Guide to Companion Vanity Pets in World of Warcraft (WoW): Engineering and WoW TCG Pets

2009-05-19

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Some of the most rare companion pets in World of Warcraft are those created by engineers and pets only available to players who acquire certain rare loot cards from the WoW Trading Card Game. Let’s take a look at the pets in these two categories.

Engineering Pets

The first of the engineering pets is the Mechanical Squirrel. Players can craft it with a relatively-low engineering skill of 75, and it can be used by engineers and non-engineers alike. The schematic for the Mechanical Squirrel is a random world drop off of mobs levels 6-20. It can usually be purchased for a relatively low price on the auction house.

The next two pets are bind on pickup, so only engineers are able to own them. Lil’ Smoky is a miniature goblin mech similar to Sneed’s Shredder in the Deadmines. The schematic drops off of Arcane Nullfier X-21s, Peacekeeper Security Suits, and Crowd Pummeler 9-60s in Gnomeregan. Both goblin and gnomish engineers can build the schematic, provided they have a minimum skill of 205.

WoW Pet Bombling

Similarly, the Pet Bombling also requires an engineering skill of 205. The schematic drops off of Mekgineer Thermaplugg in Gnomeregan. The Pet Bombling resembles a bomb-omb from Super Mario Brothers clattering along behind you.

One of the largest vanity pets in the game is the Tranquil Mechanical Yeti. Standing roughly eye-to-eye with a gnome, this enormous pet requires an engineering skill of 250 to build. Only Umi Rumplesnicker in Winterspring can train players to create this pet, and he will only do so after completing the “Are We There, Yeti?” quest chain. The Yeti can be used by non-engineers, but be prepared to pay a pretty penny for it on the auction house.

The final engineering pet, the Lifelike Mechanical Toad, requires an engineering skill of 265 to create. The schematic for the toad drops off of random world mobs levels 46-60. This one can also be used by non-engineers, but can be expensive to purchase from the auction house. Serious pet collectors may wish to consider taking up engineering, at least long enough to pick up these pets.

WoW Trading Card Game Loot Pets

Perhaps the rarest category of WoW pets are those only available through the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (TCG). These pets require WoW players to input codes from loot cards to redeem their in-game rewards. These loot cards can be found in card packs or purchased from Ebay, though most are not cheap.

WoW Hippogryph Hatchling Pet

Bananas the baby gorilla is available to those who find the rare “King Mukla” loot card in the Through the Dark Portal booster packs. He’s a tiny tan gorilla who beats on his chest and randomly scratches his backside. The “King Mukla” card goes for roughly $100 on Ebay.

Players who find the rare “Kiting” card in “March of the Legion” TCG packs are rewarded with the “Dragon Kite” companion. The kite changes colors each time it’s summoned, and occasionally is inexplicably struck by lightning. Currently, this loot card goes for roughly $200 on Ebay.

The largest of the companion pets, the Ethereal Soul-Trader is also the most useful. Every time its owner kills a mob that grants experience or honor, the Trader will “harvest” its soul, earning the owner “ethereal credits” that can be used to purchase semi-useless items from the pet itself.

The Soul Trader is granted to players who enter the code found on the “Ethereal Plunderer” card from the Hunt for Illidan booster packs. Currently, it can be purchased for around $200 on Ebay.

The Hippogryph Hatchling companion pet is granted from the code found on the “Thunderhead Hippogryph” TCG loot card. This baby hippogryph faithfully hovers along behind your character. The card currently sells for around $85 on Ebay.

World of Warcraft Rocket Chicken Pet

Players who find the “Robotic Homing Chicken” loot card in March of the Legion booster packs will be rewarded with one of the most interesting WoW companion pets, the Rocket Chicken. This sweet little pet is exactly what it sounds like, a mechanical chicken with two enormous rockets strapped to its back.

In perhaps the most awesome idle animation of all time, the Rocket Chicken randomly blasts off, usually landing safely, but occasionally exploding into a rain of feathers. The “Robotic Homing Chicken” card currently sells for around $115 on Ebay.

The engineering and TCG loot card pets are some of the most rare and interesting pets in World of Warcraft. Though I often question the sanity of those willing to pay real-world money for a virtual pet, the high prices the loot cards fetch on Ebay is a testament to the demand for these tiny companions.

Although, considering the amount I’ve spent on booster packs with only one of these pets to show for it, perhaps paying a large sum to guarantee you get the pet you want isn’t a bad idea, after all.

This post is part of the series: Guide to Companion Vanity Pets in World of Warcraft

Our guide will help eager World of Warcraft non-combat pet collectors build their pet collection and earn pet-related achievements by covering all the pets available from vendors, through quests and holidays like Children’s Week, and those only available from rare spawns.