Trick Out your Vanity Pets like Crazy in MoP!

There were many new features released in the latest MoP beta build, but we saved the best for last!

We've found that various Pet Trainers have special items for sale that are just for companions. Show your pet some extra love by buying it awesome gear, a micropet, or even a stylish miniature mount!

"Bling" Out Your Pet
So far there are three types of items that Pet Trainers can sell. All items are Bind on Pick Up and are consumed when used (one time use). We currently don't know if these items will affect pet combat, but it's likely that they won't.

• [Lil' Gear] - 500 per piece (3 piece set)
• [Micropet] - 1,000 each
• [Mini Mount] - 5,000 each

Dress Up Your Pets
There are three pieces in the Lil' Gear set: a Lil' Headpiece (shown below on the Baby Blizzard Bear), a Lil' Weapon, and Lil' Armor. We suspect that each of these can be used on any battle-ready companion. In the current build, the Lil' Armor and Lil' Weapon are bugged.



Once equipped, the gear may appear differently on certain pets. For example, the Lil' Headpiece appears as the fiercely adorable helmet on the Baby Blizzard Bear, yet when another Lil' Headpiece is used on the Spirit of Summer, it becomes a glowing set of antlers. Neat!

Pets... for Your Pets?!
Along with armor and weapons, the Pet Trainers also sell —get this— micropets for your minipets!

Yes, soon your companions can have miniature critters of their very own. These "micropets" vary from butterflies to tiny birds and many other uniquely modeled creatures. Some are even companion-specific, like mechanical cat toys for cats. One of the cutest micropets we've discovered so far is the Moonkin Hatchling's: it's an Eggling!



When selected, the micropet's name is shown and underneath it says "[Pet name's] Companion" — absolutely adorable!

Riding in Style
Last but not least, why not have your best little friend follow you around in true equestrian style? Buy them their very own mini mounts!

There are only a few choices at the moment, including lil'e raptors and lil' tigers, but we expect that more mount types will be added in the future. In the screenshot below, Murky and the Darkmoon Monkey strut around on their stylish new rides!



We're guessing that the Mini Mounts can be used by nearly all pets (at least those that can battle). Have you ever seen a snake on the back of a pony? Priceless!

How These Items Work
To equip your companion with an item, simply summon the pet you'd like accessorize and right click on the item. Clicking it will consume the item and your pet will have it automatically equipped upon its next summon.

Although Pet Battles have not been implemented on the beta, we were able to equip many of these items on various pets. We assume this was allowed for testing purposes, because hovering over each item shows a prerequisite for using it.

Tiny Items, Huge Prerequisites
While you may purchase these items for a modest amount of gold, each item has a steep prerequisite before it can be used with one of your pets.

WARNING: These prerequisites are not for the faint of heart...

• Lil' Headpiece - companion must have 5,000 Pet Battle wins to equip
• Lil' Armor - companion must have 7,500 Pet Battle wins to equip
• Lil' Weapon - companion must have 10,000 Pet Battle wins to equip
• Micropets - companion must have 25,000 Pet Battle wins to equip
• Mini Mount - companion must have 50,000 Pet Battle wins to equip

We've done the math. It's going to take over 500 hours of pet battling to earn a single micropet and well over 1,000 hours to get a mini mount. But take heart — it will be a fun grind, right?

Right...?

*Ahem* So when you see anyone who's tricked out their companion even a little bit, you'll know that he or she is a true pet fanatic.

More To Come
Tomorrow we plan to have additional information and more screenshots of these special items, so be sure to check back then... on April 2^nd.