Magic schools and Kiting. I really want it!

[Deadly Serious]

I recently just tamed a Stygian Drake and was very happy with it's actions before the tame as it was kiting against me using it's mage mastery properly including death ray+mana vampire (even blessing me, strange but thought is this pet gonna cast beneficiary magic on me!?). I was then really disappointed then once tamed it just turns into a melee ape....stop casting magic reflect!

It would be excellent if specific pets had kiting ability and then i believe the Stygian Drake would be a great pet of choice or better yet any pet that you just have magery/necro/weave/mystic on it's main AI is to kite (so no melee moves on those pets otherwise it's AI will want to go in melee distance to try and use it's weapon skill on occasion etc).

If magic AI isn't improved the options for pet's seem very limited imo (cu/hiryuu...), White Wyrm is easily the best proper dragon I'm thinking mage mastery should cost a considerable amount of points regardless of if a pet has magery or not. The 2 slot Nighmare seems a great alternative mounted pet vs the cu if you are after a caster, is necromancy useful for pvm? (is there many withers/poison strikes?)

Am I missing a trick tho, do i need magery at GM+ to see different AI/Kiting from the pet?

 

[Merus]

I recently just tamed a Stygian Drake and was very happy with it's actions before the tame as it was kiting against me using it's mage mastery properly including death ray+mana vampire (even blessing me, strange but thought is this pet gonna cast beneficiary magic on me!?). I was then really disappointed then once tamed it just turns into a melee ape....stop casting magic reflect!

It would be excellent if specific pets had kiting ability and then i believe the Stygian Drake would be a great pet of choice or better yet any pet that you just have magery/necro/weave/mystic on it's main AI is to kite (so no melee moves on those pets otherwise it's AI will want to go in melee distance to try and use it's weapon skill on occasion etc).

If magic AI isn't improved the options for pet's seem very limited imo (cu/hiryuu...), White Wyrm is easily the best proper dragon I'm thinking mage mastery should cost a considerable amount of points regardless of if a pet has magery or not. The 2 slot Nighmare seems a great alternative mounted pet vs the cu if you are after a caster, is necromancy useful for pvm? (is there many withers/poison strikes?)

Am I missing a trick tho, do i need magery at GM+ to see different AI/Kiting from the pet?

Trust me, what you describe is a disaster. This is how the pets with Magery Mastery were before and it doesn't work like you want it too. Half the time the pets would run completely off the screen completely out of casting range when you said all kill. On the off chance they did find a place to cast from, once they ran out of mana they should just stand there and watch the fight. FAR FAR better to have the pets engage in combat and use their spells from close range than the other way.

 

[Deadly Serious]

if you don't have many abilities on it (or just leave it with the one school of magic) with max mana regen I can't see a problem with mana. I'm all for a magic tank/kite pet because as i said the only alternative is whats been done for years with a GD only this time you just tame white wyrm/cu/hiryuu and give it armor ignore. ie animal training complete pap besides the added benefit of having an aoe clearer for the first levels of champ spawn and tailoring a pet for pvp....

 

[Merus]

if you don't have many abilities on it (or just leave it with the one school of magic) with max mana regen I can't see a problem with mana. I'm all for a magic tank/kite pet because as i said the only alternative is whats been done for years with a GD only this time you just tame white wyrm/cu/hiryuu and give it armor ignore. ie animal training complete pap besides the added benefit of having an aoe clearer for the first levels of champ spawn and tailoring a pet for pvp....

Like I said... I got one of them when they tried the spells from range and it was a disaster. It sounds neat in concept, but the reality of it was extremely ineffective and frustrating. I tried for a few days, and then put the pet away to wait on a fix. Without really nice SDI and slayer capabilities, magic as the sole offence for a pet just doesn't do nearly enough damage to be worth while. Couple that with such horrible ranged AI that they don't even stay in casting range half the time... it just didn't work.

 

[Tabby Kapak]

That is odd.... Not sure what Stygian Drake you were fighting, but everytime we get near the Stygian Drakes and they spot us they teleport RIGHT on our toes! So in fact, the opposite of what you experienced? With the kiting you mean the AI behaviour like Ratman Archers (as well as the Skeletrexes in Despise) and Summoned Air Elementals?

 

[Deadly Serious]

That is odd.... Not sure what Stygian Drake you were fighting, but everytime we get near the Stygian Drakes and they spot us they teleport RIGHT on our toes! So in fact, the opposite of what you experienced? With the kiting you mean the AI behaviour like Ratman Archers (as well as the Skeletrexes in Despise) and Summoned Air Elementals?

I stand near and they keep their range on me (they don't cast summons tho, mana vamp+death ray), they only go melee against melee i believe or if you send the pet on it.

Yes they do teleport after me 5 tile+ distance or something but they aren't going proper melee with me when they do.

 

[Rhafiki]

No, you don't want thing. This type of AI only works in games like WoW. If your pet is not tanking the target, you are the target. If the pets AI is to keep X squares away and cast, then it will continue to run around and not cast when a mob is targeting it and trying to move in for melee. This will kill your pet and then you. Also, AI doesn't go "there is a wall right around this corner, don't go there". AI goes, "scan for nearest unoccupied space within range of the standing distance and get there any way possible" and that is how I lost my first dread spider at a champ spawn. Special guy used teleport to get to that range....teleported into the wall part of the valor champ spawn. Went wild in around 2 mins and then turned around and killed me and a few other people. Nothing feels good about your pet betraying you and then it summoning its own pets(necromancy) to attack you.

 

[celticus]

Do necro pets cast summons or Revs?

 

[MalagAste]

Do necro pets cast summons or Revs?

No and I still think they ought to at LEAST be able to cast Annimate Corpse...

Just like the Mystic pets should be able to do the Annimated Weapon... sure it's not a RC but it's ok...

And Spellweavers... ought to be able to summon a pixie or Imp depending on Karma... Just one...

Mages should be able to summon a blade spirit...

 

[Donavon]

its funny , but necro use to summon rev, mystic use to summon RC, and spell weaving did summons too.. but one week before he pub went live they removed it from them.. You can thank PvP for that =* [
The constructs from the pets were just to powerful with the pet and the player going after someone..

 

[Deadly Serious]

@MalagAste

Rev and RC I think are too good but I agree completely with what you suggested.

Possibly though if they introduced Necro mastery/Mystic Mastery and made them limit skills of the pet to just these (maybe you can add one more skill) then they can summon rev or rc. Mage mastery also summoning 2 pets if they made it actually cost points.

 

[MalagAste]

My guess is it would be impossible to code to where the summons from a pet didn't attack other players.

 

[Deadly Serious]

If summons came from pets aren't they easily dispelled because they won't have passives/arcane empowerment so would there be an issue with them attacking players?