Creature Handler Archive

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TivoTenook wrote:

kliknik queen (should have armor)

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that should be your new sig Tivo . but i do agree, they should have armor.

as for gurrecks i've gotten 2 babies since the patch, pretty, red kitties. they keep up well with my car too . but i've only seen 2 spawns of them. just look in the NW of the green area below the desert.

Wabit

Yes it is very sad what has happened to the MCH proffession. I've pretty much given up playing on the Chilastra server with my MCH character, because it has shifted drastically to PvP and I'm worthless in this area (much to my dismay). Looking at the post on the increasing emphasis on the GCW it looks like it will only get worse. I'm not sure why anyone would want to be a faction afiliated non-combat person any more. Especially a rebel. And with the nasty TEF lamers lurking pretty much everywhere, it isn't any fun to even run faction missions if you aren't a comando or TK. I really feel for newbie faction players these days. It has really got to be tough to try to get faction points from either side with gangs of faction thugs lurking in the mission zones outside bestine and AH and laming people with TEFs.

I'm pretty much resigned that to survive in this game (the jury is still out whether I really want to anymore), you have to become a major combat type. That is why I've pretty much abandoned my MCH character and I'm working on a Novice TKA on another server. It is very frustrating and disappointing that the MCH profession has been nerfed to this point and the devs don't even acknowledge that they may have gone over board.

Flying mounts, a few uber pets that can hold up in PvP, something anything would be good. Even a post from devs saying "We don't care anymore" would be appreciated. But the silence is deafing. My only conclusion is that MCH is dead. I can either find a good combat profession or just move on to some other MMORPG.

Here's hoping noone's holocron said MCH....

Thankyou for your hard work and comprehensive list of issues. I certainly can't think of anything that is missing, however I due have a couple comments.

I left the game about 1 week after mounts came out, cancelling my account. 90% due to pet auto store and follow bugs, 10% due to other bugs = 100% due to bugs. I recently reactivated the account to try out vehicles. I was elated that in the time that I have played upon my return, none of my pets have auto stored, and only lost follow when I have been on my swoop. I am very much let down to see that auto store and follow are still bugged, however rare.

I used to PvP a lot. Basically, once I reached my chosen template, I went pure PvP and the only hunting I did was for faction points. However, once item degredation came out, I stopped PvPing. CH is not a rich enough profession to be able to replace his useless expensive armor, even if it is insured all the time, it is toast in a matter of days with full time PvP. My only option was to PvP naked, and although that is a viable workaround, it detracts from the RPG concept of having equipable slots altogether.Without PvP, I really have no reason to play. I am not interested in doing quests, or further XPing to become a Jedi, I simply want to combat with other players. NPC combat is no fun for me, it is a grind. PvP combat is fun because people are more challenging to play against as well as making mistakes that AI could never do. Seeing here that CH effectiveness in PvP has been reduced (nerfed) only solidifies my resolve to stay out of the GCW, and hence leave the game again due to having no goals or reason to play.

"With the superiority of vehicles over mounts in most situations, demand for mount training has predictably lessened."

This is a huge understatement IMHO. When I left the game a week or so after mounts came out, the market for pet mounts had just about dried up. Since I wasn't PvPing, the last days of my gameplay were spent soley on taming and selling mounts. I made about 600k credits in that time, hardly a days worth of work for most other money generating professions. As the market is now, I can't even give away a mount. Therefore, the only other motivation for me to play is now gone.

Unfortunately, I have no magical suggestion to fix the delema I find myself in. Perhaps if mounts were faster, even as fast as a vehicle, and able to fight when mounted, and special moves available when mounted, there may be a market for CH to sell pets once again. This is still doubtful, because 90% of the pet market was to non ch, and a non ch pet would still be useless in combat.

I had always been a proponent of CH being able to put pets in a vendor, drop them in a stable or house structure. These ideas would be a great addition to the game. I was always running out of pets due to the limitation of the datapad, they healed way too slowly and I got them damaged way too fast in PvP... I often found myself paying out large sums of money to get people to heal them for me, when I would have rather been PvPing.

I'll be cancelling again the end of this month. I am sure I will once again return, to check out any new changes added to the game. It's funny, on one hand the constant changes are annoying because of as you said, and because of new introduced bugs and exploits. But on the other hand, without the changes the game would seriously get stagnant. The reason for cancelling this time is not due to bugs, but instead a lack of motivation to play due to the cost of PvP item degridation.

Hmmmm, on that note, if insurance were a once per planet payment, and protected armor 100% (in PvP only), it would allow once again full time PvP play.

Excellent observations...well done.

As to the future for MCH, I don't hold much hope foranything substantial. After being 'subjugated' and brought low, I don't think the devs or player community will allow much attention to the profession. We have to serve our time in the dungeon ofmediocrity now. The age of creatures has declined and the age of droids and player tanks is dawning. Many will rejoice at this.For those of us who knew and enjoyed the profession,we will try and find a new way to enjoy it. This was the most well done pet interaction of any game thusfar,its a shame what had to be done in the name of 'balance'.

As to the compensating features likerares, new creatures, reentry of old species, time will tell if they make good on these. There is precious little for the MCH to claim as rewarding fora master.I hope your efforts result ingood things to come, but as Isaid, Iwon't hold my breath.

Well put I agree with just about all of it Vex, I would just like to add 1 thing to the wish list

How about MCH having the ability to stop a pet from growing, say i have a rancor that I want to stop growing at level 23. that would open up the mount business again a bit so we can compete with Bio's, still let us use 3 kewl pets at once (**edit** i miss my 3 gsp's) but three lil rancors would be cool.

so i would like to see the skill Arrest growth, Kinda like when we get the message to stop a giant carrion spat from growing but we can do it at any level, once arrested that becomes the creatures max level so you can use 3 of any animal, and since most pets grow a few levels a day you would have to be lucky to get them all the same but imagine a non CH with a level 10 rancor, not the best pet but the kewlness factor would be there for them. its just an idea though

About pets running away during a battle...

In PvE I've found that if I use Adhesive Mesh traps on a target the pets don't run around. I think the problem stems from the target wanting to move and pets wanting to follow them. If you use an Adhesive Mesh trap the target can't move at all. This keeps your pets from moving around. I'm of the opinion that if you're going to be an MCH you should seriously consider acquiring Master Scout as well. The bonuses you get from it are just too valuable to an MCH. The traps really help in a fight too. I'm using pistoleer's health shot 1 and 2 to pull a target from a lair, then I sick my pets on it when it's where I want it to be. After that I throw my traps on the target and commence to firing my pistol. The Adhesive Mesh traps work 99% of the time.

This is something I think all CH's should think about using. I've set up a factory and made my own crates full of traps. It's given me a major advantage over Mantrigue Screechers. Now it's pretty painless to drain lairs dry of spawns. Used to be my pets would be seriously wounded from the plague. The traps and health shot help lessing the strength of the target considerably.

Totally agree with Freth - I'm master ch/master scout/novice ranger/novice pistoleerand have found traps to be quite effective. Being a master scout has proved invaluable (and having ranger tracking abilities is very nice too!)

I've used phrenacine darts intactics similar to what Frethdescribes because I can craft 5 at a time rather than just 2 as is case with adhesive mesh (don't have a factory). I would think, though, that the adhesive mesh is a better choice than phren darts - especially if you can mass produce them. But I'm lazy and don't like taking the time to craft a bunch of ad mesh

Like Freth I try to lure just one creature off, sick pets on it, slow it down with phren dart, use bleed shot, call off pets and try to move off to wherecreature stops following- then repeat process. I, personally, am not always successful in luring just one creature away from lair - they tend to swarm. But I find that the high level (especially rare) creature lairs often have only 2 or 3 creatures out. Then if they do swarm, I use darts on 1 or 2 of them, and lure the other away. Often, I can get far enough away that the one's I've slowed stop following so that I can concentrate on just one at a time.

BUT. It'sa rather tedious process. The darts aren't always effective- certainly not 99% effective. As well, the wounded creature sometimes disappears all together because I ran too far, and when I get back to the lair, a new "unwounded" one has spawned. And all too often, of late my pets won't respond to the attack command (or any command for that matter) after killing the first creature. Then I have to store them, make camp, and call them again. That's just a wee bit aggravating needless to say. Lots of things can go wrong.

Still, traps have sure saved my bacon on several occasions and have allowed me to kill very high level creatures without getting my pets killed. If you're going to take on screechers or arachne widows and the like, traps do give you an added edge.

DaBudo...

Here's how to pull one from a lair without incident...

1. Tell your pets to stay and set your Mask Scent


2. Get close enough to one of the creatures to shoot them


3. Use health shot 1 or 2 once, then peace immediately. Watch Combat tab to ensure you hit the target, otherwise it will say it dodged. Target will not realize it was hit.


4. Move back to your fighting position well away from the lair and wait for the health shot to take effect.


5. Target realizes you did some damage and comes at you. Wait til the precise moment and tell pets to attack.


6. Back up and drop as many traps as you can, preferrable an adhesive mesh trap to keep them in one spot.


7. Lay prone and start blasting


8. Rinse, repeat.

This ensures only your target comes at you and not multiple targets. Works every time. Health shot 1 and 2 are for this very purpose... to start a damage over time on a target and draw it away from the lair. You can also stack multiples on the target after it comes to you, which weakens it further. I looted 3k of Screecher hide yesterday if that tells you how many I killed. lol 140-143 units per kill.

Hope this helps.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you about how easy it is to set up an equipment factory.

Buy a factory. Go place it somewhere convenient, like outside Coronet. Buy some radioactive energy from the bazaar to keep the factory going for awhile. Save all the hide and bone you can. Whatever other resources you need you can get from the bazaar at Coronet or Theed. Get about 1-2k resources each for the item you want to make, then simply make a schematic for the resources you plan to use. Go to your factory, insert the schematic first (very important), insert the ingredients, then start manufacturing. Take into consideration the ratios of resources you need for the item. Then just sit back for awhile and let it do its work. Simple as can be. For Adhesive Mesh tho, you needinert petrochemical which is of the resource class of polymer. It's very easy to buy inert petrochemical that won't work, so you have to pay close attention to its resource class. Go back later and get your crates of goodies. My factory has been invaluable for making camp kits and traps. I love it. And the resources are always available either from my inventory or from the bazaar.

Greetings again,

Well let me put down a few things, one I don't plan on being a master scout it takes away from my character. I have found a decent balance in professions, Master CH, Master Marksman, Novice Commando (flame 4) and novice medic one box. What this combination allows me to do is use one pet, if I so choose, and basically take out any MOB.

Here is the real handy thing to do in tough places hunting really aggresive mobs. Two pets, I usually use a toxic Merek Battlelord and a GSP. I have set them up to use different attack commands. My merek goes in full tilt and my GSP is set on guard beside me. Anything that gets past the Merek runs into my GSP which gives me time to flame them. Oh and Warcry should never be nerfed, second most effective weapon in my arsenal.

Now I love wild tamables but all in all they are useless. So I have went to BE's for my tank pets for fighting Krayt dragons etc. At the moment I have a dewback that is a level 64 growing in my data pad. He will double as mount and killer tank. So as far as I am concerned, don't nerf the BE's it's the best thing we got going for us right now. Heck we are the only buyers for BE's monster pets and I have reconciled myself to using them because the rares are non existant and what we can tame turn into a joke.

I have found when looking for a good BE pet is to get one with strong disease and armor. Light armor is a joke but it is better than none. I agree with many who said it would be great to get pet armor from armorsmiths to augment our pets.

Oh and guess what guys it's pointless to yell, MCH and Wookies are like dinosaurs we are going to get nerfed permanently it is in the works, the Devs hate us so start looking for a new species and a new profession.

Balance...

First TKA master. I took my full grown TMB and let it duel a TKA master the other night. He took the TMB down without a scratch in under 10 seconds.

Rancor caves, I had just taken out the big rancor in front, barely, nice fight that guy. Commando runs in cave, solos the entire cave and loots it in under 5 minutes.

Krayt graveyard, A friend /tells me blow by blow how a 2 TKA's are beating a Krayt down with KD and tearing it up. Hrmmm...

Combat damage is way out of control in this game, specials are way out of control. Any attack that can be spammed continuously or even performed more than once a fight is not a "special" move it is a normal move.

Hopefully the upcoming combat class balance will help this, but I seriously doubt it as the devs just don't seem to play or have any idea what goes on in the live servers at all.

BTW vert, pets poof in combat exclusively on zone lines, and consistently on/near zone lines. So do MOB's. Tell them to take a couple of pets, and take out a couple of lairs just on either side or on a zone line.

Pets stick only in populated zones on zone lines. And consistently in populated zones on zone lines.

This is why unless they try to debug these issues on a more populated server than internal or test, they will never see the problem.

Any dev that wants to see this in action I can show on a live server any time he wants, in less than 5 minutes. I can poof a pet, poof a mob or stick a pet pretty much at will, as I'm sure many others can.