Jump to content
FORUMS
Sign in to follow this  
Odinn

WoW Feature - 'Mastering the Menagerie'

Recommended Posts

11923-wow-feature-mastering-the-menageri

 

Over a short series of blog posts, Blizzard is providing some insight and expertise on content in World of Warcraft that players may have glossed over - whether due to difficulty, distraction, or downright never having thought about it. This week, Kaivax walks us through defeating the pests necessary to unlock the Menagerie in your Garrison.

 

The complete post follows:

 

In this series of blog posts, we’ll look at some of the content in World of Warcraft where you might need a helpful nudge in the right direction—maybe you’re stuck, maybe you got sidetracked, or maybe you don’t even know how to begin! Join us as we travel all over Azeroth and Draenor  to uncover and thoroughly tackle the many different little adventures available to any player.

 

To start, let’s look at that Pet Menagerie taunting you in your Garrison. Beginning here and now, you can point at it and say “I’m coming for you, Menagerie! Your days of just sitting there waiting to be used are numbered!” Say that in your best Cro Threadstrong voice, by the way—soon, the Menagerie will mock you no more.

 

What follows is intended for players who haven’t already overcome the content, though keep in mind it will contain minor spoilers. If this particular information isn’t for you because you’re already a Managerie pro, then well done! In the comments below, let us know what you’d like to learn how to master in a future blog post.

 

WE’LL DO IT LIVE, MAYBE

 

Even if it were as easy as just saying a magic word to unlock and begin interacting with the Menagerie, that wouldn’t make it useful. In the context of pet battling, consider the Menagerie endgame content—and while there’s no specific definition of what qualifies a player for the pet-battle endgame, it’s safe to say that if you don’t currently have some level 25 rare-quality pets in hand, you’ve not yet reached the endgame.

 

That number varies based on a lot of things. For example, an endgame goal like defeating the seven master tamers in Pandaria (which rewards the Taming Pandaria achievement) requires at least 6 to 10 very specific pets. Some players consider the endgame reached when they’ve got a solid trio of pets they can use to do pet-battle PvP. If you want to complete the Celestial Tournament, your endgame is going to require dozens of max-level pets, but that’s a subject for another day.

 

Players who have 5 to 10 randomly selected pets at max level and rare quality can proceed to the next step, as it should be possible to overcome your initial obstacles with some careful planning and a bit of luck. If you don’t have several (or any) max-level pets, don’t worry! Bringing together teams of companions is a fun and rewarding experience.

 

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll want to read about the basics:

If you’re looking for a plan to level up your pets:

If you’d like some help building your collection:

Use the guides above, and you’ll return to your Garrison with a small army—but most of all, have fun out there.

 

PETS VERSUS PESTS

 

To unlock the Menagerie, you’ll need to take out three difficult enemies that you’ll find in your Garrison: Carrotus Maximum, Gorefu, and Gnawface. You’ll also need to be at level 100, and your Garrison has to have been upgraded to level 3. Let’s look at each of the three gatekeepers in detail.

 

OKRLWP7ZA2D11429157164681.jpg
What a glamour shot!

 

This totally sane root vegetable comes at you with 1603 health, 276 attack, and a speed of 252. He’s an elemental pet, so your aquatic abilities hit him for extra damage, and you shouldn’t try to use mechanical abilities. Carrotus uses three abilities:

  • Ironbark (deals damage to you and reduces damage Carrotus takes from you for one round), which is strong against mechanical pets and weak against critters.
  • Aged Yolk (removes all buffs and debuffs from Carrotus), which has a two-turn cooldown.
  • Leech Seed (deals damage to you, heals Carrotus, and places a damage-over-time on you for one round), which is strong against mechanical pets and weak against critters, and has a four-turn cooldown.

So as you can see, it’s suicide to try to defeat him with mechanical pets. Critters are the way to go, and in particular, critters that use aquatic abilities are best. Leech Seed is the hit you want to avoid, so choose battle pets that have an avoidance skill, such as crickets with their Cocoon Strike, and then time your avoidance to sidestep it.

 

QSMIZGVAQL5S1429157165812.jpg
His contemporaries call him Ol’ Yellow Eyes.

 

This cute little guy has all of 1583 health, 276 attack, and 256 speed. He’s a pet of the aquatic variety, which means that your pets with flying abilities will hit him extra hard, and your pets with undead abilities are at a disadvantage. He brings the following to the table:

  • Deep Bite (damages you more and more each time he uses it), which is strong against elemental pets and weak versus magic pets.
  • Mudslide (deals some damage and changes the weather, preventing you from being able to switch your pet out), which is strong versus undead and weak against humanoid pets.
  • Feed (deals damage to you and heals Gorefu for the same amount), which hits critters extra hard, but is weak against flyers, and has a four-turn cooldown.

Put it all together and you want to avoid using undead pets and instead concentrate on your flying pets. In particular, flying pets that can avoid being hit by Feed would be best. Moths and flies are excellent picks for this fight.

 

18GLON1QFIUS1429157165729.jpg
He looks like the sort of person to name turtles after artists.

 

Gnawface is a fast little rodent with 1400 health, 276 attack, and a respectable speed of 293. He’s a critter, which means that he takes extra damage from beast abilities, and is extra tough if you hit him with elemental abilities. His abilities arsenal includes:

  • Sneak Attack (damages you, and gets a bonus if you’re currently blinded), which is strong versus undead and weak against humanoid pets.
  • Comeback (a hit that does bonus damage if Gnawface has less health than you), which is also increased against undead and diminished versus humanoids.
  • Call Darkness (deals some damage and changes the weather, blinding all pets), which hits dragonkin extra hard, but is weak against beasts.

The plan here is to use humanoids or beasts, and use their beast abilities. Yes, Virginia, there are humanoid battle pets with beast abilities. An excellent example is the Curious Wolvar Pup you can obtain from the Children’s Week holiday (coming up April 27 – May 4), which can use both Bite and Maul to make quick work of Gnawface.

 

THE FUN BEGINS

 

Overcoming the three opponents above is a great step, but it’s only a first step into the wonders of the Menagerie. Now you have access to daily challenges and the rewards they offer. Learn how to defeat each of the different daily enemies the Menagerie provides, and you’ll quickly accumulate Battle-Stones that you can use to upgrade your pets to rare quality.

 

T2FICINH0ZYH1429157164658.jpg
It's hardly fair when you've got three against only one.

 

Here’s a basic strategy for beating the Menagerie dailies (and any tamer or legendary pet you encounter):

  1. Note the opposing pets’ families and the types of the skills they’re using.
  2. Identify pets in your collection that counter those types and skills.
  3. Look for pairs or even trios of pets who have strong compatibilities.
  4. If necessary, go capture new pets that can do the job.
  5. Level up your pets to 25 and make them rare quality.
  6. Order your team in such a way that your damage-over-time skills or team buffs will be played earlier in the contest and your big hits will be available later, when the enemy is weak.
  7. Play through your opponent’s routine more than once to learn when they cast their most impactful spells.
  8. Fine tune your team and the order you use your skills, returning all the way to step #3 if necessary.

 

 

Are you stuck staring at that empty plot where your Menagerie should be? Tell us about it in this forum thread in our Pet Battles discussion forum. Master pet battlers are standing by!

 

If you haven't already, you should also check out our article on The Top 10 Must-Have WoW Battle Pets. Lots of that information is relevant and useful to you in pursuing a long-term investment in pet battling, too!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The screenshot in the end... "How Not To Fight Stitches"biggrin.png

 

Lol, so true. Is there any way to beat him other than 3 aquatic pets with pump?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Several ways. Singing Sunflower can solo him, with Sunlight, Solar Beam and Photosynthesis. Just keep Sunny weather, pre-cast Photosynthesis and spam Solar beam. It hits like a truck and as long as you have 2 other pets to share his cleave, he will not beat your regeneration.

 

Another tacts includes 2-3 pets with Exchange Life (Faerie Dragon, Ethereal Soul Trader,...): always wait til your health is lower than his - not that difficult - and then Exchange. Make sure you have something to finish him off.

 

In the past, I was using 2 Direhorn Runts with Trample (or anything with Trample) + anything that could make Sunny weather. 10% of his health (buffed with Sunny weather) was a considerable chunk, but in 6.1 his total health was nerfed, so this tacts does not beat his reduction any more sad.png

 

P.S. My friend said that you can do it with good old Howlbomb comp (a.k.a. Splash-Splash-Boom). Back when he had 6k health, I had no luck with that, but now it should be well possible.

Edited by simpetar

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • By Stan
      The Fatebout Hero Talent tree available to Assassination and Outlaw Rogues has been enabled for testing on the War Within Alpha, and so we're looking at the new talents!
      Talents with the NYI tag have not yet been implemented.
      Rogue
      Mean Streak (new) - Fatebound Coins flipped by Envenom multiple times in a row are 33% more likely to match the same outcome as the last flip. Edge Case (new) - Activating Deathmark causes your next Fatebound Coin flip to land on its edge, counting as both Heads and Tails. Tempted Fate (new) - You have a chance equal to your critical strike chance to absorb 10% of any damage taken, up to a maximum chance of 40%. Chosen's Revelry (new) - Leech increased by 0.5% for each time your Fatebound Coin has flipped the same face in a row. Deal Fate (new) - Sinister Strike generates an additional combo point when it strikes an additional time. Delivered Doom (new) - Damage dealt when your Fatebound Coin flips tails is increased by 35% while Blade Flurry is not active. Fateful Ending (new) - When your Fatebound Coin flips the same face for the seventh time in a row, the lucky coin grants 1% increase to all primary, secondary, and tertiary stats until you leave combat for 10 seconds. Threads of Fate [NYI] (new) - Dispatch critical strikes duplicate 20% of their damage to 2 additional nearby enemies. If there are no additional nearby targets, duplicate 20% to the primary target instead. Double Jeopardy (new) - Your first Fatebound Coin flip after breaking Stealth flips two coins that are guaranteed to match the same face. Inexorable March [NYI] (new) - You cannot be slowed below 70% of normal movement speed while your Fatebound Coin flips have an active streak of at least 2 flips matching the same face. Death's Arrival [NYI] (new) - Grappling Hook may be used a second time within 3 sec, with no cooldown. Inevitability [NYI] (new) - Cold Blood now benefits the next 2 abilities but only applies to Dispatch. Fatebound Coins flipped by these abilities are guaranteed to match the same face as the last flip. Destiny Defined (new) - Sinister Strike has 5% increased chance to strike an additional time and your Fatebound Coins flipped have an additional 5% chance to match the same face as the last flip.
    • By Staff
      To celebrate the next week's Patch 10.2.7 launch, Blizzard provided us with a code for the Lucky Quilen Cub pet that we're giving away on Twitter. Find out how to enter the giveaway!
      Blizzard was kind enough to provide us with 1x Lucky Quilen Cub battle pet code and we're giving it away via Twitter.
      Giveaway Rules
      For a chance to win, simply like and retweet the tweet linked below and follow our Twitter account. Act fast—the giveaway ends on May 7, 2024, at 2:00 PM Paris time. This code can be redeemed in either the EU or US. We’ll select the winner randomly after the contest concludes and reach out via Twitter DM.
      Placeholder for tweet 1786720824600190996 Lucky Quilen Cub

    • By Stan
      Blizzard added new Hero Talents for Priests in the latest War Within Alpha build.
      Priest
      Halo- Discipline, Holy, Initial: Creates a ring of Shadow energy around you that quickly expands to a 30 yd radius, healing allies for [ 161% of Spell Power ] and dealing [ 144.2% of Spell Power ] Shadow damage to enemies. Healing reduced beyond 6 targets. Shadow: Creates a ring of Shadow energy around you that quickly expands to a 30 yd radius, healing allies for [ 161% of Spell Power ] and dealing [ 144.2% of Spell Power ] Shadow damage to enemies. Healing reduced beyond 6 targets. Generates 10 0 Insanity. Word of Supremacy (new) - Power Word: Fortitude grants you an additional 5% stamina. Heightened Alteration (new) - Increases the duration of Dispersion by 2 sec. Manifested Power (new) - Creating a Halo grants Surge of Light. Empowered Surges (new) - Increases the healing done by Flash Heals affected by Surge of Light by 30%. Energy Cycle (new) - Consuming Surge of Insanity has a 100% chance to conjure Shadowy Apparitions. Concentrated Infusion (new) - Your Power Infusion effect grants you an additional 10% haste. Resonant Energy (new) - Allies healed by your Halo receive 10% increased healing from you for 5 sec. Shock Pulse (new) - Halo damage reduces enemy movement speed by 25% for 5 sec, stacking up to 2 times. Perfected Form (new) - Your damage dealt is increased by 10% while Dark Ascension is active and by 15% while Voidform is active. Incessant Screams (new) - Psychic Scream creates an image of you at your location. After 4 sec, the image will let out a Psychic Scream. Sustained Potency (new) - Creating a Halo extends the duration of Dark Ascension or Voidform by 1 sec. If Dark Ascension and Voidform are not active, up to 6 seconds is stored and applied the next time you gain Dark Ascension or Voidform.
    • By Staff
      We've all seen the giant Hallowfall crystal and just how great it looks, but as it turns out, the light emanating from it actually changes in a sort of strange day/night cycle, and we get a really awesome transition into Void light animation! 
      First off we can see a snippet of the change in Blizzard's official short preview of the zone:
      And then there's this extended look at the switch, showcasing just how impressive the animations are, by PreachGaming's Chunkeyninja:
      And here's a slightly better look at the Void to Light transition, courtesy of Kexman:
      The exact timing on the cycle isn't 100% clear, but MrGM noted how it works on the Alpha right now, with a 3 hour cycle, as the Void part remains active for 30 minutes:

      Hopefully we'll also get some lore to go with the transition, as the light into void thing is pretty thematically interesting, as well as being really visually impressive.
    • By Stan
      We've summarized all Paladin changes that went live in the third War Within Alpha build. Check them out!
      Paladin
      Mastery: Highlord's Judgment (Spec Aura) - Increases Holy damage done by 12.0%. Judgment has a 12.0% 6.0% chance to blast the target with the Light, dealing [ 120% of Attack Power ] Holy damage. Templar Strikes - Crusader Strike becomes a 2 part combo. Templar Strike slashes an enemy for [ 72.29% 90.37% of Attack Power ] Radiant damage and gets replaced by Templar Slash for 5 sec. Templar Slash strikes an enemy for [ 88.89% 111.12% of Attack Power ] Radiant damage, and burns the enemy for 50% of the damage dealt over 4 sec. Aegis of Protection- Divine Protection reduces damage you take by an additional 20% 10% and Shield of Vengeance absorbs 10% more damage. Boundless Judgment- Judgment generates 1 additional Holy Power and has a 50% increased chance to trigger Mastery: Highlord's Judgment. Radiant Glory (new) - Wake of Ashes grants you Avenging Wrath for 10 sec. Your other damaging abilities have a chance to grant you Avenging Wrath for 5 sec.
×
×
  • Create New...