Curse

Shrapnel_Magnet · Jun 06, 2005, 11:09 PM // 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tellani Artini

I think each point in expertise should give you a constant 10% chance to evade all attacks and magical projectiles instead.

I hope you're not serious... 10 points in expertise would yield God Mode... even if you reworked this and added 2% instead... how would this synergize with the Ranger skills?

Evasion isn't the staple of most Ranger attacks... use of a fair amount of energy with a small energy pool IS however... I'm 1000% happy with Expertise the way it is.. I think the results are obvious... running a Ranger without 14 Expertise is something you shouldn't see, unless you're doing something tricky and weird.

I can see your point of view and reason for suggesting this, but it simply wouldn't make sense, in my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goonter

If Throatshot hits while target foe is using a skill, the skill is interrupted and your target dies until he's dead.

I honestly thought you were serious for a second there... lol. I was so afraid.

Tellani Artini · Jun 07, 2005, 12:32 AM // 00:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shrapnel_Magnet

I hope you're not serious... 10 points in expertise would yield God Mode... even if you reworked this and added 2% instead... how would this synergize with the Ranger skills?

I'm not. Just replying in the spirit of Goonter's skill suggestions.

Amnisac · Jun 07, 2005, 03:48 AM // 03:48

I have a skill similar to the one Goonter made:

-I Own You
All players on target team die permantly.

Type: Attack Skill
Energy:0
Duration: -
Casttime: -
Recharge: 0

Goonter · Jun 09, 2005, 09:02 AM // 09:02

New idea:

While your in a town or whatever to be able to select, some sort of ctrl + space (whatever) on your teammates name, and it opens a small window of there attribuite points and skills they are using, so you can plan better before you head out to fight.

Rajamic · Jun 09, 2005, 09:41 AM // 09:41

Best idea I've heard for a pet is to allow pets to tag along with just the Comfort Animal skill. I mean really, if you just want a meatshield, you need to use 2 skill slots? That's just silly.

Goonter · Jun 09, 2005, 10:31 AM // 10:31

Im not sure what the balancing issue was with the animal.
Im told if your beast mastery is up high enough your animal can hit as hard and maybe faster than you could with your marksmanship at the same lvl. I think that in itself validates charm animal.
I suggested that you could activate charm animal for your animal to attack or stay put and rest next to you while you attack (or do whatever). This would serve a use and at least make it feel like your actually using an attack with charm animal ingame.

I dont understand why monks cant support pets at all. Maybe not all monk skills should be able to work for pets, but certainly some of them should. It forces Comfort Animal on your skill bar.

I dont understand why, when a pet dies or is ressurected all his masters skills are locked.

Can some explain how this is actually helps balance pets?

Tellani Artini · Jun 09, 2005, 11:46 AM // 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goonter

Can some explain how this is actually helps balance pets?

If there was no skill lock, you could instantly res your pet with comfort animal, and it would be effectively invulnerable as long as you had energy. That would be silly. Think about how unstoppable your pet would be if you could res it back to half health less than a second after it died, and continued to heal it for 100 every second. The skill lock is basically just a limit on comfort animal resurrects, forcing a mandatory 8 seconds of pet death.

At beast mastery 12, your pet does the same damage at the same speed as a max damage recurve/long bow at marksmanship 12. Therefore, if you have both marksmanship and beast mastery at 12, you're doing twice as much damage as normal. Now consider the frightening efficiency of pet skills; you can give your pet a power attack twice as powerful as a bow power attack for half the energy. You can use the "distracting shot" equivalent pet attack twice as often, and it does more damage than usual instead of less. You can increase your pet's attack speed for 30 seconds for 10 energy. The elite pet attack is one skill that really deserves to be called elite. Basically, every pet skill is twice as good as the ranger equivalent for half the cost.

Don't you think doubling your base DPS is worth having a single skill sitting on your bar?

The problem with pets is the AI. I often see my pet run up to the target and stand there looking at it for a few seconds, then finally start attacking. This also stops them from attacking moving targets sometimes, even with call of haste. The answer to both these problems is pin down. Also, you can't change targets very easily. The pet targets the first thing you attack, and stays on it for about 10 seconds if you change targets and start attacking something else. You can also see this as a window of opportunity, as you can send a few bow shots at a second target and switch back to keep your pet from having to run back and forth between them. You just need to learn the ropes of the pet's AI, and how to work the nuances.

Here is an example of an effective PvP pet build. Try it, you might like it.

Also: all monk skills seem to work on pets, last I checked. Most monks choose to ignore their team's pets though, and I don't blame them. If a ranger can't heal his own pet, he's probably not a beast mastery ranger, and therefore his pet is a waste of a skill slot.

Goonter · Jun 09, 2005, 12:42 PM // 12:42

Then why not just lock comfort animal?

I can understand (via your example) how forcing a player to wait out a rez could make things even. However, if you invest 12 points to beastmastery and your pet dies thats a hugh penalty within itself.

If comfort animal is disabled then so are all of the animal skills.

Is it fair that one can no longer rez a friend, evade and escape, pin down an opponent for 8 seconds too?

Tellani Artini · Jun 09, 2005, 12:46 PM // 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goonter

Then why not just lock comfort animal?

To penalize people who can't keep their pets alive, and perhaps because it's technically simpler to just lock all skills. You used to get a DP for your pet's death. I think it's perfectly fair. If you don't want your skills locked, don't bring a pet.

GranDeWun · Jun 09, 2005, 01:02 PM // 13:02

This has been mentioned before:
To make pets useful, I'd like to change the skill slots they take up: if ANY Beast Mastery skill is equipped, it is enough to cause pet to appear.

Goonter · Jun 09, 2005, 01:09 PM // 13:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tellani Artini

I think it's perfectly fair. If you don't want your skills locked, don't bring a pet.

Are you helping me or scolding me? I was asking sincerely.

I still dont understand how EVERY skill locked is fair. But then, Im not a person that likes to consentrate heavely on my pet. For those who do, perhaps this penality is more than adequate.

Personally, I dont want my skills locked, so I dont bring a pet.

BrokenSymmetry · Jun 09, 2005, 01:21 PM // 13:21

As Tellani Artini has explained here in an excellent way, by having a high rank in Beast Mastery you can double your base damage output. For the sake of game balance there has to be a penalty for this, and, in my opnion, the "Charm animal" skill is still a rather light penalty for this double damage output.

The 8-second blackout of all your skills when your pet dies, and when you resurrect your pet, also forces a ranger to actually take care of his pet, to take note of what it's doing, heal it at appropriate times, etc. This is a good thing, because if forces you to think how you can co-ordinate your pet skills with your other ranger skills in a strategic way.

Goonter · Jun 09, 2005, 01:46 PM // 13:46

Fair or not, it certainly forces a beastmaster to play a certain way with his pet. Yeah, for those that adapt to the way the game designed beastmasters to play then they will reap the full benefits.
Casually playing, at face value, it seems pretty harsh. I plan on figuring it out in my spare time though.

thx for the info

Tellani Artini · Jun 09, 2005, 04:09 PM // 16:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by GranDeWun

This has been mentioned before:
To make pets useful, I'd like to change the skill slots they take up: if ANY Beast Mastery skill is equipped, it is enough to cause pet to appear.

I think that would make pets overpowered. I've yet to find a monk in random/team arena I can't solo with my pet build. Really, you need to see how sick the damage output is.