How to keep Sorc Pets alive?

Jarl_Ironheart

I'm trying to get into playing Sorcerer, a Stamina Sorcerer technically, and last time I played a Sorc was like 4 years ago.

My clannfear keeps taking aggro and trying to 1v1 enemies while he is like 100ft away from and dies. He doesn't attack what I'm attacking like the warden bear or blastbone/undead archer. He dies constantly too and having to summon him constantly is annoying.

I wanna have him slotted and active due to the passives for daedric summoning but damn is he a burden. Also the burst heal is meh. Vigor and crit surge is much better heal.

For context, I play primarily solo and when I do dungeons I tank. Any help would be much appreciated!!

FlopsyPrince

Jarl_Ironheart wrote: »

I'm trying to get into playing Sorcerer, a Stamina Sorcerer technically, and last time I played a Sorc was like 4 years ago.

My clannfear keeps taking aggro and trying to 1v1 enemies while he is like 100ft away from and dies. He doesn't attack what I'm attacking like the warden bear or blastbone/undead archer. He dies constantly too and having to summon him constantly is annoying.

I wanna have him slotted and active due to the passives for daedric summoning but damn is he a burden. Also the burst heal is meh. Vigor and crit surge is much better heal.

For context, I play primarily solo and when I do dungeons I tank. Any help would be much appreciated!!

My pets sometimes die, but not very often, in most battles at least.

Harrowstorms and Dragons can do them in quickly however.

I think some of my addons are more likely to dismiss them under the stupid idea that I should be gimped in town to make it easier on others. (And I don't usually catch it until I am in combat.)

robwolf666

Use their healing abilities regularly, heals them and you.

Dagoth_Rac

Sorc pets are immune to all damage in instanced group PvE content like dungeons and trials. The only places they can die are overland and PvP and solo arenas. Where are you seeing them die and need to resummon? World bosses?

CP5

You can preform heavy attacks to force your clannfear to target that enemy to keep them close, and on PC I know there's a keybind you can use to force them to either attack any target you aim at or to come back to you. Using the deadric prey skill also makes them target a particular enemy and as robwolf666 suggested the clannfear's heal skill heals them as well.

The_Titan_Tim

I looked at your account and saw that you play Xbox One like me, pets are pretty great once you learn how to use their commands and on Xbox it’s extremely easy, here they are.

Heavy attack an enemy, your pets attack that enemy.

Click both of your sticks in and press RT to make your pets initiate a fight, or to attack an enemy at a distance.

Click both of your sticks in and press LT to make your pets disengage,

If your pet is walking inside an AoE, you can call them back, or have them attack a different target by using those commands. Companions follow the same rules.

As far as healing is concerned, I think your best bet is to be active with your commands and try to prevent the damage.

Hope this was helpful! 😁

Molydeus

As stated:

-Use heavy attacks to direct your pets where you want them to target
-Your pet's heal also heals your pets
-Your sorc shields will also shield your pets
-Your pets will only die in solo combat, never in group settings like dungeons or trials
-The clannfear's heal is superb, but if you don't like it, try the Matriarch

BretonMage

Molydeus wrote: »

-The clannfear's heal is superb, but if you don't like it, try the Matriarch

Agree with all that. Adding that the Matriarch will also die less often as it attacks from range.

Natakiro

I main a sorc and play solo where I can and use just the clannfear when using a bow, since the clannfear itself has an aggro-drawing move and distracts bosses and such very well. You can direct pets/companions to focus on one enemy or withdraw back to you using L2+R2+ either R3 to send or L3 to withdraw (Y+Left/Right click on kbm). If you play on PC, there's a great addon called Pet Health that adds a little health bar for sorc pets; extremely handy in keeping them alive. Empowered Ward affects pets, which that addon will show, too. I also use Echoing Vigor as a good way to keep them healed. I rarely have to use the pets' own healing moves to heal them.

Jarl_Ironheart

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

Sorc pets are immune to all damage in instanced group PvE content like dungeons and trials. The only places they can die are overland and PvP and solo arenas. Where are you seeing them die and need to resummon? World bosses?

World Bosses due to AoE and when I pull big mobs. I haven't used them in dungeons though so that's awesome to hear!

Jarl_Ironheart

The_Titan_Tim wrote: »

I looked at your account and saw that you play Xbox One like me, pets are pretty great once you learn how to use their commands and on Xbox it’s extremely easy, here they are.

Heavy attack an enemy, your pets attack that enemy.

Click both of your sticks in and press RT to make your pets initiate a fight, or to attack an enemy at a distance.

Click both of your sticks in and press LT to make your pets disengage,

If your pet is walking inside an AoE, you can call them back, or have them attack a different target by using those commands. Companions follow the same rules.

As far as healing is concerned, I think your best bet is to be active with your commands and try to prevent the damage.

Hope this was helpful! 😁

Thanks big time. I didn't know any of this!

Jarl_Ironheart

CP5 wrote: »

You can preform heavy attacks to force your clannfear to target that enemy to keep them close, and on PC I know there's a keybind you can use to force them to either attack any target you aim at or to come back to you. Using the deadric prey skill also makes them target a particular enemy and as robwolf666 suggested the clannfear's heal skill heals them as well.

Awesome, thanks for the tip!

FlopsyPrince

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

Sorc pets are immune to all damage in instanced group PvE content like dungeons and trials. The only places they can die are overland and PvP and solo arenas. Where are you seeing them die and need to resummon? World bosses?

Where did you see that? I haven't paid enough attention, but was certain they have died in dungeons.

ElvenOverlord

My sorc pets barely ever die, I can't remember the last time any one of them died. If it does happen its more likely to happen in a boss fight in a DLC dungeon.

Varana

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

Sorc pets are immune to all damage in instanced group PvE content like dungeons and trials. The only places they can die are overland and PvP and solo arenas. Where are you seeing them die and need to resummon? World bosses?

Where did you see that? I haven't paid enough attention, but was certain they have died in dungeons.

That was introduced back in 2018 with Murkmire (patch 4.2.5):

Combat pets will now take 0 damage while in a Dungeon, Trial, or Group Arena.

There may be some mechanics that cause your pets to disappear (like the final boss in Mazzatun when all your abilities are replaced by statue-hitting things, and a few other occasions), but they won't die because of regular damage.

Bobby_V_Rockit

I see people complain about the heal, but I get 8k health back per button push, non crit. Seems great to me

KilianDermoth

How to command them was already explained. Especially curse (daedric pray) is nice because it also boosts all pet damage by 45% and does a good chunk of damage on its explosion. Literally a must have skill if you play with pets.

If you don't need the health scaling heal (about 1/3 of your health) of the clanfear replace him with the volatile familiar, because the clannfear has an taunt and will always draw aggro, it hapens less often with other pets. Also the volatile familiar does more damage (especially when activated it does good AOE damage) and can stun (might be handy for solo play).

If you are running only one Pet and don't need any heal then better switch him out for the tormentor because it does the most (single target) damage of all of them (even without activation) plus it's ranged and doesn't have to run around and will also draw less often aggro.

ZOS_Icy

Greetings,

This thread has been moved to the Players Helping Players section, as it is better suited there.

Thank you for your understanding.