Air pet - new to using it, deffence or offence stance?

[Mentla]

As above, pretty much used my earth pet exclusively up until now.  Previous posts have recomended using it in groups against solo mobs or against blue cons while soloing - should I have the air pet on offence or defence?  <div></div>

[fodder6]

Thats a matter of personal preference. I have been using my scout pet more and more lately solo. And i always run it in offensive mode. I use it because its good at DPS. So why kill its DPS with the defensive stance?Just one Euridites opinion<div></div>

[Loral]

<P>My magic key word would work again: Situationnal.</P> <P>Try in defensive mode. Do a couple of fights. If pet takes next to no damage, switch to offensive mode and try a couple of fights. If you feel safe with the HP remaining to your pet after battle, stick to offensive for faster killing. If he gets hit too hard to your liking/safety, switch back to defensive.</P> <P>"Blue" can be a wide margin. A blue 1lv below you wil be alot harder than a blue 4 levels below you. If you fight for hours in Offensive, then suddently notice your pet starts to have lower and lower HP at the end of battles, switch back to defensive if you feel your safety can be in danger <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P> </P>

[GSOO]

<P>I just tested the air pet in the Paw arena. First two (blue mobs) were in offensive. It took 20-30% of health before the mob was dead. I realized that I was getting harder mobs, and switched to defensive. This for the white mobs allowed it to be about 70% of life after the battle. I switched to the earth pet (Muddie) and all the battles he stayed 80% through.</P> <P>All pets are adept 3 and so is the heal. I always nuke and assit the pet. I use aoe stuns so an earthquake, group falling rocks, and the group ice.</P> <P>From what I have observed with the pets:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr> <P>Fire:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr> <P>Use when in a group going against a bunch of group typed mobs. It will use AOE wizzie type spells.</P> <P>I would use offensive stance.</P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Air:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr> <P>Use when in a group basically doing single or 2 grouped heroics. His dps is amazing.</P> <P>I would use offensive stance.</P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Earth:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr> <P>Use in group situation when main tank needs help, or he is the main tank. Also a good off tank if in add territory. It probably is the best solo pet. If solo I would suggest defensive stance, and if grouped throw it on offensive if you have a tank.</P></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>My mage is lvl 33 so it is not the top of the line pet. I would like any additional comments if I was misleading.</DIV>

[Dragonz]

<P>I also think you have to beware of lvls of air  pet. I only use my in group situations atm. As I'm lvl 59  the air pet is 13 lvls below the mobs and he can get toasted reet quick.</P> <P>I have used earth pet to solo since I got him at 52 and never regretted it. I do have pof @ adept 3 and find if i buff him 1st theres not  any solo  he can't cream and  He can kill at lot of heroics with me blasting away too.</P> <P>How the lvl 60 air pet works i'm  looking forward to finding out   As some one said , its situational, develop your own style that works for you.</P>

[Xalmat]

<a href=http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=29&message.id=8396 target=_blank>Check the Conjuror FAQ</a>, which is stickied in this forum. Pretty much explains the best use of our pets.

[Mordith]

<span><blockquote><hr>Dragonz wrote:<p>I also think you have to beware of lvls of air  pet. I only use my in group situations atm. <i><b>As I'm lvl 59  the air pet is 13 lvls below the mobs</b></i> and he can get toasted reet quick.</p><div></div><hr></blockquote>The air pet is certainly not 13 levels below the mobs you are fighting unless you are only fighting mobs level 69 and above (I am level 56 so I know the air pet at least scales to level 56).  Even though the air pet is a level 46 spell, the pet itself scales with you so it is not a level 46 pet.  I suspect your air pet is level 59 (or maybe 58 if it stops scaling), not level 46. Let me know if I read your post wrong.</span><div></div>

[twstanley]

Or he is using the wrong air pet....maybe never noticed or started using the new one he got at 46?  That would make is air pet 13 levels below him, right?

[Jeradim]

<P>Have to agree with the majority of posters in that the air pet is far superior in offensive stance, making the defensive stance very undesirable in comparison.</P> <P>Templars have a buff called Glory of Combat which has a % chance to AoE heal the group on a successful attack.  That works great when slapped on the air pet in offensive stance, as do other procs which is why I use air exclusively in offensive stance.</P> <P>When going up against tougher mobs that the air pet just can't handle, I tend to use the tank pet.  The kicker is I rarely use him in defensive stance anymore because the DPS is just so terrible.  I find the tank pet is actually more effective in offensive stance.  I'll only put him in defensive as a last resort if he is getting his purple behind whooped in offensive mode.</P>

[XtremSummo]

<DIV>I understand why people mention using Def stance for some soloing. When soloing mobs that do too much damage to the air pet, I've been using no stance at all recently which can be a better option for this specific situation. It's against specific mobs - but it can be useful. No attack reduction but no defensive increase.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>General rule for air pet will always be aggressive stance but if you really want to get the best out of a particular situation, being flexible with your stances is the way to go.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>X</DIV>

[GSOO]

Wow......no stance at all.....it just seems bad, but it makes too much sense. I need to test that.

[Crowflight]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Mentla wrote:<BR>As above, pretty much used my earth pet exclusively up until now.  Previous posts have recomended using it in groups against solo mobs or against blue cons while soloing - should I have the air pet on offence or defence?  <BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>In groups offensive stance is the way to go.  Solo it depends on the situation as others have stated.  Personally I use offensive stance against single blues and whites and defensive against single yellows and groups of blues that are very close to my level.  </P> <P>You can also quickly drop the offensive stance to no stance (or switch to defensive if you have enough time) if you find the pet is getting hit a bit too hard when solo.  This can also be usefull if you have to pull a heroic add off yourself or another group member to buy time until the tank can deal with it.</P> <DIV>Upgrading both offensive and defensive stances to Adept III (or taking as Master II choice) is definitely worthwhile if you have the cash or rares.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Morphemic420]

Offensive stance is definately the way to go, especially with the air pet seeing as they have rather small amount of hp anyways. WIth my master1 aery sabotuer i can solo pretty much anything up to a lvl60^^^. If u learn to kite the mobs u can solo just about anything including named mobs that are higher lvls than u. <div></div>

[Sanamien]

<blockquote><hr>Morphemic420 wrote:If u learn to kite the mobs u can solo just about anything including named mobs that are higher lvls than u. <div></div><hr></blockquote>yeah... except if its a caster <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />On topic: I never use the air pet in defensive stance. If I kill stuff that air pet in offensive can't take I switch to earth pet in offensive, then to defensive if it's that hard. IMO earth pet's massive health pool easily makes up for the lack in dps compared to the air pet, especially if you are in an area where you can get adds easily.Note: this is for solo only.For groups I always use air pet in offensive. If I know we're going against large group encounters I take out the fire pet, but it's not fun to see your pet get one-rounded before you can get vehement rock off.