Help with duo decision - Aradune

Discussion in 'Time Locked Progression Servers' started by AshKetchum, May 13, 2020.

  1. AshKetchum New Member

    I know I know the age old "what duo should I play?" So here's my dilemma, my brother will be playing on Aradune and he's going mage / wiz. I thought about going mage / dru or sk / shm. I've already done ench / (clr/shm) and mnk / shm multiple times before so I'm looking for something a bit different. I have been trying to mull this over for a week now. Looked at multiple posts... but I've been hesitant to make a decision. A pro/con or tips/tricks or even other ideas for duos that would set well with his duo and possibly a grp setting. Thanks!!
  2. RandomStrategy Augur

    Since wizard/mage has ports covered along with plenty of DPS, I'd go Shaman/Shadow Knight to round out the utility/heals/tanking.

    Paladin/Bard is also a great compliment to mag/wiz, as the utility of a bard grants mana regen for less downtime, and the paladin can withstand a lot of damage with self heals and rez to get everyone back up if there's a wipe.
    AshKetchum likes this.
  3. Minpire Augur

    Does MOTM still/has Lowered 2hand damage and bosses Favor faster attacks with lower dmg? Like VOX//Naggy? i have only seen monk /Shaman Duo those 2 and others on TLPs
  4. BoatsNotes New Member

    With a shaman as one of your boxes, you can pretty much tank with anything you want including a monk or ranger and makes duoing alone possible.

    If you are playing with him alot, then a cleric and a tank would be good, especially since you would have a pretty good starter group right away, shouldnt be too hard to add in an enchanter and another dps or just 2 dps. The cleric heals and rez are obviously superior to a paladins, but that duo wouldnt be great if you will be on your own often.
    AshKetchum likes this.
  5. RandomStrategy Augur


    Duo in what era? My paladin/shaman combo can duo anything up to (a few) Velious targets on Agnarr. Bury your buffs under clickies for dispel waves and let the damage shields do the work. Melee damage doesn't do much in the way of MOTM for a lot of targets.
  6. AshKetchum New Member

    I've seen SK's pull in grp settings before - I'm assuming it's pretty similar to pull with an SK as it is a mnk?
  7. RandomStrategy Augur


    They both feign death to split camps/mobs, it's debatable on which is easier/more reliable.
  8. Vetis Elder


    There is an easy answer to this.

    Shaman + any melee or tank

    If you are considering Shaman then you're pretty much good to go. I think you could absolutely be fine with the Magician/Druid as well because mage pet will be tanking and magicians can heal their pets and the druid can heal as well + of course buffs/ports.

    Both of your choices should do just fine. It will be very easy to pick up a 5th and 6th person to round out your group so honestly go with any of those choices.

    That being said if you are considering other options or something more optimal I believe you are missing CC so throwing in a bard/necro/enchanter one of any of these and your group will be much more rounded if you are intending for it to be just the two of you most of the time.

    If we are being meta game min max basement dwellers the answer is obviously enchanter/cleric but the reason WHY is because the utility these bring which is healing/pulling/CC which the magician/wizard combo lacks. Which is why my recommendation would be to fill those roles IF you don't want to just bring in pugs. So.. Bard/healer, enchanter/healer, necro/healer.

    I guess my final point before I shut up will be if you are determined not to go to Ench/Cleric and you can't completely break the chains of being a meta slave then you would probably want to do something like Bard/Shaman.

    Wizard/Magician/Bard/Shaman would have a very good time. =)
  9. BoatsNotes New Member

    Ya pretty much, i think snare/dots can be helpful for splitting, but honestly theres no too much splitting going on anyway in early eq on tlps (I guess in a duo box situation you might do it more).
  10. Accipiter Old Timer


    The SK is more reliable, at least until monks get Echo (aka monk mez). The SK can snare, FD, and instant invis. Hard to beat that combo.
    Zapford and AshKetchum like this.
  11. AshKetchum New Member

    My two favorite things in EQ is pulling and DPS - it's why monks are my main love for EQ. But I'd love to do something that isn't what I've already done and use to it this time around.
  12. AshKetchum New Member

    How well does bard/shaman do?
  13. BoatsNotes New Member

    You are basically just root rotting with the shaman and using the bard for mana and hp regen songs when you duo, but they work well with your brother's toons. Bard's issue is they cant really tank because they have issues pulling aggro.
    AshKetchum likes this.
  14. Bullsnooze Augur

    MAG/WIZ (Tank, Damage, Ports, Evac.)

    I'd pair that with a Bard/Healer.

    Bard/Cleric (Single Pulls, CC, Haste, Slow, Regen, Selos, Best Heals, Rezz, Best HP Buffs)
    Bard/Shaman (Single Pulls, CC, Haste, Best Slow, Regen, Selos, SoW, Heals, DoT Damage, Best Utility buffs)
    Bard/Druid (Single Pulls, CC, Haste, Slow, Regen, Heals, DoT Damage, Nukes, HP Buffs, Animal Charm)
  15. Ultrazen Augur

    I duo'd Chanter/Druid on the last TLP and it was great. It's also perfect with what your brother is playing. With charm pet, that 4 team is a wrecking crew. Tank, heals, snares, ports, evacs, damage shields, buffs, you literally have it all.
  16. Vetis Elder


    My answer is different from one's you have received. I mained a bard and usually boxed him with a necromancer. There are several ways you can play the shaman/bard combination. First and foremost understand Shaman especially Ogre Shaman is the most powerful class in classic without charm. It is the only class that can solo kill Efreeti Lord Djarn.

    Now with that in mind how can we couple a bard with the shaman? Well the bard is one of the best pullers in the game (in my opinion BETTER than Monk *winks at monk mains*)

    Additionally something I really enjoy is pulling a mob (in an open zone) to my shaman then sending the shaman pet (with haste and haste on the bard) a dot or two and then the bard will snare/fear/haste and follow the mob to kill it.

    You can root rot of course. But here is why I disagree with the earlier gentlemen saying bards can't tank.

    Bard is a plate class with the ability to generate quite a lot of aggro in classic - velious additionally the shaman has slow. What I did with my bard was put all of the heal procs on his weapons and get weapons with heal or life steal procs. So if you run these with chloroplast/bard regen song/haste and are single pulling mobs of which are slowed you will VERY EASILY be able to tank most if not all group content mobs.

    The downside? Shaman and Bard DPS are both pretty light but you will definitely kill things. Now if your buddy is bringing the fire with magician/wizard I think bard/shaman will create a beautiful symphony of death to all the monsters of Norrath.
    code-zero likes this.
  17. Kobra Augur


    Shaman are powerful but they are not the only class that can kill efreeti without charm.

    I regularly soloed that camp as a necro in era.
  18. Zapford Elder

    SK / Shaman for sure. Both classes bring a ton to the table. Just don't ignore/forget a good long range bow. I was always amazed at how many SK's and Warriors didn't use a bow back in the day. When your competing for pulls it can really keep the mobs coming in without wasting mana. Probably a no brainer nowadays 20 years later...
  19. BoatsNotes New Member

    Shaman slow is so strong that almost anyone can tank a regular mob with it. The bards issue is generating aggro, what’s the point in loading the bard up with heal augs and stuff when you could just root it and dot it or just let the shaman tank? And why do some elaborate fear strat when you can just root it? Having the bard do mana/hp/spell shield while canni on the shaman root rotting things is maybe less exciting but certainly more efficient.
  20. Accipiter Old Timer


    Until you get the Terror line, yes.