Ways to increase pet attack damage?

[Ejinn]

Hello everyone

I valar'd up my first LM to 130, being I am quite fond of the use of combat pets, in particular the saber tooth, and now 4 days in I'm having some issues and would like to ask you more experienced LM pet users some questions.

I'm running full Blue line, using strictly the saber tooth. The choice of the saber tooth is because this pet type is mostly why I even chose to go LM, I cannot use anything else due to that reason. I named the onyx saber tooth Luna.

After getting things sorted out generally, I went to an area with level 130 enemies, and started testing out Luna against wargs. She did ok, took over a minute to defeat one of them, and sometimes I had to heal her during the fight.

Luna's power amount is insanely high in comparison to my Lm's, she has 20k, I have 7k. Yet, Luna practically uses none of the power she has, the bar almost never moves, even when using the few pet combat skills. Her morale is quite high as well, near to my LM's morale.

Am I missing something as far as pet combat skills go? I don't understand why Luna has such crazy high power for seemingly no use.
But overall, her damage output seems very low. Are there more ways of getting that attack damage way up?

I have 2 traceries on my LI's that help with pet defense and damage, I don't know if there are more...

I use the Catmint skill, but at 12 % for 20 seconds, it's not an enormous boost. I have food for Luna, but it's purely defense based, I don't know if there is food for the Saber Tooth that increases attack damage.

I remember from a previous thread about pet damage, people were indicating there are certain things that Jewelers can make can adjust the attributes of your pet, and so I went for being a Jeweler, yet I have not seen anything about special objects one can make to do that.

I really want to majorly boost my pets attack damage, even at the cost of my LM losing some stats, I would really appreciate any help


/Edit
I should add that I do run a 140 Guardian that I've played for roughly 4 years - so I'm not new to the game, but totally new to LM

[Tralfazz]

There's very little you can do, pets simply don't scale well past Level 60. Up to Level 60 and a bit beyond a Lore-master's pets hold aggro with their damage pretty well and contribute a meaningful amount to total damage. Up to Level 80 or so they still feel "OK" although as you play up to and a bit beyond 80 you see their ability to hold aggro and their damage contribution drop off. Once 105 or higher, they can't hold aggro at all (save the bear and only by using its taunt and resummoning it as needed to re-use the taunt) and their damage contribution is borderline meaningless. The buffs from pets for a Blue Lore-master remain good, some of the pet skills remain useful (talking about effects and not damage here), and Blue Lore-masters at that level and above can dip deeply into Red for plenty of extra damage and additional damaging skills. But the pets become cosmetic/RP and resummonable buff/debuff sources rather than the battle companions you became used to as you leveled up toward Rohan.

All that said, my main is a Lore-master and I have had him specced Blue from the beginning; he's Level 131 now. I find him great fun to play solo and he provides nice utility for small groups. For large groups he uses his second spec which is Yellow, like nearly every other Lore-master in the game in a large group or any group doing challenging content. For purely practical damage, Red is the way to go – there's just no comparison, Red does far more damage than Blue even at high levels with a lot of Red traits mixed in and survivability is only very slightly less (and doesn't matter because it's more than offset by how much more quickly enemies are defeated).

If I were in charge of this game, I'd make all summoned Lore-master pets 1 level higher than their caster; 2 levels higher if the Lore-master is Blue; +1 above that by adding that effect to the ultimate Blue bonus trait "Tutelage of the Brown Wizard". Then adjust the damage scaling of pet auto attacks and skill attacks so that most pets of a Blue Lore-master would consistently output about 20% of the total combined damage of the pair regardless of level. I'd also add a passive +100% threat generation to the bear pet regardless of the spec of the Lore-master. But these are just fantasies, I'm not sure anyone at SSG agrees that pet scaling is a problem and if they do they'll probably take a different approach to correcting it.

I'll say again that my main is a 131 Blue Lore-master and I find him a lot of fun, I'll probably play him that way forever. But the pets don't feel like proper combat companions as they did at Level 45 and there's just no comparison to the damage output of a Red Lore-master, even one that doesn't bother summoning a pet at all.

As for the item you are looking for, you're looking for a "brooch" like this one:
https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Ite...ickpin_of_Rage
There are many different types available at most crafting tiers.

edit: One more thing...

...using strictly the saber tooth...

If you don't resummon your pet so it can reuse its important skills more frequently, and if you don't make use of the right pet at the right time, then no fix to pet scaling is going to matter enough. When a pet is summoned, it appears at full morale/power and with all its skills off cooldown and ready to use (exception being the healing spirit, thanks to a relatively recent change there). You can dismiss and resummon your current pet, or one of your other pets, any time you like – and should do so whenever it makes sense. I understand that you are focusing on role-playing, and that's fine. But just like a Guardian who is role-playing a loincloth-clad cave-man type and therefore doesn't use any armor, refusing to use the right tool for the job or refusing to pull out a sharp tool when your current one dulls (i.e. resummon your pet when its skills are used and on cooldown) is going to make you much weaker than you would be otherwise.

[Gorikon]

I fear there isn't much you can do. Pets have had scaling issues for quite a few years now. Damage is somehow OP in lower levels, about right in the middle ranges (85-100), and then drops of a cliff. There have been numerous requests towards SSG to fix pet scaling, to no avail.

[Ejinn]

There's very little you can do, pets simply don't scale well past Level 60. Up to Level 60 and a bit beyond a Lore-master's pets hold aggro with their damage pretty well and contribute a meaningful amount to total damage. Up to Level 80 or so they still feel "OK" although as you play up to and a bit beyond 80 you see their ability to hold aggro and their damage contribution drop off. Once 105 or higher, they can't hold aggro at all (save the bear and only by using its taunt and resummoning it as needed to re-use the taunt) and their damage contribution is borderline meaningless. The buffs from pets for a Blue Lore-master remain good, some of the pet skills remain useful (talking about effects and not damage here), and Blue Lore-masters at that level and above can dip deeply into Red for plenty of extra damage and additional damaging skills. But the pets become cosmetic/RP and resummonable buff/debuff sources rather than the battle companions you became used to as you leveled up toward Rohan.

All that said, my main is a Lore-master and I have had him specced Blue from the beginning; he's Level 131 now. I find him great fun to play solo and he provides nice utility for small groups. For large groups he uses his second spec which is Yellow, like nearly every other Lore-master in the game in a large group or any group doing challenging content. For purely practical damage, Red is the way to go – there's just no comparison, Red does far more damage than Blue even at high levels with a lot of Red traits mixed in and survivability is only very slightly less (and doesn't matter because it's more than offset by how much more quickly enemies are defeated).

If I were in charge of this game, I'd make all summoned Lore-master pets 1 level higher than their caster; 2 levels higher if the Lore-master is Blue; +1 above that by adding that effect to the ultimate Blue bonus trait "Tutelage of the Brown Wizard". Then adjust the damage scaling of pet auto attacks and skill attacks so that most pets of a Blue Lore-master would consistently output about 20% of the total combined damage of the pair regardless of level. I'd also add a passive +100% threat generation to the bear pet regardless of the spec of the Lore-master. But these are just fantasies, I'm not sure anyone at SSG agrees that pet scaling is a problem and if they do they'll probably take a different approach to correcting it.

I'll say again that my main is a 131 Blue Lore-master and I find him a lot of fun, I'll probably play him that way forever. But the pets don't feel like proper combat compassion as they did at Level 45 and there's just no comparison to the damage output of a Red Lore-master, even one that doesn't bother summoning a pet at all.

As for the item you are looking for, you're looking for a "brooch" like this one:
https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Ite...ickpin_of_Rage
There are many different types available at most crafting tiers.

edit: One more thing...

If you don't resummon your pet so it can reuse its important skills more frequently, and if you don't make use of the right pet at the right time, then no fix to pet scaling is going to matter enough. When a pet is summoned, it appears at full morale/power and with all its skills off cooldown and ready to use (exception being the healing spirit, thanks to a relatively recent change there). You can dismiss and resummon your current pet, or one of your other pets, any time you like – and should do so whenever it makes sense. I understand that you are focusing on role-playing, and that's fine. But just like a Guardian who is role-playing a loincloth-clad cave-man type and therefore doesn't use any armor, refusing to use the right tool for the job or refusing to pull out a sharp tool when your current one dulls (i.e. resummon your pet when its skills are used and on cooldown) is going to make you much weaker than you would be otherwise.

Thank you for the response Tralfazz


Really, appreciate the information there.

Thanks for the link to the 'Brooch', had only recently heard of such, sounds like it's one of the few remaining things for me to get.

I've heard the same too about going Red for LM, that they deal the most damage and essentially have more resilience... but I'm like well that kind of removes the pet from the equation, except they can be used to draw aggro but beyond that, their just cosmetic.

It certainly is odd... that the Blue line indicates that one is going forward as a 'pet master' basically, yet the pets at high levels have low functionality. Not going to change my mind though on going Blue, love watching my pet take out a dragon... even though it's taking three times as long as it should lol.

I will check out re-summoning when it looks like things need to be reset, very good to know!

I overall agree with what you're saying about changes towards the pets, although me being so young in this class I can only see so much right now, having played only a Guardian for 4 plus years. I personally feel, like the Blue line could offer up skills that enhance the pet dramatically in their attack damage along with extra pet combat skills but at the cost of dramatically reducing the effectiveness of the LM themselves in various ways - that is, in the end you're putting out generally the same damage towards an enemy, but the pet is doing much of it rather than the LM - again along with extra pet combat skills that are executed manually, so one is not just kicking back and watching the pet wipe mobs but rather having the LM execute attacks regularly as well. But, as you said in regards to your approach to fixing things, this is also just a fantasy.

On a last note, is there any jewelry that can be made that has pet boosting stats, and/or filling slots on armor/gear with skill enhancements that affect the pet?

[Ejinn]

I fear there isn't much you can do. Pets have had scaling issues for quite a few years now. Damage is somehow OP in lower levels, about right in the middle ranges (85-100), and then drops of a cliff. There have been numerous requests towards SSG to fix pet scaling, to no avail.

Thanks Gorikon

I hear that. Maybe another thread with some posts might move things down the line more with SSG. Probably not lol.

I've got a few leads as to improving the damage a bit for the pet, thanks to people here and people in my Kin. It's a start.

[Gandolf_TheOld]

Welcome to LOTRO, and great to see another player wanting to be a Lore-master.

Just in case: LOTRO-Wiki article about the Lore-master. Don't forget to check out the See Also section of the page.

LM pets each have different abilities, uses, and purpose. The Saber tooth, is a frontal AOE against 3 opponents. With a couple of special attacks. It is really a DPS pet and not meant to be a tank. All pets require healing from time to time, and the DPS pets most frequently of all.

If you are going to run Blue, I strongly recommend the bear, it is the one pet meant to be a tank. It does not hold agro like it did years ago, but it does a good enough job, when you wait for it to build agro before you nuke the target(s).

My main is a 140 LM (first character, born June 2010) and I ran blue up to and through Minas Morgul, Since then I run Red exclusively, unless I am in a group (Red or Yellow) or raiding (Yellow) with the kin. When soloing, I run Red with my bear. When yellow, I sometimes pet dance, or keep the bear for self-protection or to pull mobs off the healer.

Playing a LM is challenging, you must learn the abilities of the many and various mobs, you must plan each encounter, managing your resources and rely on your pet. Additionally, remember for a squishy, running is a viable tactic when solo. When in a group or raid, you run TO the tank if you have mob(s) on you.

As for your power pool, 7K is ok, but continue to build till you are around 8K. What you want to get as high as you can at all times is ICPR. A ICPR of 20K is ok, but higher is better. The goal is to regenerate your entire power pool in 15 seconds, effectively giving you unlimited power.

A page of useful links for LOTRO.

[Loox]

Food increases Saber-cat damage

Inner Flame increases Saber-cat damage

Catmint increases Saber-cat damage

Broach increases Saber-cat damage

Go For the Throat increases Saber-cat damage

After Battle Treat increases Saber-cat damage

Prepare For War increases Saber-cat damage

Synchronized movement increases Saber-cat damage

Sign of the Wild increases Saber-cat damage

Pet Attack Duration tracery increases Saber-cat damage

Debuffs increases Saber-cat damage

There might be more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Hope that helps

[TobiasEstForte]

The irony of you wanting pets to be powerful, but skipping to the part of the game where they are dead weight is delicious.

[Vilan]

Welcome to loremastering! Sorry to hear you used a Valar hoping for pets that rampage across the countryside though. Our pets are mostly useless at high levels, other than in group situations where they can place debuffs on big bad guys. When playing solo, I go red and don't even bother summoning my pet. On rare occasions, the bear is handy for tanking something, but that's about it.

[Ejinn]

Welcome to LOTRO, and great to see another player wanting to be a Lore-master.

Just in case: LOTRO-Wiki article about the Lore-master. Don't forget to check out the See Also section of the page.

LM pets each have different abilities, uses, and purpose. The Saber tooth, is a frontal AOE against 3 opponents. With a couple of special attacks. It is really a DPS pet and not meant to be a tank. All pets require healing from time to time, and the DPS pets most frequently of all.

If you are going to run Blue, I strongly recommend the bear, it is the one pet meant to be a tank. It does not hold agro like it did years ago, but it does a good enough job, when you wait for it to build agro before you nuke the target(s).

My main is a 140 LM (first character, born June 2010) and I ran blue up to and through Minas Morgul, Since then I run Red exclusively, unless I am in a group (Red or Yellow) or raiding (Yellow) with the kin. When soloing, I run Red with my bear. When yellow, I sometimes pet dance, or keep the bear for self-protection or to pull mobs off the healer.

Playing a LM is challenging, you must learn the abilities of the many and various mobs, you must plan each encounter, managing your resources and rely on your pet. Additionally, remember for a squishy, running is a viable tactic when solo. When in a group or raid, you run TO the tank if you have mob(s) on you.

As for your power pool, 7K is ok, but continue to build till you are around 8K. What you want to get as high as you can at all times is ICPR. A ICPR of 20K is ok, but higher is better. The goal is to regenerate your entire power pool in 15 seconds, effectively giving you unlimited power.

A page of useful links for LOTRO.

Thank you for the response

I'm actually not new to Lotro, I probably should indicate that in the main post - have played a Guardian for over 4 years.

Thank you for the helpful information and links there

Food increases Saber-cat damage

Inner Flame increases Saber-cat damage

Catmint increases Saber-cat damage

Broach increases Saber-cat damage

Go For the Throat increases Saber-cat damage

After Battle Treat increases Saber-cat damage

Prepare For War increases Saber-cat damage

Synchronized movement increases Saber-cat damage

Sign of the Wild increases Saber-cat damage

Pet Attack Duration tracery increases Saber-cat damage

Debuffs increases Saber-cat damage

There might be more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Hope that helps

Thank you very much

I just copied and pasted the list to text doc, I will use what I have that you listed and pursue over time what I don't have. Very much appreciated!

The irony of you wanting pets to be powerful, but skipping to the part of the game where they are dead weight is delicious.

Not sure what your getting at, but yeah, I didn't know - don't see anything delicious about it for my part. Thanks for the input?

Welcome to loremastering! Sorry to hear you used a Valar hoping for pets that rampage across the countryside though. Our pets are mostly useless at high levels, other than in group situations where they can place debuffs on big bad guys. When playing solo, I go red and don't even bother summoning my pet. On rare occasions, the bear is handy for tanking something, but that's about it.

Thanks

Yeah, I wasn't expecting the pets to be overpowered, but expected they would do more than what I've seen

I do love the pet going into combat along with the awesome look of the Saber Tooth, I will likely stick with usage forever with my LM, despite the time it takes to knock down the baddies. Ah, I'll figure out a routine that works. I can appreciate the preference for a lot of LM's to not use/rely on pets during solo, along with going Red as well for that.

______________________________ ______________________________ ____________________________


Thanks everyone for the help!

[Loox]

"Thank you very much

I just copied and pasted the list to text doc, I will use what I have that you listed and pursue over time what I don't have. Very much appreciated!"


You are most welcome

[Pharone]

Well reading through this thread is very disconcerting to say the least. I just reached level 60 on my LM, and I was really enjoying the blue line with my lynx pet destroying everything.

I had no idea the pets would become worthless at later levels though. That really is sad to hear. It makes me second guess my choice of making my LM my main. I'm not sure what to think about it now.

[StinkyGreene]

I have been playing my Loremaster for 12ish years, and do not find pets useless. I run red line when alone and yellow in group settings.

I do not look for damage from pets, but their debuffs, and heavily rotate a variety of them in battle when needed.

I have been hearing about the lack of damage from pets at higher levels for years, which I cannot speak to, with my LM being level 65. But isn’t the real value of pets something other than DPS. Kind of like the real value of an LM has nothing to do with DPS.

[Gandolf_TheOld]

Well reading through this thread is very disconcerting to say the least. I just reached level 60 on my LM, and I was really enjoying the blue line with my lynx pet destroying everything.

I had no idea the pets would become worthless at later levels though. That really is sad to hear. It makes me second guess my choice of making my LM my main. I'm not sure what to think about it now.

I have been playing my Loremaster for 12ish years, and do not find pets useless. I run red line when alone and yellow in group settings.

I do not look for damage from pets, but their debuffs, and heavily rotate a variety of them in battle when needed.

I have been hearing about the lack of damage from pets at higher levels for years, which I cannot speak to, with my LM being level 65. But isn’t the real value of pets something other than DPS. Kind of like the real value of an LM has nothing to do with DPS.

---

Do not let the detractors dishearten you and sour you on your LM. LMs are viable at all levels; solo, groups, and raids. Our pets do become less melee effective as we achieve higher levels. However, they are not useless by any stretch of the imagination. Unlike most other classes, the LM must adapt their play style as they progress and for which trait they are. The damage dealing switches from the pet to the LM at high levels.

I solo Red. My attack pattern, not locked in stone, is now; send in the bear to pull 8 mobs, bring them back to me through Improved Sticky Gourd, turn the bear and grab the attention of the big boy in the group, throw Bane Flare, Ancient Craft, Lightening Strike. If anything is still alive, then, if needed, Flaming Gourd or Ring of Fire. Then if anything is left alive after the AoE Nuke fest, I turn to single mobs, with the bear keeping the others occupied as I finish the singles.

Running solo, run Blue until after Mordor. If skipping Mordor, then start running Red. When in groups, trait Yellow or Red, ask the group leader what they want. In raids, always trait Yellow unless asked to go Red. Always! Keep your pet Passive in any trait line.

What StinkyGreene said is good advice.

Learn to pet dance, it will be needed in some raids.

Yes, you should have two sets of LIs one for Red and one for Yellow.

For ideas on different builds - https://ilovefriedorc.com/traits/

Welcome to the most complex LOTRO class

[Loox]

Well reading through this thread is very disconcerting to say the least. I just reached level 60 on my LM, and I was really enjoying the blue line with my lynx pet destroying everything.

I had no idea the pets would become worthless at later levels though. That really is sad to hear. It makes me second guess my choice of making my LM my main. I'm not sure what to think about it now.

Blue line "critical coordination" skill is still broken. We've not heard about a fix to the patch that was supposed to fix it. /sigh

The tree is still playable but it's effectiveness is compromised.

[Pharone]

---

Do not let the detractors dishearten you and sour you on your LM. LMs are viable at all levels; solo, groups, and raids. Our pets do become less melee effective as we achieve higher levels. However, they are not useless by any stretch of the imagination. Unlike most other classes, the LM must adapt their play style as they progress and for which trait they are. The damage dealing switches from the pet to the LM at high levels.

I solo Red. My attack pattern, not locked in stone, is now; send in the bear to pull 8 mobs, bring them back to me through Improved Sticky Gourd, turn the bear and grab the attention of the big boy in the group, throw Bane Flare, Ancient Craft, Lightening Strike. If anything is still alive, then, if needed, Flaming Gourd or Ring of Fire. Then if anything is left alive after the AoE Nuke fest, I turn to single mobs, with the bear keeping the others occupied as I finish the singles.

Running solo, run Blue until after Mordor. If skipping Mordor, then start running Red. When in groups, trait Yellow or Red, ask the group leader what they want. In raids, always trait Yellow unless asked to go Red. Always! Keep your pet Passive in any trait line.

What StinkyGreene said is good advice.

Learn to pet dance, it will be needed in some raids.

Yes, you should have two sets of LIs one for Red and one for Yellow.

For ideas on different builds - https://ilovefriedorc.com/traits/

Welcome to the most complex LOTRO class

I am level 61 and in Mirkwood currently, so I will likely switch to my Red spec to give it a shot tonight. I started off as red, but switched to blue at a certain point because a friend of mine pointed out that the lynx on blue spec can kill everything fast on its own. It was pretty insane to see, but he is getting slower at killing as I level. I love red spec, so I have no issue going back to it.

Good advice. Thank you!

[Ejinn]

I just wanted to jump back in here and say, the Blue line LM with pet reliance has been going really well!

I will say that for me, a casual player that does not do raids, and I only do primarily easy group content and low tier delvings, it is all working well. In fact, surprisingly well, I find this same content that I was doing with my Guardian is easier, more fun, and faster.

The pet damage still isn't where I would like it to be at level 140, but after having gotten used to nearly purely relying on the pet during most engagements, that is strictly for me the Saber Tooth Cat, it is really cool how I can send her to a bunch of baddies, even manually sometimes sending her from one to the next, until there's 3 or more clustered around her, then start hitting the Aoes on them, boom! Depending on what Aoe is available due to cooldowns, the enemies go down instantly or pretty fast. And it's fun, nothing like kicking back and watching your pet dash about drawing enemies to it before unleashing a storm of attacks on the mobs around it.

I've certainly found the Lightning Storm from the Red line has been very much worth the extra points, it's the most powerful Aoe I have. I chose not to use the ability in the Blue line of your pet using their health to heal you if you get hit by a critical hit, which for me I wasn't that interested in anyhow, and it gave enough points to get Lightning Storm, along with maxxing out it's primary damage - yet did not have enough points to do the extra fire damage. It normally destroys multiple enemies on-level instantly, even in the T1 Delvings.

I also am nearing completion of getting all Gundabad crafted gear, got the Brooches, and have been stacking Tactical Mastery for maximum spell damage - currently at 167 percent increase.
Also the Crows Attack skill, forget the exact name, but it is awesome, has knocked out a tough enemy so many times.

It certainly took a few weeks to find out how to effectively use the pet during combat, but the neat thing is it's really simple stuff, and for me a lot of fun.


At least for my game play style, loving the pet usage plus Blue Line, perhaps too much lol

Thanks again everyone for the information and advice earlier.

[Pharone]

I ran red build for a while after reading this thread, and ultimately, I just wasn't feeling it. I went back to the blue tree, and I still love it at level 72. The pet doesn't do as much damage as it used to do at lower levels, but that's ok because everything dies anyway between me and him doing damage. I just tend to really like being a pet master on my LM.

The main thing I did was change my fighting habits on my LM. I actually pay attention to what I am fighting, use crowd control when necessary, and use my pet to focus on what is necessary at the time. It's not as easy-mode as it was at lower levels, but that's ok. Its a fun class to play.

[Ejinn]

I ran red build for a while after reading this thread, and ultimately, I just wasn't feeling it. I went back to the blue tree, and I still love it at level 72. The pet doesn't do as much damage as it used to do at lower levels, but that's ok because everything dies anyway between me and him doing damage. I just tend to really like being a pet master on my LM.

The main thing I did was change my fighting habits on my LM. I actually pay attention to what I am fighting, use crowd control when necessary, and use my pet to focus on what is necessary at the time. It's not as easy-mode as it was at lower levels, but that's ok. Its a fun class to play.

Nice

I hear that, I've had to adjust some too. For me, typically it's the ranged based enemies (archers usually) that might need a stun in a situation where there is a lot of enemies or there are enemies that are rushing me. Nice thing is, in a tough fight, even if I mess things up, I usually survive it. I love the heals we get.

But I run easier content in general, on-level content, but easier, so I can only speak for that type of content.

But for sure, at higher levels I feel the pets should be doing more damage, and I don't think that would wreck instances, just an increase within reason. Hasn't happened by now though, probably never will I guess.

[Meshuggenah]

Learn to pet dance

Unfortunately, this is true.

Pets have been little more than another debuff to cast at end-game for several years now. It's a pretty poor state to be in for a class that has an entire trait line designed around their companions IMO.

The pets themselves, as well as pet scaling, are long overdue for a rework. Same is true of captain summons.