VETERINARY : Does any Tamer "really" use this skill much other then for ressing pets (if even...) ?
I have noticed that, most tamers tend to heal their pets from a distance, without using the Veterinary skill which, as of now, requires the Tamer to be next to the pet.
So, in the end, this skill, other then for resurrecting a pet, stays much neglected and unused by most Tamers.
Infact, I am running into more and more Tamers who do not even have this skill on their Tamer anymore, most likely they have it on a Soulstone and "pick it up" if they need to resurrect a pet but, on a regular basis, the Veterinary skill pretty much remains parked on a Tamer's Soulstone....
And even that use, the resurrecting of a pet, is not really needed as in the game there are NPCs who can resurrect a pet for a small charge AND, also, there is available the Elixir of Rebirth which is a craftable potion that can be used to resurrect pets just doing without the Veterinary skill, outright........
To my viewing, if a skill like Veterinary largely remains unused by Tamers, this obviously hints that, as it is, there is problems with its mechanics and with the way that it works so big, that most Tamers end up deciding not to use it on a regular basis....
Yet, it is a large investment of skill points which, to my opinion, should instead provide an advantage, and a sound, really effective one, to the Tamer who decides to invest so many other skill points on their Template thus having to give up some other skill in the exchange....
Perhaps, therefore, it is then time for the Developers to then make some changes to the way that Veterinary works and, just as a mere example, either permit a Tamer to Vet a pet while staying hidden next to it ( (area spells cast by Monsters are a BIG issue here, it should be possible, when having a sufficient Veterinary skill level, to be able to get through area spells without getting revealed when healing a pet through the Veterinary skill...) and, also, to give to the Veterinary skill a "ranged" ability to heal a pet from a distance thus enabling players who invest 120.0 of their skill points into this skill to be able to make some tangible use out of it other then to merely resurrect a pet ?
Of course, the higher the Veterinary skill the harder would then become for the Tamer to be "revealed" while vetting the pet, also if Area spells were to be cast, and the farther the range it would be that the Tamer would be able to heal the pet thus justifying the investment of 120.0 skill points of Veterinary on a Tamer's template....
And to make the actual investment on a Template of Veterinary skill points more rewarding, the Developers could make it so that it would have to be "real" skill points in Veterinary that give the actual benefit of staying hidden and being able to heal a pet from a distance thus avoinding Tamers to just put Veterinary skill points on items and rewarding those Tamers who actually "spend" skill points on their Template....
Just a few ideas dropped there to start a discussion but, I think, the issue is all there, the Veterinary skill definitivelt needs some changes to make it appealing and wanted to be used by the Tamers of Ultima Online.
@Kyronix , @Bleak , would it be possible to please see Veterinary be made a skill usefull to have, and one that Tamers would actually want to spend 120.0 skill points on for their Tamers' template ?
Thank you so much !
So, in the end, this skill, other then for resurrecting a pet, stays much neglected and unused by most Tamers.
Infact, I am running into more and more Tamers who do not even have this skill on their Tamer anymore, most likely they have it on a Soulstone and "pick it up" if they need to resurrect a pet but, on a regular basis, the Veterinary skill pretty much remains parked on a Tamer's Soulstone....
And even that use, the resurrecting of a pet, is not really needed as in the game there are NPCs who can resurrect a pet for a small charge AND, also, there is available the Elixir of Rebirth which is a craftable potion that can be used to resurrect pets just doing without the Veterinary skill, outright........
To my viewing, if a skill like Veterinary largely remains unused by Tamers, this obviously hints that, as it is, there is problems with its mechanics and with the way that it works so big, that most Tamers end up deciding not to use it on a regular basis....
Yet, it is a large investment of skill points which, to my opinion, should instead provide an advantage, and a sound, really effective one, to the Tamer who decides to invest so many other skill points on their Template thus having to give up some other skill in the exchange....
Perhaps, therefore, it is then time for the Developers to then make some changes to the way that Veterinary works and, just as a mere example, either permit a Tamer to Vet a pet while staying hidden next to it ( (area spells cast by Monsters are a BIG issue here, it should be possible, when having a sufficient Veterinary skill level, to be able to get through area spells without getting revealed when healing a pet through the Veterinary skill...) and, also, to give to the Veterinary skill a "ranged" ability to heal a pet from a distance thus enabling players who invest 120.0 of their skill points into this skill to be able to make some tangible use out of it other then to merely resurrect a pet ?
Of course, the higher the Veterinary skill the harder would then become for the Tamer to be "revealed" while vetting the pet, also if Area spells were to be cast, and the farther the range it would be that the Tamer would be able to heal the pet thus justifying the investment of 120.0 skill points of Veterinary on a Tamer's template....
And to make the actual investment on a Template of Veterinary skill points more rewarding, the Developers could make it so that it would have to be "real" skill points in Veterinary that give the actual benefit of staying hidden and being able to heal a pet from a distance thus avoinding Tamers to just put Veterinary skill points on items and rewarding those Tamers who actually "spend" skill points on their Template....
Just a few ideas dropped there to start a discussion but, I think, the issue is all there, the Veterinary skill definitivelt needs some changes to make it appealing and wanted to be used by the Tamers of Ultima Online.
@Kyronix , @Bleak , would it be possible to please see Veterinary be made a skill usefull to have, and one that Tamers would actually want to spend 120.0 skill points on for their Tamers' template ?
Thank you so much !
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
It would be nice to be able to stay by the pet during area spells, but how open to abuse would such an ability be?
The Tamer would still be visible and thus open to attack BUT, they could at least make good use of the skill on which they invested so many points on rather then what it is now where hardly any Tamer uses it....
And if the abuses which you are thinking of where to be from AFK scripters, I think that a better fix would be one that actually "found" the use of a script rather then make the gameplay more miserable to regular players....
I mean, just imagine.... if scripts where to be detectable, THEN it would be possible to have Veterinary be done as hidden and possibly even set it up with higher Veterinary, perhaps even "real" skill invested into it, leave the Tamer as hidden even when hit by Area spells....
As you yourself mention, "It would be nice to be able to stay by the pet during area spells " this is something which would be greatly enjoyed and appreciated by Tamers who, in the end, want to protect their pet and its well being.... yet, because it might get abused, many Tamers are deprived by such enjoyment and more fullfilling and entertaining gameplay....
Wouldn't it then be better to find other, good ways to curb down the possible resulting abuses BUT STILL give to Tamers such an ability to stay hidden by their pet while healing it with the Veterinary skill ? And the higher their Veterinary skill the more able they would be to stay hidden and heal their pet with it ?
I am talking about the Veterinary skill which is part of Animal Taming but, in a way, something so much separated from it (as of now), that most Tamers, yourself included from what I seem to understand from your post, do well without it on their Tamers' templates....
Frankly, I see it quite an offense to Veterinary which could instead be made a really cool skill to have with the right changes to it, for Animal Taming, to relegate it to something to have "occasionally" to only resurrect a pet or have more stable slots with...
And not even that, mind you !!
The resurrecting of a pet can be done also through NPCs and the Elixir or Rebirth Potion or the Gift of Life spell from Spellweaving, and Stable slots as we know, can be also purchased from the UO Store just doing without Veterinary at all even for that matter....
So, may I ask it then, what good does Veterinary do, for the 120.0 skill points that one can bring it up to (having thus to renounce to other skill points in the exchange, ovbiously), REALLY ?
Personally, I think that this skill should be made more important to have for Animal Tamers and the only way to get this done, is by changing the way that it works now and giving more benefits to Tamers who go all the way to invest 120.0 skill points on their Tamer template....
It is good, to my opinion, if Ultima Online was to give more weight to actual, real skill points and less on items.....
Over the years I think that Ultima Online has grown into a monster of itemization, giving way too much power onto items which forces content to always put in stronger items and stronger items to keep players' interest up....... perhaps it would be good, to my viewing, if some changes where to take some power away from items and put it back onto skills....
Making the right changes to the Veterinary skill could go towards that direction of making a skill, and the investing of points into it, more valuable and a thing good to have.
That is at least how I see it.
Your overlooking advantages and essential making a complaint about the wrong mechanic.
Raw healing ability is unmatched from Vet.
Vet can be used while attacking and casting.
The skill points aren't as much of an insurmountable investment as you perceive it. With vet you gain an incredible heal ability for follower, increased stable counts, ability to res pets rapidly, and attacking/casting time/mana that could have been otherwise spent in better ways.
Looks like you instead have issues dealing with the games aggression mechanics if you 'need vet to have range or use while hidden.
Vets fine and a great bargain, you small sample size doesn't use it because either they cant fathom its uses or just rely on others to have it.
Dumb question time and now we wait for the NERF GUN
just shut up and lock this thread. Totally NOT needed
About your town vet that rez for a so called "nominal" HELLO!?!?! The price is different depending on the pet. My miner rezzed his beetle for 200 gp. I had switched Vet for Fishing and ran into a UO type "Charlene Foxtrot" on the sea that killed me and my Cu. *hangs head in shame* So after using Help/Stuck, getting me rezzed; I then took Cu to Vet to rez. 10,000 gp to rez!?!?! That can add up reeeeally fast!
Popps in gaming - much like life- Evolve or DIE. It's up to you.
They should make the pet res potions work. They are like the stable. It says try again later. Have to craft them from Medusa blood.
I didn't read any of what the OP wrote. Too many words.
I read some now. I see Popps has never used the elixer or he would have complained about how it does not always work on the first few tries.
Theory may be fine, but the raw reality is what in truth matters and that is, that in Ultima Online, as I seem to have noticed, "as Veterinary is and works now ", gets many UO Tamers to prefer to do without it, and go other ways instead....
Which it ends up, as a result, that Veterinary is NOT used much if at all, thus hinting that it needs some changes to make it appealing again and be used by Tamers, me thinks.....
Not sure what tamers you talk to.
The point is not about "evolving or dieing", to my viewing, the points is about having game mechanics that players find appealing to use and to WANT to use.
If the Veterinary skill is NOT used much by Tamers, if at all it is (to me it is NOT used if a tamer only has it for extra stable slots not to have to purchase them from the UO Store....), then to my opinion this skill has FAILED to deliver to Tamers in the game....
The mechanics and abilities that a skill provide should be such that a player would WANT to use and have that skill....
Too many Tamers just go by without Veterinary using Magery, or Spellweaving or NPCs or Potions to res or other ways to compensate for the lack of having/using Veterinary and even forget that this skill exists....
When a Tamer can live by without touching a skill like Veterinary which should be much needed to keep one's own pet alive and good is, to my opinion, flat out wrong.
Whether players are then afraid that the Developers might consider doing something to it and thus, in the process, change the way that they currently play Taming in UO, is an entire other story which, as I see it, has nothing to do with the fact that the current mechanics and abilities that Veterinary provides are so useless or insufficient that Tamers in UO, for the most part, decide to do without it.
I am just noting a fact, saying it loud, and thus inviting the Developers to do something about it by changing the way that Veterinary works and the abilities it can provide to a Tamer so that ONCE AGAIN Tamers in Ultima Online would be willing to actually use and enjoy Veterinary and invest 120.0 points into it for their Tamer's Template.
Many can't think for themselves and copy paste min maxed templates from forums and guild mates.
My opinion is that it's not broken and does not need fixing.
WRONG. according to UO.COM :
- add one slot for each skill at 100 skill (ie 100 tame /100 lore /100 vet = 8, 10, 12 slots)
- add one slot for each skill at 110 skill (ie 110 tame /110 lore /110 vet = 11, 13, 15 slots)
- add one slot for each skill at 120 skill (ie 120 tame /120 lore /120 vet = 14, 16, 18 slots)
- The Animal Taming Mastery, ‘Boarding’, also adds stable slots for master tamers and above while the mastery is active up to a final total at 120 taming of 21.
- A stable slot increase token is available from Ultima Store at a cost of 500 sovereigns, this increases stable capacity by 3 slots. Up to 7 such tokens may be applied to any one character, taking the maximum possible total from all sources to 42.
So without Vet you lose three slots. Therefore your Maximum stable capacity is capped at 39!So even if you buy 7 tokens at 3 slots each you STILL LOSE THREE SLOTS!
Broadsword, instead, can actually "see" a wide range of statistics regarding what goes on in UO, I would imagine and, thus, also see how many Templates having Animal Taming on, ALSO have Veterinary on that template....
Mind you, NOT on a Soulstone in their bank or in a container or locked in their UO Home but on their actual Template, sitting by their Animal Taming and Animal Lore as only this would mean and show that it is actively used (Veterinary, that is), when playing that Tamer's Template....
If players who play a Tamer actually have Animal Taming, Animal Lore AND Veterinary on that Template, and not sitting on a Soulstone, THEN only this would indicate, to my viewing, that these Tamers actively use on a regular basis Veterinary for their Taming gameplay.
If @Bleak and @Kyronix were to kindly do this double checking, and kindly let us know, we could know for sure, as a fact, whether indeed, Veterinary is much unused by UO Tamers and thus in need of changes to its mechanics and of the abilities it provides, or whether my perception is wrong and thus there is not an issue with the Veterinary skill as it is and works....
Other skills bring more bang for the buck as compared to Veterinary for a Tamer....
And this, to my opinion, is dead wrong and should not be.
Sure, Ultima Online is a sandbox and players can mix up whatever they want YET, skills associated to a given type of template and gameplay should by all means provide the BEST bang for the buck for that type of gameplay....
This is something which in Ultima Online we have started to see with Masteries and, honestly, I hope to see MORE OF IT.
A Tamer should be, to my opinion, WAY MORE effective in their Taming Hunting when they use all 3 Taming skills (360 skill points invested) rather then using hybrid combinations of 1 and a half Taming skills and other stuff totally unrelated to it....
My argument is, that what is missing here is a BONUS to give to those Tamers willing to play all 3 Taming skills, full throttle 120.0 x 3 skill points invested, rather then stoning Veterinary on a Soulstone and using instead other skills in its place....
If kindly @Kyronix or @Bleak were to please do this check, and see how many Templates having ON (not on a soulstone) Animal Taming and Animal Lore DO HAVE also Veterinary on that Tamer's Template, as compared to the overall number of Templates having Animal Taming and Lore ON but NOT Veterinary (skills on Soulstones would not indicate a regular playing of that Template and, thus, should not count for this survey, for that matter), then we would know for sure if my perception is actually a fact and there does is an issue with Veterinary not being played by UO Tamers as it currently plays out in Ultima Online and what advantages it provides, or where I am wrong in my perception.
Unless this was too much work to check, I would say that it would be worth checking for the better enjoyment of the Ultima Online players' experience.
And this, especially considering how popular the Tamer Template is among UO players.... issues regarding Taming should, therefore, be closely watched and dealt with by Broadsword as they address the grandest majority of Ultima Online players, don't they ?
I hope that someone among the Developers might find the time to check and kindly let us know whether Tamers in Ultima Online ACTIVELY use Veterinary on their Template or not, and only have it on their Soulstone for the most part and use it sporadically, for resurrecting pets, Taming slots or else as the need arieses....
My point is, that the gameplay advantages which Veterinary currently gives when used on a Template, are NOT comparable to other skills.
Furthermore, the Stable slots advantages can be still enjoyed even without actively using Veterinary but only taking it off and on of a Soulstone as the Stables are accessed and most Tamers use instead for regular gameplay, skills OTHER then Veterinary because they provide a bigger advantage then Veterinary does, as it currently is and works.
To my viewing this is not right.
Veterinary mechanics and abilities that it provides, should be to my viewing such that Ultima Online Tamers would actually WANT to have this skill on their Template ALL THE TIME and use it, ACTIVELY, when out for Taming hunting and NOT take Veterinary on and off of a Soulstone when needing to resurrect a pet or to Stable another....
A tamer using both vet and magery has the best ability to heal their pet quickly.
Its working. Its fine.
The same thing goes for the healing skill. Many fighters find other ways to heal - we don't need to change/remove the healing skill just because people have found other ways to heal. It still works - its still a viable option. People choose not to use it.
And infact, many Tamers apparently, at least to my perception, seem to prefer to do without it and use other ways to keep their pet healed, cured or resurrected.
As I said, to verify whether this is, or not is, an issue (i.e. whether Ultima Online Tamers do have Veterinary loaded as a skill on their Template along with Animal Taming and Animal Lore on a stable, regular, permanent basis), all it would require is for a Developer to check all currently existing Templates having Animal Taming and Animal Lore on them (not on a soulstone somewhere), and see whether, alongside with these 2 Taming skills there ALSO is the Veterinary skill loaded on that Template, which it would hint, to my viewing, to a regular, systematic, stable use of the Veterinary skill and compare this to how many Templates in Ultima Online have only Animal Taming and Animal Lore on them with Veterinary NOT being on that same one Template, loaded as a skill, but sitting on a Soulstone somewhere.
If a too low percentage of Templates currently existing in Ultima Online and having the Animal Taming and Animal Lore skills loaded on them (not on Soulstones) were to be found having ALSO Veterinary loaded on that Template at the same, concurrant time, well, this would show, at least to me, that there indeed are therefore issues with Veterinary as it is, works and plays out.... issues bigger, as lower the percentage of UO Tamers NOT using this skill actively and on a permanent basis, will be found to exist.
If too few Tamers use the Veterinary skill on a regular basis and thus have it stable present on their Tamer alongside with Animal Taming and Animal Lore well, then how cannot we conclude that there indeed are issues with Veterinary as it is, plays out and works ?
If UO tamers are reluctant and do not want to use it regularly, then perhaps, "just perhaps", there do might be serious issues with it, the way it works and what minimal and few benefits it might give for the investment of 120.0 skill points it involves ?
Let's only hope that, someone among the Developers will be able to find some time to double check this and let us know....
I think that, considering how popular the Taming gameplay is among UO players, it would be worth to find out whether or not the Veterinary skill as it is, has or not serious issues as my perception is.
I strongly doubt that the devs have an exact number for characters that have a taming template, why would they? Why would they spend time away from their scheduled tasks to look into it even if they did? It's a non issue and they're busy.
As usual you want to change UO because you find something difficult or inconvenient. You don't know the res potions don't always work and you don't know that vet at 120 gives you a stable slot.
But you want to the devs to change how vet works so you can stand 4 tiles away or be hidden while vetting your pet...
You also have to stand near someone to use healing on them. Where is the nerf cry for that?
For example, last Year when Treasure Hunting revamp was in the works, I seem to recall that a Developer mentioned that players were sitting on a large number of Treasure Maps stocked up...
So, I am assuming, that one of the abilities that the Devs might have at hand is to be able to check how many templates have on them what skills, how many accounts normally log into UO and so forth...
Basically, I imagine, that a Dev perhaps could be able to use such a tool by putting in a key word search for the skill "Animal Taming" on Templates and whether that same Template also has Veterinary or not.
The outcome from this search might, perhaps, come out with, say, only 10% or the Templates having Animal Taming and Animal Lore as "also" having Veterinary....
Which it would show to us, that out of 10 Tamers in UO only 1 was to use Veterinary on a regular basis for their Taming gameplay and consequentially showing to us that there indeed might be issues with Veterinary as it is if 9 Tamers out of 10 in Ultima Online choose not to use this skill on their Template...
Something of this likes....
Now if the Devs want to look at anything taming...Bonded Pets should NEVER go wild. If loyalty is that low, they should just stand there and not listen, not move and not fight until fed. Now that is a taming topic I could get behind. (See Popps, one paragraph to make my point)