What do you do if you’re out of gold and really don’t want to be alone in World of Warcraft anymore, but still want a cute pet to follow you through those long nights in Azeroth? Do not despair! There are ways to sweeten your virtual life for free, or for just a few silver coins.
Mild Case of Out-o’-Gold
If you have some gold coins to spare, you can get cute pets from the auction house. Look for the more common ones, like the mechanical squirrel, or even some of the other faction’s pets. You should be able to acquire them for between 3 and 5 gold.
Or you can get the materials and have a friend with an engineering background create the squirrel for you. When it’s time for the Darkmoon Faire, you can buy one or two frogs for 1 gold each.
Out-o’-Gold Moderate Case
During October of last year, I took my level 8 Draenei Mage from Azure Watch (near Exodar) to Ironforge, first on foot to Exodar; then by boat to Eggplant and Stormwind, and finally by tram from Stormwind to Ironforge.
My goal was to acquire the Wolpertinger pet, which can only be purchased during the brewfest. I did a few quests and then happily handed in my 40 silver pieces to get the companion. But there are also other cute pets to buy at this low price. You can go to any of the big cities and buy owls, moths, cats and rabbits, each for around 40-50 silver pieces.
You can also go to Westfall (outside of Stormwind) to the Saldeans farm and do the Cluck quest. All you need to spend here is 25 copper for the special chicken feed needed for the quest, and you’ll acquire a chicken as a companion.
Alliance characters can buy the food from the farmer, while horde players must go to Brill, north of the Undercity, to obtain it. Even low levels can join in on the fun here.
Severe Case of Out-o’-Gold
Well, no money at all? Not even a piece of gold? Not even 25 copper? Well, even so, you can still acquire a pet, but it might be a bit more complicated. You can do dungeons and wait for pets to drop. Even Deadmines have two pets; a parrot and a cat, which from time to time fall.
Or, alternatively, you can raise hatchlings, or even the rare Hyacinth Macaw, killing mobs and beasts in various areas. If you have money to spend, you can always buy a virtual pet. Acquire your partner with a loot card or by purchasing it directly from Blizzard.