Project Lore

Love is in the Air is over and done with, but not before I made a major mental lapse.  Amatera was kinda enough to remind us on Saturday that the seasonal event ended that night, but I hadn't acquired a single Love Token upon reading his PSA.  The event is far easier than in the past, but there was still a limit on the number of tokens one could acquire in a given day.  Unfortunately, the limit is lower than the amount required for a Truesilver Shafted Arrow.  I thought I had more time!  My rogue now has to stare at 30xLove Token in his bank for the next year.

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<wuss>Squeal!</wuss>

<man>I wasn't so hot on the premium Auction House Armory idea, WoW gold, or the Blizzard Store pets that came late last year, but Blizzard's latest premium content has me excited.  Blizzard announced a new pair of store-only vanity pets, and this time they will come with a real-life counterpart.  When you purchase a new Wind Rider Cub or theGryphon Hatchling a plushie - that's a stuffed animal - will be delivered to your door as part of the purchase.  The pets are available to both factions.

Being a pet collecting addict - still no oozling - purchasing these pets is a no brainer.  I didn't break down for a monk or Lil' KT because $10 is steep sum for a virtual pet.  Once I heard a plushie came included the kid in me began to perform his hissy-fit ritual.  My inner child is already on his back, ready to kick and scream if my fiscally conservative brain denies him.

Blizzard has kept the price point and release date ("weeks ahead") hush hush, much like the premium Auction House content.  Expect the financial damage to be higher than the previous vanity items.  As soon as we hear of either we'll let you know. 

Right now I've gotta run and clear some space on the bed for these guys to camp.  Good thing these winged beasts are too cute for Ms. iTZKooPA to say no.  Why isn't it socially acceptable for a full grown man to have stuffed animals anyways?  Who made that crazy rule?  What if I need something to throw?!

Yes, I know that technically speaking Blizzard is selling the plushie, and not the pets, but come on.  We all know which item is really going to move the other. 

I'll just leave that last HTML tag open.

It's that time of the year again, the week stretch where 80% of the WoW population tries to woo the other 20% with virtual candies, roses, affection, boss runs and poetry.  Oh, the poetry.  Love is in the Air started over the weekend, and I've already managed to grab one of the achievements.  Being the digital scrooge that I am I only actually care about two things Love is in the Air has to offer, Peddlefeet and Toxic Wasteling.

This year Peddlefeet is far easier to obtain.  Blizzard realized how god-awful-annoying it is to have achievement requirements based solely on the unfriendly RNG.  That means 2010's Peddlefeet, the goblin cupid, is purchasable with the reasonable sum of 40xLove Token.  It shouldn't take more than a day to farm for him.

The Toxic Wasteling, well that'll be another story entirely.  That little gremlin will require far more luck and time to acquire on average.  It is one of the random drops from the new Valentine's Day...I mean Love is in the Air boss, Apothecary Hummel.  The oozling is one of a few seasonal items that Hummel drops (I assume a Protip is coming soon for the fight). In additional to ilvl 226 necks we also have a rose for our mohawks, a gas mask, a sob-inducing item and an incredibly low shot at one of the coolest looking mounts in the game.

/me heads off to Shadowfang Keep.

I'm hunting Hummel mainly for the wasteling.  Just look at this tooltip description, "Do not feed toxic wasteling. Do not allow toxic wasteling to approach small animals. Do not touch, sniff, or even look at toxic wasteling for extended periods of time."  Sounds like it should be an interesting vanity pet.

I know some of you out there are nuts about seasonal events, so how much farther do you have until you get the meta achievement?  Anyone score the mount yet, or even see it drop?

P.S. Here's WoWHead's guide.



ProjectLorians were busy providing an assortment of original content the last few days and missed a few tidbits of news.  I figure that the mantra of "better late than never" applies, since we want to keep everyone well informed.  Or we could cope out and just say we were really checking our facts, thrice over.

According to a screenshot from the Enigma raiding guild on NA-Deathwing, the Lick King's last defenses will be accessible on February 2 (or February 3 for EU).  The Frostwing Halls houses two unknown bosses, Sister Svalna and Valithria Dreamwalker, and Sindragosa, the original frost wyrm.  Valithria, a captured green dragon, is going to be an interesting encounter.  Especially to those with fond memories of Dungeons and Dragons' combat variations.  Sindragosa is part of the lockout counter, along with Putricide, Lana'thel and the Lich King himself.

My guild is still stuck on Professor Putricide, and has not even attempted any of the Crimson Hall bosses (something I have disagreed with).  It's fairly obvious that we are falling behind, so I doubt Solidsamm will be seeing Sindragosa any time soon.

In other news, Solidsamm will be seeing a new non-combat pet shortly.  According to various sources, a Competitor's Souvenir has been added to the North American servers.  Unfortunately, no visual imagery or animations have been datamined as of press.  If you were around for the Summer Olympic games two years ago, you'll likely remember the Spirit of Competition vanity pet that was randomly awarded for participating in Battlegrounds.  It's worth noting that the tabard from the last olympics was called the Competitor's Tabard.  Either way, the closely named Competitor's Souvenir will likely be obtainable once the 2010 Winter Olympic games kick off on February 12.

Tyrael's Normal, Boring, Pose I was absolutely ecstatic when it came to light that Grunty, BlizzCon 2009's exclusive pet, and the Zergling, one of the possible three pets from the World of Warcraft Collector's Edition, tangled.  Much to my surprise, both of the pets mixed it up StarCraft style, not just Grunty.  That means that someone, somewhere, deep in the bowels of Blizzard took the time to go back and edit the Zergling's properties to attack his foe.  Yep, the doggie actually attacks, and kills Grunty in a messy death animation if he gets the better of the space marine.  It's an incredibly minor, but brilliant bit of content. The intergalactic tango only whet my appetite for further (no longer) non-combat pet interactions.  My prayers, and previous complaints have been answered, kinda.  Tyrael, the archangel from the Worldwide Invitational in 2008 is getting some added interactions.  Tyrael will now increase his repertoire two fold, adding the ability to fall asleep (and be stirred awake) to his list of skills.  The little guy is a very light sleeper, constantly rolling over and fidgeting during his Zzz's.  Previously the tiny angel would only fold his arms and dance.  Okay, still not that impressive, but at least it sucks less.  Plus, there could be more animations that just haven't been discovered yet. If you want to see the new animations you can head over to this post, which tipped me off in the first place.  Although his animations remain on the low side - and lack any sort of sound - at least Blizzard has shown they are willing to edit old pets, again.  Now if only those few Tyrael holders could meet up with those few mini Diablo holders - also from the original Collector's Edition - then we may be in for some more cross-title mayhem. Have I told you that I love vanity pets?

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Non-combat, Vanity, Companion pets.  Call them whatever you want, these fluffy critters make me coo like a school girl and giddy as if a new Hello Kitty product was announced.  It's a sad state of affairs, but I'll admit that my manhood goes right out the window whenever I happen upon a fluffy animal, in game or out.  Consider me the male Elmyra. I blame Boubouille for my further emasculation.  The game file spelunking, PTR canvasing leader of MMO-Champion has dug up new information for us once again.  The weekend update unveiled fifteen or so non-combat pets (my name of choice) that are going to be added to Azeroth in the upcoming Call of the Crusade patch.  In a move to keep me from staying up for two weeks straight, Blizzard will be releasing the dozen plus pets over the course of the patch, rather than unleashing them all at once. We'll start with the unknowns before moving on to the previously revealed critters.

• The Macabre Marionette is a new pet rumored to be linked to the upcoming Day of the Dead seasonal event.  A mini skeletal pirate isn't exactly my idea of a companion, but I'll take it.
• The Calico Cat is the first of a feline triple threat.  She's nothing special, your standard cat model with a new paint job, but everyone lovesCalicos.  Currently the multi-colored kitty is not available from the Crazy Cat Lady on the PTR, so its location remains unknown.
• If you are one to shy away from the mutant cat due to allergies, then you will be happy to know that Patch 3.2 will be bringing not one, but two hypoallergenic furballs.  They are to come in stone forms, Onyx and Jade.  The rocky members of species catus have been attached to separate achievements.

On to the known beasts.

• Northrend's Children's Week will bring lil' game hunters either a Curious Wolvar Pup or a Curious Oracle Hatchling.  Neither looks like they can top the cutest pet currently in the game, Egbert, but I'll be flying around Northrend anyways.
• The Shimmering Wyrmling gives players something to look forward to when they hit exalted with the Silver Covenant or The Sunreavers.  A feat many of us have already accomplished thanks to The Argent Tournament.  "Freebies" are nice.
• Last, but certainly not least, is a collection of what could be the cutest pets ever viewed since the application of the wide angle lens on animals, mini big-headed Raptors.  There's a total of seven of them available as drops off of rare raptors throughout Azeroth and in instances.  The promised eighth velociraptor can be purchased for 50 gold from Breanni.  Seven farmable pets at once.  There goes a week, of sleep.

They may not be furry, still covered in their eggs or exactly cuddly, but damn if those killer dinosaurs aren't cute.  I can't really decide which reduces my manliness the most, thus the first I will far for, but I think I have it narrowed down to two.  It will either be the ZG raptor, since I could solo it, or the Leaping dino, for the off chance that the animation is amazing.  You can check out the rest of the carnivorous beasts and where to get them at the full post. It's nice to see Blizzard paying more attention to all those mount collectors out there.  I just hope they keep up the good artistic work by allowing the developers time to fully animate the beasts, giving each animal its own personality.  I've already got the Wyrmling in the bag, as I assume many of you do.  Who's going to be farming raptors, cats and keeping orphans busy with me? "I'm gonna hug you and kiss you and love you forever (and never use you up)." - Elmyra

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If you are a regular to the Project Lore Blog then you probably already know my in-game addiction, non-combat pets.  The cute designs and animations of most of the vanity pets have allowed my love of animals IRL (I've owned or own ferrets, various aquatic beings, cats, dogs, turtles, and so on) to easily segway into the digital realm.  I was so bad in the early days of WoW that I had two bags dedicated to the useless little critters.  Image explaining my lack of fire pots to my hardcore raiding buddies because I grabbed my bag of cockroaches, cats and parrots (my first in-game pet) instead.  Woops. With the Midsummer Fire Festival back in action I've once again trudged off to Slave Pens to melt Ahune.  All in an attempt to score a Scorched Stone, that, according to WoWHead, has <2% chance of dropping.  I began my audacious task this morning with a bunch of guildies, and if the pet dropped our first round of attempts you better believe this post would have a much different tone.  Obviously, the mini MC mob continues to elude me.  And my attempts are already done for the day on Solidsamm. Here's the issue with Ahune, and the only piece of loot that keeps him interesting, people lie to get to him.  Don't believe me?  Just spam "LFG Ahune Must Have Summon" and see how many people will @ you who either A) have used their daily summon or B) haven't done the quick quests to get the summon yet.  The rule that I have always gone by, and been asked to comply with, is that if you don't have the summon (or can't provide one on an alt) then you aren't allowed in the group.  The last thing pet collectors would want is to lose the Scorched Stone roll, probably the only one they will see in the short time span, to a random unappreciative player who didn't even contribute an attempt.  But it's difficult to tell who actually has a summon left and who doesn't.  The only trick I've seen is to make sure that your quest log says everyone else in the party is on the same quest.  Not a flawless system, as they may not have picked it up yet.  Anyone have any other ideas? The moral of the story is that if you can't contribute a summon, then DO NOT GO TO AHUNE.  I am even referring to guildies.  If you aren't absolutely 100% positive that you can pass such a sought after item, then don't go under any circumstance.  At level 80, with a crappy non-80 healer, the encounter is ezmode (Ahune didn't scale up for Wrath), so they don't need your "help." Outside of the pet and the achievement, there is no reason to go to the Ice Lord.  Save yourself the drama and just sit it out. This has been a Public Service Announcement by Pet Lovers Everywhere (TM). Titles (Alliance/Horde) are not for me, but I am sure there are many of you out there already hard at work on your respected recognition.  Outside of Ahune's sacred gift I am working on a Captured Flame for the priest and enjoying the fire works, juggling and general summery fun that the Festival brings to Azeroth.  Perhaps I should work on my thievery...What are you goals? The Midsummer Fire Festival ends July 5.

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Better Get Used To This View... The Argent Tournament has become a big part of my daily routine.  Thanks to the clusters of quests and little downtime between them, it's a perfect place to begin my day collecting coin.  Then there's the added bonus of the "new hotness" content, helping me finish up my Exodar reputation, new Achievements (yes, I said Achievements), and most important, non-combat pets!  It's these little useless critters that have kept me returning to the Argent Tournament grounds day after day. It didn't hit me until recently that I would be a staple at the tent for the foreseeable future.  Originally, I was striving for the pets and the Argent Hippogryph, but that all changed when I calculated the amount of badges, therefore days, I would need to hand over to the quartermasters.  450 Champion's Seals for everything.  At a maximum of 5 seals per day, Solidsamm would become less of a staple and more of an Argent Tournament member!  We are talking 90 days, three months for all of this stuff.  Deep breath.  At least we receive 50 Seals from Championing all the factions, dropping that number to 400 and only 80 days.  God forbid I wanted to get some of the mounts... The aforementioned benefits help ease the pain, but they will only last for so long.  I've been picking up Champion's Writ instead of the sack of coin to move Exodar's rep along faster.  Around the same time I finish Exodar's rep grind, I will be completing the last Valiant challenge for my final faction (Ironforge).  At that point, I will lose the additional income of 50+ gold a day from those quests.  Sure, I may have 10,000 gold already, but the easy income offsets the monotony.  With the vanity pets soon to become the only driving force for my participation in the tournament, I doubt they'll all be by my side quickly.  Hmm, perhaps I should just sell them to the horde for thousands of gold... I'm lucky enough to have Naxxramas and solid crafted gear, so I did not waste Seals on other things.  How has the Argent Tournament been treating you?  Anyone crazy enough to try to collect all of the mounts?  What's an additional 2700 gold, 225 Seals and another 45 days in the grand scheme of things, right? Oh, and this should be the first Achievement section - outside of Northrend's exploration - that I finish in its entirety.

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Children's Week is only a few days old and I have already completed what I set out to do.  I have said in the past that I am not a big Achievement person, so what I wanted to accomplish is far less than many other people.  In fact, all I cared about was grabbing the pair of pets for escorting orphans all over Azeroth and Outlands.  After some creative travelling, tiring flights and a bit of hoofing it, I turned in my whistles and snapped up Sleeping Willy and that cute-as-hell Turtle.  I still think Egbert is the best pet ever though. I came across this little gem over on WoWInsider a scant few hours before I completed my mission.  I read the headline and knew that my fear of Achievements was coming true, if just a little.  One of them was ruining the gameplay experience for many players, while frustrating the others to no end.  My GM was actually on both sides of the issue, trying to score the achievement but becoming incredibly frustrated by everyone sitting in their base, hoping to return a flag with their brat out.  He was so irate that his wife had to leave the house to avoid the cursing, anger, frustration and likely the destruction of a perfectly good keyboard.  I can attest to extensive use of the Caps Lock key, and a nice selection of four letter words.  My poor virgin eyes. To elaborate, the way I view the Achievement system is to promote extended play, while enabling players to show off their feats.  In theory, its a very sound addition to any video game.  Instead, this "controversial achievement" has created a firestorm in the Battlegrounds, leading to selfish play and highly unusual experiences.  It wasn't since WSG was first released that I have been in a BG that was so long, unproductive and painful, and I wasn't even going for the achievement!  I queued up solely to experience some of the pain that my GM was lamenting about.  Sadly, all I ended up doing was helping the Horde players with their achievements.  The greenskins allowed me to walk to the flag, unstealthed mind you, and cap it.  At this point I was pummeled by ten angry players and their orphans as they spammed right click to pick-up the flag.  What violence the young minds have been tainted with. How have you found the Battlegrounds recently?  Are they as frustrating as my GM would leave the guild to believe or is he just having bad luck?  Has anyone become desperate enough to try to trade flag caps with the opposing faction?  This is the first time that I have been happy to not care about achievements.  What a terrible time to first experience a BG to boot.

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Vanity pets, non-combat pets, small pets, companions, mini-pets, waste of bag space, whatever you know them as, they are here to stay. I am by no means a collector of the pets, but I know plenty of people who are. Way back in vanilla World of Warcraft, I had a guildie whose goal was to fill up all his bag slots with the buggers and then pull them out one by one during a Molten Core run. But just because I don't collect them doesn't mean I don't enjoy them or strive to achieve a few. This year's Children's Week brought the cutest pet I have seen in the game. Getting a hold of the foul beast meant that I had to spend a few hours running all over Azeroth to get Egbert's Egg. Seeing that little Hawkstrider wig out when you stand idle was well worth the time. Then Blizzard Entertainment got into the Olympic mood and added a Gold Medallion that would summon a small dragon known as the Spirit of Competition. This pet also required a bit of a time commitment. For each PvP battleground a player won, they had a chance to be rewarded with the item. The chance was fairly high, making the non-combat pet a fairly common one on my server. Nevertheless, being a huge fan of the Olympics and dragons, I had to have one. The Worldwide Invitational also had an interesting pet that I was not able to get my hands on, Archangel Tyrael of Diablo II fame. Shortly after people began populating the world with Tyrael – not to mention trying to get him to duel with Diablo – I heard that he wasn't that cool of a pet. In fact, Tyrael has one animations to speak of, crossing his arms. He also responds to /dance, he just won't stop dancing until he is re-summoned. Seeing as my main is a rogue, I don't get to run around with my pets too much. It wasn't until I ran a string of heroics and some Karazhans that I realized the Spirit of Competition doesn't have any animations to speak of either. It just floats there, acting like a Wind Serpent. Lame. So what this means is that the last two semi- to near- exclusive pets have almost no animations, idle or emotes, to speak of. It appears that the newest pets have had far less time put into them than the easily accessible rewards from Children's Week or the dozens of other companions running around. I know vanity pets aren't that big of a deal but these are supposed to be the exclusive ones, they should be the coolest to own. What's up with that Blizzard? Did they finally revolt?

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