Trio Question

Discussion in 'Casters' started by Eggolas, Apr 21, 2016.

  1. Eggolas Augur

    Looking to level some 100 characters to 105 in a variety of non-raid settings including TBM progression and wanted opinions:

    Red Team: Bard (100), Mage (100), Rogue (100)
    Blue Team: Bard, Mage, Ranger (98)
    Green Team: Bard, Mage, Shaman (92)

    Disclosure - I am not very adept at boxing, so the Bard, Mage, Healer, Caster DPS takes some doing. Because of that, I want to concentrate on one melee. Ranger would autofire, snare and DS, Shaman would slow, debuff, dot if needed and VP for CC as required not to mention just being a nice buff box. Rogue -- there it gets interesting as I'd have to concentrate on Rogue buttons so that /melody just plays until snare required and mage pet tanks.

    Which of these teams would work best?
  2. Rhaage Augur

    I would vote green.

    *most* of the shaman and mage can be set with a social hotkey leaving you to focus on pull with the bard and setup your melody, you'd have to spend some time working on how to make sure the bard doesn't take aggro from the pet tank but with the recent pet changes you should be able to make it work.
  3. Vivamort Augur

    As another low skill boxer, I find melee to be too bothersome to include in my box teams, since positioning is an issue, so one doesn't get out of range messages. I would agree with the vote of green, even if the mob is pushed out of the bard's melee range it is still contributing with its /melody.
  4. Eggolas Augur

    Update: Thus far, the Red and Green teams have been the most successful and the Red team helped in TBM formats. Part of that is undoubtedly the difference between having a 92 Shaman and a 101 Rogue for DPS. Melee positioning has not been an issue. The Mage pet tanking has been excellent and the Bard's melee range has been adequate, no out of range messages, allowing me to focus on the Rogue's DPS button management. Ranger has not been tried.
  5. Bashiok Crownguard Augur

    are u able to keep selo's kick on cooldown
  6. SteelToe Elder

    With no software assist and concentrating on the Rogue's DPS, something has to give and that would be Selo's Kick.

    Ready to head to TBM progression and see if boxing with the Red Team will work. Might change out a merc for a guild member tank though. In Defense of Health likely next.

    Meanwhile, I did try the Blue Team last night. Ranger is 97 I guess and although it worked, killing was a bit slower than with the Red Team.

    Is TBM doable with this team without software assistance?
  7. Blurred_Memories Augur

    winning team: enchanter, enchanter, enchanter
    !!!
    RPoo and Sindaiann like this.
  8. Sindaiann Augur

    Hell yea!
  9. Eggolas Augur

    That is what I get for posting this on the caster section! :)
    RPoo likes this.
  10. Eggolas Augur

    Update: Bard at 104, Mage at 103, Rogue at 102 and Shaman at 94 ... Ranger ... not playing

    Green Team working well, but Shaman level may be an issue. Red Team still kills faster in most group content and especially in DH HAs.

    For TBM, would it be better to have a 105 monk instead of a 104 Bard leading the group? Also, with Bard/Shaman/Mage, what would be the optimal merc setup?
  11. Eggolas Augur

    Update: 105s - Monk, Bard, Paladin, Mage and Rogue. Ranger 102. Shaman . . . not so much.

    Most often played team in non-TBM content: Bard/Rogue/Mage (Red Team). Easy macro key for Mage Pet engagement and concentration of AAs on Pet survival allows for concentrating on Rogue. Bard pulling and CC very good. In CotF and TDS, Ranger works as substitute for Bard, but would likely be much better with levels and AAs.

    Have not used either team in TBM, preferring to bring a single character and team with a friend's Bard/Mage combination. Works well.

    What I like about Red Team: Mostly I like being able to pull with the bard and engage with mage pet, casting Surge for a 4.7K DS with Bard melody and excellent taunting, allowing Rogue to position in back for DPS. Mage CoH really simplifies overall movement, especially if zone travel is involved. Overpull can be handled by Fading Memories, Mez, Host of Elements, etc. No third party software assistance required, but it did take some time to get the process down. Bringing them on line in the same order all the time helped to keep straight which one was active.

    Blue Team: Also very good, although with Ranger at 102, not a fair comparison. I just like playing a Rogue more, but in a DH HA there isn't much difference between the two in killing speed.

    Now, if I only had a zerker . . .
  12. Picaresque Augur

    Um . . . Ranger substitutes for Rogue. :)
  13. Eggolas Augur

    Update on Combinations:

    Bard/Rogue/Mage or Bard/Ranger/Mage can handle most content efficiently, including TDS progression and TBM HAs. Changing mercenaries to fill group depending upon need for greater dps or greater healing. These two groups are very strong and easy to play. Macros are used for the Mage Pet to tank and to Malo the mob. Play concentrates on Rogue or Ranger.

    Bard/Shaman/Mage: Two macros used for Shaman and Mage. It's OK.

    Monk/Ranger/Mage: Delightful combination, great DPS and control.
    Monk/Shaman/Mage: Not bad overall, but not as much dps as the above. Can set DPS mercs to burn once Pet gains enough aggro.
    Monk/Rogue/Mage: Works, but monk dps takes a hit because of need to control Rogue. Using 2H on Monk.

    Paladin/Ranger/Mage: Can handle most things with two available tanks. Ranger can melee or use ranged attack. Ranger or Paladin can pull, either can assist in crowd control. Nice combination.

    Paladin/Shaman/Mage: OK, slow killing but no problems overall.
    Paladin/Rogue/Mage: Actually works well with Rocky the tank, Paladin pulls (dulcify or shackles/assist aggro pull) and uses 2H DPS and Rogue providing DPS.

    Yes, I have too many alts and it dilutes the accumulation of AAs. But it's fun.

    Experimenting with Warrior/Cleric/Monk and Warrior/Shaman/Monk in the 50s. Biggest issue is the warrior gets pushed out of combat range from time to time, unlike the mage pet. Any ideas of how to handle that problem?
  14. IblisTheMage Augur

    Bard/Mage/Mage?
  15. Raptorjesus5 Augur


    I know you posted this a while ago, but if you back the warrior into a wall or corner when possible it will prevent the push back issue.
  16. Eggolas Augur

    Raptor, that is the best solution. I can tab over during a fight to position the warrior, but being against a wall or in a corner is best.

    The Monk-Warrior-Shaman are levels 54-55. They can tear apart Grieg's End. The question going forward is where best to take the group to continue testing their abilities. I'm thinking that The Hole might work from the drop in point past the stone gargoyles.

    On a different matter, the Red Team (Bard/Rogue/Mage) is incredibly fun and versatile. However, now that the Ranger is 105 and 10K in AAs, the Blue Team (Bard/Ranger/Mage) has great DPS and versatility.
  17. Eggolas Augur

    15-month hiatus and two new expansions later, I want to revisit the trio with an eye towards EoK and RoS. The mage is 105 and EM16. Will earth pet continue to be a viable tank as long as a monk or bard is used for pulling, or is a EM23 required? Or a warrior? I could level and gear one.

    Pullers are a 105 bard and 105 monk. That account also holds a 106 paladin in TBM/EoK T1 gear.

    That leaves the last account holding a 106 Rogue, 105 Ranger and 103 Shaman. Mix and match has been fun, but very clearly, I am not playing each to its fullest. Too many AA buttons.

    Then again, warrior, cleric, bard with three wizard mercs . . .
  18. DomeGuy23 New Member

    My 104 Mage Earth Pet tanked singles fine in The Overthere (RoS). Wasn't brave enough to try nameds, but I suspect splattage would have occurred.
  19. IblisTheMage Augur

    Eok progression is not doable for mage pet without good cc.
    You can easily get em 18 from yeti patriarch (kill massive yeti tracked by bard, look out for when patriarc pops). There is a em 19 in ros.
  20. fransisco Augur

    Ive had no problems duoing with a mage and a enchanter.
    At 106 I had my earth pet tank named without issue (only healers were 2 mercs).