August 2008   « Archives | Current News »

With the recent news of how pets will become learnable summoning spells, everyone's wondering about the interface. In the WotLK beta, the new companions tab is starting to take shape. The tab is accessible by opening your character pane and clicking on the "pets" tab. From there, you can toggle between your companion and mount spells. Hunters and warlocks will also be able to preview their combat pets.

Note there are still some bugs, such as not being able to move beyond your first page of pets and there are some pets, like the Tiny Snowman, that aren't yet learnable. My guess is that they're still working on how to upgrade companions that require a reagent or a wearable item. But there IS hope—I noticed that my Bloodsail Admiral's Hat now includes the following text in the tooltip: "Teaches you how to summon this companion." Perhaps it will become a learnable spell that simply requires the hat to be worn when casting. Only time will tell...

P.S. And yes... those of you who looked closely at the above linked screenie can tell that I've been testing the new barbershop.

In the past, players might occasionally have to sacrifice a soulbound vanity pet or two due to lack of bag space. With Blizzard's new companion summoning system, we'll never have to worry about saying goodbye to our dear pets again. But even better, players who abandoned some of their former companions can visit any stable master to "relearn" certain summon spells.

I did a little testing with this feature. First I destroyed my Cat Carrier (Siamese) and a few other companions I obtained from vendors. There was no option available to relearn any of them. Next I deleted my Panda Collar and a few other blue items. I got the usual dialogue box where I had to enter the word "delete" to confirm my decision. Unfortunately, I could not reclaim these pets either.

UPDATE: Based on my testing along with what I've heard from others, there are only four pets that can be retrieved when lost (all are quest rewards):

• Miniwing
• Smolderweb Hatchling
• Sprite Darter Hatchling
• Worg Pup

 

The new companion summoning system in WotLK has prompted many players to begin investigating all of the possible summoning spells. Many of you have been contacting me about the spells in WoWhead's list. At first glance, it looks as though there will be several new pets in the expansion. But take another look... some spells that appear to be new are really just different names for preexisting pets. For example, "Summon Lavender Parrot" is the summoning spell for Miniwing. Furthermore, spells like "Pet Fish" have been around for years, never making it past the development phase.

Certainly, there are some pets in this list that will be new in WotLK. But until I see screenshots to confirm their existence, I won't be posting news of them here. There's no reason to get everyone's hopes up for a new pet skunk if it never makes it past the drawing board.

Fellow fansite creator Mania (of Petopia and Warcraft Mounts fame) recently contacted me about an item she discovered while testing the beta. Here's Mania's report:

Junior Apothecary Lawrence is an undead NPC in Venomspite, Dragonblight. He doesn't seem to have any quests for me, but when I talk to him, he does have a dialog option. He wanted me to test his Experimental Mixture on a non-combat pet. When I used it on Whiskers the Rat, he turned into a green blob for two minutes!

I thought this might be a random effect, but so far all I've gotten was a green blob. The mixture lasts 30 minutes and you can only carry one at a time, but it appears that you can talk to Lawrence as often as you like to get more.

Mania was also kind enough to include a few screenshots, which I linked above. Thanks, Mania! Yet another nifty pet-consumable to enjoy in WotLK (even if it is only temporary).

I love working on this site, and you folks are great! But unfortunately, real-world obligations are forcing me to scale back on the time I can devote to WarcraftPets (or even to play WoW at all). So I need to be selective about my choices for developing this site. I'll continue posting news and such, but the big projects will have to wait.

I might have time enough to complete one big project before the end of 2008. But first I have to devote some time to adding advertisements to the site—donations are great, but I don't receive enough to keep me out of the red.

There are three projects that have been requested more than any others. One of those—a forum—is simply not possible right now. To interface with this site's user database, I would need to create a custom forum, but I lack the time and resources needed to do this anytime soon. So we're left with two options, and I'd like you to vote for whichever one you'd most like to see.

1. Pet Comments - This feature would allow members to post their comments within each pet's profile. Comments would include a rating system like WoWhead's that would hide low-rated comments and highlight high-rated ones. Thus, this is simply a way for you to share your own observations regarding each companion.
2. Member Search - This feature would enable members to quickly find other members by realm and faction, allowing you to partner up with others on your realm. This would help facilitate in-game trading, group rep grinding, pet-runs, and so forth. Members will have to select their region, realm, and faction in order to be found by the search feature, but doing so will be optional.

On the evening of Friday, August 8, 2008, after one week of voting, I'll be closing this topic and I'll tally the results. I'll post the results the next day and begin working on the project dictated by the majority in the coming months.

UPDATE: Voting for this topic has been closed.

Lordfarlander has done an amazing job of making a good mod even better! His new version of MiniPet adds a bunch of cool new features and utilities: Alerts activate when dismounting a flying mount; users are finally able to lock the button in place; pets requiring equipment to be worn or reagents will only be suggested if those conditions are met; and much, much more!

This version has been thoroughly tested and I'm happy to give it my personal seal of approval. However, if you do notice any bugs, please email Lordfarlander.

UPDATE: August 5th - There were a few bugs that some other players noticed while using MiniPet. Lordfarlander has fixed these bugs and I've uploaded the newest version of the addon. Enjoy!

I've added two more pets to the Bestiary. These pets are not new and have not been flagged as such. Rather, they're older promotional pets that were released in mainland China during last year's Chinese Spring Festival. The Chinese Spring Festival is a major annual event in China, upon which WoW's own Lunar Festival is based. Details surrounding the promotion are a mystery, but one can speculate that it probably had something to do with the Lunar Festival on servers in mainland China.

After adding these two pets to the database, this site may finally include every small pet ever released by Blizzard, but there could be one or two more regional pets I missed. Check out these high-stylin' pigs:

• Golden Pig - uses the same model as Lucky
• Silver Pig

Be sure to add your rating to these piglets, especially if you're working to restore your "Top Rater" status.

Anyone who's a fan of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is going to love this change. It looks as though our adorable brown-spotted bunnies are getting an upgrade of sorts. Come WotLK, the Snowshoe Rabbit will be white!

Real snowshoe hares have white coats in the winter and brown and spotted coats in the summer. So I'm wondering if this a temporary change just for WotLK. I love this new white rabbit, but I'll miss my spotted bunny. On the WotLK forum, I suggested that the developers make it so that this pet appears white when summoned in snowy zones and retains its old skin elsewhere. I think that would be a fun and unique concept for this pet.

NEW PETS! To commemorate the 2008 Olympic Games in China, there are two beautiful Asian dragons to collect!

The Spirit of Competition (pictured) is mailed to random players who are victorious in any PvP battleground. There appears to be a 1 in 5 chance it will be mailed to a player for each BG win he/she earns. The only prerequisite is to win the BG.

The Essence of Competition, an azure Chinese Dragon, has not yet been released on EU and US servers (trust me—this info is correct). Members who claim to have are either confusing it with the Spirit of Competition, or are they are on servers in China. In China, the pet has been released. Click the link above for details. If you have CONFIRMED information regarding this pet's item, icon, or how it's obtained, I encourage you to contact me. No rumors, please!

This Olympic event will continue for the duration of the summertime Olympic Games: August 8th through the 25th. Let your competitive spirit soar to redeem these awesome new serpents!

NEW WotLK PET! It's confirmed: us pet collectors are finally getting a skunk! In recent interview, Jeff Kaplan, the lead designer for WoW, said the following:

One fun achievement that I may go for is the one that grants a unique pet for collecting all the available pets in the game – a pet skunk called Stinker.

Originally, many of us speculated that Jeff meant we'd have to fulfill the requirements of the "Shop Smart... Shop Pet Smart" achievement, which requires collecting 75 unique vanity pets with one character. Well, in the beta, it appears that the actual requirement is collecting 50 pets on a single character to achieve the "Pandemic of Pets" achievement. This is a much more realistic objective, enabling collectors of all levels the privilege of smelling this lil' Stinker.

The best part: After hitting the 50 pet mark, the [Reeking Pet Carrier] item will appear in your mailbox, sent by none other than me!

Last night, I closed the voting regarding my next big project for the site: Pet Comments or Member Search. It was exciting to watch as the results poured in throughout the week. For a while, either one could have come out on top. But as the week neared its end, a clear winner emerged...

• 57% — Member Search
• 43% — Pet Comments

It's pretty clear that the majority of you would like me to implement the 'Member Search' feature. This feature will be able to help you find other members on your realm with a similar passion for pet collecting, allowing you to team up for trades, rep grinds, and pet hunts. So my goal will be to put this in place before the end of 2008. But remember, my schedule is extremely tight, so it could take longer.

If you fall within the other 43%, don't worry. While I won't be adding 'Pet Comments' this year, I will make it my top priority in 2009. So it won't be too long before you're able to share the amazing tale of you how you got that oh-so special critter.

The final verdict is in for this pet. Several sources, some of which include WoW GMs, have stated in no uncertain terms that the new blue and purple Essence of Competition pet (not to be confused with the red and gold Spirit of Competition) will NOT be released on EU and US servers. The NPCs on those servers who allow you to redeem the code are, in fact, a bug.

This pet has been auto-excluded from the collections of most members of the community. Additionally, I'm going to continue prohibiting people from adding this pet to their collections until the end of the event. For now, it's too easy for people to confuse this pet with the Spirit and then accidentally add it to their collections. This in turn triggers tons of people spamming them with messages to find out the secret of how they got it, when in truth, they don't have it at all. The few of you in China and other Asian regions who have actually collected this pet will be able to add it to your collections on August 25th, when the event is over.

I was recently contacted by Lawliettspam who sent me a bunch of links to several contests that are currently underway. The grand prize? A code for a Mini Tyrael pet! Winners will also receive a access to the WotLK beta. Here are the sites, with links directly to the contests:

• Blizzplanet - Deadline Sat, August 16th (11:59 pm)
• WoW Stratics [must log in] - Deadline Sat, August 16th (11:59 pm)
• Warcry - Deadline Mon, August 18th
• Arena Junkies - Deadline Sun, August 24th
• Curse Gaming - Deadline Mon, August 25th

Note that many of these contests are ending very soon—a couple as soon as tomorrow. So don't wait another moment to enter!

Good luck!

In the past month, the traffic on this site has exploded! The number of members has doubled to over 7,000 and there are roughly 100 new members every day. When WotLK is released and vanity pets become spells for everyone, I expect those numbers to jump even higher. It's gotten to the point where it's just too much for me to handle alone.

Two new Site Admins
By mid-September, I'm hoping to have two additional Site Admins. Each will be responsible for maintaining and moderating different aspects of the site. However, all three of us will coordinate our efforts to give active members and one-time visitors alike the best experience possible. Remember, this is a voluntary position, akin to an internship. Admins will not be given any monetary compensation for their help, but I'd be happy to write an excellent letter of recommendation.

How can I volunteer?
If you'd like to volunteer your time as a Site Admin, the first step is to submit the application form. Yes, it's long. Yes, I know you're applying to help with a fansite, not to join the CIA. But a lengthy screening process will ensure that only the most qualified volunteers are considered.

I'll be accepting and reviewing applications for the next two weeks. After that point, I'll narrow my selection to a handful of qualified volunteers. Those individuals will be interviewed via phone, and the two strongest candidates will be given the positions.

UPDATE: As of August 28th, I am no longer accepting applications. If you applied, you will be hearing from me soon.

The leading Warcraft blog site, Wow.com (formerly WoW Insider), recently interviewed me about the creation of this site, my take on vanity pets, and my NPC tribute in Wrath. My thanks to Lisa Poisso at Wow.com for conducting the interview and thinking up some very thought-provoking questions. Enjoy!

» 15 Minutes of Fame: A man and his (80+) pets

NEW WotLK PET! There appears to be a new Baby Shark pet in Wrath. And what's so unique about this pet is that it may be the first underwater-only pet. At the moment, it may be summoned on land as well, but players are speculating that this mechanic may change to prohibit the pet from being summoned outside of water based on its tooltip: "He really requires water." The sharkling is sold by an Arena Vendor named Morgan Day in Lake Wintergrasp for 60 silver. Of course, any of this information is subject to change before the expansion goes live.

It looks as though the Snowshoe Rabbit isn't the only pet getting an overhaul in Wrath. It turns out the Spirit of Summer will be abandoning its red glow in favor of a bluish tint, making it appear more like a Spirit of Winter. The name of the pet will remain the same and the model will still be a red wisp, but the ambient glow will appear blue (as pictured here). It's unknown whether this will be a permanent change or just a little wintry adjustment until the next new expansion. My thanks to Jasmyne for submitting the screenshot.

I received the last of the Site Admin applications yesterday. I must admit, I'm overwhelmed by the sheer number of talented and enthusiastic individuals who applied for these positions. There are so many people with so much to offer. It makes me wish I could use more than just two helping hands. So now I'm faced with the difficult task of narrowing more than 70 applicants down to two.

Once again, I'd like to offer my sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to apply. I'll be sending out my official responses to each of you over the weekend. Know that even if you aren't petitioned for an interview, you'll always be a special part of this site's community.

Much like the upcoming change to the Snowshoe Rabbit in Wrath, the Prairie Chicken is also in for a change. However, rather than a color alteration, this update affects the name of the pet. Our favorite white chicken will henceforward be known as the Westfall Chicken. This is a fitting change, since the vast majority of us collectors picked this pet up in The Westfall right near Farmer Saldean.