Low end mage pet question

[dafier]

I used Water pet almost the whole time, from level 1 to 49. The 49 fire pet with focus (Torch) is VERY awesome. I had all the < 49 focus items and used the Stein with Water all the time.

I found that using earth isn't worth it much at all. Water's DPS is awesome, just like Fire's but it has a lot more HP, therefore it can be a life saver.

Yes there are going to be times when you will not get full xp, but my suggestion is to find another mage/necro/Enchanter to duo with. From level 39 to 51ish you can sit on the wall of KC in Dreaded Lands.

[Tipsyer]

Originally Posted by Xaks [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

How do you guys afford pet chaining? I mean, even at 16, pet summons cost regents. I can't afford to be dropping a plat every couple kills for fresh pets, I'd be broke before my next level

I mean, if you have a higher level main I guess it isn't an issue. How the hell is someone supposed to do this if the mage is the main and you're a new non-twink?

It's doable but not until later on. Once the pets start costing a flat 200 mana it's more manageable. That starts at 29 and goes until 51. I don't recall really chaining until 39+, but your mileage may vary.

Gargoyles in Ocean of Tears are around level 19 or 20 and have a chance at dropping eyes that vendor for near 10p. It was a decently busy spot when I was in that range and you'll occasionally have a high level necro doing specs on the same island. But that's where I really remember money starting to accumulate. Avoid the middle of the island and try to pull singles to the edge until you're 20 (new pets) then you could probably handle doubles as long as your mana is up.

Sister isle in Ocean of Tears, as well, has the two lady elves in the hut that you can hunt around 24 (once again, new pet level). They can drop Longswords that vendor for about 11p each and you can sell to the dwarf on the same island, barring racial or faction barriers. They are like a 6 minute respawn. Breaking it can be a bit tricky for a mage, but it's doable with patience. Space out the time you kill each and you should be fine. You will take faction hits with kelethin and felwithe, so be cautious if you care about them.

Two decent spots as you level through your 20's to get a decent platinum cushion for pet reagents and spells and maybe some cheap int or mana gear. I haven't really played in almost 7 or 8 months, so Velious may have added some other areas that are good. But the two listed you can't really go wrong with.

[Nagash]

Don't worry about pet chain casting until level 39 for two reasons:
- Before then it is simply not needed: your pets will eat a mob alive with spare HP, from 39 mobs start to have more hp which is when chaining becomes important
- From level 39 to 49, pets only cost 200 mana which is nothing (you will meditate it back by the time you have to get rid of the pet)

Regarding which pet to use, I used earth pet + DS shield with 0 downtime, some prefer fire pet but I find it too fragile (sometime requiring chaining) plus I loved the safety of more hp and root. Whatever you choose, get the focus items as soon as you can.

Don't worry about the cost of components, malachites are cheap (1sp each maybe?) so a single fine steel weapon drop will allow you to fill a bag of them and will leave you some spare.

Most of all, enjoy your mage, if you are smart, mages can do stuff few people think doable. When you will come out alive and victorious of your first fight vs 2 or 3 mobs, you will feel like a living god. Granted mages are not as good as necro or chanty at managing hairy situation but they have more than just the gate button.

[Swish]

Never thought I'd say it but I almost want to play a mage after reading this thread.

[Tipsyer]

Originally Posted by Nagash [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Most of all, enjoy your mage, if you are smart, mages can do stuff few people think doable.

QFT. Let's set a scene... Level 50 mage gets bored one day and decides to explore Lower Guk. I leveled a bit here on Live back in the day but never ventured in on p99. Mainly just farting around seeing if any of the easier camps were open when I stumbled upon a broken Frenzied camp with one mob up that had no group or dead bodies there. Figured what the hell, I'll give it a try. Didn't expect much seeing as that place can easily turn into a cluster fuck at the drop of a hat.

Fluffy the Earth Pet in-tow, we fought and kept it cleared for 2 hours when the second frenzied spawned since I got there. Close fight, but gated out afterwards with a brand-spankin' new FBSS and big ass smile on my face.

One of the top memories I have from playing here.

[Xaks]

Originally Posted by Swish [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Never thought I'd say it but I almost want to play a mage after reading this thread.

I really, really enjoy the pet classes. I played a necro and ranger as mains back in live, and had a mage as a farting around toon.

Now I'm going mage as a main to group and farm stuff with, to equip other alts later. I've got a wee necro (I think level 9 or so) that'll I'll work on at some point as a soloer. The necros are hella fun but I'm deeply, deeply liking the tankability of the mage pets...plus mage nukes I'm finding are really, really powerful.

Class-wise, if I didn't know better, I'd say the mage is prolly second strongest flat-out single target blow-shit-uperer, behind a wizzy. And that we have AE nukes is a pretty nice bonus as well. (Feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong, as I often am...I'm going by my grouping experiences so far and seeing how other classes of similar levels move mob HP bars)

[Morningbreath]

Originally Posted by Xaks [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Heya gang!

I played a mage sparingly back in the day....I think I got into the 40s with that one. I have a terrible case of ALT-itis and I hop around a lot.

Anyhow, back then, the water pet was generally accepted as your best soloing pet if you didn't need the root of the earth pet.

Now, in the limited time I've been back, I'm seeing a lot of fire pets out instead of waters. I understand the built-in DS is nice...but is it really THAT big a deal, especially at lower levels? (I just hit 16, btw)

I remember back then, the relative fragility of the fire pet relegated it to specific trash cleanup duty or (due to the inherent rests) MTing only very specific targets.

Is that somehow different now?

Thanks for the wisdom up front, guys!

At 16 and at least until 29(which is where I'm at) I'd say it's the pet DS is a pretty big deal. Other mages might do the whole pet reclaim cycle but I prefer to keep summoning until I get the best pet possible and keep it alive as long as I can.

[cdawgz28]

I love the duo with another pet class and wreck stuff strat.

[Vexenu]

I don't understand how anyone can suggest anything other than the fire pet for soloing up to 50 or so. With proper mob selection (low dark blues), you don't need more than a single focused fire pet to kill a mob. Reclaim pet when mob is low health, finish with a low level nuke. Summoning a water or earth pet and buffing it with a DS, or worse healing/buffing the pet and allowing it to eat 50% of the XP are both much less efficient options.

I recently soloed a Mage to 50 using nothing but fire pets and it was some of the fastest XP I've ever seen, right up there with charming, and much easier/stress free. Very little downtime. Mana-free DPS from the Fire pet's innate damage shield, combined with higher pet HP from the focus is just extremely efficient and can't be beat by any other pet for leveling speed.

[Xaks]

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I don't understand how anyone can suggest anything other than the fire pet for soloing up to 50 or so. With proper mob selection (low dark blues), you don't need more than a single focused fire pet to kill a mob. Reclaim pet when mob is low health, finish with a low level nuke. Summoning a water or earth pet and buffing it with a DS, or worse healing/buffing the pet and allowing it to eat 50% of the XP are both much less efficient options.

I recently soloed a Mage to 50 using nothing but fire pets and it was some of the fastest XP I've ever seen, right up there with charming, and much easier/stress free. Very little downtime. Mana-free DPS from the Fire pet's innate damage shield, combined with higher pet HP from the focus is just extremely efficient and can't be beat by any other pet for leveling speed.

oh, ok.

so, untwinked and ungeared, what do I do from 1-30, when I can actually get the drops for the focusing item?