Depending on the mod I am in I have used all 3 of the different "auto attack skills"

What I did was make a hotkey for each one to /autoskill ....

When the dot lands I hit the next hot key for cat claw debuff when that lands I then hit the 3rd key to stun. When the dot fades I hit the keys again to reapply.

We already have enough to push with out adding 3 more but when soloing and I want the extra effect I have the keys.

I not check this site in months because every time i did no one was posting. If the site is used more often I will check in more often.

Old EQ player but very new to the BL class - on Selos Server. I'm finding this useful it referencing old posts!

Ranger is now 110 with the Gnomework bow and all the autogrant AAs.  On GMM missions Head shot doesn't work so DPS is pretty sad just auto attacking (bowing) even with a good bow.  DPS is averaging around 35K and with more button pressing that number will double.  Pushing buttons on the ranger reduces the DPS on my group geared beast.  The two classes are similar in it takes lots of button pressing to maximize damage.  Always Be Casting is important on both classes. Beasts have much better mana recovery capabilities. (more button pressing).  Right now I have to keep the ranger on a mount or he will run OOM before I am halfway through the mission.  That is with enchanter and beast mind buffs running as well as his own.

-Z-

yup, still actively playing on Phinigel and stopping by the den now and then.

I am not going to post a specific strategy for a specific mob, but some general tactics I use when taking on tough mobs.  I use these same tactics on my group geared beastlord who only has an EM21 pet focus.

The main strategy is to have a pet tank.  With this in mind, I make sure to equip the pet with mage summoned armor.  If there is not a 110 Mage handy I have my level 90 mage alt summon armor, haste masks and weapons.  The weapon of choice for pet tanking are the rage swords.

Buff the pet with all buffs and in particular hobble, the defensive pet buff, two runes, fortification, and epic click.

Make sure to pocket one "super buffed" pet for emergencies.

Here is what I use to assist the mercs in keeping the pet alive:
Hotkey For AA pet rune
2nd Pet rune that stacks with above
Hot key for AA heal, latest pet heal, previous pet heal
Hot Key for AA slow
Spell slow

All other spell slots are for damaging spells except for our direct heal.

Send in the pet and quickly try to get the named slowed before all the runes get eaten.  In order to give the pet a little time to build aggro I cast a temp pet and unleash the swarm pets (AA).  I will then wade in and begin to melee.  If the merc(s) are falling behind on healing I will cycle pet heals and runes until they catch up.  I will start cycling burns until the named is dead.

Bloodlust is the wild card tool I can use to help turn the fight.  Obviously, bloodlust with big damage procs helps to shorten the fight from the increased DPS, but what if the named is casting a damaging AoE every few seconds?  In this case, I may switch to lifetap weapons to offset the damage I am taking from the AoE so the mercs focus healing on the pet.  If there are no AoEs and the pet is just taking a serious beating, I will switch to heal target of target proc weapons.  If I am in this situation, it is going to be a long fight because I am also cycling pet heals and runes and have very little time to cast damaging spells.

What if things go bad?  If the pet is going to die I hit Protection of Spirit (defensive) and suspend minion and pop out the super buffed pet in my pocket.  If the mob has eaten through 2 pets, then it is time to FD or "mug out".

-Z-

"Where do you recommend doing the lesson burn?"

GMM mission is one of the best places to burn a lesson.  Clear all the mobs outside the gate so you don't have to waste time/chance death splitting large packs of mobs.  Second choice: HS basement just drop down on the northeast side of the platform you zone in on.  Named can be a huge pain if they are up, but the exp is solid.

-Z-

Lucky man! He popped once for me on my 23rd run through. Got a Luck 2 neck, lol.

I've od'd on GMM for a bit, I've decided to take a break instead. Luckily, last night Aten Ha Ra died to a determined raid of a solo beastlord after an epic 40 second fight (didn't burn any discs). There is a lot of fun to be had in this game :)

No good clickies dropped all through Vex Thal. I am considering loading in 6 chars and doing the AoC raids for giggles. Vex Thal, Sanctus Seru for Lord Inquisitor, Emp ssra, etc. I ran through Anguish with a 69th level monk who wanted Jayruk's Vest from OMM too, that was pretty fun.

I'm pretty light on AA's, so I am going to have to work on them eventually. Where do you recommend doing the lesson burn?

Named actually popped for me over the weekend and I was lucky enough to get the 80 AC aug.
-Z-

Named is rare, but he can drop the 80AC aug.  Usually, he drops a ring IIRC.

-Z-