Players of World of Warcraft can soon look forward to 2 really cool pets. At least if enough people donate for an important cause.
At Blizzard and World of Warcraft, it is a long-standing tradition to release a “Charity Pet” once a year. Typically, you buy a special pet with real money in the WoW shop, and a large portion of the money is donated to a good cause. But this year, Blizzard is doing it differently. You don’t have to buy anything in the shop – and you can even get both pets without spending any money.
Nevertheless, donations are required – though not necessarily from every player.
Who do we donate to? The donated money goes to the organization Doctors Without Borders (also: “Médecins Sans Frontières”). This is an international, independent medical relief organization that provides emergency assistance to people in numerous countries around the world. They particularly care for people affected by armed conflicts, epidemics, and various disasters who need medical care.
In this case, the money goes directly into a Covid-19 crisis fund. This fund was specifically created to fight the coronavirus, and the money is used to enable Doctors Without Borders to help the sick and contain the spread of the virus.
More about the exact purposes of the fund and Doctors Without Borders in general can be found on their website.
How does this work? The initiative runs until April 26, 2021, and all donations will be totaled. If the total amount raised through this initiative exceeds certain thresholds, then all World of Warcraft players will receive these pets. The thresholds are as follows:
- If the donation amount reaches $500,000, then all players will receive the pet Bananas.
- If the donation amount reaches $1,000,000, then all players will additionally receive the sloth Daisy.
Here is the donation campaign (link to the donation page).
What kind of pets are these? The first pet is Bananas. This is basically not a new pet, but has existed in the game for ages. The little monkey was once part of the World of Warcraft trading card game, which was discontinued many years ago.
The second pet, the sloth Daisy, is significantly more interesting. It is the only pet of its kind, has a unique model, and also a special animation. When you call the pet with the emote /beckon, you can see Daisy attach itself to the player’s back and stay there for a while. Good, since sloths aren’t the fastest.
Do you have to donate to get the pets? No. Even if you don’t want or can’t donate anything, you will receive the pets if the corresponding thresholds are reached. It is not necessary to spend money to benefit from the initiative in the end.
However, if you have a bit of money left and want to “buy” the pets – most likely – you should contribute to the donation campaign. After all, it is for a really good cause and, by the way, increases the chance that all World of Warcraft players will get two stylish pets.
What do you think of this new variant of WoW’s charity program? A good change? Or would you have preferred to just buy it in the shop like before?
