Creature Handler Archive
Thread: State of the Creature Handler Profession: October 2005
SioBabble
Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:42 pm
#14
I also don't care much for the 'disposablity' of pets now. Establishing a real connection between pet and master isn't easy, and the current system discourages it.
Still, there are some pets on Tazz's datapad that will never be taken off it, he's too sentimentally attached to htem. Likewise Sio has a few keepers on his datapad as well, and will be inheriting some of Tazz's (the level 65 varactyl, for example) as Tazz needs to dip into the SP for CH to do glowstick things.
Pets used to have, for lack of a better word, personalities. Now they're essentially angry bags you can control, and something is lost in that change.
enigma_writer
Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:24 pm
#15
Yes disposability of pets is one of the biggest problems of the current system where it encourages players to tame but not keep what they tame. Like you SioBabble there will be pets that I will never get rid of regardless of how badly they get nerfed.
NashiMaDal
Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:11 am
#18
Apparently we MCHs still have something to look forward to ...
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=creature_handler&message.id=256144
Sorry, not good with the 'sticky' thing yet.
SnowBoarder
Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:45 am
#19
clicky
Message Edited by SnowBoarder on 10-12-2005 07:45 PM
SnowBoarder
Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:12 pm
#20
enigma_writer wrote:
CH in PVP
CH is still limited to a support role. Not that it matters as Jedi now dominate every aspect of PVP but have found that if a master ch choses to master BH to go with CH if they chose to pvp against Jedi by getting missions they can be effective. A jedi with good ranged attacks matched with a well trained pet at least has a good chance of beating a Jedi in Pvp. In addition sense pets no longer suffer vitality loss in pvp there is really nothing for the CH to lose to attempt to attack a Jedi. If the CH wears good armor, has a solid weapon, and has pets with excellent specials then the CH can find great challenge in dueling a Jedi. It will still not be easy to take down a full template Jedi but it is possible and very challenging.
CH PVE
If you train a pet in lvl 3 aggression they can hold the aggro of creatures really well and when a pet is fully trained in abilities a lvl 70 creature can take on a Krayt or other high level mob and be able to defeat it. If the CH masters BH they can also go for those higher end BH marks and be able to beat them with a lvl 65-70 super made bio pet.
Last thoughts
I think the CU did achieve a goal of giving CH the much needed new content and new abilities to make pets effective again. Problems with CH and PVP are more related to pvp being dominated by Jedi then the current system for CH as I wonder how CH would fair if this system was introduced in the beginning of the game when there were no Jedi playing. I do hope that SWG will do something to make certain creatures like the Great Plains Stalkers the best wild creatures again and give wild pets something unique that will make them preferrable to use instead of wild pets. I still think that the experience grind also needs to be looked at and addressed so that the pet aging is not linked to the experience grind so that if a CH does not chose to grind that creature they can still use it as an adult size.
Sorry, had to point out some serious typos.
But, I generaly agree with all that you have said. The pets are loosing their value and are just... tools. I still have my rancor that I used to PvE with without the buffs and the pet that got me to MCH (a wrix aka "Fuzzy") in nov 2004.
A-Slave
Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:58 pm
#21
Hmm, i actually like the "tame and toss" system we have now...along with the grind. It makes it so all the CH wont have every single (and not even a large portion) of the special abilities with a few weeks of grinding (so you will run into 1 CH that chose to hunt down some specials all the way to L3 and run into a totally different CH that chose to go after some others...also keeps us from running into the "dead end" as soon as we max out "master Creature handler")
Also, for those that hate the "grind" ...I am betting you are all master CH already, so instead of learning as you advance in the class...you are just sitting there at master trying to grind out the pets on grey trash for no exp (other then for the ability the pet has).
Trying to become a creature handler...i bet a lot of people will go
1) grind grind grind to master CH
2) run around and grind grind grind abilities
....why not gain the abilties as you hunt? For me, i run out and go around taming until i have 4 or 5 different babies with abilities in my datapad...then i go find a group and grind out the pets EXP while at the same time grind out my exp for CH...its really a good system they did so its not just "mindless grind in area attack groups as fast as possible" like before. Now, this abilities system forces the player to slow down and keeps them from getting burnt out in grind groups (as well as keeps them from reaching "max power" as soon)
The pets you "tame and toss" once you learn the ability arent special...you are right...dont feel any connection to it at all. ---BUT---- the final pet you piece together once you have the specials you want...get the skin you want...the level you want (wild or Bio engineered? both will take work to get exactly the combination you want) ...and THEN train that pet up and teach it the abilities you have been collecting for so long....that final pet will be the one thats special (and to me, i have a lot better "connection" with that pet because of all the work it took to finally piece it together...).
enigma_writer
Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:32 pm
#22
Yes the new expansion is very exciting but we still have the issues I described above in addition to have only a 20 pet store capacity and 15 seconds timer to call pets.
JMShunter
Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:32 pm
#23
somoene just posted that the 15 second timer is going to gone.
Roguestar
enigma_writer
Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:40 pm
#24
I hope it will be gone soon along with 60 second delay for storing pets after combat. Should be 20 seconds max.
Liberation
Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:42 pm
#26
Nice post.
Having just returned to SWG after a long layoff playing other games (WoW etc etc), I have found my favourite profession post CU ain't quite what I remember (obviously)....
I can use barely any of my pets at all - well I can still use the next to useless ones as their level doesn't convert to 131 or similar...
The number of CH's that I spot just roaming around on the servers that I play on seems to have diminished quite remarkably (although this might have something to do with a drop in population in general or an increase in the number of bleedin jedi and people in space).
This new grinding for specials system hasn't really sat very comfortably with me yet, but I'm going to try and stick it out and see how it goes.
I'm actually starting one of my alts off as a CH from scratch to see how the experience has changed from the good old days of yore....hopefully I will still enjoy it as this was always far and away the most enjoyable profession to play.
NB: So nothing came of the 'Corrals' idea that many people were crying out for many many moons ago?? I still think that this would be the best and most novel idea for increasing our pet storage capacity.
PPS: I see the game still has just as many bugs as before ! Groan....