Does anyone remember which gods the various mage races could follow?

I like the idea of role-playing a mage that only summons a pet based upon their deity.

Cool concept, but each of the pets have a role of there own Sometimes that cute fire pet aint going to cut it...

I know High Elves could follow Tunare and Mithanial Marr (Tiiden followed MM). I think Gnomes had the option of Brell or Bertox. Dark elves could probably follow Innoruk, and maybe Solusek Ro? Not sure about the other races.

Well, this would likely get played mostly in groups.

I guess a gnome following Brell would have more staying power then a human following Ro (assuming that's possible).

I'm also fairly certain Erudites could follow Prexus. Since the water is a fairly all around pet at all levels, it could work.

Hehe, Water Pet? Man no one ever uses water pet... Its usually Air Pet for stuns, with stun whips, or Fire Pet for the great fire dmg shield.

wait, I thought water pets got backstab at higher levels? I dont ever remember people using fire pets tho, a very accomplished mage told me he pretty much never used fire pets because they pretty much just stand around and cast stupid spells. I saw plenty of the other 3 though. Am I right or wrong about the water pet backstabbing?

Lot of pet ignorance going on here I see

All of the pets were very useful in their own ways from levels 1-49, despite being fairly similar. From 1-49, the pets work like this:

• Earth pet - most HPs, highest AC, lowest AGI/DEX, casts root. Immune to disease based spells.
• Water Pet - slightly less HPs than earth, average stats, but has much higher HP regen. Also casts a decent ice based DD. Immune to poison based spells.
• Air Pet - less HPs than water, average stats but very high AGI/DEX and casts a 6 second stun. Also casts invisibility on itself, which can be rather useful indoors. Immune to cold based spells.
• Fire Pet - fewest HPs (by a significant margin), average stats. Casts a very nice damage shield on itself equal to the pet's level + 1. Also casts a fire based DD. Immune to fire based spells.

As you can see, they each have their strengths and weaknesses. The poison and disease immunity of the earth/water pets is nice at low levels, and the water pet's high HP regen can save time and mana on heals. The fire pet is a killing machine with it's insane damage shield, but needs a lot of healing. And the air pet is a decent tank on it's own with it's high AGI and stun, and works well on casting mobs. The air pet is really great in conjunction with other magicians, where you can effectively stun lock mobs (even better if you give them Gnoll Hide Lariots that proc Stun, as redghosthunter mentioned).

The 50+ pets have similar characteristics (such as their HP differences and spell immunities), but the water and fire pets take on completely different roles as they become modeled after the rogue and wizard classes, respectively. The 54/60 water pet gains the ability to backstab for great DPS, but actually tanks worse and has less HPs than the level 49 water pet. This becomes the de facto group pet, because it does by far the best damage.

The 52/58 Fire pet likewise gains the ability to cast several wizard nukes, but becomes otherwise completely worthless. It has VERY low HPs, poor tanking stats, and even it's melee damage is cut nearly in half. To make matters worse, the fire pet's implementation of the wizard class really sucks. It casts various 40+ wizard nukes, but not ice comet, and it also casts annoying spells like root and snare (often at bad times). It runs out of mana quickly and takes forever to regen it back. It even loses it's great damage shield and instead uses the crappy wizard DS. Some magicians report limited success by chain casting them (let each pet live until it runs out of mana, then kill it), since it does decent DPS while it has mana. Still, it's expensive to cast and probably not worth the mana, especially if you didn't specialize in conjuration.

Hopefully that clears up any misconceptions

wow, guess I still have some eq knowledge in the noggin. I thought I remember water pet having BS

Guess, an Erudite mage might be in order.

Thanks for the post Tiiden, very informative.

Dark Elf Mage following Innoruuk. Faction be damned; just gonna slaughter everything and anyone that isn't Dark Elf, Troll or Ogre without a care.

But seriously, I don't think deity choice ever mattered for robed casters save for faction. It's less of an impact on a mage or wizard than an enchanter, due to their illusions. Just pick whichever you want for flavor.

After a bit of thinking, I was considering trying something completely different.

A Gnome Mage following Bertoxxulous.

It seems like a weird combo. Mages aren't known for plague or death related spells. Since deity doesn't do much for a robed caster save faction adjustments, mechanics-wise I would just be making people hate my character for little reason.

Even among the evil groups, my mage would have a hard time. I don't recall if Neriak looks kindly upon Plaguebringer worshippers. Oggok and Grobb would still be off-limits. The only two places in the world I would be particularly welcome in would be the back of Ak'anon and the Qeynos sewers, to the best of my knowledge.

But in the end, it could add flavor and some refreshing challenge to the character. Plus I wouldn't be stuck wearing those horrible bright yellow robes that gnome casters start with. xD

Any thoughts, experiences?

I imagine it would be really similar to playing a Gnome Necromancer, but not quite so bad on the faction adjustment. I've played several Gnome necros, and the faction issues weren't that bad. It doesn't take long hunting in Crushbone to become well liked by most NPCs in Kelethin, Felwithe, and Butcherblock/Kaladim (as long as you stay away from the guilds), so I imagine it would be even easier for a Magician. You'd be welcome in most of Freeport and Qeynos as well. Just have to keep that /con hotkey handy and check any unfamiliar NPCs before you wander into a part of a city you haven't been to.

Plus, since magicians are so great at farming, you can always choose to level up off of guards in cities you don't like, and play into your evil persona

I absolutely LOVED playing a Magician back in classic, and will always be a mage at heart. I highly recommend them!

That is true. Gnomes and magicians aren't too hated around the world, but deity makes a big impact on a character. I remember how my Gnome Warrior of Rallos Zek started off as KoS with the guards of Kaladim. Dwarf Warriors are also the only warrior race in the game that cannot pick RZ as a deity either. I think dwarves really have something against him.

I was thinking about picking a few choice locations in the world, building up faction with them, and tanking faction with everyone else. One of those places would probably be Neriak, so no Crushbone hunting.

Mages get Invisibility, so having to travel through hostile areas wouldn't be too bad. I would probably be happy just having a couple cities in the game to count as home bases. I don't like being friendly with just parts of a city; it has to be all or nothing.

I'm definitely set on playing a Mage. I just like arcane caster-type characters in general, and Mages are crazy in EQ. It's all a matter of deciding which kind to play now.

As I recall the lore around it had to do with the Ogres, created by Rallos Zek enslaving the dwarves at some point.

In addition to this the leader of the Dwarf Warrior guild, is an enemy of the Ogre warrior guild. Woe betide the young dwarf who gets owned by the wandering Greenbloods, thanks to this hatred.