Template: PvP Tamer

Unverified community build

A classic-era community PvP build (Stratics / UO forums / UO Outlands wiki) adapted to this shard’s caps. PvP is the most era-dependent content there is; the specifics here are not field-verified for this shard and may not match our ruleset. Test on our PvP rules and file discrepancies per wiki conventions.

A PvP tamer fights two wars at once: the mage war (spell bursts, mana, resist) and the pet war (a fast, dangerous beast pressuring the enemy while you cast). The whole build is shaped by one problem — don’t get dismounted, and keep casting while someone is beating on you. Your pet is the pressure; you are the burst and the control.

The build (seven GM, ~700 total)

On this shard skills cap at 100.0 each and 700.0 total (Config/PlayerCaps.cfg). The PvP tamer is a mage core + a taming half:

Skill	At	Role
Magery	100	Damage, heals, Recall — your offense and escape
Evaluating Intelligence	100	Raises spell damage
Resisting Spells	100	Survive enemy spell bursts
Wrestling	100	Cast uninterrupted while being meleed; stun/disarm
Meditation	100	Mana regen between bursts
Animal Taming	100	Control a combat pet
Animal Lore	100	Pet control + tame checks

Total: 700.0. Note Veterinary is dropped here — there’s no slot for it. You heal the pet (and yourself) with Magery and bandages instead. Compare the PvM-focused Bard Tamer, which keeps Vet and drops the resist/wrestle mage core.

Power scrolls go past 100 here

On modern OSI this build runs 120s (Magery, Resist, and Taming especially) via power scrolls from champion spawns and treasure chests. Power scrolls raise a skill’s cap past 100.0 on this shard too — but treat the 100s above as the default; don’t assume 120-based PvP numbers apply here.

What it does

• Wrestling is the keystone. With GM Wrestling you can keep casting while an enemy melees you — without it, every hit risks interrupting your spell. It also gives wrestling specials (stun/disarm in eras that support them) as a no-weapon melee option.
• Resisting Spells is survival. PvP is decided by spell bursts; GM Resist softens incoming magic damage and effects enough to live through them.
• Evaluating Intelligence + Magery is your offense — explosion/ebolt combos, heals, cures, Recall to escape.
• The pet is constant pressure. A fast, mount-class combat beast forces the enemy to split attention; while they deal with the pet, you land bursts.

The dismount problem

The defining weakness: a tamer on foot is fragile, but a tamer who gets dismounted is in even worse shape — knocked off the mount, slowed, and caught. This is why many PvP tamers run Bushido or Chivalry variants (anti-dismount tools, remounts, or counters) in eras that support them, trading a mage skill for mobility insurance. Whether dismount mechanics and those counters apply on our shard is unverified — check PvP rules before committing skill points.

Stages and playstyle

• Build the mage core first (Magery / Eval / Resist / Wrestling / Meditation) the way a pure mage does — it’s playable solo PvM the whole way up.
• Add the taming half once the mage core is solid. You don’t need every high-end pet — you need one fast, dangerous, mount-viable beast you can control and replace.
• In a fight: the pet engages and pressures; you cast from range, kite, and burst when the enemy is committed to the pet. Wrestling lets you keep casting if they close on you; Resist keeps you alive through their burst; Recall is the exit.

See PvP, notoriety and PvP, and combat (advanced).

Gear and pets

• Pet: a fast combat beast you can ride/replace — durability and speed matter more than raw control-slot count in PvP. Keep it healed via Magery and bandages (no Vet slot).
• Reagents and bandages: carry deep — bursts burn reagents fast.
• Stats: INT-heavy (mana is everything for a mage), enough STR to survive a melee opener; DEX for bandage speed.
• Mount/anti-dismount items: era-dependent — verify what our shard allows on the PvP page.

Money and where it comes from

PvP tamers fund themselves the same way as PvM tamers — farm the hunting ladder and champion spawns between fights. The real PvP “income” is power scrolls and rare drops from contested spawns; expect to lose reagents and the occasional pet, and budget accordingly.

Decision points

• If you keep getting dismounted and caught, this is the build’s core weakness — look at a Bushido/Chivalry variant if our shard supports the counters (PvP rules).
• If your casts keep getting interrupted in melee, your Wrestling is too low — it’s the keystone, not a flex.
• If you melt to spell bursts, Resist isn’t GM yet — finish it before fighting real opponents.
• If you mostly PvM, you want the Bard Tamer instead — Vet and Discordance beat Resist/Wrestle for hunting.
• Mistake: treating PvP numbers from OSI/other shards as gospel here. Our ruleset is unverified for this template — test, then report.