January 2015   « Archives | Current News »

Meet Donna Glee Reim, a.k.a. Grannyglee. At the impressive age of 83, not only is she an avid World of Warcraft player, but she's also quite the pet collector!

Main Character:  Grannyglee

Race & Class:  Gnome Warlock

Realm & Rank:  Kilrogg-EU (#29)

Unique Pets Collected:  505

Real Life Location:  Alabama, USA

A Conversation with Grannyglee
We had the opportunity to interview Grannyglee about her WoW playing and pet collecting. Here's what she had to say...






















Cheers to GrannyGlee!
Here's to GrannyGlee and her growing pet collection! Keep up the pet collecting and the pet battles, and may Lil' Smoky continue to lead you to victory!

UPDATE: PTR servers are now available!

According to the PTR Pet Journal the Race MiniZep is indeed from the Darkmoon Faire, however it's still unclear how we'll earn this pet.

Patch 6.1 will be available for testing on the PTR in the near future, however datamining on Patch 6.1 has already begun. An exciting achievement was discovered along with many new pets. [source]

New Achievement and Pets

In Patch 6.1 an achievement that we've been looking forward to will finally be implemented — Raiding with Leashes III: Drinkin' From the Sunwell!

This achievement is the third installment in a chain of similar pet collecting challenges. In each version, players need to travel to older raid zones and collect pets that the bosses have been secretly hiding. Who knew that some of these big baddies had a soft spot for a pet or two?

To complete this new achievement, collectors will need to venture into Black Temple, Hyjal Summit, and Sunwell Plateau. A total of 12 pets will come from these three raids.

• Fragment of Anger
• Fragment of Desire
• Fragment of Suffering
• Grotesque Statue
• Hyjal Wisp
• Leviathan Egg
• Servant's Bell
• Shard of Supremus
• Smelly Gravestone
• Sultry Grimoire
• Sunblade Rune of Activation
• Void Collar

Collecting all 12 pets listed above rewards you with yet another pet, Holy Chime which teaches K'ute. With a name like that, we can only hope that it's a cute Naaru!

Two other pets were also datamined but they are unrelated to the Raiding with Leashes achievement.

Currently there's no information on where the Race MiniZep Controller will come from, however Patch 6.1 will implement a new racing challenge at the Darkmoon Faire. Do collectors need to win a race to earn a racing pet? We'll have to wait and see if that's the case.

Last but not least, My Special Pet was also datamined. This pet appears to be incomplete or a placeholder of sorts. We can only wonder what this pet will be revealed as, and if it will be available to players.

New Battle-Stone
Ever wish you could instantly level a pet to 25? In Patch 6.1 you might be able to! The Ultimate Battle-Training Stone was datamined, but the source of this stone is still unknown.

A similar stone was implemented during the WoD Beta, the Mythical Battle-Pet Stone. Unfortunately, this particular Battle-Stone was only for testing purposes and was not released on live servers.

We still don't know if the Ultimate Battle-Training Stone will end up like the Mythical version and remain unavailable post-testing. However, there are a few notable differences between the two that indicate the new Battle-Stone could be worthy for release.

• The Ultimate Battle-Training Stone is consumed when used
• Has an item level of 100
• Is not unique
• Has a player level requirement of 90

While these details are indeed tantalizing, we'll have to wait and see what the fate of this new Battle-Stone will be.

Recent datamining revealed 14 new pets coming in Patch 6.1. The majority of the pets are part of the achievement Raiding with Leashes III: Drinkin' From the Sunwell.

We had a chance to check these pets out on the PTR, and not only do these pets look amazing, each of the 13 Raiding With Leashes III pets has a unique idle animation or interaction!

• Abyssius (pictured above, left) - Is periodically dazed, crumbles apart, and then pulls itself back together.
• Chaos Pup (pictured above, middle) - Runs rapidly in a circle making stomping noises as it runs.
• Grotesque (pictured above, right) - Occasionally sits down and freezes in a perched gargoyle pose.

• Fragment of Anger (pictured above, left) - Turns red and enrages, causing it to grow larger.
• Fragment of Desire (pictured above, middle) - Causes nearby critters to become temporarily confused.
• Fragment of Suffering (pictured above, right) - Yells which fears nearby critters.

• Hyjal Wisp (pictured above, left) - Shoots out a golden beam that causes a small, green blossom tree to grow.
• Leviathan Hatchling (pictured above, middle) - Periodically falls over into a deep sleep.
• Sister of Temptation (pictured above, right) - Nearby critters become temporarily infatuated with her, causing a heart to appear over their heads.

• Stinkrot (pictured above, left) - Lets out a large audible burp which creates a gas cloud around it. Critters that wander into the gas are killed.
• Sunblade Micro-Defender (pictured above, middle) - Shoots out fel-chain lightning at nearby critters.
• Wretched Servant (pictured above, right) - Occasionally eats and drinks while standing.

The pet reward for collecting all 12 listed above is an especially unique pet. Peaceful and serene, K'ute (pictured right) cannot battle, but we think it would kick butt if it could!

K'ute plays a continuous wind chime-like sound when it is summoned out. Every now and then, it will have a singing animation similar to that of the Singing Sunflower. Additionally, nearby critters are sometimes blessed with Touch of the Naaru, causing a glowing blue emblem to appear over their heads.

The last pet that was recently datamined from the 6.1 PTR is the Race MiniZep (pictured left). It's not related to the Raiding With Leashes achievement, and instead comes from the Darkmoon Faire.

It's still unknown what we'll need to do to obtain this pet, but it probably has something do with the new racing mini-game coming to the faire in 6.1. Throughout the racecourse there are hostile MiniZeps dotted around, so better not confuse the racecourse version with the pet!

UPDATE: After further testing on the PTR, we've discovered that the quest that rewards the Ultimate Battle-Training Stone does not have any prerequisites. All characters will be able to complete this quest once, so long as they have access to their garrison and the Menagerie NPC.

A new build was recently released to the PTR. Not only will there be more pets to collect in 6.1, there will also be new PVE content. [source]

Three New Pets
Are you ready for more pets to collect in 6.1? If Raiding With Leashes III wasn't enough to satisfy your collecting itch, there are three more pets just waiting for you!

• Bone Serpent (pictured above, left)
• Young Talbuk (pictured above, middle)
• Slithershock Elver (pictured above, right)

These pets are drops from a new pet reward bag, Traveler's Pet Supplies, which is discussed below.

Visitors Come to Battle
There are new NPCs to battle in 6.1, however you may not see them at first. These Trainers will visit your garrison but won't hang around for more than a day.

Erris the Collector (A) (pictured right) and Kura Thunderhoof (H) will occasionally show up near your Menagerie. Their visit is not account-wide and different characters may not see them on the same day.

They offer an account-wide daily quest called Critters of Draenor. Completing it rewards Traveler's Pet Supplies and three Flawless Battle-Training Stones. The three pets mentioned above have a chance to drop from the reward bag.

What makes these wandering Trainers unique is their set of pets. You may find that they will sometimes have a different team during subsequent visits. There appear to be 15 different pets that might be related to the new Trainers.

Their pets also have a unique mechanic — they don't have a static set of three abilities. Instead, the pets have a pool of six pre-determined abilities, much like a player's pet. Each ability slot has two possible attacks that can be chosen for each encounter, so every match you enter with Erris or Kura might be slightly different than the last!

And Another Visitor...
Speaking of dynamic pets, you may find another visitor in your garrison with a special pet team.

Alchemist Hanmos (A) will occasionally visit and station himself inside the Town Hall, just outside of the Archaeology room.

Co-author of our Pet of the Month series, Liopleurodon, had the pleasure of challenging Hanmos to a Pet Battle on the PTR. The quality of his pets changed each time she entered a battle with him.


As noted by Liopleurodon, defeating him will count towards the 150 Pet Battles necessary to unlock the Menagerie, but it will not count towards the achievement Draenor Pet Brawler.

There aren't any rewards for besting Alchemist Hanmons in a Pet Battle, however pets do earn a notable amount of experience. The experience gained is a little less than the Pandaria Trainer battles.

The Ultimate Rare Candy
The Menagerie NPC will have a new quest for players in 6.1, called Unearthed Magic. It's a simple, one-time only quest that rewards the Ultimate Battle-Training Stone.

This quest can be completed on different characters, however further PTR testing will be required to determine if there are any prerequisites to acquire this quest...other than unlocking the Menagerie, that is!

We're in the midst of winter; the weather is chilly and the days are short. It's the perfect time for this month's feature — the Snowy Owl.

Collecting the Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl is a special wild pet because it only spawns during winter.

• Starts spawning: December 21^st
• Stops spawning: March 20^th

It follows the real-world seasons (NA region), which means you can find them in Winterspring right now.

This pet will continue spawning throughout the winter months, however once the cold season ends the Snowy Owl will hibernate until next winter.

The Snowy Owl can be found in various spots in Winterspring as a primary pet. It comes in three different breeds, one of which sets it apart from its fellow owls. It's the only owl that has a Speed/Balance stat allocation.

Finding your own Snowy Owl might take some time, but don't give up! It's possible that by removing other critters and wild pets in the area, spawn points may be freed up allowing for the Snowy Owl to spawn. Another method for locating one is to try your luck on different servers.

Collecting a Snowy Owl will bring you one step closer to completing the achievement World Safari. One more reason to head out and capture your own owl; don't miss out on this winter pet!

Battling with the Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl is one of several pets with the Owl moveset, all of which are deadly Flying damage dealers.

It can use Peck or Quills as a decent first-line offensive attack. Peck is a no-frills single hit, while Quills hits several times, with an additional hit if your owl is faster.

Cyclone in the second slot gives an RNG-heavy chance to attack all the pets in your opponent's team at the end of each round.


Sharing that second slot, Shriek (pictured above) decreases your opponent's attacks by 25% for the next 3 rounds. It's the only defense the Snowy Owl has to speak of, so it may be a hard choice between the 2 depending on your opponent. There's an edge to choosing Cyclone in 3-pet fights & Shriek in single-pet fights, though there's a bit of latitude in making that choice.

The big time damage dealers are both in the last slot. Nocturnal Strike needs a partner with Blind to be effective, but it hits extremely hard when you have that partner. Predatory Strike hits fairly hard most of the time, but when your opponent is below 25% health, it hits hard enough to end the fight, barring dodges or boss buffs or other tomfoolery. Both have very long cooldowns, so use them as wisely as any owl might.

Check out our forum thread discussion on the Snowy Owl and submit your own thoughts on this pet.

Battling Discussion on the Snowy Owl

Pet of the Month is co-written by Liopleurodon, an experienced pet battler and long-time WoW player. She maintains her own Pet Battle blog, comprised of pet analyses, team strategies and general thoughts on pets.

Last week Blizzard released the official 6.1 PTR Patch Notes. [source]

There are a few notable pet-related additions and changes coming in 6.1.

• For the Pet Battlers out there, there's a separate chance for an additional visitor offering unique Pet Battles with a chance to award a bag containing Pet Battle items and new Battle Pets.
• Reduced the difficulty of quests to unlock the Menagerie, elite pet challenges, and pet battle daily quests.
• New battle pets have been added to Black Temple, Caverns of Time: Hyjal Summit, and Sunwell Plateau along with a new achievement, Raiding with Leashes III to collect them all. Completing the achievement to collect all the new Battle Pets will award a Naaru pet.
• Level 100 characters with a Tier-3 Garrison will now receive an item in the mail that increases a single Battle Pet's level to 25.

Collectors still working towards acquiring the Land Shark will also have a better time catching Lunkers in 6.1.

Lunkers can now be caught from fishing pools and have an improved catch rate with higher fishing skill.

On top of these changes, there are a few other updates that were not mentioned in the patch notes.

• All Flawless Battle-Stones have had their level penalty removed. Using a Battle-Stone on a level 15+ pet no longer causes it to lose levels.
• Pet Charms stack to 1,000.
• Pet Charms and Battle-Training Stones are Bind On Account instead of soulbound.

If you have an excess number of Pet Charms and Battle-Training Stones, Patch 6.1 will definitely help free up some bag space. We look forward to it!

Our team has been hard at work on a handful of improvements to WarcraftPets. Many of these updates came directly from your your suggestions.

Alternate Skins for Your Profile Pic
First up, you've got new profile pictures to choose from. For each pet that has more than one skin available in-game, you can now set your avatar to ANY of its skins.


This is true of pets that have more than one model, as well as those that can change their colors, such as the Blossoming Ancient (shown above).

More Accurate Leaderboards
Our realm leaderboards now display all current site users by default, rather than all users. The list automatically filters out anyone who hasn't logged into their account for 6+ months. This was done in an effort to display more accurate results, as well as to reward our more regular users.

Note that you can toggle inactive users to display in the rankings if you wish.

New Pet Filters
You can now filter pets with a number of new views:

• Faction → Alliance | Horde | Neutral
• Availability → Not yet available
• Pet Properties → Has unique abilities

These newest filters give you more flexibility in finding specific pets and in segmenting your own collection.

Realm Shown in Forum Sidebar
When you're browsing forum posts, you'll now be able to see a user's realm and region shown in the sidebar. That should make it easier to coordinate pet trades and other activities that are dependent upon a user's realm.


Other Goodies
We're not done yet! Here are a few more tweaks to help you get more out of WarcraftPets...

New forum: PTR / Beta Discussion
If you've got an itch to discuss beta pets and upcoming game changes, post in our new PTR / Beta Discussion forum. This forum should make it easier to find and organize information on beta pets and upcoming game changes.

Updated Achievements Guide
We've completely reworked the Pet Achievements Guide. The achievement categories in the guide now match the in-game categories. We'll also be updating the guide with additional achievements within the next week.

Updated Pet Macros
You'll find some new macros in our Pet Macros section. We've also fixed a few of the older macros that were no longer working after the launch of patch 6.0.

As Always, Thanks!
Once again, we'd like to that you, the members of the WarcraftPets community, for providing us with your suggestions. It helps us make this site all the more useful for everyone. We also thank you for your continued support through donations and word of mouth — we appreciate your help.