Please, pet aggro, please

If you ctrl+attack an enemy with henchmen, they will attack the target even if you don't. This allows you to control aggro because the warrior hench will run to the target (with charge or sprint), and get the aggro. The back line casters are safe mostly, unless Claude messes it up.

However, pets don't give a crap. They will attack if one of your attack hits. If your attack misses, they don't even bother to attack. And calling a target they will just stand there not attacking. This means a ranger's pet is pretty useless. Unless you put beast mastery up and bring some skills, they aren't damage dealers. They are a ranger's tank, or they should be. The reality is, they have better armour than you, so everything will attack you instead of the pet. Seriously, everything does.

Try to solo an area with your pet. Ideally your pet would be the one taking the damage, but the warriors all run straight to you, the rangers all shoot you, even the healers shoot you. The pet doesn't even get hit unless you force it by running away, and then reattack, only to run some more. Unfortunately this only helps with the warriors, those rangers will still just shoot you.

The pet wanders around a lot, but occasionally I manage to stand just outside the aggro circle, and the pet will walk into it. When this happens, they all attack my pet, because they see him first. So that's why I just want to be able to call a target and have my pet attack it.

Thanks

Oh, I completely agree on what you said about pets not aggroing when you tell them to unless you actually hit with an attack. I have a Rit/R, and use a Communion/Beast Mastery build, half my skills are spirits, the other pet attacks. This (is designed to) allow me to lay my spirits while my pet attacks, since you can actually use the pet attacks while casting. It's a great idea on paper, but unfortunately you have to get that first hit off before your baby does anything.

This should definately be fixed. It's just plain annoying, and I really don't plan on doing much wanding just to get rufus out there doing what it's supposed to be doing.

On the pet attracting aggro thing, I disagree. I find it does a great job of it, at least in a team environment where the tank is already distracting foes. generally enemies will go for either the tank you your pet, but rarely if ever head towards me.

So the Ctrl+Attack trick does work with henchies?

Yes but with the current AI, if you go and attack a differant target then the one you call they will stop attacking "their" target and move to yours, once that target is dead, they will stand there untill a new target is called or you begain to attack another. Regardless if you are surrounded or not.

Ya, they should change this. The pets should listen to the ctr+attack buttons, and the pet should always have less armor or something so it could tank for you, even if only a little. Tanking is really the only thing I've ever brought my pet for and it always anoyed me that the pet wasn't good at attracting enemies atention.