herc?

Doublespeak - Heavens Tear
Doublespeak - Heavens Tear Posts: 6 Arc User
edited April 2010 in Venomancer
ok so I'm starting out as a veno and having read how important the herc is at higher lvls I have decided to take advantage of the current battle pet pack sale and snatch some sofs for meh b:chuckle
so here's my question: in the sticky guide, in the description of what a herc can do it says that it "AOEs"... so umm any experienced venos out there care to help me out with that one? ^_^; how does it aoe? does it mean by pulling the aggro enough for the caster to do the aoe skill or is it sthg I seem to not understand? xP

thanks in advance b:thanks

P.S. plz don't flame me b:surrender
Post edited by Doublespeak - Heavens Tear on

Comments

  • Vitenka - Dreamweaver
    Vitenka - Dreamweaver Posts: 4,125 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    You misunderstood.

    The herc sits there and holds aggro (using its reflect and thumping things) and you AOE the monsters that cluster round the herc.
  • lamenickname
    lamenickname Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    You mean that an herc can hold agro from multiple mobs with just reflect even If I nuke em with sparked Noxious Gas / or nova?
  • Vitenka - Dreamweaver
    Vitenka - Dreamweaver Posts: 4,125 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Reflect holds a considerable amount of aggro.

    If you go and spark+nova then no, you'll pull the mobs off the herc. They may die quickly enough that you don't care.

    My rule of thumb is the herc needs to hit something three times (or one bash) before I find it safe to switch the herc onto a new target, when I'm using noxious.

    If I send the herc running alllll over the place to find fresh targets then they're more likely to lose aggro and I need to be a bit more careful.

    There's also a limiting factor in the number of mobs I can have on the herc at once before it starts needing to be chain-healed (or if i reallly miss my guess, even die)
    Experiment with different monsters, get a feel for how long you need before you can start nuking, and how hard.
  • Doublespeak - Heavens Tear
    Doublespeak - Heavens Tear Posts: 6 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    lamenickname wrote: »
    You mean that an herc can hold agro from multiple mobs with just reflect even If I nuke em with sparked Noxious Gas / or nova?

    that's where I got stuck too... I mean such skills would require insane aggroing skills from the part of the pet...

    and another question; I haven't reached 59 yet so I wouldn't know how nova really works but if it is a sparked skill, doesn't that mean that u have to get chi somehow back up to use it again? so will the aoe look like nova>heal>heal>heal>heal>heal>heal>heal>heal>nova? unless ofc you use both sparks at one aoe kill and then u heal ur pet back up to two sparks after u'r done aoeing...but isn't that a lil too much mp consumption? I'm a mage veno so mp shouldn't be too much of a prob but excessive healing in combination to skills is draining me down... o.o

    so either this is not how venos should aoe like (did I mention I love aoes? xD) - or like a friend said: we 'should leave the aoe to the bms..' b:sad

    for now, at 55 I cannot aoe with noxious gas and a walker for sure though... xD *learnt the hard way*
  • Maddieson - Sanctuary
    Maddieson - Sanctuary Posts: 220 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    With a herc, it has a such skills has us venos do. It'll hold quite well, but don't push your luck with it. If anything, Nova first. But I would recommend waiting till all mobs have about 3/4 health left.
    It's not my job to shut you down on a suggestion. It's a pleasure, though.
  • Vitenka - Dreamweaver
    Vitenka - Dreamweaver Posts: 4,125 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    I don't think I've cast nova more then four or five times, ever. For AOE grinding, I just use noxious and heal the herc - sparks go to transfusion to keep up the mana supply.

    If you want to throw in the odd nova here and there, it isn't a bad thing. But yes, you'll be unlikely to be able to spam it as soon as it recharges.
  • IceJazmin - Heavens Tear
    IceJazmin - Heavens Tear Posts: 4,206 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    AOE grinding is a waste of time. You can kill the mobs faster if you just go after 1 or 2 at the time (if more spawn and get aggroed that is fine).

    The herc does not hold aggro very well with only reflect on regular mobs, so you will have to waste time sitting around and letting it build aggro. Which is not a very effective way to grind.

    Time it yourself. Kill 80 mobs. One by using the common "aoe grind" where you gather 5+ mobs, and one by concentrating all the damage on 1-2 mobs and you will see which one is faster.

    Also, for 1-2 mob grinding, there are far better pets, such as the phoenix (the queen of all pets), or Walker/DW/Scorpion/ninetails. Put 3 bashes and howl on the pets and they will out grind an herc by ALOT.
    Too often we loose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, BUT, it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and slap that mother#$@%#^! upside the head.
  • Doublespeak - Heavens Tear
    Doublespeak - Heavens Tear Posts: 6 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    IceJazmin - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    Also, for 1-2 mob grinding, there are far better pets, such as the phoenix (the queen of all pets), or Walker/DW/Scorpion/ninetails. Put 3 bashes and howl on the pets and they will out grind an herc by ALOT.

    could you please elaborate on that a bit? how? stats?

    oh and another thing; I've read that the wanderer is a very good pet and that with a few skills it can have an awesome damage output...so what do you suggest for griding? a dd with lower exp; a walker or golem with higher hp in case of mob aggro; a more round pet like i.e. seamonster/frog etc.... b:thanks for thread it really is useful :D
  • Vitenka - Dreamweaver
    Vitenka - Dreamweaver Posts: 4,125 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Those three pets have a comparable attack to the herc, and a faster attack rate - AND have more bash-like skills...
    so yes, they deal more damage more quickly.

    Still, AOE grinding isn't exactly slow. It makes a nicely different thing to do from time to time.

    My current 'thing' to do is a half-and-half. The herc collects two or three ants / nivastock and I beat one of them to death with ironwood and use noxious instead of venomous.
    When one falls over, set the herc to collecting a new one and beat that to death the same way.
    It means I get a bit more reflect damage, and a bit of damage splashed around by noxious, dealt per mob - at a cost of a few more heals - but heals are quick to cast.

    But the quickest is certainly to use some other direct-damage fast-attacking pet, perhaps one which flies and is on fire.

    Edit: I mainly use the AOE collecting method when I'm collecting herbs, since I know I can leave the herc to survive whilst I mine.
  • Vixre - Harshlands
    Vixre - Harshlands Posts: 249 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Doublespeak - Heavens Tear wrote: »
    ok so I'm starting out as a veno and having read how important the herc is at higher lvls I have decided to take advantage of the current battle pet pack sale and snatch some sofs for meh b:chuckle
    so here's my question: in the sticky guide, in the description of what a herc can do it says that it "AOEs"... so umm any experienced venos out there care to help me out with that one? ^_^; how does it aoe? does it mean by pulling the aggro enough for the caster to do the aoe skill or is it sthg I seem to not understand? xP

    thanks in advance b:thanks

    P.S. plz don't flame me b:surrender

    I made a guide a while back... link here: http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=644972

    Just keep in mind... after your 70s, BHs might be more time efficient, and after 85, FCs will be way faster; but early on in the game, i thought AoE grinding was kinda fun.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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