansion. Additional bonuses that are rewarded as a pet levels up are also being considered.
  • It's unlikely that family-specific Battle-Stones will become BoE in the future, but they may address the redundancy of "useless" Battle-Stones.
  • Epic quality pets will probably come to WoW in patch 5.4 or possibly 5.3. These epic pets will most likely need to be caught, while an epic Battle-Stone is another possibility.
  • Pet "gem slots" that would alter a certain stat of your choice is an idea being considered.
  • Future patches may include a way to track your Pet Battle PVP wins.
  • Interested in summoning your entire active pet team out all at once? It's a distinct possibility in the future.
  • Because highly exclusive pets hold a lot of prestige, they are unlikely to be re-released and will remain coveted prizes for those who've obtained them.
  • The pet for BlizzCon 2013 may not be a murloc this time around. What will it be...? Stay tuned!


A lot was covered and we couldn't even begin to list all the details in our highlights, so be sure to listen to the full 29-minute interview.

Listen Now:

Download the Interview

Bonus Material:
We actually were able to sit down with Cory twice. Our first interview didn't record properly due to a technical glitch. We asked a couple questions during that first "lost" interview that we didn't repeat the second time around.

Here are those questions, along with Cory's paraphrased answers:

QuestionWhen you try to find pets using the Auction House, there are two different filters – one for unused pet items, and another for caged pets that were previously learned by another player. Why not combine them into a single pet filter?

AnswerThis is something they'd like to do and it remains on their to-do list, but it's not a high priority.


QuestionBefore pet battles, pet quality used to indicate the quality of the item that teaches the pet. Whereas now, nearly everyone views it as the quality of a pet's battle stats. But that can lead to some confusion. For example, the Dragon Kite is learned from an epic item, but the pet itself has rare stats. Are there any plans to address this inconsistency?

AnswerCory agreed that it's a problem, though they aren't sure how to address it. They want to keep some pet-teaching items epic quality and it makes sense to give those pets rare stats. (Giving them epic stats would be overkill.) In addition, they haven’t heard from too many players that are upset or confused by this, so it isn’t a top priority.


A Special Thanks:
We'd like to express an even greater thanks to Cory for taking the time to redo the botched interview and chat with us (twice) about all things pets.

So twice the thanks to you, Cory!

About Cory Stockton — As Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.'s lead content designer for World of Warcraft, Cory Stockton is responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of all exterior zones, dungeons, Battlegrounds, Arenas, and cities. He is also involved with many other aspects of the game, such as dungeon scripting and the Pet Battle System. ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/interview-2-with-blizzards-cory-stockton-on-pets/ Patch 5.2: The Official Trailer http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-2-trailer/ Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:27:00 EST
Patch 5.2 is on the horizon!

Are you ready for all of the upcoming pets? ]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/patch-5-2-trailer/ New Pet! Gusting Grimoire's Pet Profile is Live http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/gusting-grimoire-pet-profile-is-live/ Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:05:00 EST New Pet! Gusting GrimoireIn anticipation of the new TCG set, Betrayal of the Guardian, being released tomorrow, we've published the Gusting Grimoire pet profile.

In fact, today is the LAST DAY of the Gusting Grimoire Pre-Sale! So if you haven't pre-ordered your new floating spell book yet, today is the perfect day to do so.

NOTE: Anyone who pre-orders will receive a loot code within the next day or two. However, the pet itself cannot be redeemed in-game until patch 5.2 goes live.

So why pre-order if you can't get the pet until 5.2 hits servers?

Well, in addition to being one of the first people on your server to show off your new Grimoire once the patch is live, your pre-order enters you into a random drawing to receive the rare BlizzCon 2009 pet, Grunty the Murloc Marine! In addition, every sale helps to support WarcraftPets.

So what are you waiting for?!

Pre-order your Gusting Grimoire now, on this, the last day of the pre-sale! Best of luck in winning Grunty!smiley

Pre-Order your Gusting Grimoire today!
]]> http://www.warcraftpets.com/news/gusting-grimoire-pet-profile-is-live/