Poster: Khanman at 6/4/2005 9:52:12 PM PDT
Subject: Eyonix: It was your words that kept me going |
| |
I posted a couple months ago about being unable to get a whelpling. I had spent 15 hours and killed 3,000 Scalding whelps, but no whelpling dropped. This was when my rogue was level 44 and had no other alts.
I posted about my dillema on these forums and got many replies from people saying "Oh, I was just passing through and one happened to drop." There were many people that got this item in under 10 kills. Apparently, I was doing all the grinding that was making up for others getting the whelpling rather quickly (Drop rate is based on total kills rather than how many I have killed). The thread turned into a many page discussion about the math involved in grinding for a whelpling. Even though I had killed 3,000 whelps, my chances of getting one were no better than someone who was just passing through (1 in 1000). Many people advised me that I should never go to Vegas or gamble because I had the "Gambler's fallacy," which is that I believed since I had killed so many whelps, I was bound to get one soon.
You said that it's blizzard's intention to keep these pets rare, and that "it will just feel even better when it finally drops." I still don't understand how an insanely low drop rate is better than an extremely hard quest? Why can't there just be a quest that requires to to kill 1000 whelps... how about 5,000 whelps? That makes the whelplings a rare pet, and only those who really want one will get it.
I was especially shocked and insulted by one reply that said "Wait, you can sell these for over 40g? I would have never bound it to me if I had known that. What the hell does it do? It just seems to follow me around and watch me fight." Now come on, someone who was just passing through was able to get a whelpling when I had spent 15 hours of nothing but grinding trying to get. He didn't even want it.
Now, fast forward a few months. I now have four characters over level 34. My main is this 60 rogue, and my secondary is my level 42 alliance warrior. I must be a lunatic because I decide to grind on whelps AGAIN in hopes of getting the dark whelpling pet. My kill rate is much slower with the warrior. After 5 hours of grinding, I've killed 500 whelps (Half the kill rate of my rogue which was 200 per hour). Still, no whelpling drops. I have gained a full level without any rest bonus.
I decide to try again the next night. However, this time I'm competing with horde that are in the area. I get ganked repeatedly by a level 48 shaman. After the third time, I call in a guildie to help me out. We manage to kill the shaman, then corpse camp him and kill him again, he leaves me alone for the rest of the night. However, my kill rate is cut down tremendously and out of frustration, I log on to one of my other characters. If you've never never died in Lethlor Ravine... trust me, it sucks. The graveyard is on the opposite side of the map. The corpse run is at least 3-4 minutes, and that gets to be a really really annoying run.
On the third night, I'm back to grinding. That 48 shaman is back, and he's mad. He kills me once, then starts camping my corpse. Luckily, I ask for help on the general channel and a lvl 60 paladin is in the area. As soon as he shows up, the shaman takes off. The shaman ends up returning and killing me twice more. I decide to stick it out and keep killing those damn whelps. 2 hours later, I turn to superstition. I start doing /pray on every single whelpling corpse before I loot it... It doesn't help. I stop that after 15 minutes and return to my whelp killing rampage. It's been nearly 15 hours of grinding (This is after spending 15 hours on my rogue a few months earlier) and I'm about to come back on these forums and make a very angry post to Eyonix about lying to me and crushing me dreams of EVER obtaining a dark whelpling on my own. I loot another whelpling and there it is. I stare at it in my inventory for a few minutes doing nothing... just looking. I right click to use it and my whelpling appears beside me... FINALLY!!!!!!! AHAHAHA I HAVE ONE!!!! I allert the only guildie that happens to be up at 4AM.
I log in again the next day to show off my new whelpling to my fellow guildmates. The first post I get when I log on is "Hey, I found this [Emerald Whelpling] earlier today." I'm not upset... but come on, she got it in about 30 kills.
Now, I make sure that whelpling is everywhere I go. Every time I enter or exit and instance, every time I land from a flight or resurect I summon that whelpling so he's right there with me. I've been asked a few times where I got it or how long it took me, and when I tell them, the response is usually O_O
Eyonix, it was your words that kept me going, and I'm extremely happy with my whelpling.... but did it have to take 3,800 kills and close to 30 hours of grinding in order to get one? I'd still be extremely happy with a whelpling quest which just required you to kill many whelps... or collect a ton of whelp hides/skins... SOMETHING more reassuring than such a low drop rate. At least with a quest like that, I'd know I was getting close. With the way it currently is, I could have spent another 30 hours grinding and guess what my chances of getting a whelpling are? 0.01% The same chances I had 30 hours ago. I doubt Blizzard will change it, but I think a quest that requires so much grinding would keep the whelpling a rare pet. I've got 3 more characters: a mage, paladin, and priest and I'd like to get whelplings for them as well. As it is right now though, I'm not going to attempt it with those characters (Can't imagine the kill rate for a priest or paladin). If there was some reassurance that I could get a whelpling in a certain number of kills, I would try.
For those of you wondering
-The whelpling was the MAIN reason I was grinding in Badlands, and I'd probably skip it if I didn't want the whelp, but it's not a bad grinding area either. Mithril veins spawn in the area and I found a pair of epic gloves on the second day that sold for 50g.
-I base my kill rate/count off of the experience I get from the whelps. 224exp at lvl 42, then 200 exp at 43, and then 177exp at 44.
-NO, I don't want the Sprire Darter.
-Yes, I can buy it at the Auction House, but Stonemaul is a low population server and I have NEVER seen a Dark Whelpling at the AH there.
-Yes, I could buy whelplings for my other characters... but have you ever heard of epic mounts? Yeah, they're pretty expensive and I don't have 120-160g to drop on pets
I pay for this game because I think it's worth it.
| | | http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=3418568&p=#post3418568 | | | Poster: Caydiem at 6/4/2005 11:20:52 PM PDT
Subject: Re: Eyonix: It was your words that kept me go |
| |
If it was a quest, no matter how difficult, many more people would have it and it wouldn't be as special.
Congratulations on your whelpling pet. :) I adore my Emerald Whelpling, and let me tell you, I was in the Swamp of Sorrows for weeks, killing thousands of Dreaming Whelps before one dropped for me.
Eyonix was in the room at the time, so he can vouch for me going a wee bit insane upon seeing the Tiny Emerald Whelpling in the loot window after all that time. ;)
- Caydiem -
Assistant Community Manager
| | | http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=3418568&p=#post3419199 | Poster: Caydiem at 6/4/2005 11:44:19 PM PDT
Subject: Re: Eyonix: It was your words that kept me go |
| |
Q u o t e:
So it was you who i killed in Swamp of Sorrow while u where farming those poor little Whelping
I'm a level 60 Tauren Druid and I'm not on your realm, so... no? :P
- Caydiem -
Assistant Community Manager
| | | http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=3418568&p=#post3419381 | Poster: Eyonix at 6/6/2005 1:41:14 PM PDT
Subject: Re: Eyonix: It was your words that kept me go |
| |
Congratulations on the whelpling, I was certainly excited the day mine finally dropped. In fact, lately I've been thinking of getting one for my other characters, but am not sure that I'm quite ready to start the potentially long ordeal.
Q u o t e:
It's a freaking non combat pet. Why did you post a gigantic post about something so insignificant? You're probably one of the people who bought one of the two whelps that dropped for me for 50 gold a piece. I love you suckers.
And for the whole "but making it a quest wouldn't make it as special", you're probably the same type of people who think having a mount is a status symbol instead of a required time saver at level 40. Like 90 gold is really hard to get at this point in the game's life.
Who hurt you?
Online Community Representative
| | | http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=3418568&p=#post3438819 |
View all recent official Blue Posts
|
