Liveblogging WotLK Beta Build 8820
This is a random collection of notes as I poke around the new beta build that went up tonight. Expect this to be very disordered.
At this point I have finished updating this post. What you see here is all you get! (Although I am now working on getting Petopia update with new info, and as always please let me know anything you run across.)
First thing I noticed on login: Maniacal (level 77) has rest XP again! That implies that the level cap has been lifted. Let’s kill something and see … Whoops! It helps if I kill something that’s not gray to me. Other players in the area are saying that the experience needed to level has been reduced for them, but I never thought to note mine so I can’t verify that.
Unfortunately I still can’t fly in Borean Tundra. I’ll recall to Dalaran and fly from there. Ooh, Northrend has a decent flight point map (when you talk to the Flightmaster, I mean) finally.
This is odd: my hunter talent points have been partially reset. I was refunded 6 points from the Beast Mastery tree — looks like the 5 points from Aspect Mastery (which has been replaced in the tree wuth Separation Anxiety) and the 1 point from the Beast Mastery talent itself. Separation Anxiety, by the way, is marked NYI for Not Yet Implemented. But I’m buying it anyway so I can have my exotic beasties back.
I’m in flight, so I’m poking around the interface. The Pet tab (the one that now includes Companions and Mounts) has been renamed Pets, and the Tokens tab is still completely messed up.
Ooh, here we are in Sholazar Basin. Hey, I seem to be tracking fish schools whether or not I want to. I wonder if that’s a bug, a tracking menu weirdness, or something new. Hardknuckle Foragers (the light grey gorillas) can be tamed now. Excellent!
And so can Sapphire Hive Wasps (as Ceron reported in a comment on the last post). Oh wow — thee guys are gorgeous. Let me get a screenshot up. There we go … not the best shot, but it gives you an idea. Wasps are huge, too! Wasps seem to be a new family in the Ferocity tree (also as Ceron reported). The family skill is:
Sting (Rank 5): Your wasp stings for 47 to 63 Nature damage, and decreases the armor of the target by 610 for 0 sec. Whle affected, the target cannot stealth or turn invisible.
Wasps are apparently a non-exotic family — so says Beast Lore — although that family skill seems pretty exotic to me. Oh, and right now they eat Cheese, Bread, Fungus, and Fruit. Sapphire Hive Drones, which are red and blue, can apparently also be tamed although they come in groups of three so I’m not going to try it right now. I can also see a Sapphire Hive Queen on my mini-map, but she’s underground and I have no idea what she looks like or if she can be tamed.
Moving on … Pitch, the black lion of Sholazar Basin, can also now be tamed. That will take some pressure off of Humar. Longneck Grazers (a type of giraffe), however, still cannot be tamed.
Rhinos are a new exotic pet. (Also as reported by Ceron. Sheesh! I need to get logged in sooner to beat him to anything!) Oddly, I was able to tame one without the Beast Mastery talent, but that might be related to a problem with the partial refund of hunter talent points I noticed.
Rhinos eat Cheese, Bread, Fungus and Fruit (which seems to be the new default diet) and use the Tenacity tree. They do not yet seem to have a family skill, which is a bit of a problem, but I am sure they will get one soon. The coolest thing about my new rhino? He comes with his own tickbird. Yes, the white bord on his horn is a seperate creature — a level 1 Critter, in fact — that apparently just likes to hang out on rhinoes, even tamed one.
(I killed my tickbord to see if it would respawn. It didn’t immediately, but another rhino spawned nearvy and attacked up. After we killed the new rhino, its tickbird settled on my tamed rhino horn. Unfortunately I noticed later that the tickbord did not dismiss and recall with my rhino — when I mounted up, it went and found itself another perch.)
Ah, interesting. The Shardhorn Rhino is also a color-changer, between brown and grey. And he has those heavy (rather annoying) thudding footsteps that the devilsaurs do as well.
Neither the hydras here in Sholazar nor the mammoths can be tamed. Nor can Primordial Drakes, which I’m sure will (continue to) disappoint some hunters. And I was just killed by some undead bats up on the Avalanche.
Well, since I just 1) died and 2) then flew into Icecrown by accident and got teleported back to Warsong Hold, I decided to check in the stables for my demon hound. He’s still a wolf and he can still be pulled out of the stables, but I’ll need to swing by Zul’Drak and see if they can still be tamed. (Aside: Ceron tells me that the Vargul Blighthounds can still be tamed, and that the blue ones still cannot.)
So, by special request, we’re off to Zangarmarsh to look at fireflies. And look what Kaet picked up there: Blacksting! He’s a beast now, and a Wasp to boot. The Fen Striders and relatives cannot be tamed, unfortunately, nor can the clefthooves or talbuks of Nagrand. (It seemed worth checking the clefthooves since rhinos are somewhat similar.)
*** Brief pause while I rest my over-excited eyes and take some aspirin. ***
While you wait, make sure to check out Ceron’s screenshots. Ceron writes:
Here’s the new pet info I’ve gathered so far. I wrote this as Mania was posting up this info so forgive me for being redundant. :-P
New pet family: Wasps
These include the silithid-like wasps in Sholazar Basin, and the Fireflies in Zangar. Yes it’s true. Possibly the wasps in ungoro by the silithid hive are tamable too. They are a ferocity class pet and non exotic.Pics(Wasp family skill “Sting” included)
http://i36.tinypic.com/r2qdfk.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/xgbo5l.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/2ujsc4z.jpgPitch in Sholazar Basin is now tamable. 2nd lion in the game with the Humar skin.
http://i33.tinypic.com/qqd9vs.jpgNew exotic beasts:Rhinos. I can’t tame yet because I’m Survival but I’ll respec asap and get a shot of their family skill. I’m assuming they are a Tenacity pet.
http://i36.tinypic.com/2rf7ekp.jpgOil covered animals in Borean Tundra are tamable. They revert to their normal skin when tamed though.
http://i36.tinypic.com/zkn6kh.jpgArtic Grizzly Cubs are tamable. Lol @ chewing someone’s face off with a bear cub!
http://i36.tinypic.com/14kwqhi.jpgEmerald Skytalons are tamable now.
http://i36.tinypic.com/o9lglf.jpgDrakuru Raptors(new raptor skin, neon purple underside) are now tamable, with an interesting bug. Once tamed, they respawn the Drakuru Raptor Rider that was mounted on it previously before tame lol. It will keep respawning and will stop until you dismiss your pet and resummon. Here are pics:
http://i36.tinypic.com/fld0sx.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/2wn20z4.jpg (pic of the respawned mob, you can see my pet fighting it even though its on his back)
http://i34.tinypic.com/10r7hvq.jpg (better pic of the raptor)On a smaller note: Gundrak Raptors in Zul’Drak are tamable and so are Frost Leopards. Also there’s level 78-79 white worgs in Storm Peaks that are tamable. They have a PH tag by their name so who knows what they will finally look like.
http://i34.tinypic.com/2hf71ci.jpg
Okay, back to me. I’m almost done with the wanderlust and ready to sit down and go over the skills and talents, though. But just a little more exploring first …
Ooh! Carrion Condors in Borean Tundra can be tamed now. Excellent — I think they are my favorite condor color. Or maybe second favorite … Anyway, I love ‘em. Kili’ua in Dragonblight can also now be tamed, as can the elite Dreadtalon. Adding that to all the things Ceron checked it looks like they may have done a general pass over tameable beasts. I haven’t found any other new families, though — looks like we may have to be satisfied with just two this build. *grin*
Oh my! They made Alystros the Verdant Keeper — the level 74 elite green owl in Dragonblight — able to be tamed as well You have to have the quest to summon him down off his peak, though. Oddly, Rattlebore still cannot be tamed.
And by the way, Disengage is a lot of fun.
I stumbled on an Alliance settlement in Crystalsong Forest. I think that’s new. Also, quite painful since I wasn’t paying attention and really annoyed the natives. And hey, here’s the Horde settlement, populated by the Sunreaver faction. Heh — whoops — their dragonhawk taxis can be tamed, just like the Silvermoon Dragonhawks. Unfortunately I don’t see anything else in the zone yet, although it does look to me like some of the areas are being worked on.
So let’s take a quick look around the Storm Peaks … This zone looks pretty big and interesting — and very, very vertical! — but I’m not seeing a lot of beasts right off. Some rhinos, some worgs .. ooh, and a very nice armored war bear that can’t be tamed. And some serious level 80 elites who are not happy to see me. Well, I’m dead.
And I think this is a nice place to end my adventures for the evening. Thanks for joining me for yet another disorganized ramble through a new beta build. I’ll try to get this information organized and up on Petopia soon.
77 Comments
I envy you, Mania, have fun :)
IVe recently got a WoTLK beta account, Got my ‘alt’ hunter Thelandira on northrend server.
But i raelly havnt had any time to play/experiment.
Is pet cower still bugged?
Last time i was on I found it appallingly easy to pull aggro from my pet, then realised that cower kept turning itself on, and appeared to be proccing even when it was switched off.
Wow, that rhino is huge! Thanks for the updates mania.
Oh my science. Oh my. Oh-
Please please please please -please- try and tame one of the the fireflies from Zangarmarsh to see if they count as “wasps”. I’ve wanted one as a Hunter pet since TBG went live and this may finally be my chance.
Aeolyn: Yes, they do count as wasps. :>
This now begs the question, are the wasps in Kalimdor tameable?
The lowest level ones are the Zukk’ash Wasps found in Feralas.
That rhino is awesome. And I love the tickbird! I have 2 questions though Mania.
1) If you dismiss and recall the rhino, does the tickbird spawn with it?
2) Demon hounds still tameable or no?
Thanks for any info!! <333
o.O That wasp and rhino are huge! I’m never gonna be able to get all these great pets! lol
Rikaku-
Demon Hounds are still tameable according to Mania.
I absolutely love the fact that rhinos are Tameable! And I absolutely love the “critter pet” they get too! So adorable!!
Sweet Seidouyumi, thanks for the update =)
Rhinos sounds neat. If my BM hunter can’t get a kodo, I might get a rhino.
Here’s the new pet info I’ve gathered so far. I wrote this as Mania was posting up this info so forgive me for being redundant. :-P
New pet family: Wasps
These include the silithid-like wasps in Sholazar Basin, and the Fireflies in Zangar. Yes it’s true. Possibly the wasps in ungoro by the silithid hive are tamable too. They are a ferocity class pet and non exotic.
Pics(Wasp family skill “Sting” included)
http://i36.tinypic.com/r2qdfk.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/xgbo5l.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/2ujsc4z.jpg
Pitch in Sholazar Basin is now tamable. 2nd lion in the game with the Humar skin.
http://i33.tinypic.com/qqd9vs.jpg
New exotic beasts:Rhinos. I can’t tame yet because I’m Survival but I’ll respec asap and get a shot of their family skill. I’m assuming they are a Tenacity pet.
http://i36.tinypic.com/2rf7ekp.jpg
Oil covered animals in Borean Tundra are tamable. They revert to their normal skin when tamed though.
http://i36.tinypic.com/zkn6kh.jpg
Artic Grizzly Cubs are tamable. Lol @ chewing someone’s face off with a bear cub!
http://i36.tinypic.com/14kwqhi.jpg
Emerald Skytalons are tamable now.
http://i36.tinypic.com/o9lglf.jpg
Drakuru Raptors(new raptor skin, neon purple underside) are now tamable, with an interesting bug. Once tamed, they respawn the Drakuru Raptor Rider that was mounted on it previously before tame lol. It will keep respawning and will stop until you dismiss your pet and resummon. Here are pics:
http://i36.tinypic.com/fld0sx.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/2wn20z4.jpg(pic of the respawned mob, you can see my pet fighting it even though its on his back)
http://i34.tinypic.com/10r7hvq.jpg(better pic of the raptor)
On a smaller note: Gundrak Raptors in Zul’Drak are tamable and so are Frost Leopards. Also there’s level 78-79 white worgs in Storm Peaks that are tamable. They have a PH tag by their name so who knows what they will finally look like.
http://i34.tinypic.com/2hf71ci.jpg
Thanks for confirming that the fireflies count; that made my night. I really want to make it clear how much I appreciate it. I loved the fireflies so much that I spent an eternity farming them up to get the non-combat pet and I eagerly await having Blacksting alongside me to go with my small pet.
As for them being tamable, I figured they were as they have the same signature annoying sting that prevents stealth when you fight them in Zangarmarsh. But I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much without a confirmation.
Thanks again. You rock.
Rikaku: Unfortunately when I mounted up my rhino’s tickbird flew off to find another rhino. So it’s a little less neat than I first imagined. But still, when I’m in Sholazar Basin at least it looks like my pet can have a pet.
Aeolyn: My pleasure!
Rikaku- You are welcome.
Aeolyn- I’m just hoping that it doesn’t glow the way the stuff does in Zangarmarsh. That always hurts my eyes.
Mania- My musing about the old world wasps wasn’t a request to run out and tame them lol. Thank you for the information though. I really do like the Wasps.
I wrote the above as Mania was posting up this info so forgive me for being redundant and forgive me for the multiple posts, it kept cutting off the top half of my post for some reason. Those 1st 3 pics are of the Wasps in Sholazar Basin.
Ceron: My fault that the top of your comments got cut off — or rather my spam filter’s fault. It was worried about all your links but I gave it a slap on the wrist and you should be fine now. *grin*
And wow — Emerald Skytalons? Drakuru Raptors? Grizzly cubs? Egad! I think I’m in heaven!
Egads, an emerald owl :) And a cute little bear cub that will rip your face off. I really wish they would move Birds of Prey to Ferocity and Carrion Birds to Cunning and swap their family skills.
Thanks again Mania, and thanks Ceron.
Wasps in Silithus and Un’goro are still unclassified at the moment.
Probably won’t count either but there are similiar “Silithid wasps” in Tanaris.
Thanks, Ceron, I do hope that they go ahead and make them tameable. I’ve never liked how certain pet families are very high up or restricted to certain zones (like Bats, Serpents, Owls, Ravagers, Moths and Dragonhawks)that are hard for one faction or the other to get to.
Off to check those then. And you’re welcome Seidouyumi.
from the pics i see pets are keeping their original size? or are they shrinking to tiny like we got now?
Seems like the newly implemented tamables are keeping their size. Must be a bug.
Does the grizzly cub stay ittybitty or will you end up with a monstrously huge yet adorable baby bear the size of a four by four?
I guess until the persistent-size bug goes away, we won’t know, but… that might be considered unbalancing in PVP if someone complains that someone’s pet is microscopic compared to everyone else’s. All the same, having something that looks like a noncombat pet that can eat your face off is pretty bloody funny.
I hope they STAY big! Large pets sizes’, are NOT “bugs”! The Devilsaurs’ Epic size isn’t a “bug”. We even know that from Ghost Crawler. -_- >_> :-P
And I wonder if “tick birds” respawn on their Tamed Rhinos.
The Sapphire Hive Queen that Mania mentioned is tamable and has the same skin template as Ayamiss the Hunter in AQ20.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2iu3yhi.jpg
“Emerald Skytalons are tamable now.”
/faint
i wonder if the bear cub is a bug or if it will stay tameable?the tick birds make me want to get a rhino.even if they dont follow you everywhere and i never use the rhino for anything…
can you find if kodos count as rinos that is wat i want as a pet a kodo since im tauren
I was curious about kodos also. I suspect they won’t be counted as rhinos, but I’ll take a look as soon as I get a chance. (The server has just come down for some reason.)
off topic, but, mania you should post a suggestion in the beta forums for a inscription glyph that shows our pet model as our mount model! :D
Mania, you said earlier that you are tracking fish “whether you want to or not,” I’m wondering if it’s an intentional thing on Blizzard’s part, since I just started tracking minerals alongside my combat trackers after Tuesday maintenance on the live servers (I don’t have track herbs or fish, so I can’t see if both are being tracked). Hopefully this isn’t a bug, and we finally don’t have to switch trackers to find herbs / minerals / fish!
Question 1 : Are all fireflys tameable or just the one? And if so which? And could we get screen shots please?
Question 2 : The Rhino’s clearly arn’t shrinking, hopefully they will, but do they only come in brown, or the mentioned gray? And can we get pics of the gray? Up to this point none of the Tenacity pets were doing anything for me, but if that rhino comes in a better color than brown and shrinks to about half size I’ve found my tank.
In case you guys were wondering about the size the bear cubs get to…
Freshly tamed: http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot082208003108ky2.jpg
Beastial Wrath: http://img373.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot082208003117po7.jpg
LOL That thing is freaking gigantic. I can’t wait to try it out in PvP!
“OH #$*&! MY FACE WAS JUST BITTEN OFF BY A GIGANTIC BABY BEAR!”
WOTLK: Nueva build de la beta | conOsinSemilia - August 22nd, 2008 @ 4:02 am UTC
[...] Multitud de pets nuevas, entre ellas una nueva exotica: Rinocerontes. [...]
just tamed a baby bear as well,first thing i noticed? HES CROSSEYED!!! lol. a fun tame however i cant see myself keeping him,now if there happens to be pandas near arthas i am there!!!
Big, Tamed bear “cub”! lol
I hope my maggots will be tameable:)
Hi Mania / Kaet, Ran into you in Shattrath. Again just saying I love the website, It’s crazy how much time you are spending looking into the Hunter stuff. I spotted your Wasp and was instantly awe-struck to see it as a pet. Really cool stuff!
Someone please please please go see if Softknuckle in Sholazar Basin) can be tamed like the cub! I’m hoping he’s as epicly cool too!
Are clefthoof’s tamable? They would be an excellent candidate for the Rhino family, as would Kodos?
Wasps. My happiness is complete. Hopefully they’ll add the old world Silithids in eventually as well, but even so… and not even exotics.
Anyone else read the book “Empire in Black and Gold”? Gonna get me a yellow one and call it Thalric…
The Softknuckles, I am sorry to say, still cannot be tamed.
So think the Demon Hound’s will be tamable in live? :D
More to the point, can we tame Core Hounds yet?
Grrrrrreat work by the way Ceron and Mania…
what else is counted as a rhino? maybe kodo *puppy eyes*
any update on the kodo’s yet? i have a irl friend whos head would quite litraly implode if they become tameable, so would like to hear any info soon as possible :P
Mugungo-
Mania’s off to get some sleep. Given that they haven’t made the Kalimdor wasps tameable yet, I’m not sure that they would have done so with kodos yet either. Or core hounds for that matter. Though, I’ve always thought Core Hounds should be counted as demons.
Can you please tame one of the bear cubs so I can see if they are smaller than normal bears when tamed?
Trap-
Please read through the entire listing. Kiaron in post 38 has screen shots of those cute little bear cubs and what they look like when tamed.
You know the bear cub is sooo going to get changed. Talk about unintended. Too bad though. It is funny.
Only the red Demon Hounds are still tamable. No we cannot tame Corehounds yet. :-(
Too bad baby bear is going to be changed that would be hilarious in PvP!
Rhinos! That is excellent news – I’ll be picking up one of those bruisers first thing once Wrath goes live :). I was hoping those would be tamable as soon as I first saw them.
Yes!!! Oil-covered birds tamable!! I can’t wait to tame one! My little “druid” pair will be so happy together.
The baby bears won’t stay tamable.
There is posts already made by blues about how they won’t bring back the bears as vanity pets in order to keep their rarity.
Hardly fair to say that then let every hunter in game able to tame them as combat pets.
If that baby bear cub remains tameable, it’s mine! Same as the rhino. So, let’s see… ghost wolf, white lion, rhino… that leaves baby bear cub, and moth? maybe?
god love you mania. thatnks for putting your time and effort to keep us up to date. can’t wait to charge into northrend and tame a jormungar! well, first i gotta get through outlands…
Lions and Tigers and Rhinos, OH MY!
How they gonna fit that bad boy in stable?
How am I gonna fit all these really cool looking pets in 5 slots?
Blizzard Developer: What do you mean, ghostcrawler? We’ve given your hunter friends all the pets they asked for. We even gave the 5 stable slots, and they still want more slots?
My slots will have, White Gorilla, White Eagle, White bear cub,(see a pattern here?) Rhino, Devilsaur, and yes I’d like the Emerald Skytalon, wasp, and, and, and, Oh yea, we only get 5 slots.
Oh I almost forgot, I want to be able to take a softknuckle baby gorilla too. Please Blizzard, Thanks. Imagine Off tanking with that cute little adorable face.
Yeah, I agree with you guys. I don’t think they’re gonna let you Tame a bear cub. It’s likely a bug.
I did a fly-by of Storm Peaks…well until I flew too close to Icecrown and ended up in Warsong Hold, and I saw some 79/80 worms with the same skin as the ones from Dragonblight. I’d imagine they are tamable, and it will be nice not to have to worry about leveling my 74 all the way.
And like a few other hunters, I snagged a bear cub…but I really can’t decide if it’s cute or not. Just looks like an oversized teddy-bear to me…which is amusing as it’s a tanking pet.
Clefthoofs and Elekk are still untamable.
I tamed the rhino shortly before northrend server wint down and i didnt see any bird :(
it IS the biggest pet i have ever tamed
Oooooh. That Rhino is a surprise. Cool.
I had already made my choices for WLK – an Imperial Eagle, and the beautiful riding mount model kitty, Shango – and now I find myself inelegantly drooling over what’s to come!
I have but one slot remaining on my current trio and had hopes to find Araga but she still eludes this toon. Humar getting another cat with its skin may take the pressure off of him, but he is no longer truly “unique” to the oldworld section (Some of my guildies are rather outraged about it, but it seems everyone and their mother on Aman’Thul has the cat anyway, so “unique” is a light term in that respect LOL)
I am rather partial to a couple of those new-look wolves too. Getting your face ripped off my something that resembles a scraggly rabid doggy makes me grin contentedly. Must be because I like my “evil” looking pets.
…though I’m still a little annoyed that the only really awesome Dragonhawk skin colour (the blue/purple/green combo) happens to belong to a boss, drops awesome loot and therefore unable to be tamed. I must be the only person on Aman’Thul in love with those beautiful serpent things.
Thank you Mania for satisfying (and therefore ruining, but I really don’t care at this stage!) this little hunter’s choices for new babies in WLK. I may just keep that empty slot empty now =3
Unless they’ve redone existing skins, the Hive Queen has the same day-glow yellow/purple/orange skin as Ayamiss from AQ20…
I got in the beta finally :D:D:D:D:D
About the tracking, I think it is a bug because my hunter & druid (in cat form) keep having track humanoids on, the only way to switch it off on my hunter is to toggle track humanoids, then switch back to whatever I was tracking before.
I wonder if any research is currently going on, on that really cool “tick bird”.
I love the tick bird.. So cute! To bad it doesn’t always hang around, although I can imagine people killing it whenever you summoned your rhino. You would have to constantly be yelling, “Don’t kill the tick bird or my rhino will eat you!” (and that would, of course, make people kill it more, so you would be using Enrage a lot. Level 2 goes up and kills the tick bird… Giant rhino turns red and grows. Hehe….)
Wasp.. Rhino… Lets see, my dwarf would get a Wasp, and my Tuaren a Rhino… Or maybe the other way around??
Plz will u check the wavethrashers in ashzara? and Deviate pythons in WC
Wavethrashers are hydra, right? None of the hydra or the pythons I’ve tested in this build have been tameable.
are the zuk’ash wasps tameable?
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