Kun-Lai Summit Rare Champions

The rare champions in Kun-Lai Summit each have a chance to drop some very interesting items - from strictly vanity to the quite useful. We really do see a mix of everything from these guys. Fireworks, killer pug puppies with hats, an item that will raise your reputation with each of the factions of Pandaria by 1000 (and can be sold to other players) and even an item that can dismount unsuspecting players - ha ha. Each of these items are listed below next to the rare that can drop it. You can also see some screenshots of each of these items in action in this post: Sneak Peek: Special drops from Rare Champions of Pandaria (just scroll down to the Kun-Lai Summit section).

The rares in this zone are all level 88, with health pools around 2.4M. They each have a 100% chance to drop item level 430 rare quality bop bracers of a random armor type and a small chance to drop a Small Bag of Goods.

As I have stated in a previous post - they all seem to spawn in around the same time, so if you run across a corpse or someone else fighting one of these rares it wouldn't hurt to check the rest of the spawn points to see if any others are up.

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Ahone the Wanderer (Pandaren)

Ahone spawns under the small pagoda structure to the northeast of Shado-Pan Monastery. If you're having phasing issues with her, try completing the quest Beyond the Wall. Also, make sure you have completed Where are my Reinforcements?, as this quest phases out the zone. If your still having phasing issues, it is possible to have a friend take her out and still get credit so long as you are grouped and within range.

Like other Pandaren Ahone's three abilities are Chi Burst, Healing Mists and Spinning Crane Kick. The most important thing to know when taking her down is to interrupt Healing Mists, and run away from Spinning Crane Kick. Ranged players should also stand within 15 yards of her to avoid her Chi Burst which deals some pretty massive damage.

Ahone has a small chance to drop Pandaren Firework Launcher. It shoots pretty fireworks. Kind of useless for most I guess, but I love this sort of thing.

Winterspring - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

Patch 5.1 was very kind to Winterspring, adding 10 new tamable rares to the zone. This brings the total count of rares in this zone to seventeen! I covered the other seven rares in Winterspring in this post: Winterspring Rare Spawns.

Among these new tamable rares are some real beauties. Several of them even have brand new unique skins. Iceclaw, the level 50 "ice cat" has a totally unique look. She has the "hunched" cat model, with the blue and white "icy" coloration that was previously only found on the Frostsaber Stalkers model.

Manas, the silver-grey dragonhawk, is the first ever tamable dragonhawk in this color. He even matches the mini-pet Silver Dragonhawk Hatchling perfectly. Quetzl, the wind serpent, also has a unique look - and in my opinion a very appealing one. He has the spiked wind serpent model previously only found in Outland and Northrend, and a beautiful, totally unique green, grey & orange coloration. 

The rest of these new rares are not unique, but it can certainly be worth finding and taming them - especially on low level hunters. Manas, the blue runed demon dog, shares the same look as the demon dogs in Borean Tundra and The Nexus - meaning if you like this model you can now have one almost 20 levels earlier! 

Norissis and Ronak, both chimaeras, each share the exact same coloration and model as another rare. Norissis has the blue and purple armored chimaera look that was previously unique to Nuramoc in Netherstorm. With Nuramoc's long spawn timer and the introduction of cross-realm zones it can probably prove to be difficult finding him; the introduction of Norissis will give hunters wanting that skin another option. The same can be said for Ronak, who shares the exact same model and coloration as The Razza in Feralas.

Although all of these pets are in the 50 - 54 level range, do keep in mind that several of them are exotic and cannot be tamed until at least level 69. These include each of the rhinos, both chimaeras and the Jormungar (The Deep Tunneler).

None of these rares have large patrol routes, and each one can be found out in the open - except for The Deep Tunneler, who is all the way at the end of the cave in Mazthoril. Their spawn timers, like most of the new rares added in 5.1, seem to be several hours. Be prepared to camp for a while if your hunting one of these guys down.

Click map to Enlarge

Here are some screenies of what each of these guys look like untamed, in order by level. (Simply click on the images to enlarge them for a better view.)

Elwynn Forest - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

When patch 5.1 went live there were quite a few new rares added across the world. Most of these rares were beasts, making them tamable by hunters. These new rares range in level and can be found in starter zones all the way to Outland, giving leveling hunters some fun new pets to seek out along the way!

There were six new rares introduced into Elwynn Forest in patch 5.1, bringing the total number of rares in this zone to thirteen. I will only be covering the new rares in the zone in this post. For the rest of the rares in this zone please see this post: Elwynn Forest Rare Spawns.

None of these new rares have new or unique skins, but a couple of them should stick out as low level pets. Lamepaw the Whimperer has a very interesting brown and grey bi-color skin, which until patch 5.1 could only be found on Ironjaw in Terrokar Forest and Halycon in Blackrock Spire. Bushtail's appealing arctic fox coloration was previously only found in the Pandaren and Worgen starting areas, as well as Winterspring.

I've marked on the map below where you can find each of these new rares. ~

Click map to Enlarge

Here are some screenies below of these guys as you'll find them in the world, in order by level. ~

Bombyx - Trackable Hunter Pet (Silkworm)

Bombyx is the tenth trackable hunter pet that we've seen in Mists of Pandaria. He is a level 90 purple silkworm, and is considered an exotic beast - therefore he is only tamable by hunters in Beast Mastery spec. He was introduced in patch 5.1, and is a little more difficult to find than the previous nine.

The other nine trackable hunter pets in Pandaria walk in predictable paths leaving footprints that eventually lead us to the beast making them. Originally all of their tracks were backwards, several have since been fixed when patch 5.1 went live. These beasts are completely stealthed, and the only thing that will make them visible is for them to walk through a flare. A Hunter's Mark placed on the beast will keep it visible to the hunter that placed the mark until the flare wears off.

Like the other nine beasts, Bombyx is stealthed and leaves tracks that can only be seen by hunters. His tracks however are unlike anything we've seen so far. He doesn't leave actual footprints as tracks, he instead leaves a trail of Heavily-Chewed Silkweed (pictured on the right in the screenshot below.) Unfortunately because these "tracks" are basically a small tuft of flowers (and look just like a smaller version of the Silkweed herb), they do not point in a particular direction. This makes determining the direction that Bombyx is travelling incredibly difficult.

As if not knowing which direction he were moving weren't difficult enough, he also moves VERY sporadically. He twists and turns, doubles back repeatedly and even stops in place for lengthy periods of time. In the screenshot below you can see there are Heavily-Chewed Silkweed tracks all over the place. Where does one even start looking for this guy?!

Where to Find the Riches of Pandaria

Looting Lost Adventurer's Belongings

In addition to the fun new content and rares added in 5.1, there were also several new achievements snuck into our logs  - very similar to the Lost and Found/Is Another Man's Treasure Achievements. These achievements are granted for finding grey items (that generally sell for around 100g) and gold from chests hidden throughout Pandaria. These items have existed since the release of MoP - they just haven't counted toward anything until now. (Any treasures that you found before the achievements were implemented should still be accounted for in your achievement log.)

The achievements are: Treasure of Pandaria, Fortune of Pandaria, Bounty of Pandaria and Riches of Pandaria. Although achievements are great, there's more to be had by finding these items than just the achievements themselves. Finding all of these items should land you about 1,800 gold. There are 18 items that count toward the achievements and each one is worth around 100 gold - whether it be actual gold from a chest or what the vendor will pay for the grey item.

Looting these items also grants a huge amount of experience to leveling characters. In the screenshot on the right you can see my level 88 hunter received 283,800xp (mostly non-rested) when she looted Lost Adventurer's Belongings. At level 89 while rested, she received 539,000xp from looting Ship's Locker. That's worth more than two quest turn-ins!

I have marked on the map below where you can find each item needed for the Riches of Pandaria Achievement in red, along with a brief description further detailing the area in which each object can be found. I have also added in the locations of other various items that do not count toward any of the achievements, but do give some gold/xp. These additional items are marked in yellow.

How to Kill Alani The Stormborn (Reins of the Thundering Ruby Cloud Serpent)

My last Alani post was written and edited throughout various points during mop beta and ended up being sort of a timeline of discoveries, rather than a straight forward, this is how to Kill Alani and get an awesome mount post. I figured it was about time to condense everything into one clean spot for her - so without further adieu:

Like the Time-Lost Proto-Drake, Aeonaxx, Poseidus and even that pesky mysterious camel figurine before her, Alani the Stormborn is Mist of Pandaria's rare that drops a mount. Unlike her predecessors, the method of killing her and obtaining the mount she drops is far different from anything we've seen until now. 

Alani has a 100% chance to drop the Reins of the Thundering Ruby Cloud Serpent. She can be found flying high above the Vale of Eternal Blossoms protected by a Nimbus Shroud, which completely protects her from any type of harm.

Rares in previous expansions required us to wait around for hours, days, even weeks on end waiting for them to show up. Many of us would afk with our volume turned up so that if our coveted rare did spawn we'd hear the blazing horn of npcscan and drop whatever we were doing for a chance at downing them. Often times a lucky person questing on an alt would just happen to run into said rare only moments before we could tag them, destroying all hope of obtaining what we had been waiting for for so long. 

Well Alani changes the game entirely, making sure that only those that really truly want her are going to get her. Anyone looking to get their hands on the Reins of the Thundering Ruby Cloud Serpent are going to have to farm for it plain and simple. The only thing that will break Alani out of her Nimbus Shroud and make her attackable is a Sky Crystal. A Sky Crystal is created when ten Skyshards are fused together.

Skyshards will drop from pretty much any mob in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The drop chance is incredibly low though (roughly anywhere from .01 - .4%). Mobs with lower health pools that respawn quickly make a good target for farming these things. In the screenshot below you can see my friend Reinoverall farming Stonebark Tricksters in Ruins Rise for his very last Skyshard.

Doctor Theolen Krastinov - Krastinov's Bag of Horrors

Using Krastinov's Bag of Horrors

That's right, The Doctor is in! If there's one thing that I just can't get enough of, it's fun transformation items. My bags are always overflowing with those darn things, but I just can't stop collecting them!

Well for those of you who also have a strange addiction to transformation items - Doctor Theolen Krastinov, a rare spawn in Heroic Scholomance, drops an incredibly fun one called Krastinov's Bag of Horrors.

Doctor Theolen Krastinov <The Butcher>

Doctor Theolen Krastinov has approx. 4k hp and can be found in the room right after Rattlegore. The couple of times that I've fought him he's yelled "Time for a little open-heart surgery!" as our group engaged him in combat. He has no special abilities really worth noting. He could almost be mistaken for a trash mob if you weren't paying attention.

New 5.1 Rare Faction Champions in Krasarang Wilds - A Closer Look

As I had mentioned in a previous post, there were a bunch of new rares that were going to be added in patch 5.1. Well the patch is here, and so are they! I've spent a lot of time over the past week camping these rare faction champions, and I figured I'd share some of the information I've learned.

First of all unless you've completed the initial couple of quests (starting with Meet the Scout -> A King Among Men/Meet the Scout -> The Might of the Warchief) at your faction's base camp you will not be able to see these rares. Completing those initial quests and their follow-ups will toss you into a new phase that will change your zone map significantly and allow you to see both the Horde and Alliance base camps: Lion's Landing and Domination Point.

Each base has three rares, for a total of six rare champions in the zone (of course you'll only be able to attack three of them, as your own faction rares will appear friendly to you). There are three different types of rares: the warrior, rogue and healy-type. Each base has one of each type. When you've killed all three champions in your enemies base, you will be awarded the achievement I'm in Your Base, Killing Your Dudes. (Origin: In Ur Base.)

Each rare has one piece of loot unique to them, and the rest are shared. The shared loot that you could possibly get from them (in order of most likely - least likely) is:

- around 10 Domination Point Commitions (Alliance)/Lion's Landing Commitions (Horde)
- Honorable Commendation of Operation: Shieldwall (Alliance)/Honorable Commendation of the Dominance Offensive (Horde)
- Small Bag of Goods (Both Factions)
- and the reason why these guys are so highly camped: Blood-Soaked Invitation (This item will grant you access to your faction's Brawler's Guild.)

These rares also grant +400 reputation with The Black Prince up to Revered.

The Commendations are by far the most common drop. Let's just say I've gotten a LOT of honor over the past few days. I now have each of the trinkets and have seen a couple of them more than once. I have yet to see the Blood-Soaked Invitation, or know of anyone who has received it. If you don't want to spend incredible amounts of gold on the Black Market Auction House though this is the only means of acquiring it at this point.

Spawn timers on these rares are very fast. The longest spawn I've seen was about an hour, but I've also seen them respawn in as little as a half hour.

(For Alliance Players) Horde Champions at Domination Point:
 

Champion of Arms: Kar Warmaker

Abilities:
- Heroic Leap/Heroic Leap He will use this if your over 15 yards away, it will knock out 40% of your health. Don't get to far from him!
- Cracking Blow (pictured left) This is the killer right here. This ability he smashes straight in front if him, and it will cost you 60% of your max health if hit. The best way to avoid this is to run right through him as fast as possible or try to sidestep it.
- Sunder Armor self-explanatory

Loot unique to Kar: Steadfast Footman's Medallion

Lost and Found Achievement: Where to Find Lost Treasures in Pandaria

One of the things I've been having a lot of fun doing in game recently is hunting for the rare lost treasures across Pandaria. These things are more rare than the actual "rares" making them a really fun challenge to try and find. These items are all part of a series of achievements starting with Lost and Found, Finder's Keepers, One Man's Trash... and finally Is Another Man's Treasure. The final achievement grants the title <the Relic Hunter>.

Yaungol Fire Carrier

Most of the items that count toward the achievements are very interesting in that they are bind on account. These are bind on account weapons that can be sent to your level 85-86 alts! There is something for pretty much every class too (except for hunters, they kind of got shafted here). Most of these rare items are looted from containers of the same name as the item itself. A few items that count for the achievement are from chests that can contain several different objects. There are also rare npcs that will give players an item upon interacting with them which will then despawn immediately after. There are also a couple of ultra-rare cooking recipes too!

WARNING: When you find an item, make sure that you will not be interrupted while picking it up. If you move when trying to loot, the loot window can disappear and the item you were trying to loot will disappear along with it.

I've marked locations on the map below to indicate where each item can be found, along with a brief description further detailing the more precise area to find each object. I have also color-coded them by different type of item. For example: all of the items on the map below marked in green are from npcs that can be added right into NPCScan. NPCScan will pick up these rare npcs if they are up, but they have to be added manually.

Tons of New Rares Coming in 5.1, Including New Hunter Pets!

As many are aware, patch 5.1 is going to be bringing a lot of changes. One of the changes that I'm most excited about is the incredible amount of new rares being introduced. Not only do we get to see some new rares in Pandaria - we are also getting over a hundred new tamable rares throughout the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor!

New Hunter Pets:

Qem - Pink "Brain" Bug. (Click any image on this page to enlarge.)

I'm not going to list every single new tamable rare (Petopia has already done that here), but I do want to share some of the ones that I thought were the most noteworthy.

Several of these new rares have skins that were not previously tamable or are brand new looks entirely!

There are three new "brain" bugs that can be found lurking around the hives in Silithus. There is a beautiful new sapphire owl that is tamable at level 25 (pictured left). There are seven new spiked wind serpents with absolutely gorgeous color-schemes ranging from level 27 - 53. There is a beautiful hunched striped green cat (think skarr's model + Winna's Kitten color scheme) that can be found in the Swamp of Sorrows, and another new black and white striped hunched cat in Felwood. The Arcane Wyrms in Coldarra have finally become tamable, and a new red wyrm has been introduced in Silithus. There is even a tamable monkey wearing a hat!

Several other new rares' looks were once only available in raids such as AQ40 and Blackwing Lair. Never could get a friend to help you tame Chromaggus? Don't fret - there is now an alternative that looks exactly the same! Chromehound is a level 49 rare that patrols around the inside of Blackrock Mountain. Several of the more colorful wasp models that were once only found in Zul'Gurub or AQ40 have also made an appearance out in the world.

Many other models that were once available only at higher levels can now be tamed by hunters much lower in level. Nether Rays and Sporebats (previously only tamable in Outland) can now be tamed in the level 40 - 50 range. A new level 48 boar in the Searing Gorge shares the same model as the blue & white felboars on Ogri'la Plateau. There are a couple of beetles that were originally found in Halls of Origination/Uldum that can now be found at level 27 and 39. Even shale spiders, which we previously wouldn't have seen until hitting deepholm can now be found as low as level 29 (of course not tamable until level 69 though because they are exotic).

Krasarang Wilds Rare Champions

Moving out of the Valley of the Four Winds and into Krasarang Wilds, we step away from vanity items and trinkets as the special rare drops - and move into epic pants! That's right, each one of the rares in this zone has a chance to drop their pants! Quite literally too, the pants are named after the respective rare that drops them. These pants are all epic, item level 440 and can be equipped at level 87. They are also all bind on equip, so they can be sold on the auction house or given to an alt. ^-^

The rares in this zone are all level 87, with health pools around 1.8M. They each have a 100% chance to drop an item level 420 rare quality bop helm of a random armor type and a small chance to drop a Small Bag of Goods.

As I have stated in a previous post - they all seem to spawn in around the same time, so if you run across a corpse or someone else fighting one of these rares it wouldn't hurt to check the rest of the spawn points to see if any others are up.

Click map to Enlarge  

Ruun Ghostpaw (Pandaren)

Ruun spawns on the upper level of the Temple of the Red Crane. Those with flying mounts can simply fly right into the terrace he is on. Before engaging him in combat be sure to clear the add (Incarnation of Despair) that patrols down the hall in front of Ruun. This mob patrolling into you and using it's Last Grasp ability while engaged with Ruun has the potential to make things go bad fairly quickly.

Like other Pandaren Ruun's three abilities are Chi Burst, Healing Mists and Spinning Crane Kick. The most important thing to know when taking him (and other Pandaren rares) down is to interrupt Healing Mists, and run away from Spinning Crane Kick. Ranged players should also stand within 15 yards of him to avoid his Chi Burst which deals some pretty massive damage.

Ruun has a small chance to drop Silent Leggings of the Ghostpaw.

Valley of the Four Winds Rare Champions

Moving out of The Jade Forest and into Valley of the Four Winds we step away from weapons as special drops and get our first taste of vanity items, trinkets and other fun (and quite useful) drops from rares. To see these special items in action check out this post: Sneak Peek: Special Drops from Rare Champions of Pandaria.

All of the rares in this zone are level 86 with health pools around 1.5M. Naturally they hit a little harder than those in The Jade Forest. They each have a 100% chance to drop an item level 410 pair of bop gloves of a random armor type as well as a Small Bag of Goods.

In my long and frustrating camp for Sulik'shor also I found out a lot more about how the spawn timers work on these rares. First of all, it seems that they typically all spawn in around the same time. A friend and I were camping both Sele'na and Sulik'shor and witnessed them spawning in at the same time. On many other occasions I've noticed others throughout the same zone either alive or as corpses while doing flyovers. This seems to hold true for each zone in Pandaria. The average spawn time seems to be around an hour, but I've seen them respawn in under and hour and up to almost 2 hours as well.

Click map to Enlarge

Nasra Spothide (Pandaren)
Nasra Spothide spawns under a small Pandaren structure on the far northeastern end of the zone just before the bridge leading into The Jade Forest.

Like other Pandaren her three abilities are Chi Burst, Healing Mists and Spinning Crane Kick. The most important thing to know when taking her down is to interrupt Healing Mists, and run away from Spinning Crane Kick. Ranged players should also stand within 15 yards of her to avoid his Chi Burst which deals some pretty massive damage.

Nasra has a small chance to drop a trinket called the Seed of Tranquil Growth. This trinket summons a cute little flower that looks just like the Ammen Vale Lashling.

The Jade Forest Rare Champions

Each zone in Pandaria has a total of eight rare champions, each one representing a different Pandarian race: Pandaren, Mantid, Saurok, Mogu Warrior, Mogu Sorcerer, Yaungol, Jinyu and Hozen. Each race has it's own set of unique abilities that can make them quite challenging to kill. (More info on each of the races abilities below.) All of these rares are part of the Glorious! meta-achievement (basically the new Bloody Rare & Frostbitten). Killing a single one will also grant you the achievement A Worthy Opponent, and killing one representing each race will grant you Could We Find More Like That? (Full map of Rare Pandarian Champions here: Map of Rare Pandarian Champions by Type.)

The rares in The Jade Forest are all level 85 and have a 100% chance to drop an item level 400 bop pair of pants of a random armor type. Each one of them also has a low chance to drop a Small Bag of Goods; which generally contains a bit of gold and useful items for crafting professions such as ore, cloth, leather, herbs and motes of harmony. The rares in this zone also each have a small chance to drop an item level 420 epic weapon. All weapons they drop are bop except for the bow dropped by Sarnak.

Click map to Enlarge

Urobi the Walker (Pandaren)
Urobi the Walker can be found sitting under a small Pandaren structure on a tiny island in Shang's Valley.

Like other Pandaren his three abilities are Chi Burst, Healing Mists and Spinning Crane Kick. The most important thing to know when taking him (and other Pandaren rares) down is to interrupt Healing Mists, and run away from Spinning Crane Kick. Ranged players should also stand within 15 yards of him to avoid his Chi Burst which deals some pretty massive damage.

Urobi has a chance to drop the agility staff Pathwalker Greatstaff.

Glimmer - Trackable Hunter Pet (Water Strider)

Glimmer is a level 85 unique red & grey water strider, and one of two new rare elite trackable hunter pets that can be found in The Jade Forest. (The other is Savage the white tiger.) Glimmer is an exotic pet and therefore can only be tamed by Beast Mastery spec hunters. Although Glimmer doesn't have a very long path he can be quite difficult to find due to some phasing issues throughout his path (more info on that further into this post).

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Glimmer's tracks are called "Flooded Tracks", and they really look nothing like any track you would expect to see from his weird bug feet. (I guess they're better than paw prints though.) His tracks are also not particularly difficult to find toward either end of his path. They are light in color on ground that is dark green through most of his path, making them stand out a bit. Like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created.

Patrannache - Trackable Hunter Pet (Crane)

Patrannache is a level 86 pink crane, and one of the new rare elite trackable hunter pets introduced in MoP. Judging by his name, color and the fact that he is also a bird; it seems that he is somehow related to the well known Mazzranache found in Mulgore. Personally, I'll be looking for this guy first when MoP hits for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately Patrannache can be quite difficult to track down. I definitely found him to be the toughest of these new hunter pets to find without a doubt. He has an incredibly long and windy patrol route through a very good portion of The Valley of the Four Winds. (See map below for exact path.) Luckily he can be tamed by hunters in any spec, and once found he makes a unique pet that really stands out.

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Patrannache's tracks are called "Barely-Visible Tracks", and they are very aptly named. Patrannache's tracks are incredibly difficult to see. They are very small, and blend right into the ground for most of his path. If you want any hope at all of finding these tracks it is an absolute necessity to turn ground clutter down to a minimum. I also found it helpful to hover my mouse over different anomalies in the terrain that I was scouring over so that the name of his tracks would pop up if I'd come across one. Like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. The best advice I think I can give when looking for his tracks is to take it slow, and check each area thoroughly. It is very easy to scan the terrain with your eyes and miss his tracks entirely - which may actually be right in front of you.

Bristlespine - Trackable Hunter Pet (Porcupine)

Bristlespine is a level 88 blue porcupine, and one of two rare elite trackable hunter pets that can be found in Kun-Lai Summit. (The other is Stompy the Goat.) He has a pretty long patrol route through most of southern Kun-Lai Summit. (See map below for exact path.) He can be tamed by hunters in any spec, and makes a fairly cute little pet.

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Bristlespine's tracks are called "Puzzling Tracks", and they look a wee bit large for the size of this little fellow. Like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are dark green in color and most of his path is along dark brown grass, making them a little difficult to spot at times. His tracks are definitely easier to find if ground clutter is turned down to the lowest setting.

Portent - Trackable Hunter Pet (Quilen)

Portent is a level 90 Quilen that can be found patrolling through the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. He is one of the rare elite trackable hunter pets introduced in Mists of Pandaria. He is an exotic beast, therefore he can only be tamed by hunters that are specced Beast Mastery. Like Madexx, the scorpion in Uldum, he can spawn in several different colors. In Portent's case, he spawns in four: blue, red, purple and green. I believe each color is unique, and the color he spawns in is totally random. 

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Portent's tracks are called "Dusty Tracks." Like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are dark brown in color and almost his entire path is on bright yellow ground, making his tracks one of the easier sets to find. Although they do stand out well, I still recommend turning the ground clutter option down to low to make finding them a little easier.

Stompy - Trackable Hunter Pet (Goat)

Stompy is a level 88 grey goat, and one of two rare elite trackable hunter pets that can be found in Kun-Lai Summit. (The other is Bristlespine the Porcupine.) Like other trackable pets, he has a unique skin. He has a very windy patrol route up and around the mountains. As a matter of fact, in several places he can even be found walking almost completely vertical as he moves up and down the mountainside. (See map below for his exact path.)

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Stompy's tracks are called "Heavy Tracks", and they look nothing remotely like any track you'd ever expect to see from a goat. Like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are dark green in color and almost his entire path is on white snow, making his tracks quite easy to spot. As a matter of fact, Stompy's tracks were probably the easiest of all the trackable hunter pets for me to find.

Savage - Trackable Hunter Pet (Cat)

Savage is another one of the new rare elite trackable hunter pets that we'll be seeing in Mists of Pandaria. I have a feeling this beautiful kitty will be the most highly sought after of all the rare elites. (I personally find his model and colors quite visually appealing.) He is a level 85 white & black striped tiger (cat). He patrols from the eastern side of the zone near Emperor's Omen all the way to the western side . (See map below for his exact path.)

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Savage's tracks are called "Bloody Tracks", and like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are green & brown in color and only slightly darker than the ground he walks across in several areas. His tracks were one of the tougher sets for me to find, especially in the shaded areas he patrols through. If your serious about finding this pretty kitty it is absolutely crucial that you turn ground clutter on the lowest setting.

Hexapos - Trackable Hunter Pet (Water Strider)

Hexapos is another one of the new rare elite trackable hunter pets that we'll be seeing in Mists of Pandaria. He is a level 90 white "fen strider" type water strider. He can only be tamed by hunters that are Beast Mastery spec, and he can be found patrolling through a very large portion of Dread Wastes. (See map below for his exact path.)

How to track: Like the other trackable hunter pets, you will not be able to see him when he's up. He is completely stealthed. In order to locate him, you will need to find and follow his tracks - tracks that thankfully only hunters can see. Once you've found his tracks you'll need to follow them until you don't see any more. This is where I like to wait and watch where I think that he'll be walking next. Often times you'll see a new track appear right in front of you - this means you've found him!

Once you find him, the only way to see where he is, will be for him to walk through a flare. Don't throw your flare down on top of the track he just left, throw it a little further out in front of where you think he is. When he walks through your flare he will become visible. You can take this opportunity to tame, or you can throw a Hunter's Mark on him - which will keep him visible to you when he goes back into stealth. Hunter's Mark will make him visible to you, but only you when he's in stealth.

Hexapos' tracks are called "Mysterious Tracks", and like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are fairly light in color compared to the dark ground that he's walking on - making them a little easier to find in my opinion. As I've mentioned before, turning ground clutter onto the lowest setting will make finding tracks a lot easier.

Basilisks (Tamable in MoP) Get a Makeover

With the addition of basilisks as a new hunter pet family in Mists of Pandaria, a very large number of them across the world will be getting face-lifts. This change will affect at least four rare basilisks including Scale Belly, Hissperak, Hellgazer and Deatheye.

Not only do each of these rares get a nifty new look, but it also looks like they will each be getting their own unique look. I personally like these new skins and am quite fond of the pinkish-purple accents they'll be getting. For anyone who preferred the old skins, they will still be available elsewhere. 

Here are the before and after models of each of these rare basilisks:

Scale Belly - level 31, Cape of Stranglethorn

Desolace Rare Spawns

Desolace, a zone that was once a barren wasteland littered with bones, has been given a breath of new life since the Shattering. Desolace sits on the western coast of Kalimdor, just south of Stonetalon Mountains and north of Feralas. There are half a dozen rares ranging from level 31-34 that call Desolace their home.

Crusty the crab is the only rare in this zone with a large patrol route. He is also the only neutral rare in this zone, and he's tamable by hunters. He even has his own post on this blog here: Crusty.

The rest of the rares in this zone have multiple spawn points in different general areas, but they do not move between these points once spawned in.

Hissperak the Basilisk will also be tamable in MoP, and his colors will be changing slightly to purple/pinkish accents instead of blue. I believe he will also have a unique skin. =)

Hissperak's new color scheme in MoP

Click map to Enlarge

Each of these rares as you'll find them in the world, in order by level.

Rockhide the Immovable - Trackable Hunter Pet (Basilisk)

Rockhide the Immovable is another one of the new trackable hunter pets that we'll be seeing in Mists of Pandaria. He is a level 89 pink basilisk that can be found patrolling through the middle of the mainland in Townlong Steppes. (See map below for his exact path.)

How to track: In order to find Rockhide you will need to find and follow his tracks, which are only visible to hunters. Once you find the "end" of his tracks you will need to use a flare in order to make him visible. (If you are standing inside of the flare, you will aggro him.) I recommend not throwing your flare right in front of the most recent track, but instead  placing it slightly further out. The idea is to get him to walk through it. If placed too close to the most recent track, you will likely miss him. Once Rockhide has walked through the flare he will become visible not only to you, but to others as well. At this point you can start taming him, or you can throw a Hunters Mark on him. Hunter's Mark will allow you, and only you to see where he is. If another hunter applies their Hunter's Mark he will disappear from your sight when he goes back into stealth. If he is heading into an area filled with hostile mobs such as the Gai-Cho Battlefield, placing Hunter's Mark on him and following until he is in a safe location to tame may be wise. (Regurgitated info, yes. But I do think it should be in each of these posts.)

Rockhide the Immovable's tracks are called "Worn Tracks", and like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are fairly dark in color, and so is most of the ground that he's walking on - making them a little harder to find. I definitely recommend turning off ground clutter for this beast, and actually any of the other trackable beasts. It's amazing how much more visible the tracks become when ground clutter is put on the lowest setting.

Bloodtooth - Trackable Hunter Pet (Dragon Turtle)

Bloodtooth is one of the new trackable hunter pets that we'll be seeing in Mists of Pandaria. He is a level 87 dragon turtle that can be found patrolling along the shoreline and small islands in the southern part of Krasarang Wilds. (See map below for his exact path.)

How to track: In order to find Bloodtooth you will need to find and follow his tracks, which are only visible to hunters. Once you find the "end" of his tracks you will need to use a flare in order to make him visible. (If you are standing inside of the flare, you will aggro him.) I recommend not throwing your flare right in front of the most recent track, but instead  placing it slightly further out. The idea is to get him to walk through it. If placed too close to the most recent track, you will likely miss him. Once Bloodtooth has walked through the flare he will become visible not only to you, but to others as well. At this point you can start taming him, or you can throw a Hunters Mark on him. Hunter's Mark will allow you, and only you to see where he is. If another hunter applies their Hunter's Mark he will disappear from your sight when he goes back into stealth. If he is heading into an area filled with hostile mobs, placing Hunter's Mark on him and following until he is in a safe location to tame may be wise.

Bloodtooth's tracks are called "Muddy Tracks", and like other beasts' tracks they do not stay up indefinitely; the furthest ones behind disappear one by one as new tracks are created. His tracks are quite dark in color and he mostly walks along a fairly light surface, making them one of the easier sets of tracks to find. Be aware - he does patrol through the water quite a bit, so if you're tracking him and lose sight - don't forget to check the water!

Blasted Lands Rare Spawns

Blasted Lands is a desolate zone, largely inhabited by demons and orgres on the south eastern corner of the Eastern Kingdoms. It is home to the Dark Portal - the passageway to Outland, as well as fourteen different rares ranging from level 55 -60.

Rares in the Blasted Lands are a little special compared to other rares found throughout Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Each one of these rares has a 50/50 chance to drop either an Imperfect Draenethyst Fragment, or a Flawless Draenethyst Sphere in addition to the typical green item.

The Imperfect Draenethyst Fragment and Flawless Draenethyst Spheres each start a quest. The Imperfect Draenethyst Fragment starts One Draenei's Junk, which rewards Kum'isha's Junk. The Flawless Draenethyst Sphere starts Kum'isha's Endeavors, which rewards Emerald Encrusted Chest. Kum'ishas Junk will give you a nice random green-quality item, and the Emerald Encrusted Chest will always give a nice blue-quality item and often times an additional green-quality item as well. Both of these quests can be turned in to Kum'isha the Collector, a level 60 lost one (who also happens to be a ghost). Kum'isha can be found standing inside of a crater just north of where Ravage spawns. (See above right Screenshot - click to enlarge.)

 

Hunting down the rares in this zone can prove to be a pretty fun and quick way to make some decent gold for anyone willing to spend a few minutes here and there looking for these guys. (I often times find about half to two-thirds of these guys up at a time when I go looking in the morning before work.) Many of the green items received from turning the quests in, and from the rares themselves are armor pieces often sought after for transmogrification. It is not uncommon to get pieces of the Revenant Plate, Templar Plate, Lord's Mail, Ornate Mail, Engraved Mail, Masterwork Mail, Emerald Plate, Hyperion Plate, Nightshade Leather, Murcurial Mail, Swashbuckler's Leather, Righteous Leather and other sought after sets.

Durotar Rare Spawns

Durotar is a harsh, dry zone on the eastern coast of Kalimdor. It is the starting area for both orcs and trolls, and home of the great Horde capitol city Orgrimmar. Durotar is also home to five rare spawns ranging from level 6 - 10.

Geolord Mottle and Captain Flat Tusk share two similar spawn points, and it is possible to find them both up in one of the camps at the same time standing literally just a few yards apart.

Sergeant Curtis spawns in at least a couple of different locations in Tiragarde Keep. He can spawn in the upper level where you'll find the quest npc, Lieutenant Palliter. He can also spawn on the main floor standing in an empty room on top of a grate. Naturally, he is friendly to Alliance players.

Death Flayer is tamable by hunters, and although not a unique skin he'd certainly make a nice first rare pet for a low level hunter. He also moves very, very quickly.

Click map to Enlarge

Each of these rares as you'll find them in the world. ~

The Darkmoon Rabbit

I was strolling along the beach of Darkmoon Island a couple of days ago when I stumbled upon a cute little bunny. "Awwwwww, how adorable" I thought, "What's this poor little bunny doing out here all by it's lonesome self?"

I watched him clean his face with his cute little paws for a while, and scratch himself with his big poofy bunny feet. After a long preening session, he turned and started nibbling on something beneath him. I wondered..."what could he be eating on the beach? I hadn't noticed any grass or other greenery nearby..." That's when I started to open my eyes. It was like a light-switch suddenly turned on in my brain. I noticed bones littering the beach and cave nearby, the cute little bunnies face was covered in red; and something told me it wasn't from strawberries and fruit punch flavored popsicles... I targeted him, and my heart nearly stopped as I saw the "skull" on this little guy's portrait and 174M health. I backed away slowly hoping that I wouldn't alert him of my presence.

Map of Rare Pandarian Champions by Type

Below is a map showing where each one of the rare Pandarian Champions needed for the Glorious! Achievement can be found throughout the continent of Pandaria. I have color coded them by their type (see legend on bottom left). For example, all Pandaren Champions are marked in yellow, all Mantid Champions in pink, etc. On the right I have them separated out by zone, the zones are in order by level from lowest to highest.

Map is quite detailed...pls click to enlarge

(To see an even larger image of this map you can also right click the image and view it in another tab. From there you should be able to zoom even further.)

Below I've listed links to posts covering the rare champions in each zone in greater detail. These posts each have a detailed map, screenshots of each rare, where they can be found, each rare's abilities, what their special drops are, etc.

• The Jade Forest
• Valley of the Four Winds
• Krasarang Wilds
• Kun-Lai Summit 
• Townlong Steppes
• Dread Wastes
• Vale of Eternal Blossoms

Mulgore Rare Spawns

Mulgore is a grassy valley surrounded by mountains on all sides, and is home to the Tauren and their great city Thunder Bluff. Mulgore is also the home of eight different rares ranging from level 4-10. As you move north through the zone the level of each of these rares increases.

The first one you will likely run across while leveling is "Pokey" Thornmantle. Upon entering combat with him he'll yell "Pokey find a fish!",  and if you look closely in the screenshot below you'll notice he did indeed find a fish.

Arra'chea used to be level 11 and spawn in the northern part of the zone. Looting her horn was a requirement for the end of the questline Rites of the Earthmother. She has since dropped in level and now drops the typical 6 slot baggie and massive experience like other rares around her level. When I killed her she also dropped Squishy Cud, which I thought was rather icky.

Mazzranache, oh how I love thee pretty pink birdie... Mazzranache is the flippin' awesome looking pink flamingo (Tallstrider) that I subject you all to looking at in my header. Mazz matches the Swift Lovebird and the Mulgore Hatchling pet. She(or he?) also drops an armor item unique to her loot table called the Sleek Feathered Tunic. Mazz patrols around the Thunderhorn Water Well with four wee little birdies in tow. They each have their own names: Hazzranache, Razzranache, Jazzranache and the teeniest one Spazzranache. When Mazz is killed her chicks run around frantically for a while, poor little guys. Mazz also has a standalone post on this blog here: Mazzranache, with some more screenies and a taming video.

The Rake used to be a highly desirable hunter pet for his super fast attack speed waaaaaaay back in the day before they normalized all of the hunter pets. He also drops (very low drop chance) a piece of armor unique to his loot table called Lionfur Armor.

Click Map to Enlarge

All of these rares as you'll find them in the world in order by level. ~