The Deep Tunneler's animations

This quick micro-video provides a quick look at the unique animations of The Deep Tunneler, one of the new 5.1 rares.

Whether he'll keep these on live is hard to say, but they're certainly amusing in the meantime.

Where the Wild Things Are: The 100+ Rares of Azeroth (Patch 5.1)

Bombyx isn't the only rare showing up with patch 5.1. Over 100 rares have turned up in various Azeroth zones, bringing with them their sparkling personalities, several new skins, and a couple of gameplay changes for leveling hunters.

The list of families dropping in level thus far:

- Beetle (34 -> 22)
- Fox (13 -> 9 {for all hunters})
- Nether Ray (60 -> 46)
- Shale Spider (83 -> 29 {69 exotic})
- Sporebat (60 -> 44)
- Warp Stalker (54 -> 47)

Transcription:

Hey everyone! I'm here on the public test realm for patch 5.1, where Azeroth is overflowing with new tameable beasts. There are well over one hundred new rares of various levels for hunters to tame and more are being discovered every build.

Though most of the new beasts have previously existing skins, some of them still break new ground. Low level shale spiders will give hunters access to the stat bonus buff at level 69 rather than having to wait until Deepholm.

Other beasts provide an alternative option to previously unique skins, allowing hunters an extra opportunity to obtain the look they want in these days of cross-realm zones and heightened competition. A few of them bring unique looks outside of instances, making them easier to obtain alone.

A good portion of the new additions sport completely new or previously unreleased skins, something that may appeal to hunters of any level.

Regardless of appearance, the new rares bring a unique flavor to their part of the zone, giving players something new and exciting to discover when they're least expecting it.

Many of them have a quirky sense of humor. Several others are incredibly sleepy. A few just like to run around wildly, while others stand with a purpose. And a small handful are just plain scary.

Whether you're a hunter or just leveling through Azeroth, these new rare beasts are going to change the face of the landscape for the better.

For more information on the new Azerothian rares and other hunter pets, be sure to visit Petopia and the Petopia forums.

From all over Azeroth, this is Kalliope, showing you where the wild things are.

Where the Wild Things Are: Bombyx

Patch 5.1 brings the 10th rare Pandarian beast, the purple silkworm Bombyx, and with him, an entirely new set of tracking challenges and a new silkworm burrow animation (tiny burrowing feets, at last!).

As a bonus, he even has his own vocalizations, which are deeper than your average silkworm's.

Transcription:

Hey everyone! Kalliope coming to you from the depths of the Krasarang Wilds with the charming but eccentric silkworm Bombyx.

Bombyx is level 90 and uses the last of the silkworm colors, a deep, rich purple. As an exotic pet, taming him requires speccing as beast mastery.

His two tamed abilites are the same as other worm pets. The first, acid spit, causes his target to take 4% more physical damage. The other, burrow attack, does a channeled area of effect for eight seconds. As of patch 5.1, silkworms have a new animation for burrow attack, which shows just how these unlikely tunnelers are able to dig with their tiny feet.

Bombyx takes the rules established by the first nine Pandarian rare beasts and kicks them up to the next level. Though you still need to know the basics, almost every tracking method covered in my earlier video doesn't apply to this guy - he's in a class of his own.

His pathing is extremely erratic. Bombyx twists and turns as he walks, often doubling and tripling back over the same ground, sometimes with small differences. He makes sharp turns without leaving any tracks or indication that he's done so. Worst of all, Bombyx will randomly stop walking and sit still for varying amounts of time, making flaring him more difficult than any other rare to date.

Bombyx's tracks are also misleading, since they aren't footprints. His "tracks" are actually heavily-chewed silkweed, a smaller version of the regular silkweed plant. On top of not showing which way he's going, the tiny silkweed tracks are difficult to see on the jungle floor - even with ground clutter turned down - especially between the actual silkweed herbs. The tiny flowers can appear alone or in varying size clumps, depending on how Bombyx decides to move at any given time. They can also be found underwater or in rare cases, on the surface of it.

On top of everything else, Bombyx spends the majority of his time passing through aggressive mobs. The good news is that they're only level 86, which reduces them to mere annoyances.

Thankfully, Bombyx restricts himself to a relatively compact area between Dawnchaser Retreat and the Temple of the Red Crane. But with his unpredictable movements, it's difficult to pin him down more closely than that.

Bombyx's spawn timer appears to be around one to two hours, like all other Pandarian rares - though as always, this could change in the future.

For the most current information on Bombyx and other hunter pets, be sure to visit Petopia and the Petopia forums.

From the jungle of Krasarang, this is Kalliope, showing you where the wild things are.

Where the Wild Things Are: Arcane Wyrms

Patch 5.1 adds a new subset to the serpent family - arcane wyrms. They come in four tameable colors. (The red is now available on a rare wyrm in Silithus, as noted here.)


Transcription:

Hey everyone! Kalliope here on the public test realm for patch 5.1 with the newest addition to the non-exotic serpent family: arcane wyrms.

Arcane wyrms hail from Northrend and are just like any other serpent pets, except they fly rather than slither. This makes the arcane wyrms the first subset of a family to use a different mode of movement.

At the time of this recording, three colors of tameable arcane wyrms have been discovered on the PTR.

The white skin appears on the Spirits of the North high above the Nexus in Borean Tundra. These wyrms are tricky to tame, since they are non-aggressive, fly extremely high up, and are only level 70. High level hunters are in danger of killing the wyrms and low level hunters are at risk of dying to the level 80 elite dragons. So far, only the lower-flying wyrm has been able to be tamed, since you can dismount below it, shoot it with a non-damaging shot, and survive the fall damage without losing aggro.

The purple Arcane Serpents flying below the Spirits are much easier to reach. These level 71 or 72 wyrms circle the lower part of the Nexus and can be easily reached from the ground.

The Arcane Wyrms in Dragonblight reside south of Stars' Rest. These level 71 or 72 wyrms have changed color from purple to blue in 5.1, giving hunters a previously unseen color option.

A fourth color has been found, but remains unavailable. The Crazed Mana-Wyrms inside the Nexus instance have changed from white to red, but still cannot be interacted with, leaving this skin out of hunters' reach....for now.

For the most current information on the arcane wyrms and other hunter pets, be sure to visit Petopia and the Petopia forums.

From the great snowy north, this is Kalliope, showing you where the wild things are.

100k views!

My YouTube channel passed the 100,000 view mark last night! That's a lot of hunters who have been helped. It's quite gratifying!

I've been having trouble accessing the PTR for patch 5.1, but rest assured, that video of new exciting tames is coming in the very near future. :)