I am currently playing a Beastlord/Mage duo on live, and I have been wanting to add a third box. However, I am not sure whether the best choice for the third box would be a Bard, Enchanter or Druid and was looking for some opinions. When I was playing previously, Bard buffs would probably have been better for this combo, but I know there have been a lot of changes to the Enchanter class since I have left and that Beastlords get a lot of damage from their spells as well. Also was not sure whether to take CC over Healing with the third spot.
Depends how good you are at micromanaging, while mages tend to be easy boxes - beastlords don't always share that theme. Adding a chanter will require you to do more to gain significant DPS out of it, if it's just a buff bot then why not roll bard for Selo's + AFK melody?
This isn't what you were considering, but adding an sk or warrior would increase your group's strength the most. Both do respectable DPS, especially with a BST backup, and you'll be much more able to handle multiple mobs with more ease. Aside from that, enc/dru/brd are all good options. A druid is a really powerful class right now, especially if they're in a group with a mage/bst and refill their desperately needed mana from mod rods, paragon, focused paragon, dicho and spiritual empowerment. Even if they get nerfed, they'll bring the most help for handling incoming damage via their heals and their alliance spell which works with healer mercs. I'd be careful about bringing in a bard, because to get as much out of them as you get out of a dru/enc you'll need to be in melee range, and you're probably already spending a lot of time doing that with your beastlord.
Tucoh is definitely right, the best way to improve your box would be adding a tank. Warriors would pair fairly well just because it's another class that doesn't require extensive amounts of micromanagement.
I do not recommend the SK in that group. Both my SK and BL require a lot of micro-management and melee positioning. I have been spending months getting my SK geared with gear, augs, and AA; sadly, he still has a long way to go. The BL pet actually tanks better in a lot of ways against named mobs, in particular, but not so much against a lot of mobs. In my opinion (for whatever it's worth), you have tankage covered with 2 pet classes, and the SK is a lot of micro-management as is the BL. If you were going to add a tank, I'd suggest a warrior as they are easier to box, but you still have 2 melee toons to position (this drives me nuts personally. I did it with monk/BL for a long time). However, I think the druid or enchanter would be awesome, and I often think of adding the same to my group. With a BL and Mage, you have 2 pets that can tank well; maybe one can off tank an add. The druid brings transportation, a little pulling ability in outdoor zones, and DoTs/Heals. The chanter brings some of the best pulling ability, and even though your pet tanks can't handle aggro on multiple mobs the way the SK can, with an enchanter, that won't matter. Just remember that my opinion and $2 will net you...$2.
While a true tank option would bring more power, it's not always more fun. You already have a mage and a beastlord, both with very strong tanking pets. It's a good choice, but I'll skip discussing it since others have covered it. Bards brings very strong buffs that will improve everything melee and caster related, and these buffs will stick on the pets. /melody makes them fairly easy to box. The biggest problem is that without a strong tank in the group, they die quick when they get agro. My bard box was like a magnet for anything that wasn't locked down. Bard pulling is top notch, but crowd control will make you pull your hair out. Their personal dps is the lowest of these choices. Enchanters bring better haste, a better slow with a cripple, a pet that can wield mage toys, and manna buffs and resist debuffs for the mage. Also, crowd control. Dealing with adds with an enchanter is a lot easier and that's one of the big problems with the mage and beastlord pet tanking. Set some hotkeys for extended target window mezzing, and deal with a crowd one at a time. Enchanter personal dps is middlin'. Druids brings heals, teleports & evac's, and is an easier third box to manage since you can nuke or heal with macro's. There's simply nothing like track and teleport group to bind to make short work of quests. Stack the druid attack and fire debuffs with the beastlord slow, and let the mage's tank pet go to town. For pulling, mage "call of the hero" plus a druid's root and/or snare will work if you have room. Crowd control is non-existent, but you'll have a a dedicated healer and an evac at hand if things get too dicey. Druid personal dps is top notch. It comes down to your play style. If you want to do tough named and tasks, I'd say the enchanter. If you to group with friends, druid 'ports plus mage "call of the hero" is an instant group, anywhere. If you want to knock out quests and dailies faster than anyone, then it's druid again.
This. Every time I tried boxing 2 melee characters, I found it to be an exercise in frustration. Positioning, especially if mobs were being pushed around, was a pain. Mashing buttons to maximize DPS was a pain. (It may be more viable with 3rd party software, but I never used it, so I wouldn't know.) I am not saying don't box 2+ melee characters, but you may want to make sure that you will be OK with the play style before you spend dozens of hours leveling and gearing up another melee.
Agree, best is a war, but you have your hands full already with BL. Druid is the rational choice, also adding track. My heart would say enchanter, because they are so cool . With enough AA and a few runes, you have a third pet tank on top. Do you use IS Boxer?
I do use IS Boxer so that it is fairly fast to switch from one character to the next. I feel like it's definitely down to the Enchanter and the Druid. If i was four boxing, I'd just go with both but I am leaning toward the Enchanter. It stinks to give up ports, evac and a dedicated healer but I think the CC and buffs from the Enchanter would give the trio a lot of upside.
Bard or Enchanter will open up more camps than Druid. Also if you cannot keep a couple pets alive with 2 or 3 healer mercs + bst/mage pet heals and runes, then i don't think a Druid as a 3rd toon would be able to react fast enough to keep you alive. With a box druid you are really only giving up ports and evac, which are handy, but then again, so is Bard speed.
Many things to consider. Such as play style and boxing ability etc. I know I hate relying on mercs for heals so I would go for that. But, that’s taking into account that you would be able to perform that roll and the other very well. If not, mercs are an option and then bard or chanter might be more meaningful for you to be able to cc and effectively make you very hard to overwhelm as you can lock down extra mobs etc. (which you should be able to do with bst and mage but yea again that comes down to how well you can handle the pressure and can execute). The cc can give you breathing room.
