Magician Pet Aggro

[Meanbunny]

Hey guys, I have a play group with myself, my sister and our best friend starting up. I am playing a Necromancer, my sister is playing a Ranger and our friend is playing a Magician.

What we are trying to find out is, can the Magician pet hold aggro in our group, or will the mob attack the first PC that gets close to it regardless of the aggro level of the Mage pet? Like if the Earth Pet roots the mob, and our Ranger max melees it (gets only close enough to be in melee range) will it stay on the Mage pet or will it turn and aggro her everytime?

Basically just trying to find out if Mage Pets can tank in groups with melee classes and hold aggro. Of course the whole point is that we do not have a healer to heal the Ranger. I would really appreciate it if anyone knowledgeable on the topic could let us know. If a Mage Pet is not a viable group tank at low to mid levels then I may have to roll a Cleric instead of a Necromancer.

Thanks for your time everyone. Have a great day.

TL;DR - Can Mage pets hold aggro in a group with melee classes?

[ripwind]

No, they don't hold agro. They'll attack the closest PC.

However, per your root question, that one I'm not so sure of. Max melee might save the ranger in that instance, but I wouldn't count on it.

Cleric (instead of Necro) would be a great choice. Also a Shaman - for buffs, heals, and slows. You could also stick with the necro and fear kite, but that limits your zone options.

[Velerin]

A pet can never hold agro over a PC in melee range. The only way that group will really work is if the ranger range attacks or you fear/agro kite (not using earth pet). I guess another possibility would be for ranger to tank with necro heals and air pet for stuns to mitigate damage.

[Meanbunny]

Okay, I am considering leveling a Shaman instead of a Necromancer / Cleric then. Since my sisters main is already a Cleric and I already have a Druid, I guess Shaman it is. Thanks so much for the info guys. It is greatly appreciated.

Also, I want to make an Iksar Shaman. Is there any problems with him being an Iksar? I have heard before people say that Iksar's cant use the special bracer in Velious that nukes mobs to help solo.

Is that going to be a major problem or is it okay that I play an Iksar and can Iksar's solo pretty good in Velious even without that bracer?

[Meanbunny]

Anyone have any comments on the topic of Shaman race. I personally want to play an Iksar for RP reasons, but losing the Jaundiced Bone Bracelet is really aggrevating. If I am not gonna be doing much soloing, is it really that big of a deal? Will it change my viability in raids? If there are any Iksar Shaman out there it would be nice to hear from you guys.

I have also considered going Troll, but not totally sure. I really wish the game gave Ogres, Trolls and Barbarians more classes to choose from. Because if I go Iksar Shaman, then I am stuck with just Warrior and Shadowknight for Ogres and Trolls. Being that I like to play different races as Warriors, I don't know if there is a reason to roll a Shadowknight if you already have a warrior.

Anyone ever roll a tank class when they already have one? Thanks for the comments guys. Have a great night.

[Oleris]

ogre for stun immunity, jbb

[Hogfather]

By the way, is this classic?

I thought pet agro rules were changed to the above in velious, something about kael / aow fights? I remember having to turn taunt off back in the day?

[Baler]

mob attacks closest PC regardless of pets. I can remember this as far back as possible. This is why a Player character tank in a group was important. Pets provided extra dmg basically to allow necro and mage to be on par with other dmg classes, if that.

[Bazia]

the fact that pets cant hold aggro at all tho is not classic

if i remember correctly it was implemented to combat alot of raid strategies that were borderline exploiting

[webrunner5]

Make a Ogre Shaman. :) In Velious you will regret it big time if you don't.

[Daldaen]

Stun immunity is overstated by this community. An iksar or Troll are great options as well due to regen. Iksar I don't think you lose too terribly much without JBB. Especially in Velious when some mobs are cold immune.

Mobs bash how often when slowed? Like every 30 seconds? Meh not a big deal. Just time your spells a bit better.

There won't be any single mob or camp that an ogre can do that a troll or iksar cannot.

[sykotic]

the fact that pets cant hold aggro at all tho is not classic

if i remember correctly it was implemented to combat alot of raid strategies that were borderline exploiting



This is right. Pet aggro used to be insane on classic. This is why they eventually put in a command to turn off pet taunt. Its off here quite a bit.

Come to think of it (I may be wrong) but i don't remember the earth pet procing outside of melee range like they do here, either.

[fadetree]

Anyone have any comments on the topic of Shaman race

hahah maybe. Just wait.

[Clark]

Okay, I am considering leveling a Shaman instead of a Necromancer / Cleric then. Since my sisters main is already a Cleric and I already have a Druid, I guess Shaman it is. Thanks so much for the info guys. It is greatly appreciated.

Also, I want to make an Iksar Shaman. Is there any problems with him being an Iksar? I have heard before people say that Iksar's cant use the special bracer in Velious that nukes mobs to help solo.

Is that going to be a major problem or is it okay that I play an Iksar and can Iksar's solo pretty good in Velious even without that bracer?

Good ideas. I personally have played max level Ogre Shaman and max level Iksar Shaman. Hands down prefer the Ogre with frontal stun immunity, slam to interrupt spells, and best of all Jaundiced Bone Bracer.

[iruinedyourday]

Good ideas. I personally have played max level Ogre Shaman and max level Iksar Shaman. Hands down prefer the Ogre with frontal stun immunity, slam to interrupt spells, and best of all Jaundiced Bone Bracer.

I went with barb becuse I was like, aint nobody gona tell me wut to do!

I get stunned a lot...

I don't think that its a game ending min max though.. however I know it would be a lot easier to stand in a corner spamming jbb as an ogre than as a barb :)

in other words.. Im jelly of ogre sham a little bit. But i still <3 my barb

Also I saw a troll in full plate as a 60 shaman and he looked hot.

[Meanbunny]

Regardless of the JBB, Frontal Stun Immunity, Slam and all that good stuff, I decided to roll Iksar.

I don't know why, but as much as I miss Slam the most out of those listed, I always value RP over min/maxing in my RPG's. It is quite sad, but it is a decision that had to be made. I hope I don't get too much hate for that.

I have heard mixed stories about going +25 Sta / +5 Wis or +25 Wis / +5 Sta. So I decided to just cut it down the middle +15 Sta / +15 Wis. I figured at level 60 with Velious around the corner, I would be maxing Wisdom so I think I'd rather have 30 extra HP to Cannibalize with rather than have wasted Wis stuck at the cap. I also heard from many that starting stats don't make a huge difference either way. I could put 25 points into CHA for the lulz and still be a pretty good Shaman.

Thanks for all the input guys. Any extra comments are welcome. Thanks for reading guys. Have a great evening.

[fadetree]

It is quite sad, but it is a decision that had to be made. I hope I don't get too much hate for that.


I personally will hate you forever with a burning, seething hatred. From hell's heart, I spit at thee.

[iruinedyourday]

I personally will hate you forever with a burning, seething hatred. From hell's heart, I spit at thee.

:D