animal-tamer

Latest

  • The Daily Grind: What's your favorite MMO pet class?

    by 
    Bree Royce
    Bree Royce
    01.02.2012

    If you started playing MMOs at the beginning of the genre, you may be saddled with a prejudice against pet classes. In early Ultima Online, an Animal Tamer's pets, usually dragons, had a way of getting their master into notoriety trouble. In EverQuest, if ever a pull went awry, blame was placed on the Necromancers and Magicians, deserved or not -- obviously, those classes just had poor pet control. Even City of Heroes' Masterminds, implemented only in 2005, have a bad reputation for reckless behavior (not to mention for blocking party members' movement). Pet AI has come a very long way over the last decade and a half, though, and pet classes continue to be popular, perhaps because they allow players to micromanage a group without actually having to be in one. And some games, like Star Wars: The Old Republic, have made all classes pet classes by virtue of companions. Are you a fan of pet classes, and if so, what's your favorite implementation across the genre? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!