This is madness!

Two posts in one day!

*hands out brown paper bags to those who may find themselves hyperventilating*

No, really, I just have some things to think about with regard to my pet situation in-game, and I'd like to write about them here and see if I can't coax a couple more of you lurky-type people out to help me with this whole thing.

The Problem:

3.2 is here, and brought with it a new Spirit Beast. He is blue and sparkly, and, well.. new. Which makes him very want-able for me. That whole SHINY thing.

The Arguments:

He's rare, just like the other ones, so not a lot of people will have one. I'm guessing Beast Mastery is still going to be the redheaded stepchild of the Hunter Spec family for a while, which cuts down even farther on how many people will actually be out there looking to tame him.

He's a Spirit Beast, and not a cat, which adds to the whole "different" feel.

He's a Spirit Beast, and my stables already hold the other two. He would totally be a "vanity" pet, because he uses the same skills as the other two. Plus he wouldn't see raids or instances unless somewhere down the line the whole pet family gets a buff. Devilsaur is still topping the charts as Best DPS Exotic, so Chompy will always be by my side when I go through an instance portal.

(side note: I totally don't get the people going all OMFG WTF about the set of skills this guy has. Yeah, he's not a cat MODEL, and he has Prowl. So what? If you've quested in Hinterlands, plenty of stealthy wolves out there. Plus, the pet family name is totally Spirit BEAST not Spirit Cat or Spirit Wolf, so none of the Claw/Bite arguments hold water for me either. The pet family has these skills. Blizzard chose to give the first two examples of this family cat models. So what.)

In order to tame him, I have to give up someone who's been there for quite a while. Let's go through the choices, shall we?

Chompy the Devilsaur: Not happening. See above comment re. Best DPS Exotic pet. Also my only level 80 pet at the moment.

Beauregarde the Chimera: Probably candidate #1 for replacement, except for the fact that I spent four days camping the silly thing because it was purple and gorgeous. Has not been out of my stables for more than showing off in ages. Still level 75. Rare, but I could possibly camp him again and re-tame him should I change my mind later.

Leshya the Grimtotem Spirit Guide: Also not happening. This guy is totally not replaceable AT ALL since Blizzard hotfixed the mechanic that allowed him to be tamed in the first place. Still level 75, but also a regular wolf, and the only pet available to me should I ever spec out of Beast Mastery.

Sidhe the Spirit Beast: Loque'nahak. The first Spirit Beast I tamed, and totally a fluke that I even managed to get him in the first place. I blogged about taming him, and personally, I think that story is one of the best things I've ever written. Rare, but again, re-tameable. Level 78, because I was working on leveling him when the patch containing Gondria came out. To release him would feel like a bit of a waste, as he counts for the rare-killing achievement, and if I'm not going to have him as a pet I may as well have killed him instead of taming him.

Zingarnor the Spirit Beast: Gondria. Currently level 79, and of the two cat models, my personal favorite. He was relatively easy to find, but his name has some history, and I couldn't transfer it to the new wolf because the first Zingarnor was a cat, and it just wouldn't feel right.

The Plea:

I can't decide this on my own. I've got a problem with doing things on impulse, and should I happen to fly over this guy before I've totally decided one way or the other, it would be extremely difficult for me to resist releasing the chimera and taming him. Advice pleeeease??!