I am deeply disappointed by this decision. Pet battles is one of the reasons I stay subscribed. It gives me a reason to log in between patches and content releases.
I sent Blizz a message via ‘suggestions’ in the Wow UI. I suggest everyone who cares, does the same thing. Maybe then they’ll listen.
I feel like DAD and a number of other people in this thread have already hit the nail on the head but I also believe it is important to be visibly upset by how pet battles and what is happening to them are being treated.
More people get family battler achievements than cutting edge mythic raiding. We are here, we spend money and get the store pets or do silly things for promo pets. Pet battling in WoW is one of my favorite cozy chill vibes things and it existing in WoW means I don’t have to go log off the game to go find that feeling elsewhere. I really think that should be something Blizzard cares about for those of us who engage with the system.
It’s something I do between patches and releases, it’s something to just zone out and chill vibes about, and I always buy the pet first in the Trading Post even if it means I can’t get a cool mount or xmog for that month because of it. I love trying to get my Warcraft Pets score up. My guildies help and encourage me in my quests to do so. It’s one of the things I’m known for in my guild.
I know many forum posts go utterly unread by Blizzard but I REALLY hope they reconsider their stance.
This news is incredibly disappointing. I’ve been playing WoW since the original beta, and these days pet collecting/battling is the main thing keeping me engaged. I wish I could cancel my pre-order of the next expansion, I never would have bought it if I had known they would abandon pet battles.
Im extremely upset by this news. I have been collecting pets for years, and battling just as long. This is one of my favorite features in WoW and Im not sure if I will continue playing without it to be honest. I see how housing is the new in thing well pet battles has been my thing for years so those that dont understand perhaps that can put it in perspective for you. Blizzard please reconsider and keep pet battles .
I think a number of people in this thread (and DAD) have put it well. Blizzard, please reconsider your stance on pet battles.
What makes World of Warcraft special is that it is an actual world. It isn’t just raiding or mythic+. It isn’t just lore and roleplaying. It isn’t just crafting and transmog. What drew me into World of Warcraft, what made it my fulltime game is that there is so much more to it than that.
Unique questlines that unlock mounts or special appearances. Secrets. Building a toy collection.
And pet battling was a big part of that for me. Super Squirt days are actual events for me and my friends. Working my way through the pet battle dungeons was exciting and found a special balance in being something that allowed for quiet personal time, was a challenge that wasn’t simply about how well I could press my buttons, and also made me feel connected to the community. Running into problems and looking up how other people tackled battles made me feel connected even when I wasn’t feeling social.
And collecting! I don’t just want pets to be cosmetics. I have plenty of those (and WoW is not well designed for running around with cosmetic pets given how they unsummon at the drop of a hat).
If housing is taxing the development team, then be honest, and I imagine a lot of people would understand if it was just a ‘we need time to focus on this so pet content will be a little undercooked, but more is coming.’ But don’t cut one fun, casual feature on the altar of another. Move pet battle content to off-patches and special questlines, at least, like the Dragon Daycare. But don’t get rid of it, please.
I loved archaeology. I liked the adventure of going to different zones and finding things in digs. It was relaxing, there were little tidbits of lore, and it took me to all sorts of places. It sucked when we stopped getting archaeology content. And I hate to think we’re on the precipice of losing something just as special.
Everything that Maziodyne said, times two.
Pet battling plays a major role in rounding out the full feature set that WOW offers. Don’t sacrifice it. You’re making enough profit - hire another engineer if that’s what it takes.
(For that matter, bring back archeology and let him work on that, too. The lore, the traveling to different locations, the pet and mount rewards at the end! Those are fun!)
But most of all don’t kill pet battling. Don’t limit WOW’s offerings like that.
Thank you for sharing that. I feel much the same way and I love this community.
This is horrible,
Will there be an avenue to cancel preorders if pet battles disappear? Taking away half the content I enjoy is not what I was buying when I ordered Midnight. I’ve been here 20 years and it’s at the point over the last decade that pet battling has become a bigger and bigger portion of my game time…not to mention buying pets on the online store!
And like someone else said…why spend time on housing or collecting mounts if they might takes those away, too?
Please blizzard… Don’t discontinue battlepets
So disappointing. I don’t tend to buy the pets from the trading post and I favor the pets I had to work for - like the falcosaur hatchlings and Sen’jin Fetish, or nostalgic pets like Frosty from WotLK for the pets that I have active and following me around. But I spend a lot of time doing pet battles in the wild and I have always focused on the pet world quests.
Making pets even easier to acquire makes them less appealing, not more.
This very well may mean my WoW days are coming to an end. Housing seemed like a nice add, but with this subraction it is not the give and take that works for me. I get it, the new game changes cannot be for everyone, but losing pet battles takes away my primary reason for playing WoW. I guess I will save some money if they decide to do away with a couple more FTEs who kept that aspect of the game functioning and I guess they’ll save a few bucks too. More people losing jobs is what this ultimately means, how sad.
I do find it interesting that they feel not enough folks do pet battles, and wonder if they mean head to head? As 99% of my pet battling is done with wild pets as part of my efforts to collect more pets. I run into others doing the pet dailies too, so I wonder if they are just looking at PvP pet battling stats? That would be a mistake imho.
SO VERY TRUE! I have more keyboards and mice than I need because of pet promos, that seems like a silly revenue stream to discount. Though I have always felt like a sucker doing it, but I looked at it as being as more fun than going to a new movie in a theater, as I can keep enjoying my purchased pets in a variety of ways.
It seems that there is some hope : https://x.com/MrGMYT/status/1974875147774419121
You said everything I feel on the subject perfectly. Well done! @Roseryn
We have a blue post finally, though the feedback is being looked for in the Alpha forums which I’m sure most of us don’t have access to just yet. Hopefully someone can direct them to these threads here where we’ve been sharing our thoughts over the weekend.
We finally got an official blue post from Kaivax about Pet Battles, and honestly, I have mixed feelings about it.
On the positive side, it’s a relief to know the system isn’t being removed. Blizzard confirmed that all previous features will continue to work and that there will be some new pets capable of battling. That’s good news, especially after so much speculation. It also means they’re open to feedback … which is something we can use to make a difference.
But at the same time, the message feels uncertain. There’s no mention of new Pet Battle Dungeons, tournaments, or meaningful content … only achievements and a few new pets. And when they mention that “fewer players enjoy pet battles,” it sounds more like they’re maintaining the system than truly developing it. For a feature that’s been part of WoW’s identity for over a decade, that’s disappointing to hear.
Right now, it feels like Pet Battles are in a kind of LIMBO … not gone, but not fully alive either. And that’s exactly why this is the moment for us, the community, to step up. Blizzard said they want feedback, so let’s give it. Let’s fill the forums with our thoughts, ideas, and love for this system. If enough of us speak up, they’ll have no doubt that the Pet Battle community is still here … strong, creative, and passionate.
Let’s make sure Pet Battles don’t fade quietly. They deserve to shine again.
And lets ask a blue post here, so we can discuss all in one post with blizzard reply
I linked the three most recent threads from this Forum in my post in the Alpha Feedback thread. Hopefully, that will direct some more attention this way.
Been here since November of 2004. Seen a lot come and go from this game. Pet Battles, back in MoP, is what got me to stick around when I was just about done with this game. I’ve taken one break in 21 years.
My long-time buddy, who has played off and on for 20 years, broke the news to me. I’m crushed. This is the #1 feature that keeps me around to experience the rest of the game. I level 2-3 characters through an expansion each release, the rest of the dozen+ are leveled via pet battling while kicking back and relaxing (albeit slowly, over the expansion).
The cash-grab with your cash shop exclusively selling battle pets, including the recent preorder, just tells me how tone deaf you guys are. Would take, what, 1-2 people max, per expansion, to create enough pet battle content to keep things moving along?
Just crushed by this, man. I haven’t been on these forums since like 2007, but I felt the need to express my frustration with this decision. I suppose every adventure has to come to an end.
While I think it’s great MrGM is looking at it, the 2 pets he is talking about is more likely false hope.
https://nitter.net/patf0rd/status/1974963857400721790#m
Been playing since around 2019-2020, Pet battling and pet collecting are the biggest factors keeping me int his game. i did find it sad how much pet battling content we have been lacking and how much this side of content has soured and wasted due to no new content at all.
I understand we are a niche small side of the table but flat out axing pet battling in future expansions and not providing any new pet battle trainers or anything spells a majorly bad look in general, i strongly believe in the next few expansions after midnight, pets will only be for show and the BATTLE part of them will be completely erased. I hope in my wildest dreams blizzard allows people to either opt into quick catching or still allowing pet battling, but those dreams are rapidly declining and my one big love for this game is being altered and i feel devastated, of course i raid, dungeon, delve, etc. but Pet battling is so unique to this game its a shame to see it be butchered like this.
It is a shame to see how much blizzard has pulled back from making content regarding pet battling since, what BFA? I somewhat understand the need to “revitalize” super niche events like trial of style and pirates day. Its always great to see these niche things be boosted but to see a strong dedicated pillar like pet battling be brushed aside is grim.