Mediocre Hireling or Really Cool Pet?

[CombatMedic]

I played around with the hirelings last night and today (Contract was still in my inventory this morning and it still worked, go figure). Hirelings are not very good at independent thought. They don’t problem solve. They walk slower than a 1st level dwarven cleric in platemail. They can’t cross water. Ladders and cliffs stop them cold. They don’t use all the really cool spells an actual player uses. The clerics don’t heal very well on the active setting. They engage in melee, drink a potion and right before they are killed possibly cast a heal spell. They play like my seven year old son, without a plan and with no thought of self preservation. My overall opinion of the hirelings is that they are absolutely awesome, the coolest update since the first level cap increase.

My arcane caster just got a 16th level Warforged Barbarian pet for the low cost of 37,000 Gp. I will never memorize a summoning spell again. Kern-Killer of All doesn’t have spell duration (An hour, or once in a quest, until you leave.). He attacks on my command. I can heal him. I can buff him. I can raise him from the dead. I can leave him in standby mode anywhere I want and once I need him, one click and he is by my side. He can spring the trap. He can draw aggro and then train mobs into a kill zone. I don’t have to pay to repair him. He doesn’t run his mouth over voice chat. He doesn’t care if you go afk and most importantly, he doesn’t cost any spell points. In retrospect, maybe I will memorize a summoning spell, every boy needs a dog and maybe Kern would like a Hell Hound or a Bezikira. Either way we can name him Ole’Heller.

[Goldeneye]

Hirelings are both funny and frustrating at some points - but I see a lot of fun ahead. Playing with them and finding ways to use them more effectively then picking up some pug 8 year old. You are right - they make absolutely fabulous pets!

[akla_thornfist]

they are alot of fun but i took the lev 4 fighter cant remember his name into tangleroot last night and he wouldnt heal himself he couldnt fight his way out of a paper bag, he would not use the shrine after he said ok i do it. i finally just carried his stone to the last part got him to use the raise shrine then let him die in the spinning traps and left him there.

It was alot of fun but the fun wore off after awile i think he had 3 kills total for the whole tangleroot run

[Beherit_Baphomar]

they are alot of fun but i took the lev 4 fighter cant remember his name into tangleroot last night and he wouldnt heal himself he couldnt fight his way out of a paper bag, he would not use the shrine after he said ok i do it. i finally just carried his stone to the last part got him to use the raise shrine then let him die in the spinning traps and left him there.

It was alot of fun but the fun wore off after awile i think he had 3 kills total for the whole tangleroot run

Obviously yer just bitter he beat yer killcount by two Akla...

[akla_thornfist]

Obviously yer just bitter he beat yer killcount by two Akla...

no he didnt i had 4 kills

[Gaermain]

I played around with the hirelings last night and today (Contract was still in my inventory this morning and it still worked, go figure). Hirelings are not very good at independent thought. They don’t problem solve. They walk slower than a 1st level dwarven cleric in platemail. They can’t cross water. Ladders and cliffs stop them cold. They don’t use all the really cool spells an actual player uses. The clerics don’t heal very well on the active setting. They engage in melee, drink a potion and right before they are killed possibly cast a heal spell. They play like my seven year old son, without a plan and with no thought of self preservation. My overall opinion of the hirelings is that they are absolutely awesome, the coolest update since the first level cap increase.

My arcane caster just got a 16th level Warforged Barbarian pet for the low cost of 37,000 Gp. I will never memorize a summoning spell again. Kern-Killer of All doesn’t have spell duration (An hour, or once in a quest, until you leave.). He attacks on my command. I can heal him. I can buff him. I can raise him from the dead. I can leave him in standby mode anywhere I want and once I need him, one click and he is by my side. He can spring the trap. He can draw aggro and then train mobs into a kill zone. I don’t have to pay to repair him. He doesn’t run his mouth over voice chat. He doesn’t care if you go afk and most importantly, he doesn’t cost any spell points. In retrospect, maybe I will memorize a summoning spell, every boy needs a dog and maybe Kern would like a Hell Hound or a Bezikira. Either way we can name him Ole’Heller.

I ended up using the same tact you did with the hireling and an arcane caster, but initially debated which I wanted to try first: cleric or melee.

With a cleric hireling, it seems the expectation is to stand where they are told, doing nothing except spam cures/heals, buff, and DV on demand. I would not do this playing my cleric, I would never expect anyone else playing a cleric to do this - I surely didn't expect a cleric hireling to do this (and I'm happy to read they don't)...so I opted for something to compliment my playstyle rather than impede it.

I grabbed a level 8 THF 'forged fighter and took him into Gwaylen's with my 7/2 wiz/rog. I buffed him up and turned him loose. Good grief, he was awesomely fun! I left him on active the entire time. Initially I wand whipped him, to see how many hp he had to determine when/if I would have to repair him. He didn't run off except to chase down something that was feared. Which, was hysterically fun in itself. He killed quickly and efficiently. He left fights that involved charmed stuff alone. He didn't spring a trap unless I made him do it, as he would not run ahead of me without me going first. I would draw his attention to mobs, then let him pull, laying down CC for him. He stayed in the CC it to fight, instead of moving away from it. In the cave with the named mino he took minimal damage except from the searing light spamming priests. I was eating pizza, sitting back watching my minion do my dirty work and he almost got seared to death. But, as my had was reaching to whip him with a repair he backed out of combat for a moment and quaffed a pot, then went right back to work. He never whined for buffs or haste. When the chips were down and he was knee deep in mobs, getting hurt, he never trained the mobs back on me or in my direction.

He was cheap (both in plat and resources) and awesomely effective in the role he played. I can't wait to try out a higher level melee with a higher level arcane.

[CombatMedic]

I grabbed a level 8 THF 'forged fighter and took him into Gwaylen's with my 7/2 wiz/rog. I buffed him up and turned him loose. Good grief, he was awesomely fun! I left him on active the entire time. Initially I wand whipped him, to see how many hp he had to determine when/if I would have to repair him. He didn't run off except to chase down something that was feared. Which, was hysterically fun in itself. He killed quickly and efficiently. He left fights that involved charmed stuff alone. He didn't spring a trap unless I made him do it, as he would not run ahead of me without me going first. I would draw his attention to mobs, then let him pull, laying down CC for him. He stayed in the CC it to fight, instead of moving away from it. In the cave with the named mino he took minimal damage except from the searing light spamming priests. I was eating pizza, sitting back watching my minion do my dirty work and he almost got seared to death. But, as my had was reaching to whip him with a repair he backed out of combat for a moment and quaffed a pot, then went right back to work. He never whined for buffs or haste. When the chips were down and he was knee deep in mobs, getting hurt, he never trained the mobs back on me or in my direction.

He was cheap (both in plat and resources) and awesomely effective in the role he played. I can't wait to try out a higher level melee with a higher level arcane.

I can't wait to test out Kern tommorow. Everyone was thinking hirelings might replace the need for a cleric. I think hireling clerics have their place (Walking rez shrine anyone? "You stay here out of trouble, we are going to fight in the next room, one of us dies we will run back and you can raise us".) What it really does is make it so that arcanes are much better at solo play. I wonder how many HP the level 16 raged barb wf has? Attacks? Need a reconstrution, here you go. Hasted and displaced, sure! Polish your shoes sir?

[Gaermain]

I can't wait to test out Kern tommorow. Everyone was thinking hirelings might replace the need for a cleric. I think hireling clerics have their place (Walking rez shrine anyone? "You stay here out of trouble, we are going to fight in the next room, one of us dies we will run back and you can raise us".) What it really does is make it so that arcanes are much better at solo play. I wonder how many HP the level 16 raged barb wf has? Attacks? Need a reconstrution, here you go. Hasted and displaced, sure! Polish your shoes sir?

I think, perhaps, people were hoping that hirelings would replace the need for a cleric, lol. The walking rez shrine has it's uses, but you hit the nail on the head for arcane solo play...you get a better bang for your buck with a 'forged meat shield than you can with a portable rez shrine that may have a DV or two. Too bad you can only have one at a time...

[Strakeln]

My barbarian loved having a shrine he could have teleported to him... almost as much as he enjoyed having a hastebot with disco ball and wall of fire. Doing things like flagging for DQ alone will be much cheaper, faster, and more fun now.

My rogue liked having a fighter to draw agro, intimidate was a nice touch but his skill seemed a bit low. The best part was when something pulled a lucky crit on me and left me incapped. The fighter took out the NPC then used a heal kit on me, successfully!

...guess we know why his intimidate score was low...

[EMDEN]

For my experiences.... I tried a Cleric, was cool... nice augmentation for healing. My guild mates had tanks, they seemed cool too, but I really enjoyed trying my Sorc Hireling pared with my Mage. Now, that was a blast.

Here is the story.... My mage and a guild mage went into the Volcano new area, just to play with our hirelings. He had a cleric and I had my new Sorc (the one with a funny laugh). We walked up to the bats and my sorc freaked out.... talk about spell casting. He went crazy with his DPS spells (as a soc should of course). It shocked us completly. The number and variety of spells he used. (dancing ball, fire ball, hold, polar ray, FOD to name a few). He was a spell casting machine. Great job on the Sorcs, but... fireball on fire knolls? hehe everyone has flaws....

Overall I enjoy the hirelings, great to play with, but only one hour??? I really wish it was longer, esp at the price of a 16 lvl hireling. How about an hour after summoned not after you buy him/her?

[DoctorWhofan]

Well, I see that player clerics are not going to lose their jobs anytime soon.