Since threads are being crossed instead of just referenced: I think that melee characters should be able to tank group content again. I think 2 mercs is a good idea. I think renovating by simply changing the mob levels to current levels for old unused zone would be a great idea.
personally the first time I remember ever having the holy trinity be a big thing was Gates but that's not important really I also remember monks being near gods due to high ac and such will all that luclin 100 ac items and thing but again not a big deal and about a 2nd merc if it was going to happen I would want something like how FF11 had mercs are first it being a npc that is only out for a number of kills or time whatever comes first also I would want it to not be useable on named due to stuff and junk but that's just me each person can feel how they want about things I am going to pout about my ds losing wifi soon
Melee characters already can "tank" group content, not as well as an actual Tank by any stretch of the imagination, I'm a group geared (not even high end group geared) monk who had less than 1.5k AA in HoT, less than 2k AA in VoA, less than 2.5k AA in RoF, and now only recently broke 3k AA in CotF (actually grinding to 4k so as to not waste the bonus); I have been perfectly capable of tanking in your average group with real players and mercs (2 healers for named). The better gear I have the better I could do, but anytime a real tank that wasn't 10-20 levels below me (or effectively naked) joined the group they could tank better than me. That is how it should be. As far as the Trinity goes, since that term was coined it has always meant Warrior, Cleric, & Enchanter. If you think it meant something different, that was just in your own mind; Devs have even used it and stated that they were specifically referring to those classes. Changes were made to the Knights, Druids, and Shamans and were stated to have been made to break hold that the Trinity held on grouping.
Only allow one merc per group. There's a somewhat reasonable argument that some players might be trying to form a group but lack an adequate tank, healer, or DPS. However if a group is missing two of those three roles it's either a boxer or a small collection of players not representing a reasonable cross section of classes. Grouping should encourage the inclusion of others. One Merc per person does not. If you group with any player who's not your class and one Merc isn't adequate to create a minimal group you are making more of an effort to create a "not group" than a viable group.
One merc per group eh? Might as well not have them then and we can return to the discouragement of being LFG for hours on end. Things are how they are with the current stat of mercs and their role. That role should remain where it is and not be subject to whatever agendas people feel they need to push. While I think 2 mercs per person is not feasible, this banter about mercs being reduced to one per group is unrealistic. Most people are not in favor of reduced options, mainly to appease the whims of those who hate the current state of things with players being able to field 3 mercs per group and box. Doing away with those aspects will not spark some renaissance of PUGing and revive the good ole days of LFG. It won't bust up the cliques or bring back all the lost subs or spontaneously make those who box shelve their army. More likely people will realize that what they once were able to do, even just as a contingency, is no longer at their disposal and have to face if they still want to be paying customers after. People have made their peace with mercs at this point. Its not a perfect system, but going to either extreme here will not benefit anyone. If you hate mercs than don't use them since they are optional but leave those to their own business that do chose to use mercs.
This is one of those things that makes sense if you think about it, but if you think about it too long, it doesn't. I regularly group my Ranger with my wife's Chanter. Before Mercs we didn't do too well without adding a healer class to this group. (ya think?) Add a healer and using the Ranger as a tank we had a basic trinity in a 3 person group. Forward to today, and we can add a healer merc and pretty much do the same thing as a duo. But while we're at it - the wife might as well pop her wizzie merc for extra DPS too, because Chanters make wizzies shine *more*. So the group now has 2-3 slots open. If a DPS comes - why drop the wizzie merc? - even more DPS. If a real healer comes - why not switch my healer merc out for more DPS too? Now if a real Tank comes - The poor Rat breathes a sigh of relief that he's not going to be the punching bag du jour. The tank wants to use HIS healer merc, so he can control the balanced / reactive button. And the Rat switches his healer for (you guessed it) more DPS. Even if you've built the basic group with real players - more mercs = more DPS. -Rat
Wrong. What you are doing is making do with what you have. What is better? Wait for that so called perfect group line up to occur and log after a certain time of non-accomplishment in disappointment or use the mercs and at least get started on something with the hope of gaining more PC players later on in the session? Not everyone lives in an part of the world or has a schedule friendly to the dominant East Coast US time zone which is prime time for most players. Even just living in Pacific Time is enough to make mercs important so you can only imagine what it is like for the few Aussies that still play. Battleaxe has the usual hate blinders on today. You need to knock that S off. Its Friday. No need to start the weekend on a sour note.
Thanks for the discussion folks. It has been enlightening. I withdraw my idea and accept that is based on ideas that are not held by others. Feel free to lock/delete the thread mods.
New viral video, 2 mercs 1 group. As for what's in the video, it's surprisingly close to it's namesake.
well I support mulit mercs but only one merc active and the rest inactive. All inactive would be taking a spot and geting exp when the 1st merc dies the 1st inactive merc goes active.
I would really like to be able to use two mercs at once. I have such a random play schedule that it would help me out a lot. I miss out on huge chunk of current content because of this. I keep up on all the expansions but haven't done a group mission in the last five. You might say I'm a loner but I've been playing since Velious and all my friends have left the game and I can't put the same amount of time in as I used to. I would love to go back and do all the older group content starting with UF and see what it's like. I would actually pay for a platinum level account to be able to use two mercs at one time. I know there are others in the same boat who don't want to box but want to enjoy current or not quite so current content. The more the options for players the longer you will keep them around.
I would rather use station cash to have SoE employees play classes I need in my group. They could come in 4 groups, noob, journyman, experienced, and expert. This would be a win/win. SoE employees could learn about the game they are running and earn additional revenue. I am completely joking, this would be a worse idea than multiple mercs. Any as those have stated before, they trinity was warrior, cleric, enchanter. Any one of them left the group without a replacement, in a dungeon the group was over. Ruven
This. Crowd control was so important back then and the Enchanter was the master of it. Yes other people played different ways and managed just fine with other groups, but this was the recognized so called holy trinity of eq. Those 3 classes grouped together could do anything. I played a druid way back when and my main playing partners were a paladin and a cleric. We managed but nowhere near as well/efficient as people playing together as the 'holy trinity'.
