My problem with pets...

With the new pet skills in place I was thinking about a way to get the best of them (http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2083). In that thread Saus said he liked Disrupting Lunge so I decided to try a way to work that into a build. The problem is that you will have to set aside one quarter of your skill bar just to maintain your pet, that is not actual skills but Charm and Revive. As soon as I remind my self of this I get discouraged because I know I will end up taking away more than the pet will add. This is what I was thinking of:

R/W

Axe 12
Tactics 10
Exp 10 (+1/+1)

Distracting Blow, Disrupting Chop, Penetrating Blow, Executioner's Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Whirling Defense, Gladiator's Defense-E, Healing Signet

This build has staying power, can do a good bit of damage, and has some nice interrupts. My next task was too implement Charm Animal, Revive Animal, and Disrupting Lunge into this bulid. I want Disrupting Lunge only for its disrupting trait so the extra damage means nothing to me therefore no points into Beastmastery.

I took out Healing Signet as a Monk can heal me. Then I took out Whirling Defense as Lightning Reflex gives the attack speed boost and Glad's Defense gives the damage boost. Then I decided to take out Executioner's Strike because Penetrating Attack is just brutal against running targets and very handy. Now I have this:

R/W

Same attributes

Distracting Blow, Disrupting Chop, Disrupting Lunge, Penetrating Attack, Lightning Reflexes, Gladiators Defense-E, Charm Animal, Revive Animal.

While this build can really dish out the interrupts, it doesn't have either the staying power or the damage output. Wasting two spots on Charm and Revive really crippled a decent build, all for just one extra Disrupt.

I believe that in order for a build using pets to be effective is if there are a few others on you team that also are using pets. If they want to balance pets I think that the "Charm Animal" skill should be removed. Since you must level your pet in actual fighting I think that is a balance enough with the Necromancer minions. I would definitely consider using pets if only one skill spot was used to maintain them, because as it is, they are just too expensive (skill slot wise).

Lightning Reflexes is a bad way to increase you attack speed, giving how it has a cool down of 60 secs. Either pick up Frenzy, Flurry, or better yet invest some points into Beastmastery and just take Tiger's Fury. While we're on the subject, Glad's Defence is only useful when you yourself is getting attacked. Since you already mentioned that their will be a Monk healing you, I can only assume that this is a part of a team build, in which case I think that others players (and even the AI) will most likely attack your Monk as opposed to you.

Why is it more brutal? Pen Attack just has a cheaper adren cost, not too mention Pen Attack is most useful against heavily armed opponents. If anyone is going to run away from you, it'll be chars with low armour scores i.e. casters.

Drop Expertise to a 9, you don't have any skills that require 15 energy or more, and getting a 12 in Expertise only decreases 10 energy skills to 5, while just a 9 in Expertise means you pay 6.

Pick between Disrupting Chop and Disrupting Lunge, if you really want to shut someone down, then you should probably drop the Glad's Defence Elite in favour of Skull Crack.

You'll probably have a spare skill slot by now, in which case I'd advise you to take up Maiming Strike, which will pretty much take care of any chars who would wish to run away from you.

While I agree pet users currently have a problem in using up a lot of slots just to get their pet 'working', I also think the problem for you is that quite frankly, you're trying to do too many things at once.

In GvG do you need revive animal? i guess what im asking will it res in every 2 min like people?

Why cant they combine comfort animal and charm animal into one skill atleast...

As far as I can remember, pets revive with teammates.

If you pet is revived by the priest will it just appear right next to you or does it have to run to you? Also, will there be the option to add a pet to your PvP characters or will having a pet be only for RPG characters?

I have had the same problem. Charm Animal - just tips it over the edge. You can not get an efficent skill list with all the Calls.

What I have ended up with is :

Frenzy, Dismember, Axe Rake, Penetrating Blow, Executionors strike.

Charm, Call of Hunter, Call of Haste

Attributes max Beast and max axe Mastery.

No elite, but very specialized, the only problem is that players never really attack your pet so Feral Lunge might be problematic. Other problem is that you will have an overflow of energy.

But basically this way, look at your pet as adding to your damage. I would guess if you hit 22 with your sword attack, the pet with these calls adds another 12. Your pet will also be able to follow target if it runs, but you have a snare with Axe Rake.

Both of your attack rate is insane and you are very vulnerable, but thats what you got monks for. And as a warrior secondary you are way down on the list for beeing targeted.

Your skill list for disrupting attacks are no good, they are too hard to time. I have tried that. The one that might work well thoogh is the disrupting from the Pet.
I agree with you. It is hard to find a good combination. But this is what I ended up with on the drawing board.

During the last Beta, if you selected charm animal with your premade, you automatically got a level 20 Elder Wolf... I don't know about plans for release though.

Anyway... As of last March, pets were a joke. I worked with them a lot with the premades trying to find a way to convince myself that they could indeed be effective. Haha... I was mistaken. They DO suck! The only reason a pet will live is because it doesn't deal enough damage to be worth the 5 seconds of killing it. Hopefully that has changed or will soon enough.