RE: Pets!!!

[old.Rhymfaxe]

Ok, some facts:

Summoned pets take 25% of the xp if it does ALL the damage, and charmed take 50%. This is _nothing_ in a group.

The more meleers on a target the greater the to-hit bonus vs. it. This alone more than makes using the pet worthwhile. Ever had the tanks swish, swish, swish the mob and it goes off to eat a healer or nuker? A pet will prevent this, since the tanks will hit more.

It can intercept adds, by placing it strategicly behind the nukers/healers in case an add strolls by, occuping the mob till the tanks can get to it.

Pets can add a lot to the group, and if you blatantly yell out "cancel the pet" the second a pet class enters your group... you, my good sir, are a moron.

 

[old.ViscountCharles]

On sober reflection I can think of a few instances where the pets are a nuisance, but the call to lose them is unwarrented 95% of the time.

A pet can be a nuisance when it's a charmed pet - particularly if the charmer has to spend time away from the group fetching another when his current pet dies. Sometimes he needs an escort there and back again, making for a lot of group downtime.

The pet is a complete pain if it is the same type as the mobs that the group are currently tangling with - I had great fun with a sorcerer charming goblins when our group was busy fighting them, running around wondering why one of the goblins couldn't be targetted - but the confusion wasn't really a good thing for them

The ability to charm a pet is sometimes a second- or third-string ability for some classes, and I get the feeling sometimes that those types of characters are better off concentrating on what they do well in a group situation rather than juggling pet management too.

And the pet does count as a group member for the Bring a Friend code - so the party may get an unwelcome add. OTOH, this just ups the XP when you can deal with it, and most groups have someone that can do crowd control, whether it be a mezzer, rooter or even a fighter using engage (an under-used skill, that).

But for the most part, the true pet-owning classes should not be asked to "lose the pet", any more than we ask the healers to "lay off the insty heals" or twll the tanks to put their shields away and only use 1H weapons

 

[old.Rawkeer]

Originally posted by CreepingDeath
u guys seem to be talking about hib / alb a lot.
Im a spirit master, and my pet DOES NOT take XP, I have tested extensively.. (or it takes so little i cant notice)

I acn let my pet totally solo a mob, or myself nuke it with no pet.. I get the same XP either way after repeating this many times.

As for grouping, if it does take xp, its probly about 1k or something (when we earning millions). And being my pet can be first hit shield, can stun, nuke, and even take agro from tanks sometimes, its needed in groups.
It also lets tanks carry on fighting the main mob if i am agrod, as i have my pet for taking agro off me.
And it also acts as another attacking person, causing everyone in the group to do more damage and have more chance to hit. Including nukers.

I know in the beta my pet noticably took XP if i let it take a mob on its own.. that is not the case now.

Sorry to disappoint you but your wrong ALL pets take XP. ITs simple, its relative to the amount of damage they do. Summoned pets take a max of 25% and charmed take a max of 50%.

All sorted?

 

[Elvewen]

Originally posted by ViscountCharles
A pet can be a nuisance when it's a charmed pet - particularly if the charmer has to spend time away from the group fetching another when his current pet dies.
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The pet is a complete pain if it is the same type as the mobs that the group are currently tangling with

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The ability to charm a pet is sometimes a second- or third-string ability for some classes, and I get the feeling sometimes that those types of characters are better off concentrating on what they do well in a group situation rather than juggling pet management too.

Good post..

Point 1 - If this is going to take ages then a good player should either leave the group or carry on with out one (my preferd option)

Point 2- Completely agree why can't the name for the pet change.. add a guild style tag <Charmed Creature> to it.

Point 3 - As a sorcerer I keep the pet on standby and only use it for a pet when my DD spells get the agro and I become flavour of the moment.

And as a little asside most of my spells cant be used in close quaters (AoE spells) so all I can bring is 1 Debuf, 1 DoT and 2 DD spells. The pet gives me the ability to protect Me and the other support chars (Clerics mainly).

 

[granny]

Something nobody's mentioned here, and I think the fact that none of you pet-user's have metioned it is indicative...

The main reason I don't like pets in groups is that casters tend to get all brown-trousered when an add goes for them and set their pets onto the add straight away. Which is fine... unless you've got someone like me (a bard) just waiting for such a situation with a nice 60 second mez handy. Which the pet promptly breaks. Every time.

I've never yet seen a pet-user able to respond fast enough and pull a pet off of an add once the add is mezzed. And when you're fighting purples and the pet is green/grey to most people in the group... well, the pet goes down fast, and then the mob either goes right for the cloth-wearing pet owner (death) or me (probable death).

I don't care in the slightest about the XP taken by pets, but I do care about pet-users who can't control their pets properly (I've yet to see one manage it) with people dying as a result.

 

[Bootae]

Elvewen

And as a little asside most of my spells cant be used in close quaters (AoE spells) so all I can bring is 1 Debuf, 1 DoT and 2 DD spells.

How is your sorcerer specced?