[sticky] READ ME (aka FAQ) *updated Feb 13th '04*

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Rav's Method to raise Animal Lore, explained in detail by Jean-Luc:

One of the most common questions about taming is, <font color=red>"How do I get GM Animal Lore using that 'trick'?"</font color=red>

Well, that "trick" is commonly known as "Rav's Method", named after the Tamer that posted the first detailed instructions on how it worked. After several turns of the Wheel of Time, some details have been discovered and talked about, yet not added, or are still unclear. This is my effort to add those little details about "The Lore Trick". I have taken 5 different characters to GM Animal Lore using it, so I think I know a little something about it. /php-bin/shared/images/icons/wink.gif

<font color=red>Chapter 1:</font color=red> What you'll need
<font color=red>Chapter 2:</font color=red> Getting Started
<font color=red>Chapter 3:</font color=red> "Hot Spots"
<font color=red>Chapter 4:</font color=red> UO Assist




Chapter 1: What you'll need

<font color=green>The following items are absolutely necessary:</font color=green>
2 tame animals (a polar bear and a swamp dragon or two horses work well since AoS changed damages)
a lot of bandages
pet food
a lot of patience

<font color=purple>The following items are strongly recommended:</font color=purple>
A boat
A sextant
Magery high enough to gate from a scroll
Membership in a player guild
UO Assist

Because it takes a lot of moving around to find a spot where you gain Animal Lore (Lore) repeatedly, common logic says that having a boat will make getting to GM a lot easier. Magery High enough to cast the Gate spell means getting pets around easier, and membership in a player-run guild gives an added benefit of a "color" indicator for pet loyalty (while in guard mode), and helps if gaining the skill on the Trammel facet. UO Assist (a UOPro program, made by Tugsoft) is great for making macros to help you out as well.

One of the common myths is that you can only get to GM Lore on a boat. That's not true. When we talk about 'hot spots' a little later, you'll see that all you have to do is find one spot, and you can GM the skill right there!

So absolutely, positively, all you'll need is 2 tame pets, and a lot of bandages, some pet food, and patience.

Chapter 2: Getting started

I feel I should have called Chapter 2 "The long boring part of things", as it would best describe it. It is here that you must first arm yourself with patience, and begin things.

1. Lock your veterinary skill
2. Have Lore set to raise.
3. Put your skill window in "unmodified" status, and make sure you have 100 points to "lose", if you have 700 base skill points.

If you're on land, have your two pets in "guard mode", and have them guarding you. If you're in a player guild, the pets will have a "green" area around their life bar. Set the pets attacking each other. Once the pets have damage, use the veterinary skill on them. If you get a Lore gain on a pet, chances are this is the pet you will always get a gain from. So keep it alive! /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif
Keep using the veterinary (vet) skill in your pets, until you stop getting gains off your pet. I usually go 10-15 vet attempts without a gain before I move. Mark this spot (a sextant helps here). You'll know why later.

<font color=red>VERY IMPORTANT!!!</font color=red> Make sure that the pet you gain from has damage before you try and heal it. If it's not damaged, you get a message as such, don't lose a bandage, but you WILL lose a 0.1 gain!

Once you stop getting gains, move a few steps in any direction, and heal the pets again. This of course involves a "follow" command. Feed your pets, and let them keep fighting. If you don't get a gain from either bear, then move a few more spots, and heal again.

As you can see, having a boat means a little less work, once you get there.

If you're using a boat, you need to get those pets on board. If you can find a spot (like a dock) where the gang plank is the same level as the land, you can just walk the pets on. Good luck finding one. This is why magery to the point where you can gate is a much easier method of doing this.

Get near a shoreline, place your boat, have your pets "stay". Walk a few steps, and mark a rune. Recall from the boat key on to the boat, and then step in front of the mast. Gate off the rune you just marked, and have the pets follow you. If you're lucky, everyone's on the boat, and you're ready to set sail. Otherwise, recall off the key again so you can get on the boat, since you got kicked back through the gate, or you spirit lacked cohesion, or the UO God of Sick Jokes just decided that now was a good time for your client to crash. If you gate from behind the mast (near the tillerman), that's your recall spot, and you've got a minor problem that only a GM can solve.

Okay Popeye, ready to go sailing? Like on land, start your pets fighting, then put the boat in a slow forward, or left, or right or back. When you get a gain, STOP!

As before, keep healing both pets until you stop gaining, and then start moving slowly again. Stop when you get gain once again.

Chapter 3: <font color=red>Hot Spots</font color=red>

The hardest part of using this method to get GM Lore is finding those elusive "hot spots". So many times I have been told "I can only find ONE spot, and never another one!"

Well folks, today's your <font color=green>Lucky</font color=green> Day, because yer ol' Uncle Jean-Luc is going to tell you his #1 Super-Special Tip to get GM Lore.

<font color=purple>You only need to find one "hot spot".</font color=purple>

Okay, pick yer lower jaws up off the floor. Once you find a spot that gives you big gains, you can drop anchor, (or mark it down, if you're on land) drain the spot, and leave. Come back in a few hours or the next day, and drain it again. Just make sure you have your "gain pet" with you. That's all you have to do.

Now for those that like travel on the high seas, by all means, continue the search for another hot spot. You can move one space at a time, try moving 8 spaces, change directions, whatever to find the next elusive spot. Me, I take 4-5 trips to ONE spot, and get the same result.</font color=blue>

Chapter 4: UO Assist

While I make no money from recommending it, I will state that UO Assist by Tugsoft is the best $15 I ever spent. It allows you to add macros that you can call up for use, and save you a lot of wrist wear. The macro I use for healing 2 pets is:

Use Item type (bandage)
Target (pet #1)
Pause 6000
Use Item Type (bandage)
Target (pet #2)
Pause 6000.

That way, I can vet both pets with one keystroke, if they move and jostle on the boat, I won't miss one. It's not necessary (you can actually set up the same thing in the UO macros), but it's very useful.

Well, that's about it. If anyone has any advice, comments, suggestions, please PM them to me, and I'll add the information in here.

If you need answers to your taming-related questions, please check the links below before posting a message to the forum, because most likely it has been answered about a thousand times before. Thanks!

Calculators to determine control ability, chance to tame, stable slots and veterinary capabilities.

General Taming FAQ, answers all the most frequently asked questions about taming. it's also a great reference tool for the rest of the stratics taming information. Links to specific sections of the resource can be found below.

Rav's Method for gaining animal lore. Yes, it still works, and it will continue to work until OSI decides to change the entire system of passive gains. If it didn't work anymore, you wouldn't find a description here.

Minimum Taming Requirements for all tamable creatures.


Stratics Resource for the Tamer
<ul>[*]Everything about the Animal Taming Skill
[*]Everything about the Animal Lore Skill
[*]Everything about the Veterinary Skill
[*]Character &amp; Template Help
[*]Tips &amp; Tricks for the Tamer.

[*]Everything about pets, includes bonding &amp; training information, stabling information and more.

[*]Various Player Essays on taming-related topics.

[*]Doom Tamer Essay