Pet battles lack creativity in Mists of Pandaria

Recently I have been spending my nights in the beta for the new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria. It has several worthwhile new features for veteran players and should be commended for its incorporation of certain elements from other games. However, the nearly wholesale porting in of Pokémon under the guise of a pet battle system may be going just a bit too far.

I will certainly admit that similar things have been done in WoW and been pulled off well. The inclusion of a Plants Vs. Zombies game in the Hillsbrad area and the three dimensional version of Joust that was added in Cataclysm were fun diversions. The difference is that you played them, got a little non-combat pet as a reward, and then moved on. The pet battle system is a pervasive mechanic that attempts to extend your time in the game by leveling up your pets and catching new ones.

Does it really play like Pokémon?

The basic mode of play is to acquire a vanity pet and find the pet battle trainer for your faction. Once you have the skill, frolic through the wilderness until you find a hapless critter with a green paw print floating above it that indicates that it is willing to do battle. FIGHT! Your pet will have up to 3 abilities that it may attack with. You choose an ability and then wait for the two critters to resolve their actions according to whichever has a higher speed. Pretty simple, repeat until one is dead. If you use certain abilities against the correct enemy types you will find that they are super effective “Strong” and deal more damage. The reverse is also true – some creatures defend well against certain attack types. You also have the option to try to capture a weakened creature in the wild and add it to your collection. Your pet heals slightly and gains xp at the conclusion of each battle that it survives.

Yes, that does seem curiously similar to the game mechanics of certain pocket monsters.

Sure, but what about the Pokédex?

Don’t worry, they’ve got you covered. Each critter that you capture shows up in your pet journal. Basic information including the creature type (such as critter, beast, flying, magic, elemental, dragonkin, humanoid, etc), its stats, and various flavor text about the creature. If you feel creative, you can even give your pets a name. Perhaps something like naming your small frog “Hypnotoad”. The rest of the journal is filled with information about creatures that you do not yet have in your collection and even includes hints on where you might find them.

Training gyms?

Okay, not gyms exactly, but there are trainers that you gain quests to defeat in each city. So you could probably let that slide if you squint really hard.

Creature evolution?

Not that I have seen. Certainly one of the more interesting aspects of Pokémon that was left by the wayside.

What do we get for all of this creature fighting?

Zergling is hurt! I choose you Baby Blizzard Bear!

So here’s the rub: as of this writing, there is no actual reward system inherent in the pet battle system. Have your special edition pet beat down all of the sewer rats that you want, you’ll never see a bit of gold or character xp unless it comes from the trainer quests. If you beat all of the trainers on a continent, you can unlock the daily quests for that continent. There are also titles that you can earn through achievements to tell all of Azeroth just how well you can make your pets beat up other pets. I couldn’t bring myself to keep playing long enough to do that.

Keep in mind that the expansion is still over a month from commercial release and thus subject to change. However, as it stands currently, pet battles are an inferior interpretation of a popular game franchise for no good reason that I can find. Mists of Pandaria has plenty to offer to players without trying to blatantly imitate another title.