Q: Why tame a crab?
A: Why not? In all purpose, I wanted to tame one of the rarest tamed pets available. At first, I wanted to tame a Sporebat, but the lowest one available was at level 60. I wanted a rare pet that I could tame at a very earlier level. Upon browsing through Petopia, I saw the crabs. Crabs are rare and appear weak (I mean come on, they’re crabs). Being an Alliance character, I decided to go with the red crab since most of them can be found in Durator.

Q: What exact crab did you tame?
A:  The level 8 Surf Crawler. The highest level red crab before level 10.

Q: Where did you get the name Stra for you crab?
A: It’s an inside reference to my real life. My friends know it; and if taken the time, it can easily be figured out. 

Q: What do you feed your crab.
A: She likes grapes. When running with a mage, she loves the biscuits. 

Q: How big is your crab?
A: When Stra was level 8, she was no higher than my dwarf’s knees. Now at level 70, she’s between about chest and shoulder height. That’s not including Bestial Wrath.

Q: Bestial Wrath? How big is your crab then?
A: Much bigger than my dwarf. Stra stands about shoulder height with a human character. That’s why this blog is named BigRedCrab, in honors of her mighty Bestial Wrath.

Q: Does your crab cause attention?
A:  Yes, both wanted and unwanted. While in the big cities, there are plenty of travelers that will stop observe Stra. There have been times when Beast Lore flashes above Stra’s head. I’ve gotten a few whispers and plenty of compliments from players all around. Only in rare occasions do I get bashed on (usually by other hunters).

Q: Any other unwanted attention?
A: Owning a pet crab instantly flags you as a “Casual Player”. On a PvP Server, this has made me an easy target for enemy players. During the course of leveling, I’ve been jumped more players around my level than any other character I’ve leveled up with. Of course, this comes with benefits. As a crab owner, I appear weak. In reality, I’ve been able to turn around countless of ganks. I downed a warlock ten levels higher than me who tried to gank me in Strangethorn Vale. Usually though, I try to book it before they come back. They won’t treat me as an “easy target” next time.

Q: Do you have a difficult time looking for groups?
A: Not at all. I usually keep my crab hidden or unannounced from the group until we all have entered the instances. Even when I call Stra out, there may be a few comments about it, but nothing negative. They all enjoy seeing a crab by their sides.

Q: How well does Stra do in instances?
A: I don’t have an damage chart so I can’t really say where she is damage wise yet. However, she does out-dps the tanks. She makes a great off-tank. There are plenty of healers who have been saved by the big crab.

Q: How about raids?
A: I have yet to run a raid with Stra.

Q: How about battlegrounds?
A: I’ve only ran battlegrounds a few times. At the start, there are people who joke around with the crab but nothing negative. I tend to sick Stra on the healers in the back of the fight. It’s great to see a Flash Heal take six to eight seconds to cast. Early in the battlegrounds, Stra is basically ignored due to her being a crab. Unfortunately, she does cause LOTS of trouble for the enemy players. Eventually, Stra becomes a common target and by the end of the match has died countless of times. In fact, she dies more often than I do. Usually Stra and I fall within 5th-10th place overall damage.

Q: How about arenas?
A: I have yet to run any arena matches with Stra.