The Celestial Tournament:
This guide is to introduce pet battlers to the Celestial Tournament event; it aims to offer some explanation about the event itself, as well as observations on the encounters faced within, and suggestions towards strategies to overcome those encounters. It should be noted that there may very well be pet teams that complete the challenges in a more definitive manner, but that these teams have worked for me.
The Celestial Tournament is a series of challenging PvE Pet Battle encounters, representing the pinnacle of PvE Pet Battles in the Mists of Pandaria expansion. The tournament may be accessed by speaking to Master Li at the celestial court on the timeless isle, once you have accumulated 15 or more lvl 25 pets. Once inside the tournament scenario, participants will be faced by a series of 7 pet battles, all of which must be completed without being able to heal or revive any pets. The opponents found within the tournament vary each week; the final round opponents are always the four celestial pets, while the first round opponents change weekly in set groups.
Week1: Wise Mari, Blingtron 4000, Shademaster Kiryn
Week 2: Lorewalker Cho, Dr Ion Goldbloom, Sully McLeary
Week 3: Taran Zhu, Chen Stormstout, Wrathion.
Completing the weekly quest The Celestial Tournament by defeating the celestial tournament is the only way to obtain the celestial coins used as currency with Master Li, and therefore the only way to obtain the four uncageable celestial pets. Completion of the celestial tournament for the first time awards a bonus 2 coins, allowing players to purchase their first celestial pet immediately. Completion will also award the achievement The Celestial Tournament. Defeating all of the encounters available through the scenario will give the achievement Master of the Masters while collecting all four celestial pets will grant Celestial Family.
Round One Opponents:
Week One Opponents:
Wise Mari brings a set of water themed pets to the tournament. The aquatic Carpe Diem, the magical Spirus, and the elemental River. Carpe Diem’s Dreadful breath ability can weaken your back line pets if left unchecked, and should be dealt with swiftly.
Team:
- Crow: Alpha Strike, Call Darkness, Nocturnal Strike
- Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling: Breath, Bombing run, Explode
- Arctic Hare: Flurry, Dodge, Burrow
Open with Alpha strike, then replace Carpe Diem’s cleansing rain weather by using Call Darkness on round 2. Use Nocturnal Strike on round 3, then spam Alpha Strikes until Carpe Diem dies. The Crow should last long enough into Spirus to Nocturnal Strike again. The Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling can just spam Breath until Spirus dies, and continue to do so against River up until the Dragonling is about to die, typically on the turn that River’s Whirlpool ability will resolve, when you should use Explode instead. River should now be low enough that almost any pet can finish him off, here we use an Arctic Hare for its burrow ability.
Blingtron 4000 has a set of wealth related pets; the elemental Au, the golden critter Banks, and the familiar looking mechanical Lil’ B. Both Banks and Lil’ B are reliant on attacks with multiple small ticks of damage (Make it Rain, SMCKTHAT.EXE), so pets with flat damage reduction abilities here are at an advantage.
Team:
- Swamp Croaker: Water Jet, Swarm of Flies, Bubble
- Emerald Shale Hatchling: Burn, Poison Spit, Stoneskin
- Phoenix Hatchling: Burn, Immolate, Conflagrate
Open with Bubble, then spam Water Jet until Au dies. Once Banks is swapped in, use Swarm of Flies, then spam Water Jet until the Swamp Croaker dies. Do not refresh Bubble against Banks, as Make it Rain will swiftly deplete the charges. The Shale Hatchling should open with Stoneskin, which negates Banks’ Make it Rain ability, then spam Poison Spit exclusively. Once Lil’ B enters play, take the first turn to refresh Stoneskin, then make use of Burn until the Hatchling dies. Lil’ B should be so low by then that almost any pet with elemental attacks would be able to finish him off. Here we make use of a Phoenix Hatchling’s burn ability.
Shademaster Kiryn brings the humanoid Nairn, the mechanical Stormoen, and the beast Summer. Nairn can do significant damage to your back line pets through using Call of Winter, combined with his resilience through humanoid self healing and Giant’s Blood. Stormoen can also do serious damage if left unchecked, by setting up a lightning storm and combining it with turrets to cause significant mechanical damage.
Team:
- Qiraji Guardling: Crush, Sandstorm, Blackout Kick
- Clockwork Gnome: Metal Fist, Repair, Build Turret
- Devouring Maggot: Consume, Acidic Goo, Burrow
While the Qiraji Guardling may be difficult to acquire (It only spawns during the months of WoW summer), it neatly encompasses the ability to send Nairn to the back line, and deal with Kiryn’s second pet, Stormoen. Opening with Blackout kick will stun Nairn and interrupt his turn. Use Crush on until Stormoen has used its Call Lightning ability, then overwrite that with Sandstorm. From here you can Crush until Stormoen dies. Do not refresh the duration on Sandstorm however, as it will counter your own Clockwork Gnome. Blackout kick Nairn back to the back line after Stormoen dies, then crush against Summer until the Guardling falls. The Clockwork gnome should enter the encounter by building a turret, then activating it’s repair ability. Once repair is completed, build another turret, then metal fist until Summer dies. Continue to build turrets whenever possible against Nairn but do not repair, as prolonging the matchup will only weaken the maggot on the back line. Once the clockwork has died, use acidic goo to boost the effectiveness of consume against Nairn, and Burrow when Consume is on CD.
Week two opponents:
Lorewalker Cho brings the flying owl Wisdom, the magical broom Patience, and the dragon Knowledge. Lorewalker Cho is a straightforward encounter which should pose little issue with the correct team.
Team:
- Coilfang Stalker: Laser, Gravity, Surge of Power
- Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling: Breath, Bombing Run, Explode
- Qiraji Guardling: Crush, Sandstorm, Blackout Kick
Open with Gravity, then use Laser until the Coilfang Stalker is near to death, at which point it should use Surge of Power. Similarly, the Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling only needs to use Breath to defeat Patience, and should aim to use Explode before Knowledge kills it. As your dragonling should be faster than Knowledge, it should be easy to exploit the mechanical passive for an additional round of Breath while still accomplishing this. By this time, Knowledge should be low enough that the Qiraji Guardling can easily finish it, although you may want to use Blackout Kick if Knowledge is still under the effect of Amplify Magic.
Dr Ion Goldbloom brings the evasive flying pet Screamer, the beast Trike, and the infuriating magic pet Chaos. Goldbloom can be a troublesome encounter, with Screamer making for frequent alterations to the pet line up, and Chaos contributing an element of randomness to the team. For this reason I recommend challenging Dr Goldbloom first in any clear of the celestial tournament.
Team:
- Nether Faerie Dragon: Arcane Blast, Evanescence, Moonfire
- Crow: Alpha Strike, Call Darkness, Nocturnal Strike
- Lunar Lantern: Beam, Flash, Soul Ward
The Nether Faerie Dragon should begin the encounter with Evanescence, as Screamer will have gone first and already be airborne. Screamer will use Feign Death if it is below 50% and Lift-Off is on CD. Moonfiring on turn two may be sufficient to drop Screamer low enough to trigger Feign Death, if not an Arcane Blast on turn three will be required.
Use the free turn from Feign Death to swap in Crow, who should use Call Darkness followed by Nocturnal Strike, with Alpha Strikes available to finish off Trike. At this point Screamer will be brought back to the front line, and will Lift-Off again before using Feign Death to bring Chaos to the front line. You may wish to use this turn to bring out your Lunar Lantern.
Chaos can be a difficult pet to beat, given the unpredictable nature of its damage output. The Lunar Lantern can mitigate some of that by use of Flash and Soul Ward, as well as the magical pet passive ability. Once Chaos is defeated, Screamer will again return to the front line, but should be easily dispatched.
Sully “The Pickle” McLeary, comic relief of the alliance introductory quests to Pandaria, has brought a team of whiskery pets to the tournament; including the now-undead Socks, the killer rabbit critter Monte, and the aquatic Rikki.
Team:
- Devouring Maggot: Chomp, Acidic Goo, Burrow
- Dragonbone Hatchling: Slicing Wind, Hawk Eye, Lift-Off
- Mei Li Sparkler: Slicing Wind, Cocoon Strike, Swarm
Opening with Acidic goo will cause the Maggot’s Chomp ability to hit even harder, hopefully pushing Socks into his free immune round early. Burrow during this round to hit Monte early, and continue to Chomp until the Maggot dies. At this point, Monte should either be dead, or so low that either of your flying pets can step in and finish the fight.
Week Three opponents:
Taran Zhu brings a trio of Pandaren monks; Yen, Bolo, and Li. The monks will bring a barrage of status altering abilities; with blinds, stuns, feign death and self heals making for a frustrating encounter. Fortunately they are all humanoid, so bring out your (un)dead!
Team:
- Creepy Crate: Agony, Curse of Doom, BONESTORM
- Unborn Val’kyr: Shadow Slash, Curse of Doom, Unholy Ascension
- Devouring Maggot: Consume, Acidic Goo, Burrow
The Crate should open with BONESTORM, as the trick to beating Taran Zhu is in exploiting his single pet type team with area damage. When stunned, swap in your Unborn Val’kyr and Curse of Doom, spam shadow slash until the Val’kyr dies once, then use Unholy Ascension in your free turn. Bring the Creepy Crate back out and BONESTORM again, then try to put out any Curses or Agony that will land. If lucky, you may just get a third BONESTORM before your crate dies. If you do not have access to an Unborn Val’kyr, this encounter is equally doable by bringing a second pet with access to BONESTORM.
At this point, Taran Zhu’s line up should be looking ragged, and the Devouring Maggot can clean up. Remember to acidic goo to increase its self healing through Consume, and Burrow in between to reduce incoming damage.
Chen Stormstout brings the beast Tonsa, the critter Chirps, and the elemental Brewly to the tournament. Brewly is another pet whose accuracy debuff can throw the outcome of the battle off course, and for this reason I recommend defeating Chen first in any run of the Celestial Tournament.
Team:
- Darkmoon Tonk: Missile, Shock and Awe, Ion Cannon
- Kun-Lai Runt: Thrash, Frost Shock, Rampage
- Sea Pony: Water Jet, Surge, Whirlpool
The Darkmoon tonk should open with Shock and Awe, and then follow up with Ion cannon (even if the tonk is stunned by Tonsa’s opening Headbutt) to defeat Tonsa. Chirps will most likely destroy the tank while the recharge period on the ion cannon is still taking place, but fit in whatever attacks you can if not. The Kun-Lai Runt only needs to use Rampage in order to defeat Chirps, and should attempt to Frost Shock and Thrash Brewly when it arrives. This can be difficult to achieve however, as Brewly will open with Inebriate. The Sea Pony, or any pet with strong elemental attacks, should be able to finish off Brewly with the advantage gained by the Runt.
Wrathion brings the undead Cindy, the dragonic Alex, and the suspiciously named dragonic Dah’da. Cindy is notable for many small ticks of damage from Blistering Cold, interspersed with the avoidable Ice Tomb. While Alex brings strong self healing and damage, Dah’da is pure damage.
Team:
- Silkbead Snail: Absorb, Shell Shield, Dive
- Scourged Whelpling: Tail sweep, Call Darkness, Dreadful Breath
- Sporeling Sprout: Charge, Leech Seed, Cower
The Snail should start with an Absorb, then Shell Shield. Dive before the Ice Tomb resolves, then continue to absorb, refreshing Shell Shield as necessary. Continue to play out against Alex, but don’t expect for the Snail to achieve much in terms of damage, it is mostly there to absorb damage until the Blistering Cold debuff fades.
Once the Scourged Whelpling enters play, Call Darkness to weaken Alex’s self healing ability, then use Dreadful breath to damage both Alex and Dah’da without having to suffer Dah’da’s damage output. Your whelpling may be sufficient to kill both dragons, but if needed the Sporeling is available to finish off either.
Round Two Opponents:
The second round of the tournament is against the four Celestial Pets themselves. While only a single pet per encounter, these celestials each take only half damage from attacks, and represent a challenge greater than that of the Fabled pets of Pandaria. Fortunately, they are prone to attacks with a ramp up time, and attacks that incur a long recharge time, as the damage is less likely to be lost into overkill than against normal pets.
Xu-Fu is a beast pet, with strong Beast and Magic attacks, and an incredibly strong self heal in the form of Feed. However, he healing from Feed can be negated by not allowing Xu-Fu to deal any damage.
Team:
- Darkmoon Zeppelin: Missile, Explode, Decoy
- Darkmoon Zeppelin: Missile, Explode, Decoy
- Darkmoon Tonk: Missile, Shock and Awe, Ion Cannon
Xu-Fu should be a very simple fight. Open with Decoy, use Missile once, then Explode. Repeat with your second Zeppelin, and if Xu-fu isn’t already dead, the Darkmoon tonk has both Shock and Awe and Ion Cannon available as finishers.
Yu’la is a dragonkin, with a strong damage reduction effect in the form of Emerald Presence. Fortunately, she has a very predictable rotation of attacks that allow you to exploit the free round in Lift-Off.
Team:
- Fox Kit: Bite, Howl, Dazzling Dance
- Anubisath Idol: Crush, Stoneskin, Deflection
- Anubisath Idol: Crush, Stoneskin, Deflection
The Fox Kit should open with Bite, before Yu’la uses Emerald Presence. Bite again before she Lifts Off, then Dazzling Dance as Lift Off resolves. Finally Howl as the Fox Kit is about to die. The Anubisath Idol should use Crush up until Yu’la uses Emerald Presence again, indicating that she will Lift Off next turn. Use that turn to Stoneskin instead, then Deflection as Lift Off is about to resolve. Repeat that pattern through the second Anubisath Idol if required and Yu’la should die.
Chi-Chi is a flying pet, with a very strong elemental attack in the form of Fire Quills, which can hit three times in a round if Chi-Chi is the faster pet. It also has self healing from Tranquility and damage avoidance from Ethereal. Beating Chi-Chi requires high damage between these recovery abilities.
Team:
- Shimmering Wyrmling: Feedback, Amplify Magic, Deflection
- Spectral Porcupette: Powerball, Spirit Spikes, Spectral Spine
- Spectral Porcupette: Powerball, Spirit Spikes, Spectral Spine
The Wyrmling can Pass on the first round, and Deflect on the second, as Chi-Chi will start Tranquility and use Fire Quills. Amplify Magic on round three as Chi-Chi becomes Ethereal, then start using Feedback until the Wyrmling dies.
The trick to defeating Chi-Chi is in the correct timing of Spirit Spikes. Chi-Chi will become Ethereal on rounds 3, 7, and every fourth round thereafter. If you set up Spikes on the turn prior to Ethereal, and your porcupette is slower than Chi-Chi, then the effect will be wasted. For example, if your wyrmling dies on turn 5, it is better to open with Spectral Spine on turn 6, and Spikes on turn 7. This will ensure than on turn 8, Chi-chi will still be faster (and therefore likely to strike three times), and your spikes will be in place to cause maximum damage. Once you have this timing right, Chi-Chi should be defeated.
Zao is a Beast with two strong beast attacks, and it’s Wish ability is a 50% heal. The strength of Zao’s self heal necessitates high damage to burst the calfling down.
Team:
- Sunreaver Micro-sentry: Fel Immolate, Haywire, Call Lightning
- Zandalari Kneebiter: Hunting Party, Black Claw, Bloodfang
- Zandalari Kneebiter: Hunting Party, Black Claw, Bloodfang
The Sunreaver Micro-sentry should open with Fel Immolate. The sentry must use Call Lightning on the turn before it dies, which may vary by whether Zao hits or not. Judge this timing cautiously however, as Zao is the faster pet. Once the Storm is in place, use Black claw to increase its damage, then start using Hunting Party, continuing with the second raptor if required. The damage ramp up should ensure that Zao dies before a critical Wish resolves.
Shopping List:
Wild Pets:
- Crow: A wild pet that spawns on the Darkmoon Island.
- Arctic Hare: A wild pet that spawns in Storm Peaks. Many alternative rabbits are suitable.
- Emerald Shale Hatchling: A wild pet that spawns in Deepholm. Any of the Shale Hatchlings are suitable.
- Swamp Croaker: A wild pet that spawns on the Isle of Thunder
- Qiraji Guardling: A wild pet that spawns in Silithus around the Scarab gate during the summer months.
- Devouring Maggot: A wild pet that spawns in Howling Fjord. Many alternative maggots are suitable.
- Nether Faerie Dragon: A wild pet that spawns in Feralas
- Dragonbone Hatchling: A wild pet that spawns in Dragonblight
- Mei Li Sparkler: A wild pet that spawns in the Krasarang Wilds
- Unborn Val’kyr: A rare wild pet that spawns in various locations around Northrend. This pet can be replaced by either a Creepy Crate or Fossilized Raptor.
- Kun-Lai Runt: A wild pet that spawns in Kun-lai summit
- Silkbead Snail: A wild pet that spawns in Jade Forest
- Scourged Whelpling: A wild pet that spawns on the Icecrown Glacier
- Sporeling Sprout: A wild pet that spawns in Zangarmarsh
Profession based pets:
- Clockwork Gnome: A rare pet obtained through dwarven archaeology.
- Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling: Crafted by Engineers
- Sea Pony: A rare pet that can be found by fishing on the Darkmoon Island. This pet can also be replaced many with elemental attacks
World event pets:
- Lunar Lantern: A rare pet purchased through the Lunar Festival world event. Nordrassil Wisps are also suitable.
- Creepy Crate: A rare pet purchased through the Hallows End world event. Fossilized Raptors are also suitable
- Darkmoon Tonk x2: A rare pet purchased through the Darkmoon festival monthly event.
- Darkmoon Zeppelin x2: A rare pet purchased through the Darkmoon festival monthly event.
- Fox Kit: A rare pet that can be purchased with Tol Barad commendations, or dropped from foxes on the peninsula. Many alternative foxes are available.
- Shimmering Wyrmling: A rare pet that can be purchased through the Argent Tournament in Icecrown Glacier
- Spectral Porcupette x2: A rare pet that can be purchased with giant dinosaur bones on the Isle of Giants
Rare drop pets:
- Phoenix Hatchling: A rare pet that drops in Magister’s Terrace from Kael’thas
- Coilfang Stalker: A rare pet that drops in Serpentshrine caverns from Lady Vashj
- Anubisath Idol x2: A rare pet that drops from the Twin Emperors encounter in the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj.
- Sunreaver Micro-sentry: A rare pet that drops from the Haywire Sunreaver Construct on the Isle of Thunder
- Zandalari Kneebiter x2: A rare pet that drops from Zandalari dinomancers on the Isle of Giants. Zandalari Anklerenders are also suitable.
