Controlling Pets

Description

When controlling a pet, every time a command is issued, a check for the ability to control is made. The success or failure of these checks has an influence on the level of happiness or also called loyalty of the pet. Loyalty decreases over time with 10% of the max Loyalty level per hour.

The chance to control a pet is calculated with an algorithm like this:

Chance = 700, Bonus = 0 // This is the base chance and base bonus

Bonus = (((Taming * 4 + Lore) / 5) * 10) - (minSkillToTame * 10) // Taming and Lore are weighted

If Bonus is <= 0 then Bonus = Bonus * 14 // If we are below the taming requirement it gets much harder

Else Bonus = Bonus * 6 // If we are above the taming requirement we get a moderate bonus

Chance = Chance + Bonus // Chance is modified by the bonus

If Chance >= 0 and < 200 then Chance = 200 // IF we can controll, there is a minimum chance of 20% - loyalty penalties (see below)

If Chance > 990 then Chance = 990 // We cannot get higher than 99%

The next two lines will be implemented with a coming patch - at the moment only the first line applies without restriction

If (minSkillToTame < 100) then Chance = Chance - (maxLoyalty - petLoyalty) * 10 // where loyalty is a value from 0 to 100

If (minSkillToTame >= 100) then Chance = Chance - (maxLoyalty - petLoyalty) * 5 // where loyalty is a value from 0 to 100

Chance / 10 would give now the chance to control in percent.

Loyalty Gains and Decreases

Every bad command (= command that did not work) reduces pet loyalty (-1 point), every good command (command that worked) increases (loyalty +1).

Once at every hour, pet loyalty is reduced by 10% of the max loyalty. This applies to all movables at the same time - meaning if you fed your pet to "Wonderfully Happy" (= max) and the update happens 5 seconds later it will be reduced.

Feeding a pet has a chance of 50% to raise the pet's loyalty level (loyalty +10) - "You pet looks happier."

Putting a pet in stable will restore it to full loyalty - this is a very good option for an unhappy pet.

A pet that reaches a loyalty of <= 0 will become untame and go wild again. It is trivial to retame the pet for a previous owner, but significantly harder to retame by a new one (see Animal Taming for details).

Pets and Bonding

If the owner of the pet possess the minimum Animal Taming skill as real skill (use 'show real' option on the skill sheet to check), the pet will bond after a period of 7 days when fed with correct food the first time. Subsequent feeding within these 7 days will show a timer with the time left to bond. Correct food can be determined by using Animal Lore on the pet.

Bonded Animals can be resurrected with bandages using both a Veterinary skill and an Animal Lore skill of 80+. They also recall with the owner, when commanded to follow before the recall.

Putting pets in stables, after the bonding timer started, is a great way to ensure they survive the 7 day period of bonding.

Transferring Pets

Pets can only be transfered, when the target player of the transfer is able to command the pet. Transferring a pet will open a trade window, which both parties have to accept. Transferring a freshly tamed animal may take a few minutes when the pet in question was engaged in combat before or during the taming process.

Pet Commands

In general all pets in range can be commanded with the 'all' keyword. This can be substituted by the exact name of the pet. Should there be more than none with the same name, only the first pet will respond (e.g. 'a horse').

• (all/name) come: Commands the pet(s) to come and follow
• (name) drop: Command the pet to drop everything it holds
• (all/name) follow: Command the pet(s) to follow a target (shows target pointer)
• (all/name) follow me: Command the pet(s) to follow you
• (name) friend: Commands the pet to accept moving commands from a third person (person must be able to control the pet)
• (all/name) guard [me]: Commands the pet(s) to guard you
• (all/name) kill: Command the pet(s) to attack a target (shows target pointer)
• (name) release: Releases the pet into the wild - pet goes untame (will show confirmation window)
• (all/name) stay: Commands the pet(s) to stay at their current location
• (all/name) stop: Commands the pet(s) to stop their current activity (guarding, following, fighting, waiting, etc.)
• (name) transfer: Designates a new owner of the pet (will open a trade window) the previous owner loses command

See Also

Animal Lore Animal Taming