Post-BlizzCon 2018 Wrap Up and Community Meet-Up

UPDATE: In an interview with developers Jeremy Feasel and Paul Watkins, it was clarified that higher difficulty Island Expeditions are intended to have a higher chance of awarding loot.

In a separate interview with the same developers noted above, it was announced that all Island Expedition battle pets will be cageable in Patch 8.1.

Blizzard answered some additional questions that they couldn't get to during the BlizzCon WoW Q&A panel, and future plans for Pet Battles includes a review and possible restructuring of Pet Battle PVP. [source]

BlizzCon 2018 did not reveal too much in the way of battle pets and Pet Battles. However, there were a few sneak peaks of what might be coming in the future.

New Charity Pet

Shortly before BlizzCon began, a new battle pet was revealed in the Pet Journal and Blizzard Store. Meet Whomper, the adorable wendigo! [source]

Through December 31, 2018, 100% of Whomper's adoption fee ($10 USD) will be donated to Code.org, a nonprofit organization that focuses on bringing computer science to schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented groups.

There's also a separate Whomper plushie that you can buy. Proceeds of this toy will also be donated to the nonprofit organization listed above.

Adopt this cute yeti with big feet and big eyes to show that you have a big heart. Whomper is a must-have for any collector and makes a wonderful adventuring companion.

Patch 8.1.5 And Beyond
We're all eagerly awaiting the next major content patch, and it was announced during the WoW 'What's Next' panel that 8.1, 'Tides of Vengeance', will be coming the week of December 11, 2018. Check out Wowhead's full coverage of this panel.

Much of the upcoming Pet Battle content has already been datamined from the 8.1 PTR. However, Blizzard went one step further and provided some previews of upcoming content beyond 'Tides of Vengeance'. Here are a couple notable Pet Battle things revealed during the panel, slated to be added in Patch 8.1.5.

• Children's Week updates - Kul Tiras and Zandalar orphans and quest lines will be added... could this mean new Children's Week pets will also be available?
• Return of the Brawler's Guild - It's unclear if Clock'em and Tylarr Gronnden will be available again. Will a new battle pet be added? We'll have to wait and see.

It was announced that after Patch 8.1.5, the next major content patch will be 8.2 and on, 'Rise of Azshara'.

• New continent with new zones and new rewards (possible new pet reward pictured right)
• Mechagon Megadungeon, a Mythic-only dungeon that's reminiscent of original Karazhan's layout. New rewards...possibly new battle pets?
• Additional Island Expedition maps, which likely means more pets that come from this feature, although it's unclear how we'll obtain them.

Speaking of Island Expeditions, developer Jeremy Feasel noted in an interview with the french fansite Mamytwink that they hope to better explain reward distribution for this feature in the future. You can read the full interview (French) or check out Wowhead's summary and translated version.

More details on what's to come in Patch 8.2+ will be available after Patch 8.1.5 is released. We'll have all the Pet Battle-related news, so stay tuned!

WarcraftPets Community Meet-Up
Once again, we'd like to thank Marzena for organizing and hosting this year's WarcraftPets Community Meet-Up. We hope everyone had a great time!

Be sure to check out our Facebook page for any pictures from this year's convention meet-up. We'll be adding them in the near future.

We look forward to the next BlizzCon and WarcraftPets gathering! And of course, thank you to ALL of our users for your continued support.