Took a break form EQ for the last couple months. Was thinking about starting back after seeing some good reviews of the ToV expansion. Looks to be fun and causal friendly, unlike the last expansion. Just wondering how the 111+pets are looking. Did they get a decent boost? Just wondering which accounts to get the expansion for and was wondering if the new pets are worth it for my mage account. Thanks!!
I don't have any empirical data but I've been grouping with a necro who has an EM24 ToV pet that has been regularly off-tanking T2 mobs on bad pulls to great effect. Pets still suffer from having no AE aggro, so you'll still have to micromanage if you want them to tank multiple mobs. Mages can do OK with their beefy swarm pets that can slow down mobs, and root/CC can still be used of course.
Seems to me so far, magician pets got normal boosts, and work as well as can be expected nowadays, as tanks. You're probably not going to tank many named with a pet and a single merc healer. You're probably not going to molo tank two trash mobs with a pet and a single merc healer without using any cooldown abilities. Even trash has high HP, and pet would have to tank them for too long, without using abilities with cooldowns. If you're killing mobs fast enough (full group) pet can serve as a tank if getting single mobs, with a merc healer, but their agro is pretty terrible, even with agro swords, if have any good DPS toons in group. Pet with a real healer + merc healer do fairly well. I've pet tanked every named I've been able to single pull so far, and can tank up to 3 trash mobs at once. Real healer, with real healer boosts, buffs, etc is key. Mercs are terrible, compared. Just my opinion, but I think that's exactly where pets should be at, for group game. Real tank class puts them to shame, a single magician won't be moloing named all day long, but a real healer is capable of keeping pet alive, if can't find a real tank for some things.
This expansion is a lot easier than TBL in regards to DMG out-put, so pets should tank fine in most areas.
