Hi all, thanks for all your previous help but I've now dinged 9th level and got a pet and some spells. This I was greatly looking forward to but it has thrown up a few questions. (As well as some old one that I've not asked yet.)
1. The slam ability? I only ever seem to do 1 damage. Can I increase that? Can I get other similar abilities? And should I be clicking on slam repeatedly all through a fight or is it used another way?
2. I've been trying to use my pet to pull while playing solo. However my pet never comes back as it gets hit while trying to withdraw and so returns to the fight. Am I doing this wrong, or just trying to do something I can't. Should I just let my pet die and then summon another rather than trying to rescue it / keep it alive?
3. I thought I'd get a pet and it would be a friend for life, but not so. When zoning I have to summon another, and sometimes when running about I gorget the follow command and leave him miles behind. Hence summon another. Am I missing the point?
4. If I buff my pet does it benefit? Can I look at it's stats to see how it's doing?
5. Can I give my pet kit? I know it's a wolf but I gave it a dagger and it took it. Will it benefit?
6. I generally solo due to not getting on much, but in a group what is my expected role as a beastlord?
7. How can I see how much mana i have other than as a percentage on the bar? This is no good if I know a spell costs 20 mana.
8. Does my pet disappear after time? I seem to lose it occasionally for no reason?
Lots of questions I know but I've been saving them up. :)
Many thanks for any answers, opinions and help offered.
I'm still getting there slowy.
All the best to all of you.
Lance.
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1. The slam ability?
Slam is a racial ability for the large races (ogre, troll, barbarian, and presumably the vah shir, though I've never played one). Unless you get bash as a class skill (which does the same thing, only with significantly more damage), you can't increase the skill or damage it inflicts. That said, it is still handy, since it has a chance of stunning your target.
2. I've been trying to use my pet to pull while playing solo.
"/pet back off" will cause your pet to retreat back to you, but the minute the target hits it again, it will turn around and fight. It is better to do your own pulling and step back when your pet engages. Or... pull with a spell (the shaman slow spells you get are good for this), and hotkey /pet attack. You can get it to engage before the target gets to you.
3. I thought I'd get a pet and it would be a friend for life, but not so.
Afraid not. The Beastlord pet works like any other pet class now. You'll have to re-summon when it dies and when you zone.
4. If I buff my pet does it benefit? Can I look at it's stats to see how it's doing?
Yes, it benefits the pet. The degree to which it benefits the pet is questionable. Strength definitely increases average damage for a pet. I suspect dexterity will affect your proc'ing spells (when you get them). Stamina will provide more hit points, though not many at that level. Agility, in theory, works as well, though I haven't seen any benefits when buffing a pet.
5. Can I give my pet a weapon?
In the past, it ignored the delay and would only hit harder IF the weapon had a very high damage. I'm not certain what the rules are now, since I haven't played a pet class since before Velious.
6. I generally solo due to not getting on much, but in a group what is my expected role as a beastlord?
Good question. Depends on the group, really. In general, you're a DPS (Damage per second) character. Your pet deals out tremendous damage. You also dish out pretty formidable damage with duel-wield. The vast majority of the time you don't want to "tank" (be the character taking the damage), since you are restricted to leather-class armor and your HPs never compete with warriors, paladins, or SKs. If you aren't grouped with a shaman or enchanter, you will probably be responsible for slowing targets. At high levels, you get a great many beneficial buffs, including mana regeneration spells. For the time being, take a look at shaman tactics. You really have to adapt to the particular group you are playing with.
7. How can I see how much mana i have other than as a percentage on the bar? This is no good if I know a spell costs 20 mana.
There are several sites that will calculate your mana total for you. I don't have any links handy, but try eq.castersrealm.com (should be mana calculators there) or put a profile up on magelo.com
8. Does my pet disappear after time? I seem to lose it occasionally for no reason?
Again, not to my knowledge, but I haven't played a pet class in a long time.
Hope that helps.
Slam is a racial ability for the large races (ogre, troll, barbarian, and presumably the vah shir, though I've never played one). Unless you get bash as a class skill (which does the same thing, only with significantly more damage), you can't increase the skill or damage it inflicts. That said, it is still handy, since it has a chance of stunning your target.
2. I've been trying to use my pet to pull while playing solo.
"/pet back off" will cause your pet to retreat back to you, but the minute the target hits it again, it will turn around and fight. It is better to do your own pulling and step back when your pet engages. Or... pull with a spell (the shaman slow spells you get are good for this), and hotkey /pet attack. You can get it to engage before the target gets to you.
3. I thought I'd get a pet and it would be a friend for life, but not so.
Afraid not. The Beastlord pet works like any other pet class now. You'll have to re-summon when it dies and when you zone.
4. If I buff my pet does it benefit? Can I look at it's stats to see how it's doing?
Yes, it benefits the pet. The degree to which it benefits the pet is questionable. Strength definitely increases average damage for a pet. I suspect dexterity will affect your proc'ing spells (when you get them). Stamina will provide more hit points, though not many at that level. Agility, in theory, works as well, though I haven't seen any benefits when buffing a pet.
5. Can I give my pet a weapon?
In the past, it ignored the delay and would only hit harder IF the weapon had a very high damage. I'm not certain what the rules are now, since I haven't played a pet class since before Velious.
6. I generally solo due to not getting on much, but in a group what is my expected role as a beastlord?
Good question. Depends on the group, really. In general, you're a DPS (Damage per second) character. Your pet deals out tremendous damage. You also dish out pretty formidable damage with duel-wield. The vast majority of the time you don't want to "tank" (be the character taking the damage), since you are restricted to leather-class armor and your HPs never compete with warriors, paladins, or SKs. If you aren't grouped with a shaman or enchanter, you will probably be responsible for slowing targets. At high levels, you get a great many beneficial buffs, including mana regeneration spells. For the time being, take a look at shaman tactics. You really have to adapt to the particular group you are playing with.
7. How can I see how much mana i have other than as a percentage on the bar? This is no good if I know a spell costs 20 mana.
There are several sites that will calculate your mana total for you. I don't have any links handy, but try eq.castersrealm.com (should be mana calculators there) or put a profile up on magelo.com
8. Does my pet disappear after time? I seem to lose it occasionally for no reason?
Again, not to my knowledge, but I haven't played a pet class in a long time.
Hope that helps.
I'm answering your questions from the viewpoint of a necromancer (or other toons I play), but most of the pet questions still apply.
1. Just click on it. Don't know much about it b/c I've never had a toon with it.
2. Don't pull with your pet for the exact reason you stated. Once it gets hit, it'll be hard to get it back. Try pulling with a spell and time your "Pet attack" so that the pet meets the mob halfway. Start working on keeping your pet alive now. BL pets are VERY tough in the higher end game. The fact that you can go in and actually tank with it helps. You'll have to do this a lot in the early stages as all pets are nothing more then a minor dot early on.
3. He's a very obidient pet, but dumb pet. He'll do exactly what you say to, but you have to tell him to do everything just about. You'll get used to hitting that follow button. Later on I believe you get a summon companion spell (I know necros do at least) which can help a lot. Obviously, don't summon a pet if you don't need to, like in PoK. Don't waste the mana to summon a new one if you leave him behind. You know where you were, just run back and get him.
4. You can and should buff your pet. He's your buddy. You can see what buffs he has on in your pet control window but you can't see the stats unfortunately.
5. You can give your pet armor and weapons. There's always huge debate about how much it benefits. What I did with my necro was give them 1 handed weapons until he was dualwielding reliably, then it didn't matter anymore.
6. I've never played the BL much, so I'll leave this to others. I know they have limited slowing abilities and some pretty good buffs (usually like lower level shammy buffs except kitty crack). Pets are used for offtanking a lot of times too, since BL pets are insane later on.
7. There may be some custom UI's out there that can do this, but I'm not sure. My best advice is just get used to how much mana your spells usually cost. Soon you'll be able to look at your bar and say "I have enough mana to cast this, this and this"... you'll just know.
8. Different things can make your pet disappear. If it gets killed, of course, or you zone. Also, if you go invis, regular invis, camo, invis vs animals, invis vs undead... any, it will poof. Necro pets will poof if they stay feign deathed for 2 mins or more. There may be something like that for BL's too, but not that I know of.
Like I said, this is mostly from a necro's point of view, so there may be differences, but the pet advice is the same. Good luck.
1. Just click on it. Don't know much about it b/c I've never had a toon with it.
2. Don't pull with your pet for the exact reason you stated. Once it gets hit, it'll be hard to get it back. Try pulling with a spell and time your "Pet attack" so that the pet meets the mob halfway. Start working on keeping your pet alive now. BL pets are VERY tough in the higher end game. The fact that you can go in and actually tank with it helps. You'll have to do this a lot in the early stages as all pets are nothing more then a minor dot early on.
3. He's a very obidient pet, but dumb pet. He'll do exactly what you say to, but you have to tell him to do everything just about. You'll get used to hitting that follow button. Later on I believe you get a summon companion spell (I know necros do at least) which can help a lot. Obviously, don't summon a pet if you don't need to, like in PoK. Don't waste the mana to summon a new one if you leave him behind. You know where you were, just run back and get him.
4. You can and should buff your pet. He's your buddy. You can see what buffs he has on in your pet control window but you can't see the stats unfortunately.
5. You can give your pet armor and weapons. There's always huge debate about how much it benefits. What I did with my necro was give them 1 handed weapons until he was dualwielding reliably, then it didn't matter anymore.
6. I've never played the BL much, so I'll leave this to others. I know they have limited slowing abilities and some pretty good buffs (usually like lower level shammy buffs except kitty crack). Pets are used for offtanking a lot of times too, since BL pets are insane later on.
7. There may be some custom UI's out there that can do this, but I'm not sure. My best advice is just get used to how much mana your spells usually cost. Soon you'll be able to look at your bar and say "I have enough mana to cast this, this and this"... you'll just know.
8. Different things can make your pet disappear. If it gets killed, of course, or you zone. Also, if you go invis, regular invis, camo, invis vs animals, invis vs undead... any, it will poof. Necro pets will poof if they stay feign deathed for 2 mins or more. There may be something like that for BL's too, but not that I know of.
Like I said, this is mostly from a necro's point of view, so there may be differences, but the pet advice is the same. Good luck.
dhirge and Jiggidyjay,
If I could rate your replies you'd win prizes.
Many thanks, very, very helpful.
You are what makes this site great.
Lance.
If I could rate your replies you'd win prizes.
Many thanks, very, very helpful.
You are what makes this site great.
Lance.
Beastlords are also very respectable off-tanks. Where there are adds and no enchanter or other mezzing class the pet can keep one occupied for a time while the group kills the first mob.
Always be clear with the group healer(s) whether you will be healing your pet or expecting them to. We don't want Fluffy dying because each was expecting the other to heal.
Don't give your warder candy - it rots their teeth and reduces their damage output.
Always be clear with the group healer(s) whether you will be healing your pet or expecting them to. We don't want Fluffy dying because each was expecting the other to heal.
Don't give your warder candy - it rots their teeth and reduces their damage output.
Wherever I go - there I am.
Since the people that answered before don't have Beastlord mains, I'll post my own answers and see if they prove useful...
1. Nothing new to add.
2. It seems to me, from this and other questions, that you might not have your Pet window up. I can't remember the exact keypress for this...but I do know that in the Options menu there is an option for this window to come up automatically when a pet is summoned. I believe that the default is ON, but if you turned it off at some point I highly recommend putting it back on. When you have the pet window up you will have most of the pet commands, including one for /pet back off. You can just spam this button to get your pet to come back...although if it gets hit on the way it will turn around to attack again...as you have seen. Also, if your pet is set to Guard, then it will move back to its home point much more slowly than if you have it set to Follow. So if it keeps getting hit, tell it to Follow before you tell it to Back Off. You really won't be able to do much about this until you get the /pet hold ability from the Pet Discipline AA ability, at a much higher level. So, as others suggested, pull with a spell or with a Throwing item, which is the only ranged attack Beastlords get.
3. At level 30 or so you get the Summon Companion spell, which lets you teleport your pet to you from anywhere in the zone, assuming it isn't fighting anything. So if you forget to tell it to follow, or if is taking too long to find you, then this can save some time. Or you can even leave it behind on purpose and then summon it later, if you like.
4. Again, if you have the pet window up you can see all the buffs that are on it. You will soon get some specific pet-only buffs that greatly increase your pet's damage output. You can extend the pet window to see all the buffs that are on the pet...I didn't realize that for a long time.
5. Magicians can summon some very nice pet gear that will benefit your pet very well. They add extra haste, hit points, and proccing abilities. Basically, pets are pretty smart, and if what you give them is worse than what they can do themselves, they won't use it.
6. Oh, man...there are so many things that Beastlords can do in a group. Since we are a Leather class, we don't tank as well as the Plate classes, but since we have lots of hit points we can do a pretty respectable job. In general we are just added DPS...and until the very high end of the game we are among the best. Don't forget that your pet hits more often when attacking from behind!
Because our pet usually has a quite large amount of hit points, and our heal spells are very mana efficient and don't draw aggro, we can be crowd control on multi-pulls and usually last more than long enough for the first mob to be taken care of.
The spells we bring to the group are also very useful. We get many of the same spells as Shamans, but at much higher levels. However, if there's no Shaman in a group, then something is better than nothing. Starting at level 22 we can Slow with Drowsy, which is around 15%. It only gets better, with upgrades at levels 50, 60, and 65. At level 65 we can Slow 65%, and I believe the max slow that Shamans and/or Enchanters get is 75%, so that's pretty good! We also finally get the ability to Haste others at levels 60 (Alacrity) and 63 (Celerity)...not a large amount of haste, but better than nothing if there are no other haste casters in the party. You need to be careful in a party, because casting your spells can get you aggro very easily. Sometimes this is a good thing--without Taunt, sometimes the only way to get a mob off of the healer is to cast a few spells on it and sit down and hope it comes at you.
7. Answered already.
8. The only times your pet will disappear are if it dies, you kill it (/pet get lost), you zone (rezzing and evacing counts as zoning in this case), or you turn invisible.
You might want to go to www.beastlords.org ...a good compilation of Beastlord-related material and a good messageboard there too.
Game on,
The Oneiromancer
1. Nothing new to add.
2. It seems to me, from this and other questions, that you might not have your Pet window up. I can't remember the exact keypress for this...but I do know that in the Options menu there is an option for this window to come up automatically when a pet is summoned. I believe that the default is ON, but if you turned it off at some point I highly recommend putting it back on. When you have the pet window up you will have most of the pet commands, including one for /pet back off. You can just spam this button to get your pet to come back...although if it gets hit on the way it will turn around to attack again...as you have seen. Also, if your pet is set to Guard, then it will move back to its home point much more slowly than if you have it set to Follow. So if it keeps getting hit, tell it to Follow before you tell it to Back Off. You really won't be able to do much about this until you get the /pet hold ability from the Pet Discipline AA ability, at a much higher level. So, as others suggested, pull with a spell or with a Throwing item, which is the only ranged attack Beastlords get.
3. At level 30 or so you get the Summon Companion spell, which lets you teleport your pet to you from anywhere in the zone, assuming it isn't fighting anything. So if you forget to tell it to follow, or if is taking too long to find you, then this can save some time. Or you can even leave it behind on purpose and then summon it later, if you like.
4. Again, if you have the pet window up you can see all the buffs that are on it. You will soon get some specific pet-only buffs that greatly increase your pet's damage output. You can extend the pet window to see all the buffs that are on the pet...I didn't realize that for a long time.
5. Magicians can summon some very nice pet gear that will benefit your pet very well. They add extra haste, hit points, and proccing abilities. Basically, pets are pretty smart, and if what you give them is worse than what they can do themselves, they won't use it.
6. Oh, man...there are so many things that Beastlords can do in a group. Since we are a Leather class, we don't tank as well as the Plate classes, but since we have lots of hit points we can do a pretty respectable job. In general we are just added DPS...and until the very high end of the game we are among the best. Don't forget that your pet hits more often when attacking from behind!
Because our pet usually has a quite large amount of hit points, and our heal spells are very mana efficient and don't draw aggro, we can be crowd control on multi-pulls and usually last more than long enough for the first mob to be taken care of.
The spells we bring to the group are also very useful. We get many of the same spells as Shamans, but at much higher levels. However, if there's no Shaman in a group, then something is better than nothing. Starting at level 22 we can Slow with Drowsy, which is around 15%. It only gets better, with upgrades at levels 50, 60, and 65. At level 65 we can Slow 65%, and I believe the max slow that Shamans and/or Enchanters get is 75%, so that's pretty good! We also finally get the ability to Haste others at levels 60 (Alacrity) and 63 (Celerity)...not a large amount of haste, but better than nothing if there are no other haste casters in the party. You need to be careful in a party, because casting your spells can get you aggro very easily. Sometimes this is a good thing--without Taunt, sometimes the only way to get a mob off of the healer is to cast a few spells on it and sit down and hope it comes at you.
7. Answered already.
8. The only times your pet will disappear are if it dies, you kill it (/pet get lost), you zone (rezzing and evacing counts as zoning in this case), or you turn invisible.
You might want to go to www.beastlords.org ...a good compilation of Beastlord-related material and a good messageboard there too.
Game on,
The Oneiromancer
Actually, a pet will follow you unless you've told it to "sit down" or "guard here". I see people mashing their "pet follow" buttons repeatedly. This doesn't accomplish anything. Once you've given the command, it sticks until you tell your pet otherwise. If the pet isn't following well it's because of pathing, not because he's disobedient. This is especially true in places with ledges, winding hallways or any other area with a lot of obstacles (they get stuck.) They also run slower than you, so make sure to pause once in a while to let them catch up (they can be sowed.) If you get too far out of range, they get confused and will wander aimlessly until you get back in range. If you don't want to go chasing your lost pet down, just give the "pet get lost" command and start over. It will kill the pet no matter where it is in the zone.
Reminder: If you've parked your pet to hunt a specific spot, remember to tell it to follow you when you move on. I've seen this error many times.
Beastlords do get the "summon companion" spell, but I don't know at what level.
Because they are more mana and time intensive to summon, a beastlord is better off keeping their pet alive than trying to chain cast them.
Yes, buffs help pets. /pet report health will tell you what buffs are on your pet. If you use the pet window, you can see the icons for any buff on it.
Yes, gear helps pets. Your pet will get the benefit of any AC, HP and mana gear you toss on it. A summoned muzzle of mardu will give your pet haste.
Truthfully, I get confused which weapons animal type pets can use. Someone else can field this one.
As someone said, your role in a group will change depending on the group and your level. Mostly you're DPS, with a bit of buffing thrown in (maybe a bit of patch healing also.) In higher levels, you'll often be the slower as well. Your spiritual (light, purity, dominion, etc.) line of spells is great for any group with casters.
Pet pulling is a bit of a hassle and gets your pet fairly hammered. You're better off pulling with a spell.
No, the pet doesn't poof until you die or zone (unless it's killed in battle, of course.) Again, you're probably just running into a pathing problem. Also, if you happen to aggro a passing mob, your pet will attack it to protect you. If you see that "taunting attacker, master" message, your pet is fighting something. You may want to zone to clear aggro. If you're too far away his health meter will not update accurately. It will look like the pet's at full health, then suddenly vanish.
Have fun!
Reminder: If you've parked your pet to hunt a specific spot, remember to tell it to follow you when you move on. I've seen this error many times.
Beastlords do get the "summon companion" spell, but I don't know at what level.
Because they are more mana and time intensive to summon, a beastlord is better off keeping their pet alive than trying to chain cast them.
Yes, buffs help pets. /pet report health will tell you what buffs are on your pet. If you use the pet window, you can see the icons for any buff on it.
Yes, gear helps pets. Your pet will get the benefit of any AC, HP and mana gear you toss on it. A summoned muzzle of mardu will give your pet haste.
Truthfully, I get confused which weapons animal type pets can use. Someone else can field this one.
As someone said, your role in a group will change depending on the group and your level. Mostly you're DPS, with a bit of buffing thrown in (maybe a bit of patch healing also.) In higher levels, you'll often be the slower as well. Your spiritual (light, purity, dominion, etc.) line of spells is great for any group with casters.
Pet pulling is a bit of a hassle and gets your pet fairly hammered. You're better off pulling with a spell.
No, the pet doesn't poof until you die or zone (unless it's killed in battle, of course.) Again, you're probably just running into a pathing problem. Also, if you happen to aggro a passing mob, your pet will attack it to protect you. If you see that "taunting attacker, master" message, your pet is fighting something. You may want to zone to clear aggro. If you're too far away his health meter will not update accurately. It will look like the pet's at full health, then suddenly vanish.
Have fun!
Good questions Lance and I'm sure they will be answered here at Allas, but it's also a good idea to visit a site/forum that deals just with the class you have chosen to play.
I can recommend to you The Beastlord's Den
Go take a look...
I can recommend to you The Beastlord's Den
Go take a look...
No time so just a quick one to say many thanks for all your advice
I'll certianly try out the Beastlords Den.
Thanks
Lance
I'll certianly try out the Beastlords Den.
Thanks
Lance
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