Class Balance - What Does It Mean To You?

Player tanks being much stronger is not valid with your balance pov, pet classes being useless tank/healers in most important events but being penalized for being able to fill a role that they can't fill is really a trash concept. I agree player tanks should be better by far and pet tanks shouldn't be a thing in raids, but I'm not trying to penalize pet classes for restricted abilities like you are.

Again, seems really weird that someone who hasn't ever seen any play in the last couple expansions is telling everyone how balance should be because molo this and solo that. Necros just took a nerf and you're here asking for more without even setting foot in TOL/NOS. Maybe try things out first, join a guild and try a modern raid or do NOS merc/partisan. Your opinion may not change but at least it would be based on reality.

The second merc should not be there to gain more power but instead to gain access to the holy trinity which could mean that some merc types are locked to some classes or that they can only use weaker versions. Class specific sets of mercs are the key which would only compensate the weakness of a class.

As example the three strong pet classes do not need the current mercs at their full power so they would be fine with just 50-75% power versions as they can tank, heal and doing good damage already.

Another example: A rogue, berserker, monk or wizard does not need two additional DPS mercs (ROG/WIZ) at 100% power for anything else than farming weak mobs but in a two merc setup they would need a strong tank and a healer merc.

You do ignore the fact that EQ has also other content beside ToL and NoS that is also getting used by the players. Especially on prog servers. While balance might be better now in new expansions it is not for older content. Necros and SKs had received many nerfs in the past over many years but it never was enough. The class system has fundamental problems that cannot be solved with just a few nerfs here and there and it is not only about the necromancer.

I guess if that's what class balance means to you, doubt the devs will agree but to each his own. I especially doubt the TLP players want nerfs to all the strong classes in each era, but I guess FTP forumquesters gonna speak for them if they don't speak up.

https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...ere-are-the-memes.253134/page-51#post-4197850

You know, the real pipe dream here would just be a multi-account UI with party functionality that runs automated characters we build and script.

Like a "we provide the UI for using 2 or 3 characters at the same time using one or more autoplay features like a merc, and you provide the subscription for the accounts" ? Both parties win, I'd use it.

Good question - class balance in the past I thought nerfs are coming.
but I still dont see how making tank = main healers and healer = main tanks solves EQ issues.

As I monk I hate how we're always left behind out of anything cool or useful. Many melee DPS classes ( Monks included) have extremely outdated discis that could be upgraded to help bring dps in line. Bards also have disciplines yet get nada except an old burn and a group mana return.... Monks don't really bring adps to the table so that's out of the question, and our endurance return doesn't stack with the life return clickies from CoTF/NoS so most people in group miss out on the one thing we got anyways. "BuT mOnKs HaVe MeNd" yeah and we still pull the most aggro of all pure melee constantly having to FD which is also lost DPS. The solutions are there..... the devs are just lazy.

Monks. LOL.

I agree with most of your post but this ain't true.

Monk synergy is to die for.

Do you have any parses to show what kind of a difference synergy actually makes?

https://www.raidloot.com/spells?name=master's synergy IV&effect=&class=&level=&view=

[54183/49717] Master's Synergy IV
Classes: MNK/254
Skill: Melee
Target: Caster Group, MGB: No
AE Range: 100'
Resist: Beneficial, Blockable: Yes
Stacking: Master's Synergy 4
Focusable: No
Casting: 0s
Duration: 18s (3 ticks) Song, Dispellable: No
Max Hits: 90 Outgoing Hits Affected By Buff
1: Increase Base 1H Blunt Damage by 32%
2: Increase Base 1H Slash Damage by 32%
3: Increase Base 2H Blunt Damage by 32%
4: Increase Base 2H Slash Damage by 32%
5: Increase Base Hand to Hand Damage by 32%
6: Increase Base 1H Pierce Damage by 32%
7: Increase Base 2H Pierce Damage by 32%
Text: Your attacks resonate with Master's Synergy.
Increases base weapon damage of 90 melee attacks by 32%.

That procs when ever Buffeting of Fists is cast. ( every 30s )

Turning every class into mini-bards isn't the solution either.

I don't have parses, but can assure you spa 482 is a monster. Same spa as berserker mangling disc.

Far as I know it multiplies your damage by the % listed after all calculations, or at least most. A literal 32% increase in melee damage for all hit counters masters synergy provides (for slow hitters it lasts it's whole 18s cause they can't hit fast enough to use all the counters).

Kind of a quick and dirty parse on monk in a guild hall using mash keys but no big burns:

Fight #1 - 310s - 494K DPS
Fight #2 - 304s - 487K DPS

- Block synergy buff -

Fight #3 - 304s - 459K DPS
Fight #4 - 305s - 441K DPS

The delta between 3 and 4 are bit larger that I'd like to see and should run longer, yada, yada, etc.

Roughly ~9% difference between in DPS is honestly better than I expected although I suspect parse #4 may be an outlier because the %crit rate for that 5 min chunk was a good -0.75% lower than the other three.

A better way to think of 482 is that it's a modifier on your weapon's base damage (e.g., 30% SPA 482 = 30% higher weapon damage). 482 does not modify any flat additions to your hit value (DB) in contrast to the Funeral Dirge SPA (197), which works more how you're describing (it's literally a multiplier on whatever your hit would've done, inclusive of all modifiers).

It's even better for classes (berserkers, warriors) that get a larger portion of their damage from autoattack DPS. And it has the unique feature in EQ of being multiplicative with itself, meaning it is multiplicative with Mangling Disc rather than additive like any other EQ SPA would be.

When I think of class balance, my first thought is that magicians should get backstab. And AOE mez. And tracking. And we should be able to summon a rabbit out of a hat.

Maybe then the class will be balanced.

You can do those things now. There is just a very very very small chance of success. Keep trying though !

The water pet backstabs, mages get an elemental mez, and a kind of track in Sense Summoned for elementals.

When a rogue, berserker, or monk can min/max and heal at the level that a cleric of the same level can, then sure. Until that happens, then no a Raid geared Cleric should be able to win their battles because they can keep themselves and their group up long enough to win, not because they can do more DPS than actual DPS classes.