If I can get gear with +hp% and +mit% why cant my tank pet use those states to well be a better tank. They are not uber in either area even at grandmaster so using gear to boost that would be nice. As always it will be a trade off survivability vs dps just like any class so I don't see a problem with that. It would also help a bit to allow our highest tank pet to get that extra 10% damage reduction from the enhanced:summoned pets aa we all purchased as young summoners.
I dunno what level you are, but after you get up in age, you won't ever use a tank pet. You use the mage pet and nothin' else. My 100 conjy runs with the mage pet and a healer mercenary. Assuming level 100, I have some recommendations. The spells I'll be mentioning are available at lower levels as specified. Also, I'm on my first cup of coffee, so there's probably things I've missed, consider this a starter. There are a number of AA items that add to pet health and defense, and also AA spells such as the Necromancer's Tainted Heals that I'm not even touching upon. All summoners can use: Soul of Defiance -- \aITEM 1769534850 -561524222:Soul of Defiance\/a -- Level 100 mastercrafted charm, 100% damage reduction to pet for 8 seconds when activated. These are mastercrafted by level 100 jewelers who have the recipes from A tattered scrap from the book of war, and you need a rare harvest (as in, plan to harvest your tuchis off), Essence of War, plus 5 each carbide ore, sapphire bixbite, and lumium cluster, plus /who all jeweler 100 to be able to get one made for you. Yeddahd's Caduceus -- \aITEM -2109048931 -1055486491:Yeddahd's Caduceus\/a -- This level 53 staff heals your pet for 50% of max health when activated (reuse 15 mins). Dropped by Trade Commissioner Aman in The Living Tombs.You can set up three hotkeys to equip the staff, use the heal, then swap back in your normal weapon. Conjurors have several means of keeping a pet alive: Spells Heal Servant IX -- \aITEM -1134998195 -1338357977:Heal Servant IX (Expert)\/a -- Level 100 version of the direct pet heal spell first available at level 2. The level 100 mastercrafted Expert version heals your pet for 1998 and dispels 141 levels of any hostile effects. You need a lumium cluster and /who all sage 100 to be able to get one made for you. Vehement Skin VI -- \aITEM 989499214 1346725304:Vehement Skin VI (Expert)\/a -- Stoneskin for your pet, first available at level 40. The level 98 mastercrafted Expert version of this spell increases your pet's Defense by 52.4 and absorbs a total of 3 attacks. You need a lumium cluster and /who all sage 98 to be able to get one made for you. Master's Intervention V -- \aITEM 986347608 369601135:Master's Intervention V (Expert)\/a -- Death Save for your pet, first available at level 48. The level 94 mastercrafted Expert version of this spell gives your pet one trigger of death save, and applies a heal of 2245 to the pet. You need a lumium cluster and /who all sage 94 to be able to get one made for you. Geotic Rune VIII -- \aITEM -1757709408 1197798844:Geotic Rune VIII (Expert)\/a -- A group buff that grants all pets in the group increased Defense and increased mitigation for the players, first available at level 12. The level 99 mastercrafted Expert version increases pet Defense (AE) by 33.2 and increases Mitigation of group members (AE) vs all damage by 503.. You need a lumium cluster and /who all sage 99 to be able to get one made for you. Necromancers also have methods of healing a pet. There may be others, but I've never played a necro: Spells Necrotic Reconstruction IX -- \aITEM 1441388222 1465150196:Necrotic Reconstruction IX (Expert)\/a -- Level 100 version of the direct pet heal spell first available at level 2. The level 100 mastercrafted Expert version health from the necromancer to the pet for 1040 and dispels 141 levels of any hostile effects, plus does a heal-over-time of 173 per second for the pet. You need a lumium cluster and /who all sage 100 to be able to get one made for you. Consumption IV -- \aITEM -825603301 -1096432171:Consumption IV (Expert)\/a -- Level 96 version of a siphoning proc first available at level 58. Gives the pet 15 seconds of the ability to steal health with every successful attack or spell cast on an enemy (stolen health is divided, giving 227 points of health each to the necro and the pet).
the mit curve leap-frogging our tank pets post Skyshrine left a big gaping hole in my soul; oh how i miss ye days of tank pet mit being within 50% of real tanks
^^^ This The changes were made for a reason. I've seen conjies almost double their parse with the scout pet. It all depends on the fight and group/raid setup.
In many fights the scout pet is now doing better dps than the mage. If you are fighting single mobs, or even groups of single encounter mobs, the scout will outshine the mage these days. You will definitely want to use the mage pet if you have an encounter with 3 or more mobs, but other than that the scout seems to do better. I am certainly not an expert with my conjy, as he is an alt that I don't use a whole lot- so those with more experience probably could tell you more accurately, but the above has seemed true in my limited testing. Hah....I realized after posting I completely ignored the OP. Basically higher survival is ultimately going to come with doing the most dps and burning the mobs down fast enough. UP to around level 50, I used exclusively the tank pet when soloing. from 50-70, I would swap between tank and mage because I couldn't figure out which was best- on some of the harder mobs, tank seemed better, but mostly mage did. After level 70, and until the recent upgrade to scout pets, it was mage hands down. Now, I will switch between mage and scout, often on the fly with the use of the new ability, depending on what I am fighting. Essentially, being able to apply mitigation/block gear to the tank pet wouldn't make much difference as the dps pets tend to be superior to the tank pet for soloing.
You will use the tank pet if you're solo taking on epic mobs from Destiny of Velious and higher (Tower of Frozen Shadow x2 being an exception as a pretty easy zone), as the tank pet is the only one able to not die with them all the time, and hold aggro, but he is truly great at that now, too. Other than that, yes, fighting against easier mobs, or in AoM heroic groups you'll want to use the Scout pet all the time, as he does some nice damage, with the rare exceptions of encounter-linked mobs or large crowds being pulled, like in Hidden Caldera, at which point it's worthwhile to switch to Mage pet for that quickly, then back to Scout.
hrm. the only way i am able to do aom advanced solo's in my all broker-bought gear is with the tank pet tanking and breaking out stamper or that new mystic merc for bosses. the mage and scout pets not only do not hold threat well, they drop like a sack of bricks.
Get yourself a full set of mastercrafted gear, made from purified rares (which are pretty darn cheap on the broker due to oversupply). Then get every piece experimented up to "Visionary" quality. My Visionary resist jewelry has thus far been better than most raid drops I've seen. If you don't do the crafting yourself, remember that chest, pants, and rings usually represent two crafts (one to make the base item, one to imbue). And experimentation to the Visionary stage is five very long, difficult crafts. Plan to pay all fuel costs, provide your own rares, and tip the craftsman generously! But DON'T buy a set pre-made from the broker unless it is priced insanely cheap -- compare the cost of the rares needed to the final item.
1. Summoner pets share the players stats and buffs. If your gear sucks, their stats suck. 2. Summoners wear garbage bags for armor. You focus on potency, ab mod and doublecast. So does your pet. 3. Scout pets benefit from the flurry cloak and belt more than the mage pet benefits from the double cast. It's now feasible to put a properly geared conj in a scout group. Again, the pet shares the stats and buffs with the player. 4. Tank pets won't have mitigation because you don't have mitigation. Change your gear for more mit and health. Design your summoner to your playstyle. Because players share their stats with their pet you are basically an all in one class. You will excel at whatever you focus your gear to do. Summon Options (think of these as a ladder, if one don't work try the next wrung) Tank pet in defensive stance - Ultimate survival Tank pet in offensive stance - Survival, minimal DPS Scout pet in defensive stance - Survival, a little more dps, use for single target named Scout pet in offensive stance - Best overall dps for any single target fight Mage pet in defensive stance - AoE dps and will keep the mobs on your pet instead of on you Mage pet in offensive stance - Best overall dps for encounter fights (remember mage pets are only green aoes now) Healer pet - Just don't, ever. Really. BTW - Part of being a good summoner is mastering your usage of your stances and pets. Both are toggelable in combat, as are your weapons. Use weapon stats to further amplify your scouts and mages performance based on the fight itself.
