Curse

Oso Minar · Feb 15, 2007, 12:44 AM // 00:44

Hello, Rangers! I browsed the other recent topics dealing with pets, but this question is a bit different than the rest.

I'm a Ritualist, but I'd like to still own a pet. Now, from perusing your forum it seems that every pet out there is only in the Dire form. Is that because the Hearty or Elder pets are "useless"?

Now, I fully doubt that I'll ever run a full-out Beastmaster build on my Ritualist. Basically, he'll only be there to screw around with during PvE things (he'd be tanking with Call of Protection). Because the Spawning Power attribute isn't necessary for most Restoration builds, I'd be able to plug a significant amount of points into Beast Mastery and have a lil' buddy accompanying me while I heal away. I do stupid goof-around things like that. Ah well.

So yeah! Would levelling my pet towards Hearty be better off for my situation? I don't quite see any point in me actually using my pet to deal any sorts of damage whatsoever...I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure he'll just be there to soak up damage while I chill in the backlines.

Is the attack bonus from Dire that good that I should focus on that instead, though? How much does the health penalty hurt?

Thank you very much for your input. All is appreciated. See you on the battlefield!

Cathode_Reborn · Feb 15, 2007, 01:41 AM // 01:41

Dire pets do 15%more dmg, Hearty is -15%dmg, and Elder is in the middle. The more damage they do, the less health and armor they have. If I ever put Charm Animal on my skillbar, I'm gonna use my pet for damage, rather than tanking. It depends on you and what you use your pet for.

I'm pretty sure that the number of rangers with Hearty pets outnumber those with Dire pets. Making a pet go Dire requires you to carefully watch your pet's health and the damage it does, while making a Hearty pet is as simple as letting it die often. People tend to show off their Dire pets since it takes abit more time to evolve one that way, so that's probably why it might seem like more people have dire =p

Cathode_Reborn · Feb 15, 2007, 01:43 AM // 01:43

Dire pets do 15%more dmg, Hearty is -15%dmg, and Elder is in the middle. The more damage they do, the less health and armor they have. If I ever put Charm Animal on my skillbar, I'm gonna use my pet for damage, rather than tanking. It depends on you and what you use your pet for.

The health/armor penalty has never bothered me, since pets only get dp in pvp and people are usually smart enough not to waste their skills on a pet.

I'm pretty sure that the number of rangers with Hearty pets outnumber those with Dire pets. Making a pet go Dire requires you to carefully watch your pet's health and the damage it does, while making a Hearty pet is as simple as letting it die often. People tend to show off their Dire pets since it takes abit more time to evolve one that way, so that's probably why it might seem like more people have dire =p

Franco Power · Feb 15, 2007, 02:26 AM // 02:26

If you said you want a pet to deal more dmg then hearty is the way to go.

A lot of people think Dire is great in pvp, but in a 20 minuts gvg or HA match when your pet has 60dp, you really want that -60 health back.

As to the show off your dire pet comment , letting a pet kill you 100 times while Dunkoro ressurects you requires no skill.

pingu666 · Feb 15, 2007, 02:39 AM // 02:39

if your level 20, then just let a pet kill u 350~times, then charm. the pet will level into a level 20 dire

. takes 3-4 hours

sometimes its noticeable, i have a hearty cat, and a dire pig, and the pig does a fair bit more damage (i have 2 rangers)

Stormlord Alex · Feb 15, 2007, 05:34 AM // 05:34

The extra damage that the dire pet gives out isn't all to noticeable with no Beastmastery. If you only want a pet to absorb attacks, then Hearty's the way to go.

That said... I prefer dire for Barrage/pet teams. The pet'll die faster then, providing a corpse for the MM faster. And if the enemies ignore my pet then he'll do that extra little bit of damage.

Oso Minar · Feb 15, 2007, 05:39 AM // 05:39

Got it, thanks folks! I've started levelling my lil' pet towards Hearty, as he'll pretty much only be a tank.

There aren't any tricks to it like Dire, right? I just let him run in and get whomped by attackers? Seems simple enough.

lennymon · Feb 15, 2007, 06:32 AM // 06:32

you just need to keep ressing him, as he needs to take damage as opposed to staying dead

and re the differences between dire hearty etc, theres NO armor difference, just damage and health

riojin · Feb 15, 2007, 07:20 AM // 07:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cathode_Reborn

Dire pets do 15%more dmg, Hearty is -15%dmg, and Elder is in the middle.

well that was half right. dire is the best dmg dealer and hearty is the worst with elder in the middle.

these are the differences

dire
+2 base damage -60 health compared to an elder

hearty
-2 base damage +60 health compared to an elder

you can do the math if you like on pet vs pet.

if both are the same lvl, at the same beast mastery att lvl, are the same type (bear, tiger etc) and are both not using attack skills youll find that over time they are about the same.

chosing a pet prefix depends on what you are using your pet for. id usually go for hearty because i dont usually use a pet res or +dmg pet skills, just conditioning and interupting

Cathode_Reborn · Feb 15, 2007, 07:33 AM // 07:33

Yeah only the health is affected by their evolution, no armor change. My mistake....I also didn't notice i double-posted earlier untill now >_<

The 15%dmg differences came from here: http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Pet

To make a pet dire, it has to do lots of damage and take very little damage, etc. If you want a hearty pet, just treat it like crap. Send it into huge mobs, let it die, etc.

If you really wanna get into it here's a good guide on evolving pets:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=89491

Morgenstern · Feb 15, 2007, 08:14 AM // 08:14

Generally I only get a Dire pet if I "death level" it. All the other pets I've had when I havn't been bothered what to make it, it will turn out as Hearty, which I like as all I use my pet for is holding stupid mobs ^^

roperratt · Feb 15, 2007, 12:28 PM // 12:28

You don't have to let your pet die a lot to be hearty. I've had pets that only die maybe twice from level 5 to 15 and they still came out hearty. I've also had a pet become Elder, that only died twice. I've got a dire pet now, and I doubt I would go through that much work again just to get a dire pet. They are nice to have, but I don't have enough spare time to do it. My point being, if you have time and patience, evolve a dire, if you just want a pet let him evolve into whatever he wants to be, which is most likely hearty.

Jetdoc · Feb 15, 2007, 03:22 PM // 15:22

Most people carry Dire pets to get the maximum utility out of them - Dire pets can be used in a Beast Master build, when you want the pet to die (e.g. IWAY and Tombs), and simply to eek out every ounce of damage you can from them.

Hearty pets are used primarily by those who want a meat shield, pure and simple. +60 health can keep the pet alive for a few more seconds, and allows you a better chance of healing them before they kick the bucket.

Elder is a compromise between the two.

SnipiousMax · Feb 15, 2007, 04:02 PM // 16:02

Now, I know it's a radical idea... But I would actually suggest a Dire for a meatshield... especially for a caster. The lower hitpoints means that mobs will be more likely to attack the PET FIRST rather than the attacker. So if intend your pet to draw damage away from you, than lower health will be better than more (meaning mobs will target you first...). With Call of Protection and other buffs, the health loss isn't huge, and the lower health is better for drawing attackers.

Amy Awien · Feb 15, 2007, 04:28 PM // 16:28

Good that you bring it up Snipious, the issue of aggro-targeting is frequently missed in the Hearty-or-Dire discussions. I'd like to add that the extra Dire-damage is less meaningfull in builds that utilize pet attackskills since their damage bonus is only affected by your rank in Beastmastery and not the pet's evolution.

Jetdoc · Feb 15, 2007, 09:48 PM // 21:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnipiousMax

The lower hitpoints means that mobs will be more likely to attack the PET FIRST rather than the attacker. So if intend your pet to draw damage away from you, than lower health will be better than more (meaning mobs will target you first...).

When you get experienced in controlling aggro with your pet, this doesn't really become an issue. This definitely can be an issue for someone that simply calls a target, sends their pet in the mix, and continues to plug away without adjusting their own aggro to ensure that the baddies don't attack the wrong person.

Amy Awien · Feb 15, 2007, 10:08 PM // 22:08

The way you put it it sounds like you have total control, through your pet and I am fairly certain such claim are somewhat exagerated.

SnipiousMax · Feb 15, 2007, 10:20 PM // 22:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetdoc

When you get experienced in controlling aggro with your pet, this doesn't really become an issue. This definitely can be an issue for someone that simply calls a target, sends their pet in the mix, and continues to plug away without adjusting their own aggro to ensure that the baddies don't attack the wrong person.

Yes you can scrap aggro off on to your pet by adjusting your own aggro, but often mobs will bypass an AI tank completely in the intrest of getting to 'weaker' targets. And truth be told, controlling your own aggro is much easier for a dedicated Beastmaster where you're entire role is keeping your pet in the fray rather than a caster which will be filling another role completely. Regardless, I dont' see how it's an arguement against using a dire pet, as the lower health will make your aggro control that much more precise, and pursuing mobs that much more likely to break off on your pet.