Sneak Peek: Guardian Cub Tradable Pet
A new pet is coming to a Blizzard Store near you and ... you can trade it and sell it at the auction house!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Coming soon to a Pet Store near you: the new and titanically cute Guardian Cub companion. You’ve soared across Azeroth on the majestic Winged Guardian. Soon, you'll be able to purchase a pint-sized Guardian of the Titans sidekick to accompany you on your adventures.


Stunning good looks and adorable, supersized eyes aren’t all this new pet has going for it. The Guardian Cub is also the Pet Store's first tradable pet, meaning it can be swapped between characters in-game or given as a gift to guildmates, friends, family, or that special someone -- no adoption papers necessary. Due to his finicky nature, each Guardian Cub will only give its allegiance to one owner, meaning it’s a one-time-use pet that permanently binds to a single character. Be sure to choose a master wisely.

Look for the Guardian Cub to arrive in the Blizzard Store in the weeks ahead -- in the meantime, we've prepped a mini-FAQ to explain how this flying friend will differ from other Pet Store companions.

Q: How does the Guardian Cub pet work? How is it different from other Pet Store pets?

Unlike the other Pet Store companions, the Guardian Cub is a tradable, one-time-use pet that permanently binds to a single character upon use. When you purchase the Guardian Cub from the online store, the character you designate will receive a bind-on-use item to carry in his or her inventory. You can either use the item yourself to permanently add the pet to your character's collection (consuming the item in the process), or -- after a brief initial cooldown period -- you can trade the item to another player so he or she can add it to one of their character's collections. Note that once the pet has been added to a character's Companions list, it can no longer be traded, so make sure you're giving the cub a happy home.


Q: Will I be able to carry more than one Guardian Cub at a time?

While a character can only have one Guardian Cub in his or her Companions list, you can have as many in your inventory as you like. Please note that Guardian Cub items do not stack, so each one will take up a bag or bank slot.


Q: How much will the Guardian Cub cost in the Pet Store?

The Guardian Cub will be priced the same as the other Pet Store pets ($10 USD). All sales of the Guardian Cub are final -- no refunds will be given once a purchase is made.


Q: Why did you decide to make the Guardian Cub tradable?

Since the introduction of the Pet Store, many players have been asking for ways to get the companions we offer there without having to spend real-world cash. By making the Guardian Cub tradable (much like the BoE mounts from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game), players interested in the new pet will have fun, alternative in-game ways to get one. In addition to trading the pet, players can give the Guardian Cub as a gift to another character for a special occasion; guild leaders can use them to reward members for a job well done; and so on. We also hope this change will help reduce the number of incidents of scamming via trading for invalid pet codes.


Q: Could I put the Guardian Cub up on the auction house to try to make some gold if I wanted to?

While our goal is to offer players alternative ways to add a Pet Store pet to their collection, we’re ok with it if some players choose to use the Guardian Cub as a safe and secure way to try to acquire a little extra in-game gold without turning to third-party gold-selling services. However, please keep in mind that there's never any guarantee that someone will purchase what you put up for sale in the auction house, or how much they'll pay for it. Also, it’s important to note that we take a firm stance against buying gold from outside sources because in most cases, the gold these companies offer has been stolen from compromised accounts. (You can read more about our stance here.) While some players might be able to acquire some extra gold by putting the Guardian Cub in the auction house, that’s preferable to players contributing to the gold-selling “black market” and account theft.


Q: Are you changing the other available Pet Store pets (e.g. Lil' Ragnaros, the Pandaren Monk) to work this way?

No, the other available Pet Store pets will continue to work as they always have.


Q: What about future Pet Store pets?

It's too early to say how we'll handle future Pet Store pets. We made this change in response to feedback from players looking for alternate ways to get the Pet Store pets, and we're always looking into other opportunities for improvement. We're interested in hearing what players think of the Guardian Cub when it launches, and we hope you'll have fun with this new flying friend.
This article was originally published in forum thread: Sneak Peek: Guardian Cub Tradable Pet started by Boubouille View original post
Comments 729 Comments
  1. paloalto's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Andelormon View Post
    You could buy them already? Whats you're point?
    Buying pets, selling pets, buying weapon. Everybody sing with me,

    "Obsidium cleaaaaaver, Obsidium cleaaaaaaaver, just $20 at your localllll Blizzard store."
  1. Zace's Avatar
    Oh Blizzard how you have fallen.
  1. Eliot123's Avatar
    I wonder how fast the price in AH will drop under 1k.
  1. mmoc09e27fccc8's Avatar
    How about they finish the DK T13 set before working on pets n stuff :
  1. Jagstang's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by blackone View Post
    You guys are being as stupid as always. This is not more of less "OMGOMG OFFICIAL BLIZZARD GOLDSELLING" than the TCG items, which have always been tradable. So your QQ is about 5 years late.
    Aren't the TCG items rare, and a bonus for purchasing the card game? The TCG items were never guaranteed.

    This is a direct purchase of an item, probably the first of many that allows the player a guaranteed item meant to be traded for gold. Spend real money purchasing an item directly from Blizzard and then trade that item in-game for gold.
  1. Amberdusk's Avatar
    Just my opinion--if Blizzard is going to sell this pet and allow it to be tradeable and listable in the AH, lower the price of it.

    Since it is single use for one character, instead of making it $10, make it ridiculously cheap--like $1 (or less) for each pet. Then they would sell like hotcakes out of the Blizzard store, and maybe the gold sellers wouldn't bother with them, because the return on investment would be too low. (LOL, who would really buy a $1 pet on the AH for something like 50,000g from a gold selling company? ).
  1. isendims's Avatar
    So... u cant have the pet on all your toons? sick.....
  1. Expectations's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Bassch View Post
    The other MMOs that usually do that are F2P. WoW isn't.
    That is true most are, but they also have the Premium option to have extra perks too. WoW has kept the Monthy Sub, and opted to give us a lot of the extras for no charge. But each time there is a vanity item avaliable people flip out about how they think that a big business like Blizzard is fleecing the community by charging for services. Go figure a company always wants to make more money.
  1. Farora's Avatar
    So we're in the final stages of squeezing money out of Wow.
  1. Williamgood's Avatar
    Basically a step to see if diablo auction house is the way to go.
  1. mmoc6af618f320's Avatar
    So there we have legal gold selling.
  1. mmoc0d8e6c2903's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Jagstang View Post
    Aren't the TCG items rare, and a bonus for purchasing the card game? The TCG items were never guaranteed.

    This is a direct purchase of an item, probably the first of many that allows the player a guaranteed item meant to be traded for gold. Spend real money purchasing an item directly from Blizzard and then trade that item in-game for gold.
    You can buy the TCG stuff on ebay and sell it on the auction house...........yea.............HUGE difference..........NOT
  1. mmoc415241d46e's Avatar
    i dont get why people are always complaining about stuff like this.
    It won't make you stronger in the game.
    If you want it buy it.
    If you want it to earn money buy it.
    If you dont want it dont buy it.
    Problems solved.
    Blizzard is a company and guess what, company's wanna make money.
    And this is a way to make money without directly harming the game. So whats the problem
  1. durenas's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Eliot123 View Post
    I wonder how fast the price in AH will drop under 1k.
    The value of real money is a built-in deflation insulator(if that makes sense). It will stabilize to the point where nobody will plunk down 10 dollars just to sell for a measly 1k. I would expect it to vary between 10k-20k-ish. Nobody's obliged to sell for less than they think it's worth. If the price is too low, people will just hang onto it until the price rises again.
  1. Melodi's Avatar
    Not a fan of this at all. I am find shelling out the money for a new pet/mount if I like it because of the fact that I got it on ALL characters. Now, it's $10 for one pet on one character versus $10 for all of my characters on my account. I really hope they do not do this for future items or I will no longer be buying them. Which is sad, because I collect pets/mounts and this one is especially cute!
  1. Farora's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Syrae View Post
    i dont get why people are always complaining about stuff like this.
    It won't make you stronger in the game.
    If you want it buy it.
    If you want it to earn money buy it.
    If you dont want it dont buy it.
    Problems solved.
    Blizzard is a company and guess what, company's wanna make money.
    And this is a way to make money without directly harming the game. So whats the problem
    They're taking small steps towards selling items that do give you an advantage.
  1. GhostInTheFog's Avatar
    not like it's a big deal anyway. everyone is going to have the bright idea of trying to sell these things for gold and the AH will flood with them. They'll go for like 200g a piece.
  1. Skippert's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Andelormon View Post
    Many other games have the means to buy ingame currency for real money, but when WoW moves that direction people flip a bitch. Why? These other games STILL have issues with gold sellers just like WoW does. This won't make them go away, but will make things easier for those with a disposable income. I don't really see the issue...unless your upset that you are a hard core professions farmer... /gasp
    The difference often is, WoW has a subscription fee. Other games are often free to play, so the only way they make their money is with these "fashion" items etc. you can buy. It's more of another subject though. For instance, switching servers in WoW costs reallife money (10 euro's or so), while you already pay 13 euro's or so a month and while the whole service is 99.9% automated. That's disgraceful. There's where the anger of players starts. You can feel it's not justifiable for a game that already costs you money. These "fun" pets however, I don't give a sht. They can cost 5, 10, 20 euro's and still be tradable ingame, I don't care much. I don't see how it hurts me. I just don't buy the pet.
  1. paloalto's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Syrae View Post
    And this is a way to make money without directly harming the game. So whats the problem
    It does harm the game. In a game where players depend on the economy of their servers to not only be able to keep up with gold sinks, avoidable inflation like this will harm it. This is just the first step.
  1. mmoca79f018270's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by det View Post
    Hm..why do people scream bloody murder about this, when TCG cards would be on trade for up to 600 dollars. Apparently it is okay for you guys that People not affiliated with the game make money out of it but not Blizzard? oh yeah..and here is to the ones who always cry "Blizzzard never listens to the fans"...."Since the introduction of the Pet Store, many players have been asking for ways to get the companions we offer there without having to spend real-world cash. - Hmmm seems they listen, but you guys might not like it. Ah well...lets see how it works out in game. The shitstorm on forums vs reality.
    As usual det, you are a pillar of reason in this forum

Site Navigation