same prob any help would be vary nice

LOL I have a 65 BL and a 65 ranger, without the pet the BL is way inferior to the DPS my Ranger can do, and the BL takes a hit worse. I really like playing the BL but to assume that the pet is NOT 65% of the duo is foolish, and the UBER DPS of the BL INCLUDES the PET, without the pet the DPS falls dramatically, not that it can't work mind you or that the BL is totally dependent on the pet, but ti is the bigger of the halves, and ALWAYS WILL BE.

The pet is just for farming, i think it should be like that, but some spells dramatically enhancing other pets (in for of groubuff) would be most convenient along with some other more obvious beneficial spells and/or debuffs. A firegiant is will be 70pct more vunerable to firespells doesn't sound as good as being slowed. but a spell disempowering a mob and make it truly hit for 50 pct of it's usual damage makes much more impact. Also influencing either the frequency of meleeabilities or the duration of those abilities should be very welcome. If i want to play with pets, i'll ply with my bl or mage (or start a necro), the druid was never really pet dependendant nor should it become one. Not that i never use pets. Giant anaconda's in jaggedpine are great to make fast faction adjustments vs poachers for instance or taking that rat in blackburrow to slay some gnolls fast. charming ravens in PoN is also great (and lethal) And sometimes a pet would be great as additional tank but i think we druids are adequately equipped without any high lvl summoned pet.

But to lvl out a bit with other classes for lowlvl farming of silks etc. etc. Our lvl 35 pet is adequate for that purpose.

Oh yes, beastlords are such bad tanks. It is ALOT worse for a beastlord to get hit than the caster crew. Enchanters take hits just oh so well, not to mention wizards who wear full plate.

the "Porcupine" effect had to do with archery and collision, if the mob you are shooting is near a wall or other object, arrows would appear to get stuck in the wall or object just in front of the mob(whether the object was obstructing the shot or not) so after a few rounds of archery the mob would be not much more than a lot of arrows with legs(though the arrows dissapear as the mob moves away from them so it isnt really as dramatic as I make it)

I have a 65 mage and have a necro I have been working up as well, and I have to say that comparing necros and mages isn't really valid. The only thing that binds the two classes together is the fact that they both summon pets, besides that, they are worlds apart. There have been alot of changes to the role of the mage, I remember back when mages were excellent soloers. Of course in kunark/velious era and really luclin too, most mobs that you would attempt to solo as a mage didn't hit very hard (compared to the average exp mob these days), and the mage pet was capable of standing up to most regular exp mobs. Now mages can still solo pretty effectively, you just have to pick the right targets and/or use some strategy and tricky tactics. Mage pets simply are not made to stand up to mobs that hit for 700+, and seeing as the mage is not given any sort of utility spells useful for soloing most PoP/elemental/GoD and such mobs , mages have very limited choices in soloing that will be worth the time investment. The easiest and most efficient means of soloing for most classes is kiting. The only exception to this really being enchanters using charm to solo and shamen/beastlords using the all mighty slow to get the dirty work done. Real kiting relies on a snare spell...and there is the point. Of course necros can solo far better than a mage, pretty much anything that they can snare that does not summon is as good as dead. And not only that, dead with a small amount of mana expenditure and a good amount of mana regen while the pet and dots work. Mages can aggro kite unsnared mobs, which is, of course, not the best use of your time and certainly not foolproof. Mages also have the option of using the earth pet to root kite, which is also an annoying and somewhat dangerous proposition. Mages can also use Call of the Arch Mage to solo, but that too is tricky (and very situational), and I think best for duoing unless you have your strat down pat and/or are very well geared. There are a few other options in ways to solo, mostly involving pretty much straightforward healing/nuking and hoping mob dies before pet and/or you. That is the design of the class, the only real defense a magician has is a pet. While the mage might not be the best soloer, it is challenging and fun to solo them. But in all reality the role of the mage now is pretty much as a part of a group. The identity of the mage now is that of a pure dps class, with some utility with the malos line and pet gear summons, etc. I am well aware that bards, necros, enchanters, beasts, wizards, druids, rangers and even some shadowknights are capable of soloing more big game with greater ease than my mage, and I don't really care. The way I look at it, I had more than enough soloing on my mage back in the old days when magicians weren't the most group friendly class.
Now just a few more things before I get too longwinded and type an essay. AracanaImperial referred to the necro as a solo class...I am not really sure that you can refer to anything as a solo class anymore. Sure, some classes can solo elemental and such and make great AA (the thing about wizards not being able to mana burn raid mobs, and therefore necros should be nerfed...I have no sympathy for wizards after having to watch them quad fire mobs, lol) but I think in the current state of the game soloing for most people is something to be done for farming and to take care of the boredom of lfging during slow times or when friends/guildies not on.

Leave it to sony to have the theroy "If you stubbed your toe, to fix the pain, hit your other toe with a hammer.... but not Copper Hammer of Striking, we nerfed that"

hit alt-O and go to keyboard tab and then to target tab, you'll see them there, you can assign a key and check it out, i find it way usefull, it automatically cycles through all nearby npc's/pc's