Pet Help (i did search first!)

I have been looking all over and can't find an answer to my pet question so here it is.
How do you get your pet to attack without getting beat senseless
I use a longbow to attack so my pet will run in but the monsters either A)shoot and cast at me from where they are, or B) run past the pet to chop me up.
Just calling an attack and not actually attacking doesnt work because the pet stands there, and if i hit the target and move back the pet comes with me. so how do you make a "pure pet" build when the monsters run past the pet and chop me up...

-I figured i may as well ask this two;
Also how much damage reduction does call of protection add? if i have 0 beast mastery and the skills says 1 base damage reduction , does it only take off 1 damage or is it 1% or what?
how does damage reduction from shields work if it says -2, is it the same as the call of protection. If hunting something like attaxz's(sp) that hit for 450+ -11/15 doesnt seem like much reduction (not that you should have your pet tanking them anyway)

Damage reduction from a shield is universal. Happens no matter what part of your body takes the hit. So whatever damage you would be taking is 2 less than normal every time you get hit.

For Call of Protection it's the same thing, the beastie takes 1 less damage every time it's hit (or more depending on your attribute setup).

Can't you hilight the enemy and call a Pet Attack skill to get the pet to aggro the enemies, and not you? I could be wrong but that makes sense to me.

This is a tricky thing to do, but it can be done. You'll need to start kiting as soon as your pet begins attacking the enemy. Once your pet lands a hit, you'll have somewhere around 4-5 seconds that you're free to move before it will retreat to you, so you'll have to use that time to try keeping your pet between yourself and the enemy. At somewhere around 6 seconds after landing its first attack, your pet will check to see if you're still attacking the enemy, if not it will come back to you, so you have to be sure you stop and periodically attack again.

This all sounds a lot more complex than it is. What I've found to work well for me is to start off by attacking with a longbow. Continue attacking with it until the enemies just hit the aggro bubble, then use Otyugh's Cry (I can't say why, but the enemies seem more willing to switch targets to the pet after you've used Otyugh's Cry), and start kiting. Try to position yourself so that your pet body-blocks the enemies from you. You don't have to run away; you don't have to be far away at all. All you have to do is keep your pet in their way. After a bit of being unsuccessful at attacking you, the enemies will switch their target. However, don't forget to stop and attack to keep your pet going. When you do this periodic stopping to attack, it's really helpful if you don't begin moving again until your arrow has landed on the enemy. If you run before your attack lands, the pet will count it is you running, not you attacking the enemy.

The idea is simple, but it does take some practice to get good at and will no doubt offer frustration in the mean time. Just remember that the pet is operating on set AI, as are the enemies. Pay attention to the nuances of how they behave and you can control them.

I think the most enemies I've been able keep on my pet at once in this manner was 4 griffins and 3 minotaurs. More than that and it becomes a real mess.

Good luck!

I'm just using sprint (cause of the low recharge) - you just need to run a few seconds for mob to target your pet. If there are more that 3 of them - some will still try to target you later, you just need to keep moving.

Call of Protection is -14 damage at BM 15 and is significant in all but the high ends of the game and is nice as it lasts 2 minutes and can't be removed as it is neither an enchantment nor stance.

I hope you aren't trying to do a "pure pet" build without investing in BM?

Of course im not making a pet build with 0 beast mastery.

Jenosavel's post

Very good post, i will try this out later. It seems to me with all the nerfing going around (AOE nerf and protective bond come to mind) they could spend a little time fixing the pet's AI. being able to give it a few commands (without taking up MORE skill slots) or just being able to call an attack and have the pet go attack without you constantly attacking would do wonders for the beast mastery profession.