Curse

lennymon · Aug 23, 2006, 12:24 AM // 00:24

Yup, guaranteed results too (until the next update anyhow)
step 1: get a pet
step 2: headwear beastmastery with sup rune, atts 12+1+3 BM, 11+1 expertise, the rest in WS with a minor. I use a starter truncheon personally, but anything with low damage will work.
step 3: skill bar
I used enraged lunge and predators pounce along with the usual suspects for dire leveling (call of haste, call of protection, symbiotic bond, predatory bond, charm but not comfort (if your pet dies, rezone and rethink what you are fighting) troll ungent.
step 4: target acquired:
Using this skillbar the level 10 minotaurs outside of Ice tooth caves (northern shiverpeaks) should present no problems even for a level 3 pet and should get you 2-4 levels in one complete clear, 2 more the second clear, etc. I usually level here only until level 10 pet. basically use all your shouts except pred bond (only as needed to heal yourself) and spam those attacks as fast as they recharge. I also will keep troll up at all times even when Im at full health, just to spend the 3 secs casting to reduce my damage output further. Once you hit level 10, heres the fun twist... go to leviathan pits in the jade sea and enter gyala hatchery explorable have your pet attack the outcasts which are engaged by the Luxon guards

He deals a lot of damage and takes very little since the Luxon guards are basically tanking for you... and they are nice and big level wise. The first group there is already fighting when you arrive, often the second group at gate will want to be pulled into the Luxon guards (dont just send in the pet...) and the last group either pulled back again or if there is just one or two left take them out. Rinse and repeat. This has worked flawlessly more than 3 times for me.

Rau the legendary · Aug 24, 2006, 07:41 AM // 07:41

Are there also any spots in Cantha to replace with Ice tooth caves?
thanks,
rau

**EDIT**
And is it possible to train your pet to lvl 15 at some earlier spot then levithian. Since I want to use my tiger at the cantha missions.

lennymon · Aug 24, 2006, 04:54 PM // 16:54

Starting off the crimson skull guys are probably your best bet. After that you MAY be able to (and this is the only place I can think of in cantha) go into Jaya bluffs from Seitung harbor. The targets of choice would be the sensali in as small of packs as possible and the yetis. I have not tested that you can mitigate enough damage to your pet to ensure dire evolution at that location however. The problem with cantha in general for dire evolution is the more balanced distribution (aka a lot of rits and necros) and relative lack of lower level critters. My guess is the skills you'd need since there are quite a few prophesies only are going to limit severely your ability to consistently train dire pets as well. Since the prime damage dealing skill IS factions but its in nahpui explorable you'd need to be at least his far already to stand a chance is my guess.
My recommendation is to not worry about dire until you are near completed and starting a new pet, but if you can do it with early factions only skills, that'd be a pretty useful guide right there

Amy Awien · Aug 24, 2006, 06:56 PM // 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rau the legendary

Are there also any spots in Cantha to replace with Ice tooth caves?

There's a load of lvl 1 & 2 mantids just outside Rasu Gardens(?) that would do ok for the first few levels. Next stage could be the Yeti's outside Seitung Harbor.

SnipiousMax · Aug 24, 2006, 08:34 PM // 20:34

Rather than the Minotaurs have you tried the Mergolyes outside of the Gates of kyrta mission? They are easier to kill, and a higher level. The damage difference is negligible.

lennymon · Aug 24, 2006, 09:28 PM // 21:28

The mantids would be fine for levelling up till about level 5, they will be slower as the xp/kill is lower but it will be safe ->aggressive/dire movement. I'll do some research over the next couple days to locate a relatively predictable factions only dire progression path. Once you've gotten level 10 on the pet (or possibly if you have good technique) the jades in 2 groups of 3 just outside of marketplace in wajjun bazaar may be sufficient, however the use of aoe (cyclone/triple chop) WILL cause mr. kitty some pain. I'll have to try to come up with a technique for these guys.

The mergoyles are not as easy to mitigate damage as minotaurs due to the hexes that they throw around. They are easy to kill, but I've found a slightly (~90-95% instead of 100%) reduced chance of getting the aggressive/dire evolution on them, but ymmv as I tend to kill them all not just the eles. They are also not suitable for the factions only player.

lennymon · Aug 24, 2006, 10:05 PM // 22:05

so heres is my best guess at a factions only player's best available skills and attributes. If you don't have a skill get it if you can or get as close to the function you can and try it out. This isn't tested yet, but it will be...
This IS gonna be an energy hog, zealous starter sword? I dunno...
I've posted build on gwkb here:
http://www.gwkb.org/cBuild.php?mode=Show&ID=5077

but in short R/Mo
expertise:10+2. beast mastery:10+2+1. protection: 11
Enraged lunge(e)
poisonous bite
scavenger strike
call of haste
throw dirt
charm animal
LIFE BOND
reversal of fortune

The idea here is throw dirt, life bond and reversal of fortune ALL reduce or eliminate damage to your pet. replacing the prophesies only beast training standby skills call of protection and symbiotic bond (I run throw dirt as well). you may find that dropping one point of prot for a few points in WS for troll is good, and you should do that if it works better.

EDIT: tested to a point tonight, I got my tiger to level 7 after about 2 hours, with 2 deaths of the pet. It 'may' work with practice, but I am starting to feel that the dogma of factions only do not have the skills available for training consistently to dire might be true. I'm going to grab another crane to make dire. I find that this build is consistenly out of energy. I only had the energy for one or 2 reversal of fortunes. There is probably a better build for training pets with factions only skills, but I can't think of it right now.

tomcruisejr · Aug 26, 2006, 02:48 AM // 02:48

I highly recommend the OP's technique to level a pet to Dire.

i dumped my black moa to evolve a level 3 moa capped outside frontier gates to dire. and in 3-4 hours, i got what i wanted, first try!

level 3-11 - it evolved to agressive strider by doin minos outside ice tooth
level 11-15 - it evolved to dire strider doin outside levithian pits - gyala explorable.

* moa bird changes to strider when reaching an evolution type

i also used the same skill bar. my attribs: 16 bm, 12 exp rest wilderness. his technique must be stickied.

here's my new pet.

lennymon · Aug 28, 2006, 06:23 PM // 18:23

Glad its workin for you, the Ice tooth minotaurs are not my idea (nor is the build frankly), they are old school - but they work VERY well. With call of prot and symbiotic bond (how is it symbiotic again? I get nothing but damage) even a level 3 pet takes 0 damage from minotaurs. I know a lot of folks use elonas minotaurs for stage 2, and those work as well as anything else. The advantage of the pits is the luxon guards can be used to tank for your pet, and the critters still give 120-152 experience per kill

. I have found that the dogma of not wielding a weapon, or using a starter sword is the only way to make a dire to be untrue... at least with enraged lunge in the arsenal. Enraged does SO much damage I can use a max damage staff to direct my pets attacks without fear (I do stop attacking, but I dont worry about 50 points here or there).
I tend to only send in the pet in the rits after they are halfway just to be safe. I've not had any problems with evolution so it may be that life stealing is also not considered damage for the purposes of pet evolution.

Age · Aug 28, 2006, 10:50 PM // 22:50

I only have 4 more levels to get my wolf I charmed out side of Yaks.Where is good area to get it to 20?

lennymon · Aug 29, 2006, 12:12 AM // 00:12

You just wanna get the pet to level 20 after you've gotten the progression you want? I do tombs groups, or solo pet farming (theres a guide w/videos in farming). The higher level critters in tombs barrage pet levels them up nicely, but any higher level area will work fine. Solo works as well because you get more exp/kill even if you are just farming for exp. I can fit a charm into my touch ranger farmer build, then I go kill a LOT of outcasts after letting the pet die in first group, he still gets experience while dead.

milan · Aug 29, 2006, 11:37 AM // 11:37

I've just tried outside gyala hatchery, very useful, I always found the evolution period between agressive and dire hard to handle. For the minatours outside Ice tooth I use a slightly different build that might be helpful

Symbiotic bond
Ferocious Strike
Predators Pounce
Poisonous Bite
Scavenger Strike
Troll Ungent
Physical Resistance (Mesmer)
Charm Animal

I've found that I can hold aggro easily enough and anything that attacks the pet quickly switches back to me and symbiotic bond handles any damage for that short period nice and easy.

Physical resistance and troll ungent keeps me nicely topped up and am rarely more than 20hp from my max as physical resistance recharges before it runs out. The inclusion of poisonous bite and scavengers strike makes for large damage.

Batou of Nine · Sep 05, 2006, 08:40 PM // 20:40

Well, i have always used minos to lvl my pets to lvl 11.

I have used the OP's method to get my pet lvled. He has only died once in his lifetime back at ice tooth, he hardly EVER takes dmg outside in Gyala Hatchery, and ALWAYS does more dmg then me.

So can anyone tell me how he turned Elder? Instead of Dire? This is very fustrating, as i spent a long time lvling him up... UGH!!

cheers!

lennymon · Sep 06, 2006, 12:43 AM // 00:43

minos shouldnt ever be a problem, since with 16 beast mastery, symbiotic bond and call of protection (neither of which should EVER be down) render ALL the minos attacks 0 damage (exceptions: the rare crit/warrior boss mino @lvl 13). My pets tank for ME there and still always get to level 10/11 having taken a grand total of about 50 damage. I take a hell of a lot more damage than the pet. This is why I basically need to keep TU up, and when my health start slipping I throw up predatory bond. I usually take 8-13 damage whenever a minotaur hits my pet, doing the math that is 8-13 (minus 15 for CoP) goes to 0-0 damage the pet should be recieving. We can assume a crit will get a point or even 10 through the defenses, but I've never had a pet die at minos. If you die you map back to town asap to avoid letting the pet take damage. One death here is odd to me, but shouldnt be the solo cause to trigger elder evolution (but Im not sure as I've not really tested the number of deaths/amount of damage it takes to -not- get aggressive/dire just did my best to minimize).
Gyala can be a little trickier, the only advice I can really offer is to make sure that your target is engaged before you send in the pet to minimize the chance of damage. He doesnt need to solo kill it to get experience, just deal more damage than you and be nearby when the critter dies. If the Luxon guards deal lots of damage It will only help you (just won't get any loot).

It sounds to me like the most likely posibility for why yours evolved to elder is that either you are dealing too much damage or the pet death early is an indicator that hes taking too much damage - is beast mastery at 16? After you call the target to send the pet in, do you continue to attack or stop attacking, yourself?

Amy Awien · Sep 06, 2006, 06:34 AM // 06:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by lennymon

... I usually take 8-13 damage whenever a minotaur hits my pet, doing the math that is 8-13 (minus 15 for CoP) goes to 0-0 damage the pet should be recieving.

Unless CoP is applied first, in which case your pet would have been taking a similar amount of damage. Someone should test this

Quote:

...the pet death early is an indicator that hes taking too much damage - is beast mastery at 16?

Afaik, BM does not effect the damage taken, only indirectly when using CoP.

The absense of these uncertainties is an advantage of the 'old skool' method of letting your ranger tank.

Batou of Nine · Sep 06, 2006, 07:30 AM // 07:30

Nothing i did would or should have made my pet lean towards Elder at ANY point. The only reason the pet died that ONCE outside Ice Tooth is cause i had gone afk forgetting i was still outside, i was in a rush to get the door.

First of all, i am a VERY experienced Beast Master, and in fact have lvled pets to dire in Prophecies MANY times without problem.

Second, i never allow my pets to take much dmg at ALL. I ALWAYS have Symbiotic bond + Call of Protection on, and i have never seen my pet lose more then maybe 30hp (or some such) at any time (in other words, a real little bit). As a fellow Beast Master you know what i mean, when lvling you barely ever see his hp bar drop much at all to achieve Dire.

Third, i use a trapper staff. Since i automatically cant reach the req for the staff, i do crap dmg (maybe 1-9 dmg). Even my pets auto attks do more at only lvl 5. I always bring large dmg pet skills i.e. Enraged Lunge, Predators Pounce, Feral Lunge, etc etc. He has always done more dmg then me during training.

Fourth, at lvl 10 he DID get the Aggressive title.

A few things i am contemplating. Apparantly to reach Elder, which is between Hearty and Dire, one has to raise the pet in two stages. First stage leaning towards Hearty OR Dire (taking more dmg or doing more dmg respectively) and the second stage training leaning towards the opposite of the first stage. Now that is NOT what i did, since i DID get aggressive and continued to train him in the same manner he SHOULD have hit DIRE!!! I think your leveling method has cursed me. LoL.

I seriously have thought over and over and over about what i have possibly done to make him Elder, but i seriously have NO clue. Dying only once would not affect his evolution whatsoever, plus he was like only lvl 5 or 6 at the time. I guess i was just hoping for some1 to speak up who had the same experience, but... ya... Random bugs like this seem to happen to me a lot. Eww!

Oh well, kinda kewl to have a Elder. I don't get +2 dmg/-60hp for being Dire, nore do i get -2 dmg/+60hp for being Hearty. I get +0dmg/+0hp, the happy medium in between!!

EDIT:: Well to answer your questions more specifically Lennymon:: Of course my BM is at 16, I never do more dmg then my pet, and since the pet only goes after a target you are ATTACKING (calling doesn't affect his reaction), i continue to attk the target to ensure my pet stays on target (again, i do WAY less dmg then my pets auto attks.) Anywhoo, i guess this is just one for the books eh?

lennymon · Sep 06, 2006, 06:43 PM // 18:43

to Amy, yes I know, regardless of why - I never see the red bar move on my pet whilst he tanks minotaurs under the effects of cop and symbiosis.

Sorry Batou I really don't have a clue. I -have- had pets which I took straight to gyala to level from 3/5 on outcasts. This often results in NO evolution both at 11 and 15, but I've never seen an aggressive -> elder with no changes in playstyle (ie no breaks to b/p in tombs). It may be that since we now have Enraged lunge in the toolbox, the dire evolution is less critical for dps, I may do some testing on damage numbers using enraged vs 'old skool' skills to see if the difference is much less significant.

DarkRaider · Sep 06, 2006, 07:06 PM // 19:06

can u make a guide on raising a pet to dire if ur a primary warrior or assasin?
My ranger already has a dire black widow, but no training is required for that, if u kno what i mean

tomcruisejr · Sep 06, 2006, 07:31 PM // 19:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkRaider

can u make a guide on raising a pet to dire if ur a primary warrior or assasin?
My ranger already has a dire black widow, but no training is required for that, if u kno what i mean

the OP's is also applicable to warriors wanting to raise a dire pet. just replace enraged lunge with ferocious strike coz warriors got less energy regen pips and healing sig instead of troll unguent.

lennymon · Sep 06, 2006, 10:15 PM // 22:15

The only 'necessary' change is that you need to be -more- careful about how much damage your pet takes and you can't deal any. Warrior is of course easy to do this with since they are tanks after all. Ferocious is good, especially for warrior

especially in conjunction with bonettis. Monks are also great levelling pets, cop and bonds ftw. I've not ever tried with primary assassin though, its my personal feeling however that a primary sin would do better with hearty anyways. That way something to take it while they dish it out.