I know I rarely blog about World of Warcraft (WoW) anymore, but something happened on Wednesday that I believe deserves a mention.
Yesterday I happened to read Amber’s rant about her frustrations with trying to tame Loque’nahak, the first Spirit Beast introduced to WoW as a tameable hunter pet. Because I didn’t have anything more pressing to do at the moment, I commented that just for kicks, I’d log in and try to find Loque myself.
Kestrel’s not had any luck in the past trying to find (much less tame) a Spirit Beast. I did come upon Loque’nahak’s corpse once, but I’d rather not dwell on that sad occasion. Of course, I probably have contributed to my “bad luck” by not camping known spawn points for hours, days, or weeks on end. I think the longest single period of spirit beast hunting I’ve done was perhaps a two-hour stretch during which I cycled through all the spawn points of all the spirit beasts.
So, I logged in and grabbed the daily Dalaran fishing quest, since it happened to be the Ghostfish, which is in Sholazar Basin, Loque’s home. I did the fishing quest, then mounted up and started circling Sholazar. After two or three circuits, I decided I wasn’t going to win the lottery, and recalled to Dalaran to turn in the fishing quest.
Then I decided, what the hey…why not see if I can find another of the spirit beasts? I caught a flight to Zim’Torga, and started to search for Gondria. Unbelievably, I spotted her on my first circuit, at coordinates 69.9, 48.2.1
I dismounted…and then Silver Dragon decided to alert me to Gondria’s presence. How considerate. 
I dismissed my wolf, planted a Freezing Trap at my feet, and began channeling Tame Beast. As expected, Gondria pounced, and twenty seconds later… “You already control a summoned creature.” ACK! I’d dismissed my wolf, but hadn’t swapped him out of the active companion slot! Noob.
By this time, Gondria was beating on me (but doing hardly any damage, thank Elune!). I tapped my Feign Death button, and we disengaged. I quickly hit the Call Stabled Pet button, moved Frost to an empty stable slot, and recast Freezing Trap. I again called upon my Tame Beast skill, and after another twenty anxious seconds2, this:
Of course, now my appetite is merely whetted, not sated. Next stop: Lassirra’s Hunter Hall of Fame!3
- While the Wowhead map shows additional possible spawn points, I believe this particular area is the only verified spawn location; I may be wrong. ↩
- Never underestimate the contrary nature of too many WoW players, even of your own faction, who would take great joy in killing a spirit beast being tamed—even if said beast is not part of the Northern Exposure achievement. For the record, Loque’nahak is the only spirit beast that qualifies. ↩
- In my dreams… ↩
Grats on Gondria Kes. Very pretty kitty. Its a transparent copy of my own Ruka, who is also my avatar
Tzia recently posted…Koras Story – Taming Black and Gold
Congratz on your new friend. May you have many Happy Runs!
Ohhhh, purty. Congratulations
You make me “homesick” for WoW!
Edit: Oh, I just clicked through to your profile and saw you have some recent Brewfest achievements! Brewfest was my first proper world event, so I have a special soft spot for it :’) *wistful sigh*
On Twitter: @maziltov
@Tzia
I finally had to let my Talon go—the elite frostsaber from Winterspring. But I know I can find him again. Pretty sure though that since I don’t raid on Kestrel, he’ll be staying Beastmaster for quite awhile now.
@Oyesnake
But he’ll still continue to see plenty of action…especially as I level up Gondria to 80! (And then 85.) *grin*
Thanks! The only problem with many runs is, Kes is an alt…and sadly, not even my primary alt.
@Mazil
(It’s sure not because I’m raiding! Don’t believe I’ve seen the inside of a raid instance since late May or early June.)
Ahh…hadn’t realized you weren’t still playing (or, more likely, you mentioned it and I had forgotten). It’s this sort of thing that keeps me playing, I suppose.
On Twitter: @_steve_hall
Congrats on your new spirit beast! Good luck on the hunt for Loque if you decide to brave that one! I do so wish that Beastmastery would be viable for raids. Anywhooo… Congrats again!