Two Returning Players - Class Recommendations

Discussion in 'The Newbie Zone' started by Cheeb, Apr 21, 2017.

  1. Cheeb New Member

    I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

    Neither of us have played on the Live servers much past GoD/OOW. We've been playing TLP for a bit but we're thinking about returning to Live to see all the changes, new zones, systems etc.

    My question is: If we're wanting to do group content with both of us being content with 2-3 boxing, what would be a solid group setup keeping boxing in mind? Can we get away with each 2 boxing and running a couple mercs?

    Thanks in advance for any info you can provide. Cheers!
  2. Tucoh Augur

    I box a war/bard/mage/berserker/cleric, all my advice is for level 105 and I'm not an expert outside of those classes, so take what I say about other classes with a grain of salt.

    1. Yes you can do just about everything except a couple TBM missions with a boxed group.
    2. I'd say your ideal group is one you enjoy, without knowing what you want to play it's tough to say what will be best for you.
    3. The cornerstone to a group is a tank, any group with a real tank is generally better than any group without one.
    4. The biggest consideration is whether you want to do it with healer mercs. Unless one of you wants to go all out on configuring your box team, I recommend the tank doesn't control a healer. The benefit for healing extends beyond being able to replace a healer merc with a DPS, your healing throughput and mitigaiton will be much higher than a healer, which enables you to tank and do content you normally couldn't. It also gives better ability to do areas where you can't use a healer.

    5. Generally you either want tank/utility/dps/dps, or tank/utility/healing/DPS. You definitely want a tracker in any configuration.

    6. In terms of top box group classes, here's a quick breakdown:

    tank:
    war: good group tank
    sk: best group tank, requires more supervision than warrior

    utility:
    Bard: High utility, selos, tracking, ADPS, mana regen
    ENC: High utility, ADPS, runes, CC, mana regen

    dps:
    berserker: highest DPS, very high burst DPS
    ranger: good DPS, tracking, good melee buffs, easy to box
    mage: OK dps, call of the hero, pet can off tank
    bst: subpar DPS, ADPS, good melee/caster mana regen buffs, pet can off tank
    wizard: good DPS

    healer:
    cleric: highest healing, good mitigation buffs
    dru: highest damage
    sha: good melee buffs

    7. Here's my opinion of what some of the top groups right now would be.
    sk/war + bard/enc + berserker + ranger/beastlord/berserker
    sk/war + bard/enc + berserker + cleric/dru/sha (What I'm running now, + a mage)
    sk/war + enc + wizard + wizard/mage/beastlord

    I'd recommend that if you have a melee DPS, you don't have the tank play the melee DPS.
    Mord, Cheeb and bzrkmaniac like this.
  3. daranged Lorekeeper

    Ive box`d war/shm/rog or war/brd/rog for years and have no problems gettin through most group stuff ,but i see as tried other classes also can most likely get great game play out of any combo would just need learn classes good so figure what classes you like and will be fine
    Cheeb likes this.
  4. Ofearl Slayer of all things Stupid

    Here is what I would do if re-rolling everything and had the time/computers to do it.

    Player 1/computer 1: Sk
    Player 1/computer 2: Ranger/healer merc
    Player 2/computer 1: Enchanter/wiz merc
    Player 2/computer 2: Mag

    If you get in a pickle and need additional healer of dps, drop the the mag and pop appropriate merc off the SK.

    Allows you coth places, off tank as needed with mag pet, cc, dps, tracking etc.
    Cheeb likes this.
  5. Cheeb New Member

    So here's what we're thinking so far...

    Player 1: SK, Chanter, Mage
    Player 2: Cleric, Zerker/Ranger, Flexible Merc

    Is having track via the Ranger worth the potential DPS loss of not having a Zerker? How good are the melee buffs that the Ranger brings? Would it be greatly superior to have Player 2 box a 3rd character? If so I'm assuming we should go for a 3rd DPS which would negate my previous questions as I'd probably run Zerker and Ranger.

    Again, I appreciate the insight of the previous posters and anyone else who cares to add something. Thanks!
  6. Fluid Augur

    I haven't parsed it but the utility of a ranger more then makes up for being squishy and the damage they do with a bow after they get their AAs makes them competitive as a DPS class in certain zones.
    Mage or Necro because their pets are almost like having a couple of extra mercs/autopilot when boxing. I still like porters and when it all just seems to be too much, druid or wiz evacuate is the greatest thing since sliced bread when you need it.
  7. Polymnia New Member

    Oh thanks a lot, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for myself :)
  8. Ultrazen Augur

    I would 2 box and use mercs. Having one healer merc, and one DPS merc, will really simplify your life, and make it much less stressful.

    1. Sk/Bard
    2. Chanter/Druid
    3. Cleric merc/Wiz merc

    Or

    1. Sk/wiz
    2. Chanter/Cleric
    3. Wiz merc/Wiz merc

    Ports, evacs, ports to bind are *really* really really nice to have on a box team. Druid is a great floater character, can heal if need be, and if not, can do very good damage. Impossible to beat a druid as part of a box team.

    Bard = best AFK box in the game. Also gives you another puller option if you don't want to mess with the SK pulling tricks.

    That combo can do anything in the game. The stacking mana regen from bard/chanter will allow that group and the mercs to just non stop sling spells. That's especially fun.

    DPS is fine to merc. Hotkey their states (burn, normal, passive) and you can do pretty amazing things. 2 wiz mercs on burn is pretty fun.

    I personally like having a merc healer, even if I have a main healer in the group. There are a lot of situations where having someone always chucking a heal around is pretty handy. It's also a great agro generator to have around to pull stuff of your other characters if you need a minute to get a situation under control.

    The problem with playing a main healer as part of a box team, is that they want to do their thing at the same time that your other box character does. Chanter/Cleric is a great box, but they very often want to be busy at the same time. Automating some healing, allows you to take the time at the top of fights to get your CC and tanking under control.
  9. IblisTheMage Augur

    I would adjust that to:
    Player 1: SK, Chanter, Bard
    Player 2: Shaman, Ranger, Mage

    You will melt content, both playera can do CC, ditto tank/off-tank. Your dps will be best with zerk, but it will be so incredibly high anyway with ranger, and you will get more utility and less positioning. Bard and chanter stack fine, bard is easiest box, and both have wonderfuld adps.

    Shammy bufs, adps, healing, and ghetto cc makes it a great class (and it can very easily keep your group healed).

    I will strongly recommend IS Boxer, and a mouse like Logitech G502 Proteus.

    Remember all toons will cost quite a bit, with expansions and full access...
  10. Tucoh Augur

    Between the zerker and a ranger, if your group had no track from another character I'd pick ranger easily. They're also easier to box.

    Otherwise, yeah, that group looks good. I also think having player 2 two-boxing and have a merc is a good idea. A cleric can provide a lot of healer through-put, but having a healer merc as back up will be critical for when they're focused on another class.

    The one consideration I might add is moving the mage to player 2's supervision. This will enable them to two-box independently of you, as a mage pet can tank (especially with a cleric). Then again, I don't know what the tanking difference between a tank merc and a mage pet is.
  11. Cheeb New Member

    We've decided on....

    Player 1: SK, Chanter, Necro.
    Player 2: Shaman, Bard, Ranger.

    Thanks for all the advice!
  12. Ultrazen Augur

    Having shaman/bard/chanter all in one group is a waste of your class budget. If I were you I'd sub one of them for a class that can port, it will make your life so much easier. That group is also going to be light on DPS.

    Sk/Chanter/Druid and Cleric/Bard/Ranger, would also give you a healer in each setup. Druid could pretty easily DPS in group one if you're going to use the shaman to heal. This would also give you thorns, which is pretty huge on a TLP. Having stacking haste via spell and cast is fine, having 2 classes that are both spell haste and slow isn't needed.

    Druid in that setup >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> than a necro would be.
  13. IblisTheMage Augur

    A bit surprised to see the necro there, what would the thoughts be behind that? :)
  14. Kirab Lorekeeper

    With the new auto ability my cousin and I are trying a new 4 box.. we go player 1) tank / ranged dps, player 2, melee dps, utility. We also run a totally ignored melody bot, because we like that better than another DPS merc, but when the need arises drop the bard and summon whatever kind of merc we need.

    My personal favorite utility is the shaman, mob slows, melee haste and buffs, decent dots that are easy to macro, and "oh " heals for when your merc can't keep up, or just when your merc can't come.

    And my favorite tank is Shadowknight. They have solid threat abilities all the way while leveling, snares and FD for pulling, and as far as I can tell so far don't have an issue tanking group content. Though in our current group I'm trying a paladin, and it's pretty fun so far. We've been leveling up in LDON's just for a change of pace from the old treadmill we've done over and over.