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. Glomp's Avatar
    Now you can technically buy gold.However (on my realm) 10,000g goes for about $13, so dont expect these to sell for more than 8k.
  1. paloalto's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Andelormon View Post
    The only way it harms the game is that you don't have to rely on professions to make gold. I assume that is what the QQ is about
    Everything is connected. I support your failure to understand that, though. Have a good day, Billy!
  1. Kujja's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Jagstang View Post
    Oh, so you can purchase the TCG rare items directly from Blizzard? I didn't know that.
    The only difference with Blizzard doing it instead of 3rd parties is that you can't get scammed/account stolen for "buying gold". I really don't see what the problem is here.
  1. Puremallace's Avatar
    Never thought I would see the day. Damn you Activision for destroying such a good company
    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.
  1. Wekapedia's Avatar
    As someone who bought plenty of pets and mounts with gold before, and also got scammed twice by chinese hackers, I applaud blizz's decision on this pet.
  1. mrsake's Avatar
    It's different than the TCG items because the TCG items were a little less *blatant* about it. They were randomly occuring things meant to drive the sell of card packs. The fact that they could be sold for gold was a side effect. This is just full blown 'insert credit card number, get gold'.
  1. Polarthief's Avatar
    Blizzard has finally sold gold. Wow.
  1. Jedek'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.
    The reason people are screaming bloody murder about this is it will effect the ingame economy and does give players an unfair advantage. My prime example is EVE online. They introduced sellable game time. You could buy game time for cash and sell it ingame as an item. It gave the community an instant way to make money. This did effect the economy and while it didn't kill the game, the fact you can go drop money for ingame cash so you can buy that sweet new item is a drag on the game. This is legal gold selling, Blizzard just copied CCP and made sure they got their cut for allowing it.

    The interesting component will be watching how traditional gold sellers adjust their prices. I think you may see people buying more illegal gold because the price is forced down.
  1. Antherios's Avatar
    Also, to people saying "this started 5 years ago woth TCG stuff noobs, you are late", getting gold that way is not that profitable. You have to buy decks, and pray to get something worth selling, sometimes not getting shit from the deck. Or go to TCGloot and buy something at 600$ and try to sell it in trade (gl with that). Now, here we have a transaction that costs only 10$, and lets say it can give you 4k per pet if your server's AH is flooded. That looks like gold buying straight from Blizzard to me.
  1. Azoth's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Politta View Post
    Another way to sell gold?
    Yup! And the best part Blizzard KEEPS ALL THE MONEY!!!!
  1. mmoc8b7a14d456's Avatar
    Can't beat em? Join em. They realized that they will never get rid of gold sellers, so they might as well do it themselves to insure nothing "illegal" is going on.
  1. Ryme's Avatar
    More reasons to leave when the alternatives arrive!
  1. Papalenin's Avatar
    How fucking hypocritical of Blizzard. I get banned for purchasing 2 month time cards for gold, but it's perfectly acceptable to sell this item for gold?
  1. durenas's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Eliot123 View Post
    You don't know people on my server @_@
    hmm i should roll on your server to snap up the easy money.
  1. mmoc0d8e6c2903's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Jagstang View Post
    Oh, so you can purchase the TCG rare items directly from Blizzard? I didn't know that.
    You can buy the packs from Blizzard the only difference is the random factor which is how the prices of these loot cards are calculated.

    Fact is you can "legally" buy ingame items with real world money and sell it on the AH, now Blizzard does it directly..........what a huge difference.....
  1. Ave07's Avatar
    Another I won't be buying with irl money nor gold.
  1. SinR's Avatar
    I'd get it if, once you used it, it became BOA (Binds to Battle.Net account on use)... but, since its only a ONE SHOT pet... nope, not gonna get it. Sorry Blizzard, I really don't think this plan will work.
  1. Ap0calypse's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by dotSeed View Post
    Isn't $10 a little excessive for a single use pet? The others apply to all characters, include future ones, right?
    Indeed. Wont be buying this as I only bought the ones from the store to get the pet achievement. This is a ripoff though compared to the other pets, despite it being BoE.
  1. Grizzelbar's Avatar
    I wonder... would they add monocles to the Store one day? Anyway gz everyone on the first official gold/rm transaction way.
  1. Idoru's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Antherios View Post
    Also, to people saying "this started 5 years ago woth TCG stuff noobs, you are late", getting gold that way is not that profitable. You have to buy decks, and pray to get something worth selling, sometimes not getting shit from the deck. Or go to TCGloot and buy something at 600$ and try to sell it in trade (gl with that). Now, here we have a transaction that costs only 10$, and lets say it can give you 4k per pet if your server's AH is flooded. That looks like gold buying straight from Blizzard to me.
    Really?
    http://www.wowtcgloot.com/

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