Need strategy for getting a pair of bake kitsune

[this guy]

I've had my lowbie sights set on a pair of foxes to tide me over until I can tame some real powerhouse beasties. So I skilled up as much as I could and got some taming jewelery, upgraded to ML and headed out to Kitsune Woods with a bag of regs and a boatload of enthusiasm...only to get wrecked in under a minute.

Those woods are crazy dangerous! I hadn't expected to have such problems...yknow maybe a lot of invis or I'll heal up and stuff, but I got chased in seconds into more kitsune and then there are werewolves and kappa and ronin and god knows what else out there.

What can I do to make this happen without peacemaking or high level hiding skill? Is there a better place I can go or something else I can do? I've been really looking forward to a low level pet with a lot of hit points, but I don't think I can do this without some kinda plan or something.

 

[RichDC]

I've had my lowbie sights set on a pair of foxes to tide me over until I can tame some real powerhouse beasties. So I skilled up as much as I could and got some taming jewelery, upgraded to ML and headed out to Kitsune Woods with a bag of regs and a boatload of enthusiasm...only to get wrecked in under a minute.

Those woods are crazy dangerous! I hadn't expected to have such problems...yknow maybe a lot of invis or I'll heal up and stuff, but I got chased in seconds into more kitsune and then there are werewolves and kappa and ronin and god knows what else out there.

What can I do to make this happen without peacemaking or high level hiding skill? Is there a better place I can go or something else I can do? I've been really looking forward to a low level pet with a lot of hit points, but I don't think I can do this without some kinda plan or something.

Few things, first, Bakes are REAL powerhouse beaties!!!Dont let anyone tell you otherwise!!!

Second, the best tactic is to try to run to the cave on the north of the forest, then try to lure them in one at a time. For actual taming use the invis tame method(they dont aggro tame so its insta attempts), once lured(and they stop revealing) begin tame cast invis, when they target invis...keep repeating until you tame them.

Thirdly, i would advise spending some time looking for one very nice one(check stats on uostratics creature thing) as i promise you they are amazing pets!

 

[this guy]

Wow man that cave worked like a charm. I died once trying to get him, but what really did it for me was when he polymorphed. I was able to tame without getting blasted to bits. I'll worry about getting a good one later on. For now I'm just happy to have a pet that's not a polar bear =)

 

[RichDC]

Well congrats on your first pet tame(thats not a polar bear ), youll have fun with those bad boys, they take a while to train but there well worth the effort(the magery they possess as you noticed is amazing!)

 

[Wenchkin]

As Rich says, they're powerful pets, but I'm sure by the time you've tamed a couple you'll realise that first hand *grins*

First thing to do is ensure you have the strongest suit you can find for withstanding the playful enthusiasm of your potential pet. I would suggest carrying cure and heal pots, and orange petals will save you having to worry about cures most of the time.

I always work on the outskirts of the forest, often from the moongate side. There's a healer fairly nearby - just don't mistake a polymorphed kit for a healer lol. I'd look at taming the first kit you can pull out and then using that to work the spawn for something better. It also lets you perfect your technique on a weaker specimen.

You have 2 choices, beat the kit up and tame it while it's low in health, or use another pet to attract the attention of the kitsune while you tame it.

I haven't tried the latter method personally as I'd already tamed my kits before the pet AI change, but I believe you tame a gaman, tell it to attack a kit, then tell it to "stop" then "stay" and vet the gaman while you tame the kit. The theory is that the kit attacks the gaman and not you.

My usual method was to beat the kits down to a sliver of health with a pet or EV, then tame it. Just holding tame last target key and staying within range, then darting off to heal as necessary. I like to invis by a critter's side, eat an orange petal and start taming so he takes a second or two to realise I'm there. If you get lucky and start a tame straight away, land an invis on yourself before the kit manadumps on you. The more time you can be invisible the better, but some kits can be a real menace and give you little time to cast anything.

Once you get one kit tamed, you can use it to work the spawn for a better specimen. I tend to take away the best I can find on my first hunt and use it to work the spawn for something better. You may find that good is enough, or you might want to work for a top end kit.

I should warn you, they're addictive! My fisher took up taming purely to own 2 kitsune.

Wenchy

 

[Leto]

If I remember correctly I used to just para-tame Kitsune's. They don't have any skills that go beyond GM anyway.

In case you don't know what para-taming is:
Paralize (magery spell) the creature you want to tame. Once it's paralized start taming and keep casting invisibility on yourself. Really easy once you get the routine down.
Oh, one thing though. When you paralize a creature before taming it, it's skills will lower an extra 10% or so. So it will take a little more time training up your pet.

 

[this guy]

Are there only a short-term penalty for para-taming? Leto said "If I remember correctly I used to just para-tame Kitsune's. They don't have any skills that go beyond GM anyway."--can I take that to mean that if you para-tame, you'll have problems with pets that can have legendary skills? I'd hate to get a fox I like and then gimp it.

I'm already feeling the addiction by the way. And it doesn't hurt that it was really really fun to run around for fear of my life, trying to tame my fox. That was probably the best UO adventure I've had since I started playing again. I wish I could take your advice though, Wenchkin. I'm playing on Napa Valley which is a brand new shard for me, and I'm flat broke (416 gold to my name if I remember right). Haha. So I'm working on a very limited budget and can't really afford a nice resist suit. Orange petals sound appealing if they prevent poison or something, though.

Once my tamed kit is bonded I'll use it to break my dry spell of income. Then I'll face the rising sun in the land of the rising sun and I'll find myself that perfect kitsune.

 

[Leto]

Are there only a short-term penalty for para-taming?

I am a little out of it, so my numbers might be off but at least the gist should be correct.

If you tame any creature it's skills will drop by 10%. When you para-tame a creature it's skills will drop by 14% instead.
With creatures that don't have skills that go beyond GM that is no problem. Since you can just train them back up anway. You don't want to para-tame creatures that DO have skills beyond GM though.

You see, a creature's skillcaps are (re)set upon taming. Any skill that is below GM can gain up to GM as normal. For any skill beyond GM, the post-tame skill will be the new cap (except for greater dragons they work differently).
So, if you find a Rune Beetle with 140 poisoning and 90 magery. It will have 126 poisoning and 81 magery after you tamed it. It's poisoning skill will now be capped at 126, if the skill drops (from dying) you can train it back up but never higher then 126. It's magery skill can be trained up to 100.
However, if you para-tamed it the beetle's poisoning skill would drop by 14% and thus be capped at 'only' 120,4. Magery would drop to 77,4 but you would still be able to train it up to GM.

If I remember correctly, and I'm fairly sure I do; Bake Kitsune's don't have any skills that can ever go beyond GM. Therefore para-taming them is fine.

 

[Wenchkin]

Are there only a short-term penalty for para-taming? Leto said "If I remember correctly I used to just para-tame Kitsune's. They don't have any skills that go beyond GM anyway."--can I take that to mean that if you para-tame, you'll have problems with pets that can have legendary skills? I'd hate to get a fox I like and then gimp it.

Just my opinion here, but I wouldn't suggest para taming kits if you can manage to tame them without it. You lose an extra 4% from the skills, and while that's not much, it's better to keep skill than throw it away unnecessarily and spend more time on training. And it really brasses them off, adding a whole new level to "you seem to anger the beast!"

The one time I've used para taming was for working the cu sidhe spawn where I wasn't planning to keep the cu. Any keepers or sellers I always lead tame. And if a tamer char hasn't got eval, they won't hold a beast long with a para spell. Generally just long enough to be eaten...

I'm already feeling the addiction by the way. And it doesn't hurt that it was really really fun to run around for fear of my life, trying to tame my fox. That was probably the best UO adventure I've had since I started playing again. I wish I could take your advice though, Wenchkin. I'm playing on Napa Valley which is a brand new shard for me, and I'm flat broke (416 gold to my name if I remember right). Haha. So I'm working on a very limited budget and can't really afford a nice resist suit. Orange petals sound appealing if they prevent poison or something, though.

I know the feeling, I don't like spending out on kit if I can avoid it. Do what you can armour wise, and look forward to upgrading once you get the kit bonded I'd just make sure you have plenty of potions and eating an orange petal should stop the kit from poisoning you. A couple of cure pots is handy if the petal lets you down.

Once my tamed kit is bonded I'll use it to break my dry spell of income. Then I'll face the rising sun in the land of the rising sun and I'll find myself that perfect kitsune.

Once a tamer gets some sturdy pets the bank balance starts to look a lot healthier

Wenchy

 

[uoBuoY]

...Once my tamed kit is bonded I'll use it to break my dry spell of income. Then I'll face the rising sun in the land of the rising sun and I'll find myself that perfect kitsune.

Just a suggestion. Tame a 2nd Kit now. Not that they have pack instinct but I am convinced that 2 Kits kill about 60% faster than 1 Kit. You'll make your bank roll a lot faster, and you still have room for a 1 slot ride.

I love my Kits, 2 each on 2 tamers. Took me forever to find 4 keepers. But you will make a fortune in gold and hides from just looking for keepers.

One other suggestion: try to lore the Kit before it casts a bunch of buffs or morphs.

And they laugh!