Enchanter Illusions

Discussion in 'Casters' started by Ezrajka, Feb 15, 2014.

  1. Ezrajka New Member

    So I'm a brand new player. I recently discovered that enchanter illusions are now mere fun spells due to a nerf that was made years ago. I was wondering if the elemental illusions still grant levitation from the air illusion and the fire shield from the fire illusion elemental?

    I have become very discouraged to continue playing EQ once I found out that the enchanter illusions do not manipulate factions ( since that's what drew me into playing a enchanter). I also read somewhere that factions really aren't all that important anymore?! If so that's just sad. I really was looking for a mmo that is extremely unique unlike any other one out there. I feel as if I missed out on the early days of EQ.

    Anywho can someone tell me the benefits enchanters bring to other players or even the player playing as the enchanter via "outside of combat"? I know we get item enchanting spells, levitate, and invisibility... But what else? Enchanter is my favorite kind of class to play ( played a Mesmer in GW2. ) so I just hope we have our uses outside pf combat, I really like how EQ made certain spells/ abilities revolve around your interaction in the world vs just interaction for combat. Makes the game more unique than any other MMO. However, I'm getting a feeling that may not be so true anymore nowadays like it used to be.

    EQ already offers me adventure and exploration plus RPing, (which are must for me in any MMO). Now are there any enchanters out there that can help uplift me? A player who would still love to play this game despite the illusion changes/nerfs made to the enchanter?
  2. Dandin Augur

    Hello there young Enchanter!

    My name is Dandin, from the Bristlebane server, I'm sorry to see you are a little discouraged, But lets see if I can clear a few things up for you!

    Some illusions now are just for fun, or Roleplaying, if your into that sort of thing, and there is always the added bonus of being able to change how you look from time to time! however..

    Air elemental Illusion: Adds Levitation
    Fire Elemental illusion: Adds a small damage sheild
    Water Elemental illusion: Grants Enduring breath (Ability to breathe underwater, or, In the Grey)
    Illusion Troll: Adds 1 Hp regen/tick (every six seconds
    Illusion Spirit Wolf: Adds +15 Attack and +10 Cold Resist
    Illusion Scaled Wolf: Adds Movement by 42% (L44) to 45% (L50)

    these are just a few examples of some of the benefits of our illusions. Now I have no doubt you have talked to some other high level players that say "Well this is useless".

    This is there opinion, as they have ventured a long time in Norrath and have found other ways of granting these abilities through clicky buffs, other class buffs, or in some cases simply through gear, However, in the early game of EQ. in the lower levels. your illusions will be your best friends.

    This nerf you are referring to makes it so that NPCs see through your illusion and will attack you if you are of an opposing faction to them, BUT... as an enchanter, you can quickly make this issue a non issue by mesmerizing your attackers, and using memory flux, more commonly refereed to as memblur, and they will forget your even there! So, don't be afraid to go searching in Neriak for lost treasures!


    This is true that illusions don't manipulate factions, However, you do get a spell called Alliance, Which is a small faction modifier, which MAY in some cases allow you to slip by unnoticed in some cases, depending on where you are on the faction scale.

    Some factions aren't as important as they used to be, back in 1999, If you went and ransacked your hometown, you would be in a good degree of trouble, as you would have messed up your factions with the "Good" side, and would have issues finding vendors who would sell to you, ect, and Nobody likes being welcomed home by a guard brandishing a VERY Large axe.

    Factions still do play a large role in EQ, Just in different areas, they affect quests and progressions in some of the newer expansions, and are mostly influenced in those zones. However, if you wanted to have a nostalgic experience, You could go around fixing up your factions with the various races, by doing quests for them, and killing their enemies ! Its a very large world, Only you can control where you go and what you do!

    In terms of 'Early EQ" There are two progression servers, Vox and Fippy, although i think they are on to Seeds of Destruction Expansion now? (Dont quote me on that, As i dont play on them!) Seeds of destruction has some interesting faction based questlines in there as well, Specifically in Bloody Kithkor.

    For us, combat is only the beginning, although, In combat, is where we offer a great deal of support to others, We also shine in the following.

    We have several buff lines that other classes require, such as:
    Mana Regeneration. (Clarity, Clarity II, Kodiacs Endless Intellect ect ect)
    Haste. (Speed of Vallon, Wonderous Rapidity ect ect.)
    Spell level increase. (Intellectual Superiority)
    Mana (useful for necromancers, who have thier own mana regeneration line of abilitys) Gift of brilliance
    Physical Runes (Rune I, Rune II, ect ect) -- These buffs block physical damage from hitting your friends, up to a certain amount, then they fade away, These spells cost peridots to cast
    Spell Runes (Protection of Alendar ect ect) -- These buffs block a percentage of spell damage from hitting your friends, up to a certain amount, then they fade away, These spells cost peridots to cast
    Magic Resistance. -- Increase your friends Magic resist !

    As well as the standards such as
    See Invisible
    Levitate
    Invisibility
    Enduring breath

    Oh, and people like our illusions too! You get an AA later on that lets you turn your group mates into your illusions too!

    I could continue on for quite some time. but.. you could take a look at this website here for a look at ALL the Enchanter spells, per level, and what they do!
    CLICK ME !! Click Right here! CLICK ME!!

    We also have the ability to enchant metals that are used in tradeskilling, which make Enchanters excellent Jewelcrafters!

    In Combat, Well. I could write a book on that, so we'll save that for another time, Shall we =D

    I assure you, if you give it a little time, You will see your new Enchanter is quite fun to play, and offers you all the things your looking for. I would just encourage you to "TRY" to ignore some of the higher level players when they make broad sweeping statements like they seem to alot. Myself included =D

    Sometimes we forget that a newer player might not know some of the things we take for granted, So on behalf of the community, I apologize for giving you the wrong idea. Please. Go out there

    and have some fun!

    Oh, and if you need any specific advice about the class, or want some tips, You can type ;tell bristle.Dandin and send me a tell directly in game, Or send me a message on the forums here!

    GOOD LUCK.. HAVE FUN!
    Ezrajka likes this.
  3. Ezrajka New Member

    WOW Thank you Dandin for taking the time to reply to my message! And in such detail! You have truly inspired this young Enchanter to continue practicing his arts regardless of certain changes made! Im only Lv 12 but Iam looking forward to a wonder future with EQ as a enchanter. I play on the Vox server btw and my IGN is Aranylith, Im a High Elf. I didn't know Vox was a progression? That's perfect for me then. So far I haven't come across any RP guilds, and I hope to in the future since I really wanna get the most out of my Enchanter, and RPing adds a nice touch to a MMO.

    I had no clue we get wolf illusions either! and regardless if players don't like them at high levels that's ok with me. Im not trying to play a MMO to become "STRONG" or "THE BEST", I play to get away from reality from time to time, and invest myself in a world full of wonder. Sadly most players don't see it that way in MMOs today. Its all a number game to them. Its truly sad.

    But once again thank you so much for inspiring me to continue playing. I will be sure to send you a /tell.

    -Thank you Master Enchanter :)
  4. Filatal Augur

    I think you may have gotten some bad information on illusions. They do manipulate factions. But, faction is a many faceted beast. For example, I am a cute and lovable gnome and most ogres want to eat me. But I can illusion ogre inside Ogguk and walk around most places. The one area I still have to avoid is the shaman guild, as they do not approve of my god, Bristlebane. Had I chosen the easy route of agnostic, I would likely be able to roam the shaman guild also. But, I can not illusion dark elf and walk around Neriak, because as a good citizen of Faydwer, I spent many weeks attempting the clean the orc presence out Crushbone who were the pawns of the evil inkies. My deeds carried to Neriak and they have full description of my disguises.

    In short, our illusions, especially of player races, still have some faction benefits, but it will only take you so far along the faction scale. If you have become a complete pariah, then it might not be enough. Once upon a time, our werewolf illusion did give us beta neutral faction. This was how the first couple of Nagafen raids were able to recover corpses from underneath his feet. This was nerfed, but there are a few places where illusions can still help.

    It is true that faction in any newer content isn't as important, at least from the point of view of what we can do to manipulate it.
  5. Ratbo Peep Augur

    Oh trust me on this: When you want to know some numbers - Dandin's got most of those covered too. :)
    As for the racial illusions - like was said: They still impact faction a bit - but are no longer the be all and end all like they were in days gone by.
    PS: If you need to get "compliance" form an NPC that instinctively hates you - charming it can sometimes work too.
    -Rat
  6. Undignified New Member

    You could always play on Agnar (pop locked) and not only benefit from faction mattering but also play in the best era of EQ ever.
  7. Diptera Augur

    Outside of combat, chanters are great at getting to hard-to-reach places - illusion, alliance, regular and undead invis, mez, lull, banish and blur - we can *avoid* a fight like nobody's business.

    However, it's in combat that chanters really shine for crowd control - single mob? Tash, slow and stun. Adds? Bad pull? We got that locked down for you. We won't top the parses for dps, but your group's mobs will be served one at a time, pre-tashed, slowed and crippled, for easier consumption :)

    ..and that's before we mention Charming... ;)

    My chanter has a saying "Chanters: we just make things... easier"

    The difficult part is finding a group that knows how to behave when they've got an enchanter.. I found an old post from 2012 where I'd reposted the below "guide to grouping with a chanter" - as before, I don't know who the original author was, but they certainly knew a thing about being a group chanter... ;)


    repost, still as true as it ever was:

    Congratulations.

    You have invited an Enchanter to your group.

    I'm not a bot, as evidenced by the fact that I left the safe confines of PoK. None of my hotkeys advertise the fact that my buffs are indeed extended. I didn't ask you to initiate a group invite via trade window.

    Just because my class is superior to your own, doesn't mean that I'm unwilling to adapt to the classes, play-style or comfort level of your group. I'm really very adept at increasing the efficiency of your group in a multitude of ways.

    Some of you will need to review some of the basics of group dynamics and tactics. I mastered most of these at Orc 1 in East Commonlands. Some took me awhile longer, but I got them down on Orc Highway in Oasis. I no longer have the patience or desire to reinforce these at go-time. The group is trying to kill stuff right now. And if I gently reminded you about these constants of life inside the game, you'd only exploded defensively--"Don't tell me how to play my class!"

    Assist. GDI, Assist! It's not hard. Make a hotkey. Love it. Use it. That mob that is drooling on itself while you smash his buddy is standing there senseless for a reason. I put him in timeout. He's not tying his shoes. He'll still be there after the one that the MA is wailing on is dead. It is not a testament to how sneaky you are that you can get a free shot on him while he's not looking. In fact, he will run straight at me after you whack him, and I have more important things to do right now than stun him off and put him back into timeout.

    Assist is not an optional rule. Yes, he's beating on the cleric. That's my job. The cleric will be ready to heal you in a few seconds. Just keep helping the MA.

    MA? This refers to the Main Assist. This is the ONE PERSON with the authority to pick something to whack on. All other mobs in the world BELONG TO ME. I own them until the MA has bludgeoned his to death. This is imporatant: ALL JOO MOBS ARE BELONG TO ME!

    That means that the mob hovering dangerously close to the group is MINE. That means the one beating on me is MINE. That means anything pulled into camp is MINE. As a group we have designated the one individual who can chose one of my many mobs to play with.

    Let's talk about this MA again. He's special. Whatever he is hitting is the RIGHT MOB. Are you not sure which mob you should hit? It's the one that he is swinging at. Did I mez the mob he was hitting? Then I was wrong. I'll be retargeting and mezzing something else. It happens.

    MA, yes you with the plate mail, don't switch targets. Once you've locked in on a victim, stick with it. I'll deal with whatever chaos ensues afterward.

    Okay, I know it's against tank instincts to let the cleric take a beating. Okay, you trust me to deal with it myself. Let's cover another, even more likely scenario. I will get beaten on. Mobs don't like me. You may have seen the Wanted Poster we looted off the last mob. Yes, that was my picture. Mobs hate enchanters. When they beat on me, DON'T SAVE ME. I can take care of all of you, and I can take care of me. You will surely kill me if you try to hack up a mob I'm locking down. I don't want your help. I have a panic button that I'll hit if I really want your help. I think I've used it twice in the last couple of years.

    Mr. Cleric. Guess what. I am going to need a heal. Don't sneer at me from behind that plate armor you're wearing and about wasting mana on an enchanter. I do take into consideration your mana. My mana and your mana are group assets now. If I need a fast heal after locking down four or five mobs, so be it. Mana to throw me an occasional heal is far less than the mana you will expend healing our tanks with five unslowed mobs running rampant through the camp.

    Oh, where is my Virtue? Don't want to waste a peridot? Click off C5. How much to do you pay for a group cast of C3 from my **POIT** brethren? Are they here to haste your group so mobs don't last as long--to keep those precious red lines from dropping as far? Suck it up. I'm not a wizard with no idea how to control aggro. I'm going to get it sometimes. Often on purpose.

    Tell me again what I can't do? I can't pull? Let me bag my BCB and give the warrior a chance then. He's an excellent puller. He can single or double everytime. It's a good idea to have your tank or a DPS class out of the party on a consistent basis. I enjoy the time we spend together, even if it is at less than optimal experience.

    My bad, did I imply that enchanter wasn't DPS class? Sorry, that hasted, dual-wielding monstrosity that outdamages the party as a whole doesn't count, right? But you don't like it when I charm anyway. I need a couple of heals when it breaks. He tends to break charm at inopportune times. Um...stun...and let's get this thing back under control so we can continue this dungeon or camp.

    Hey all you dotting classes: Stop dotting the incoming pulls. The six-second mezzes don't make me happy. Especially if I've started debuffing. Find the one that belongs to the MA and dot to your hearts' content. Leave my mobs alone. Oh, but it's snared? Great, but I'm not a bard. I can't cast while running.

    For you combat innate junkies...I only have eight slots for spells. That's about ten shy of what I need to do everything I'm expected to. I admit that I lack permanant illusion. So NDT / Boon is a dedicated slot. Unlike other casters, I don't have to select from 'little nuke', 'big nuke', 'ungodly nuke', 'malo' and 'snare' and scrounge the spell book for three more spells to make everything look nice in my UI. If others in your group (surely not you) are making my job difficult then I'm loading root instead of your werewolf form. Sorry for that. But suck it up.

    No, you don't know which spells I should have loaded. Talk to the cleric who is chaining Celestial Heal on the tank and complains that he is OOM from CHealing.

    When I miss a timer for a rebuff, wmp is not really neccessary. I do understand my role. Mana ALWAYS permits for haste. If I have to click off Rune and chew a mod rod to get it back up, there is always mana for haste. Even more so than mana regen in most cases. Don't be shy. "Haste, !" works just as well.

    Rangers and Necros - Aggro kiting, fear kiting, snare kiting, bow kiting...these are all excellent methods of crowd control. I am not arguing the utility of these techniques. I wish I had snare. But these are great ideas IF we have decided that this is how we're gonna operate BEFORE I have locked down, tashed and slowed mobs. Bad news for me. My aggro > Your aggro. If you insist on running dotted mobs all over the zone, please do solo. Don't let them run free in circles around camp, triggering my response of locking them down. Not nice to tease the chanter. Especially when I let you get eaten because I thought you were still just "bored" and "playing with the mob".

    btw, Wake the Dead makes me smile.

    IF you have explained to me that my job will be to just slow everything and nuke when I have mana, don't when your technique of TRAIN-ROOT-KILL gets you killed. I said I could adapt. Yes, I'll be mezzing the rooted casters, but it's your ballgame and I'm gonna play by the rules. This method is kinda fun, but big boy rules, big boy hammer.

    Lastly, I put away those "MEZZING %T." and "%T is MEZZED" hotkeys around level 45. I don't appreciate macro spam in group, so I try not to add to it. I don't care what nuke the wizard is using. I don't care what god the cleric invokes for healing.

    If you see many mobs coming to camp, the MA will whack something and I'll take the rest. I don't feel the need to walk you through crowd control, mob by mob. Don't just whack whatever is closest to you. Don't whine that I didn't SAY I was mezzing it. How do you know I'm gonna mez something? Because it's running around in my camp. And it's not the designated target. (See MA above) I do have a set of macros saved to put these hotkeys back in for the benefit of the group. But c'mon. How different are the basics when pulling Orc 1 from Level 65 LDoN Hard? Just different models.

    If you can't do the simple things, I going to let you die. None of that fancy, "You break it, you buy it~" nonsense. You will see your bind point if you can't play well with the chanter. Being relentlessly tell-spammed for C3 has made me a bitter, nasty toon to deal with.

    Good Hunting.
  8. Lockdown Elder

    Was this the thread that got our illusions nerfed? Because, as it is, none of those mechanisms work any more, except levitation. Our illusions, save for the combat innates with their notoriously short durations and long refresh times, do pretty much nothing.

    I'm not sure what was so game breaking about our lowbie illusions and their benefits, but they're gone now. It's like the Devs flung their hands up in a mad panic, running around in frantic circles, "Oh, my God! Enchanters can do something??? We must stop this!"
  9. GoneFission Augur

    Doing the progression tasks in Scorched Woods for EoK, I used wood elf illusion dealing with the centaurs and dark elf illusion dealing with the burynai and saved a lot of faction swing time. The illusions let my groups stay close to middle, get all the tasks from both sides, and then just finish them in an order that used the least faction movement.
    Ezbro likes this.
  10. Lockdown Elder

    On the subject of our illusions getting nerfed, one of my alts is a Druid. I couldn't help but notice their wolf illusion still has it's run speed buff our Scaled Wolf does not.

    I'd really like to know why that is. Why is it only Enchanters have their buffs removed from their illusions?
  11. Genusii Journeyman


    You're starting to catch on!

    Genusii LuvtoDrink
    115 Enc
    Tunare
    21 years of paid account - Enchanter only class I played
    Retired forever