Looking to make the most out of the Rangers pet

[astrolulz]

It sounds like everyone agrees that the Ranger pet sucks. However, I'm trying to figure out a build to emphasize the pet. What multiclass would work best? Or is solo Ranger the way to go here? I'll be playing on veteran with stock companions. Ranged or melee doesn't matter to me. 

Also with skills that trigger on kills, if the pet takes the last hit, does that contribute to the character? 

[Ensign]

Pets scale with character level, not power level, so they are equally good on a multi-class and single-class Ranger.  Most of their important traits are in the lower tiers as well, so you don't get any notable advantages from gaining Ranger levels faster.

 

My feeling is that the party build matters more than the Ranger build when it comes to pets.  Pets generally need to be supported to be effective, but Ranger is not particularly good at that.  Herald is the cheap answer, but it's very true - Chanter phrases and Paladin auras buff pets as well as party members, and they go a long way towards making it feel more effective.  Having a healer that can fix up, or revive, a pet is also valuable to have so you aren't stuck with Bonded Grief at the first mistake.

 

Otherwise the key is to micro your pet.  They are kind of caught in a place where not microing them is suicide, but microing them isn't super satisfying when you could be microing a flanking Rogue or Barbarian instead - but if you enjoy the micro game they're pretty effective.  Use them as off-tanks or flankers, where they won't take focus fire, and they'll be pretty effective - especially if getting the aformentioned passive buffs.

[Boeroer]

If you like to use Takedown Combo (+100% base damage bonus for the next attack that hits the enemy - only costs 1 Bond) you need a way to lower Fortitude (because that's what Takedown Combo rolls against). That's why I played a melee Geomancer with a Morning Star. The Animal Companion can then put Takedown Combo onto your enemy and you can cast a high dmg,single target spell on that enemy - for example Killing Bolt. You will do double base dmg * Power Level bonus then.

 

On top comes all the Animal Companion stuff like Stalker's Link, Predator's Sense and so on.

 

On-kill effects will not trigger on you if your AC kills something.

[astrolulz]

Pets scale with character level, not power level, so they are equally good on a multi-class and single-class Ranger.  Most of their important traits are in the lower tiers as well, so you don't get any notable advantages from gaining Ranger levels faster.

 

My feeling is that the party build matters more than the Ranger build when it comes to pets.  Pets generally need to be supported to be effective, but Ranger is not particularly good at that.  Herald is the cheap answer, but it's very true - Chanter phrases and Paladin auras buff pets as well as party members, and they go a long way towards making it feel more effective.  Having a healer that can fix up, or revive, a pet is also valuable to have so you aren't stuck with Bonded Grief at the first mistake.

 

Otherwise the key is to micro your pet.  They are kind of caught in a place where not microing them is suicide, but microing them isn't super satisfying when you could be microing a flanking Rogue or Barbarian instead - but if you enjoy the micro game they're pretty effective.  Use them as off-tanks or flankers, where they won't take focus fire, and they'll be pretty effective - especially if getting the aformentioned passive buffs.

Definitely sounds like its best to multiclass it then, I didnt know it was just based on character level. Like you said, a big chunk of the traits are pretty early on too. 

 

Options for subclassing seem to be either;

Cipher - buffs for the pet (most seem early on) and myself

Druid (Ancient) - wild growth looks like it can be pretty helpful, and the other druid buffs

 

I would probably just use Pallegina as a Herald to cover those classes for general buffs as well. 

 

​

[Nssheepster]

If you really want to make the most of the pet, you want to go melee as a Stalker. Use AOE Heals/Buffs and catch both of you in it.

[Boeroer]

I did indeed a melee Geomancer with Stalker/Wizard (no subclass). And it was able to solo the BoW Dracolich without any consumables fairly easily because of the very high ACC, high AR and single target dmg.

[astrolulz]

 

Pets scale with character level, not power level, so they are equally good on a multi-class and single-class Ranger.  Most of their important traits are in the lower tiers as well, so you don't get any notable advantages from gaining Ranger levels faster.

 

My feeling is that the party build matters more than the Ranger build when it comes to pets.  Pets generally need to be supported to be effective, but Ranger is not particularly good at that.  Herald is the cheap answer, but it's very true - Chanter phrases and Paladin auras buff pets as well as party members, and they go a long way towards making it feel more effective.  Having a healer that can fix up, or revive, a pet is also valuable to have so you aren't stuck with Bonded Grief at the first mistake.

 

Otherwise the key is to micro your pet.  They are kind of caught in a place where not microing them is suicide, but microing them isn't super satisfying when you could be microing a flanking Rogue or Barbarian instead - but if you enjoy the micro game they're pretty effective.  Use them as off-tanks or flankers, where they won't take focus fire, and they'll be pretty effective - especially if getting the aformentioned passive buffs.

Definitely sounds like its best to multiclass it then, I didnt know it was just based on character level. Like you said, a big chunk of the traits are pretty early on too. 

 

Options for subclassing seem to be either;

Cipher - buffs for the pet (most seem early on) and myself

Druid (Ancient) - wild growth looks like it can be pretty helpful, and the other druid buffs

 

I would probably just use Pallegina as a Herald to cover those classes for general buffs as well. 

 

​

 

Upon some research, looks like Wild Growth doesnt even work on the Ranger pet... That kinda sucks. 

 

Stalker does look like the obvious subclass to go. 5 deflection and 1 armor doesn't sound like much, but I guess its clearly better than the other options. 

[Nssheepster]

IMO, the Stalker subclass is decent, but it's more because being in melee with your Companion is the best way to make real use of it. It's far easier to keep it alive when you can easily catch it in Heal/Buff AOEs that you'd already be wanting to use on your melee characters. Plus, there's the Companion passives with the extra defenses if they're nearby.

[Ensign]

Stalker does the most to emphasize the pet, yes.

 

Ghost Heart works really well with Cipher, as you can cast the pet behind your enemy to flank / suicide onto the backline while giving you a body to anchor spells on - Ectopsychic Echo and Amplifying Wave chiefly.

[Elric Galad]

 

Upon some research, looks like Wild Growth doesnt even work on the Ranger pet... That kinda sucks. 

 

 

Including Ghost Heart pet ? Since technically it's a summon...

[Nssheepster]

 

 

Upon some research, looks like Wild Growth doesnt even work on the Ranger pet... That kinda sucks. 

 

 

Including Ghost Heart pet ? Since technically it's a summon...

 

It is a Summon, but... It IS a Beast, but was it ever actually TAGGED as a Beast and a Summon? Might not have been. I know regular Animal Companions are tagged as Beasts, but Ghost Hearts are also a Spirit, so... Is it still tagged as both? Or does Spirit override Beast?

[astrolulz]

I checked for the regular animal companions, and it indeed does not work. Never tried ghost heart yet.

[doggiep0op]

I did indeed a melee Geomancer with Stalker/Wizard (no subclass). And it was able to solo the BoW Dracolich without any consumables fairly easily because of the very high ACC, high AR and single target dmg.

How did you distribute your stats?

[Boeroer]

I checked for the regular animal companions, and it indeed does not work. Never tried ghost heart yet.

Ghost Heart doesn't work because it's a Spirit, not a Beast.

[Boeroer]

 

I did indeed a melee Geomancer with Stalker/Wizard (no subclass). And it was able to solo the BoW Dracolich without any consumables fairly easily because of the very high ACC, high AR and single target dmg.

How did you distribute your stats?

 

 

MIG: 10

CON: 11

DEX: 17

PER: 18

INT: 19

RES: 03

 

But I didn't think too much about it.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Boeroer

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

It sounds like everyone agrees that the Ranger pet sucks. However, I'm trying to figure out a build to emphasize the pet. What multiclass would work best? Or is solo Ranger the way to go here? I'll be playing on veteran with stock companions. Ranged or melee doesn't matter to me. 

 

Also with skills that trigger on kills, if the pet takes the last hit, does that contribute to the character? 

 

 

Here's one trick that works:

 

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/951852175334701365/7948F54FBD4CD5E3B9AA8F3DAA9C1A8FD06183F1/

[djinnxy]

You are particularly looking to put tier 2 + 3 might and con inspirations on the pet. Whether you do that from multiclassing yourself or from party buffs you'll want the +2 pen and +2 armor on the pet along with the other benefits. Priest has some other juicy buffs that help with accuracy and might, not to mention healing. That's strictly speaking for stalker if you are looking to optimize the pet. If you choose ghostheart then take animancy cat. I really don't know what else helps the ghostheart right off because the only reason I take it is to not have a pet.

 

I'd take wael or woedica for multiclass in that order if I was going to try to be self reliant or solo. I wouldn't expect to do the harder dlc potd upscale with it as it has no resource regen.

Edited February 10, 2019 by djinnxy

[Krowseph]

If you like to use Takedown Combo (+100% base damage bonus for the next attack that hits the enemy - only costs 1 Bond) you need a way to lower Fortitude (because that's what Takedown Combo rolls against). That's why I played a melee Geomancer with a Morning Star. The Animal Companion can then put Takedown Combo onto your enemy and you can cast a high dmg,single target spell on that enemy - for example Killing Bolt. You will do double base dmg * Power Level bonus then.

 

On top comes all the Animal Companion stuff like Stalker's Link, Predator's Sense and so on.

 

On-kill effects will not trigger on you if your AC kills something.

 

Question on the Morningstar. I’m assuming you used Willbreaker? Do you have to avoid the DOT upgrade because it can interfere with the 100% damage on next attack? I am not familiar if DOTs can take precedence and consume the buff.

[Jayd]

I'm currently using a Shifter/Stalker Beastmaster on POTD with the antelope companion, and while it doesn't wow me with incredible damage and durability, it definitely hasn't disappointed me either. It doesn't feel any more likely to get burst down than my other companions. Damage is respectable and keeps up at high levels. One nice thing people tend not to mention is that the pet-based abilities work on the pet's action queue, not the Ranger's queue, so you can have your pet use abilities while the Ranger is in a recovery phase, which is nice for tempo.

 

As for how to maximize, you'll want a party that can inflict DoT effects and afflictions to proc both Predator's Sense and Merciless companion. Since you want the pet to be as great as possible, I feel like you must go single class to get Bonded Fury, Distracting Training, and Shadowed Hunters. I've never used them but they look really nice (BF gives the pet ALL tier 2 inspirations for a base 30s duration!). Stalker helps a lot because of the extra point of armor especially, so definitely go with that.

 

I use Play Dead instead of both heal and revive companion because once you're paying attention you should be able to avoid death with Play Dead and it's much better heals than the heal spell. I actually never picked up heal and revive in my entire playthrough because I found that better handled by my supports. This frees up a lot of points; if you're going single class you shouldn't have an easy time picking upgrades. 

 

Make sure to prioritize Concussive Tranquilizer as it's one of the best abilities in the game for its cleanse. Use evasive roll creatively (apply flanks with your pet). Call of the Master is great for when you get more mobile.

 

I ended up writing more than I planned but I hope it's helpful.

[Kaylon]

Shield Bearer/Stalker or Kind Wayfarer/Stalker with the bear pet has great synergies and survivability:

- brand enemy ensures perma predator sense

- exalted endurance, inspiring triumph and lay on hands offer high survivability to the pet (you can add the blackened plate and/or Lethandria's devotion for even more healing)

- you can further buff the pet using exhortations/shared flames

At the same time the Stalker adds even more tankiness to the paladin.

[Boeroer]

 

If you like to use Takedown Combo (+100% base damage bonus for the next attack that hits the enemy - only costs 1 Bond) you need a way to lower Fortitude (because that's what Takedown Combo rolls against). That's why I played a melee Geomancer with a Morning Star. The Animal Companion can then put Takedown Combo onto your enemy and you can cast a high dmg,single target spell on that enemy - for example Killing Bolt. You will do double base dmg * Power Level bonus then.

 

On top comes all the Animal Companion stuff like Stalker's Link, Predator's Sense and so on.

 

On-kill effects will not trigger on you if your AC kills something.

Question on the Morningstar. I’m assuming you used Willbreaker? Do you have to avoid the DOT upgrade because it can interfere with the 100% damage on next attack? I am not familiar if DOTs can take precedence and consume the buff.

Yes, Willbreaker (lowers Will besides Fortitude). Also because I used Essential Phantom with Draining Touch (targets Will) a lot alongside my animal companion.

 

DoT-ticks don't interfere with Takedown Combo. Only attacks that go through attack resolution will count.