How is the state of the necro pet for tanking? Another RL old timero friend came back, and he wants to box and level all the way to 105, for fun, before joining us. He likes complex gameplay, and used to play enchanter and necro. Right now he has a bard and enchanter, but I think he will need a third toon when he gets in the 80'ies and the tank merc no longer cuts it. So could a necro pet with proper group EM, perhaps a few runes, mage pet gear, and bard songs, blocked slow heals, and 1-2 healer mercs handle group content tanking to lvl 100? He does not want to box a mage or a tank. BL is also on the table, but the necro is so him.
No idea on Necro pet tanking, but just thought I'd point out that Enchanter can go solo from 1-105 with no support fairly quickly. You said he likes complex gameplay and most people would probably lump solo/molo Enchanter play into that category. Since he's already played one and is familiar with how they work, that may be a good path to take. I've recently done this with a fresh start on a new server, and never felt the need for a box to help me out. The faster/smarter ways to level don't involve tanking, so the unity rune nerf won't affect him (and if he's an old school Enchanter, he'll be used to not relying solely on rune tanking anyway). Good luck!
Necro pets can tank naked, even after all the nerfs. The most recent patch brought back easy mode pet tanking for necros with a healer merc. The rogue pet could even tank under certain conditions (pre-patch). Do not underestimate the value of swarm pets. They are very useful even after their changes. Necros have a very nice toolbox. The question is how lazy do you want to be? Two cleric mercs, fully geared pet and debuffed mobs...you can just go AFK and let stuff happen. If you want to get creative on your own, necros can solo many mobs with or without pet. Necro, cleric merc and warrior pet is a group that can complete just about any current level content and progression. In a group of real players you can take greater risks, kill faster, etc but you do not have to wait around for a group or box if you prefer playing one character.
bumped my 30 necro to 85 heroic and just as it was at 30 even at 85 my pet can barely hold aggro. and thats only if i carefully manage which dots i use and for sure dont use to many and watch aggro meter carefully. i think the better luck is to fear kite.
War pet with EM 23, full mag summoned, nec/dru/shm/merc buffed, bad heals blocked, healer merc x 2 with full AAs on reactive and balanced will regularly die on a single trash if not babysat with runes and such in EoK end zones.
is this with a cleric merc? Cause no pet can really tank without a healer (unless you have a group blasting things down really fast)
You can FD dance. If you FD and let the DoT tick while your FDing you don't generate aggro. Well at least it used to work like back in the days I was tank farming some old named. its easy to do since all your DoT sync together and tick at the same time every 6sec no mather when you've casted these DoTs. I agree its just easier to kite when possible but when your in a packed area it can be very handy.
I missed that one. Yuk. Though mage pets don't fare supper well in EoK tier2 zones either. The bigger issue is that pets were designed for TDS zones, nerfed about 5 times, and here we are 2 expansions later with the same pets.
Necro pet tanking is iffy. If your on top of it, you will do fine with a healer merc, but they are still squishy, and I don't care how many AA you have. About the best way to manage it is to just flop your pet every now and again when hes taking a beat down, just cast your swarm pets a second or two prior to hold aggro off the merc. If you've dotted him up good expect to get aggro pretty fast. You most likely will want to FD prior to pet FD, then get the pet up first and you stand up last. It's not that bad once your used to it, just have to watch that aggro meter.
It seems like everything in the EoK summons, so root rotting and fear kiting isn't much of an option anymore. At level 105 and two healer mercs (one 105 and one 98), I have no issue even taking named mobs with my pet in LC, SW or FM. I can molo pretty much all yard trash in these zones (including yellow giants) with no issue using a single healer merc on reactive (I do use the AA rune before I pull). One of the keys to making this work is slow... the necro low level version (or better if you have it in your group). As mentioned earlier, agro is dealt with via feigning when you get near 90%.
does everyone block the promised spell line on their pets? Thats the spell line that does nothing for 18 seconds then casts a big heal. However when a merc casts it, they assume the target is healed and don't do anything else. Healer mercs perform WAY better after you block all promised spells
I follow these instructions (I cant remember where I stole this from, so if it's yours, sorry and thanks). I only wish we could control the healing spells going onto the Tank Merc as well. -------------- Step 1. Block Ineffective Spells on yourself AND pets EQ players—>Character Button—>Blocked Buffs—> Type in the following EQ players—>Character Button—>Blocked Pet Buffs—> Type in the following 1. Complete Heal (Outdated and slow cast) 2. Promised Recuperation (Good spell, but not when your hit hard for 7-8k+) 3. Devout Elixir (Heal over time) With those 3 spells blocked the merc will now cast the following spells: 1) Devout Light (10k heal) 2) Frenetic Renewal (13k heal with some cure components) 3) Elixir of Expiation (Group Heal Over Time. Helpful against the AE’ing mobs) 4) Twelfth Night (low HP quick heal) Comments: Your cleric can cast any of the 7 spells listed above. In several scenarios, the first 3 listed above are too innefective when getting hit by high level mobs. By blocking the first 3 spells (Complete Heal, Promised Recuperation, and Devout Elixir) on yourself AND your pets, the Cleric Merc will cast the more effective heals which is better suited for todays mobs. If you do NOT have the spells blocked on yourself AND your pets: The cleric merc will occasional cast a Heal Over Time and then NOT HEAL until the timer has run out. In other scenarios, they will cast “Complete Heal”, which is too slow of a heal. Side Note: EVERYONE in the group must have the first 3 spells blocked for this to work. If you have 1 member in the group who doesn’t have those spells blocked, the cleric will contine casting the ineffective spells and you won’t get any benefits. Example 1: If player 1 has Devout Elixir Block, but player 2 doesn’t. The merc could cast “Devout Elixir” and only player 2 gets the actual heal. Example 2: If all members in the group have the first 3 spells (Complete Heal, Promised Recuperation, and Devout Elixir) blocked, the Merc Cleric will cast the quicker and more effective heals. Step 2. Have 2 Merc Clerics in the Group? Comments: Cleric Mercenaries do not coordinate well. Have 1 set to “Reactive” and the other set to “Balanced” Example 1: If both Cleric Mercs are set to “Reactive” they will try to cast the same heal at the same time. If they both cast a HOT heal, 1 will get over written and the tanks will suffer grealty. Example 2: If you have 1 merc set to “Reactive” and the other set to “Balanced”, the mercs will cast their heals on different intervals and give you more consistent healing throughout the fight. Example 3: If you have 3 clerics mercs in your group; set 1 to “Reactive” and the other 2 to “Balanced”. Step 3. Is there a Fast Way to Block and Unblock Spells? Comments: YES there is. Always remember. When you have a PLAYER CLERIC in your group, you want to make sure you have the spells Unblocked. Players will of couse use better judgement on when and when not to use the spells. So be sure to have the spells unblocked if you get a real cleric in your group. Please make macros for a quick way to “Block” and “Unblock” the Cleric Spells. To “Block” the Ineffective Merc Cleric Spells at the same time: /blockspell add me 13 18272 18254 To “Unblock” the Ineffective Merc Cleric Spells at the same time: /blockspell remove me 13 18272 18254 To block pet /blockspell add pet 13 18272 18254 To unblock pet /blockspell remove pet 13 18272 18254 Additional Codes and Info for Blocks Spells: To block Complete Heal: /blockspell add me 13 To unblock Complete Heal: /blockspell remove me 13 To block Promised Recuperation RK III: /blockspell add me 18272 To unblock Promised Recuperation RK III: /blockspell remove me 18272 To block Devout Elixir RK III: /blockspell add me 18254 To unblock Devout Elixir RK III: /blockspell remove me 18254 Earnest Elixir Rk. III — Spell Number 25124 NOTE: 1: Increase Hitpoints v2 by 2787 per tick Casting Time: 3 seconds Promised Resurgence Rk. III — Spell Number 25167 NOTE: 1: Increase Hitpoints by 17965 2: Increase Hitpoints by 5390 Casting Time:Casting Time:0.25 Duration: 3 ticks Also please note this is a good spell so its situational on when to block it and is listed last so you can copy all but this spell number if you don’t want to block it. Elixir of the Ardent Rk. III — Spell Number 25242 NOTE: 1: Increase Hitpoints v2 by 2535 per tick Target Type: Group v1 Casting Time: 4.5 Duration: 4 ticks To Block all 7 at same time: /blockspell add me 13 18272 18254 25124 25242 2198 2199 To unblock all 7 at same time: /blockspell remove me 13 18272 18254 25124 25242 2198 2199 Step 4. How do you block other annoying spells? “Blessing of the Harvest” Type: /blockspell add me 2198 “Blessing of the Storm” Type: /blockspell remove me 2199 To block both (AE Food and Water) at the same time: /blockspell add me 2198 2199 To unblock both: /blockspell remove me 2198 2199 3188 = Rod of Mystical Transvergence 2538 = Mass Mystical Transvergence 1503 = Modulating Rod 10700 = Wand of Elemental Transvergence 10763 = Mass Elemental Transvergence 10764 = “” Rank 2 10765 = “” Rank 3 Please be aware: If you block the Rk. III it blocks the entire line.
A couple things: 1. Every 5 lvls, the "promised" spell changes name to something else which always starts with the word "promised. You need to block each of these (or if your 105, only the highest lvl version). 2. Perhaps the instructions are old and cleric merc behavior has changed, but the entire group no longer needs to block a spell to stop the merc from ever casting it. I've had promised blocked on pet and not on the character, and that works correctly (once I noticed, I of course blocked it my character, but my pet wasn't ever getting the spell). 3. I find allowing elixirs to be fine on pets. A merc will still cast more if needed. This enables the bonus that when out of combat, the merc casts elixirs and has a chance to med. If you have a single merc on reactive and are always in combat, the merc can run low and force a med break. This lets it stretch the mana a bit more, and allows for extra healing in combat (hot and direct heals)
Hmmmm I don't believe you. I was playing my ranger with a necro and the necro had no problem tanking trash mobs..... The named was a doable but not the most efficient at all haha. And you should have it on reactive and efficient
They could have been doing basepop with some funny effect? Giants have a AE nuke at like 40%, sarnaks do their riposte self-buff that has to be dispelled - something like that could kill the pet? Without their being bigger underlying weakness concerns. Like the last couple commentators I haven't had an issue with my necro's pet, but also he hasn't been primary tank. I leave her /taunt on in groups, though, so she definitely takes some hits.
