1st Rune Beetle, a keeper or not?

[startle]

Just tamed my first rune beetle (that I thought would be pretty good), but after checking the Pet Power Calculator - I'm wondering if it's as good as I thought....

Ok, here's some pics and my thinking going into taming it. I've read some threads here regarding Rune Beetles and what to look for in a good one to tame, including this one:

http://vboards.stratics.com/uo-tamer/117890-keeper-rune-beetles.html

Here's the pre-tamed shot that I have:

Now, here's the post tamed (zero training) shots:

According to the Pet Power Calculator this guy is only a 2.6 !

So, when you look at what he has - what are his major drawbacks - that would only rate him a 2.6?

He's got good Poisoning and EI, his resistances don't seem that bad for me (pre-trained).... His Strength and Dex seem decent... I just don't understand what is the big MINUS here that would have him rank a lowly 2.6??

But then, I'm not all that "well read" when it comes to all things pet related, having "inherited" a tamer after years of playing other roles.

I will certainly appreciate any input you'd like to share...

 

[Farsight]

This beetle has absurdly low dexterity, cold resist and energy resist.

This means that it's slower and isn't a good match against cold-based creatures.

But the very high poisoining and eval-int means that the bug could be good for intense bursts of damage.

Overall, it's a pretty good beetle (despite the low score), as long as you don't plan on using it as the tank.

 

[startle]

This beetle has absurdly low dexterity, cold resist and energy resist.

This means that it's slower and isn't a good match against cold-based creatures.

But the very high poisoining and eval-int means that the bug could be good for intense bursts of damage.

Overall, it's a pretty good beetle (despite the low score), as long as you don't plan on using it as the tank.

Thanks Farsight.... I've read so many of your posts/threads over the past few months, that I really respect your input.

And yes, now that I look at other threads that show 170 Dex on beetles, I guess this one is a bit "short" in that respect. I could get his low resists built up, but can't do anything about his dex.

I intend to pair my runey's with bakes, so have some latitude there (this beetle not being the tank)... But I'm thinking I'll go back out and try to find a better one - while this one is sitting his week out at the stables.

One thread that got my attention was this one:
http://vboards.stratics.com/uo-tamer/117890-keeper-rune-beetles.html

You had some very good advice in that thread, but the one post that I kept looking at and wondering about was this one from Sarphus:

My advice to anyone farming beetles is to first look at the bard difficulty of the beetle. If it's < 112 before it buffs itself, don't even look at the rest. Bard difficulty is based on total stats and skills, so if you get one that's 112+, you know the stats and skills have potential to be good. The next thing I look at are the resists.

If the bug isn't pretty close to all the resist caps, I stop looking unless the bug is 114+ bard difficulty... If the bug has moderate resists and 114+ difficulty, I look at the stats carefully and decide if I want to claim the beetle as an attack beetle.

What do YOU think about his "general" advice regarding what to look for?

 

[jbfortune]

Thanks Farsight.... I've read so many of your posts/threads over the past few months, that I really respect your input.

And yes, now that I look at other threads that show 170 Dex on beetles, I guess this one is a bit "short" in that respect. I could get his low resists built up, but can't do anything about his dex.

Hi, afraid if you mean his Elemental resists rather than Magic Resist, they won't train up either. Stuck with what they are I'm afraid.

When I look for a pet, I always check resists first. For example, with CU's I total them up, if they go over 300, I check into the pet further.

I'd rather better resists than higher HP. Of course, both is nice!

 

[startle]

Hi, afraid if you mean his Elemental resists rather than Magic Resist, they won't train up either. Stuck with what they are I'm afraid.

When I look for a pet, I always check resists first. For example, with CU's I total them up, if they go over 300, I check into the pet further.

I'd rather better resists than higher HP. Of course, both is nice!

Very good advice and it makes sense... I'll start using that 300 total in the future... Thx to all of you for your kind help.

 

[jbfortune]

Very good advice and it makes sense... I'll start using that 300 total in the future... Thx to all of you for your kind help.

That's only for CU's but the same kinda thing applies with any pet. Find out what a decent amount of resists total up to and it makes searching through them a lot easier. At first I used a calculator, but now I've done it so much I can just kinda tell!

 

[Wenchkin]

A very basic but easy way to remember resists...

Say a pet has 20/50/60/90/40
I tend to remember that as 25694. Though I also carry a notebook on my tamer with the maximum stats and resists so I can show that on screen as I lore pets. It does burn into your brain after a while though. BTW, if you start mumbling stats in your sleep - it's time for a taming break

Wenchy

 

[startle]

Though I also carry a notebook on my tamer with the maximum stats and resists so I can show that on screen as I lore pets.

OMG, now that is simply elegant ! I've been playing this game for 13yrs now and I can't believe I've never thought of carrying a book for info. That's just brilliant, Wenchy.

BTW, if you start mumbling stats in your sleep - it's time for a taming break
Wenchy

Had to chuckle on that one... I DO have a RL, believe it or not, but just this morning as I was laying in bed thinking about what I needed to do today (RL stuff), I found myself thinking about the snow white CU I had in the stable waiting to bond.... And now that I'm thinking about that, I finally saw someone (char in UO) yesturday with something in her profile. It said: "And they say heroin is addicting."