Question about Swampy Stats and Barding Deeds

[Old Man of UO]

I am planning to tame Swamp Dragons for my archer and sampire characters. Do the stats and resist of the swampy matter as far as being able to absorb damage?

Second question is regarding Dragon Barding Deeds... does it matter which type of metal these are made from? I mean, does it affect overall damage absorbed or type of damage (fire, cold, physical, etc.)?

I used to think the Dragon Barding deeds made it easier for your bard to kill dragons, or easier for your tamer to tame them... embarrassed to tell you how many times I died trying this before I found out what they really are.

 

[Aibal]

Nope, damage absorption is based on the barding deed...10% for a normal deed, 20% damage absorbtion for an exceptional deed. Color of the metal doesn't matter other than for looks.

 

[Old Man of UO]

Thank you, Aibal (is that pronounced like "Eye-Ball"?).

So, there is no point in training up my swampy's skills?

 

[Llewen]

Thank you, Aibal (is that pronounced like "Eye-Ball"?).

So, there is no point in training up my swampy's skills?

Well, I trained up my swampies' skills. At the very least it should make them a bit harder to kill if you are dismounted in pvp.

 

[[JD]]

i would agree, train up their wrestle and magic resist for defensive purposes. also try to find one with a lot of hp, think they can have up to 200ish.

course i just use the ninja-log trick to save my swampy from any pvp'er or monster should i die... but wrestle and magicresist will help it live just that much longer till you can ninja out on them!

 

[gortman]

Sometimes I wish the game would let you put barding on any mount. The swampies are just so big compared to a horse! But I guess that's part of the fun of the game - making choices.

 

[Aibal]

I generally train my swampies up as well...it allows them to stay alive long enough for me to log to save them when I'm fighting high end content.

 

[Old Man of UO]

Okay... got it! Training a swampy is good! But, I am used to training high end pets. How do you train a Swampy?

 

[gortman]

I would guess if using shadow iron elementals, you'd just have another pet tanking. If using traditional training through hunting, just pick creatures to fight that are in the swampy's range?

And of course for magic resist, I don't think there's a significantly faster way to train than to use the spectral spellbinders in Old Haven.

I'm by no means a veteran trainer so take my musings with a grain of salt.

Okay... got it! Training a swampy is good! But, I am used to training high end pets. How do you train a Swampy?

 

[Wenchkin]

Yeah, just look at the normal pet training suggestions and pick the weaker monsters.

I'll be adding some example training lists for different "toughness levels" of pet when I hit that bit of the FAQ, which will include weaker pets like swampies. Then it should be more user friendly than having to pick from a huge list.

Wenchy