Hey there, I am a returning player to EQ2. I've played EQ and I played EQ2 at launch but haven't really played a while, though I have been playing other MMOs. So I have the basics. I have never really played a mage toon and I am thinking about starting one. I was wondering what are the pros/cons to each class in your opinions? What do you play and how do you play it? Which classes should I avoid?
Wizard Pros: Instant cast aoe damage that you can chain with fiery blast along with other things to wreck a parse. Also scales with int better than any other class because of sanguine + the myth proc for amod. Cons: 1 stun, 1 no hostiles, 1 death, 1 badly timed timewarp can wreck your parse. Also buff dependent. Warlock Pros: Carrying longer fights dps wise and really picking up the slack on linked AE adds with enough health more than any other class. Cons: Wizard is better on fights with no AE adds, see wizard cons. More dependent on one single buff (UT) than any other class. Conjuror Pros: Great potential for burst with Elemental Blast and communion on the timewarp added in with the soulburn as well. Some decent group utility too and of course providing Elemental Toxicity. Cons: You get the short end of the stick buff wise. Pet control can be hard for some people to pick up and on some fights the pet dies a lot. Necromancer Pros: Elemental toxicity again, based on very few spells comparatively to sorcerers. Cons: See conj cons. Also recent changes have seen necros fall out of favour a bit. Some healers will hate you for lifeburn. Illusionist Pros: You're needed in every mage group and are the offensive enchanter of choice for some scouts. Timewarp, EV, TC, etc. You can power feed decently too. You're melee auto is also strong with a 2h. Cons: Some will expect you to power feed more than you can. Mages will get mad at you for bad timewarp timing. You can't melee auto on every mob. Coercer Pros: Best power feed in game. EV is huge still. Great hate management all round with the transfer, Coercive Shout and Mind Control if you require it for that particular fight. Melee auto is strong with a 2h. Cons: You can't melee auto on every mob. Some spells are totally clutch on the timing.
What sort of specific questions did you have about the classes? Chronus gave accurate & relevant information, but only regarding end-game raiding. Let us know if there was something else you wanted to know
Lifeburn is only an issue when it's not discussed and accepted by the healer. Macro a warning and you're good.
And on mobs that everybody can already spike a lot on. Current progression mobs and mobs with random effects that get put on 1 person and make them spike (think construct of souls x4) make lifeburn rather dangerous. Also some healers aren't very good!
I haven't played the other mages but I am really enjoying necromancer. They feel pretty sturdy compared to the usual fantasy gaming mage class, I never die unless I just do something really, really stupid like sleepily wander into orange ^^^ mob territory while harvesting. I melee on a regular basis, I like all the supporting abilities, my melee pet is great at keeping enemies off me and I only need my merc when we're about to do something crazy or I just need to grind 40 enemies for a quest and want to get it over with ASAP. I personally really enjoy pet classes and "spam the enemy with obnoxious effects and debuffs" types though, so if you don't this may not be as fun for you. I expect there are squishier mages who can do more damage more quickly (we're mostly damage over time plus debuffs/crowd control/lifedrain), but I'm more than satisfied with the kind of damage I can dish out with my sturdy little mini-party. And we get Feign Death, which sounds awesome and I can't wait for that. Only a few more levels.
OP what are you goals and expectations at end game? If you're just going to solo all the way any mage class is viable. Conjurer/Necro are pretty decent solo classes because they have pets that will help you out a lot. It's hard to answer your question because you don't really say what you want.
Thank you, that is all great information. It seems that having a solo mage class is pretty much the only option, though I can make full use of a merc so I'm not too concerned with that. I was just curious as to what your opinions were, mostly. I want something that is an essential member to a group end game but also fun to play during the lower end content. I enjoy taking my time and playing through the content rather than power leveling to the end. I feel you miss out on some good stuff and maybe even some good lessons. Anyway, I'm curious to know which are the more difficult mage classes to play and how to play them well. I feel I will have more questions as time goes on.
Aw yeah man, with a merc you have no worries at all. Once you're a couple of levels above a dungeon you can do them as well with a merc, you'll like it and you'll get decent loot as well. Good luck to ya!
I have a 95 coercer and Wizzy and enjoy playing both of them. I hardly play the Wizzy at endgame though because it's far esier to get PUR's & PUG's with the coercer. I usually play coercer or swashy DPS anymore.
Sorcerers (wiz/warlock): Pure dps, no utility. They have major burst damage but are super dependent on certain buffs to shine. Without buffs, summoners will outparse them and a bad summoner always does better damage than a bad sorcerer (ie, sorcerers take more skill as they have more spells and need to understand mechanics more to excel.) Wizards have an edge in dps right now than warlocks at end game. Summoners (necro/conj): High dps, decent utility. Great at solo'ing, not as dependent on buffs to shine and are especially amazing in long fights. Very few spells to work with, pets are half your dps and must be controlled, spell casts can get a bit repetitive. Conj is more desired in groups, raids than necros. Enchanters (illy/coer): Mediocre damage, high utility. They are glorified buff bots. Mezzing has become irrelevant in game, so they are truly just buff bots. Honestly I wouldn't even consider playing one again unless it was strictly to PVP with; in which case they are godly. Illy has better mezz, coercers have better stuns, dps and mana feeds. Personally, I have played all of these classes. In current content I would say Wizards are the most favored for pure dps, but you can ALWAYS get a group or raid if you play an enchanter. I enjoy my necromancer the most because I compete quite well for top dps and provide more utility than any other high dps while at the same time enjoy PVP in every solo or group situation. Unfortunately of all the classes listed, necros are probably the least desired in pick up groups and raids because there are better utility mages, higher burst damage mages and lifeburn really does annoy healers (often the leaders of any group/raid.) If all that truly matters to you is which is most desired at end game and the most difficult to excel at, I'd say coercer without any hesitation.
We are not pure dps with no utility. Warlocks provide a pseudo elemental toxicity, 18% buff to duration of beneficial group member spells, an increase in spell trigger chance by 4% to the group, spell skills buff for the group, a chance to proc aoe damage for the group. Wizards have a chance to proc damage on any hit for the group, ice lash which is probably one of the better temp proc buffs in the game if not the best.
As far as a solo mage class I have a wizard that I've tweaked with AAs to be a Battle Mage and I use a Inq merc to solo just fine. I suppose you could use a pet mage class and have the pet tank and use a healer merc as well.
To be frank, if you can't time the 3 heals you have (Lifetap, Transfer Life, and the one where you take life from your pet), Consumption, and Vampirism to heal yourself through Lifeburn, then you have failed. You should never make your healer focus heals on you. That said, I really enjoy my Necro, and as far as soloing goes, they can take down much tougher mobs than any other mage class I've played, especially without a merc. My Wizard is only lvl 70 so I haven't experienced endgame on him yet, but so far I'm having fun blasting through zones on him, though I have to be careful how many mobs I pull and a merc is a necessity for tough dungeons. He was a Warlock up to lvl 50, and for solo play, I'd rather play the Wizzy. Illusionists are also quite fun, though there is a bit of a learning curve when soloing, you have to memorize the effects of lots of different spells that stun/stifle/daze/mez and use them intelligently to solo tough mobs effectively. That's the extent of my experience on mages. Personal favorite is Necro, but it just depends on which playstyle you prefer.
^^ This. As a healer, I WANT the necro to Lifeburn. I don't want to be in this fight forever. I do, however, sometimes have to make a target choice if they are LB'ing and it's nice for it not to be a surprise.
Necro/ Conj (summoners) are the best all around mage Classes IMO. they have alot of utilities and the best dps. Easy to play, Easy solo, easy everything really.(i saw a necro go afk in a raid and still poped in 3rd on the parse) Wizards can fall inline with the necro's on dps. Fiery Blast is soo OP but necessary to compete with the Scouts OP auto-attacks. Warlocks are obsolete now, spells cast to long don't do enough dmg or tick long enough for the dots to overlap , No real upfront dmg, mostly Procs and Aura triggers....these abilities just don't do the dmg they where intended to be doing. Too many other classes with really fast casting high dmg spells to compete in the dps market. Utilities are okay they are Really great for the group buffs. Good news is your group members benefit alot more than you do, with the right group setup you will see an increase the other casters dps by alot, SK's will Love you for there ability enhancements you give.
This is so far from the truth its not even funny, please stop trying to spread your blinkered (and also very very wrong) picture of how class balance is atm. Summoners are very far from the best mages both from utility and def from the dps point of view, get your facts straight tbh before you spout this rubbish.
