Preview: Wrath of the Lich King – New Pets

Posted by Centauri2002 On September - 4 - 2008 View Comments

Thereâ€™s a lot to cover with the coming expansion from Blizzard Entertainment for their MMORPG giant, World of Warcraft. So, weâ€™ll be looking at certain aspects of the game separately. The first â€“ Hunter pets. Who doesnâ€™t want to know everything from the fuzzy to the ferocious?

WotLK introduces several types of new tameable creatures for the Hunter class, after having reworked the entire system for pets. Each of the three sub-categories of pet â€“ Cunning, Ferocity, and Tenacity â€“ has their own talent trees now and you can spend your petâ€™s own talent points as they level up, in the same way you can for your own character. Cunning pets are designed more for PvP, whilst Ferocity is aimed more at damage output and raiding talents. The Tenacity tree seems to be designed around tanking and small group play.

New pet families have been introduced for the expansion including â€˜exoticâ€™, which require the Hunter to have a 51-point talent in their Beast Mastery tree in order to tame. Exotic pets donâ€™t get a boost to their base stats but they usually have skills that combine two normal family abilities. Not only will Hunters get to tame creatures in Northrend, but old adversaries from Azeroth and Outlands are now available to fight along side you.

Hereâ€™s a quick look at the new pets of WotLK, including their type, talent tree, and special ability:

Bats

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Sonic Blast – Emits a piercing shriek, inflicting Nature damage and stunning the target for 2 sec.

Bears

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Swipe – Swipe 3 nearby enemies, inflicting damage.

Note: There are a few new models for bears in the expansion, including the polar bear cub. Whether this goes beyond beta or not, is not clear.

Birds of Prey

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Snatch – The bird of prey grabs the enemy’s weapon with its talons, causing damage and disarming them for 6 sec.

Note: This is a new family for the expansion, with quite a few new models. Owls are included within this group.

Carrion Birds

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Demoralizing Screech – Blasts a single enemy for specified damage and lowers the melee attack power of all enemies in melee range. Effect lasts 4 sec.

Cats

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Prowl – Puts your pet in stealth mode, but slows its movement speed. The first attack from stealth receives a bonus to damage. Lasts until cancelled.

Chimaeras

Type: Exotic
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Frostorm Breath – Your pet simultaneously breathes frost and lightning at an enemy target, inflicting Frost and Nature damage and slowing the target.

Note: Hunters are now allowed to tame both new Chimaeras and lower level ones in Outlands and Azeroth.

Crabs

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Pin – Pins the target in place, and squeezes for damage over 4 sec.

Crocolisks

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Bad Attitude – Snap back for damage at any target that strikes you for the next 45 sec.

Devilsaurs

Type: Exotic
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Monstrous Bite – Your devilsaur ferociously bites the enemy, causing damage, and boosts its own damage by 3% for 12 seconds. This effect stacks 3 times.

Note: The devilsaurs in Unâ€™goro Crater are now tameable, as is Tyrantus in Netherstorm.

Dragonhawks

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Fire Breath – Targets in a cone in front of the caster take Fire damage over 2 sec.

Gorillas

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Thunderstomp – Shakes the ground with thundering force, doing Nature damage to all enemies within 8 yards. This ability causes a moderate amount of additional threat.

Hyenas

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Tendon Rip – Tears at an enemy’s legs for damage and reducing movement speed by 50% for 6 sec.

Moths

Type: Exotic
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Serenity Dust – The moth’s wings produce a cloud of dust that increases its attack power by 10% and heals it for a rank-dependant amount over 15 sec.

Raptors

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Rend – Slashes the enemy with the raptor’s talons for damage, and causes the target to bleed for damage every 3 sec for 15 sec. Successful critical strikes with this ability temporarily boost the raptor’s attack power.

Note: Some new models for Northrend.

Ravagers

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Ravage – Violently attacks an enemy for rank dependant damage, stunning it for 2 sec.

Rhinos

Type: Exotic
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Stampede – Your rhino slams nearby enemies within 10 yards, causing damage and knocking them back 15 yards.

Note: Yes, you read right â€“ Rhinos! An obvious tanking pet with a rather nasty ability.

Serpents

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Poison Spit – Spits poison at an enemy, dealing Nature damage over 8 sec.

Silithids

Type: Exotic
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Sprays toxic webs at the target, preventing movement for 4 sec and causing Nature damage over time.

Note: The creepy bugs from Silithus will now fight beside you, if you like that kind of thing. Their special ability makes them ideal for PvP too.

Spiders

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Encases – Encases the target in sticky webs, preventing movement for 4 sec.

Turtles

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Shell Shield – The turtle partially withdraws into its shell, reducing damage taken by 50% for 12 sec.

Note: Turtle power!

Warp Stalkers

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Warp – Teleports to an enemy up to 30 yards away and gives the pet a 50% chance to avoid the next melee attack. Lasts 4 sec.

Wasps

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Sting – Your wasps stings for [rank] Nature damage, and decreases the armour of the target by for 20 sec. While affected, the target cannot stealth or turn invisible.

Note: Most tameable wasps can be found in Zangarmarsh with higher levels available in Northrend.

Wind Serpents

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Cunning
Special Ability: Lightning Breath – Breathes lightning, instantly dealing Nature damage to a single target.

Wolves

Type: Normal
Talent Tree: Ferocity
Special Ability: Furious Howl – Increases attack power by a scaled amount for Party members within 40 yards of the wolf. Lasts 10 sec.

Note: Some new models.

Worms

Type: Exotic
Talent Tree: Tenacity
Special Ability: Acid Spit – Your worm spits acid at an enemy, causing Nature damage and reducing its armor for 30 sec.

Note: One word â€“ ugly!

This is but a small selection of the creatures available to tame within the game, as a whole, but the new prospects look interesting. Paired with the overhaul of the pet system, it should make taming and playing with pets far more fun now, and viable as a raiding option.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is due for release November 2008.