Mount and Pet Collection Caps in WoW: Why Collectors Are Ready for a Change

Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get enough spotlight in the World of Warcraft community but matters a lot to a huge chunk of loyal players:
collection caps—especially for battle pets.

If you’re the kind of player who gets a little thrill each time a new patch drops just to check the mount and pet tab, you already know how frustrating it can be to hit the pet cap. And while mounts technically don’t have a cap, the pet system still does—and that limit is starting to feel seriously outdated in modern era.

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Collecting Is a Core Part of WoW—Not Just a Side Activity

Mounts and pets aren’t just cosmetics. For many players, they’re the heart of long-term progression.

Whether it’s chasing down limited-time event pets, farming rare spawns, or grinding reputations for yet another glorious armored beast—you do it because you love it. Not because it’s BIS. Not for the meta. Just because it’s fun.

But that fun starts to fade when the game quietly tells you:

“You’ve reached the maximum number of unique battle pets.”

Oof.

The Current Situation in World of Warcraft

As of the latest expansion:

• 🐾 Players can own up to 3,000 total battle pets, but…

• 🧬 You’re still capped at 1,500 unique pets.

• 🦄 Mounts, on the other hand, don’t have a hard cap, but there’s a finite number available in the game, and the interface gets less usable the more you own.

For completionists — especially those who have been playing for a long time — 1,500 unique pets is no longer enough. That cap made sense years ago. Now? Not so much.

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Why This Is a Growing Problem

Let’s break it down:

🧠 What makes pet caps feel limiting?

• The total number of unique pets has increased dramatically in recent expansions, events, and micro-holidays.

• Pet duplicates are allowed (and often needed for trading, PvP, or different breeds), which adds to the 3,000 total count—but not the unique limit.

• Collectors are being forced to stop collecting. You literally can't learn more pets if you're at the cap.

And no—you can’t delete or “release” pets and mounts the way you might think. Sure, you can cage certain pets and trade or vendor them, but many pets are untradeable, and mounts? Once learned, they stay. Period.

It’s like hitting max level and being told you can’t get XP anymore unless you "forget" a level. It just doesn’t fit the spirit of the game.

What the Community Is Saying

This issue has come up repeatedly in collector forums, Reddit threads, and community Discords.

🔍 A frequent comment:

“I didn’t think I’d ever hit the cap… and now I can’t add any new pets without abandoning one I worked hard to get.”

🎤 According to a community developer from WarcraftPets:

“The cap on unique pets hasn’t been raised in years, but the number of new pets keeps growing. It’s long past time for a serious update.”

Many argue that if the game encourages collecting, it should also support it fully—especially with systems like the trading post, limited-time events, and anniversary pets continuously adding to the total pool.

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Practical Solutions That Make Sense

Here’s what developers could do without overhauling the entire system:

💡 Suggested Fixes:

• Raise or remove the 1,500 unique pet cap. This is the #1 request from collectors.

• Implement a vault or archive system for old pets—sort of like transmog storage.

• Improve pet journal filtering and sorting to handle larger collections smoothly.

• Add a collector's “Hall of Fame” tier for players who reach certain pet or mount milestones.

• Allow breed-specific versions to stack or be managed better.

On the mount side, even without a strict cap, improvements to mount filters and UI performance would go a long way, especially for those with 700+ entries.

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Why It Matters

Look, most people don’t raid Mythic or push +25 keys. But many of them do collect. And WoW has always promised something for every type of player.

By not addressing the collection cap, the game quietly tells a loyal group of players—some of whom have been subbed for 10–15 years—that their favorite way to play doesn’t matter enough.

And that’s not just a technical issue. It’s an emotional one.

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Final Thoughts: Let Us Keep Playing Our Way

World of Warcraft has survived for two decades because it offers variety. Some players crush DPS charts. Some fish for hours. Some… just want to collect every fuzzy, fire-breathing, or undead creature the world throws at them.

So here’s the ask:
Let collectors collect.
We don’t need a revolution—just a few thoughtful changes to let us keep enjoying the game the way we love to.

And let’s be honest: if we’re still here in World of Warcraft collecting beetles and spectral dragon babies after all these years, we’ve earned it.

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Are you a fellow collector? What’s your current pet count? And if you’ve hit the cap—what pet are you dying to add next? Drop your thoughts in the forums or community groups. The more voices, the stronger the message.