Adding a F2P toon to group... CLR, DRU or BRD most effective F2P?

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by Kywen, Feb 8, 2020.

  1. Kywen Augur

    Adding a F2P toon to WAR/BST duo which are subbed.

    I want to either add CLR, DRU or BRD... which will be most effective as a F2P? Basically, which needs the fewest AA? I am guessing Bard would be the most useful free character, followed by Cleric and then Druid, but I don't really know.
  2. forbes77 Elder

  3. Tucoh Augur

  4. SunDrake Augur

    Bard for gameplay. Druid for ease of gameplay. But choose Bard. There is no Bard merc, depending on your goals you can work with a healer merc. If you decide you want a real healer, your Bard retains its use.
  5. Vumad Cape Wearer

    Bards pull a lot of song aggro and such so if you are pulling multiples you need to make sure you pickup the adds immediately with the warrior. I have a FTP bard and he dies a lot, but I am ENC, CLR, MAG so I can't pickup aggro well. Trying to make sure he's not dying all the time slows down my pulls. Swarming without AE aggro is a no go with a bard around.

    My druid is my most useful FTP because of ports. Druids and bards can both track, clerics can not. They can also both snare, clerics can not. There is (virtually) nothing a FTP cleric can do that a J5 merc can not.

    If I could easily swap my cleric for a druid, I would, but there is a lot of history on that character. Not having ports or track in TBL and TOV is a bummer but not a deal breaker.
  6. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    Well, okay. Let me count the number of ways this statement is completely and utterly false.

    List of things a FTP cleric can do that merc healers cannot:
    • Rez during a fight
    • Buff during a fight
    • Cast mitigation and HP auras.
    • Cast Dicho
    • Divine Aura
    • Cast other mitigation (Shining Fortress) and healing buffs (Divine Guardian, Retort)
    • Debuff mob DS
    • Cast Divine Intervention
    • Cast Divine Aura
    • Root
    • Fear
    • Yaulp
    • Turn Undead
    These are just off the cuff. Took me 20 seconds to make this list, so I probably missed some.
    Just....wow. If you think a merc healer is anywhere NEAR the capability of a real cleric (even FTP), you are either seriously misled or completely ignorant to the Cleric class.
  7. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    Bards bring a lot of utility to a group. But a real Cleric is so far above and beyond mercs there's no comparison. Encounters you may not otherwise survive with a merc healer can be healed through using a real Cleric.


    I would put it like this: 1 real Cleric >= 3 merc healers as far as group power is concerned.
  8. Vumad Cape Wearer


    Lets add to your cleric list that clerics can also epic, divine arb, quite prayer, spire of the vicar, several healing spell haste AA, swarm pet, divine rez, burst heal AA and group version...

    Context...

    Druids can
    Buff during a fight
    Debuff
    snare
    root
    dot
    nuke
    succor

    Bards can
    overhaste
    mez / ae mez
    snare
    dps
    charm
    slow
    mana regen
    fade
    lull
    boost AC

    So in the context of another character would take the place of the PC cleric, a druid PC w/ cleric merc has much more utility than a cleric with any of the 4 mercs.

    Sorry my "nothing" was too definitive in that it distracted from the point that clerics are currently the most easily substituted class in the merc game atm by far.
    Raptorjesus5 likes this.
  9. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    As someone who plays both a Druid and Cleric at endgame, you're wrong again. Don't mistake utility for survivability. And evac doesn't count. That is not 'surviving' a fight. That's turning tail and running. Not the same thing.

    There's no question Druids are fantastic. But healing a single target? No class in the game is better at it than a Cleric. Mercs are convenient. But what is convenience if you can't stay alive long enough to kill the target? Build yourself a solid foundation first (tank/heals) then you can build the rest and it will stand the test of time.
  10. Vumad Cape Wearer


    I also have a "(group) end game" cleric so you're not telling me anything I don't already know about the abilities of a cleric. I get it, but that is not what we are talking about here. i will freely admit I know little about druids outside of the performance I see out of some very talented druids I play with that I will readily take in the absence of a cleric.

    The main thing here is that you have lost sight of the topic at hand. This is a discussion about a free to play character. This is not an end game character. This is a character that will under perform a J5 merc.

    So, if this is a fully FTP character... It can battle rez but only with the spell. It will only cast heals up to 110, none at rank 2. It will not be able to divine arb, burst heal, spire, frenzy, turn undead, divine rez, quiet prayer or any of that AA related stuff. Yes, it will still be able to cast fortress, DI and use auras, but is a FTP cleric going to outperform a J5 merc? I stand by what I said. Cleric is the most easily substituted (by a merc) class in the game.

    I absolutely will not argue with you about wether or not clerics are the best healers in the game because there is no debate. But does the best tank in the game with a slower really need the best healer? And is the best class for healing really the best healer on FTP? No and no. A FTP druid and J5 cleric merc will vastly out-heal a FTP cleric and a J5 rogue/wiz/tank merc. His FTP Box cleric will not replace his J5 cleric merc, so is adding in another cleric just for fortress, DI, auras and some weak patches worth the effort?
    Raptorjesus5 likes this.
  11. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    I am talking about the OPs question. What should he make? My answer is, unequivocally, Cleric. Nuance between FTP and Gold nonwithstanding (as a FTP he loses the ability to use a J5 merc anyway), Cleric is the clear choice.
  12. Raptorjesus5 Augur

    My vote is for druid. You will get the most utility with the least amount of issues. A bard wouldn't be a terrible choice if you don't mind dying a lot due to song aggro.

    Definitely do not choose a ftp cleric. Nothing against clerics, but why would you do that when cleric mercs exist. Not having track is also a huge deal to me.
  13. kookoo Augur

    shaman :: no mana issues like a free to play druid would have, you will always have shm buffs ( no need for skin with a clr merc ), slow ( even mitigated is good to have ) , call of the pack aura add mana / hp ( 30,000 hp / mana once maxed and 80 % haste { other in group it is half that with a 75 % haste } and pets, summoned pets can have the haste as well .

    ***cannibalise line of spell to gain mana faster { spiritual channeling as well }
    ***unity line of buff, add hp , str and stamina plus 11 % avoidance
    ***roar buff ( lion ) once maxed can crit up to 110k or so .{ add a overtime heal who stack with HOT as well ).

    shm epic is great to have for any levels, ( specially when meleing ).
    *** group ovetime heal.
    *** instant cast cheetah run speed ( can make an hotkey with cheetah and group invis at same time ),
    *** best root / ae root from AA , for CC
    *** good heals / rain heals, { specially at higher levels,}

    for any FTP toon it is good to get them a kronos at some point { level 100 + ) to unlock all the aa;s avail, to get your toon stronger,