I don't see much utility really left for coercers other than power regen and PL at this present point of time. Most tanks I know can hold agro without help from a coercer. Our resists buff has been obsolete for years EV provides a decent chunk of pot, but you can always use the charm or make it up with gear anyway. Charmed pets die in 1-2 hits There is no need for CC as most groups brute force zones (and you cannot CC the mobs that you really want to anyway) Velocity? it provides almost nothing as MA is pretty much obsolete Possessed Essence do 100k dps if you are lucky Our triggered spells do not double cast I agree with Gnomad, mimicry is a crutch, it can be better accommodated with just a T1 dps class. I find bards have more utility than chanters, especially Dirges. What is the point of playing a chanter, really, my buffs/spells used to mean something. I won't be giving up my Coercer, but I will think gearing up my Ranger or Beastlord.
It's sad to say but with the changes to Beastlord, I can keep a group full power and backup heal. So the only advantage my coercer has is being able to power feed outside of his group. This "expansion" is very underwhelming. They should start giving these out free to subscribers and follow the model that many others are using. I really don't have a love of running a group of botters with the help off third party programs but that is what this game is becoming ...
I would be on board with a nerf to mimic in exchange for some fundamental changes to enchanters. Casting mimic on the best target every minute in a half to stay relevant is not enjoyable IMO. Most of our personal DPS is such a small factor compared to mimicry on the right class, and big VCs.
How are Coercers doing on parse compared to Illys for you guys? Seeing Illy's making #5-6 on parse at times, struggling as a coercer just to come in at 10 or better.
A chanter's job is really not about their parse, even though it's helpful to be able to parse as high as possible by speccing and playing your character well. Let me re-share some advice I'd previously posted in a warlock thread: (1) TOT Class Optimization is an extremely helpful article on where your stats should be by archetype and playstyle. It discusses stats, and makes general suggestions for adornments. (2) Dragon's Armory should be your next step. You will need to allow external sites to see your data (an option in your character window somewhere). This page shows you what you've got in detail, It highlights soft and hard caps. Hovering over any stat explains the stat and its caps. I generally go to the reforger, restore all gear, then camp to myself. That camping step forces the game to write your data out. Look at what stats you have in this "primordial" condition. Compare with the recommendations from Step 1, above. Some stats reforge really well, others reforge very poorly. I usually stand at the reforger and experiment to see where the "best buys" in reforging could occur. And I take notes! I keep a Notepad window open onscreen through the whole process. Identify where you have too much of a given stat. You will want to concentrate on lowering that stat and reforging to what you need most. (3) EQ2U is the final destination. Look up your character. One of those tabs says "Adorn" and has a pic of a calculator. Click that. Or you can go direct to Dethdlr's Adornment Calculator. This is where you'll figure out what adorns you need/want, and at the end the calculator will tell you everything you will need in order to get those adorns purchased or crafted. You can choose whether to see the adornments by Value (+15 Casting Speed (S)) or by Name (Incandescent Adornment of Swift Casting (Superior)). I switch back and forth as needed. I'd recommend starting with the Class Optimization guide in Step 1 and see how the suggested adornments and war runes fit what you have, and what you think you'll need. Keep in mind the "stat gaps" revealed at Dragon's Armory in Step 2. You can make up for some stats by choosing the right adornments. (4) AA Build. For this, I suggest asking in general chat "who is the best illusionist (or coercer) on this server?" Hopefully, this should get you a couple of names. Try looking them up at EQ2U: just note that not everybody makes their build visible. You can ask experienced chanters for advice. High-end raiders are going to have goodies on their gear that a lot of us just can't match, so focus on the person's AA choices (you can actually download their AA spec and try it for yourself). Take a look at what adornments they are using. Again, some may not be readily available to you, but they can give you some ideas. (5) Cast Order. Once upon a time, there was an easy-to use cast order generator online that has long since disappeared. Currently, the only guide to calculating cast order of which I am aware is Koko's Spreadsheets and User's Manuals. (I should note that I am apparently too inept to get this working for my toons thus far...) Old school cast order can be figured out by using guild hall dummies and Advanced Combat Tracker. You fight a bunch of dummies using ACT with your current cast order. Note the average DPS for each. Now swap your cast order around some, test again with ACT. Continue until you have maxxed your DPS as well as you can.
