Comprehensive Pet Guide?

[Xruptor]

I'm curious, was there ever a collective guide on the Lore-Masters pets ever done? Such as DPS Differences, Flanking percentages, effectiveness against groups and solo. Does the bear maintain aggro more than it used to? Has the flanking for bear changed, as now it seems to flank like crazy. I can't seem to find any guide that has specific detailed information for pets overall in regards to blue/red/yellow role and effectiveness overall in solo/group.

BLUE LINE: For example which pets work best on the Blue line? I know they are situational, but I want to say a huge portion of Blue lined LM's I see use the Bog-Guardian extensively. There has to be a reason for this. Since the Blue line has additional bonus given to the player and pet when it's out, which one is more effective in specific situations? Is the Bog-Guardian the most DPS on the Blue line because of stats? Does the fact that it's ranged work out in it's favor and is the end-all be-all pet for Blue line lore-masters? Which one flanks the most. I don't really see many Blue lined Lore-Masters ever using Ravens. I rarely see blue line Lore-Masters using Lynx. Mostly Bog-Guardian honestly with some using Bear.

RED LINE: The same can be said for the Red line Lore-Masters. Effectively the Raven should be technically better for the +Fire buff. However, I see many Red lined Lore-Masters using the Bear or Lynx. I rarely see them using the Bog-Guardian. I've seen some use the Eagle for Fan the Flames but very rarely.

YELLOW LINE: I suppose the same applies to Yellow line Lore-Masters. Which pet is most beneficial in solo or grouping experience. Which provides more to the table for yellow lined Lore-Masters than the rest. Oddly enough I've seen quite a few Yellow line Lore-Masters using the Sabertooth and Bear. I haven't really seen many with Lynx or Bog-Guardian. There are quite a number of people that look down on the Sabertooth and underestimate him. He's actually quite good in certain situations. The DPS isn't anything either to laugh about. Only pet the doesn't do common damage and does AOE damage in groups.

When it comes to pets and blue/red/yellow it's just interesting to share notes and see what works best with what. Yes all the pets are situational but some shine more than others under specific situations and blue/red/yellow setup.

I figured someone had taken the time to write up a comprehensive guide, putting together all these factors based on Spec and effectiveness.


Bear = great tanking pet, does decent damage and seems to flank more than it used to. Has taunting ability so nice for soloing.
Raven = good for dealing more fire damage. Damage is not that great but has some nice buffs. Doesn't flank as often as I'd wish. But that's subjective lol.
Bog-Guardian = so many Lore-Masters use this guy since he is ranged. Much easier to use than having your pet run around and chase the enemy. Does very good damage and flanks like crazy. (Blue line Lore-Masters use this guy a lot it seems)
Sabertooth = underestimated honestly, great dps and does ice damage rather than common. Can do AOE damage and is good for group pulls. I've seen people using him while soloing.
Lynx = DPS burst at first, once out of stealth he is vulnerable and his dps drops. Health isn't as much as others so can't take much of a beating. (I mostly see Red Line lore-masters use this guy frequently.)
Eagle = Good DPS compared to Raven. Has a resurrect and flanks decently. Great buffs too. (This one is an oddball, don't see him being used too often).
Spirit of Nature = Pretty much a heal-bot. Doesn't flank unless you force it with skill. Pretty much doesn't die and can keep you and fellowship up with heals.

Opinions and feedback on any possible guides out there is welcomed!

[Spilo]

Some good stuff! Some of what I remember when I played LM more:

Bear- Highest flank rate
Bog- Second-highest flank rate, solid in Blue Line cause range is king
Lynx- Nice burst, gets bonus in Red line
Raven- Fire Mit debuff is super nice for red line LMs
Sabertooth- Useless
Eagle- Useless except for rez
Spirit Pet- the AoE miss chance is nice, everything else is meh.

[Vilan]

Solo, I generally skip pets because the game's easy enough. For the odd tough pull, I'd probably go bear for his taunt. Maybe spirit pet if it's just one tough boss so I can get extra heals.

In groups, I like the spirit pet's healing mark. Add catmint and everyone gets healed 10% of their DPS, that adds up. Plus I like the 5% miss chance on everybody that I don't need to manage. The bear's +10% melee/ranged debuff can be handy on bosses. What champ or hunter doesn't want 10% more damage? If it's mostly hunters, the boggie's +5% ranged crit chance may be useful too. The fire debuff isn't usually enough to make me want a raven, though if there's fire RKs around I may go for it. And in the Moors, dumping -50% ranged on a BA can be amusing.

[Spilo]

Solo, I generally skip pets because the game's easy enough. For the odd tough pull, I'd probably go bear for his taunt. Maybe spirit pet if it's just one tough boss so I can get extra heals.

In groups, I like the spirit pet's healing mark. Add catmint and everyone gets healed 10% of their DPS, that adds up. Plus I like the 5% miss chance on everybody that I don't need to manage. The bear's +10% melee/ranged debuff can be handy on bosses. What champ or hunter doesn't want 10% more damage? If it's mostly hunters, the boggie's +5% ranged crit chance may be useful too. The fire debuff isn't usually enough to make me want a raven, though if there's fire RKs around I may go for it. And in the Moors, dumping -50% ranged on a BA can be amusing.

The fire mit debuff is huge from the raven in group content with RKs/Hunters.

[Vilan]

Right, sorry, I drifted back into solo thinking mid-paragraph. It's not enough to make me bother pulling out a raven while soloing, but in groups with fire RKs or fire-oil hunters then it does indeed help.

[Xruptor]

well I suppose that means there isn't a guide out there that folks know of. Oh well ...

I suppose we can use this thread as a compilation of tips and updated information in regards to Lore-Master pets. Some folks have already given out some good advice and tips for Lore-Masters. Maybe we can get some more folks from each of the Blue/Red/Yellow lines to provide some more insight on their combinations and experiences with specific pets per class role.

[Oelle]

I guess there is no pet-guide, because most LM guides write something about pets. Pets generally dont differ that much, which allows to use every pet or even play without one. If they differ, most choices are obvious like ranged -> bog, tanky -> bear and dps doesnt differ that much between pets so most decisions for pets are about their debuff potential, which should be part of most LM guides or again just obvious. Flanking doesnt really matter much anyway today as flanking bonusses got really weak with the years.

[CaerArianrhod]

well I suppose that means there isn't a guide out there that folks know of. Oh well ...

I suppose we can use this thread as a compilation of tips and updated information in regards to Lore-Master pets. Some folks have already given out some good advice and tips for Lore-Masters. Maybe we can get some more folks from each of the Blue/Red/Yellow lines to provide some more insight on their combinations and experiences with specific pets per class role.

Soloing with pet is more a personal preference, then a real need of using some specific pet. I soloed Mordor with my LM with the Bear.
In group content you will use the pet, that brings the most for the group and encounter. You even may have "pet dancing" in some situations.
For example: spirit is nice to use in the 12-man big battle to heal up everyting within his AoE Heal. Oherwise it is only usefull if you play an off healer-supporter in the group. But since the change that it has an initial cd for the heal, it is a bit less important/usefull.
Some encounters like the Rakothas fight required a bit more from the LM: yellow-blue with cat mint for the raven then bear and if you could even the bog-guardian to give all DPS classes a nice boost. The same is for silent street.
As we have seen the bear was a great tank for Naerband T2. I wasn't there since the changes, so i can not tell if this is still a workaround but i doubt.
If you have fire RK(s) in your group you may use rather the raven, with more hunters i rather would use the bog.
The sabertooth is quite useless for group content, since there isn't much classes and skills that use frost damage and combos are not used really anymore.
Same for the Eagle except some encounters where you don't really need a specific pet but you can use it for rezz.
The lnyx has nothing for group play.

[Xruptor]

Soloing with pet is more a personal preference, then a real need of using some specific pet. I soloed Mordor with my LM with the Bear.
In group content you will use the pet, that brings the most for the group and encounter. You even may have "pet dancing" in some situations.
For example: spirit is nice to use in the 12-man big battle to heal up everyting within his AoE Heal. Oherwise it is only usefull if you play an off healer-supporter in the group. But since the change that it has an initial cd for the heal, it is a bit less important/usefull.
Some encounters like the Rakothas fight required a bit more from the LM: yellow-blue with cat mint for the raven then bear and if you could even the bog-guardian to give all DPS classes a nice boost. The same is for silent street.
As we have seen the bear was a great tank for Naerband T2. I wasn't there since the changes, so i can not tell if this is still a workaround but i doubt.
If you have fire RK(s) in your group you may use rather the raven, with more hunters i rather would use the bog.
The sabertooth is quite useless for group content, since there isn't much classes and skills that use frost damage and combos are not used really anymore.
Same for the Eagle except some encounters where you don't really need a specific pet but you can use it for rezz.
The lnyx has nothing for group play.

Blue Line: I tend to use Bog-Guardian or Bear when I'm soloing. I like that both can take quite a beating and Bog-guardian has some really nice DPS and is ranged. Bear flanks like crazy and deals decent dps, great for letting him tank enemies.

Red Line: I tend to use Lynx or Raven depending on the situation. In groups Raven buff is actually quite nice.

Yellow Line: A toss-up here for me really. I go Bear or Lynx. Depends on situation. Will use Raven in groups.

Spirit pet is very situational for me and honestly depends on situation and group play. It can be useful in solo, but I'd prefer not to unless for specific reasons.

[Spilo]

Blue Line: I tend to use Bog-Guardian or Bear when I'm soloing. I like that both can take quite a beating and Bog-guardian has some really nice DPS and is ranged. Bear flanks like crazy and deals decent dps, great for letting him tank enemies.

Red Line: I tend to use Lynx or Raven depending on the situation. In groups Raven buff is actually quite nice.

Yellow Line: A toss-up here for me really. I go Bear or Lynx. Depends on situation. Will use Raven in groups.

Spirit pet is very situational for me and honestly depends on situation and group play. It can be useful in solo, but I'd prefer not to unless for specific reasons.

If you have any questions on specific situations in which to use which pet, let me know. Seems you got things in decent order, however!

[Xruptor]

I want to point out that the LOTRO wiki states that the Bear has the lowest flank rate, which I find to be incorrect. In fact with all the patches that has happened since that article has been written, the bear now has what is I believe the highest flank rate. It flanks like crazy for me. Back to back flanks sometimes.

Spilo you said the Sabertooth is useless, but I've used him to utterly destroy groups of enemies. They all focus on him if they are surrounding me and he hits every single one of them. His DPS is actually quite good so I don't think he is completely useless. Possibly in fellowships. But while questing and in the field he can be pretty useful. Also I find his flanking to be quite decent. I normally use Sabertooth though in Blue or Yellow specs. Also he does Frost damage for both his attacks and skills which a lot of enemies don't have any resistances too for some stupid reason. Mind you I don't use him ALL the time but I wouldn't say he is completely useless

[Teyaha]

the overwhelming majority of lore masters on this forum play red or yellow.


i play and will only ever play blue cause i'm lazy and want tough pets and fewer hotkeys, and this is my take

1) flanking only matters pre water lore. after water lore you really won't care about the flanking rate even on power intensive fights.

2) bear is for tanking. it's abilities reset upon summoning, so this can be used to keep a tough elite off you even if it's dropping your bear before you can kill the tough elite. bear threat is quite high, takes some sudden "oh ho ho omg did you see that boom!" nukeage to pull off of it. makes LM's the best at soloing the turtle raid in garbage gear or low level imo.

3) bog guardian is for everything else.


blue line generally doesn't bother with the other pets. the pets are extremely powerful as you level up but around level 100 they stop scaling like they used to. no longer does the bog guardian kill things for you in two hits at range, but it does add a substantial amount of dps that the build doesn't get with any of the other pets, including the cats.