I used to play EQ, but left for a decade. Now, I have to admit I am new to this 'updated' version of EQ and I love it. I have noted how pets have changed and how some character classes I do not remember having pets now do (enchanter being one). I was wondering if there is a method of checking a pet's stats and/or attributes. I desire to compare them to each other (especially the mage elemental pets).
No. Players have been asking for pet stats for a long time and the devs have never responded affirmatively to the request (in fact, I cannot really remember them ever saying anything relevant on topic). It was hoped that when the merc tab was reveled and you could see stats, add gear, etc., that the pets would soon follow...but nada. You can add gear to pets … but it can get complicated as certain pets have certain gear already. There are probably several discussions in Classes - Caster (or Hybrid) about what pets come with and what you can give if you need help. BTW, enchanters have had pets since the start (used to have to run your enchanter over a mob to get hit before the pet would attack...ah, fun times...actually I guess you still do at lower levels).
I said I didn't remember the enchanter having a pet. That may be why I had such a difficult time playing the enchanter my first time. I only discovered the pet this time after getting to 8th level. You can imagine my surprise. Also, I remembered the beastlord getting a pet at the start (which was not correct, I'm sure). I did know the beastlord (and by extension, all the other pet classes) had enhancements for their pets at virtually every level. My first time playing; I had beastlords from the barbarian, cat folk, and lizard folk, so forgetting those first 7 levels without a pet is interesting and distressing. It is in the mage that I think the devs' silence can be explained. The mage gets his/her first pet at 2nd level and a new one each level into the teens before gaining a level without a new pet. My mage (and all my other characters at the moment) is level 12, so I haven't looked further ahead than level 25 (the first spell merchant for each class). I wanted to see the stats because I suspect each round of 4 pets for the mage (one pet per level) may well have the same 'power pool'... but mixing their stats from that 'pool'. If they follow the 'normal' writeup I have learned from other games featuring elementals... WATER is 2nd best at every stat and the most versatile (this would explain why they are introduced first each round... at the lowest level)... FIRE is best offense, but worst defense/HP (second introduction each round)... AIR is best speed/reaction-time/dex, better defense/HP than FIRE, better offense than EARTH (third introduced)... EARTH is best at defense/HP, but worst offense (last introduced... but at the highest level). Imagine players learning the pet(s) they receive at a certain level (2, 6, 10, 14) have the same power level as the pets they receive 3 levels higher (5, 9, 13, 17). I certain the devs don't want to deal with the repercussions of that discovery. I don't think there would be any repercussions, myself. I see nothing wrong with the setup.
ENC have had pets since the beginning as far as I know. My ENC was made in 2003 and has had a pet since level 1. As for mage pets, their pets are different classes. Air is a warrior. It is not as strong as the earth pet but it stuns which offsets it's lower defense on stunnable mobs. Fire is not the best offense, but it has a damage shield. Not sure on the class. Water is a rogue and puts out the higehest DPS when not tanking. Earth is the strongest tank due to mitigation/HP.
