Pet
battles. When it comes to the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
beta, that is what
everyone is waiting for. Players cannot wait to finally take the vanity
out of their vanity pets and finally get some real usefulness out of
those cute little buggers. Sadly though, that isn’t what we
will be talking about today, at least not directly. While pet battles
are still not available for play in the Mists of Pandaria beta, the new
menu that will eventually lead us to that point is up and running.
Continue reading on for a look at the new Pet and Mount Menu, where all
initial pet battle action will take place.

Mists of Pandaria Pet Battle
Menu

When logging into WoW for the
first time player’s will notice tons of differences, one of
which will be the addition of a brand new button to the mini menu
entitled “Mounts and Pets”. Emblazoned with the
likeness of a horse, when clicked this button will lead players to the
brand new pets and mounts menu.

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WoW Mount Menu

No longer attached to the
character screen, players will find it easier ever to see their various
pets and mounts. In the Mounts menu players will find their mounts
displayed in an easy to browse list on the left. When a particular
mount is clicked on, a picture of that mount will be displayed, along
with its name, to the right of the mount list. When a player has found
the mount they wish to ride, they need only to click the
“Mount” button on the bottom left of the menu.
Player’s may also see their total number of mounts displayed
in a small box near the top of the screen. See the picture below to get
a better feel for the new WoW Mounts Menu.

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WoW Pet Journal

The second tab of the brand
spanking new Mounts and Pets Menu contains the Pet Journal and is
probably the one you‘ve been waiting to hear about. It is
here, inside this new menu, that all the initial phases of pet battle
action will
take place:

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As you can see from the image
above, players will be able to see a complete listing of pets in game
in the right column of the Mounts and Pets menu. Pets owned by the
player are colored, while pets not owned by the player remain grayed
out. Don’t worry about rummaging through this rather bulky
list of pets, as players can use the filter function to narrow down the
types of pets shown, or simply use the search function to find a
particular pet. Players can then summon this pet by clicking on the
“Summon” button at the bottom left of the screen.

When a player selects a pet, a
new menu will appear on the far right that will not only show a
valuable picture of the pet but also will provide other valuable
information essential to  WoW pet battles. This information
includes; pet name, type of pet (beast, elemental, etc.), where the pet
can be obtained, as well as a full listing of the pets abilities. See
the example of the Albino Snake pet below:

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The second column in this menu
is entirely dedicated to pet battles. There are three pet battle slots,
two of which are initially locked until certain achievements are
completed by the player. There is also a “Find
Battle” button located at the bottom of the column that we
can assume will be used to find a pet battle for your various pets.
Players will also be able to view their pet battle rating at the top of
the screen.

Unfortunately, pet battles are
not currently working in the beta and this column, as well as the
“Pet Battle” button, are essentially useless. Thus,
it is currently not able to be determined what exactly the boxes in
this portion of the menu will be used for. However, it seems possible
that both pets involved in a battle, as well as hit points and perhaps
even attacks may be displayed here.

While much is still unknown
about pet battles in Mists of Pandaria and how exactly they will work,
this new menu gives us at least a taste at what is to come. Keep
checking back here at Ten Ton Hammer as we release more information
about pet battles in Mists of Pandaria. Are you looking forward to the
new pet battle system being added to WoW in Mists of Pandaria? Do you
think the newly developed menu will allow you to participate in pet
battles with ease? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section
below!