New to Pankration, a few questions

[*Blaize*]

I got a random pet that I leave on diablo cage just for jettons, but after watching a few fights everything got kind of interesting, so I've decided to try making a real pet, and I have a few questions:

1) Is Instant Ice Spikes THAT rare? I think I used up to 150 plates between Etemmus, Phasmas and Eo'zdeis. Bad luck? Where did you guys get yours?

2) I'm going for a dark elemental, do I need to give it BLM Scrolls to unlock spells like Drain or Aspir which are "native" to dark eles? if not, is BLM Scrolls used to give it access to nukes?

3) Is there any way to force it to cast Drain over and over? I've seen a few mobs that basicly spam it every 7-8 secs and take off a good 10-15% of their enemy HP bar each cast.

4) Assuming there's no way to force it, would giving it nukes be better? (And then use FP for MAB and INT instead of defensive skills?)

Thanks in advance!

[Not Kuno]

I got a random pet that I leave on diablo cage just for jettons, but after watching a few fights everything got kind of interesting, so I've decided to try making a real pet, and I have a few questions:

1) Is Instant Ice Spikes THAT rare? I think I used up to 150 plates between Etemmus, Phasmas and Eo'zdeis. Bad luck? Where did you guys get yours?

No clue, as I don't do spikes. X)

2) I'm going for a dark elemental, do I need to give it BLM Scrolls to unlock spells like Drain or Aspir which are "native" to dark eles? if not, is BLM Scrolls used to give it access to nukes?

All mobs will have the ability to cast whatever they can cast normally. So your dark ele will cast drain/sleepga etc already, but the scrolls will give it every blm spell (ga spells, freeze etc).

3) Is there any way to force it to cast Drain over and over? I've seen a few mobs that basicly spam it every 7-8 secs and take off a good 10-15% of their enemy HP bar each cast.

Yes you can. It's temperment based, theres a few threads about it here somewhere. A good way to find information is to use the search function and limit it to this forum. Works surprizingly well when I need to find stuff.

4) Assuming there's no way to force it, would giving it nukes be better? (And then use FP for MAB and INT instead of defensive skills?)

Either one is fine, but Bahamut champ atm is a dark ele that spams ga nukes. So take it with a grain of salt and just mess around with it.

[algrensan]

1) Is Instant Ice Spikes THAT rare? I think I used up to 150 plates between Etemmus, Phasmas and Eo'zdeis. Bad luck? Where did you guys get yours?

i think they're semi-rare but not super rare. i think i got one off of the haunt that's in wajaom woodlands (however you spell it) when you take a right turn. to my knowledge and experience, "instant" (as well as "additional effect") soul plates do not appear as possible innate skills.

[*Blaize*]

Thanks for the replies, ended up getting the ice spikes plate off an Evil Spirit Sauromugue (sp?).

I've also found searching that for drain spam I need it to make it defensive, but once my Ele gets to the higher levels will it start spamming absorbs instead of Drain?

Anyone with a Dark Ele pet can give some info? would be much appreciated.

[Halion]

They have their native spells but they are still restricted by job. Abs spells are DRK only.

[*Blaize*]

I gave my ele the BLM Scrolls plate, he opens the fight with a spell like Fire or Stonega, then goes back to Drain spamming, even on undead mobs ._. temperament is Very Tame/Extremely Defensive.

Should I move Tame to Wild or Defensive to Aggressive? (looking forward to a sleep-nuke or simply nuke spam)

Edit: Kuno any chance you remember / can check the temperament of the Bahamuth ele champ?

Edit2: Using "Less thinking, more striking", while Extremenly Defensive made him spam Drain every 10 secs on the dot, pretty much doing Drain > hit > Drain .. and so on. Now only need to see what range from Defensive to Aggressive makes it cast nukes ._.;

[Not Kuno]

Champ got dethroned somehow. I'll keep a look out for it though.

[Drex]

I've been playin with a dark ele, and defensive makes it spam drain, while tame is what makes it sleep/stun tp moves and spells. So if you want it to sleep nuke instead of spam drain, you'd want very tame/very aggressive, I think. You could always give the parry/block/hold order if you need it to switch to drain spam, too.