ProjectGorgon:Animal Handling

Animal Handling
The art of taming animals and teaching them to fight alongside you.
Skill Type:	Combat Skill
Max Level:	90
Requirements:	None
Skill Trainers:	Gisli, Crelpin
Primary Gem:	http://cdn.projectgorgon.com/v456/icons/icon_5203.png Fluorite

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Animal Handlers spend a ton of time with their pets, raising and training them. Ancillary skills like Animal Husbandry let them breed pets to get the best genes for fighting (and best colors and appearances!). Animal Handlers have a lot of versatility because they can summon different pets for different problems, but they have to spend a lot of time out of combat raising these pets. (Hopefully this is a fun activity for them, though! It’s aimed at people who think raising and breeding virtual animals sounds fun.)

— Developer Blog A little more about evil, undead, and pet classes

Animal Handling Overview

Animal Handling is a combat skill that many wanderers of Alharth like to learn. The skill focuses on taming and training various animals to fight alongside you.

In-Game Description

The art of taming animals and teaching them to fight alongside you.

Training Animal Handling

Gisli, a Dwarf living in Serbule Keep, will teach the art of Animal Handling for 2000 Councils. Unlike many denizens of Alharth, you don't need to be his friend, he seems willing to teach the skill to anyone who can pay. He will also unlock skill levels 51-60, and 61-70.
Crelpin in the Fae Realm will unlock levels 71-80.
Levels 81-90 are unlocked by Emersil the Ever-Gloating deep beneath Povus.

Connected Skills

Sub-Skills:

Animal Husbandry

Secondary Skills:

Charm Rat - While not a skill, Adventurers may wish to learn the art of 'Rat Charming'. While you can learn to Tame Rats from Gisli, the method to Charm Rats must be obtained elsewhere. This relatively rare technique is rumored to have been taught at a secret Council Academy once operating on Anagoge Island. Charmed Rats are still wild animals, not pets. Charmed Rats will follow you around, and can't be revived once defeated in battle.

Synergy Levels

Bonus Synergy Levels for Animal Handling can be obtained from the following skills and levels:

Anatomy: Level 15, Level 25
Animal Husbandry: Level 25, Level 50, Level 75
Bear Anatomy: Level 29
Compassion: Level 30
Feline Anatomy: Level 19
Fishing: Level 42
Rodent Anatomy: Level 19, Level 39
Skinning: Level 15

Animal Handling/AbilityOverview

Animal Handling/Abilities

Animal Handling Mechanics

Animal Taming

Before Animal Handlers can call a wild animal their pet, it must first be Tamed. Shrines can be found across Alharth dedicated to specific types of animals. These shrines hold secrets related to Taming their associated animals, and may grant their knowledge to anyone who solves their sacrificial riddles. You can only tame pets at your own Animal Handling skill level or up to five levels higher. For example, Grimalkin are level 55, so you need a minimum of 50 levels of Animal Handling to tame one.

To Tame a wild animal, the animal's associated Taming Ability must be used. Adventurers wishing to Tame a cat must complete a twenty second cast of their Tame Big Cat ability, while focusing on a specific wild Feline. If the Adventurer is able to survive the cat for twenty seconds, the cat will accept the Adventurer as its master.

Charm Rat: Learned on Anagoge Island.
Tame Rat: Learned from Gisli in Serbule.
Tame Big Cat: Learned by Level 20 Animal Handlers at the Cat Shrine in northeast Eltibule.

Click to see the item required for the Cat Shrine

The answer is "String": a string seems to be the item required to sacrifice. This item can be obtained through either Textile Creation or purchased from Ukorga in the Kur Mountains. Cat eyes, which can be sometimes looted from a cat, work as sacrifice too.

Tame Bear: Learned by Level 40 Animal Handlers at the Bear Shrine in the Kur Mountains.

Click to see the item required for the Bear Shrine

The answer is "Perch": This item can be obtained through fishing...

Tame Bee: Learned by Level 70 Animal Handlers from Crelpin in the Fae Realm.

Keep reading to see a full list of tamable animals!

Raising Skill Levels

To level Animal Handling, an Adventurer must actively use pet abilities while fighting, just like every other skill.

Stables

You can have as many pets as you have stable slots. You can buy more stable slots from Stable Masters.

NPC Name	Location
Arianna Fangblade	Red Wing Casino
Crelpin	Fae Realm
Gisli	Serbule
Mushroom Jack	Serbule
Mythander	Eltibule

Stable Masters can help you to rename your pets, level up your pets, release unwanted pets, and most importantly, revive them if they fall in battle (for a small fee, of course).

The fee for extra stable slots increases with each slot.

Stable Slot #	Cost
1-3	Free
4	100
5	500
6	1,000
7	5,000
8	10,000
9	50,000
10	100,000
11	500,000
12	1,000,000
13	5,000,000
14	10,000,000

Summoning Pets

As you level up in Animal Handling you'll gain access to abilities that allow you to summon your pets based on what stable slot they are in. You may only summon a single pet tamed from Animal Handling at a time, but you may summon your Animal Handling pets alongside pets from other skills like Necromancy or Battle Chemistry.

Anchor Runes

Potential Prodigies versed in Animal Handling may have learned the Unnatural Wrath abilities.Hint These abilities require an Anchor Rune to be used.

Shadowy deer shaped Constructs such as the Misery Yak are reportedly sources of this item.

Healing Pets

While deceased pets can be revived at a Stable, adept Animal Handlers may attempt to resuscitate their pets using Good First Aid Kits.

Note that pet healing skills mean overall health/armor healing, not each. Example: if your pet is missing 5 health and 20 armor, and you use Feed Pet for +15 healing, the pet will recover 5 health and 10 armor.

Pet Combat & Tricks

Every Tamed animal has two types of special attacks, a Sic 'Em Attack and a Special Trick. Every animal has a different set of attacks.

Sic 'Em is an ability Animal Handlers will learn at levels 9, 19, 29, 39, and 49. This ability commands your pet to perform its Sic 'Em Attack.

Clever Trick is an ability Animal Handlers will learn at levels 3, 25, and 44. This ability commands your pet to perform its Special Trick.

Known Sic 'Em attacks are as follows

Bear Self-Heal (Pet): Slashing Damage and Self-Heal +20* Sic 'Em level

Bear Taunt (Pet): Slashing Damage and Taunt +60* Sic 'Em level

Big Cat Kill (Pet): Heavy Slashing Damage

Grimalkin Puncture (Pet): Trauma Damage over time.

Raking Claw (Pet): Debuff Slashing Damage for 8 seconds. Level 1=7%, Level 4=15%

Rat De-Rage (Pet): Reduced Monster Rage. Level 1=-90, Level 6=-500

Known Clever Trick / Special Trick attacks are as follows

Bear Stun (Pet): Crushing Damage and stun.

Bear Ultra (Pet): Heavy Crushing damage.

Bear Warmth (Pet): Buff Taunt attacks and grant the owner Cold mitigation. Level 1= +10 taunt/+5 cold mitigation. Level 6= +125 taunt/+30 cold mitigation

Big Cat Heal (Pet): Heal owner. Level 1=25 health, Level 6=200 health.

Big Cat Root (Pet): Slashing and root. Level 1= 5secs, Level 4=11 seconds.

Big Cat ultrakill (Pet): Very Heavy Slashing Damage.

Grimalkin Flee (Pet): Lure Enemy away. Level 1=Temp Taunt 1100. Level 3=1700.

Rat Burn (Pet): Burn Target. Level 1= 40 damage over 12 seconds. Level 6=240 damage over 12 seconds.

Rat Heal (Pet): Heal owner. Level 1=30, Level 6=180.

Rat Poison Vuln (Pet): Debuff Poison Vulnerability for 20 seconds. Level 1= 10% Level 4=20%

Pet Level & Bond Level

As you fight alongside your pet, its Bond Level increases. A new pet will begin with a Bond Level of 0, or a pet you receive from another player (not yet available in-game). For each Bond Level, pets' base damage increases by 1 or 2, max health increases by 4, and max armor increases by 1.

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Pets have a level that determines their basic combat stats like health and damage. Pets that were tamed in more dangerous areas have higher starting levels. Pets earn XP when you fight alongside them, and when they have enough XP their level can increase. You will need to visit an animal-handling trainer and pay a small fee to level up your pet, when it has enough XP.
In addition to raise the Pet Level, earning XP also increases the pet's Bond Level. The Bond Level gives the pet some extra damage, health, and armor. A new pet's Bond Level always starts at 0.

— Gisli

Enthusiasm

Pet Enthusiasm is boosted by its owner's equipped items. Enthusiasm determines the chance for pets to critically hit enemies. Higher Enthusiasm is required to critically hit higher level monsters. If a pet performs a critical hit, the pet's direct damage is increased by 25% (for cats), 40% (for bears and bees), or 50% (for rats).

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A pet's Enthusiasm does two things: first it determines how quickly pets gain Happiness. In addition, Enthusiasm gives the pet a chance to 'critically hit' enemies. The chance of a critical-hit is based on the pet's Enthusiasm versus the enemy's skill levels. If a pet's attack critically-hits, that attack's damage is boosted by 25% for cats, 40% for bears, or 50% for rats.
The easiest way to impart some Enthusiasm into your pet is to wear special equipment that boosts your pet's Enthusiasm. As with all pet-boosting equipment, you must be wearing the item before you summon the pet.

— Gisli

Combat XP Boost %

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Some equipment can make a pet earn XP faster. This will be shown as a Combat XP Boost when you examine the pet. But note that the pet's Happiness still plays a big role in determining the actual amount of XP they earn.

— Gisli

Damage Boost & Damage Multiplier

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A pet's Damage Boost is added to their attacks' damage. Then, the damage is multiplied by their Damage Multiplier (if any).
The pet's Damage Boost will naturally increase as it gains Pet Levels and Bond Levels. Both Damage Boost and Damage Multiplier can also be boosted when you wear certain equipment.

— Gisli

Happiness

Happiness determines how much experience a pet earns. If it dies, Happiness goes down. The rate a pet recovers Happiness is based on Enthusiasm.

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A pet's Happiness determines how much XP it earns when it helps you defeat enemies. A higher Happiness means it earns more XP! But if a pet dies, its Happiness is reduced by half

— Gisli

Tamable Animals

Level Requirements

Each type of tamable animal has a minimum Animal Handling level reqired to tame it which can be seen below.

Rats

Rats are generally the first animal Animal Handlers will learn to Charm and Tame. Higher level rats may provide a Poison Vulnerability Debuff, and some species of Rats are reported to exhibit high Evasion & Crit.

Mr. Squeaky is not tamable through Animal Handling, as he is a highly-intelligent foe. Only animals unaware of their own sentience can be tamed!

Big Cats

Animal Handlers who master Rats may wish to move onto something more ferocious, the Feline. Felines, also known as Big Cats, can be Charmed by Level 20+ Animal Handlers. Felines deal heavy slashing damage, but most are weak to poison.

Bears

Bears are difficult to tame, requiring 40 Levels of Animal Handling, but are loyal partners. Some bears deal heavy damage, while others act as tanks. Most bears are weak against Electricity and Acid damage.