Where the Wild Things Are: Rockhide the Immovable

Today we take a quick peek at the scourge of the Townlong Steppes, Rockhide the Immovable. We'll be headed south to the Dread Wastes later in the week.

Transcription:

Hey everyone, this is Kalliope coming to you from the Townlong Steppes, where I'm currently tracking the hot pink basilisk Rockhide the Immovable.

Rockhide is level 89 and boasts one of the 24 stunning new basilisk skins that are being introduced in the Pandaria expansion.

Once tamed, he'll have the ability petrifying gaze, which turns an enemy to stone, making them invulnerable to both damage and healing for three seconds. It's basically a light copy of the druid spell banish.

Not only does Rockhide have a unique skin, but at this stage of development, he's the only basilisk in the game with the bright purple base.

Rockhide takes a twisting and turning route through the main section of the zone, passing through battlefields and large packs of aggressive mobs, including some level 90 elites. Even at max level, it's probably not a good idea to tame him in those areas, so keep your distance in those sections, especially if you can't fly yet.

As he travels, Rockhide makes worn tracks, which are fairly large and stand out from most of the terrain. Unfortunately, most of these tracks are partially buried in the ground, which makes them much more difficult to see. Rockhide also ups the ante by dropping a track and immediately turning sharply. This can make it quite easy to lose his trail.

Rockhide's spawn timer clocks in between two and eight hours.

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

From the Townlong Steppes, this is Kalliope showing you where the wild things are.

Where the Wild Things Are: An Overview of the MoP Rare Beasts

As we count down the days to Pandaria, I'll be taking you through a video tour of the nine rares who will be released with the expansion, starting with this overview.

Transcription:

Hey everyone, this is Kalliope from the Petopia forums, here to give you a quick look at the nine rare spawn beasts who will be awaiting hunters in Pandaria on September 25th.

Back in patch 4.2, hunters were treated to 10 challenge tames. Each beast required hunters to figure out its taming mechanics and successfully execute them. Trial and error could often prove fatal.

The first wave of rare Pandarian beasts may not be anywhere near as deadly, but they're just as cunning. They still test hunters' skills, but rather than requiring swift reflexes, their focus is on tracking.

All nine rares have the same basic mechanics. They wander around stealthed, leaving tracks on the ground that only hunters can see. Once a hunter finds the end of the trail, a well-placed flare will bring out the beast. You can then either tame the beast or mark it with Hunter's Mark. Marking gives you the option of taming the beast in a safer area or allowing you to follow it around for a while.

It may sound simple by comparison to the original challenge tames, but these wily creatures are quite good at avoiding capture. Half-buried or missing tracks can throw even the most seasoned hunter off the trail. Some of the beasts cross bodies of water to lose the hunters following them, while others completely change directions after dropping a track. A couple of them even phase out in parts of their zone if the hunter hasn't completed certain quests yet. And if none of those tactics work, there's always the old standby of walking through a whole bunch of aggressive mobs.

Those aren't the only big differences between the new rares and their predecessors. The most noticeable change is that only hunters can see the tracks or flare the beasts into visibility. That means that your only competition while hunting is other hunters.

The new rares are also marked with elite gold dragons rather than silver to further discourage others from attacking them even when they're visible.

I'll be introducing each of the new rare beasts individually in subsequent videos and have already created a guide with helpful tips and tricks to tracking them down. And for even more in-depth information on the rares of Pandaria, be sure to visit Petopia and its forums.

From the Valley of the Four Winds, this is Kalliope, inviting you to stick around and see where the wild things are.