4. A PET TO TAUNT AND PULL THEM ALL (into the darkness)

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Adonhiram
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4. A PET TO TAUNT AND PULL THEM ALL (into the darkness)

Post by Adonhiram »

And, last but not least, the old mage blabla about taunting and pulling :roll:

Here the link to the Clay Bracelet quest, which I urge you to do (insta clicky Eye of Zomm, better than the Holgresh sh*t they all get excited about in the Casino).

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Adonhiram
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Re: 4. A PET TO TAUNT AND PULL THEM ALL (into the darkness)

Post by Adonhiram »

Something went wrong when linking the Clay Bracelet quest (Thanks to mage buddy Voland from <Darkwind> who told me). Here again the link to the appropriate Alla page :

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=704
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Eany
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Re: 4. A PET TO TAUNT AND PULL THEM ALL (into the darkness)

Post by Eany »

I like your idea about using the pet to help out with crowd control. I used to regularly group with an enchanter (He has left EQ :cry: ). His charm would break and his pet would start beating the daylights out of him. I would send my pet in to get the mobs attention so the enchanter could re-charm without interruption.
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Adonhiram
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Re: 4. A PET TO TAUNT AND PULL THEM ALL (into the darkness)

Post by Adonhiram »

Eany wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2017 7:30 am I like your idea about using the pet to help out with crowd control. I used to regularly group with an enchanter (He has left EQ :cry: ). His charm would break and his pet would start beating the daylights out of him. I would send my pet in to get the mobs attention so the enchanter could re-charm without interruption.
Yes, Eany, excellent idea and, positive side effect, it will improve the image of the mage class.

But this works only since the pet aggro patch (2016 ? 2015 ? I forgot). Prior to that patch which canceled the PC>NPC rule, the decharmed mob would have sticked on chanter as for many, many years, a mob would ignore a pet if a PC was in melee range.
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Adonhiram
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Re: 4. A PET TO TAUNT AND PULL THEM ALL (into the darkness)

Post by Adonhiram »

Text version (friends told me that if you are not registered you cannot view images) :
4. USE YOUR PET AS A PULLING AND A TAUNTING TOOL

Pet pull in dungeons (without /pet hold). Yes, it is possible; I did that very frequently in Kunark and Velious era. Obviously, you'll need your pet to have a movement speed buff (as in point 3.). Then you'll need a Clay Bracelet, very easy Temple of Sol Ro quest. This item is a must-have for mages, really. Not only can you scout around the corner in a dungeon, you can also open doors as long they are not locked. But the main use for it is to pre-target the mob you want to pull and send your pet on it. Of course, don't do that if the room is very crowded, all mobs would assist and because of the lower level of Kunark pets, even green mobs will do - there are situations where you'll want to pull yourself when soloing. But if there are 2 or 3 mobs only and you know you can handle them (or you have crowd control in group), you can send your pet behind doors, around that corridor, etc. to bring mobs to you, aka pet pull. The timing in pressing your back off hotkey is crucial here to make sure pet comes back to its parking spot and doesn't fight back (no /pet hold until Luclin). It's hard to explain as you will develop a feeling and it also depends on the pet type. Adon used epic pet which is very good for these situations as it often opens with a stun, making it easier to back it off (same applies to the air pet PoP onwards). But it works pretty well with air pet and earth pet too (if you are lucky, at least one mob will be rooted). But as a rule of thumb, spam your back off hotkey only when you see (can continue watching through your Eye the pull scene if you have no line of sight - you sent your pet in a room around the corner for example) there is direct contact. As soon pet gains a bit of distance to the mob, do not spam the back off hotkey anymore, as pet moves very slowly when spamming back off. If the mob is a caster, you can wait your pet has gained distance while the mob is casting and press back off right after the spell hits. For this you need to see the scene, and that's why the Clay Bracelet is so important. It sounds scary or complicated, but you'll get used to it.

Take advantage of the new aggro rules: pet taunting to protect clerics and chanters. I won't stay too long on this as we already discussed that in the first post. The general idea is that the pet is not only there for damaging mobs, but can be used to stop, hold or taunt a mob. Many mages just assist their tank and send the pet on the tank's target. Most of the time, it's the way to go. But as NPCs now can attack a pet even if a PC is in melee range, we can make an advantage of that ‘reform’ : you can therefore use your pet to help a party member who gets jumped, to hold a mob while a chanter mezzes or charms it (the chanter will usually want to tash an add before mezzing/charming - but if the add has only initial pull/assist aggro, and chanter tashes, the mob might rush the chanter after tash ; by sending your pet, taunt on of course, you'll have a pretty good chance to taunt it off the chanter, making things easier for him). Same logic applies to protect a cleric who got heal aggro. Air pets and epic work the best for this as their stun generates huge aggro. Stun whips too, another reason to buy some for your pet! This is also the reason I hotkeyed the /pet taunt button to a very easy accessible key (‘=’ on my keyboard) as there are situations where you want to toggle taunt on – as described- and toggle it off as soon as possible, to not interfer with the group’s tank who might get upset if the mage pet evertaunts. One of my good friends in <Darkwind> (/wave Aelivaa from Austria) is a very skilled shadowknight who can’t stand anymore evertaunt mages, and he is right, you should force the taunting only when the situation requires it, which means being able to toggle quickly between the taunt on and the taunt off mode.

Offtanking an add. In a small group situation where there is no crowd control available, you can send your pet to intercept an add you see coming and offtank it. [EDIT – October 2017] Since the patch which changed Rage of Zomm and Dyzils Deafening Decoy, these two now secondary pets fulfill this role decently, though they will never be as good taunters as your regular pet, Adon uses them all the time to hold adds ; but to offtaunt from a chanter or a cleric your regular pet (epic is perfect of course, a true aggro magnet) stays the best bet -Your healer will be busy with your tank and your pet heal spells cure but don't really heal before Luclin, so will the pet survive the offtanking ? Well, all I can say, try the "Pet stop" button in your pet window once the pet has gained some aggro, you'll figure out by yourself It's a dark secret mages transfer to their apprentices in hidden and closed rooms, far away of any crowded place...[EDIT – Not so secret anymore lol]

As you can see, being a mage involves much more than sending a pet and nuking a mob. You need to be aware of the environment, look around you during fights to monitor possible adds, as you can help with the crowd control job. Watch your party members, especially the ones who can get aggro from mobs and use your pet to try to get them rid of an angry mob. Keep your chanter on target and watch what he is targeting. Think of which pet to choose and where to park it according to layout and mob pathing. Become a skilled pet puller in dungeons, bring mobs to you or your group without even moving your own ass (and do that damned Clay Bracelet quest)! Think distance and positioning. And... love your pet, it's your passport to life!
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