I'm starting to despise my 'weapon' of choice...

I play tamer hybrid characters, mainly treasurehunters. It's 2025, and I feel like we're still being viewed and judged by the developers for the heavily overpowered class tamers once were during Trammel's 'golden age', even though we're now often being overclassed by other melee or magic templates. There is a lack of balance and definitely an enormous lack of pet-control compared to weaponwielders and spellslingers compared to those of us who use their pets as their weapon. 

If I fight the new event spawn (just one example) with my pet, my pet is not only my strenght, but also very much my weakness, and the lack of control I have over my 'weapon' is appaling. When I fight with my pet it has its own will apparently, if I tell it to attack a certain creature, I have to spam for it to keep killing it and not to run off towards another target on the other side of my screen, leaving me vulnerable to attack. If it's fighting multiple targets, it switches whenever it wants to, instead of being focussed on the target I want it to kill first. My weapon doesn't listen to me, no matter how many skillpoints I have invested, and I can't put it on some sort of passive status. My weapon doesn't protect me when I tell it to guard me...

Compare this to an armored melee class, and I look silly with this lack of control. When my weapon runs off, it can't find its way back to me. It gets stuck behind trees, behind rocks, bumps, walls, or anything else that might obstruct its path, unless I move aside. Monsters however have no problem running after me, they don't get stuck and have perfect pathfinding. And when my weapon decides it wants to kill something it has no problems walking around whatever objects there are to reach a target. Often targets which I don't want it to target.

My pets are its skills, its hitpoints and its special attacks. It receives no benefits from me carrying a slayer, its hitpoints and skillsets receive no benefits from me carrying certain armor pieces, what you see is what you get. Other classes benefit greatly from carrying armor, weapons, spellbooks. Those increases their melee power, magic power, this power transfers to the weapons they carry. A tamer's weapon is just that, pixelcrack with set stats that don't benefit from anything. You can increase their power with scrolls, but if you need to switch between 'weapons' you need to scroll and train those up as well. 

I'd like more balance. I want what I wear or carry to impact my weapon. I want my armor sets to benefit my pet's stats or attack power, like a melee or magic user's weapons impact their weapons of choice. I want the slayers I carry to affect my pet. I'd like to see my pet getting bonusses from things I carry. It makes for a more even playing field. 

I need more reliability when I command my pet. I need my pet to stay at my side and defend me at all cost. If I'm being attacked by a mob, I want my pet to be able to grab aggro from me so that I can get away from big hitting things. I want my pet to be smarter, currently they're dumb, do stupid stuff and cause my tamers death lots of times.

I told someone on another forum that I do the massive dragon nests with my tamer/t-hunter. They said to kill the spawn fast, do them with your melee toon. I don't have one. But I feel like I need one. I don't want to feel like I need one, I'd like a more even playing field instead. I feel the investment in Taming/Lore/Veterinary/Magic should compare to a melee's investment in Weapon Skill/Tactics/Anatomy/Healing.

Anyway, that's my rant for now, on with the show. Be nice if this would be seen by someone who could say something about the terrible lack of control. Cheers.

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Comments

  • GrimbeardGrimbeard Posts: 3,295
    LeBaiton said:

    I play tamer hybrid characters, mainly treasurehunters. It's 2025, and I feel like we're still being viewed and judged by the developers for the heavily overpowered class tamers once were during Trammel's 'golden age', even though we're now often being overclassed by other melee or magic templates. There is a lack of balance and definitely an enormous lack of pet-control compared to weaponwielders and spellslingers compared to those of us who use their pets as their weapon. 

    If I fight the new event spawn (just one example) with my pet, my pet is not only my strenght, but also very much my weakness, and the lack of control I have over my 'weapon' is appaling. When I fight with my pet it has its own will apparently, if I tell it to attack a certain creature, I have to spam for it to keep killing it and not to run off towards another target on the other side of my screen, leaving me vulnerable to attack. If it's fighting multiple targets, it switches whenever it wants to, instead of being focussed on the target I want it to kill first. My weapon doesn't listen to me, no matter how many skillpoints I have invested, and I can't put it on some sort of passive status. My weapon doesn't protect me when I tell it to guard me...

    Compare this to an armored melee class, and I look silly with this lack of control. When my weapon runs off, it can't find its way back to me. It gets stuck behind trees, behind rocks, bumps, walls, or anything else that might obstruct its path, unless I move aside. Monsters however have no problem running after me, they don't get stuck and have perfect pathfinding. And when my weapon decides it wants to kill something it has no problems walking around whatever objects there are to reach a target. Often targets which I don't want it to target.

    My pets are its skills, its hitpoints and its special attacks. It receives no benefits from me carrying a slayer, its hitpoints and skillsets receive no benefits from me carrying certain armor pieces, what you see is what you get. Other classes benefit greatly from carrying armor, weapons, spellbooks. Those increases their melee power, magic power, this power transfers to the weapons they carry. A tamer's weapon is just that, pixelcrack with set stats that don't benefit from anything. You can increase their power with scrolls, but if you need to switch between 'weapons' you need to scroll and train those up as well. 

    I'd like more balance. I want what I wear or carry to impact my weapon. I want my armor sets to benefit my pet's stats or attack power, like a melee or magic user's weapons impact their weapons of choice. I want the slayers I carry to affect my pet. I'd like to see my pet getting bonusses from things I carry. It makes for a more even playing field. 

    I need more reliability when I command my pet. I need my pet to stay at my side and defend me at all cost. If I'm being attacked by a mob, I want my pet to be able to grab aggro from me so that I can get away from big hitting things. I want my pet to be smarter, currently they're dumb, do stupid stuff and cause my tamers death lots of times.

    I told someone on another forum that I do the massive dragon nests with my tamer/t-hunter. They said to kill the spawn fast, do them with your melee toon. I don't have one. But I feel like I need one. I don't want to feel like I need one, I'd like a more even playing field instead. I feel the investment in Taming/Lore/Veterinary/Magic should compare to a melee's investment in Weapon Skill/Tactics/Anatomy/Healing.

    Anyway, that's my rant for now, on with the show. Be nice if this would be seen by someone who could say something about the terrible lack of control. Cheers.

    The bard laughs whilst crying and slowly walks away cursing 160 barding difficulty and non bardable creatures. 
  • LeBaitonLeBaiton Posts: 81
    Oh yeah they definitely did you guys many wrongs over the past years too! 
  • GrimbeardGrimbeard Posts: 3,295
    What is find helpful is too not have aoe attack especially goo etc as it causes them to shift 
  • RockoRocko Posts: 251
    I’m not a fan of word walls but I did read this one and gotta say I feel your pain.  I was hunting pirates with my cu, scuttled and used the rope, targeted an orc and my pet went straight to the pirate.  Pirate and cu became buddies quick. Some times I have to climb in the saddle to get the pet to stop.  

    Anyway it would be nice to see a QoL pass for tamers.

    I have zero complaints about the types of tamables and versatility of templates.
    Former content creator for UO Stratics.
  • RockoRocko Posts: 251
    Grimbeard said:
    LeBaiton said:

    I play tamer hybrid characters, mainly treasurehunters. It's 2025, and I feel like we're still being viewed and judged by the developers for the heavily overpowered class tamers once were during Trammel's 'golden age', even though we're now often being overclassed by other melee or magic templates. There is a lack of balance and definitely an enormous lack of pet-control compared to weaponwielders and spellslingers compared to those of us who use their pets as their weapon. 

    If I fight the new event spawn (just one example) with my pet, my pet is not only my strenght, but also very much my weakness, and the lack of control I have over my 'weapon' is appaling. When I fight with my pet it has its own will apparently, if I tell it to attack a certain creature, I have to spam for it to keep killing it and not to run off towards another target on the other side of my screen, leaving me vulnerable to attack. If it's fighting multiple targets, it switches whenever it wants to, instead of being focussed on the target I want it to kill first. My weapon doesn't listen to me, no matter how many skillpoints I have invested, and I can't put it on some sort of passive status. My weapon doesn't protect me when I tell it to guard me...

    Compare this to an armored melee class, and I look silly with this lack of control. When my weapon runs off, it can't find its way back to me. It gets stuck behind trees, behind rocks, bumps, walls, or anything else that might obstruct its path, unless I move aside. Monsters however have no problem running after me, they don't get stuck and have perfect pathfinding. And when my weapon decides it wants to kill something it has no problems walking around whatever objects there are to reach a target. Often targets which I don't want it to target.

    My pets are its skills, its hitpoints and its special attacks. It receives no benefits from me carrying a slayer, its hitpoints and skillsets receive no benefits from me carrying certain armor pieces, what you see is what you get. Other classes benefit greatly from carrying armor, weapons, spellbooks. Those increases their melee power, magic power, this power transfers to the weapons they carry. A tamer's weapon is just that, pixelcrack with set stats that don't benefit from anything. You can increase their power with scrolls, but if you need to switch between 'weapons' you need to scroll and train those up as well. 

    I'd like more balance. I want what I wear or carry to impact my weapon. I want my armor sets to benefit my pet's stats or attack power, like a melee or magic user's weapons impact their weapons of choice. I want the slayers I carry to affect my pet. I'd like to see my pet getting bonusses from things I carry. It makes for a more even playing field. 

    I need more reliability when I command my pet. I need my pet to stay at my side and defend me at all cost. If I'm being attacked by a mob, I want my pet to be able to grab aggro from me so that I can get away from big hitting things. I want my pet to be smarter, currently they're dumb, do stupid stuff and cause my tamers death lots of times.

    I told someone on another forum that I do the massive dragon nests with my tamer/t-hunter. They said to kill the spawn fast, do them with your melee toon. I don't have one. But I feel like I need one. I don't want to feel like I need one, I'd like a more even playing field instead. I feel the investment in Taming/Lore/Veterinary/Magic should compare to a melee's investment in Weapon Skill/Tactics/Anatomy/Healing.

    Anyway, that's my rant for now, on with the show. Be nice if this would be seen by someone who could say something about the terrible lack of control. Cheers.

    The bard laughs whilst crying and slowly walks away cursing 160 barding difficulty and non bardable creatures. 
    The music of bard’s falls upon deaf ears at BS.
    Former content creator for UO Stratics.
  • keven2002keven2002 Posts: 2,683
    I agree that having a pet listen a little better (ie better AI) should definitely be something they look at. I hate when I tell my pet to attack something and it decides to switch to something else.

    Other than that though I don't think tamers really need any other boost...we get pets with 900hp and massive damage outputs and all we need to do is stand back with consume damage running. Can they do all content faster? No, but that's the way the game should work... it isn't a 1 template fits all type of game. I feel like this is the first event in a while where I really have wanted to use my sampire... but my sampire almost always dies during the matriarch bc I get hit with a flame wall (or 2) along with a few fireballs and I'm toast... now my tamer has zero issue bc the pet walks in does its thing and then comes back with 75%+ HP every time.
  • KroDuKKroDuK Posts: 1,374
    edited November 7
    @LeBaiton I was following you untill what I was thinking became reality..

    As I was reading I was like.. when did I miss the news.. when does a tamer stopped being the tanking class?? Then boom SA.. streamlining Sappire into a Sampires Army..

    You were mentionning slayer a lot.. I was like what he's saying about control can be valid.. personally I find the pet is WAY easier to control than it was.. It was spicy before.. now as soon my CU would be partially trained.. it was bland.

    But yeah.. u had some point but as u kept mentionning slayer.. I was like if u give that guy an even broken Sampie he's gonna be happy.. Next time be more subtile.. I was not thinking u'd drop the bomb that quickly.


    PS: I stop reading at the request, but yeah, i'm sure it was never answered.. I was thinking; wait wait wait.. why is he not mentionning anything else than his "weapon" and slayers.. Tamer120, Lore120, Vet120= 360/720 . . .


    Edit: Also, wait for the Sims pet pack incoming in 2026.. pretty sure they gonna include the famous NL pet control, the 20 of y'all talked about, for free on Prodo to celebrate it. *rolling eyes*


    keven2002 said:
    but my sampire almost always dies during the matriarch bc I get hit with a flame wall (or 2) along with a few fireballs and I'm toast... now my tamer has zero issue bc the pet walks in does its thing and then comes back with 75%+ HP every time.
    This..
    So rather than recognise the effort the botters went to, to set all that up - for the benefit of the players, to help get certain items, something you could never be bothered to do, you would rather drag people backwards to your neanderthal world?

    Leave attended paying accounts alone, these people go thru a lot of trouble to automate the game.

    It’s comical to me you are so frightened of somehow bod scripters get some sort of advantage.

    -UO official forums, brought to you by BoardSword studio
  • ThorakhThorakh Posts: 75
    Might I offer a very powerful build for you, and that is Archer, Tactics, Chivalry, Resist, Taming, Animal Lore, Vet
  • ThorakhThorakh Posts: 75
    I went with 120 Archer, 90 Tactics, 90 Chivalry, 90 Resist, 120 Taming, 110 Animal Lore, 100 Vet
  • poppspopps Posts: 4,342
    Thorakh said:
    Might I offer a very powerful build for you, and that is Archer, Tactics, Chivalry, Resist, Taming, Animal Lore, Vet
    Archery         120
    Tactics          120
    Chivalry         ???
    Resist            120
    Taming           120
    Animal Lore   120
    Veterinary      120

    Aside from Chivalry, those 6 skills get to the cap of 120.
    This means, that in order to have a decent level of Chivalry, it would be necessary to imbue at least 3 skills (15 skill points per skill) on both the ring and bracelet so that Chivalry could at least be 90.0 .
    Since there is no ranged way of healing the pet (no meditation either, only the chivalry close wounds but regaining mana I think will be an issue also because of the mana needed to use specials for Archery damage...) this means that the pet will need to be used as a Tank so that the Archer, staying near by to vet the pet to heal damage, will be able to...

    Yet, what about scenarios like the current Event whereas the Dungeon is usually full of spawn ?
    The rest of the spawn might target the Archer... other then using an invisibility potion (have to disarm the weapon unless Balanced to drink the potion), I see no other way for the Tamer/Archer to get invisible so that all spawn would aggro the pet.

    I see this as a Template for single Targets or places with low spawn density, not where there is a lot of surrounding spawn which respawns all the time... too much risk of the tamer/archer to be targeted which would then mess up the situation...

    Also, assuming that the pet can be mounted, this means that the Tamer/Archer will be on foot all the time or have to use a slot 4 pet (but less powerful) and use a separate ethereal mount...

    It would be interesting to hear in what spawn circumstances you have found this template to be viable and hear more details on the tactics that you use when playing it.

    Thank you.
  • ThorakhThorakh Posts: 75
    edited 3:24PM
    I only use this template for tamer, I find mage very weak compared to this build and with 4/6 Chivalry you will survive a lot more than a mage could ever dream of. You cannot fight if you are hidden and the only time I have to hide is Shadowguard bar, so I keep a few invisibility potions on that.. It is a very very strong build and very tanky with fast heals and cures. You will be amazed how strong it is. And its 7 skills, 120 Archery or 100 then use the Archer 20 Hunter Headdress, 90 Tactics(100 with Soldier of Medal), 90 Chiv(105 with the Chiv Gloves), 90 Resist(100 with Agesis of Grace) is just for resisting paralyze, 120 Taming, 110 Animal Lore and finally 100 Vet to res pet. 120 Taming and 110 Lore gives you 99% pet control chance. In short, 120 Archery, 90 Tactics, 90 Resist Magic, 90 Chivalry, 120 Taming, 110 Animal Lore, 100 Vet. I always get the spawn skull for most damage at champ spawn and I'm usually last to die. And Sampires usually go down at event before I do. You wont need meditation because your bow has mana leech, I always have mana and rarely run out. And I kill, cure and heal so fast being on foot is not an issue and do really really good at event. 4/6 Chiv is a must, 3/6 will not cut it. Basically the tactic I use is to kill not hide, become the hunter not the hunted.
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