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Request for Explanation of Epic Abilities

AuthorMessage
Lieutenant
May 29, 2009
124
Dear Ratbeard,

I am the Senior Editor for Petnome Project and our new sister site, Petnome Pirates. Petnome Pirates is still new and
we have been working dilligently to provide as much pet information as we can with all the accuracy that we have
knowledge of. There are just a few things that we DON'T "know" and was hoping that perhaps you could help us out.

We are trying to determine what stat boosts (Agility, Strength, or Spirited (Will)) increases the chance or affects a
pet's Epic Ability. For example: Armadillo Verde has two Epics, Riposte & Relentless, but when using the Juju spells
the Armadillo gets an increase in Strength. From our understanding, this Strength boost only increases the damage of
this pet's natural attacks. But what stat boosts his Relentless or Riposte?

My own personal theory is similarily based on our Companions who also have these Riposte & Relentless Epics: El Toro, Kan Po, Kobe Yojimbo, & Ridolfo Capoferro (Swashbucklers who can get Agility & Strength increases on their talents) and Catbeard, Wing Chun, Handsome Dan (Privateers who get Strength & Spirited (Will) )

My own impression is that the Agility is standard stat boosts for Swashbucklers while (most) Privateers use Spirited for their own natural attacks. Since both of these groups share Strength as a common "secondary" talent I am presuming that this is what boosts their Epics.

On the other hand, I can see Relentless as being boosted by Strength (because of the power) while Riposte is boosted by Agility (because of the dodge that is involved) but this is where I get confused with the Spirited (Will) that those above Privateer companions have as well as the Ebon Spectre (whose stats are boosted by Will).

Can you please shed some light on this for us? We sure would appreciate it immensely.

If possible could you (if it's not considered a spoiler) let us know what stat boosts the following Epics:

Blade Storm-
Burst Fire-
Cheap Shot-
Counterspell-
Coward's Bane-
Crossfire-
Double Tap-
First Strike-
Flanking-
Hold the Line-
Improved Mojo Blast-
Jobu's Ruse-
Mojo Echo-
Mojo Rising-
Overwatch-Parting Shot-
Quick Adjust-Readied Spell-
Relentless-
Repel Boarders
Return Fire-
Riposte-
Second Chance-
Slippery Talent-
Stock Assault-
True Grit-
Vengeance Strike-
Witch Hunter-

I realize that the majority of these (with the exception of the mysterious Slippery Talent) belong mostly to Companions. But since our site is preparing for the possible chance of Evolution or Advance Pets we would like to think that one day we will have pets who will also somehow use these Epics, too.

Also I understand that there may be a chance you can't let us know outright what stats boost/affect the Pet's Epic abilities, but maybe you could "point" us in the right direction so that we can discover these for ourselves.

Thank you most sincerely for you time in reading this and hopefully in responding as well.

SorceressMiklai
The Petnome Pirates Team

Developer
First of all, I want to say thank you for your hard work on the Petnome sites. Seeing players engaged in the "meta game" of maintaining wikis and strategy guides really makes my day.

Now to (maybe?) answer your question:

Using the Juju line of spells is a great way to winkle out the details of what pets and companions are doing "under the hood."

If you cast Juju and the spell boosts (STR-AGI-WILL) then you know that the unit is using (STR-AGI-WILL) for its "Primary Stat."

It is possible, but it is very unusual, for a talent to use something other than your Primary Stat to resolve effects.

So, a BUC with Relentless is probably comparing STR against its opponent, but a SWB is probably comparing AGI, and a PRV is probably comparing WILL.

1) There are exceptions.

2) Those exceptions are more likely to be found on powers than on talents. Powers are much more likely to belong to a particular class. So, for example, I may hard-wire a SWB power to look explicitly at AGI when resolving its effects, because I want Swashbucklers to be "the best" at resolving that power. Similarly, most heals will look at WILL, because I want Privateers to get the most benefit out of that power.

3) Generally speaking, a talent that is shared by lots of different units will NOT be set up to circumvent the "Primary Stat." Because I want talents to work well no matter who picks them up, I don't hard-wire any particular stat. So even though (for example) First Strike is usually found on Swashbucklers, it is *also* available to a whole lot of Buccaneers and Privateers.

Developer
I also want to briefly mention the "meta game" and why I may or may not share all of the details with the community.

I am always available to explain why certain things work the way they do, particularly when, barring my intervention, there is NO WAY that you will ever be able to figure it out on your own.

However, there are times when I will probably disappoint you by not providing all of the details.

1) I may want you to work to figure it out on your own. For many folks, this is a fun and engaging activity in and of itself.

2) I may want to preserve a bit of an edge for those players who DO figure it out on their own-- or those folks who are at least engaged enough in the game to seek out a site like the Petnome Project, Central, or the Duellists, to elevate their own game experience.

3) And sometimes, quite honestly, the mechanics may be so complex there's no good way to explain the tiny details-- so broad strokes are actually more useful to convey the necessary concepts. So, for example, it suffices to say that if your Primary Stat exceeds your target's Primary Stat, Relentless is more likely to go off-- but do not expect me to provide the exact mathematic ratio that governs that mechanic. This falls into the category of something that you'll never figure out on your own (it's too complex!) but which, at the end of the day, you don't really need to know "How much more STR for +1%?" (It doesn't exactly work like that, by the way.)

I am always happy to come here and answer questions-- it's the best part of my day! But I'm not going to do the actual work of filling out all the data you may need for a site like the Petnome Project.

I do promise to make sure that you have enough of the details that you can start to piece together the puzzle for yourselves.

Ensign
Jul 26, 2009
35
Thank you Ratbeard for the reply!

I figured you wouldn't be able to tell all and I am kinda glad you didn't. This makes finding out about pets so much more fun! we had figured out while back that we can find pet's primary stat by using the Juju line of powers. As for the pets using their primary stat for Epics I always had a theory that was it but you just confirmed what I had already thought. Just to clarify once more if I have let's say an Ebon Spectre pet who has the Relentless Epic power it will be using it's Will to attack and to possible activate Relentless, correct?

Thank you for all you do and for the clarification!

Brave Sam Laveer
Petnome Project/Petnome Pirates Team Leader

Developer