Some Newbie Questions

[nefigah 26]

Hi all,

Just got into pet battling, and I'm leveling some pets while I level an alt. My highest is level 10. I had a couple questions though, if I may:

- What does it mean when people talk about "breeds" of a particular pet?

- The majority of pets seem to be critters and beasts, but Zagam's guide only recommends 1 critter and a couple beasts out of a couple dozen total pets. Am I wasting time capturing rare critters?

- In general, what are some strong abilities to look out for?

- Are there any wild pets (capturable in battle) that are considered rare or hard to get?

[Zagam 1,982]

Hi, Nefigha.  Welcome to the addiction! :D

 

Breeds

 

Breeds are the different types within pets.  For example, there are 4 different factors that go into breeds.  They are:

 

1) Balance

2) Power

3) Speed

4) Health

 

Each pet gets two of these.  Some rare pets can only have one form, in that they always have the same exact stats.  Some pets, like the more common ones, can have varying factors of speed, health, and power.

 

For example, a B/B pet is considered a double Balance pet in that it has a well-balanced spread of stats.

A S/P pet is considered a speed/power pet because it gains a stat bonus in speed and power. 

An H/H pet has lots of HP, but lower attack power and speed.

 

Pet Types

 

The majority of pets you have faced thus far are critters and beasts because you're fighting them out in the wild!  Special pets exist in other types of places, such as Undead pets in Western Plaguelands and Dragon pets in parts of the Jade Forest.  As you level pets, you'll want a variety so that you can have a battle advantage over any type of pet you face.

 

Strong Abilities

 

There are MANY different abilities from all types of battle pets.  Some pets specialize in multiple hit attacks that are weaker but hit many times such as many flyers.  Some mechanicals have a very powerful attack called Ion Cannon but it requires a 2 round recharge.  Some abilities specialize in charging up one round and dealing massive damage the next.  Some have incredible defensive capabilities.

 

Rare Wild Pets

 

There are lots of elusive rare wild pets that you will spend a few hours hunting down if you look to complete various achievements for collecting them all.  This list includes the highly elusive Minfernal which can only be found in a part of the Felwood.  It comes with a very long respawn timer, so it has to be hunted exclusively.  Some other rares include the Flayer Youngling which only spawn in the nested area south of Hellfire Peninsula at various times and a magic pet that only spawns around Karazhan between 6am and 9am!

[nefigah 26]

Thank you for the explanations! It sounds then like searching for specific breeds is something I'd wait to do till I have some level 25s and want to optimize my team. It's interesting that it actually seems to work opposite to WoW itemization: balanced breed gives less stats overall.

My highest pets are level 18 (Mr. Grubbs and Clockwork Gnome, who has fun moves and sounds). I haven't really decided on a 3rd person yet, so I've been swapping out that slot. I just beat my first "grandmaster" trainer (the one at Karazhan).

Another question: I got two flawless battle stones from trainer reward packs. One is for dragon kin, and the other for mechanical. Any good candidates for those?

[Zagam 1,982]

The Tranquil Mechanical Yeti comes as uncommon form, or green.  You'll want him upgraded to Rare, or blue, ASAP because he's a tremendous Mechanical pet. 

 

As for Dragonkin, I would suggest upgrading your best Dragonkin pet to Rare.  Sprite Darter Hatchling comes to mind. 

[Ronebean 6]

Very interesting topic thank you.

[nefigah 26]

So I fished out my old engineer and took your advice: made me a sweet yeti and fed him a stone. Then, as I was in the process of doing the Kalimdor trainer dailies (they are pretty good xp for my level 50 Mage), I decided to check the infernally part of felwood on my way to that daily. And I came across a minfernal! Beginner's luck? He was only Common, but I snagged him and used the Magic family stone I got recently on him. He's pretty awesome! He seems beefy and he can still do some damage even when he's not the active pet.

[Zagam 1,982]

You have no idea how lucky you are.  It only took me some 25-30 hours of camping to obtain one.  Good choice on using the stone.

[Oltier 471]

You have no idea how lucky you are.  It only took me some 25-30 hours of camping to obtain one.  Good choice on using the stone.

The same happened to me with Unborn Valkyr... Endless hours of flying around Northrend..

[nefigah 26]

Whoa, they are really that strong eh? Or is it just as much about "gotta collect em all"?

I was able to find a couple flayer younglings this morning too, just poor and common though. I was wondering what breed is good for them? I think the best I got was H/H, since the others had Bs in them which I think leads to less overall stat points

[Zagam 1,982]

You want him to have Speed and Power if able.  HP doesn't do much for pets, because it's all about exploiting weakness and strengths, not outlasting pets which it might seem at first.