March of the silithid: Haarka the Ravenous

I think it's interesting to note that some creature types are a lot more frequently used for rarespawns than others. I'm not sure what motivates this, if it's related to the quality and look of the model itself, or if it's little more than the whim of the developers. At any rate, each zone on Kalimdor which has a silithid hive has at least one rare silithid, be it a tank or a wasp. I think it's really cool that almost every silithid hive has its own rare named silithid, it really adds some character to these creatures. Today we take a look at another of these rares!

This post is about Haarka the Ravenous.



What is Haarka, and where can I find it?

Haarka the Ravenous is a rare mob silithid found in Tanaris, on Kalimdor.



Haarka can be found in the Gaping Chasm in the south-eastern corner of Tanaris. This is the larger of the two silithid hives in the zone, and somewhat expansive with several tunnels. I found Haarka underground in the eastern-most underground area (the entrance being close to the cliff walls of the zone), but I have seen reports that it can spawn in other spots as well. A good hint for hunters seeking this mob who are not using a rarespawn tracking addon is that you can track creatures through the ground. Standing on the ground in a silithid hive lets you see any beast-type silithid beneath you on the minimap as well, which saved me a lot of time ins searching.

Hunting the silithid

Haarka is a straightforward melee mob, like other silithid tank mobs. Haarka attacks with a warrior-like sunder armor and Thrash, a very common mob ability which grants extra melee swings. However, despite these abilities, Haarka is an easy foe to defeat and little more than a normal silithid.



Since the revamp the Beastmastery, Haarka is a tameable creature. Classified as a Beast, it can be tracked down by hunters and tamed by those with the Exotic Pet talent. As Cunning pets, silithid tanks are very flexible pets which can be adapted to many situations. Their racial ability, Venom Web Spray, both immobilizes and causes damage, which makes them well-suited for PvP combat. Silithids are thus fairly popular pets.



Haarka uses the "green" silithid model (actually kind of a blue-green mix) which is not rare, but very nice-looking. If you are not a Beastmastery hunter you may choose to slay Haarka for its loot, which is the standard magic item. No unique loot or other drops to be had.

The lore of Haarka

Since Haarka is found in the Gaping Chasm, home to the Hazzali hive of silithids, it seems safe to assume it is part of that hive. Indeed, Haarka shares an appearance with some common silithids in the area. It is hard to kno whether silithids have enough sentience and sense of individuality to give themselves names, or if names are bestowed in them by others. "The Ravenous" epithet would indicate hunger, possibly why the creature has become notorious enough that its name is well known.



I would guess that Haarka is one of the more powerful silithid warriors of the Hazzali hive, and known and feared by the people of Tanaris for its hunger. Since there are quests which confirm that people have vanished into the silithid hives, never to return, such fears are probably well-founded.



All in all, Haarka is a nice little rare. Anything that you can tame is special in my book, and this particular look and coloration works great for this mob. It also has a cool name, which manages to be both alien and threatening at once. If you want to see Haarka yourself, do so before Cataclysm, as this rare will almost certainly no longer exist once the massive changes to Tanaris take effect!

Until next time, stay out of the hive.

~Dragonshade

Rare mobs will make you... jump, jump! Takk the Leaper

It's been a good while since I feature a rarespawn that was more than a curisosity, so I figured today would be a good day to present another semi-famous one. Today's rarespawn is part of a group of old world rarespawn raptors found in several zones of Kalimdor, connected through something I will talk about at the tail end of this review. So then, on with the show.

Glimpses of Azeroth presents Takk the Leaper:



(No, I didn't race change. It was halloween, and Melisandra was in a pirate costume!)

Who is Takk and where can I find it?

Takk the Leaper is an elite rare mob raptor found in the Barrens, on Kalimdor.



Takk is found on and near the ridge in the northern Barrens close to the Sludge Fen. It roams around a bit, wandering on a small patrol path. Takk can appear in several spots, including under the large tree pictured above, right at the slope down towards Durotar. Takk is easily distinguishable from any other raptor in the Barrens by his dark grey coloration, which is very eye-catching!



Worthy of a hunter

Takk is a quite popular rarespawn to seek out and tame for hunters. It is only level 19 and not elite, making it accessible early. Furthermore, Takk has a special dark grey raptor skin shared with only two other kinds of raptors in the game. The first are deviate raptors within the Wailing Caverns, and the second are Gundrak raptors in Zul'drak.



Once, Takk had a very fast movement speed when tamed, and was thus a choice pet for many hunter stables. He could chase down enemies rapidly, a very handy trait in PvP. After the pet normalization, however, Takk has the same movement speed as any pet. However, because of this, should you want to have this color of raptor but don't want to take the time to hunt Takk down, you can grab a deviate stalker from the Wailing Caverns at anytime. These are not elite, while Takk is one, so should be easier to tame as well. Still, finding and taming a rarespawn is a reward in itself for me, as I love the thrill of the hunt. As usual, for more information on raptors as pets, consult Petopia, a brilliant resource site.



For non-hunters, slaying Takk is an easy business. While Takk is an elite, the only special ability of the raptor is a charge. It may cause some trouble for a melee character, but a ranged class should be fine. There is no special reward for slaying Takk (anymore, see below!) apart from the standard green-quality item.

Lore section

Takk is an interesting case. Due to the coloration shared with the corrupted raptors in the Wailing Caverns, one can speculate that it is another beast touched by the strange, nightmarish powers emanating from Naralex's sleep. However, Takk dwells quite far from the Caverns, and there are documented cases of raptors of this color elsewhere. Mayhap Takk is simply a rare color variation, naturally occuring. Interestingly it has been reported that Takk drops both intact raptor horns and a raptor head for two separate Barrens quests, meaning Takk seems to be a fairly normal raptor apart from its color.



The really interesting thing about Takk, of course, is that Blizzard chose to immortalize this rarespawn in the form of a non-combat pet - the Leaping Hatchling. Resembling a miniature Takk with a special "leaping" idle animation, this pet was implemented in Wrath of the Lich King. At first, the pet dropped from Takk itself, meaning that the rarespawn was suddenly under constant siege by people wanting the pet and farmers wanting to sell it. After a short while, however, this was changed so that the pet is instead obstained from a clickable item called "Takk's nest". The nest can be found in the same area as Takk, but is on a wholly independent spawn timer. Thus Takk can now live in relative peace again.



Does the presence of a nest and a hatchling mean Takk is a female? I have no idea! I have read nothing to indicate which gender cares for the nest among WoW raptors, and because of this lack of information I have gone with neutral pronouns this time.

Takk is one of those famous rarespawns, in their own way. Many hunters, especially Horde ones, can tell stories of hunting for this beast back in the day. And Takk is definently a good-looking creature to call your pet. Add to that the fact that Takk has a non-combat pet made in its honor, and you have another winner.

Until next time!

~Dragonshade

Thunder lizards of the Barrens: Thunderstomp

Thunder lizards have been an important feature of Kalimdor ever since Warcraft III. As soon as your Horde refugees reached the new continent you (with a little help from Thrall) had to fight herds of these dangerous lightning-spitting beasties. These creatures seem to be a natural part of the fauna of Kalimdor, with no real connection to any corrupting influence. They're just there, just like the kodo.

Today's rarespawn is Thunderstomp.



What is Thunderstomp, and where do I find it?

Thunderstomp is a rare mob thunder lizard found in the Barrens of Kalimdor.



Thunderstomp can be found in the area close to the path leading to Dustwallow Marsh. Thunderstomp wanders a large area here and can be found almost anywhere east of the north-south road and south of the road into Dustwallow. Thunderstomp is a distinctive dark green in color, quite different from the reddish normal thunder lizards, and this combined with the size of the lizards make it an easy mob to spot.



Hunting the great lizards

Thunderstomp is a hostile mob and will attack anyone that gets close. It attacks by spitting a lightning bolt which jumps between enemies and with an (appropriate) Thunderclap which does AoE damage. However, neither of these abilities are very dangerous, and Thunderstomp is an easy mob to defeat for any class.



Unfortunately, thunder lizards are still not tameable by hunters. Thus, there is not much choice between slaying Thunderstomp, or letting it be. If defeated, Thunderstomp yields a generic magic item.

What is Thunderstomp's story?

As I said in the introduction, thunder lizards seem to be a quite natural form of animal life on Kalimdor. They could be descended from the stegadons of Un'Goro crater, with whom they share the distinctive back plates. In the real world, it is believed that stegosaur dinosaurs used these odd plates to control their body heat. This would be an interesting explanation for the plates of stegadons and thunder lizards as well, considering they live in very hot climates where a reptile can be in danger of overheating.



Thunder lizards would seem to be mostly herbivores, although it is possible they can kill and eat smaller animals with their lightning discharges. However, I think it is more reasonable to suspect that the electricity, large body size and defensive spikes are more likely the signs of a slow-moving herbivore. Thus, while Thunderstomp is hostile, it probably isn't out to eat you.



Thunderstomp is probably the largest, dominant thunder lizard in the area where it lives. The distinctive coloration could be the result of age.

I like rares like Thunderstomp. It looks very nice (even if the thunder lizard model looks rather bad up close, it looks good at a distance) and has an appropriate name and attack. "Visually distinctive" actually goes a long way just to make a rarespawn cooler in my book. Next time you visit the Barrens, look for this guy. He probably won't be there after Cataclysm.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

We're back! Mist Howler

July has been steaming hot this year, with nary a cloud or drop of rain. I swear the lawn outside my window looks like it could spontaneously combust at any moment. However, I have returned home from my vacation, and I have a new rarespawn to share with you! Cataclysm looms ever closer, and I'm trying to get a few more done before it hits.

This time, the rarespawn is Mist Howler.

Who is Mist Howler and where can I find it?

Mist Howler is a rare mob wolf found in Ashenvale forest, on Kalimdor.



Mist Howler can be found prowling the western area of Ashenvale forest. Going west from Maestra's Post, the wolf can be found in the open area along the hills separating the Zoram Strand from the rest of Ashenvale. An easy way to check for it is to start at the pass leading into the Strand and then go north and south from there.



Mist Howler is easy to tell from the other wolves in the area because it has the grey wolf skin rather than the white one of the Ghostpaw wolves.

Combat and history

Mist Howler is an interesting rarespawn because of its abilities. While only level 22, it possesses an area fear (called Terrifying Howl) as well as the more common abilities of Rend and Tendon Rip. This means that trying to fight or tame this wolf may end up problematic, at least for a character around that level. If defeated, it has no special drops.



Mist Howler is of course tameable for a hunter, and if the fear effect can be avoided should be rather easy to tame. Unfortunately it does not have a unique or even very unusual skin, sharing one with several other low-level common wolves. Once, before the pet normalization, Mist Howler had a very fast attack speed (1.3 versus 2.0 standard) and a faster run speed than average, making it highly desireable for caster disruption in PvP. Alas, these days Mist Howler is just a standard wolf.



There is not terribly much else to say about Mist Howler. It has a very nicely themed name considering its Terrifying Howl, and could possibly be a pack leader or a lone older wolf of the region.



"Mist Howler" strikes me as a suitably elven name, and I wish I knew a kaldorei translation for it. It's almost poetic.

That's all for this time, I'll be back with more exciting rarespawns this week!

Until next time;

~Dragonshade

Ravage, eject. Operation: Information gathering.

It may seem like I'm currently doing a "beast" theme for the blog, constantly bringing up new rare beasts. This isn't actually intentional, honestly. Mostly I just pick out a rare I feel fits for the day, according to my own draconian ways of deciding such things. Regardless, I do like covering beast rarespawns a lot, for not only are they often quite cool-looking, they are also of special interest for anyone playing a hunter and looking for ideas for a new pet.

And fitting in well with that idea, today's rarespawn is Ravage.



Operation: Seek out

Ravage is a rare mob hyena found in the Blasted Lands in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Ravage can be found roughly in the center of the Blasted Lands zone, spawning on either side of the road leading to the Dark Portal. Ravage does not wander very far, it just meanders around a small path where it spawns. This rarespawn is extremely easy to locate visually, because it has a deep purple color which stands out among all the pale snickerfang hyenas common to the zone.



Operation: Combat

Ravage is a hostile mob, but not very tough to defeat in combat. Something of interest is that Ravage has not only Infected Bite and Poison, both of which cause nature damage over time. Now, mammals do not usually have poison, but in this case there is a very good explanation. In the real world, hyenas are very resistant to bacterial infection, and can even carry rabies without developing any symptoms. Therefore, I posit that Ravage's "poison" bite is just a nasty case of septic, bacteria-filled saliva.



Unfortunately, Ravage does not have any unique drops, so a better use for it is to tame it. Hyenas are ferocity (Aka DPS) pets, and tameable by any hunter. They eat only meat, which is a nice detail consistent with real-world hyenas. Their unique ability is Tendon Rip, a semi-useful ability which lowers the enemy's movement speed. As usual, Petopia has all the information you need about taming hyenas.



While not a unique specimen, Ravage shares its appearance with only a few other mobs, and all of them are found quite a far way away. The only common purple hyenas are found in the Thousand Needles, and apart from that the only other one is a Barrens rarespawn, which we have not yet covered as of this writing. I really like the rich purple color on Ravage, and think it makes a very nice-looking pet for that reason alone.

Operation: Fact retrieval

Right, some of you are probably wondering what's up with the titles. Well, it's generally believed (but impossible to verify of course) that the hyena Ravage was named and designed after the Transformer Ravage, a decepticon. Ravage's thing was that he transformed into a cassette carried around by Soundwave until needed. When the action started, Soundwave would toss out Ravage or one of his buddies with commands like "Ravage, eject. Operation: Destruction". It was a pretty memorable part of the cartoon, and fondly remembered by geeks like me.



(And no, I will not explain what a 'cassette' was to those too young to remember it)

Apart from the reference, not much can be said for Ravage. It is likely just another powerful scavenger in a zone filled with them, and we cannot even be certain of its gender. Interestingly, hyenas are not really related to dogs (being more closely related to civets), yet in WoW you can occasionally see a mob with the hyena model tagged as a "hound" or even "mastiff". I like to think that this is just a "stand-in" to save time and money, and not that these creatures are actually hyenas.



I really like how the various idle animations look on the hyena model. Something about them scratching their ear is just neat.

A cool name, a fun nostalgic reference, and a great look ensure that Ravage is a rare I like a lot.

Until next time, don't be fooled by any robots in disguise.

~Dragonshade

Hunting wolf: Gorefang

For some reason, Silverpine Forest is one of those regions in World of Warcraft that reminds me a lot of my native Sweden. Something about those dark, brooding pine forests and the cliffs that just appeals to me on a deep level. Of course, Sweden does not have quite as many worgen and other monsters, and fewer undead. Actually fewer wolves too, and most of them are in parks.

Today's rarespawn is Gorefang.



Basic facts

Gorefang is a rare mob worg found in Silverpine Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms.



There's a few reported spawn points for Gorefang on wowhead, but I don't think the creature truly has that wide of a distribution. I almost always find Gorefang near the Dead Field in the northern part of the zone, in the same general area as the many black worgs. Gorefang stands out because he uses the greyish worg color, and is the only worg in the zone to do so. It does not patrol very far, just pacing back and forth a small area where it spawns.



What's the story?

Gorefang is an average rarespawn when it comes to abilities and drops. It has a weak rend, and that's it. No special drops either. Thus Gorefang is an easy mob to kill, should you so wish.



One thing about Gorefang worth noting is that it is a pretty easy way to get a non-black worg for a Horde hunter. Most white and grey worgs are much higher in level (going into the 40s), or found exclusively in Alliance territory. For this reason alone, I think Gorefang is worth remembering should you ever want a nice-looking worg pet.



The idea of "worgs" or "wargs" being larger, more ferocious, more intelligent wolves is derived primarily from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, who had wargs as semi-intelligent allies to his evil forces. It is interesting to note that World of Warcraft to some degree continues the association between orcs and wargs (now worgs), and also still has orcs riding these ferocious beasts rather than horses.



While we can't say much about Gorefang (even what gender it is), the close proximity to Arugal's Shadowfang Keep may be more than a coincidence. Many pale worgen patrol the area, and the black worgs in the forest have become more dangerous and bloodthirsty at the behest of the mad archmage. Actually, were it up to me I would decide that Gorefang is a pet of Arugal's worgen servant, Wolf Master Nandos, sent out to terrorize the Forsaken settlements.

Most notable for being an easily accessible "special" looking worg for Horde players, Gorefang is still a nice-looking rarespawn which meshes well with the zone it is found in.

Until next time... don't go howling at the moon.

~Dragonshade

Corruption-resistant? : Mongress

Some time ago I covered a very generic rarespawn bear named Old Vicejaw. This post covers a second rare mob bear which is basically identical to Vicejaw, and about as bland. This is the downside to being devoted to cover every rarespawn, I have to cover even the ones that there is very little to say about.

Without further ado, here's Mongress.



Short and sweet

Mongress is a rare mob bear found in Felwood on Kalimdor.



Mongress wanders around the forest of Felwood pretty close to the Emerald Sanctuary. She can be found west or north of the small druid base, wandering a small patrol path. Mongress is easy to spot even at a distance, because she has the normal bear skin, not the corrupted one prevalent in Felwood.



Be aware that Mongress is one of those mobs that sometimes spawns inside a tree. This is a somewhat common occurance in areas with lots of tree objects. I remember visting Darkshore for the first time and being attacked by bears inside trees which I couldn't target. So, just like with Lord Maldazzar, you may be able to target but not attack Mongress.

Scant facts

Mongress has a standard bear model, as mentioned, and one of the most common colorations. The standard brown bear can be found in classic, Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King content. Her only special ability is a damage-increasing enrage, and she is quite easy to defeat.



Mongress has no unique drops, and will look like any other brown bear if tamed. From the name I have guessed that Mongress is a female bear, but sadly she has no cubs to care for.



The only really interesting trivia about this rare is that it is one of few creatures in Felwood that's entirely corrupted by the lingering fel presence of demons. Presumably that is why Mongress has been given a name (perhaps by the nearby druids), noting her resistance to the decay afflicting the forest.



One of the most generic and bland rares in the game, Mongress is little more than a name and a source for a green item. Next time I'll cover something more interesting, I promise.

~Dragonshade

The fastest cat: Broken Tooth

As I have mentioned in the past, prior to patch 2.0.1, pets would come with wildly different stats and abilities when tamed, even within the same "family" of pets. One turtle was not like every other turtle. After the normalization, some rare spawns which previously had high desireable abilities became "normal" pets, and thus lost their special value. This post is about one such rarespawn.

This post, thusly, concerns Broken Tooth.



Who is Broken Tooth and where can I find it?

Broken Tooth is a rare mob cat found in the Badlands in Eastern Kingdoms.



Broken Tooth has a fairly quick respawn rate (some hours) and can be found in three general locations: Either near the narrow entry to the Badlands near Uldaman (in this spot the cat has a high risk of being killed), on the eastern side of the large mountain formation directly north of Dustwind Gulch (northwest of the Uldaman side entrance) and near Angor Fortress.



I very often find Broken Tooth near Angor, walking around the small ridge southwest of the fortress entrance. In appearance, Broken Tooth is a cougar or mountain lion, and is very easy to spot because all the other cats in the locations where it can spawn are in constant stealth. If you see a large mountain lion which isn't stealthed, it will be Broken Tooth.

Combat and former fame

Lore-wise, there isn't much to say about Broken Tooth. It is a rather large cat, and probably a dominant older specimen. I cannot be sure of its gender. While many female cats prowl the area, it struck me that Broken Tooth may be a solitary male as well. Neither does Broken Tooth have any combat abilities or drops to distinguish it. The cougar skin is one of the more common cat skins used in World of Warcraft, found in several zones between level 3 and 37 (with an oddball level 70 appearance in Zul'Aman).



Broken Tooth has a kind of small claim to fame despite this, though. Prior to the normalization of pets, Broken Tooth had the fastest attack speed possible in a pet. Whereas pets today have attack speed 2.0, Broken Tooth had speed 1.0, attacking very rapidly. This was enough reason to seek it out and tame it, because those very rapid hits would cause great trouble for enemy players in PvP.



Sadly, the glory days of Broken Tooth are long past. If tamed today, it has no special abilities. Today it is mostly just a cat with a better drop table than the rest. However, finding out facts like this are one of the reasons rarespawns intrigue me. Expect more obscure pet information in the future!

Until next time
~Dragonshade

The crystal-eaters: Scale Belly

Basilisks are quite common fictional creatures due to their real-world myths being rather wide-spread. Even kids today may know what a basilisk is if they're fans of Harry Potter (although that version was more serpentine in shape). The idea of a creature with a gaze so powerful and malevolent that it would instantly slay someone or even turn them to stone is an ancient concept, closely associated with the belief that the "evil eye" could have great power in the world. In World of Warcraft, while most basilisks cannot turn a player to stone, they can certainly petrify hapless NPC's. And the basilisks of the Stranglethorne jungle are no exception.

This post is about Scale Belly.



Who is Scale Belly and where can I find it?

Scale Belly is a rare mob basilisk found inside the Crystalvein Mine in Stranglethorn Vale, in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Scale Belly is another stationary rare, and does not have any patrol path. Being sedentary it is rather easy to find if alive, and can be easily spotted from a distance. Whereas the common basilisks in and around the mine are green, Scale Belly is a bright orange specimen.



As mentioned in the introduction, basilisk areas in World of Warcraft often have objects resembling crystallized people and creatures in them, and as you can see by the screenshot from outside the cave where Scale Belly is, there are a few crystallized trolls and other hapless victims there. A very cool little feature, I think!

What is Scale Belly's story?

We don't know a lot about Scale Belly, not even the gender of it. It is one of the basilisks found all over the tropical area of Stranglethorn, presumably a large and powerful specimen. It could be an old male or female, and while basilisks do not appear to live in packs, an older specimen often carves out a large territory by rebuking younger and weaker creatures.



Basilisks are beasts, but cannot be tamed by hunters. Your only choice when encountering Scale Belly is to fight or avoid it. It is not a challenging fight by any stretch, as the only ability the creature has is a cone-shaped stun ability called "Crystal Flash". A few quests mention that the basilisks of Stranglethorn are fond of eating the magically charged crystals found in the zone, and derive powers from those (getting tougher scales and such). This would fit in nicely with the crystallization powers displayed.



Scale Belly has not one but two unique drops. The first are a pair of mail leggings with resistances built in. They are at least rather pretty. The other drop is a sword which has an (as far as I know) fully unique particle effect! Originally a plain weapon, the chromatic sword now lives up to its name with an aura composed of several swirling colors. While relatively useless, it is a very cool and unique-looking weapon, well worth hunting for if you like having the shiniest (literally) gear around!



The first time I "found" Scale Belly it looked like this. This has happened more times than you'd think, sometimes I've even run into the mob as it was being killed. Since there are a few quests in the mine area and several mineral nodes inside it, Scale Belly will often be slain casually by passing adventurers. Such is the fate of most rarespawns found in well-traveled areas of the game.

In closing, a plain rarespawn with a nice little lore area and a really great unique drop!

Until next time

~Dragonshade