Qiraji Guardling Woes

I figured since I pretty much did a guide for every other mini pet that has been somewhat annoying to obtain, I should probably do the Qiraji Guardling too. I have to agree with most people in that this is probably one of the most, if not the overall worst, wild mini pet to capture! Here are some tips that can hopefully help you obtain this little one if you haven't already.

Firstly, camping on my main server was a nightmare. I forgot about it spawning on the 21st and went to bed. The next day... and pretty much every day after it was a packed mess on Skywall. I had made myself a Death Knight on a Brazilian realm earlier in the year when I was farming for a rare Lofty Libram and a few others. The realm I picked was Gallywix that only shared CRZ with Goldrinn. It was pretty quiet in Silithus with about 10-12 people camping at a high time to 5-8 people camping at a low time. Most people are lower levels too , so the playing field is semi fair with land mounts vs. flying mounts.

I know there are other realms too that I don't believe share any CRZ with anyone else. There is a lot more information on the Warcraft Pets forum post where players are sharing what realm they used and their own experiences. (Sign up to the site too if you haven't!!)

Next, as always, set up yourself NPC scan. If it goes off when you open your pet journal, I suggest checking off the box that lets you see pets that you didn't capture yet.

The only annoying thing I found with this was that sometimes someone would already have one and pass by you (probably just to show off ), and it would make it go off. I ended up keeping my WoW Folder open so I could exit, delete my cache, and log back on as quickly as possible. It only happened to me about 3 times, so not too bad.

Now where to camp? I will be using in game coordinates, so if you don't have Coordinates, download it! (or something similar)

My pet collecting friend, Junkanoo, caught one on release night around 37,80... it's on the outside of the wall - to your left as you're about to enter the Gates of AQ.

There is a critter that spawns right here. You know you're in the right  spot!

I can guarantee that one does indeed spawn around that area because when I was there yesterday, one spawned, but I lost it to a priest with a flying mount *swoop*. I cried then congratulated them on their catch.

Last night I decided to log back on and wait while it was really late. I was in the same spot - 37,80. There were a few people there, but not many. I waited about two hours before one finally popped, but she wasn't in the area I was waiting in. She spawned further back... closer to the road at 35,79.

The road is behind me. She spawned in this area.

Map view

I never ran so fast on a land mount in my life. I engaged her, she was a rare, and she was mine!

Don't freak out like me and forget you're using level 25 pets. Too risky!

While I have to say that camping is definitely NOT my favorite way of obtaining a mini pet, I did have some good conversations with some people on the Brazilian realms despite the language barrier. They all loved my Tyrael! I didn't meet anyone who was rude or griefing. Overall it was a pretty good experience, and it didn't take me that long to get. If you can make the time to go there at night, definitely do so - the later the better. It might even be easier now that it's a weekday and not the weekend. If you're still having trouble, don't fret, Summer should last quite a while longer! Before you know it, you will have a little Qiraji Guardling to call your own! Happy hunting!

Fishing for Carp

I know a lot of people are getting frustrated with the Tiny Carp mini pets. At the beginning as I was having flashbacks of attempting to fish up a Sea Turtle mount in WotLK. I used to farm hours for it along the coasts of Borean Tundra, and I ended up getting it randomly one Saturday during the Kalu'ak Fishing tournament from a pool in Grizzly Hills.

Anyway, here are a few facts I know (from personal experience) about the carps.

- I caught all of mine at different times of day with different weather conditions happening. I don't believe this has anything to do with how they are fished up.

- My fishing skill is maxed out. I wore only my Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat (with the buff applied) and used my Kalu'ak Fishing Pole.

This next one is the most important one...

- I DID NOT fish any of the carp up from pools!

At first I was using the "fish of the day" as a guide for which pools would possibly get me the carps faster. After a few days of getting nothing, I changed my game plan. I do not have an estimate of how many casts I have, but I did get three of the four carp in a matter of two days using my method. After taking a break over the weekend (to move into my new place), I caught the stubborn remaining carp in one day.

Now here are pictures of each location where I fished up each carp.

Tiny Red Carp

Townlong Steppes

Tip: Stand on the rock in the middle of the pond while fishing to avoid mobs.

Tiny Blue Carp

Vale of Eternal Blossoms

Tiny Green Carp

Valley of the Four Winds

Tiny White Carp

Kun-Lai Summit

This carp was my last catch and definitely took the longest to get. Very rewarding to finally get him!

Please remember, what worked for me may not work for you. There are no "magical spots" that let you fish up the carp faster. If you find yourself getting burnt out, fish for about an hour or so in one location and then switch to the next. A good thing about fishing in Valley of the Four Winds and Kun-Lai Summit is that you can take advantage of killing world bosses in between fishing. Also, you may get a good bit of Sealed Crates. The contents and fish are basically free gold if you aren't using the mats to level up a profession.

Remember it's just a game and mini pet collecting was meant to be fun, not cut throat competition. Good luck to everyone on their carp journey. They truly are wonderful little mini pets.Now, grab a Kungaloosh, relax, and keep on fishing! ;)

Mini Tyrael!

I never really considered myself a lucky person at all. I mean yes, I do have a lot of "rarer" mounts, mini pets, and gear, but I completely earned all of it by participating in events, buying, or just getting them to drop. Me and Vel aren't lucky when it comes to competitions. Every week I participate in the TCG loot giveaways, Wowhead mount giveaways, and just random blog giveaways from my other hobbies. I Never... win... anything...

So, when Warcraft Pets announced their contest to give a pet battle/collecting tip for a chance to win a mini Tyrael, I was hesitant to do so. In fact, I waited a while before submitting something because I really have no good tips at all. Saturday was the end of the competition where a random number would be picked to decide who won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I checked my email and was shocked to see a message from Breanni saying that I was the 1st place winner... WHAT?! Vel never wins anything... much less something this awesome! I was overjoyed and excited. I waited to make this post until tonight because the winners weren't put up on the site yet, so I still have no idea who the other two people are, but CONGRATS to them also!

This is a big deal to me because ever since I started the game in 2007, I've been collecting mini pets. There was a point in time (before the pet tab was implemented) that my entire bank was filled with them! I joined the community in 2008 and have been there ever since. I love all the changes that were made to the site and I'm looking forward to the new stuff coming up soon. I want to donate to the site in the next few months so that I can become an MVP. It's the least I can do for a site that has brought me so much joy and help over the past few years.

I am so happy and proud to be a part of such a wonderful community! Thanks!