Vale of Eternal Blossoms Rare Champions

Major changes occured in the Vale in patch 5.4. See this post to see how it effected the rares in it: Vale of Eternal Blossoms Rares - Patch 5.4

Vale of Eternal Blossoms, a zone for max-level players, is home to eight of the rare champions of Pandaria. Just like in previous zones, there are one of each type (Pandaren, Mantid, Saurok, etc.) and they all count toward the achievement Glorious! Being the final (and therefore highest level) zone, these rares hit harder and have more health than any of the ones I've covered yet.

The rares in this zone are all level 91, with health pools a little over 4M. They each have a 100% chance to drop an item level 440 bop cloak with random stats and a small chance to drop a Small Bag of Goods. They also each have a chance to drop some very fun vanity items, or some useful items as well. Each of the items they can drop are listed below next to the rare that drops it. You can also see some screenshots of each of these items in action in this post: Sneak Peak: Special drops from Rare Champions of Pandaria.

As I have stated in a previous post - many of them 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.

Also note that many of the rares in this zone are affected by phasing. If you can't see Ai-Ran, Major Nanners, Mold One-Eye, Urgolax or Kang it's because you haven't done the opening quest line to unlock the Golden Lotus dailies  This quest line starts in Kun-Lai Summit at the Temple of the White Tiger with the quests Temple of the White Tiger (Alliance) or Temple of the White Tiger (Horde). Following these quest lines will open the gates into the Vale and eventually change the phase so that you will be able to see all of these rares.

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Ai-Ran the Shifting Cloud (Pandaren)
Ai-Ran can be found meditating in the small cave just east of Mistfall Village beneath the Tu Shen Burial Ground.

Like other Pandaren Ai-Ran's three abilities are Chi Burst, Healing Mists and Spinning Crane Kick. The most important thing to know when taking him 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.

Ai-Ran has a small chance to drop Essence of the Breeze. This is a curious item that when used will give you a ten minute buff called Gentle Breeze. While under the effect of this buff, each time you jump you will be propelled a few yards forward. One great use for this item is untangling the plants on your farm much more quickly!

Hunters - Tame a Gorishi Grub while you still can!

The Gorishi Grub in all it's glory

This is the Gorishi Grub. He's big. He's green. Quite frankly, he's awesome - and he may only be tamable for a little while longer. The Gorishi Grub has been in the game for eons, but had never been tamable until patch 5.1 hit. Perhaps he was never meant to be though? In the patch 5.2 ptr he can no longer be tamed. Whatever the case may be, if your even remotely interested in this guy you better snag him while you still have a chance!

Well, how do I tame this guy and where do I find him? I'm glad you asked. This ridiculously awesome looking worm spawns from level 54 rare named Clutchmother Zavas in Un'Goro Crater.

Badlands - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

Tabbs - Tamed

When the magic wand of rare tamable pets was waved over Badlands this zone saw eight new additions. There are now a total of seventeen rares that call Badlands their home. You can see the other nine in this post: Badlands Rare Spawns.

One of the news rares in this zone sports a totally unique look, and that is Tabbs the cat (pictured on the right). This cat looks like a cross between Pogeyan (hunched, shiny look with red eyes) and Araga (coloration). You can find her sleeping along the mountainside just behind a small camp.

The rest of these new tamable beasts aren't unique, but there are still some pretty neat looking ones that low level hunters may find interesting. I think Blackshell the Impenetrable has a very attractive coloration (which is strangely enough not even close to black) that isn't very common.

Zormus, the dark purple warp stalker, shares the same look as only one other mob in the game, and that is Gezzarak the Huntress. Gezzarak is a spawned mob for the quest Adversarial Blood up in Skettis. The addition of this rare not only allows lower level hunters to have this model as a pet earlier, but it will also save people from having to farm for Shadow Dust and then Time-Lost Scrolls x10 to summon her.

Dread Wastes Rare Champions

Looking for fun vanity items? Rare companion pets? Or perhaps something more useful? Look no further, the rares in Dread Wastes can drop all of these things. Each of the items are listed below next to the rare that can drop them. 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.

The rares in this zone are all level 90, with health pools around 3.8M. They each have a 100% chance to drop either an item level 440 or 450 rare quality bop chest piece of a random armor type and a small chance to drop a Small Bag of Goods.

As I have stated in a previous post - many of them 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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Ai-Li Skymirror (Pandaren)

Ai-Li Skymirror can be found kneeling in the middle of what's left of a large dead tree stump just south of Rikkitun Village.

Like other Pandaren Ai-Li'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.

Ai-Li has a small chance to drop a really neat vanity item called Ai-Li's Skymirror. This item allows you to take on the shimmery appearance of other players. It works on players using transformation mounts and other transformation items, druid shape-shifts, all sorts of fun stuff. The effects don't break in combat either like a lot of other transformation items do. The one downside to this item is that unfortunately it can't be used while mounted.

Hunters Rejoice! New Spirit Beasts Coming in 5.2

It's been quite a while since hunters have seen any new spirit beasts. Well, in patch 5.2 patient hunters everywhere are finally getting some new ones, and I have to say - I think they look great! These spirit beasts are all porcupines and they will be making an appearance in three different colors: red, green and blue.

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My favorite thing about these new beasts, is that in the style of the Molten Front/Mount Hyjal taming challenges introduced back in patch 4.2 - these guys are NOT going to be easy to tame. Each one of these pretty spectral porcupines has it's own unique challenge associated with it. Unlike the beasts in the Molten Front/Mt. Hyjal though, these pretties are not going to sport a silver dragon around their portraits - which I think is a great idea. They will instead have the golden elite dragon pictured above. Although these beasts are likely going to be rare, the silver dragon seems to scream to people "Kill me, I probably drop some awesome loot." I imagine when non-hunters spot one of them with just the golden dragon, that they'll be more likely to continue on their way.

All three of these beasts have slightly under 4000k hp, and will have to be kited and dps'd down (not unlike Deth'tilac) to about 20% in order to remove their Strong Will (Cannot be tamed until weakened) buff. Each of these beauties will pretty much two-shot anyone they attack within melee range, and taming them will require some patience and practice.  

New Rares and Mounts Coming in patch 5.2

There are quite a few things I'm excited about in patch 5.2. Naturally, one of those things is the addition of a whole heaping ton of new rares. We've got many different types of rares to look forward to as well; new world group bosses on each of the new islands, rare elites requiring a small group to kill, rare soloable elites and other miscellaneous rares will all be making an appearance soon! We're even going to be seeing some new mounts - DINOSAUR MOUNTS - from these guys. Hurrah!

Zandalari Warbringers & Warscouts

The Zandalari Warbringers are five rare elites that will be spread out around the continent of Pandaria. These rares can be found in The Jade Forest, Krasarang Wilds, Kun-Lai Summit, The Dread Wastes and Townlong Steppes. (See map with locations further down in this post.) They each have 21079k health and will require a group to defeat. (On the ptr we were able to defeat them with a group of three - two BM spec hunters and an elemental shaman, however it went much more smoothly with a full group of five.)

Each of these rares drop 3-4 very nice reputation items including: Stolen Celestial Insignia, Stolen Golden Lotus Insignia, Stolen Klaxxi Insignia and Stolen Shado-Pan Insignia. They also tend to drop either a Big Bag of Zandalari Supplies or a Small Bag of Zandalari Supplies. Each of these bags will contain a fairly decent amount of crafting materials, and are basically another version of the bags that drop off of the rares in Townlong Steppes. That's not all these guys can drop though!

Zandalari Warbringers (Click photo to Enlarge)

If you look carefully at the screenshots above, you'll notice that the Warbringers are sitting on different color mounts. There are three colors that they can spawn in, and the color that actually spawns seems completely random. You may ask, Why does it even matter? Well here's why - because these rares each have a small chance to drop a mount, and not just any mount - their mount. The one they are sitting on when you engage them. Killing a Zandalari Warbringer on a Jade Primordial Direhorn will give you a small chance at that mount. At least this is what I have seen so far. I saw these mounts drop multiple times on the ptr, and each time the color that dropped was the exact same color as the one ridden by the Warbringer. It could be coincidence, but until I see otherwise I'm pretty sure this is the case.

Here are some screenshots of each of these new Direhorn mounts (which I think look absolutely fantastic).

Eastern Plaguelands - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

Snort - Tamed

Nine new rare beasts were introduced into Eastern Plaguelands in patch 5.1. This brings the total rare count for this zone to twenty-two! You can read about the other thirteen in this post: Eastern Plaguelands Rare Spawns.This zone got some really neat looking additions in my opinion. Four of these new tamable rares are "ghostly" see-through models, and they retain that look after taming.

The four ghostly rares are: Spirocula (love the name) - a level 40 white worm (must be BM spec to tame), Fene-mal - a level 41 black and white two-headed vulture, Snort - a level 41 brown saber tooth worg and Varah - a level 43 undead boar. Each one of these ghostly rares is also totally unique.

The remaining rares added to the zone are not unique, but will still make some very interesting looking pets. Bleakheart, the white demon dog, shares a model with only one other mob in game. That mob is Fidonis, who is another new rare added in patch 5.1. You can find him in Felwood. Quirix, the brown scarab beetle, has a model and color that could previously only be found in Uldum. Anyone that has ever quested through Zangarmarsh will probably recognize Sporeggon, as he is essentially the twin of Sporewing.

Western Plaguelands - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

Ten new rares were introduced into Western Plaguelands when patch 5.1 hit. This brings the total count of rares currently in the zone to twenty. (To see the other ten check out this post: Western Plaguelands Rare Spawns.) Each of these new rares is a beast, and therefore tamable by hunters. The only one that requires beast mastery spec to tame is Parasitus the yellow worm. The rest can be tamed by hunters of any spec.

One of these new rares is unique, and that is Heress, the yellow ghostly two-headed vulture. This bird is basically the ghost of Spiteflayer - you can see right through him, and he retains that look even after taming. You'll find him flying around just north of Felstone Field.

The rest of the rares aren't unique, but there's still some good looking ones. Alit, the dark brown owl, has a model that previously couldn't be tamed until around level 70. Warg, the dark grey worg, shares the same model and coloration as the once unique Old Cliff Jumper - another rare in The Hinterlands. Mutilax, the blue wasp, has a coloration that prior to patch 5.1 could only be tamed once hitting level 85 and heading to Zul'Gurub. Similarly, Aphis - the green and red scarab beetle, has a model and color that previously could only be found in Uldum and Halls of Origination.

Here are some screenshots of each of these rares in order by level. (Click on pictures to enlarge them.)

Swamp of Sorrows Rare Spawns - Including New Tamable 5.1 Rares

Like several other low level zones, Swamp of Sorrows also saw some love when patch 5.1 hit. There were eight new tamable rares added to the zone that day, bringing the total count of rares in the zone to fifteen (sixteen if you count Captain Wyrmak, who is just outside the instance portal to Sunken Temple).

Gib the Banana-Haorder & Darkmoon Monkey

I personally believe this zone was given the most love when it came to these additions, as there were a real heap of new beauties added. Four of the new beasts have completely unique looks, and some of the others are notable for other reasons entirely.

My absolute favorite has got to be Gib the Banana-Hoarder. Gib is a level 52 unique monkey - with a hat! Or more specifically - a fez. He looks exactly like the Darkmoon Monkey companion pet too! He's just a slightly larger version of him. (See screenshot on the left.) He also flings poo at people.

Another pet I've absolutely fallen in love with in this zone is Kash, the green cat. Kash is a unique level 52 hunched green cat with orange stripes. This cat is basically Winna's Kitten (color) + Pogeyan (model). I've always loved this coloration, but was never a fan of the typical non-hunched cat look. This kitty just may be replacing my Savage for a while. (WTB more stable slots Blizz!)

There are also two different unique spiked wind serpents to be found here! Ionis, level 53, has a beautiful rusty orange and grey coloration. Yukiko, also level 53, has a neat white and grey (with a little bit of orange) color.

Townlong Steppes Rare Champions

In the other zones I've covered so far we've seen all sorts of useful items and trinkets, vanity items, epic pants, weapons - you name it. Well, this zone is fairly simple where special loot drops are concerned. Each of the rares in this zone has a chance to drop a bag containing some very useful things. Most of these bags have stacks of items used in crafting professions, a couple of them could contain some epic weapons/pants, one bag is even full of feasts! Scroll down to see exactly what each rare/bag can drop.

Almost all of the rares in this zone are level 89, with health pools around 3M. (The exception is Lon the Bull who is sitting at level 88 with about 2.5M hp.) They each have a 100% chance to drop an item level 440 rare quality bop necklace with random stats 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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Yul Wildpaw (Pandaren)

Yul Wildpaw has one spawn point. You can find him meditating just outside of the Niuzao Catacombs overlooking the water. There are no hostile mobs anywhere near him outside the cave, so you don't have to worry about any adds joining in during the fight.

Like other Pandaren Yul Wildpaw'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.

Yul has a small chance to drop a Big Bag of Wonders. This bag contains a variety of enchanting supplies including several: Spirit Dust, Mysterious Essence, Ethereal Shard and usually even a Sha Crystal.

Tirisfal Glades Rare Spawns - Including New Tamable 5.1 Rares

Tirisfal Glades, my absolute favorite starting zone, has had six new rares added to it in patch 5.1. This brings the total number of rares in Tirisfal to fifteen! This means a lot of extra experience for new leveling toons and a whole heaping bunch of fun new pets for hunters to find. ^-^ There were even three totally unique beasts added for some extra taming fun!

Bonechewer (the blue vulture), Plague (the blue demon dog) and Nighthowl (the black saber tooth worg) are all unique in that they are all ghostly versions of these skins. That right, each one of these beasts are see-through - and remain so after taming! Check out the screenshots I have up of Plague (on the left) and Nighthowl (all the way at the bottom of this post) and see for yourself!

The other three new beasts are not unique, but will still make pretty neat looking pets. Hibernus the Sleeper has the diseased white bear model, which prior to patch 5.1 was found on the Rabid Grizzly bears in Dragonblight. That means this model could only be tamed by hunters that were at least level 71. Shadowstalker, the vibrant purple and red spider, has a model and color that could previously only be tamed at a minimum level of 51 - by taming the Coldlurker Creeper spiders in Winterspring.

Although not new to the zone, there are also three other tamable rares to be found. Those are Bayne (the purple demon dog), Ressan the Needler (white bat) and Sri'skulk (the black & red spider).

Felwood - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

When patch 5.1 hit, Felwood got littered with new rares. There were ten rares added to the zone, bringing the total number of rares in Felwood to a crowded eighteen! You can see the original rares in this post: Felwood Rare Spawns. Each of these new rares is a beast and is tamable by hunters. Two of the rares added even have totally unique looks.

Thicket, the level 46 purple/blue and green moth, has a totally unique (and quite appealing) coloration. You'll find him in the very north of the zone on the mountainside just north of Felpaw Village.

Duskcoat, the level 47 black and white striped hunched cat, is the other unique pet we have in the zone. He really is quite gorgeous with his red eyes and coloration. Like several of the other "hunched" cats, he even has sort of a shiny look to him. You'll find Duskcoat just next to the road directly west of Whisperwind Grove.

The rest of the new rares in this zone are not unique, but will surely make eye-catching pets. Grovepaw, the level 45 brown warg, shares the same model and coloration as only one other mob in the game (who also happens to be a rare) - that rare is Deathmaw in Burning Steppes. The same can also be said for Fidonis the level 47 white demon dog. Fidonis sports a brand new look that he shares with Bleakheart, another new rare  in Eastern Plaguelands. 

Cida, the level 45 green and pink wasp, could only be tamed in this color prior to patch 5.1 if one ventured into AQ40 and tamed Princess Huhuran. Blackbog the Fang, the level 46 red nether ray, is now the lowest level tamable nether ray in this color. Dilennaa, the level 48 green worm, is the only tamable worm in this color outside of an instance. Dilennaa is also an exotic pet, making her tamable only by hunters level 69+ who have taken the beast mastery specialization. 

Spawn timers on all of these rares are rather long, and tend to range several hours from what I've seen so far.

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Here are some screenies of each of these pretty pets in order by level. (Simply click on any of the pictures for a larger view.) ~

Stonetalon Mountains - Tamable Rares added in 5.1

With the coming of patch 5.1, nine new rares have been introduced into Stonetalon Mountains. There are now a total of fourteen rares in this zone, you can see the "older" inhabitants in this post: Stonetalon Mountains Rare Spawns. These new rares are all beasts, and were added to give hunters some fun new pets to look for - especially while leveling. A few of the rares introduced to this zone will definitely make some amazing looking ones too. Several of them have totally brand new, one of a kind unique looks.

I have a feeling that Quall, the beautiful level 25 sapphire owl, will be one of the most highly sought after unique rares in this zone. This bird spawns just outside of the small goblin-style hut just south of Windshear hold. Until now, the only tamable owls that looked anything close to Quall (same model, different color) were the Emerald Skytalon and Alystros the Verdant Keeper in Dragonblight. I also think that Quall would look pretty cool paired up with the Jade Owl companion pet, even though they are different colors.

Feras, the level 25 spotted orange cat, also has a brand new unique look. In my opinion, with those red eyes, hunched stance, shiny body and spots - this guy is totally the offspring of two other rares: Dishu and Pogeyan.

Sparkwing, the level 27 blue and white spiked wind serpent, is the other unique pet introduced to the zone. He can be found inside Boulderslide Cavern. NPCScan will pick him up from outside the cavern if he's up, and if your tracking beasts you will be able to see him on your mini-map as well from outside.