Curse

ChaoticCoyote · Oct 05, 2006, 05:02 PM // 17:02

After 18 months of asking for pet controls...

...we get "Heroes" who can be directed explicitly via a very simple interface.

ANet could have added another small button under the radar, like the hero and henchman control, so we could set flags for pets. But they didn't.

I'm not asking for super-pets, just the basic ability to say "stay" or "attack" or "go here". The logic obviously exists within the program, because it is there for the henchmen and heroes.

So why does ANet continue to devalue having a pet? Heroes don't require players to use a skill slot; I can remove hexes and conditions from heroes, but not from my pets.

Quite frankly, Heroes are nothing more than uber-pets. And it seems a bit of a slap in the face to dedicated rangers that *everyone* in the game is given controllable "hero pets", but our actual animal companion is still uncontrollable.

Skill blackout and skills like "Heal as One" imply that the pet is bound to the ranger on a mental level. As such, it makes no sense that I have almost no control over my pet's actions. Heck, my real-world pet Iguana knows to come when called and stay when I tell it to! And I sure as heck don't have a mental link with my lizard...

So why doesn't ANet add a hero-like pet control to the radar?

Omega X · Oct 05, 2006, 05:04 PM // 17:04

Why don't they just integrate pets into that system and be done with it?

Like you said, henchmen are nothing but uber-pets.

Carth` · Oct 05, 2006, 05:05 PM // 17:05

Well, if they eventually make pets get DP in PvE they better make them more controllable, or they'll be worthless.

Jessyi · Oct 05, 2006, 05:10 PM // 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaoticCoyote

Heroes don't require players to use a skill slot; I can remove hexes and conditions from heroes, but not from my pets.

Huh? You can remove hexes and conditions from pets...with a hex or condition removal spell. It's just that easy...

-Jessyi

Skuld · Oct 05, 2006, 05:15 PM // 17:15

You can't see what hexes (to a less extent conditions) are on the pet though. The hero windows show effects.

Big_Iron · Oct 05, 2006, 05:24 PM // 17:24

I have to agree. When I first started playing GW, one huge draw for me to create a Ranger was that they can have pets, but you lack real control of your animal. When you're a puller and you have your pet, kiss it goodbye because it's going to get slaughtered by whatever it is your pulling. Now, unless I'm on a B/P team, I never take it with me. Thanks for bringing this up ChaoticCoyote. It's been bugging me for a long time.

ChaoticCoyote · Oct 05, 2006, 05:25 PM // 17:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessyi

Huh? You can remove hexes and conditions from pets...with a hex or condition removal spell. It's just that easy...

I can't remove what I can't identify, and the game doesn't tell me what hexes, conditions, and buffs are affecting my pet. Heck, I don't even have an indicator telling me that Call of Protection is wearing off... I have to GUESS.

Any spells that work on "party members" do not work on pets, who are considered "allies". Thus they do not benefit from party buffs or heals.

My dead pet doesn't even show up on the radar!

lightblade · Oct 05, 2006, 05:54 PM // 17:54

lol...you people should try to train your dog to do stuff...like using the toilet...

Then you'll see how hard it REALLY is to control pet. GW on the otherhand, is very realistic on this.

Sluggs · Oct 05, 2006, 05:57 PM // 17:57

It was suggested long ago to use the charm animal skill for basic pet control, like to call back the pet... wouldn't have needed an UI change and would have made a hell of difference. Now heroes get a whole UI upgrade, and pets still get nothing, it's just so sad...

Big_Iron · Oct 05, 2006, 06:03 PM // 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightblade

lol...you people should try to train your dog to do stuff...like using the toilet...

Then you'll see how hard it REALLY is to control pet. GW on the otherhand, is very realistic on this.

I get your humor, but what we have in GW now is not realistic. In real life many pets are very well trained. Look at police dogs and seeing eye dogs. I have a dog and she's extremely intelligent and was very easy to train. I believe having Hero-like controls for your pet would be just like real-world pets.

Jeremy Untouchable · Oct 05, 2006, 06:05 PM // 18:05

I vote yes for pet flags, fetch and stay commands would be nice

ChaoticCoyote · Oct 05, 2006, 06:28 PM // 18:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightblade

lol...you people should try to train your dog to do stuff...like using the toilet...

Then you'll see how hard it REALLY is to control pet. GW on the otherhand, is very realistic on this.

I once had a cat trained to use the toilet. JuJu even flushed...

And every dog *I* know of uses the toilet -- as a drinking dish.

The "animal companions" in Guild Wars are not merely pets. Think of them as police dogs, seeing-eye animals, herding dogs, and other animals who respond to their owners.

Then consider that these pets are psychically "bound" to their Ranger. Otherwise, why would my skills black out when my pet dies? If anything, pets in Guild Wars should be *easier* to direct than a real world animal.

Painbringer · Oct 05, 2006, 06:31 PM // 18:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by WoodyDotNet

When you're a puller and you have your pet, kiss it goodbye because it's going to get slaughtered by whatever it is your pulling. Now, unless I'm on a B/P team, I never take it with me.

When I pull with henchies I usually attack. Then run away clicking in front of me on the ground like a mad man, and the henchies seem to follow me ( as long as they do not get body blocked or stuck ). Every time they get struck or hit with a spell they like to agro, so I just keep clicking. It seems to work about 90 or so % of the time for me. I thought the pet followed me as well, but I guess it has been a long while since I have taken a pet with me so not for sure.

Linkusmax · Oct 05, 2006, 06:46 PM // 18:46

I think Izzy once mentioned if he gave more control over pets he would have too nerf them substantially.

elLOCOmutha · Oct 05, 2006, 06:48 PM // 18:48

I agree, Anet needs to work on pets and implement some of these ideas. Anet give our pets some love! PLEASE!

ChaoticCoyote · Oct 05, 2006, 06:54 PM // 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Painbringer

When I pull with henchies I usually attack. Then run away clicking in front of me on the ground like a mad man, and the henchies seem to follow me ( as long as they do not get body blocked or stuck ). Every time they get struck or hit with a spell they like to agro, so I just keep clicking. It seems to work about 90 or so % of the time for me. I thought the pet followed me as well, but I guess it has been a long while since I have taken a pet with me so not for sure.

Once you land a hit on a target, the pet will attack the target. To get your pet to disengage, select yourself as a target; after a FIVE SECOND delay, the pet may or may not change to follow you. If you are attacked, the pet may change to fight your assailant.

True "pulling" is difficult; instead of shoot in a target, I tend to catch it on the edge of my aggro bubble and then run like heck, rather than shoot.

In most engagements, I don't pull. Instead, I select (but do not attack) a target at the edge of longbow range, use CTRL-SHIFT-SPACE to send in the henchmen, then fire my bow. When my shots hits, Fluffy (my Dune Lizard) charges into battle.

Mammoth · Oct 05, 2006, 07:01 PM // 19:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Painbringer

When I pull with henchies I usually attack. Then run away clicking in front of me on the ground like a mad man, and the henchies seem to follow me ( as long as they do not get body blocked or stuck ). Every time they get struck or hit with a spell they like to agro, so I just keep clicking. It seems to work about 90 or so % of the time for me. I thought the pet followed me as well, but I guess it has been a long while since I have taken a pet with me so not for sure.

Generally when you hit with your first attack, the pet will run/fly in and harass the target for a while.

Sometimes it's decent, but other times it's a problem.

The worst example is changing targets mid-fight, sometimes you start attacking one target, then reconsider and go for another, if you start attacking a new target, henchmen will attack the new one almost right away, while the pet will harass the original target for a while after and only change after a period of time (up to 10 seconds? maybe 5 hits? im not exactly sure how long it takes)

On the other side of this debate is that sometimes that can actually be useful, if you want you can send your pet to bother one target, while you and your team harass another. Like you go for the monk, it goes for the necromancer, etc.

I'd say if anything they should be given an option to be attentive (attack only what you do), persistent(attack what you do and stick to it even if you change), defensive (attack anything near the pet's master),or passive(dont attack anything you do, and stay nearby), as far as a flag on the map, it would be nice, but i dont think it's necessary with if you can just tell it how to behave with those 4 options. The heroes have three of these options, which I find is very nice when you dont want to always point them places on the map.

sumrtym · Oct 05, 2006, 07:03 PM // 19:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaoticCoyote

True "pulling" is difficult; instead of shoot in a target, I tend to catch it on the edge of my aggro bubble and then run like heck, rather than shoot.

Not difficult at all in my experience. If i longbow/flatbow shot a creature at the edge of range and immediately start backing up, my pet backs up with me instead of chasing what I shot.

Scutilla · Oct 05, 2006, 07:10 PM // 19:10

Who says they won't implement something like this?

Gaile did say they were working on improved pet controls a while back (albeit rather low on the priority list), so maybe it's something we'll see in Nightfall. Especially since such a system wouldn't have to be much different from what the Heroes use.

ChaoticCoyote · Oct 05, 2006, 07:16 PM // 19:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumrtym

Not difficult at all in my experience. If i longbow/flatbow shot a creature at the edge of range and immediately start backing up, my pet backs up with me instead of chasing what I shot.

You need to start backing *before* your shot hits, so the target is out of range before the arrow lands. This is one case where a flatbow's big arc is a plus.