Adding a third to my SK/Sham combo.

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by Adeus, Jan 27, 2016.

  1. Adeus Journeyman

    Greetings,

    As a returning/returned player, I've been having a great time with my Shadow Knight and Shaman box combo, and I feel it is time to push it further and introduce a third.

    The question I have is which class should I add to have best balance and gain the most benefit for group content - I've tried to do various searches for hints/tips/answers, but they're coming up with topics which are several years old.

    While the consensus seems to be to add a magic user such as a Magician or Wizard, I've also seen a high number of Enchanter or Bard recommendations - I've played all these classes at varying levels so I'm aware of the basic fundamentals of them, not looking for what would be most fun, I'm more focused on which class is going to add more/take me further.

    I lack the expansive knowledge of the current game state to make a decision, could you kindly make a recommendation for a third class?

    Much appreciated.
  2. Sheaffer Augur

    Bard is going to be a popular answer but honestly I think it's overkill. They do a ton for SKs, yes, but I think you'd be better served adding some DPS. Wizards are super easy to box and give you a ton of quick and easy dps which will drastically shorten your average fight time.
    TLP Addict likes this.
  3. Rhaage Augur

    Bards are very handy but you won't likely get much melee value from them when boxing with 2 other toons.

    you're lightest on dps, the shaman has some, the sk has some, but the third toon should be primarily a dps type. I think it comes down to wiz or mage, and depends on if you travel a lot or tend to say in one place.

    The wiz will add ports and definate DPS but I'd vote mage: they bring summoned toys for sk & shm pets, they bring good spell dps, they bring some very nice DS's to keep on the tank, in my personal opinion they bring the most to the table for these circumstances.
  4. Gundolin Augur

    Personally I'd go with a Druid or a Ranger for the ability to track and use mercs for DPS.
    Geri_Petrovna likes this.
  5. Moralius New Member

    I agree with Gundolin. Issue with Bards is that they pull song aggro and die instantly a lot. (ask Dargagar).

    Druid or a Ranger fo sho.
  6. Ultrazen Augur

    Wizard.

    1. Ports/evacs
    2. Easiest class to box, and best time spent managing vs DPS.
    3. Timing of when wizard has to be active fits perfectly with sha/sk. Wizards don't have to do anything until the fight is well underway. Everything they do can be macro'd.
    4. No redundancy of skill sets.
    5. When you need something dead fast, nothing does it like a wizard.
    6. No positioning. Park at camp, macro everything. You'll spend less than 5% of your time per fight managing the wiz.

    One of my main 3 boxes on live is Sha/SK/Wiz, it's a great combo.

    In general, Wiz is the best extra box class in the game, due to ease of use and bang for buck. SK/Sha is already a fairly busy combo, or can be if you're getting the most out of both of them. Wiz just takes such little management, for big rewards. The *only* thing that Sha/SK really lacks, is DPS, problem solved, go with the big DPS.
  7. Adeus Journeyman

    Good morning,

    Thank you all for your answers/opinions, it's given me great direction and several things to think about.

    Since retrying EverQuest I've asked a number of questions, and the responses have always been helpful - certainly makes it less daunting.


    Thank you.
  8. Beeferx Journeyman

    bard, that is all

    Painfully easy to box, super super super easy to box. Great ADPS, mez, selos, synergy with sham epic, disc that allow the group to burn a mob. The ability to make Rogue mercs better than Wiz mercs and the rogue merc has easier to manage aggro.
    Thash likes this.
  9. Geri_Petrovna Augur

    Dru. Extra heals (when needed), Transport, tracking, and reasonable DPS.
  10. Picaresque Augur

    After watching my SK guild mate use his four toons, I would like to suggest a different approach.

    1. Level up a Druid for all-purpose utility. Porting, evac and depending upon the way you play EQ, the ability to track. Reasonable Damage Shield ability and ability to rez. Often left at a safe spot during fighting.

    2. With Druid, level up either a Bard or Enchanter, depending upon CC abilities. My guild mate used the enchanter for buffs, runes, CC and the occasional punt of an add. I've played a Bard box and it's not difficult to wait until SK takes aggro before starting /melody. Never played the enchanter, but it's a pleasure to watch one played well.

    While a 4-box sounds like a lot of work, it can be quite manageable. For Daily Teeks, it's leave the bunch, take the SK and whomever, get the xp run done for all and move on with druid porting. Later, you can take all or not with you on whatever EQ killing you have in mind.

    Finally, you won't have to sit in GL waiting for important buffs.
  11. Xanorak Lorekeeper

    I'm a returning player as well and don't have the experience as some of the other people that already posted-
    But I would also recommend bard.
    -they will increase your whole groups damage including mercs
    -very easy to box
    -excellent for pulling - just use fading memories if you get adds it drops all agro- very forgiving
    -Easy to learn, here's a quick guide on heroic bards https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...oper-care-and-feeding-of-heroic-bards.209160/
  12. Sdoofbuc Augur

    I boxed SK, Mage and Shaman with Cleric, Wiz and Wiz mercs for a long time.

    Very strong group. Didn't run into much I couldn't do.
  13. SomeEQGuy Elder

    If you don't care about ports, I'd go with mage over wizard if you already have a shaman. Mage pet benefits from the shaman's melee proc spells. You also gain an extra tank, pet toys, damage shield and call of the hero. With SK, mage and shaman pet all going, the melee procs add up. A shaman provides no benefit for a wizard. Same with druid - if you don't need the extra healing, there is no ADPS from the shaman (druid Booboo pet seems to die a lot.)

    If you're hell bent on a melee DPS toon, I'd go with beastlord for the pet and an extra buff for the group. Tracking on the ranger is nice but you can level up a track bot if you need to track something.

    If you plan on using DPS mercs, the caster mercs seem to be better/easier and the shaman does no ADPS with them. I'd go with bard.
    reggatta likes this.
  14. reggatta New Member

    What SomeEQGuy said. Bingo/Ditto.
  15. Massimo_Bertoxx Augur

    Late to this, and my experience with the modern game is limited, but when I last played live I toiled with this same question. Needed something to add to my Sk Shaman crew and after a lot of debate with myself, research and pouring over spell lists, and trying alts I had already, I ultimately decided on mage.

    Went with mage for several reasons. Just off the top of my head...

    --Needed low maintenance dps...Mage pet gives you "fire and forget" dps with the pet and passive pre-castable dps with damage shield. A lot of fights you never have to cast nukes, but the option is there when needed....like an extra trick in your bag when things get out of hand with adds or a bad pull or you just need to burn something down...but not necessary at all on most fights letting you focus on the other two toons. After a certain level DS casts on the entire group with one cast. Being pre-castable means it won't be pulling any aggro whatsoever during the fight. The caveat to all of this, since I mention aggro, is due to recent nerfs mage pets pass aggro onto the mage easier now but from what I've seen playing one in a box duo on TLP, most of the time you can avoid it by just sending pet in a bit later. Regardless, you have an Sk tanking and they are the best at snap aggro.

    --Actual DPS aside, with a mage a significant portion of the dps comes in the form of a pet, obviously. With AA, pets can receive group buffs. How this synergizes with a shammy is apparent, I'm sure. But it's worth noting, specifically, the panther line of buffs. With a Sk tanking, plus sk pet, plus shaman pet, plus mage pet, plus 2 rogue mercs, you've got SIX fully buffed and hasted panther delivery units, so to speak. With a push of a button on the shammy, mobs just crumple. Should one of them happen to pull aggro you've got full cleric buffs from merc, full shaman buffs, and mage DS on it.

    --You have 3 pets in group. Mages summon pet toys. This plus buffs maximizes pet effectiveness.

    --By going with anything other than a wiz or druid you lack ports. Moving 3 toons around manually is a pain and, personally, shortens my sessions. But with Call of Hero, a mage spell, you can mitigate this a bit by getting the mage into place and summoning the other two once they are in the zone. Combine this with campfire and all toons having origin, and not having actual ports gets a lot more forgiving.

    I'm pretty sure there was another major reason but I'm at a loss atm.

    Not having mana regeneration and tracking are a limitation, but if you are boxing on two computers as I do, rather than just one, it's almost nothing to drop a dps merc and add a bard to fill those holes. Once in place, melody does the work and if you need to track or need a pulling specific class to deal with a tricky pull it's another tool in your toolbag waiting in the background. Bard also adds additional haste to the 5 melees smacking the mob (6 if you engage the bard), DS that stacks with mage DS, extra resists if needed, and mez in a pinch. Bard is also great for running ahead solo to scout a camp or a new area you aren't familiar with.

    As I said, my experience with the current game is limited, so there may be things I'm not aware of at higher levels to consider. But as of the last couple of years messing around with my old toons at upper-mid levels SK / Shaman / Mage was exactly what I was looking for from a trio. Have been considering a fresh start and that's likely what I will go with, with the possible addition of a bard, if I can shake some curiosity about some other classes I'd like to check out.

    Good luck.