Portable Stables?

High on my wish list is the ability to access the pet stable from anywhere in the world, and I’m not alone in wanting this. A Hunter name Gulder tweeted Muffinus about the possiblity of a mobile stable in Warlords.

— Jeremy Feasel (@Muffinus) May 30, 2014

As you know Hunter’s can carry five active pets. A vast improvement over the one active pet we were once restricted to, but still limiting. Back in Wrath of the Lich King Hunters had a spell named Call Stabled Pet. It had a five minute coolddown and allowed us to open up the stable and replace our current pet. Backed then the stable only held five pets, which is probably where the notion of the five active pets came from in Cataclysm.

I would be perfectly happy to see this ability return minus the five minute cooldown. I’d also be okay with an interface similar to what we have for mounts and combat pets.

It looks like for the mobile stable Muffinus would prefer to go down the road of immersion versus just giving us a simple spell.

From a design perspective there is a constant battle between immersion and game. Case in point, Bashiok’s recent remarks about the Hearthstone.

“Turning items into clickable spells can be great, but it can also decrease the sense that you’re actually interacting with tangible objects within the world, and instead are a person at a computer clicking on buttons. We don’t want to reduce everything about existing in this virtual world to a binary button or mechanic. It’s an iconic part of the game, and it’s really just a single slot out of many slots.”

I’m all for epic quests, but I don’t know that the reward here is worthy of the effort. Going to the stable master is hardly and epic event.

I don’t recall ever being in the Shrine of the Seven Stars and yelling, “Stand back everyone, I’m about to use the Stable Master.” If there’s going to be an epic quest I want it to be for a pet, or a weapon, or beer and not a simple ability.

I guess what I’m saying is, mobile stable? YES, YES, YES, but let’s keep this one simple.