Whenever the pet is outside the soft tether you get the timer before the pet is released, and whenever the pet is passed the hard tether the pet is killed automatically
The hard tether causes a lot of problems with the pet suiciding anytime it clips underground or blinks through structures such as bridges. The soft tether range is restrictive on the necromancer's ability to pursue targets where if at any point he falls into the soft tether range he must give up chasing and call off his pet else he lose it.
Instead of automatically releasing the pet, revoke the shade's invulnerability whenever the pet is outside the hard tether range (visibly revert the morph anytime invulnerability is down). This preserves the necro's pet and permits the shade to be attacked
[Seeing the juggernaut size shift updating was fixed I don't think there would be any issues introduced by the model swapping out whenever the hard tether range is breached]
Going a step further is to introduce a LOS check to the soft tether. Doing so reduces the ability of a shade to safely park the pet and run into a group of enemies to set up groundtargets, while retaining the ability to allow the pet to attack enemies moving throughout structures and obstructions so long as the necromancer is catching LOS on his pet inside the 10 second window of the soft tether.
The price of violating either tether is vulnerability to direct attacks on the shade instead of the pet releasing. The LOS check on soft tether permits the range on soft tether being restored to its original pre-nerf value
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Issues resolved by this change:
Necromancer jumping from bridge no longer sees his pet killed because it paths to the shore instead of jumping down.
The pet falling through a bridge no longer kills the pet.
The pet running through a dock pole no longer kills the pet.
The pet falling through world geometry no longer kills the pet.
The dragon's port no longer instakills the pet.
A necromancer can no longer place a pet outside tower and then run to the upper floor to place groundtargets (without being exploded by enemies on his way back out).
Necromancer can't set pet inside a wall and remain immortal.
The necromancer can't grab detailed groundtargets in the courtyard from outside the keep.
In some keeps the necromancer would no longer be able to make the sprint from outer gate to inner gate/postern in shade form.
Issues modified by this change:
A necromancer having sent his pet into a keep/tower from outside is vulnerable to attacks.
A necromancer whose pet is not immediately in view is seconds away from being attackable or his pet is in sight and you need to look up (no more ticket spam).
Potential side-effects:
The necromancer's HoT ticks on pet while his invulnerability is revoked might give him aggro of mobs hitting the pet.
A keep/tower lord being hit with amnesia and then being hit by an abomination's proc-dd will give the necromancer aggro if he outside of LOS with revoked invulnerability (lord reset).
During lengthy fights such as a raid, the necro becoming vulnerable may yield aggro to the necromancer.
A necromancer (inside the courtyard) sicking his pet on an enemy running throughout the spiral stairs-oil area of the wall will be particularly vulnerable to bystanders.
A necromancer will be able to whack people with his stick while he is vulnerable (sudden ruptor) then revert to immortal by commanding pet back inside range.
A Mezzed necromancer might be impossible to cure mez on because of the effect being relayed to the pet (likewise Disease, Nearsight).
A meta involving making the shade attackable by breaking LOS
The hard tether causes a lot of problems with the pet suiciding anytime it clips underground or blinks through structures such as bridges. The soft tether range is restrictive on the necromancer's ability to pursue targets where if at any point he falls into the soft tether range he must give up chasing and call off his pet else he lose it.
Instead of automatically releasing the pet, revoke the shade's invulnerability whenever the pet is outside the hard tether range (visibly revert the morph anytime invulnerability is down). This preserves the necro's pet and permits the shade to be attacked
[Seeing the juggernaut size shift updating was fixed I don't think there would be any issues introduced by the model swapping out whenever the hard tether range is breached]
Going a step further is to introduce a LOS check to the soft tether. Doing so reduces the ability of a shade to safely park the pet and run into a group of enemies to set up groundtargets, while retaining the ability to allow the pet to attack enemies moving throughout structures and obstructions so long as the necromancer is catching LOS on his pet inside the 10 second window of the soft tether.
The price of violating either tether is vulnerability to direct attacks on the shade instead of the pet releasing. The LOS check on soft tether permits the range on soft tether being restored to its original pre-nerf value
---
Issues resolved by this change:
Necromancer jumping from bridge no longer sees his pet killed because it paths to the shore instead of jumping down.
The pet falling through a bridge no longer kills the pet.
The pet running through a dock pole no longer kills the pet.
The pet falling through world geometry no longer kills the pet.
The dragon's port no longer instakills the pet.
A necromancer can no longer place a pet outside tower and then run to the upper floor to place groundtargets (without being exploded by enemies on his way back out).
Necromancer can't set pet inside a wall and remain immortal.
The necromancer can't grab detailed groundtargets in the courtyard from outside the keep.
In some keeps the necromancer would no longer be able to make the sprint from outer gate to inner gate/postern in shade form.
Issues modified by this change:
A necromancer having sent his pet into a keep/tower from outside is vulnerable to attacks.
A necromancer whose pet is not immediately in view is seconds away from being attackable or his pet is in sight and you need to look up (no more ticket spam).
Potential side-effects:
The necromancer's HoT ticks on pet while his invulnerability is revoked might give him aggro of mobs hitting the pet.
A keep/tower lord being hit with amnesia and then being hit by an abomination's proc-dd will give the necromancer aggro if he outside of LOS with revoked invulnerability (lord reset).
During lengthy fights such as a raid, the necro becoming vulnerable may yield aggro to the necromancer.
A necromancer (inside the courtyard) sicking his pet on an enemy running throughout the spiral stairs-oil area of the wall will be particularly vulnerable to bystanders.
A necromancer will be able to whack people with his stick while he is vulnerable (sudden ruptor) then revert to immortal by commanding pet back inside range.
A Mezzed necromancer might be impossible to cure mez on because of the effect being relayed to the pet (likewise Disease, Nearsight).
A meta involving making the shade attackable by breaking LOS