Eight Days of Free Loot…
The long awaited WoW expansion is just around the corner, as is the next WoW TCG expansion, so to celebrate and keep this party rolling…I've decided to give away some funtastic loot starting this week.
Mists of Pandaria Pet Battle Updates
Blizzard held a press event yesterday, sharing all sorts of juicy updates about what's to come in Mists of Pandaria. Among the deluge of news…some insight into how the Pet Battle System is shaping up.
Here are a few key updates regarding the pet battle system…
- Player involvement in pet battles is planned to be totally anonymous. Player names will not be shown, and in addition, there will be no chat – or interaction of any kind – between players.
- PvP Pet Battle losses will not be recorded – only the wins will be tracked. The intention is for PvP pet battles to feel fun and casual.
- When you challenge another player while out in the world, your interface will transition to the Pet Battle UI. When the pet battle is over, the UI will return to the normal gameplay view.
- When entering a PvP Pet Battle, players will see each other's characters across from one another, along with the player's pets lined up in front of them.
- PvP Pet Battles will feel like an NPC encounter, except in this case, the NPC will seem much more intelligent and less predictable.
- Pets will be swappable during battles – even while in the thick of it. Players will be able to tag in a new pet in the middle of a fight, with the pet even running up to the enemy pet to attack!
- There will be an estimated 100 Wild Pets scattered about Azeroth.
- Battle Pets can all be named.
- Battle Pets will be usable account-wide – across all characters.
- Pets will require leveling, and will possess stats such as: health, attack, defense and movement speed.
- Pets will have a talent system consisting of a maximum of six abilities, of which the pet can have three. These abilities may be re-talented, but only when not in battle. Pets unlock new abilities as they level.
So there ya go… the Pet Battle system is deep in development and seems to be shaping up pretty nicely, although I'm not entirely sure I like the idea of the system only tracking wins. I think for the pet battles to really catch on and become a popular WoW mini-game – there will need to be a slightly more competitive atmosphere to it.
I think a little less anonymity would be a welcome change, but I can see keeping player dialogue out of it. In my opinion, there's little at stake in this, so why not let players enjoy being a bit more casually competitive with it? As long as the trash-talking is kept out of it, why not let the top “pet battlers” attain some glory..?!
If you lose a bunch…who cares? However, if you end up being a top pet battle strategist, it'd be nice to make a name for yourself in certain circles. 😉
What do you think?
Pet Battle System Q&A with J. Allen Brack
A few weeks ago at BlizzCon, WIRED.com sat down with WoW Production Director, J. Allen Brack, and asked him some questions about the upcoming expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Some of the Q&A was specifically targeted at the announced Pet Battle System that will be coming in MoP.
Here's what he had to say…
[Read more…] about Pet Battle System Q&A with J. Allen Brack
Pet Battle System Q&A from the Live Blizzard Dev Chat
Here are some excerpts from Blizzard's Mists of Pandaria live developer chat that took place this evening (10/27). The following blue responses are the ones related to the upcoming Pet Battle System. If you want a recap of the entire chat, then WoWHead has a transcript available on their blog.
“With MoP you're introducing the pet battles. Will that be a new way of earning XP and/or valor points?”
Quote from Mumper
We are hoping to implement XP gain for pet battles in a similar way to what players see with gathering professions now. You would not want to level your entire character just on pet battles, but we do think you should be rewarded for participating in it.
“Will pet battles be created the same way as duels?”
Quote from Mumper
We will let players duel other players that are near them in the world, but we will also have a queuing system you can join to fight against other pet trainers of similar level.
“Will there be a system where you can turn pet battles on/off at will? Sometimes I don't want to be pestered by obnoxious pet owners that constantly want to duel. Or perhaps I don't want to get a random encounter while trying to get anywhere. Anyways, will there be an option to switch pet battles off temporarily?”
Quote from Mumper
We will have an option to disable invites to pet battles. Similar to what we have for player duels.
“There seemed to be a bit of a backlash at BlizzCon against the idea of counters in the Pet Battle System. An example would be a water-based pet (Murloc) vs. a fire-based pet (Lil' Ragnaros). This makes the fighting seem a bit more intricate, but I can understand the desire to have Pet Battles be easier to approach. Is there any thought to more than one skill level?”
Quote from Zarhym
We intend to create a simple combat system with some engaging depth. We're still in the process hashing out the details. Suggestions are certainly welcome! 😉
“What will be the new cap for professions? Do you plan to create any new professions?”
Quote from Mumper
The new cap for professions is 600 and we are currently not planning to add a new profession. We are hoping that pet battles will offer a fun, new type of activity for players to do that offers an alternative to player power progression.
“Will there be any grasshoppers?”
Quote from Mumper
Yes! It actually just got checked into the game by the artists today! Going to be awesome to use in pet battles!
“Can other people watch the pets battle?”
Quote from Mumper
We are working really, really hard to have spectating for the pet battles. Trust me, we want it just as bad as you guys. Stay tuned.
There ya have it… A bit more news on the upcoming Pet Battle System. It just keeps sounding better and better doesn't it?! 😀
WoW Pet Collectors Rejoice!
To celebrate the announcement of the new Pet Battle System that will be introduced in Mists of Pandaria, I've got two exciting WoW TCG Loot Cards to give away.
Bloat the Bubble Fish
One randomly selected winner will receive a Bloat the Bubble Fish Loot Card (redeemable for a Purple Puffer pet in Patch 4.3), and one runner-up winner will receive a Papa Hummel's Old-Fashioned Pet Biscuit Loot Card.
To enter, just leave a comment below, saying how excited you are about the new Pet Battle System. Also, be sure to include a valid e-mail address with your comment. Don't worry… I won't be using it for anything apart from notifying you of your winnings!
I'll be selecting two winners at random on October 31st (Halloween!) – one week from today.
Loot codes will be sent via e-mail once the winners have been contacted.
What are you waiting for..?! You won't find an easier way to win some free WoW TCG Loot!
Update: 10/31/11 — Winners have been selected and notified. Grats to those who walked away with the loot! I will be hosting more contests like this one, so stay tuned…
Companion Pets to Become BoA
During this past weekend's BlizzCon, Blizzard announced that companion pets were going to become bind on account in their next expansion, Mists of Pandaria. This move is being ushered in due to the new Companion Pet Battle System that's going to be introduced in the next expansion.
The Pet Battle System is going to shine a whole new light on how we view our companion pets. Instead of just merely being vanity items, we'll have the added ability to name them, train them and then form teams where we can pit our pet's battle skills against other players' or other NPC pets. It's going to be amazing!
This will no doubt be good news for those of you who collect the various WoW TCG loot pets, as pretty soon they'll be accessible to your entire fleet of characters..!
More info on this new development very soon. 🙂
