Druid charming

[Tewaz]

I am a level 20 druid currently trying to charm in EK and SK. So far I am charming a gorge hound or griffawn and attacking another. Rooting the non-charm. Breaking charm when pet gets low through invs vs animals, then DDing both down.

I have found this isn't too fast and I am usually out of mana by the time this is over with resists, charm breaks, etc. I have also found it is best to move both mobs away from spawning/wandering area since there are a ton of possible adds.

I only have a +2 Wisdom item, so my mana pool is pretty small. Any tips and tricks you have are welcome.

[Estu]

You don't need mana pool for charming. Here's what I found works great:

1) Find an animal that's as low dark blue con as possible without being light blue. This is your first mistake, I think - gorge hounds and griffawns are pretty close to your level IIRC. Level difference is the single most important factor in whether your charm will break early. If you're not sure what level a monster is, you can check out the Wiki - the entries tend to be pretty accurate. Another indicator is whether you see other monsters of the same kind that are light blue (in which case you're dealing with a low dark blue) or even con (in which case you're dealing with a high dark blue). Anyway, charm the animal.

2) Find any other monster. This one can be a high dark blue, an even con, or even a yellow. Snare it. Snare is good because it will never break early and it's cheap mana-wise. It also lets you manage aggro between the two monsters, making you in some ways better at charming than an enchanter.

3) Manage aggro between your pet and the monster so that they both reach low HP at the same time. Flame lick is a good spell for this, as is resnaring. Both are very cheap mana-wise. Since the monster you charmed is lower level than your target monster, you shouldn't need to worry about the target monster getting low HP first; the only thing you need to do is to get aggro on the target monster when your pet is getting lower HP than it. Get in med ticks when you can, while kiting when you need your pet to not take damage.

4) Break charm with hide or invis to animals, kill both monsters with a low-level DoT (if you did it right, they'll be low HP enough that you don't need to spend extra mana on your most recent DoT, and you should never nuke since nukes are less efficient). You should end up with around 75% or 80% mana at least, i.e. in good shape to take on another two monsters very soon. To boot, you've just killed a low dark blue and a higher level monster for mad EXP.

[Tewaz]

Thanks Estu!

[justin2090]

Estu explained it better than I can but this is what I did.

I snared both my pet and the mob it was attacking. Just run small circles around both until pet gets aggro. Let the mob beat your pet down to 10-15% then animal fear the mob until its at 10-15% (may have to fear more than once). Then recall pet and break charm via hide.

They will try to run away but since they're snared they wont move. Just dot both and med. You shouldn't have any mana problems this way and may not even have to med in between pulls.

Also if you charm 2 of the same mob, such as 2 tigers in LOIO, they will not try to run when you break charm and both are low health. What you have to do is recall the pet far away from the mob before you break charm. Then when you break charm they will try run if they're not near one another. Just dot both and make sure your in range of xp.

I was able to kill 1 blue (rhino) and 1 red mob (sabertooth) at a time in OT using this strat so I know it works. At one point I was getting nearly 1/2 yellow for 2 mobs. If you can land a snare on a red, it can be killed with a blue con pet.

[Nysus]

Try swarming instead of DD'ing also.

[Tewaz]

Okay, I started charming a blue/lb level mob, pulling a dark blue with snare, then I dot that mob. Once it starts fighting my pet, I med. Root enemy, then break charm, root pet. Dot both. Profit! Usually leaves me at about 40%

[Estu]

Originally Posted by Tewaz [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Okay, I started charming a blue/lb level mob, pulling a dark blue with snare, then I dot that mob. Once it starts fighting my pet, I med. Root enemy, then break charm, root pet. Dot both. Profit! Usually leaves me at about 40%

Still using a lot more mana than you need to IMO. Don't bother dotting the mob unless it's flame lick for holding aggro; not worth spending mana to do damage when your pet can do free damage. Don't ever need to root if you get monsters to low HP so they're both fleeing (unless they're both the same kind of monster, but it's good to avoid that for this reason). But go with what works for you.

[Tewaz]

I only do the dot if I have an undercon fighting a higher level. Helps them both hit critical hp at the same time.

EK is good and I have hit 21 here. I am thinking about going to LOIO so I can try the aggro kiting of reds and yellows for uber exp.