1572 pets
Here are some of the major updates from the beta that we've found.
Darkmoon Rabbit
The highly anticipated Darkmoon Rabbit finally made its first appearance now that the Darkmoon Faire is in full swing on the test servers. As many have already guessed, it is indeed a pet that drops from a creature of the same name that spawns in the Darkmoon Island Cave. Be warned, though! While the bunny may seem docile and cute, this is not your ordinary critter...
Currently, the Darkmoon Rabbit creature has 72 million health points, and although it only has one attack, it's quite a nasty one! Its ability is aptly named "HUGE, SHARPE TEETH!", a clear reference to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This ability puts a debuff on your character which will cause you to run in fear, lose control of your character for the duration of the debuff, and reduce healing effects done to you by 100%.
Oddly enough, this rabbit won't go after hunter or warlock pets at the moment. Needless to say, you may want to bring some friends to help you bring down this "foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent"!
It's unclear how players are going to eventually overcome this encounter, but once defeated, the Darkmoon Rabbit will drop one Bind on Use pet of the same name and award the achievement, That Rabbit's Dynamite!
Pet Achievements
Speaking of achievements, pet collecting achievements such as Littlest Pet Shop are currently not listed in the achievement window on the beta. However, it's highly likely that they are simply being relocated into the new Pet Battles achievement tab and will not be removed. We'll continue to closely monitor the achievements and report any updates on their status.
Account Wide and Individual Collections
There are currently two ways to view your companions in the beta, through your Pet Journal and in your spellbook companion tab. These seem to be two separate entities, though.
While the Pet Journal will grant access to your collection of companions on all characters, a toon's individual collection will still remain intact. For example, if you learn the Darkmoon Rabbit on one character, only that particular toon will have the pet in their spellbook. All other characters can still access and summon the pet through the Pet Journal, but it will not be added to their spellbook. This makes situations such as deleting a character with a unique pet learned only on that toon somewhat complicated, and we're unsure of the result in such a case.
It's unclear if the spellbook companion tab will remain in the game once the Pet Journal is fully implemented. It's also unknown what type of effects the removal of the companion tab will have on pet collecting achievements, since the achievements are currently tied with how many companions are found in your spellbook.
We're hoping to have more updates on this topic as well as more pet-related finds in the near future. Stay tuned!
