I love my shaman partially because hitting the skillcap on him is so difficult. He has so many tools to give your team an edge that if you just use a basic multi-bind with reckless heals + lion's roar + swell/renewal you're not getting all you can from him. I think it's a shame that they nerfed the shaman's DoTs so much. I know it was justified in many respects, but in my group DoTs aren't that effective because of the kill speed I have, but the shaman could do OK on some named mobs. But now even with a full set of DoTs being cast he's only getting some 100-150k DPS. I wish that they'd add a new rank of chaotic venom. Something with a 30+ second recast time, huge mana requirement but applied 2 DoTs and a nuke.
you can easily get to 50% effectiveness on a shaman with only a few hotkeys if you have reasonable timing and understand how to maximize your use of 5 lines. its' not even much of a challenge. with ISB you can hit probably 90% if you take the time to optimize, but more realistically 75% is fairly easy to achieve. I agree, there's much more to manage on a bard, but even with just /melody + a few hotkeys you should be able to produce a decent effort imo.
as I said in my other posts, 75% is pretty easy to achieve, but the skill of the player and knowledge of the class is all fleshed out in that last 25%. stacked 9 dots on a named the other night and was still under 200k dps =\. it made me very sad. I got outparsed by a monk..... that made me log =(
Lots of bards think that, then they fail miserably at timing or understanding how to stack aDPS. Don't even get me started on the bards who can't break 100k, let alone 160-200k on most of the RoS fights.
In a group setting with a solid tank, most of a shaman's utility isn't needed. When I'm boxing my shaman with my SK, I have 4 buttons set up that probably utilize most of my potential needed. The first is an /assist tank, malo, slow, quickdot, quickdot cast. The second is a HoT type, that does splash, group HoT, Lion, recourse, and counterbias. The third casts 5 dots that I use for named or high HP mobs. The fourth is my spam heal that does /tar tank, reckless, recourse, reckless, splash. I cast the first one on just about every mob, the 2nd one every minute or so, and the 4th one when I've overpulled and discs are down. That's about all the utility that a sham needs with a solid tank. With ISB, I could set it up much more efficiently, but I typically just 2-box and have 2 screens so I don't alt tab and can easily react to unique situations that need more than a 5-cast hotkey.
I wasn't saying you can't make use of it, I was simply saying that claiming you get 75% of a class while boxing isn't exactly realistic or fair. Even with what you said, it's not 75%.
when someone can post a video on using 3rd party programs right on the Official forums and the company just ignores rip. but it is kinda the only way to box melee . I boxed Sk , bard , wiz , mage for alot of years and it got boring , caster gear for most part is boring . that being said pick a main no matter how many you end of boxing . I suggest the tank they have the most interesting gear and upgrading him has the biggest impact of the group.
I agree that's not 75%, but it's not really that far off. a few tweaks based mainly on playstyle and personal preference and he's got most of my group setup covered. Even if he's not hitting 75% of what's possible, he's still over 75% of what a lot of shamans do in a group with that setup. Add in a short duration buff hotkey and he's $ imo.
There is nothing against the rules in using ISB unless on a true box server. Key broadcasting is legal. Automated game play is not legal on any server. There is a huge difference and trust me when I say what Tucoh is doing even with the use of ISB is pretty damn amazing. The skill he performs managing 6 toons is superior to most people playing one toon. The fact that he can perform the way he does using 6 different classes shows immaculate attention to detail and knowledge to make them work as one unit. If I could even perform at 50% of what he does I would consider that successful.
It's impressive that 1) the game's mechanics are so deep that there is somehow always room for further optimization and 2) that some of you have the drive and dedication to continue to crunch the data and learn even more about what is possible.
Heck that's half the fun, Tucoh inspired me to add to the group and start doing it myself (and it has been quite addicting). Going with a full 6 man has been great so far, I've gotten to the point where it's easy to add/subtract classes and power level alts, run multiple group setups. Only part that has sucked is having to go back and start on EoK progression for the 2nd/3rd round of alts.
I agree. Without being able or willing to spend nearly as much time in Norrath, there are only two main draws for me: helping new and returning players and optimizing my (awful) UI and 3-box actions. Without [scary 3rd party software] I would not log in at all.
I've got a few extra accounts that I don't normally put in the groups, being able to form two groups to XP with is stupidly strong. Having the cleric/sk in a group with two mercs, and bard/DPS/toon to be leveled in the other...
The fun thing about multiboxing just about any crew is the pleasure of learning the intricacies of other classes. True story, when our son bequeathed his SK to us back in the TBM era we couldn't kill a group namer with him. It was truly frustrating. Our son, on the other hand, could wade into a room full of red cons and come out smelling like a rose. Much study and experimentation later we kill just about anything we come across. It keeps the game fresh and interesting learning how to optimize other classes.
That's the kind of response I expect from someone who is looking to not just be good but be great at something. People who are ok with just getting by at something rarely are looking to improve. Those who want to be the best (or at least the best they can be) are always looking to improve. I don't have nearly the time nor the drive of someone like yourself for EQ but its still inspiring seeing someone perform like you do at anything in life. It shows a true passion for this amazing game and is a pleasure to see your thought process on the forums and then actually see it in action when you post your videos. I am always amazed when I see anyone doing something in life that I can do but they are doing it at a superior level compared to me. Instead of hating on the person for being great it makes me want to study how they perform so I can hopefully get to where they are at. Its people like yourself that push the envelope and inspire others to not just be good but be great.
