Ok, Our Hawks are NOT completely Useless (confirmed).

[Jowa]

<DIV>It appears that there's a random chance that it will tank for you - and when it does, after the mob kills your hawk, all enemy hate on you will be gone.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This seems to happen most often while you are fleeing from your enemy, but there are times when it takes hits from mobs while in party as well.  In any case the tanking seems totally random, so...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Theo]

<DIV>... SOOOOOO  it seems that every "fluf" spell every class got at lvl 20 isnt exactly a fluff spell after all .. there is a lil bit of sparkle in each one .. examples ?? fine ..<BR>our pet .. was just a anoying friend that followed us around no ? .. it seems to tank once in a while <BR>.. assasin's pet ..  same as ours <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV>.. pally horse .. its actually a bit faster or as fast as sprint and u dont use power</DIV> <DIV>... i gues this sums it up ... the point seems to be now everyone was expecting way too much out of these spells</DIV>

[Jowa]

<DIV>It appears that our Hawk also has as much HP as the character does - which is a lot.  It's not a one-hit KO or anything.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Aside from tanking for me when I run from mobs, it also tanked a skeleton for me during the Enchanted Land access quest boat ride AND it tanked the named mob on the Zek quest boat ride!  Our 29 Fury was tanking the lower level mobs and the named was rooted by the 29 Wizard, and once freed from root the named mob started chasing my hawk around, which made the quest so easy IMO.</DIV>

[Theo]

very cool about the hps, good find jowana i didnt know that actually and that info is good to know

[Jum]

<DIV>I saw a mage's cat do the same thing, the mage was runing the cat got agro, died...  then the creature just walked away and forgot about the mage.</DIV>

[Dikari]

<DIV>That's great to know. Thanks for the post!</DIV>

[Qaeadyen]

<DIV>I can vouche for this also. Last night while fleeing from an angry snake my trusty hawk turned around and started tanking it. I clicked on the feathery friend and watched his hp as he fought. He was level 21 and kicked the snakes butt! When it was all said and done, my hawk was down to half its hp, which was about the same as mine and had made the snake his dinner! I immediately sent ot a ooc to the zone letting all the rangers know. To my suprise alot of the rangers, even ones 10 levels higher than me never knew. Suddenly I saw a flock of hawks flying around Thundering Steppes following theyre stealthy masters. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oaklin Ashenwood</DIV> <DIV>22 Ranger of Nektulos </DIV> <DIV>Patron of Rage of Queynos</DIV>

[Sotaudi]

<DIV>My hawk has saved my buns more than once by drawing the aggro of a mob that was chasing me.  He got Advisor Pandros' attention once when the latter jumped me while I was fighting another mob and forced me to run.  One more hit would have killed me, and when it did not come, I turned to find the hawk fighting him.  He has done that several times, so I will pull him out from time to time if I think I may find myself in such a situation.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Two other things with this.  First, you can increase the chance of him drawing aggro if you use Evade as you run.  Evade reduces hate on us, so the pet will be more likely to draw the bad guy's attention.  Second, you do not have to let him die.  In the case of Pandros, I did not want Pandros to "have" the satisfaction of killing him (ok...I know they were both toons, but ... still...the little guy has taken one for the team before), so I despawned the hawk before he died.  Pandros just walked away.  It probably would have been different if I had allowed the encounter to lock (remember, Pandros was not my original target, and I was not foolish enough to try to take him alone, especially when he entered the fray after I was already engaged in battle with other mobs).  But, still, I got away, and he did not kill my hawk, so I figure I got the better of him.   <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Fee]

<DIV>Just so you know, this happens with any class that has a "pet", which is the hawk in the rangers case. If you get out of their comfort zone (where they stop chasing you) the mob will start to attack your pet because it's normally side by side by the mob while you're running away from it. Once your pet dies, it just stands there and goes back to it's home point like it would do normally. It's not a perk of the hawk pet, it's just what mobs do to reset. While your pet may not attack the enemy, it's still consindered a enemy to the mob when you attack it so the mob will attack it when you get out of their comfort zone.</DIV>

[Dikari]

<DIV>Point taken Feena, but it can still save you when you need it most right<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ? In my opinion it's still great. Last night my wife and I were in a fix in the Thundering Steppes and were it not for the hawk we would have been in quite a bit of trouble. So in the end, whether or not it's a hawk specific trait or generic pet trait, having your life saved is a well appreciated benefit <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hunt well, be safe and have fun everyone!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[CrimsonGe]

<DIV>My hawk pet has tanked for me as well, but mistake.  But I believe this is a bug and SoE will correct it shortly.</DIV>

[Qaeadyen]

<DIV>Ok I figured otu how to make the hawk tank everytime if you are fleeing a mob. When you start fleeing hit yell and command your hawk to stay. THe mob will attack the bird almost immediately. Tried this a few times and got it to work everytime.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oaklin Ashenwood</DIV> <DIV>24 Ranger of Nektulos</DIV> <DIV>Rage of Queynos</DIV>