Been away. What's the current state of pet tanking?

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Goranothos, Mar 12, 2016.

  1. Goranothos Augur

    I've been away for a few months and am thinking of coming back (I'm off work for a week so now is the perfect time). I understand that there have been some pet nerfs while I've been away, and was wondering if I should bother to come back.

    My playstyle for the past several years has been two boxing two gold accounts (101 mage/100 shammy). I mostly like going to content that's a year or two old, killing nameds, doing achievements, and trying to upgrade my gear with named drops. I have no plans to raid ever again (unless EQ is still around when I retire, or I hit the lottery, lol).

    I generally run with one cleric merc and a wizzy merc. Pet tank (of course). So, with the recent pet nerfs that I've read a little bit about......would my setup still be viable?
  2. Thraine Augur

    get a decent enhanced minion item and you'll do just fine. you wont have to worry about grouping with anyone
  3. Repthor Augur

    dont trust kaedyn his trying to make you come back
  4. Tweelis Augur

    So I just finished The Cover of Night on Brother Island. One siren on this mission is very easy. My lobby buffed earth pet can tank all day long as long as you get a single. Yes you can even walk away to get another cup of coffee if you want as long as it's one mob. When going against two mobs however you'll need to help your cleric merc out a fair amount. No need to go all out burn on a double pull but it's a significant change from a single pull. When it comes to a triple pull I have to go all out on this mission (pretty much any task/mission really) in order to have a decent chance (say 50%) of surviving. If not for my gyrospire relocation device it would have been curtains for me.

    The biggest change I've noticed is our gargoyle pet is no longer the agro machine I was use to having. Before recent changes I could have my earth pet take two sirens on at a time then simply chain my gargoyle on a third mob. Now however when a gargoyle dies a mob will come after you and it's luck of the draw if the mob will switch to the gargoyle or stay on you (or in your case maybe a burning wizard).

    If you have plat to spare and can gear up your pet with dimensional armor and the like things will smooth out a fair amount but even that is touch and go in some situations. I can't speak for The Broken Mirror mobs (named or trash).

    I have the EM16 pet focus (currently around 100k on Bertoxx) which if you don't have better it's a very easy camp.

    Here's a parse against the most recent named fight I did. Full rank 3 raid buffs, decked out in the best armor/jewelry I can make. http://oi61.tinypic.com/24vtahk.jpg

    Gobarn vs. Deathcaller Xylok - Hit
    Attempts: 288/288 - 100%
    Invulnerable: 0/288 - 0%
    Riposted: 5/288 - 1.74%
    Parried: 8/283 - 2.83%
    Dodged: 2/275 - 0.73%
    Blocked: 18/273 - 6.59%
    Defended: 33/288 - 11.46%
    Missed: 24/255 - 9.41%
    Hits: 231/288 - 80.21%
    Absorbed: 20/231 - 8.66%
    Real Hits: 211/288 - 73.26%
    2308: 3/211 - 1.42%
    2564: 27/211 - 12.8%
    2715: 3/211 - 1.42%
    3016: 53/211 - 25.12%
    3271: 3/211 - 1.42%
    3464: 3/211 - 1.42%
    3581: 1/211 - 0.47%
    3848: 5/211 - 2.37%
    3978: 4/211 -
    Goranothos likes this.
  5. Goranothos Augur

    I forgot which EM I have, but it's better than 16.

    So, will I have to ditch the wizzy merc? I read that pets can't hold agro for sh*t now.....
  6. Cicelee Augur

    Good magicians are good. Bad magicians are bad. That is about it.
    Iila likes this.
  7. Goranothos Augur

    Which are you?
  8. Enkel Augur

    Whatever he wants to be, that day. He's mastered casting mod rods, so he's climbed the pinnacle of our class. Even in Roi we are astonished at the rate he churns them out. Over a year ago he forced a mage into retirement because his, Cicelee, guide to awesome magehood was like watching a panda master chi. Legend says Cicelee no longer engages mobs but walks the path of tranquility. His elemental fury tamed, he seeks only to return mana to those in need.

    Now, when it comes to dps and pet tanking, he's woefully average. But that doesn't matter as a mage.
    Quatr, Cicelee, Iila and 3 others like this.
  9. Goranothos Augur

    High praise. Has he reached the 9th Dan and joined the likes of Jaytee Bushwacker on the celestial path yet? Legend has it Jaytee could spell out his name when placing mod rods on the ground, back in the day....
    Cicelee and Faana like this.
  10. Enkel Augur

    I don't know if Cicelee is that far along in his training, but legend has it that a legend has it that his legendary master could bend mana like A-Z Spaghettios
    Cicelee likes this.
  11. Goranothos Augur

    So, back to the original topic. Are wizzy mercs still useable in a pet tanking situation (let's say on Balanced, not Burn), or has pet agro been nerfed so much that wizzy mercs can no longer be used? Sure, I could spend $30 for a one month subscription for two gold accounts and find out for myself, but I'm asking here first.

    If wizzy mercs steal agro from a pet tank all the time, have the high level merc tanks been upgraded any? Last time I tried to use a merc tank, it was completely underwhelming for the group content I was attempting, even with shammy buffs.
    Faana likes this.
  12. Metanis Bad Company

    I'm pet tanking current content with no issues at all. I suggest using your shaman doggie with hate aggro weapons to periodically gank aggro. Two pets getting aggro regularly helps keep it off your full-burn merc wizzies. Keeping a fat pet up if your mana regen can handle it is also good.
  13. Goranothos Augur

    @Metanis So you can pet tank current content without your merc wizzy pulling agro on Burn? What's your setup? I couldn't put my merc wizzy on Burn without it pulling agro even before the recent pet agro nerfs.

    Also....what's a "fat pet"?
  14. Matari Augur

    Both the Air and Water Pet have no issues with holding agro for wizard mercs. Holding agro for real PCs is a different story.
  15. Goranothos Augur

    @Matari "Holding agro for real PCs is a different story."

    Not sure what you mean by this. A pet can never hold agro over any PC that is within melee range of a mob. The mob will always ignore the pet and hit the PC. Or are you talking about PC wizzies/mages/other casters?
  16. Zamiam Augur


    you can now mellee with a pet tank and pet will hold agro over a PC .. change was made recently ..
  17. Goranothos Augur

    @Zamiam Well, that's news to me. Thanks.
  18. Xianzu_Monk_Tunare Augur

    I am fairly sure it only happened this year, or maybe late December of last year. It is still very new and not much has been said about it. I'm not sure how it works as I have not tried it.
    Goranothos likes this.
  19. Cicelee Augur

    Pet aggro is fine.

    Pet tanking is fine.

    The issue with the class is not pets. It is mod rods. Specifically the inability to drop them on the ground into shapes. All you new kool kidz just don't understand the magician class the way myself and Jaytee do...
    Enkel likes this.
  20. Enkel Augur


    Preach it! We've gone too far away from our roots. We used to spam mod rods and drop them on the ground. We made people smile,cause their parse was higher because of us. Now!? Now we're a shadow of our former selves, and we have no one else to blame but.......... well you know....