Mage epic --- game changing?

[Selene]

Does the epic pet for the mage (post-nerf of course) change the gameplay or solo ability of the mage to any significant degree? Hoping to get the opinions of some epic mages. I doubt I'll ever get one but just curious. Does it allow you to dungeon crawl solo in seb for example? Just wondering how tanky it is

[Balimon]

The short answer is yes - it's game changing. It opens some doors and it generally kills faster and is stronger than the other pets. The longer answer is that it's complicated. The main advantage the epic pet has is that it's always the same level when you summon it, removing the randomness. I haven't parsed any data but I believe that a focused air pet actually tanks more effectively because it's a monk class versus the warrior class of the epic. When I first got epic I was kinda disappointed in how fast he loses health compared to the air which I used 100% of the time solo.

That being said, epic still has more hit points, higher level, and stronger DS and effects. It's more often the better DPS option than the other pets and tankier. Not being able to reclaim it is sad, but being able to 'store' a charge on a fresh orb summon is pretty amazing for difficult fights or for raiding. If all you're doing is planning on soloing I don't know if it's really worth it? The focused air pet is incredible for this already, but it doesn't kill as quickly.

I'm curious what other folks think about this question or what they've used the pet that they couldn't before. Personally I have used it to farm greens faster (duh!) kill the named wyverns in skyshrine, I've had it tank difficult mobs with a healer, duoed Tserrina with a wizard, kill the named wurms in GD. I know I could solo some named in chardok but haven't had time to try.

[Toxigen]

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

Does it allow you to dungeon crawl solo in seb for example?

Absolutely not. Mages suck at soloing anything remotely worthwhile because they still don't have root, slow, etc.

All the epic does is allow a mage to farm just a little bit tougher (albeit still easy) mass amounts of mobs. Will it feel great when you first get it? Sure, the fashion alone is pretty baller. Soon thereafter you'll come to the realization it hasn't made your character that much stronger.

Unfortunately mages are best leveled to 55 and used as COTH bots.

Whats an earth staff sell for these days? 1 million plat? I'd much rather have a million to spend on other classes and have a stable of well geared chars to actually be useful on.

[Jimjam]

The real mage epic spell summons raiders, not elementals!

[Ripqozko]

It will help you farm the 700p you need for a wc cap when you need to swap to a useful class

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Unfortunately the cost of an Earth Staff is simply too great for it to offset the gains you receive. Obviously if you want the Mage Epic for fashion or fun that trumps everything. This is a game after all. But you won't suddenly be able to kill significantly harder mobs.

Allishia gave me some DPS data on the Epic pet (post nerf). It does 80-90 DPS in terms of melee damage + procs, and the damage shield is doing around 30 DPS. So when the epic pet is tanking you're getting around 120 DPS, not including nukes.

Those are pretty good numbers, a Rogue with Epic and a second good weapon is doing around 133 DPS with backstabs on Sebilis mobs. The main problem Mages have is no CC of any kind. You may be able to do some harder mobs if you have bags of root nets and give your epic pet a swarmcaller, but you are going to be sinking a lot of time and plat into keeping those items on your character, ready for the next target.

[Toxigen]

Imagine putting a swarmcaller on a mage pet.

Just play an enchanter.

[Ripqozko]

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

Imagine putting a swarmcaller on a mage pet.

Just play an enchanter.

We use to do it to slow vulak faster, but thats pretty niche

[Toxigen]

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

We use to do it to slow vulak faster, but thats pretty niche

Yeah thats just a raid consumable.

[Balimon]

People have brought up some good points. The epic pet mostly just lets you solo the same stuff faster/easier than before. It isn't just a vanity item however, it is definitely a step up from the other pets. You don't need it though, focused air or water pet is just fine. The biggest advantage is being freed from the struggle of summoning a max level/hit pet. If you're looking for an epic for solo play it's not really worth the cost or time investment as others have said.

The epic is more of a raid upgrade really...even as just a stat stick. Having an on demand 67 Max hit pet is the other real benefit. If you are a serious raider than it may be worthwhile to you, it's one of the best pieces of kit you can get, albeit an expensive one. Sadly because of game balence Mages really need clickies and kit to be relevant in raiding.

I recommend going after a Manna robe and Z heart instead, these are must haves for Mages in my opinion. I haven't worn my epic much since getting my Z heart, it's just so good. Both of these items are cheaper than an Earth staff plat or dkp wise. Getting some MP Regen to go along with it is even better.