Phlogiston
Dalayan Beginner
As a new mage, I'd really like to know.
Which mage pet do you use for soloing and why?
- Thread starter Phlogiston
- Start date
Animand
Dalayan Elder
Well, while levelling up I mostly used the earth pet as a portable rooting tool with high HP. Instead of healing him much, I would nuke heavily and summon another as necessary. When I hit 65, I would keep him well buffed and equipped, so I used the water pet, healed when possible, and nuked a lot. Pet taunt and judicious running would generally keep me from dying. If I'm killing really weak things, I use the fire pet.
Of course, my mage is pretty much naked and staying that way, so that slants my advice. His name is Klarth, and he is so old I don't even remember when I made him. To equally old people, this was before date functionality, when Newport had JUST been settled.
Of course, my mage is pretty much naked and staying that way, so that slants my advice. His name is Klarth, and he is so old I don't even remember when I made him. To equally old people, this was before date functionality, when Newport had JUST been settled.
I used water, as his agro was much higher. For the most part, he could keep the mobs off me. With the 25% slow, he acts like he has more hp while tanking. Earth could root, but it breaks so often, and has so low agro, that it seemed worthless to me, other then the fact that it helped when there were more then 1 mob in camp. Air would work fine, especially if you are fighting alot of caster mobs, but I prefer the slow proc overall. Fire has so low defensive/hps that hes worthless for solo.
luciferblack
Dalayan Elder
Air pet after I got into the 50's. At 65, as I don't have relic, I just use air pretty much all the time.
vistachiri
Dalayan Master
Way back: Earth pet until 61. His root makes up for your lack of one, and your terrible petheals will not keep you alive while doing difficult things.
Then it's a tossup, you've got air and water which are both fine choices aggrowise. Fire's hp is too low, not a viable option. If you're going to an area with primarily casters, air is the superior choice (mielechc, those monkeys in faentharc, etc).
Now: There is a root clicky just about as effective as your 61 root, and your pet's root. Recc level 40. So use that from 40-61 (or past that and just ignore earthsplit, because it sucks). Otherwise same as above.
Then it's a tossup, you've got air and water which are both fine choices aggrowise. Fire's hp is too low, not a viable option. If you're going to an area with primarily casters, air is the superior choice (mielechc, those monkeys in faentharc, etc).
Now: There is a root clicky just about as effective as your 61 root, and your pet's root. Recc level 40. So use that from 40-61 (or past that and just ignore earthsplit, because it sucks). Otherwise same as above.
phroggonalog
Dalayan Master
earth pet + 2 targets + rains
Moraelintz
Dalayan Elder
While leveling if I was in a group I used fire pet or air and if I was solo I almost exclusively used air. Water was good enough but I always prefered air or fire.
shneekeythelost
Dalayan Beginner
= broke roots and dead mage. Rains break roots on first pulse, most of the time. Bad juju, mon.
Seriously, stay away from the earth pets, they're a trap. They have the most hp, but the LEAST amount of damage output, and no other way of maintaining aggro.
Water and Air pets are wonderful for soloing. They both have decent hit points and atk. Water pets slow for 20%, which makes them great against melee opponents. Air pets have that stun for some real aggro-glue (until you can get Taunting Echos, of course) and also has a chance of interrupting casting.
Fire pets are an odd duck. They get an innate DS, which is pretty obnoxious. They have the highest damage output of any of the pets. However, they have an innate -aggression mod built in, and the lowest amount of hit points. They are excellent in groups, when you just want more DPS, and stealing aggro is a bad idea. They will be your ONLY option if you are doing things like maps or raiding in PUGs.
But for soloing... well, I solo with my fire pet. But he's also got Companion Health V, Taunting Echos, Intervening Enchantment, and generally buffed by one of my guildies with Rageo/WoN/SSS. He's also usually got Bauble/Spear+Sword (or Cititel pet toys)/Spectral Silks equipped. So he's a bit harder to kill than your average Fire pet.
Until you hit 65, I would suggest either Water (against melee mobs) or Air (if you suspect some mobs may be casters). Both are viable. In fact, with the 20% slow from the water pet, he's got effectively as many hit points as the Earth pet does, plus the slows are aggro glue, and he takes less to heal up. The stuns from the air pet are even better aggro glue, meaning you can really cut loose with the nuking (until you get some decent rains), so they are perfectly viable against melee as well.
Last edited:
Tarutao
Staff Emeritus
Umm... you made him 26 hours before I made Tarutao, around 11pm EDT May 22nd, 2005. Unless you deleted him and re-made him, that wasn't before date functionality (sometime late in 2004).
... back on topic, I found that earth pet + rains = Cless's dead magician being played by Tarutao. I've heard air pet was better if you were trying to use rains for DPS, but I haven't tried it myself.
phroggonalog
Dalayan Master
this is actually incorrect and i have had a degree of success with roots + rains in SG at 57, i dont know what to tell you
Earth is great for rains. Last I played my 57 mage he could solo 2-4 at a time in Lasanth with ease. Back pet off slightly each time he roots one until you've cycled through each mob once or twice to build aggro. Pulling away from rooted mob makes it simple for maintaining pet target and reduces number of mobs hitting pet (thus reduce incoming damage) while you are gaining aggro. Once aggro is established this way, rain them.
shneekeythelost
Dalayan Beginner
Better way to rain is to get either water or air pet, just get the proc off each mob to hold aggro and rain away. Rains are lower aggro than nukes are, and you don't need to worry about broken root = dead mage.
This goes tenfold once you have Taunting Echos. You no longer have to worry about pet holding aggro from rains anymore.
This goes tenfold once you have Taunting Echos. You no longer have to worry about pet holding aggro from rains anymore.
vistachiri
Dalayan Master
It is on a single target. So is water.
With earth pet your safest bet is to stand at max range and DD (don't get attached, you won't be using them at all later). When it breaks send pet and run like hell, repeat. Let's you take out things you wouldn't be able to normally. Which can result in better xp and money, especially if you find a sweet higher level safe spot. Obviously you shouldn't be leaving the pet in there at this point.
Basically if you use a rain for dps on a rooted target or targets, you're relying on either
A) Getting at least two waves off to compensate for the lower damage, and more mana you're expending.
B) Having runspeed, and getting them back into the area of the rain before the 2nd goes off, and having yourself outside of it (pretty tricky, not very safe).
If you're in regular nontwink gear, don't have tboots, and don't have a high level sitting nearby to rez your ass when everything goes wrong (which let me assure you, it will), it is not worth your time.
If you're chaining rains rapidly early on you'll also still run a risk of pulling aggro off the pet. Not much of one, but pre-talok's it does happen. If you're chaining 3, you're asking for trouble.
Also generally you're going to need to be higher than any of the areas you are in to get your pet to effectively tank 2 mobs. This is because it will be getting it's ass kicked, faster than you can generally kill said mobs.
phroggonalog
Dalayan Master
an earth pet doesnt need to have two things beating it at the same time as long as one is rooted slightly out of range
EDIT: also where is all this taunting echos talk coming from (directed at everyone in thread bringing it up), when I read the OP I saw it as leveling up, not 65 and grinding AAs, please correct me if I'm wrong!!!!
EDIT EDIT: you do not need two waves of a rain to go without breaking root in order for it to be effective, just one wave on two mobs (looking at Sirocco (55) vs. Shock of Steel (57)) anything else (second wave, crits) is dolar bonus
Last edited:
vistachiri
Dalayan Master
That really doesn't change the fact it's riskier. Especially because things are generally going to run as fast, or faster than you do (I'm assuming no buffs other than self). Don't forget there is also a whole stretch of levels where soloing with the pet tanking isn't really feasible because your last heal was 24 levels ago.
Also that slightly out of range is going to have to be very very slight, and positioning it is going to probably take long enough that the earth pet's crappy root, is going to be almost over, if not broken already.
No you're right, I thought it was a bit odd too first off. But it is worth mentioning the strategy you've been using slightly changes when you acquire it later.
This is kind of assumed when I'm talking 1 target v. 2. Granted I could have said hit twice and further specified or two waves on the same target. Also you can't crit pre-aa's or searfire, so I'm not sure why you're mentioning that.
phroggonalog
Dalayan Master
Erudites and Dark Elves can both crit innately!
vistachiri
Dalayan Master
Ohhhh good call, I forgot about that with the new racials.