Tamer/Archer

[mistaWAC]

Okay, so I just started playing again after about a two year hiatus. I started from scratch about two weeks ago and I'm at about 75-90 for all my skills. Here's my template:

Animal Taming - 120
Animal Lore - 120
Veterinary - 120
Archery - 120
Tactics - 120
Magery - 100

Str - 90
Dex - 90
Int - 70

This is still in the works because I have some issues. First off, I don't know what I should use the leftover points on. I really don't plan on using Magery for anything more than summoning Blades and Vortices so taking it to 120 seems a little useless. I was thinking picking up Anatomy, but I forgot what the Total Skill Cap was. I also didn't know how important Intelligence is to taming pets. If it's not that important I might drop it to 60 and raise the other two to 95. Otherwise they stay as is.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Storm]

intel does not effect taming at all and if you are still on old account I belive skill cap should be 720
so you may have 20 pts from skill cap yet and if you get jewels with skills you have on them you should be able to get another 50 pts atleast and there are also things like tali's etc so there is another 70 pts atleast you could put in another skill maybe spellweave or eval or med or anat maybe even shiv that would be my choice I think

 

[Storm]

oh and as for stats if you plan on not casting spells much then drop intel down and raise dex!strength is nice but tamers and archers dont need it as much as the other temps you have a meat shield with a pet and archers should stay at a distance and need to shoot fast for best effect normaly!

 

[Hinotori]

Since you're going to be using a bow, drop the magery totally and take 80 chiv. EoO will make a big difference on the damage you do to monsters and I have found that close wounds works just fine for the rare occasions I need to heal on my archer/tamer. I took some anat too and capped vet at 100, taming and lore at 105 (I have a fighters jewel that had enough taming and lore to get them up to 110)

 

[Turdnugget]

Is this for PvP or PvM mostly?

The archer/tamer temp I'm running right now works in both fields of play...

Tame
Lore
Arch
Tacs (90)
Chivalry (105) Holy Light low end spawn + hit area magical shortbow
Vet

Chr isn't finished w/skills but I can mow through most anything pretty fast using mare/beetle.

If you're going archer, I would just drop magery...pick up Chiv and get at least 2FC for healing yourself/cures etc. Magery is just going to be a waste w/out med or eval. Although healing your pet from a distance is nice... but w/no med it'll be hard to keep doing.

Why would you cast blade spirits if you're a tamer? That's what pets are for silly.

You can drop int down some and pick up more dex/str. Unless you're using fast bows with lots of SSI and +stam items then dex doesn't have to be as high...

 

[mistaWAC]

Thanks for all the replies. All of this made a ton of sense. Right now the only reason I cast blades is because I'm in the process of trying to bond several pets. Once I get a couple bonded I'll probably drop the Magery and pick up Chivalry. And this is for PvM..

I'll post an updated template soon, at work right now.

 

[Schuyler Bain]

If I may jump in on this goodness...

Besides fooling around when UO launched, I have never spent any time as a tamer or an archer. I returned a few months ago and am now considering a Tamer/Archer template. This character will be for PvM and RP mostly, but I would like to feel secure as I wander around the countryside.

When it comes to taming I am really only interested in taming animals and not monsters. I am not looking for dragon or nightmare, but more training standard animals to assist me in a fight. I understand this is not going to be an uber-template, but that is not what I am going for.

What would be a good mix of taming/vet/lore to achieve my goal and what would be good skills to compliment the taming/archery set? Tactics, Anatomy healing? I see chiv. is a popular choice and would allow me to use SJ instead of keeping my rune books loaded, although it is not much effort to do so.

I am looking for suggestions from the experts (anyone other than me!).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Turdnugget]

Schuyler, depending what animals you want to control/tame is going to determine how much skill you'll need.

If you want frenzieds ostards you should be fine with 90/90 lore/tame and should be ok if you want bake kitsunes as well.

What animals do you want to use? We can go from there as far as skill...

What do you want to fight with this RP/archer/tamer? That will depend on the needed skill set.

90 Archery/Tacs is minimum so you can do both specials.

60 Chiv for just about all the useful spells (Sacred Journey fails a little, same with EoO)

Vet you could get away with 90 (if you dont plan on fighting anything big)

Healing/anat is a difficult one on this kinda template... but if you're going to use lesser animals and can lower Lore/Taming then it's more doable.

If you can expound on what it is you want to hunt, and hunt with. That'd greatly help.

 

[Schuyler Bain]

Schuyler, depending what animals you want to control/tame is going to determine how much skill you'll need.

If you want frenzieds ostards you should be fine with 90/90 lore/tame and should be ok if you want bake kitsunes as well.

What animals do you want to use? We can go from there as far as skill...

What do you want to fight with this RP/archer/tamer? That will depend on the needed skill set.

90 Archery/Tacs is minimum so you can do both specials.

60 Chiv for just about all the useful spells (Sacred Journey fails a little, same with EoO)

Vet you could get away with 90 (if you dont plan on fighting anything big)

Healing/anat is a difficult one on this kinda template... but if you're going to use lesser animals and can lower Lore/Taming then it's more doable.

If you can expound on what it is you want to hunt, and hunt with. That'd greatly help.

Certainly a fair question... I think what I am looking for is more of an archer with a fighting pet like a wolf (timber, grey, dire or along that line), Maybe some type of bird like an eagle (or falcon or hawk, but not sure I have seen either). I would love to train my ferret, Ginny, up to hold her own and provide some extra damage. I know... I know I am not going to be kicking any major ass with a ferret, but this is more for fun.

At this point I would imagine the most action this character would see would be over land in the original lands and some of the original dungeons. I have no plans at this time to try to do any of the newer content (Champs, Peerless and such).

Does that help at all? Perhaps I should focus more on the Archery template and add in the tamer as it fits? There is also a possibility that I will love the template so much I will want to do more, but for now it is just a fun way for me to try out two skills I have never spent much time with.

Thanks for the fast response Turdnugget

 

[Schuyler Bain]

By forcing me to flesh out my goals a bit and looking at uo guide I think 90/90 sounds pretty close. I have never thought about a bake kitsune, but it looks interesting and would most likely be in my upper range. Reading this forum it also sounds like 80 vet is what I would need to heal my pet/s well. So using my incredible math skills that looks like 260 points for the taming abilities I am looking for?

 

[uoBuoY]

By forcing me to flesh out my goals a bit and looking at uo guide I think 90/90 sounds pretty close. I have never thought about a bake kitsune, but it looks interesting and would most likely be in my upper range. Reading this forum it also sounds like 80 vet is what I would need to heal my pet/s well. So using my incredible math skills that looks like 260 points for the taming abilities I am looking for?

About that 90 Lore...
Those low-powered pets you mentioned are going to need a lot of Vetting. They just don't have a lot of hit points or decent resists (Bakes are a completely different beast...I love Bakes!). Take Lore as far as you can since it determines the amount of damage each bandage heals. Also at 110 Lore you can Lore information about untamed monsters.

About bandages...
If you use Enhanced Bandages they add 10.0 points to your Vet skill. If you have 80.0 and use these, you now have 90.0. Only works for Vet and not for Rez.

You can also carry Vet jewelry to swap in when you need to Rez your pet because at 80.0 you could be Rezzing for a while.

 

[Schuyler Bain]

Thanks uoBuoY - now I am starting to get the feeling that I may want to do a bit more with more powerful pets.

I have a GM mage (my fist avatar I ever made), but honestly I have never much enjoyed magery. I have GM tactics, anatomy, swords, healing, stealth, hiding, Lumberjacking and 63 chiv stoned. So I have some skills to pull from. I am wondering if maybe I should separate the taming/archer template into two... I have always been better at melee/close-up fighting so that mixed with archery would allow me to experience both ranged and close quarter fighting.

When it comes to tamer there seem to be so many possibilities the trick will be finding the one that fits for me. It seems like if I am going to put the time into a tamer I am silly to limit myself to the smaller animals and low-end PvM. If I am going to do it I might as well take advantage of the full potential. There have been so many smaller/tougher animals/monsters added over the years that I am not resigned to just mares, wyrms and dragons like the days of old. Reading through 5 or 6 pages of this fourm you all have done a good job selling the proffesion!

Decisions… decisions...

What about something along the lines of this, knowing it is not perfect by any stretch, but seems like a combo that might fit my style...

Archery = 100
Sword = 100
Tactics = 100
Taming = 100
Lore = 100
Vet = 100
Chiv = 65
Total = 665

This allows me to eat some scrolls and play with jewels as needed. Plus I will have the range with archery and the swords I am used to while having the ability to play with more powerful pets.

 

[uoBuoY]

I had an Archer/Tamer and found it awkward. The point of being an Archer is fighting from a distance however to Vet your pet you need to be real close unless you Heal but then you need at least Magery and mana regen.

Imho, a Bard/Tamer is the best combo but also the time consuming to build.

 

[Warrior of Time]

Certainly a fair question... I think what I am looking for is more of an archer with a fighting pet like a wolf (timber, grey, dire or along that line), Maybe some type of bird like an eagle (or falcon or hawk, but not sure I have seen either). I would love to train my ferret, Ginny, up to hold her own and provide some extra damage. I know... I know I am not going to be kicking any major ass with a ferret, but this is more for fun.

At this point I would imagine the most action this character would see would be over land in the original lands and some of the original dungeons. I have no plans at this time to try to do any of the newer content (Champs, Peerless and such).

Does that help at all? Perhaps I should focus more on the Archery template and add in the tamer as it fits? There is also a possibility that I will love the template so much I will want to do more, but for now it is just a fun way for me to try out two skills I have never spent much time with.

Thanks for the fast response Turdnugget

I like the ferret too. You get several attacking the same thing it is like a mini wrecking crew. Once trained they can solo an ettin, earth ele, of kill a ton of lizeredmen. A little healing and they start killing Pixies. Get a few frinds together with a pack of about 4 or 5 and watch things start to happen. It's OL time.

Lets face it the most an OL can do at a time is only about 65 hp of damage. A good one trained up will have 130 hp.

130................hp
125................stamina
125................mana
125................strength
125................dex
125................int

and 100 on the skills like other pets.

What's an OL going to do? hit them all at the same time.
Total damage each can deal is 10 to 12 hp at 125 dex X 5

That is about 50 to 60 hp per chirp. That 600+ hp don't last long, and you only have to keep the firsrt one alive.

OK so you did toss a bard in there, so what. It is still fun, will turn heads and get a smile.

Better yet get a bunch of greater chickens traind up and hen peck it to death. Don't Think They Can't

 

[Turdnugget]

I love my archer/tamer. Ya you're supposed to sit back and plink away as an archer... but with pets tanking it doesn't really matter where you stand as you're not getting hit.

I'm typically the top damager on most any monster in a group setting unless it's a champion with are effect then I have to sit back since I heal with vetting.

Coupled with my chivalry for Consecrate Weapon/EoO + the pets... it's nasty. It takes time/practice to learn an archer/tamer for both PvP/PvM.

Schuyler, that template seems fine if you're not going to be fighting anything that hits really hard or casts a lot...At least with the pets you plan on using. Bake kitsunes would be good just to have so you can do higher end stuff if you want/need to.

All of the lesser tameables aren't the 'best' even when fully trained. It still takes them awhile to kill. But for the RP aspect they are fine. It's too bad they don't have a regular looking wolf (bake kit aside) or a bear that actually is good in battle when fully trained... those pets seem more logical to accompany a tamer/hunter.

With your template you're going to rely on chivalry for healing... so get at least 2FC or it's gonna be rather difficult to keep yourself healed.

Also, since you're using pets that deal less damage, i'd go for using a magical shortbow or repeating crossbow. They don't have the biggest base damage, but are the fastest and will net you the best DPS. And the faster you can kill stuff, the less damage/healing your pets take/need.

 

[Farsight]

Of course, it does all depend on exactly what you want to hunt.

If you have a good pair of bake kitsune, there's nothing in the game you can't handle. Sometimes you have to leave one at home (Grizzle, Crimson dragon), but overall, they're really nice to have at your side.

My Europa tamer has 60 taming, 80 vet and lore and hunts with timberwolves. I can kill things like titans and ogre lords with ease and the pack isn't fully trained yet.

Another tamer I know hunts with a pack of hell cats and does very well with them. They aren't so far from "animal" that they won't fit into an RP setting either.

 

[Lynk]

When it comes to low level taming with Packs I don't think it gets any better than frenzied ostards. Those things pump out rediculous damage.

I find it best to create a parry character and tank the damage while your ozzies go to town.

 

[Schuyler Bain]

Thanks for all the replies folks! I can't wait to get started later this week/weekend.