Opinions Wanted: Party Support Pet

Peritia - Lost City
Peritia - Lost City Posts: 397 Arc User
edited March 2009 in Venomancer
WARNING: Long post. Please read to the end or move along.

Alright, so I've been thinking about building up a pet specifically for a combo attack/supporting role while in party; one which can deal damage while also pumping abilities to help the party. That goal in mind, I have a few requirements for any possible pets:


Small Size / Unobtrusive
Pet should be small, in order not to get in others' faces, and/or generally tick off the tank in the party. Using a golem in party feels obnoxious.

Decent Attack Power
An ability to deal a decent amount of damage is appreciated. It need not be all-out attack (Scorpion); just enough to contribute. The more the better.

3 Support Skills
Considering Bash or Flesh Ream as the first skill, both to add to damage and to allow me to level it solo more easily. For the remaining three skills, I'd like to add skills which help the party, ideally ones that can't be used by other classes (and thus I won't be interfering with). Main skills I was considering insofar were Howl and Threaten, possibly Pierce if I'm foxform.
Base skills do not matter. I will acquire any needed skills.

Speed
Optional. If possible, a support pet which can double as a puller would be great.


So there you have the list of what I'm looking for. I've been throwing around a few options, but still very unsure. A few of my thoughts:

- Frogling: Cute, small, good all-rounder, have one already. Probably frontrunner.
- Shaodu Cub: Cute, small, have already, but attack is lacking. Pounce not useful against many bosses, from what I understand.
- Scorpion: Nice attack, some concern over size.
- Kowlin: Doubles as puller well, some concern over size.
- Antelope: Small and nice attack, worth considering.
- Wolf: Seems like it might be good, size issue?
- Grimalkin: Unconventional.

Anyways, I shall cut my post short, so I can start hearing your opinions on what pets might fit my bill, and what skills you feel would most suit my idea.

I look forward to reading your suggestions. ^^
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by Peritia - Lost City on

Comments

  • Mothergoose - Sanctuary
    Mothergoose - Sanctuary Posts: 1,320 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    I think Kowling would probably be the most helpful. It's small and useful as puller. Doesn't take damage so well, but since the party will have a tank, that's not a problem, right?b:chuckle
  • Surfer_Rosa - Sanctuary
    Surfer_Rosa - Sanctuary Posts: 227 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    I'm using a tabby myself in a very similar manner:

    Size; as small as it gets, really no problem there.
    Decent Attack Power; the tabby's general stats are on par with a lvl 19 type 2 wolf, not amongst the heavy hitters but above average as far as damage is concerned, it's got great mag res too, which does help it survive AoE. Also, better phys def than Kowlin.
    Support Skills; The tabby comes with Flesh Ream, Howl, Pierce and Slow, swapping Pierce for Threaten would give you two great support skills.
    Speed; 8.5 a very strong puller and on a tier 2nd only to Kowlin, Slow helps pulling fast mobs if u keep the skill.

    Cuddly pup might make a strong candidate too, altough i can't tell you much about his stats. Another skill you might want to consider for this role is Shriek, as it can be really helpful if timed right. I wish you good luck with this decission and hope you'll let us know what solution you found to work best for you.

    oh, yea, and since you're considering cuteness as a factor, well... you really can't beat the tabby on that.
  • Shifong - Heavens Tear
    Shifong - Heavens Tear Posts: 409 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    I'd take the pup any day.

    Comes with the skills bash, flesh ream and slow. It's small. It's faster then tabby, but slower then kowlin. But the pup is a much better surviver then kowlin is. And it's attack isn't bad either.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Retsuko - Shifong
    Karmapwi.com
  • Laranda - Heavens Tear
    Laranda - Heavens Tear Posts: 283 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    [....]

    3 Support Skills
    Shriek is worth considering. When maxed, it gives a 100% chance to interrupt channeling with a 10sec cool. Not bad. o.o I'm not sure if Slow is worth considering or not. It depends upon how your wanting to use this pet. o.o

    On the common pet side, I'd say Sharptooth Wolfling and Sable Minkii/Redtail Minkii. Both of these are a bit unconventional, but I'll cover the basic points. o.o I'm ignoring starting skills since you said they don't matter. o.o

    Sharptooth Wolfling
    Size
    It's bigger than most rare pets, but it's a fairly small pet overall. It's also the smallest wolf. o.o

    Decent Attack Power
    This wolf definitely has good attack power. I'd be surprised if any of the other pets listed (except the Scorpion) would beat it in damage. o.o

    Speed
    It has enough speed to pull. It's not the fastest, but it can survive a hit or 2 given it's starting level. o.o

    Sable Minkii/Redtail Minkii
    Size
    It's shorter than the Wolfling. o.o It does jump to attack, but I doubt it'll bother anyone. o.o

    Decent Attack Power
    It's a bit lacking in power. It has good hp and defensive stats. It's hp and physical defense is high enough to qualify it as a tank. So if it gets aggro for whatever reason, it'll last a bit longer than many other pets listed. That will also help it survive aoes and therefor keep the boss debuffed. That said, it's no golem. o.o

    Speed
    It's fast. It has +0.6 more movement speed than the wolfling. o.o I'm not exactly sure what speed it'll have higher levels, but it'll be past 8m/s. o.o
  • Damewort - Sanctuary
    Damewort - Sanctuary Posts: 573 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    I will agree with Surfer_Rosa. Tabby is one of the best support pets and she already mentioned the main reasons.

    Other possibility: Snow Hare (not as expensive and hard to get as Tabby)
    Size - small and doesn't get into way too much
    Attack - not amazing attack, but does well. Takes hits bit better than Antelope (from my experience)
    Support Skills - Has only two: Pierce and Shriek
    Speed - not as fast as Tabby, but does well at pulling.
  • Byno - Sanctuary
    Byno - Sanctuary Posts: 155 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    Personally, out of my two dungeon pets that I use, I think the one that would fit your description the most would be the Kowlin. I can only give my opinion on her out of the pets that you've listed, since she's the only one I have experience with.

    Statwise, everyone knows Kowlins are fast, and it's extremely useful with pulling in heavily mobbed areas. Honestly, as a dungeon pet I think this is more useful to the party than the pet dishing out damage or using debuffs. Venos are usually brought into fbs and such to pull, so having a pet who does it well and knowing how to use it well is definitely a bonus. Kowlins also have very nice damage, which is good for things like tt runs with lvl 150 bosses.

    Size? Kowlins aren't that big, but honestly I've never had someone complain about pet size, not even with my armored bear. Maybe my faction mates are just used to my pets, but in any squad I've never had someone complain about that to me.

    As for skills, I haven't changed any of her skills because they've all been more or less useful. With both bash and flesh ream, she has bonus damage and aggro skills for when I'm grinding with her or soloing, but with her other two stats of pierce and howl (I think...), she can lower both physical and magical defenses. I honestly don't think you need three debuff skills, because pet skills are very, very good at taking aggro. If you're throwing around three debuffs on mobs or bosses, while useful, you're going to start gathering unwanted attention. In fact, you really can't use pet skills on tt bosses without your pet taking aggro and getting torn apart.


    On a side note, I find personally that instead of damage dealing or debuffing, when using a pet on mobs it's more useful that it's a tanking pet. I use my kowlin to pull or to deal damage on bosses, but when going after mobs I prefer to have my armored bear out. When other mobs get aggroed (which is bound to happen) I can easily pick up aggro with him and hold the mob off the rest of the group until they finish what they're doing and can take it on. In that case, it might be interesting to try out a shadou cub because of it's speed and tanking abilities. Who knows.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Surfer_Rosa - Sanctuary
    Surfer_Rosa - Sanctuary Posts: 227 Arc User
    edited March 2009
    The problem with pulling at higher level instances comes from mobs (usually elites) with ranged aggro, which when packed close together can become quite a threat. Add to this the fact that some are found around bosses with ranged aggro themselves that can usually one shot most pets. This is where speed comes in. Pets that may seem fast relative to the cub or the mag, such as the treefrog or the sharptooth, aren't gonna cut it here. You could try sending in a tank, but multiple hits means even magmites are likely to get killed before they can land a single attack. The general consensus seems to be that a pet with a speed above 8.0 is needed for the job. This leaves us with Kowlin, petalii, the tabby, pup, type 4 wolves, some oddfoots (i might be missing a few) and some high level pets like huggy hare and the nine tailed fox. If you time your unsummon right you could easilly get the pull done without taking a hit using these pets. Having a puller is a must at higher levels and the only reason you get to see venos at this range without one is basically herc, as it can not only take the hits but has a speed of 8.1.

    With the fastest land speed and some very decent damage Kowlin is probably the best pet for this job although he's a little too squishy for me. Guardian wolf has got the best defensive stats all around although he deals less damage than the tabby. Personally i like the kitty, mag res borders on magic tank good and phys def is at above average as well. Cuddly pup's stats should also be good.

    As for size, i'll agree that anything generally wolf sized shouldn't be a problem, as really your squad mates should be able to click around it without any trouble.