Because there are no class forums and a lot of noob mages

[Naerron]

MAGES!! OMG EXP PEN FOR PETS OMG OMG......learn to pet kite...

Basics:
The general theory behind pet kiting is letting the DS do all the work. This means melee mobs are the best way to make this work, and for some mages, the only way. So you send your pet n, fire pet or a DSed one, pet attacks it, when pet is at 20%~ health you start casting a new pet. When your cast bar is a sliver away from finished you hit go away on your pet and then instantly send your new pet in.

Now It's important to keep in mind, you DO NOT dmg the mob in any way or the new pet will not be able to gain agro on the mob. It is because all the agro that was on your previous pet is poofed into oblivion. That also mean no healing pets.

You simply rinse and repeat this process till the mob starts to flee. When the mob starts running you poof your current pet using your reclaim energy spell or clicky (NOT the go away command this time), then cast 1 nuke. If that nuke does not kill the mob but still take over half the remaining health, simply summon another pet for the next mob and let it finish it off while you med. And BAM you get full exp evertime.

This kind of lvling cannot be attempted until lvl four. That being said really only twinks at lvl 4 can pull it off with ease. IMO wait till around 8-12 if ur a non twink. Also it is heavy on the reagent use so many low lvls cannot afford to lvl this way at first. Here are my tips, pet guides, and suggested spots if you do decide to go it this way,

TIPS
1) It is actually ok to heal or nuke if you think 1 pet will do the job till the mob runs. Normally mobs will turn to run at 15% **MOST UNDEAD DO NOT FLEE**

2) If your pet is below 20% the mob will not turn to run. This can be an advantage. Let the mob get down to 1% before u poof. The mob will initially agro on you but once it realizes you have a lot of health (which you should) it will start to run. This will let you use a lower lvl nuke because u only need to take care of around 1% health.

3) Try to avoid casters. But if you are in a tangle with a caster, see if u can time the poof at the start of a cast. The mob will continue trying to cast and essentially be rooted, giving your pet enough time to get to it, get a taunt in, and possibly a proc. Hopefully gaining agro before mob starts to chase you.

4) At higher lvls, and when soloing in dungeons or in zones with lots of roamers its great to find a spot to pull to and know you're safe. In this situation at higher lvls use the spell "Burst of Flame". It is a great long range 5pt dmg nuke that is awesome for pulling and pets can easily out agro it.

5) Really try to make the most out of that 49 fire pet. Its only 200 manna to cast compared to the 300. 350, and 400 of your 50+ pets. That is why the PoHate staff is so crucial.

PET CHOICE
No, fire pet is not always the best choice...In fact many mages find it safer and easier to use earth pet and then cast DS on it. Here is a rundown of how the different pets can be used.

Earth Pet
-The pet to use if you can't find 49 fire pet spell or are 54+ w/ out fire staff from hate
-The earth pet helps because the mob will often be rooted the whole fight, making pet transitions very easy.
-Earth pet is also good for solo pulling - See coth pulling guide (would be a separate post if we had class forums FFS!!)
-Great for duoing so you can do more dmg and speed up kills

Water Pet
Great for if u happen to have phinny staff and no other focus staff.

Air Pet
Same as water, or for higher lvl killing 59+ in conjunction with crack 2 and DS.

Fire Pet
-In general the best to use from 4-49.
-Make every effort you can to get fire staff from PoHate

Dyzil's Deafening Decoy
-BEST pet kite spell 56+
-Has a huge DS and cast a PBAE 42-47 dmg proc that has a + 100 pure hate attatched to it. It grabs agro quickly and keeps it even if you nuke.
-The pet cannot dual wield and has low melee dmg but has a 43-47 pt DS so its great for pet kiting.
-The pet cannot be focused in anyway so you can feel free to use your max int items and keep reclaim item in inventory.
-Sell for around 500pp fairly common spell.


LVLing SPOTS

1-12: Starting town and EC. Normally find to just lvl where you start. EC is nice because of buffs and close to reagents + spells.
Tips:
1) Try to target cats and bears for their HQ pelts and auction them off right away. Also find a tailor and see if they will make you some "Handmade Backpacks". Can sell them for around 50-60pp. This will easily cover spells, reagents, and possibly a fresh robe.
2) WATCH OUT FOR GRIFFONS (and bad guys sergeant slate).
3) Ask for buffs...seek them out.

12-24. Oasis crocks By far the best way.
TIPS:
1) If you sit at the edge of the dock your will generally avoid all roamer agro. BUT sometimes people drag SGs and other trains there.
2) Remember to look for chanters and other high lvls. Its easy to find free buffs in oasis to help you zoom thru some lvls.
3) When you sit to med pop out into the largest 3rd person view you can to avoid any death, or to avoid an annoying puma barrage.


Evil: 24-30~ The Overthere
Bad: From oasis take the Barrel Barge to TD. From TD you run to the ogre camp and wait for the Bloated Belly. (Note: Bloated belly arrives at the dock to the far right with the skiffs and can take a long time to get there). You can buy reagents and bank at Outpost even if your apprehensive: Once in OT you go straight west, you will find all kinds of good roamers to kill.
Tips:
1) Use the guards if you get in trouble
2) Remember to look for buffs, lots of people hammer into OT near foremen.
3) If you are indifferent faction get a jade and give it to undead foremen
4) DO NOT KILL OGRES IN TD. They are Venerill Sathir faction which is what the Out Post uses.

Good 24-30~ TD ogre camp
The the Barrel Barge from Oasis docks to TD. Run to where the bloated belly come and kill the ogres. There is decent loot to be had there, bat skull earrings and other goodies if i recall.
TIPS
1) Remember to stock up on malachite
2) Bind at Oasis docks in case things get harry. It's a short ride back and you'll prob need to med up anyway. And possibly buffs there.
3) Get your spells and bank before heading out.
4) look for buffs from passers by, or gate back to Oasis if u find someoen int he /who

Good/Evil - 30-39 - HHK
I suggest going to high hold keep and hunting goblins. The ears make good PP for epic faction or great exp for turn ins.
TIPS:
1) Good races, or evil once faction is high enough, use the guards to help break the camp.
2) Keep a timer on spawns, easily to get overrun.
4) bind up top pretty far in case its easier to gate and gives time for guards to kill the mobs.

Good/Evil 39-49 WFP. The gallows, hunting guards.
This is by far one of the best camps around for PP/ convince and exp. The guards generally drop 2 FS weps, that 5pp each, and around 1-4pp. so about 10-15pp a kill. Also they drop helms for faction turn ins. This camp is also great because it is close to buffs in EC or people running to bank. Its easy to get a rez here if you die. Also it raises faction with NFP. So bad races will be able to easily bank in NFP by the time they reach lvl 44. You wan to camp in the gallows, which is really close to NFP zone line, so you have that spot if things get rough. Also note that THIS WILL NOT HURT your faction with the caster guilds in WFP. Just the WFP militia. So you can still buy spells and reagents right close.
TIPS:
1) The gallows is a safe spot, always pull to there
2) Kroon and inofus are undercons. Do not attempt till 44+ and have decent manna. Kroon is harder than inofus
3) Kill the guard near NFP ZL first in case you need to zone.
4) The wood elf merchant who you sell to.
5) The guards at the gate are tough.
6) Take time to learn the pathing. You can get all singles even from the guards near EFP ZL.
7) Other NPCs do not assist the guards through the walls of buildings
8) If the exp slows too much move to Bloodgill camp

49-54 Blood-gill marauders in Lake lll Omen
These are located near the ent of Veksar. These things are low HPs and good exp even when LB con. Depending on how accomplished you feel at pet kiting, and your gear lvl there are a few ways to handle the camp. There are the mobs around the ent of veksar and where the marauder spawns that will all be solo. However all the other pulls around the pillers up top are 2 pulls.
To handle the 2 pull i would use my earth or water pet ( + phinny staff) and cast a DS on it because they have much more HP. This would let pet be able to tank both of them. Once one gets to 50% cast lava bolt, this should kill it. Then let pet resume agro on other and kite as normal. You should only have to do this once.
TIPS
1) The veksar ent mobs + 1 set of 2 is normally a good stead pace. It is possible to get the other duo too depending on your manna pool.
2) Bind outside water, if u get in trouble u can gate and get a new pet out before mobs get to you.
3) Kill marauder if hes up. Has VP key piece, and be kind enough to note the time for other players, his spawns every 8 hours on the dot.
4) DW boots and harpoon of depths sells here. Best to vendor the boots so u can loot another pair.
5) Vendor at wind mill is close by. Good place to bind.

54-56~ CoM
I liked CoM. Some decent loots and pretty safe exp. The camp i did was the golems infront of the temple if you go right and then right again from zone in. When i had a duo partner to help with CC the goos were great exp also and drop spells.
TIPS.
1) Get some lev rings up. It makes kiting a lot easier if u can run over water. Play with it and figure out the best place for you, i would always sit in the back right corner.
2) Back right corner is safe spot to afk.
3) Be bound outside, you could have to gate or if u die far away getting an evac to EJ can suck.

56-60 (OMG IM FEELING LAZY NOW here's a list)
Burning Woods
KC
Permafrost in bears and bugs camp under vox.
**DUO** in Seb
Skyfire - Great for spells. Avoid casters. Also use binding far away from pull in zone to help with casters and adds.

[Naerron]

was a quick write up w/ no edits done. Will look at it again as well as add others information. If we had a class post section i would ad maps and links to loots and mob info. But alas we don't so this post will eventually get lost into oblivion.

[Diggles]

for all the effort pet kiting requires might as just normally level up and kill an extra mob to make up for the penalty

[Naerron]

sorry but you're incredibly wrong and lazy

EDIT: fixed your to you're because then i would get flamed for grammar and not about topic.

[Slave]

Fire Staff from the planes? Oh my god man, just get a Torch of Alna. Level 50+ fire pets are useless anyway.

[Slave]

56-60 (OMG IM FEELING LAZY NOW here's a list)
Burning Woods
KC
Permafrost in bears and bugs camp under vox.
**DUO** in Seb
Skyfire - Great for spells. Avoid casters. Also use binding far away from pull in zone to help with casters and adds.

Burning Woods: No - too low level
KC: No - too low level
Permafrost, never done
Sebilis: No - what are you going to duo in seb with a mage? Hell no.
Skyfire: No - horrible huge hp casting mobs, mages cannot deal with this zone in any kind of efficient fashion, with many mobs highly fire resistant as well. The spell drops from here are cheap as hell and you should have them all already by this level.

For earlier levels I find your guide a bit lacking in the bonus experience department and I use a much different list personally, but I'll leave that be because those zones are generally much smaller than what you have posted. The gallows I've never heard of as a camp and I'm interested in trying it now, thanks!

[Naerron]

Burning Woods: No - too low level
KC: No - too low level
Permafrost, never done
Sebilis: No - what are you going to duo in seb with a mage? Hell no.
Skyfire: No - horrible huge hp casting mobs, mages cannot deal with this zone in any kind of efficient fashion, with many mobs highly fire resistant as well. The spell drops from here are cheap as hell and you should have them all already by this level.

For earlier levels I find your guide a bit lacking in the bonus experience department and I use a much different list personally, but I'll leave that be because those zones are generally much smaller than what you have posted. The gallows I've never heard of as a camp and I'm interested in trying it now, thanks!

KC- I do it now all the time....good exp.
BW - Hornets near the guy who drops a mage epic piece. Decent safe exp + camping epic mob.
Seb - I dup N/G with a chanter or shammy all the time.
Skyfire - I farmed a good 20k pp in spells here easily.

If you have criticism it would be nice if you post something constructive and i will add it to the guide.

[Naerron]

Fire Staff from the planes? Oh my god man, just get a Torch of Alna. Level 50+ fire pets are useless anyway.

And i said this because you then utilize the 49 fire pet spell till you get the 56 spell. I'm pretty sure i mentioned this somewhere in there. Since the 49 spell is 200 manna instead of the 300, 350, or 400 options. Did u guys try to find shit to nit pick and then quit reading?

[Odeseus]

What is CoH pulling? Is it basically CoHing yourself to act as a FD? I never bothered to try to CoH my pet as I thought his agro automatically was transferred to me, therefore making CoHing a pet useless.

[Slave]

And i said this because you then utilize the 49 fire pet spell till you get the 56 spell. I'm pretty sure i mentioned this somewhere in there. Since the 49 spell is 200 manna instead of the 300, 350, or 400 options. Did u guys try to find shit to nit pick and then quit reading?

The Torch of Alna is used for the level 49 pet. I'm really not sure what it is that you're trying to say here, but you're beginning to say it in an awfully aggravated-sounding way.

[Naerron]

Torch just doesn't cut it, imo the staff lets you use your fire pet till 56 when u can u dyzz. But if u can make it swing more power to ya. As far as the cothing, you don't coth yourself, u poof ur pet right as coth is about to land, then resummon. It's also a great way to get past see invis, especially in seb.

[karsten]

naerron don't let the trolls hate on you, that's going to be a super helpful guide to a whole lot of new mages, regardless of whether or not it's 98% or 95% or whatever percent to the liking of some of the board heroes

[Moggster]

naerron don't let the trolls hate on you, that's going to be a super helpful guide to a whole lot of new mages, regardless of whether or not it's 98% or 95% or whatever percent to the liking of some of the board heroes

A for effort

[Slave]

Torch just doesn't cut it, imo the staff lets you use your fire pet till 56 when u can u dyzz.

What the hell are you talking about now? Holy shit the thread is going to hell. It's this kind of misinformation that can lead a noobie mage to gimp himself for half his /played.

DO NOT USE ANY FIRE PET OVER LEVEL 49.

DO NOT USE ANY FIRE PET OVER LEVEL 49.

DO NOT USE ANY FIRE PET OVER LEVEL 49.

This is how you play a mage to level 51: get your Torch of Alna and the highest level fire pet you can find. That's pretty much fucking it.

After 50, what you really want to aim for is your AIRPET. They are nasty as shit between dd stuns and kicks. They are easily the highest sustained dps... water has nothing on airpet. And if you're using a fire pet higher than the level 49 spell, you're not playing your mage efficiently whatsoever. There is literally ZERO use for them.

[Odeseus]

Slave, what he means is that you can use your level 49 fire pet all the way till 56, if you have the fire staff from hate. He didn't mean that you use the 50+ fire pets. With his method of having DS's do a large portion of the damage, it makes sense.

[Slave]

Slave, what he means is that you can use your level 49 fire pet all the way till 56, if you have the fire staff from hate. He didn't mean that you use the 50+ fire pets. With his method of having DS's do a large portion of the damage, it makes sense.

Dude... WHAT DIFFERENCE does it make if you use a Torch of Alna or an Elemental Staff of Fire... because they both work on the 49 fire pet, except that the Torch of Alna is about 600pp and the staff is like 100,000pp equivalent. DO YOU GET IT NOW?

And the 53 AIRPET is WAAAY stronger than the 49 fire. So what is your point??

[mala]

i like what your trying to do here with writing a guide and all, but this information will just slow a mage down while leveling. and as people have stated, there is no reason to use a 49+ fire pet, they are all terrible.

the strat to level is still exactly the same as it has always been, you just have to kill twice as many mobs now. which will still get a mage 1-50 much faster than most classes, even though its complete bullshit.

[pickled_heretic]

I feel bad for Naerron, it is clear that all of the people who are flaming him didn't even bother to read his post.

[Naerron]

Maybe I should change the title to pro Mage stray, noobs need not bother. I'll address all your concerns in terms of air pet use and why I think 49 fire pet is valuable and why u don't just be an idiot and let pet soak up exp, when I am not on my iphone

[Naerron]

And also thanks for the support from some. It's
A shame this thread has been more of a personal attack on me tha
expanding on the original intent

[Snaggles]

Thank you for the contribution :).

Ultimately people will have varied opinions about the details but any guide that can help some people is A+ in my book.

It's tougher to write one than it is to nitpick.

[Susano]

After 50, what you really want to aim for is your AIRPET. They are nasty as shit between dd stuns and kicks. They are easily the highest sustained dps... water has nothing on airpet. And if you're using a fire pet higher than the level 49 spell, you're not playing your mage efficiently whatsoever. There is literally ZERO use for them.



Dude... WHAT DIFFERENCE does it make if you use a Torch of Alna or an Elemental Staff of Fire... because they both work on the 49 fire pet, except that the Torch of Alna is about 600pp and the staff is like 100,000pp equivalent. DO YOU GET IT NOW?

Do you play a mage? If so, you really should do more research. First, the only time your air pet becomes a viable option is at 59, the 53 air pet is worse than the 49 fire pet for solo chaining at that level, especially when focused with a Staff. As for party play, the 54 water pet wipes the floor with the air pet as long as it's positioned correctly behind the mob.

Which brings us to the next thing you have incorrect. The staff makes the 49 fire pet stronger than the torch. So this does indeed make it the prefered pet for chaining till 56.

Next time get your information straight before you go full retard on the forums please.

[Diggles]

sorry but you're incredibly wrong and lazy

EDIT: fixed your to you're because then i would get flamed for grammar and not about topic.

1. you didn't actually edit

2. I thought the whole point of leveling a mage was being lazy?

3. wrong that casting pets multiple times for one pull is unnecessary?

[Hamahakki]

Seems like a good guide, but it should be posted here:
http://wiki.project1999.org/index.php/Players:Adventure
rather than in the Server Forums

[Naerron]

First off, please do not go straight to nerd rage anger mode. This thread is about pet kiting. How to do it, where to do it, and some tips along the way. This is NOT a thread about if you think pet kiting sucks or you are too fail to pull it off. However, that does not mitigate my statement concerning my opinion that pet kiting is the BEST way for a mage to lvl solo. I would appreciate further post were more along the lines of things to add. And if you have a valid concern please read the whole post, then have something to back up what you saying.

I posted this because i saw so many mages saying they were either quitting, or just putting up with taking an exp loss. This way not only eliminates the exp/pet issue but it is generally the most efficient way to be killing. So unless u like only getting half your exp and down time, this strat is very worth while.

To address some concerns...

Air pet issue: I say use the lvl 49 fire pet because its 200 manna. And for that 200 manna you get not only the pet but you also get the DS. If you used the 53 air pet you use 300 manna to cast then another 150 on the DS. The cost of 2 pets plus 50 manna. There is no way to sustain that soloing with out crack.

Lazyness issue: This is absolutely the easiest most efficient way to lvl. Not only do you generally have zero down time, but you don't have to stress doing 50% dmg and still get the full exp. You mostly just sit and watch pet tank till hges almost dead casts new pet, send in, go back to sitting to mob runs.

51+ Fire pet issue: Never once did i recommend this, in fact, i mention specifically the benefits of the 49 fire pet a few times.

Fire staff vs Torch: First off, PoHate can be farmed, not greatly albeit, but can be farmed with 1 group. Staff aint too hard to get and it makes a world of difference on kunark mobs.

Lack of Dungeons - Dungeons are very tough to solo pull as a young mage and very dangerous. I did a lot of sola as a young mage, but that was when the exp mod was off the charts high back in 2009, and at lvl 20 i'd get 2ish blues from a young goblin. However i can guarantee the best exp till 24 is oasis crocs soloing using chain pets. I also id mention HHK. BUt this is all from personal experience, if you have some good dungeon suggestions pls post em and i can add.

1. you didn't actually edit

2. I thought the whole point of leveling a mage was being lazy?

3. wrong that casting pets multiple times for one pull is unnecessary?

Shoo troll be gone.

[Falisaty]

MAGES!! OMG EXP PEN FOR PETS OMG OMG......learn to pet kite...

Basics:
The general theory behind pet kiting is letting the DS do all the work. This means melee mobs are the best way to make this work, and for some mages, the only way. So you send your pet n, fire pet or a DSed one, pet attacks it, when pet is at 20%~ health you start casting a new pet. When your cast bar is a sliver away from finished you hit go away on your pet and then instantly send your new pet in.

Um i may be wrong but this is not pet kiting this is considered chain casting pets?? My understanding is pet kiting/fear kiting is when a necro/drood fears a mob and allows thier pet to beat on it from behind. In a mages case casting water pet then casting the pet SOW and kiting a mob around while the water pet Back stabs the shit out of it.

Im no expert just saying though

[Diggles]

Shoo troll be gone.

DOESN'T AGREE WITH ME, MUST BE TROLL

[Slave]

Do you play a mage? If so, you really should do more research. First, the only time your air pet becomes a viable option is at 59, the 53 air pet is worse than the 49 fire pet for solo chaining at that level, especially when focused with a Staff. As for party play, the 54 water pet wipes the floor with the air pet as long as it's positioned correctly behind the mob.

Which brings us to the next thing you have incorrect. The staff makes the 49 fire pet stronger than the torch. So this does indeed make it the prefered pet for chaining till 56.

Next time get your information straight before you go full retard on the forums please.

You are so, so wrong on every point you've attempted to make here, and I'll show you exactly why.

53 UNFOCUSED airpet: level-45, damage-56, hps-2650, stun proc-55, kicks for 145+

49 FIRESTAFF firepet: level-42 damage-58 (hits much less often and for smaller averages due to level though), hps-2000, nukes for 50ish

The end result is that the airpet ends up doing a massive amount of damage over the firepet in the same time period, as well as saving you a ton of mana in the end because of far more powerful tanking abilities. It deals much more damage, and it takes much less damage, to the point that it's extremely apparent you've never used one.

As for party play, if you have 100% of the time the exact same pull with the exact same mob positioning, the waterpet is still not as useful, BARELY equaling the damage of the airpet while losing the awesome stuns. However, in the middle of any Sebilis group, the airpet will actually do more damage, unquestionably, due to the fact that you're not going to have your waterpet backstabbing over 90% of the time, which is what it takes to EQUAL the airpet damage. And the stuns are superb.

At 53, if you're using your 49 firepet over the 53 airpet, you've obviously never summoned the latter even once and seen the absolute dominance the UNFOCUSED airpet has over the FIRESTAFF FOCUSED PET for a mere 100 more mana. That is mana that you will be getting back with Reclaim, because your airpet will have far more hps at the end of the fight than your THIRD 49 firepet, which is what it will take to equal the tanking and dps ability of the 53 airpet.

You're just so off base that I must question if you have a mage at all. It's stunningly clear how much more powerful the airpet is if you've ever used one at even one camp, ever. I mean it's really, REALLY obvious. REALLY.

[Waffen]

slave....calm down bro. you could have PM'd naer all this information to better the guide am i right? instead, you choose to sound like a raging little human and flame him because HE DOESN'T PLAY MAGE AS EFFICIENT AS ME OMFGZZZZ CAPSLOCK. all naer was trying to do was help people out. i repeat, slave, calm down.

[Snaggles]

Never played a mage, honestly.

However the 100 less mana and innate damage shield makes sense to me. Plus being able to summon it 4 levels sooner (2 of which in slow grinding levels). I don't know how the DS parses out but it's far from irrelevant. All of this in a "chain summon/pet kite" or whatever you want to call it style of gameplay that is.

Like I said, never played a mage before. Flame a mightier troll, or use an air pet. I don't give a shit. ;)

[pickled_heretic]

That is mana that you will be getting back with Reclaim, because your airpet will have far more hps at the end of the fight

and therein lies the whole crux of why you don't understand anything that is going on here. the whole point of doing this is to ensure that you get 100% exp every time, e.g. your pet is GONE at the end of the fight. you're talking about traditional chain petting which is different.

which one is more effective? the verdict is out i suppose, but to get so vitriolic over theorycrafting really belies your lack of maturity.

[Felwithemagi]

This is called pet chaining, not pet kiting. Thank you for the write up though.

[Odeseus]

Slave is just a troll. The big difference between 49 fire and 53 air is the DS.

If you want to argue which pet does more damage, you're right that the air pet does more damage over almost any period of time.

If you want to argue which pet tanks better, you're right that air pet tanks better.

But neither one of those points is what the OP is talking about. It is all about mana efficiency and DS. First, in your calculations, you ignore having to cast DS EVERY time you summon a new air pet. If you don't DS, the extra damage from the air is moot as the 40+ dmg on the firepet DS will more or less equal out the damage. So you're burning through 250 more mana per pet for slightly better tanking. If you feel its worth it to you, that's fine, but most of us don't.

And the higher the DS, the better in this pet kiting/chaining/whatever strat. This is because DSs aren't attributed to the pet, but to no one. So this means you'll have to do less damage even if you don't kill off your pet for whatever reason right before the mob dies. Gives you more flexibility while still getting full xp.

Really, the only problem you'll have with this strat is when you chain the pet, making sure that the pet holds the agro. Might have to run around a bit while the pet regains control. This, coupled with the general rough time of pulling in dungeons really eliminates them from contention.

However, Splitpaw is decent for high 20's to mid 40s. There are a few places that are single pulls with enough room to chain a pet. It was my preferred leveling place for those levels. The only problem is that it can only sustain 1 or 2 people max. Just not enough places that are single pulls.

[Naerron]

You are so, so wrong on every point you've attempted to make here, and I'll show you exactly why.

53 UNFOCUSED airpet: level-45, damage-56, hps-2650, stun proc-55, kicks for 145+

49 FIRESTAFF firepet: level-42 damage-58 (hits much less often and for smaller averages due to level though), hps-2000, nukes for 50ish

The end result is that the airpet ends up doing a massive amount of damage over the firepet in the same time period, as well as saving you a ton of mana in the end because of far more powerful tanking abilities. It deals much more damage, and it takes much less damage, to the point that it's extremely apparent you've never used one.

As for party play, if you have 100% of the time the exact same pull with the exact same mob positioning, the waterpet is still not as useful, BARELY equaling the damage of the airpet while losing the awesome stuns. However, in the middle of any Sebilis group, the airpet will actually do more damage, unquestionably, due to the fact that you're not going to have your waterpet backstabbing over 90% of the time, which is what it takes to EQUAL the airpet damage. And the stuns are superb.

At 53, if you're using your 49 firepet over the 53 airpet, you've obviously never summoned the latter even once and seen the absolute dominance the UNFOCUSED airpet has over the FIRESTAFF FOCUSED PET for a mere 100 more mana. That is mana that you will be getting back with Reclaim, because your airpet will have far more hps at the end of the fight than your THIRD 49 firepet, which is what it will take to equal the tanking and dps ability of the 53 airpet.

You're just so off base that I must question if you have a mage at all. It's stunningly clear how much more powerful the airpet is if you've ever used one at even one camp, ever. I mean it's really, REALLY obvious. REALLY.


I think you might be missing the point. No one is saying that 49 fire pet does more dmg thru melee and proc than fire pet...in a GROUP situation, yes air pet would be a better choice than fire. However say you are lvl 53, soloing outside KC in DL. YOu summon your air pet...bam 300 manna. Then to make it do the melee dmg you are claiming you must give it two weapons to make it dual wield....BAM that's 150 manna (75 each). Then you have to give it haste, there's another 150 manna. Then you give it DS. there's 120 manna. So now you've got your pet gtg and lost 720 manna.
...Ok so time to engage! You kill your mob w/ realative ease. you pet is prob around 40-60% health (optimistic), and it also stole 50% of your exp, or some think 75%. Then you go to attack your next mob....Maybe your pet survives the whole fight, likely not tho...you nuke it down and are oom. You then sit for 5-10 mins to get manna to kill 2 mobs again..

Nowww....With your 49 fire pet, using the pet kite strat you cast your 200 manna pet and are gtg...


Thanks for the effort man, but the stuff your talking about literally has zero relevance for the guide..The enthusiasm is appreciated tho. What i am talking about is ususing DS to kill the mobs, the pet's actual dmg can go suck a D....47dmg on every hit is baller, and if you really underestimate your DS that much than i'd hate to be a tank in your group...or be exping as slow as you.



EDIT: As for your comments about water pet..the lvl 54 way out DPS's the 53 air pet.. My water pet does 58 dmg max reg melee,quads. It BS's for 174 almost every time. It procs a 112 dmg nuke a lot. If you are that lazy or just that terrible at mage class to not set your pet up and do /pet guard at a spot where it will generally be at the back of a mob, then maybe mage class is not for u. Also this is a crazy thought, but communication is very helpful. SImply tell your tank to work on positioning so pets are to the back. I always ask my tanks to help out. It's a really scary thought that u get to the lvl where your water pet can BS and you let it not 90% of the time.

[Naerron]

This is called pet chaining, not pet kiting. Thank you for the write up though.

ACtually pet chaining and pet kiting are the same things. To those who say fearing and letting pet hit the mob is pet kiting...well that's actually called fear kiting while using a pet. Snaring and running...snare kiting...doing 4-5 mobs (b/c of the way a lot of target AEs hit) is quading...tons of mobs at once...swarm kiting....rooting...root kiting...

Kiting is a general term used to describe keeping the mob at a distance from u while u kill it. That doesn't mean pet tanking and nuking is kiting. It's like a theoretical "ideal type" for all those max weber fans out there. But this is so fucking off topic it's not funny..

[SwordNboard]

You are so, so wrong blah blah blah

Have you forgotten that the fire pet has an amazing DS, and mobs melt when they touch it?

Did you forget that DS damage isnt attributed to your pet so it's easier to out-damage if the need rises on a hairy pull?

Did you think about the mana you'll save not having to recast your lower dmg DS on your airpet? Therefore giving you the mana over a longer timeframe to chain cast more fire pets.

Have you considered the OPs viewpoint at least once yet? (no) because he is talking about chaining pets. In general, sure, you're probably right (/backpat), but sorry this wasn't a general post.

It's okay to be wrong and learn something sometimes.

[godbox]

just dredged this up in the forums thanks naerron (if u still play / check here) been wanting to play mage but wasnt sure if there was a reliable way to get around the exp issues and lvl reliably without PL. Thanks will b makin myself a mage tonight ^^

[HarrisonIsStillPosting]

Mages are in a bad spot currently. I wouldn't roll one to be honest.

They were great before kunark but there are too many bugs currently that aren't being addressed by the dev team for way too long now.

Aggro with pets is broken as fuck, not even remotely close to the way it was on live, don't expect to chain pets to 50 like you could before.

Bolts are broken. If you cast another spell while the bolt is en route it will disappear, wasted mana. (Sometimes just doesn't land for no reason, too!)

etc. etc.

[batkiller]

The Torch of Alna is used for the level 49 pet. I'm really not sure what it is that you're trying to say here, but you're beginning to say it in an awfully aggravated-sounding way.

Maybe it could be because you are acting like a big shot critic to someone who has spent all that time writing a guide to actually be HELPFUL to other people? If you think it's so wrong and you can do better then do it... you spent more time criticising his work than it would take to make your own guide.

[finalgrunt]

That's a good basis, but there is also lots of wrong stuff.

It is because all the agro that was on your previous pet is poofed into oblivion

While this seems to be true at lower levels, it becomes false as you level up and hit bigger targets. Pet will not take back aggro instantly, and will get sometimes get you killed with a normal chain pet technique.

Mage weakness is they don't heal, have poor mana regen, no CC, and of course do not tank. To remain effective, you can't have mobs hit you. Yet with chain pet it often happens.

I would say up to level 51 you can easily manage. After this is another story. Mage soloing pretty much stops being effective 51+, and duo should be favored, even more with mobs running away fast in dungeons.

You simply rinse and repeat this process till the mob starts to flee. When the mob starts running you poof your current pet using your reclaim energy spell or clicky (NOT the go away command this time), then cast 1 nuke. If that nuke does not kill the mob but still take over half the remaining health, simply summon another pet for the next mob and let it finish it off while you med. And BAM you get full exp evertime.

This technique, while valid, can't be said to be the best without going further into details.

When you chain pet, you need to take into consideration pet's life expectancy, to see if burnout is an option or not. Mages have got weak mana regen. And nuking every mob while also recasting a new pet each time is not always the most effective way. Sometimes it's just better to summon a pet, equip it, burnout and tear down many blues fast.
Safety is often overlooked, and different players will obtain different results. If one screws a pull for let's say 5 successful, the time required to get back on track isn't always worth it. Also, loosing a good xp camp over a stupid death sucks.

1) It is actually ok to heal or nuke if you think 1 pet will do the job till the mob runs. Normally mobs will turn to run at 15% **MOST UNDEAD DO NOT FLEE**

2) If your pet is below 20% the mob will not turn to run. This can be an advantage. Let the mob get down to 1% before u poof. The mob will initially agro on you but once it realizes you have a lot of health (which you should) it will start to run. This will let you use a lower lvl nuke because u only need to take care of around 1% health.


I'll give you my pro tip: if your pet is below 20%, and mob's health should make it running (but won't due to pet's low health), you can step into melee range and the mob will start running. Because when in melee range, the mob will always focus you instead of pet. Since you're above 20% hp, it makes it run. And it won't turn back on your low hp pet even after you left melee range.

About pet choice, earth pet should only be used to break camps. Otherwise fire pet up to level 51. Torch of Alna is the most important item you can quest as a new mage, followed by the eye of zomm clicky bracer.

Fire staff from Plane of Hate is definitly not something you will easily get on this server, and when you do, you'll have better pets anyway.

For soloing, earth pet 51 or fire pet as both as good and will achieve the same efficiency. Air pet 53 is better than 49 fire pet, when you can burnout.

Water pet 54 outdps air pet 53 by a large marging in a group. Simply because it will hit more, his nukes deal huge damage, and backstabs are pretty much double the kicks dmg from air. Stunning doesn't work so well due to resists. Actually, pet pushing is much more effective to prevent casting, since the target will be interrupted at the end of casting. After a quick interrupt from air pet, mob will restart casting instantly, lowering the true benefits.

Leveling spots are not bad, but some are far from the best.

[batkiller]

I would say up to level 51 you can easily manage. After this is another story.I would say if a Mage still needs to follow a guide to play their class after 51 levels, then they are beyond hope anyway.

I'll give you my pro tip: if your pet is below 20%, and mob's health should make it running (but won't due to pet's low health), you can step into melee range and the mob will start running. Because when in melee range, the mob will always focus you instead of pet. It doesn't work like that for me. If the pet is nearing death, then no amount of aggro can drag the mob off it.

Leveling spots are not bad, but some are far from the best.
Again, this kind of 'advice' is useless. Everyone thinks they know the most orsum badass bestest spots evah, but until you actually come out list where you think is best, then it's all hot air. This guy offered his guide, if you think you know better, spill it, otherwise its just epeen waving.

[finalgrunt]

I would say if a Mage still needs to follow a guide to play their class after 51 levels, then they are beyond hope anyway.

Well maybe since leveling as mage changes with levels, some people will hit a wall after 51, and are seeking for advices. It's not something people should feel ashamed about.
And I tend to think it's quite the opposite. Those who don't read guides or ask for advices have a reduced vision of what they can do with their classes. We're not all geniuses who can figure out everything a game / class can offer ;)

It doesn't work like that for me. If the pet is nearing death, then no amount of aggro can drag the mob off it.

Did you try to step in melee range? It's not about aggro. Even with no aggro at all, going into melee range will make mob run away.

Again, this kind of 'advice' is useless. Everyone thinks they know the most orsum badass bestest spots evah, but until you actually come out list where you think is best, then it's all hot air. This guy offered his guide, if you think you know better, spill it, otherwise its just epeen waving.

And I had to go cuddle my wife, so I decided to send the current draft to come back later. But yeah, feel free to bring epeen waving and stuff, you're clearly helping everybody around this way.

My favorite leveling spots are:

1-8: around newbie areas.
8-12: crushbone.
alternative: Kurn's tower.
12-16: unrest graveyard
16-20: oasis crocs
20-30: mistmoore pond
30-37/38: splitpaw (but not easy to grab)
alternative 30-40: overthere
40-44: Oggok guards
44-49: spectres
49-51: bloodgills
51-57: KC
57+: wherever you want.

[HarrisonIsStillPosting]

Oasis is garbage. Skip it, always. It is subpar shitty experience and slow.

10-30+ should be unrest unless it's overcamped. It is by far the best and fastest experience in that bracket until you hit HHK in the 20-30ish range (depending on availability of mobs/camps)

[batkiller]

you're clearly helping everybody around this way.

My favorite leveling spots are:

Oh I get results one way or another! Nice list.

[AlliBear17]

Just going to give my experience and thoughts on all of this, since I am a mage.

I started playing again a few months ago, as a lv20'ish mage. Before the exp nerf, I would let the pet do most of the damage, and I would either use burst of flame to pull, or a bigger nuke to end the battle as mob started fleeing. This worked fine then.

However, since I started back a few months ago and the pet would take 75% of the exp with my usual method, I looked for ideas on other ways to solo or to get around this.

I found that using the fire pet and my largest nuke to finish the mob off, would often get me the full exp, since fire pet ds doesn't count for anyone's damage. I wouldn't give it any weapons or buffs either.

In the 30's, I started having better results by using one fire pet, to fight a mob til it flees, then a small nuke to finish it off after reclaiming pet.

Now, I'm 47 and I've been doing the same on specs. Before lv44, I had to use two pets generally to take down one spec, but I felt like it was worth it for the exp and loot. Only issue here, is that I can't reclaim since specs don't flee. Instead, I start my nuke to finish them off, and half way through, I hit the "Go Away" button.

I definitely end up oom, after a while, but I can keep 3 specs down, and reach full mana by the time they start repopping.

I can't speak much to the pets at 51+ but I plan to try out all of them, and see what suits me best. I feel like this guide is useful, but everyone should remember to experiment, and see what suits your play style best.

[Slave]

However, since I started back a few months ago and the pet would take 75% of the exp with my usual method, I looked for ideas on other ways to solo or to get around this.


The current exp loss on a mob that your pet did most of the damage on is 50%.

[batkiller]

I think grouping with even one other person removes the pet penalty too. I know this is about a nice solo guide, but often I liked to just find one good person whose class works great with mine, and together we kick ass and there is no penalty and we both still get great XP. I know it's not always possible, but I can highly recommend it if you are soloing somewhere and you see another person nearby who would work well with you.

[Slave]

Just for the record, future mages, I made it to 58 before the penalty - thank god - yet it still took me 50 hours - 4 days straight - to do level 59 with efficient soloing. Good luck fellars, I can only assume every single other person on the server exploited. lol

[webrunner5]

I still stand by my stance that it is a 75% XP penality. I have never seen a Dev say one way or another, 50% or 75%. But I am open to a good link to prove your point Slave.

I know my Mage went from great to almost total crap with the nerf. Hard to believe I ONLY lost 50%. I sure group more than I ever want to on it that is for sure. :(

[finalgrunt]

I still stand by my stance that it is a 75% XP penality. I have never seen a Dev say one way or another, 50% or 75%. But I am open to a good link to prove your point Slave.

I know my Mage went from great to almost total crap with the nerf. Hard to believe I ONLY lost 50%. I sure group more than I ever want to on it that is for sure. :(

It's 50% xp penalty (75% was prior to the xp change, when you forgot to deal at least 1 dmg yourself). And yes, grouping with somebody far enough or who stays in another zone negates it, but it's exploiting, and you shouldn't do it.