Farming Zul'Drak Need an easy to get Powerful Critter

[Edmuir]

Greetings again to this excellent board.

I'm a relatively new player without access yet to Panderia content (I can get there, but can't fly there yet so too much of a PitA to bother for a few more levels). I have been having success leveling my pets via old content dailies, but primarily at Wyrmrest Temple. I have a near perfect team for that strategy. Zul'Drak seems like a great place to nab a few seconds as Rares (already have a set of Wavelings) and occasionally nab a stone or two. It's also on a direct flight path to a lot of Argent Tournament quests and the like, at least a bit more convenient it seems than Wyrmrest.

My Zul'Drak leveling team at present is either:

Carry Pet (needs to be close to 10th level due to poison and the team AoE of the Wavelings)
SS Grasslands Cottontail
PP Nexus Whelpling

or

Carry Pet (needs to be close to 10th level due to poison and the team AoE of the Wavelings)
Nexus Whelpling x2

For farming purposes, the first team is actually superior since I have a 2nd Nexus Whelpling that can sub in (between battles) once the first one has taken enough damage that he needs to swap out. This is actually faster than zipping back to the Stable Master. It may be hard to believe, but the first team seems about a turn or two faster IME.

Now, it occurs to me, and this is my question, that there is probably a better Critter for the job here. The Wavelings being elementals really have no hope of hurting a Lv 25 rare critter. Is there an easy to capture Wild Critter that would be better? Something as simple as a Squirrel maybe? Other thoughts?

TLDR: I need a powerful, easy to capture ( hopefully quick to level) critter to quickly clobber Water Wavelings (assume a speed of about 250-ish) and I'd like your thoughts.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[Paladance]

[pet]Marsh Fiddler[/pet] can block an attack.

If these elementals happen to use [ability]Water Jet[/ability] a lot consider bringing an [pet]Oily Slimeling[/pet] instead (no blocks, but deals aquatic damage).

(Not wild) If you don't mind abandoning resistances at all, maybe a fast variant of [pet]Slithershock Elver[/pet]? ([ability]Dodge[/ability] and [ability]Pump[/ability]). But it can be expensive depending on your market.

[Gráinne]

The standard "resistance" answer to en Elemental is a Snail.

http://www.warcraftpets.com/wow-pets/critter/snails/

You have Dive for a strong nuke, and a choice of Shell Shield for endurance or Acidic Goo for a 25% buff to your damage.

My favourite is H/P [pet]Shimmershell Snail[/pet] ... and I see you already have one!

For level 24-ish random-quality elementals, I'm honestly not sure whether Absorb or Ooze Touch would work better for you in the first slot. You could go for endurance with Shell Shield/Absorb or power with Acidic Goo/Ooze Touch.

Have you tried it? How does it work for you?

As Paladance says, the Slithershock is like a rabbit, dodging for 3 turns out of 5, but with Aquatic damage, it would cut through elementals very efficiently.

[Edmuir]

Thank you for such swift and speedy advice.

Yes Gráinne, ordinarily the HP Shimmershell is the way to go (I have a rather modest access to Aquatics at present) and I followed the advice of the site within my first few weeks to nab one while tooling around Lor'danel. The Shimmershell is fine here, but doesn't kill as quickly as I want for farming purposes. I think that the [pet]Slithershock Elver[/pet] in P/P that Paladance recommends (the S/S isn't available yet, might get it later) may be the hookup. [ability]Pump[/ability] followed by [pet]Pump[/pet] is 776 on the Waveling and with the bonus vs Elementals, that's probably a dead Waveling in 2 rounds. This matters since you're trying to cut down on the damage your team takes (particularly the carry pet) to avoid time wasted on healing. The Wavelings spawn like mad in that zone, actually quicker than 1 toon can kill them all.

Currently the [pet]Grasslands Cottontail[/pet] is going [ability]Burrow[/ability] then 1X or 2X [ability]Flurry[/ability] which is 3-4 or so rounds depending on RNG. The 2-turn Burrow actually procs as if it were only 1 round in much the same way that the Nexus Whelpling's rapid kill of the remaining 2 pets functions. I generally do not care how much damage the Cottontail takes as he'll rarely take enough to prevent him from running out in a 2nd, 3rd or even 4th battle without running the Stable Master circuit or using a bandage or self-heal.

The main thing I'm looking for is something that can basically 2-shot the Water Waveling. I got lucky at the DMF and fished up a [pet]Sea Pony[/pet] which I believe is close in power to the [pet]Slithershock Elver[/pet] and would save me 500 gp. OTOH, I'm not sure anything Aquatic hits elementals quite as hard as the P/P Slithershock so I can see uses for it down the road. I think that might be worth trying.

[Gráinne]

I think an S/S Slithershock would kill the Wavelings while taking no damage, with

Dodge
Deep Bite
Deep Bite
Dive

Hm. Give me a minute...

OK. Those Wavelings typically have about 1000 HP or less.

Dodge, Pump, Pump from an S/S Elver nearly always finishes the Waveling while taking no damage, so you don't need the extra power from the P/P. However, the Waveling may put down a Geyser, which your Dodge does not avoid, and your Dodge will be on CD when it hits. So, depending, you might prefer to not Dodge at the start if the Waveling has Geyser, but just Pump, Pump, and save it in case you need it to avoid the Geyser.

A P/P Elver has 260 speed, so it is still faster than most of the Wavelings and other pets there, giving you the Dodge option most of the time. An S/S Elver is still the better bet in the long run, though.

The Sea Pony also nearly always finishes the Wavelings with Pump, Pump. It hits a little harder than the S/S Elver, in fact. However, it has no avoidance. It does have a team heal in Cleansing Rain, though.

[Edmuir]

Yes, from experience, the Wavelings are typically in the 800-900 range of HP with the rare one sporting 1000 or so.

I farmed some Tin and Silver ore to pay for the P/P Slithershock (I'll get a S/S once a reasonably priced one shows up on the AH). I have a Flawless Aquatic stone that I've been saving to make my Emperor Crab farm a bit easier, but that is about 3 or 4 levels away. I suspect it's worth using on the Sea Pony as he looks to have an interesting set of abilities and the stone has been sitting in my back for a bout 10 days.

I'll level them, then try 'em both and report back.

[Edmuir]

As of now the P/P Slithershock is at Lv 22 and volleyed out a Lv 23 H/S Rare Waveling. Seriously, it feels like rolling out a Baby Iron Starlette effect. It then stunned the next pet (Snake iirc) so I could have slipped in a carry pet (the Slithershock is actually what I'm leveling right now) very easily there. The [pet]Nexus Whelpling[/pet] then comes in and does [ability]Arcane Storm[/ability] into [ability]Mana Surge[/ability] which will get very close to killing the remaining two pets. At this point it's looking very much like the [pet]Slithershock Elver[/pet] is going to be part 1 of the team (he works exactly as we thought he would and takes almost NO damage from the fight). The Whelpling dies occasionally from Snakes or Rabbits and can usually only do 1, maybe 2 battles before needing to be healed (either self heal or do the Stable Master circuit). He certainly pours out the damage like I want, but he's a bit too fragile and has to be healed frequently.

Honestly, the current Team that I have for Wyrmrest is much more efficient at ROFSTOMPing the wild pets there, but I feel that the Stable Master HERE is a bit closer and there is a never-ending supply of Wavelings (I'm not sure if there is another place quite like this). Additionally, the mobs here don't attack you as frequently as they seem to at Wyrmrest.

I'm certainly enjoying the puzzle of finding the best 2 pets for the job (and the lucky pair of Stones that dropped have been appreciated). I'm 90% sure that a high Strength [ability]Pump[/ability] is key here for Pet 1. I suspect that one of the Panderan Striders with their Beast attacks (for the frequent Rabbit adds) might be strong enough to simply run the table on their own (while allowing the Carry pet to jump in when it seems optimal). I don't have one yet and since you can't fly In Panda Land 'til 90, it'll be a while before I catch one.

[Edmuir]

Currently, the Slithershock + [pet]Stinker[/pet] seems the most efficient. If the enemy setup happens to be Waveling and then Spider/Snake, the Slithershock will take both of those out with 4 successive procs of [ability]Pump[/ability]. Swap to Carry Pet if he's over Lv 10 and do anything. Stinker comes in, does a [ability]Flurry[/ability], followed by a Group Hug ([ability]Bleat[/ability]), then Slithershock generally cleans it up. If everyone was at 100%, they all usually end up in the high 80% and can then battle one or two more times. By that time, self heal is usually online, or you make the Stable Master Circuit. It very well may be that one of the fawns (can't remember which one and I actually only have the one) is better than Stinker since it can do Bleat followed by a Stun. If that's true, you could probably start leveling your pets at about Lv 3 here.

[Uduwudu]

Hi,

I just wanted that rare to get raptor in Zul'Drak ... finally gave up! (I think it's a raptor ... not in my dreams!)

[Edmuir]

You know I was really lucky in that spot. I pulled 2 stones (sold them for right at 12K on the AH) in about 10 days and I'm sure that is way above the curve. Maybe that was just luck, but it still seems like the best place through WoD content (other than Squirt of course). I haven't played any Legion content yet so maybe there's a better spot in the Broken Isles. The little gully beside Aki the Chosen is a decent spot as well since your pets can start leveling at Lv 1 really and a Teroclaw just demolishes everything there all while self healing.