Spirebound Crab — Pet of the Month: May 2014

We're feeling a little "crabby" this month, but there are no ill-tempered feelings here! For this Pet of the Month we're featuring the Spirebound Crab.

Collecting the Spirebound Crab
The Spirebound Crab is one of two wild crab pets in Pandaria (the other being the Emperor Crab), and can be found on the Windward Isle or appear in wild battles as a secondary pet throughout the Jade Forest (pet level range 23 to 25).

The Windward Isle is a large island off the northeast coast in the Jade Forest, and is largely populated by friendly Cloud Serpents and not-so-friendly Saurok and tigers. For max level players that have access to flying in Pandaria the high level hostile creatures can be easily avoided in order to access the small beach on the island's eastern coast where the Spirebound Crab spawns.

For lower level characters, reaching the isle and capturing your own crab may be more of a challenge. If you're brave enough, you can take a leap of faith off of the sheer cliff overlooking the waters west of the Windward Isle. However, if you'd prefer a safer approach, you can reach the water's edge by following the road heading northeast from Dawn's Blossom. This path will take you to the Sri-la Village, and from there you can swim to the isle of Cloud Serpents. Just watch out for the sharks patrolling the waters.

The Spirebound Crab shares the beach with hostile Saurok, so be prepared to defend your crustacean companion. There are quite a few spawn points for this pet on the Windward Isle, so don't despair if one happens to be a little too close to a Saurok camp.

This pet that may interest not only collectors but also avid Pet Battlers, as it can come in a breed that is exclusive to only one other crab pet. So don't miss out on adding the Spirebound Crab to your collection! Spend some time in the Jade Forest and you may run into this pet as a secondary in a wild battles, or take an adventurous trip to the Windward Isle.

Battling with the Spirebound Crab
The Spirebound Crab brings a ton of versatility to your stable. No, I'm not talking about cakes vs legs. With its defensive ability Shell Shield, it makes an excellent tank for both wild battle grinding and several different tamer fights.


The Spirebound Crab also has 2 varied heals to back up its shield. Healing Wave is a standard self-heal with a 3-turn cooldown, while Renewing Mists is a Heal Over Time that persists on the front pet for 3 turns. Healing Wave has more healing throughput, but you can use Renewing Mists to heal other pets after you swap out your crab.

But sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. You can choose either Surge, an aquatic move that 'always goes first', or Snap, a beast move which deals more damage but won't give your pet the initiative for your filler attack. The versatility here comes from Whirlpool. It's a hard-hitting dps move which explodes 2 turns after you cast it, and roots the opposing pet in place for 2 rounds. Because Whirlpool hits so hard and restricts swaps, it's quite popular for PVP. It shares a slot with Shell Shield, so for most PVE fights where I'd use my crab, I opt to not use Whirlpool. However, if you come up against a rogue elemental you'd really like to beat up on, the combination of Whirlpool and Surge will extinguish it in no time.

Check out our forum thread discussion on the Spirebound Crab and submit your own thoughts on this pet.

Battling Discussion on the Spirebound Crab

Pet of the Month is co-written by Liopleurodon, an experienced pet battler and long-time WoW player. She maintains her own Pet Battle blog, comprised of pet analyses, team strategies and general thoughts on pets.