The Lost Spectral Gryphon - Spirit Beast

In my last post I discussed how to tame Gon (the inky blue spirit raptor), one of two new spirit beasts that were introduced in patch 7.2.0. This post will cover taming the Lost Spectral Gryphon.

These two spirit beasts each spawn in a capital city; Gon in Orgrimmar, and the Lost Spectral Gryphon in Stormwind. Due to their spawn points, Gon is obviously easier for Horde players to obtain, and the gryphon easier for Alliance.

The Lost Spectral Gryphon - Tamed

Where to find The Lost Spectral Gryphon:

The Lost Spectral Gryphon is spawned from a rare item called the Spectral Feather. It has one single spawn point in Stormwind, right near the flight master. I have marked the exact location in red on the map below:

Gon - Inky Blue Spirit Raptor

There were two new spirit beasts added in patch 7.2.0, a spectral gryphon (the Lost Spectral Gryphon) and an inky blue spirit raptor (Gon).

The way these spirit beasts are obtained is interesting and a little different than anything we've seen before. You see, the spectral gryphon can only be spawned in Stormwind, and the spirit raptor can only be spawned in Orgrimmar. What it comes down to is this -  if you play a Horde hunter it will be a lot harder for you to obtain the spectral gryphon, and Alliance will have a harder time taming the raptor.

This post will cover in detail where to find Gon, and some tips & tricks to help Alliance characters obtain this pretty blue fellow. (I will cover the Lost Spectral Gryphon: Here.)

Gon, tamed

Where to find Gon:

Gon is spawned from a rare item called the Spectral Eggshell, which has one spawn point in Orgrimmar. Specifically, in the warlock trainer's hut in The Valley of Spirits, just in front of the pile of glowing skulls. I marked the exact location on the map below:

Lightning Paw - New Spirit Beast (Fox)

Lightning Paw

When patch 7.1.5 rolled around a variety of changes were implemented. There were class changes, new legendaries, micro holidays, the return of the brawlers guild, profession updates and more. What some people may not realize though, is that at the same time a new npc and hunter pet snuck into the game.

Level 100+ hunters may have noticed a new npc named 'Watcher Danuser' (named after Senior Game Designer Steve Danuser) appear after the patch in their hunter class hall. If you speak with him, he says:

The Night Watch knows a thing or two about tracking. In Duskwood creatures lurk in every dark nook and cranny.

Sometimes you catch a glimpse of their beedy little eyes, peering at you from the bushes.

<The watcher tries to suppress a shudder.>

Why, just the other day I sensed an unfamiliar creature stalking me in the forest, watching from the shadows.

Bulvinkel - Spirit Moose

If there's one thing I always look forward to with each new expansion, it's the ability to tame new pets with new looks. As usual, with Legion we have a multitude of new pets to hunt down and add to our stables. This expansion offers some particularly beautiful new pets, from gorgeous Mana Sabers to badass mechanical pets and everything in between. (You can see a full list of all the new creatures added in Legion on Petopia.)

I was beyond excited to find out that we would be able to tame moose this time around; seriously moose are awesome. I finally saw one in real life for the first time in like 20 years a few months ago, and they really are majestic animals. They're big, powerful, awe inspiring, and now we can have them as pets!!! /SQUEEEE!

Well, as if that weren't awesome enough, the devs went and threw in a spirit moose as well! Be still my beating heart!

Meet Bullwinkle Bulvinkel:

So here's the deal with this lovely moosey. He's in game for hunters only, killing him will only get you a Crystalline Tear of Loyalty. There's nothing to taming him really. No special challenge, no tracking, no hoops to jump through at all as far as the tame itself goes. You can even tame him right at level 100, because like nearly everything else on The Broken Isles, he scales to your level. It's getting to him that can be a little tricky.

How to get to Bulvinkel:

Hillsbrad Foothills Rare Spawns

Dustwing - Tamed

Dust be gone! This post had been sitting around for far too long. Between the wee little one, holiday orders for the newly opened etsy store and the holiday season in general, time has been sparse around these here parts.

So anywho, I created a new undead hunter a few months back to level through some of the horde zones post-cata. I finally took my time going through Hillsbrad Foothills, and I've gotta say...wow. This zone is bursting at the seams with rares. There are a total of 24 of them currently. 14 of these rares are tamable by hunters, and 10 of them were added in patch 5.1. This means that the rest of you lowbie undead hunters have no excuse if you don't have a cool pet at this level range!

Let me start off by mentioning my favorite - Dustwing (pictured on the right). He's a level 22 white and yellow moth with a completely unique look. That's right, no other tamable moth in game looks just like this guy. You can find him on Purgation Isle in the southwestern part of the zone. Remember to look up when your looking for him, as he flies pretty high. Also be aware, there are some pretty fearsome worgen just below the area where he patrols.

The second pet that I just had to have when coming out here was Carcinak. Carcinak is a spikey deep sea crab that is dark green in color with some purple/pinkish details along his spine and claws. You can find this clickity clackity fellow where the green slime runs down and meets the sea just south of the Ruins of Southshore. You won't be able to tame another crab that looks like him until leveling up to 84 and finding the Mosstide Crabs in the Jade Forest.

New Unique Tamable Rare & Some Trackable Pets not so unique anymore (5.4 PTR)

(Anything discussed in this post could very well change before going live, as this is from the PTR.)

I'm sure I'm not the only hunter out there that just can't get enough pets, especially the unique and hard to find ones. Well, when patch 5.4 hits we'll be getting at least one new unique tamable rare.

Meet Great Turtle-Furyshell.

Unfortunately, this spiked dragon turtle is one of the thirty-one rares on the Timeless Isle that needs to be killed in order to get the Timeless Champion Achievement. Not only is he required for the achievement, but he also drops Timeless Coins and potentially other nice loot such as Timeless armor (item level 496 armor pieces). For this reason, he will likely be DEAD almost immediately after spawning in on medium and high population servers. I imagine when the patch hits, that taming him will be a little difficult unless your in the right place at the right time.

Northern Stranglethorn Rare Spawns

There are a total of seven rares that can be found in Northern Stranglethorn, three of which are tamable.

These three tamable rares are also rather unique, as they are all neutral mobs and each have their own title representing a different element. Pogeyan (pictured on the right), is <The Fire Spirit> and has a completely unique look. He spawns just west of the Tkashi Ruins and is incredibly hard to miss when he's up - he's GINORMOUS.

Pogeyan also happens to be one of my absolute favorite hunter pets. He was the first unique pet that I tamed on my night elf hunter right when she hit level 28. I still use this pretty kitty today, and I make sure any new hunters I create have him. <3

Tsul'Kalu, the massive white gorilla, represents earth as <The Earth Spirit>. He even has an earth shield floating around him. Unfortunately he doesn't retain it once tamed. He spawns directly east of where Pogeyan can be found, just across the path. He shares the same look as only one other gorilla in game, and that is Uhk'loc, a rare in Un'goro Crater.

The Cape of Stranglethorn Rare Spawns

The Cape of Stranglethorn, the southern half of what used to be Stranglethorn Vale, is home to a total of five rares.

Tamable Rares:

Scale Belly, the blue and purple basilisk (pictured on the right), had a completely different look pre-MoP. He used to be a generic looking yellow basilisk with blue accents. The paint job he sports now is totally unique, making him a pretty desirable pet for low level hunters. I'm sure someone could even come up with a cool transmog to match him (yeah, mine clashes big time I know). 

Scale Belly used to be famous for dropping the Chromatic Sword. This sword has a very unique multi-color glow effect. Unfortunately he no longer drops the sword, and it cannot currently be obtained by any means in game. Well, let me take that back, technically you could still find one on the AH from someone who still has it and never equipped it - where in that case I'm guessing it would cost a fortune.

Kurmokk, the red gorilla, is also tamable. Unlike Scale Belly, he does not have a unique model. He is the lowest level tamable gorilla of this color though, and the only red one in Stranglethorn.

Non-Tamable Rares:

If you look closely at Lord Sakrasis, you will notice that he's wearing a Purple Trophy Tabard of the Illidari (well, the top half of one at least). He spawns across the rope bridge in front of the holy spring on the Naga Island.

How to Tame Hutia (Green Spectral Porcupine)

Hutia is the final spirit beast I'll be going over that was added in patch 5.2. I found Hutia to be a little more forgiving to tame than her friends Gumi and Degu. Well actually, make that a lot more forgiving.

As with the other two spectral porcupines, Hutia has about 4M health and must be dps'd down to 20% before her Strong Will buff will drop and she can be tamed. If she gets within melee range she will two-shot you. She is fast, but thankfully she is not nearly as fast as Gumi. She also doesn't have any type of ranged attack like Degu does. The thing to know about Hutia is she's got an annoying heal called Spirit Heal that she'll cast periodically as shes chasing you. This spell needs to be interrupted! 

Helpful Glyphs and Talents:

You can easily make this tame smoother by using certain glyphs and talents. Glyph of Tame Beast I would definitely recommend. Glyph of Disengage can also prove to be handy (I used both of these glyphs when I tamed her in the video below.) If your having trouble Glyph of Pathfinding, Glyph of Aspect of the Cheetah and Glyph of Icetrap may be enough to make a successful tame (I didn't use these).

Talents that will come in handy with this tame are Posthaste (for the nice speed increase), Silencing Shot (to interrupt her heal), Exhilaration (in case she manages to hit you), Dire Beast (for the extra dot while kiting), A Murder of Crows (another dot) and Glaive Toss (for the additional slow and damage).

Kiting:

How to Tame Gumi (Blue Spectral Porcupine)

Gumi, the level 90 blue spectral porcupine, is the second of the three new spirit beasts added in patch 5.2 that I'll be going over. This little guy is one heck of a terror. In all honesty I thought this was one of the hardest hunter pets to tame that I've encountered yet. Maybe THE hardest. At least for me, taming this guy made taming the other two spectral porcupines seem like a cakewalk.

Like Degu and Hutia (Gumi's red and green buddies), Gumi will need to be kited and dps'd down to about 20% health before his Strong Will buff will drop and you will be able to tame him. He will also two-shot you if he gets within melee range. Unlike the other two beasts though, this guy has no special abilities to be aware of. What makes this guy so difficult is the speed that he moves at. 

This beast moves so fast, it's as if he's mastered the art of teleportation. Those who (like myself) could never seem to get out of the habit of backpedaling will likely have the toughest time taming him. It is possible though, it will probably just require a few more tries before you nail it. I'll be honest here, I died a lot trying to nab this pretty beasty. Thankfully there is a spirit healer very close by.

Where to find Gumi:

How to Tame Degu (Red Spectral Porcupine)

As promised, I've written up some short guides on each of the new spectral porcupines that we'll be seeing in patch 5.2. As a quick overview - there are three spectral porcupines total, and they each have not only a unique look, but a unique way to tame them as well. These tames may remind you of the Molten Front/Mt. Hyjal taming challenges introduced in 4.2.

Each one of these beasts will have a buff called Strong Will when you first come upon them. The tooltip for this buff reads "Cannot be tamed until weakened". In order to weaken them to the point where they can be tamed you will need to dps them down to about 20% health. The thing is however, these pretties will two shot anyone that gets in their melee range. This is where your going to want to know a little more about what makes each of these beasts tick.

Degu, the red spectral porcupine, has an ability called Barbed Needle that will two-shot people with poison who attack her from too far a range. The spell tooltip reads a 15-50 yard range, so the goal with her is to try to always stay within 15 yards. It's also crucial not to let her get too close because she can also two-shot you with her melee hits. This particular tame requires keeping her at that "perfect" distance while dpsing her down until her Strong Will buff wears off.

Concussive Shot will be the most important tool in your box for this tame. Use it whenever it's off cooldown. Ice Trap will also come in very handy in slowing her down. I used Ice Trap and Snake Trap whenever they were up, and they certainly helped. Disengage can also be a lifesaver if you notice she is just about in melee range, but if you do use it make sure you run back toward her immediately! If you simply disengage and stay where you are you could end up getting hit by Barbed Needle. Moving forward toward her will get her to stop her Barbed Needle cast once you get within 15 yards. (Do note that Scatter Shot is completely ineffective against her.)

Burning Steppes Rares Spawns - Including Tamable 5.1 Rares

When patch 5.1 hit the number of rares in Burning Steppes doubled. Deathmaw used to be the only tamable rare in this zone, but with the addition of nine new beasts there are now ten interesting rare pets here to choose from! There are even a couple with completely unique looks.

Sunwing - Tamed

Tamable Rares:

The most notable one is probably Sunwing, the absolutely gorgeous black dragonhawk (pictured on the right). Before patch 5.1 Sagan was the only dragonhawk in game with this beautiful coloration. Being the pet of an npc however, he was not tamable. Well now with a little bit of patience (or luck) this pretty pet can be yours. He spawns in the far southwestern part of the zone, between the mountains west of Flamestar Post. You'll know your in the right area when you see a bunch of scorpids and worgs wandering around. Now unfortunately with CRZ and this being a fairly busy questing location, some camping may be necessary to find this guy alive. When he does spawn in he will be flying high above the ground - not so high though that your tame beast won't reach.

Chiaa, the black and yellow spiked wind serpent, also has a totally unique look. You can find him in the mountains just north of Blackrock Stronghold. He is extremely easy to spot when hes up not just because of his color, but because he's fairly large as well (see size comparison in the screenshot at the end of this post).

Silithus Rare Spawns - Including Tamable 5.1 Rares

Silithus is a pet collector's dream for hunters. With the addition of ten new tamable beasts to this zone in patch 5.1 there are now sixteen tamable rares, and nineteen rares total in Silithus. Five of these new rares have totally unique looks too!

One of the most notable additions is Acroniss (pictured on the right), a beautiful pink and red arcane wyrm. You can find him in Twilight's Run (his exact location is marked with a red star on the map below). He spawns in the very back of the cave, right where the summoning circle is and he does not patrol.

Acroniss - Tamed

There are also three new damaged silithid "brain" bugs; a pink one (Qem), blue one (Manax) and an orange one (Qu'rik). These bugs have a really neat glow animation with tiny bugs flying over their damaged heads - and they keep the look when tamed. All three can be found underground. Qem and Qu'rik you will find in Hive'Ashi, and Manax can be found in Hive'Regal. NPCScan will pick them up above ground, and having a raid target icon on them will prove very helpful in pinpointing their exact locations. (Please note that silithids are an exotic family, so you will need to be in beast mastery spec to tame them.)

The final unique pet that was added to this zone is Karapax, a very colorful ravager (orange, red, pink & purple). He spawns above ground between the termite mounds northeast of Hive'Ashi. He is not exotic and can therefore be tamed by hunters in any spec.

Although not new to the zone, there are two more unique pets that can be found flying around. Those are the wasps Rex Ashil and Zora. Rex Ashil flies in and out of the tunnels around Hive'Ashi, and Zora has multiple spawn points underground at Hive'Zora.

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.

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.

Click picture to Enlarge

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.  

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.

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).