Just rolled a MP

[dpidcoe]

so as the topic stated, I made a MP. He's a short/thin solitus and I got him up to level 24 in the last 2 days. He's casting a level 36ish pet and so far I've had more fun with this proff than any other I've played, mainly due to the fact that my pet pwns everything remotly close to my level and can even handle a few adds with no trouble + I can stand toe to toe with mobs my level better than my NT ever will .

I have a few questions though:

What kind of weapon should I use? I'm currently using the startup shield dual weilded with the enfo 1hb startup weapon, I haven't invested much IP in it though so I still have time to change. My playstyle is more like an engi so I'm leaning towords a defensive setup, but I'd like to do enough damage to not worry too much about loosing a pet during a fight or getting agro from something around my level while pets are busy.

What happens if my heal pet runs out of nano? and is there a way to restore it? I've gotten him to 2% once but not 0 yet.

What nano lines should I use? The damage nanos look pretty worthless (at least compared to what I'm used to with NT) and I'd rather spend more time clicking pet macros then nukes. The debuff + attack ones look decent, but I don't know if it's worthwhile outside of PvP.

Are there any special macros any of you other MPs have found usefull? I have a G15 and have been using a few of the programmable buttons to create/rename the pet (that way I only need to change my rename script instead of every single command script for each new pet).

[Chrisax]

Welcome to the Mp world.

Soon the new version of the MP Guide will be up (see general messages AP-private) and will help you I hope.

About weapons, your best options are 1 HB (don't spend too much IP in multi-melee, though!) and pistols. You'll find 1HB weapons more easily but being range is safer and more versatile. You will do less damage with pistols tahn with 1 HB in many situations, though.

Heal pet: the first heal pet (Medinos) has a limited nanopool and can run out of nano quite easily. In this case he will stop healing until he regenerates enough his nanopoints. Higher ones have much better nanopools. Quickly they should stop running out of nano. Still the can be drained by some mobs.
You can cast your nano cost savers nanos on your heal pets to lower the use of nanopints. (Ease of Execution is the first nano of that line.) This helps a LOT.
Heal pets regain nano fast too. The last step (10) of the Soothing Spirits perk line allows your pet to never run out of nano, as his heals will use onely 1 nanopoint if you train that last step.

Don't underestimate the MP nukes, they are a good complement to the pets and you can cast them fast if you max nano init. Also they require little IP. In fact, with pets and nanos you can go to a high level without really needing a weapon.
You have two damage lines, Cold and Energy (which contains a little but useless debuff, and draw a bit the aggro of the mobs if you nuke a lot). Both are good and, due to the reqs, you'll usually have an energy nuke, the a cold nuke, then energy again, etc.

The nanoskills debuffs nanos are pretty useless, as they don't work on mobs and they do little in PvP (you have to be lucky to find an opponent that can be hurt by the few points you remove), also you have to know what nano to use as it's one debuff for each skill.
The except is nanoShutDown (NSD) that works on some mobs and bosses and prevents them from nuking. It's not an easy to lan nano and you'll get it at a much higher level. Its use is mandatory aganst some big nukers like Lord Mordreth, Hezak, or the Dominus mobs on the third floor of IS, for example.

Curse of Chronos was a wonderful stun when released. Due to the rants of some people (including one member of the council of testers) , it was nerfed and is not only a short duration stun with a relatively long recharge, but also not easy to land at all.

You will mostly need macros to command your three pets, separately or together.

Don't forget to use quotes " " if the name of a pet contains a space.
Also, for the "meatballs" pets, the name never contains the adjective. For example it's "Anger Manisfestation" and not "Greater Anger manigestaion" or "Leser Anger Manifestation".
For RK demons, it's always "metaphysical demon" and not, for example, "Cacodemon". (Note Stick with the Transcendant Enmity until you can cast the cacodemon; other RK demons are quite worthless.)

The main macros will be for attack, follow, and wait. Follow and wait are important to prevent your pet from attacking on its own. Guard is also interesting if you want to reset the pet to its normal condition (they are in guard mode when casted.)
Give a clear name to the macro, reflecting the action and the name of the pet.

Examples:

Target a mob and send the pet to attack
/macro Patk /pet "Anger manifestation" attack

/macro Mez /pet Tumulten attack
(the order is "attack' for Mez pets)

Make the pet following you even if you are attacked or he is attacked
/macro Pflw /pet "Fury Externalization" follow

/macro Cflw /pet "Confane" follow

Make the pet wait at the palce he is at when you issue the command
/macro Twait /pet "Tumulten" wait

Make a heal pet heal a selected target
/macro Bheal /pet Belamorte heal
(the command is "heal")

Also, it's good to have macros for all pets, for example:

Make all pets follow
/macro Flw /pet follow
(will command ALL the pets to follow)

Same for "wait" or guard.


Then you 'll discover variables in macros and even scripts but, really, you can live without them.

[Bredin]

Im glad you are having fun with your MP! I also think they are the most fun to play, Ive played many professions and have always had the most fun with MP.

Regarding weapons, the majority of the time with Bredin I used 2hE. I guess I wouldnt recomend it now though. I have switched to 1hB and I definitely OD the sword with them. Of course with 1hB you can use the Creation weapons easier. Pistols are supported with symbs and can be a really great option. Chris didnt mention bow, which also can be a good alternative. Bow is supported in symbs and perks and recently in research. There is also a very decent new bow that was introduced with LE. If you want to PvP i would definitely go with bow for AS. Regarding PvP we are amonst the worst at high level. However, around level 100ish you can make a really really good PvP MP if you work at it.

The thing about an MP is that you need to balance aggro with your pet. If you steal aggro it can be very dangerous to you, since we die faster than most professions. However, since the beginning with Bredin Ive always wanted to do as much dmg as I could and only rarely will let my pet do all the work. This is not to say that I never do. Sometimes (especially when solo) it is required to hide (I have to almost spit this word out) behind something while your pet fights.

Regarding various nanos, the only debuffs I would mess with are the ones labled "MP damage debuff" on auno. Of course you always want to buff your pets. Cost reducer is good for healpet. I always give CM to my mezz pet. Attack pets should get at least an instill, chant, and evocation buff. The animas are not really used by anyone since the evocations are so much better. Lets see... you should research on how to "ladder buff" your skills to get the best pets. Its pretty easy for an MP to do. The new MP guides will surely speak to this. Also dont overlook Anticipation of Retaliation which is really nice for evades especially at low level.

Regarding macros, I use only a "/pet attack" macro and I keep the pet info dialog up on my screen if I want to recall a pet. The first position on my quicklaunch bar is for an assist macro. The next spot is the start fighting button.. the crosshairs or whatver.. same as hitting the letter Q. My next button on the quick launch is the /pet attack. Then i have my specials and then other stuff. When i am in a team i just hit 1,2,3,4,5 and that causes me to assist the target caller, attack and send my pet very fast.

[dpidcoe]

I'm almost to level 50 now and it seems like most of the advice is working quite well. I was playing engi style up until I got the howling skulls on, I still do occasionally if my pets are taking on a higher mob. With the heal pet on the attack pet and the mezz pet as cannon fodder they do pretty well. I figured out how to ladder buffs real fast after I got enough NCU for it.

I have a question about the mezz pet though: Is it really that usefull for anything? So far it doesn't seem to do very well mezzing things and causes more aggravation then good. The only use I've found for it is an extra body to draw agro when fighting just 1 mob so me and the other pets can heal. It could just be that I don't have any buffs running on it. You mentioned running CMs on it, I don't think I have access to those as froob. Do you know what skills it needs so I can run the specific buffs for that skill?

[Alphacenta]

I'm almost to level 50 now and it seems like most of the advice is working quite well. I was playing engi style up until I got the howling skulls on, I still do occasionally if my pets are taking on a higher mob. With the heal pet on the attack pet and the mezz pet as cannon fodder they do pretty well. I figured out how to ladder buffs real fast after I got enough NCU for it.

I have a question about the mezz pet though: Is it really that usefull for anything? So far it doesn't seem to do very well mezzing things and causes more aggravation then good. The only use I've found for it is an extra body to draw agro when fighting just 1 mob so me and the other pets can heal. It could just be that I don't have any buffs running on it. You mentioned running CMs on it, I don't think I have access to those as froob. Do you know what skills it needs so I can run the specific buffs for that skill?

PM and SI. And yes, mezzpet has to be quite high QL to be of use However if you get an add, and set your mezzpet on it, the mezzpet will keep the add occupied, as if you've casted a normal mezz on it.. without dieing

[dpidcoe]

PM and SI. And yes, mezzpet has to be quite high QL to be of use However if you get an add, and set your mezzpet on it, the mezzpet will keep the add occupied, as if you've casted a normal mezz on it.. without dieing

I ran masteries and expertise on it and that made a HUGE difference. Now it's successfully mezzing about 2/3rds of the time instead of 1/4th.

[Metamate]

Heh, glad to hear you're having fun with the prodession. I find its most fun of all, maybe exept agent.

[Kyttn]

Sometimes (especially when solo) it is required to hide (I have to almost spit this word out) behind something while your pet fights.

What Bredin is refering to here is very important for an MP to note. Some mobs can easily kill you once they see you. Your attack pet, with your heal pet attending it, can survive a LOT longer than you can.

For example, prior to getting my Rihwen I helped out doing a Vanya Raid using Zhok the Abomination. The people doing the raid for their Penumbra keys died very quickly and had to run back. I hid in the other room while Zhok attacked Vanya with Morty in attendance. Zhok slowly but surely reduced Vanya's health bar. Eventually, I had to tell Zhok to stop fighting and just stand there and take the agro (with Morty healing him) while the team members returned to the temple. After their return, Zhok easily killed Vanya. If I had stepped into the room with Vanya at any stage, I would have been killed in only a couple of hits. By staying out of sight, your pets can team up and kill mobs a LOT higher than you.

This is not meant to discourage you from getting involved in the fight, just to give you an option to consider. Kyttn only used Nukes until very recently. She has not put a single point into Nano Init. At full DEF she can insta-cast Mind Scream for 736 pts dmg (to SL Mobs) every 3 seconds. Or I can use my 2HB weapon at 70% agg and do 1100 pts dmg every 2 seconds and the occasional 2300 pt critical. Naturally, one option attracts a lot more agro than the other.

Please note that Kyttn still uses very low symbs (level 130ish)