Hercules skill sets question

blindeyesniper
blindeyesniper Posts: 0 Arc User
edited March 2009 in Venomancer
I'm pretty close to getting a Hercules. Only need 940 more sources! b:laugh

Now, I remember seeing a couple threads that talked about the Hec. having a hard time keeping aggro. Should I get rid of or upgrade a few skills and learn some other skills to make it a better tanker?

Also, currently I'm level 69. If I level my Hec to my level, what can I expect to tank in TT squad alone?
Post edited by blindeyesniper on

Comments

  • Reikara - Heavens Tear
    Reikara - Heavens Tear Posts: 1,321 Arc User
    edited February 2009
    Well in my personal opinion, I only have a hard time with the aggro issues because my herc is only 63 and I do so much damage to the mobs he needs to grinds on.

    When you first get your herc he comes with: Pounce level 2 (80% chance to stun for 6 seconds) Reflect level 5 (reflect 75% damage for an hour) strong level 5 (increase pet's P.def for an hour) and someothernamecantremember level 5 (increase pet's M.def for an hour)

    Stuns can gain aggro leik nothing, it really ticks the mobs off, same with reflect. You could take off pounce if you wanted to, but you cant buy pounce again from the zoologist so good luck. With a bit of smart playing, you shouldnt really have trouble when your herc is the same level as you.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Zoe - Heavens Tear
    Zoe - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,814 Arc User
    edited February 2009
    Stuns gain NO agro. I was constantly pulling agro from my herc when he used stun. I removed it for bash and no more agro problems. The brambles on the herc only get a very tiny bit of agro, just enough to avoid heal agro. Anyone attacking that monster though gets agro.
    Main characters
    Celestial Sage Venomancer Zoe - 100
    Sage Barbarian Malego - 91
  • Solandri - Heavens Tear
    Solandri - Heavens Tear Posts: 2,843 Arc User
    edited February 2009
    In my experience, stuns give plenty of aggro. However, the problem is pounce has a one minute cooldown so your pet can only stun once a minute. You can easily surpass the pet's aggro in that time. With bash, the pet is adding extra aggro every 8 seconds.
  • Zoe - Heavens Tear
    Zoe - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,814 Arc User
    edited February 2009
    Solandri - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    In my experience, stuns give plenty of aggro. However, the problem is pounce has a one minute cooldown so your pet can only stun once a minute. You can easily surpass the pet's aggro in that time. With bash, the pet is adding extra aggro every 8 seconds.

    Try that on bosses. Stun doesn't do a thing.b:chuckle

    Bosses are the main reason to get a herc in the first place.
    Main characters
    Celestial Sage Venomancer Zoe - 100
    Sage Barbarian Malego - 91
  • Dazels - Lost City
    Dazels - Lost City Posts: 155 Arc User
    edited February 2009
    I got my herc flesh realm b:victory

    Ofcource not as good as bash but a nice aggro keeper and amazing while pvp in instances b:thanks
    Ooo I know lets roll pvp server so i can QQ about pking...

    Loving Cyprus the weather is Hot the women are Hot and the beer is cold b:victory
  • Renara - Heavens Tear
    Renara - Heavens Tear Posts: 145 Arc User
    edited February 2009
    Zoe - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Stuns gain NO agro. I was constantly pulling agro from my herc when he used stun. I removed it for bash and no more agro problems. The brambles on the herc only get a very tiny bit of agro, just enough to avoid heal agro. Anyone attacking that monster though gets agro.

    Just to confirm: My experiences are the same as Zoe's. I replaced the pounce with bash and no longer ever gain aggro over my herc.

    Do be careful when removing the pounce skill. The herc's other three skills are the main reason for his superiority over normal pets, and they're irreplaceable.
    "Sorry, we don't need a barbarian. We have a frog."
  • Solandri - Heavens Tear
    Solandri - Heavens Tear Posts: 2,843 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    Zoe - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Try that on bosses. Stun doesn't do a thing.b:chuckle

    Bosses are the main reason to get a herc in the first place.

    Well if your claim is that stuns gain no aggro against bosses, then that's what you should've said in the first place. Don't overgeneralize and state "Stuns gain NO agro" when that's clearly not true.
  • Zoe - Heavens Tear
    Zoe - Heavens Tear Posts: 3,814 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    Solandri - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Well if your claim is that stuns gain no aggro against bosses, then that's what you should've said in the first place. Don't overgeneralize and state "Stuns gain NO agro" when that's clearly not true.

    They still don't. I have never had a time that I did not steal agro from my herc when it knew pounce. Even when it was my level, I'd attack once and have agro on the spot. Its not my damage either I keep my damage low intentionally so I don't steal agro.

    Not only that, pounce never got agro off of me when I had it.
    Main characters
    Celestial Sage Venomancer Zoe - 100
    Sage Barbarian Malego - 91
  • Obsessed - Heavens Tear
    Obsessed - Heavens Tear Posts: 670 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    I can vouche, it gives no aggro, and you'd have to wait for herc to attack 3-4 times before attacking.
  • ragnarok363
    ragnarok363 Posts: 13 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    I have a question about adding bash...once you add bash lvl 1 does it stay at lvl 1 or can you upgrade to lvl 5 eventually? If so what do I need.
  • Daerys - Sanctuary
    Daerys - Sanctuary Posts: 1,022 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    ragnarok363 wrote: »
    I have a question about adding bash...once you add bash lvl 1 does it stay at lvl 1 or can you upgrade to lvl 5 eventually? If so what do I need.

    It will start at level one but you can upgrade it all the way to level 5 as long as you have the req level, spirit and coins. You can upgrade to level 2 at 20, level 3 at 40, level 4 at 60, and level 5 at 80. This is true of all pet skills, with perhaps a few rare exceptions that I'm unaware of.
  • Shiga - Sanctuary
    Shiga - Sanctuary Posts: 81 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    When I first got my Herc I was adamant that I wouldn't remove any of the skills, since none of them are replaceable (and its kind of annoying to have to click the 4th skill for him to use that). And I found that with a little careful planning I had no problem with my Herc holding aggro. However since I used him all the time to help other people out, they were constantly pulling aggro, so I replaced pounce with bash, and am very glad that I did.

    So in my experience: 100% solo mostly farming bosses - doesn't matter.
    Helping other people with their fights - Get bash
  • NecroVaL - Heavens Tear
    NecroVaL - Heavens Tear Posts: 118 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    Seems like Bash is more recommended for Hercules. I'm having the same problem with stealing aggro too. My pets is about 3 lvl behind me for now, and most of the time I attack, I steal the aggro from the mob. Yes. Stun do works awhile.. But the cooldown is really slow... So I guess removing it, and replace it with Bash, will be a good idea...
  • Renara - Heavens Tear
    Renara - Heavens Tear Posts: 145 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    Grinding normal mobs near my own level, I make an average of around 3 kills per minute. Since pounce has a cooldown of one minute, it would only help my Herc hold aggro for one of those 3 fights. b:sad

    In contrast, after a mob dies, it takes me at least 8 seconds--the cooldown for bash--to loot, target a new mob, get my Herc pounding it, and cast an attack. That means my Herc has always landed a bash by the time my first attack hits. Perfect! b:pleased
    "Sorry, we don't need a barbarian. We have a frog."

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