https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=119697 Can we get a new swarm pet please with a faster casting time(Instant) that summonses a halfling duel wielding rolling pins?
^ This 100% Once the actual root causes of the lag are better understood and fixed we will have a better idea of what we can take where in terms of pets/swarm pets etc. but until that fix is implimented I think less is more.
You can just not use it on a raid. It’s not that difficult to tell people to not use swarm pets, familiars, nimbus, etc. There’s no reason to limit interesting group use items because of raids.
Yea some ppl on these forums think eq is just about raids! Take out the raiding eq would still live on! Andarriel
It might live on, but I think it would be seriously hamstrung. I don't have anything against the raiders, but in this instance, they might kill two birds with one stone, if they'd try laying off the swarm pets for a couple raids, and see if it makes a difference.
It's not raid lag, it's lag. It's easily seen when ToV Great Divide is decently full and one-two groups are swarming content. Spells don't cast, mobs start missing hits, etc. Raids are where it appears a lot because ... 40-54 people together mashing buttons need a lot of calculations. But there's nothing magical about it being a raid vs instance vs open world. If the zone is attempting to do enough calculations, lag occurs. Not introducing more swarm pets, proc sets, and other things which require a lot of calculations while the developing team tries to lessen the burden seems like a prudent thing to do. P.S. Rather insulting to those that raid to think that raid forces haven't tried raiding with zero swarm pets (in fact, it's still technically a standing order in MS ... although we're not really enforcing atm). It can help, but we can still experience lag regardless of swarm pet status.
So... if not using swarm pets doesn't reduce the lag.... then why object to a new swarm pet (referring to Act of Valor, above)?
Items, Abilities, Clickies, ect that are only usable in group (or raid) are poorly designed. I should be able to use all my group abilities (with situational awareness - don't break the chanters mind by ae'ing and mez breaking 40 mobs) in raid.
Raid lag is definitely a problem but overall server performance is also something to bear in mind, adding a whole lot of swarm pets, before the lag issue is fixed is short-sighted, why go and give players even more swarm pets only to potentially later on have to remove them as part of the lag solution, nobody is going to like that whether they raid or not.
But I like using 2x pet proc weapon aug (Shard of Eternal Pain https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=59768 ) on my BST, and hitting the proc every swing Bloodlust AA mid boss fight.
Sorry for the slight derail, but while you are at it can I get an upgrade for this Magmatic Deflector :: Items :: EverQuest :: ZAM (allakhazam.com)
I know it’d be more work in creating the swarm pet but I’d like to see every different type of swarm pet just spawn a single pet and make that pet do equilivent dips of what all the small pets did before. For the spells that have a chance of doing additional pets I’d rather it just summon one better swarm pet (such as bay at the moon with its 9% chance to summon 4)
If this is the route may as well eliminate Flurry, Triple Attack and tone down Double attack as well. Change twincast to apply a 2-3x damage multiplier at the end of cast instead of casting the spell twice. All these changes would greatly reduce the number of calculations going on in combat.
Careful what you wish for. I could see the triple & double being reduced back to GoD levels and in exchange the damage for regular hits being raised through AA replacements to the boosters for those - less frequent but larger hits might be the way the game has to go to get the combat processing back under budget. But Swarm pets should go first, they are a visual nuisance in the amounts existing in the game currently, reducing them for the 3 actual pet classes (and adjusting damage for lossses to things like "..of many" spells) and replacing them with "something else" for everyone else makes sense imho. Like, why Berserkers ever got a pet absolutely makes no sense to me, I am literally besides myself in anger about it... "Kill!, Smash!, Chop!, Decapit......Da F*Q!, wussat thing?" copy of me appears "Oh, hai copy of me, let's hit this thing hard together!" copy of me hit's a thing for some damage "grrrr! You suck at hitting things hard you pathetic piece of crap, go away!" copy of me looks incredibly embarrassed and fades away "My copy's poor damage offended mine eyes! Now I am madder and I hit harder without it!" without your swarm pet to distract you from your destruction you now hit harder than ever before, by the same amount of some damage that copy once did "le sigh, must find bigger axe!" You rummage around in the mighty beast's steaming entrails for treasure but all you find is a jolly halfling so happy to be rescued he bursts into song, you happily strangle it while humming the same tune it was singing moments before & grin while putting it in your knapsack for later.