How well do Channelers solo compared to others?

Assuming no mercenaries. How well do Channelers solo compared to others?

I know Necros/Conjurers and I think Shadowknights are usually regarded as the best.

Where do Channelers fit in?

Right now leveling a Fury (who people say are good at soloing too), and having a ton of fun with them. Its not just fun solo, but for groups too. I'm grouping with my SK friend when he is on (he plays as much as he can), and its a really fun combo it feels like. But I've been really curious about playing a Channeler, except I don't really have 20 dollars this month to unlock and I can spend that on other things next month. Are channelers about even with Furys in their solo ability? Or are they more on the higher end with summoners? What about group synergy with say a SK?

It looks like a really fun and unique class, that probably take time to learn and practice on. But it looks so interesting. Just 20 dollars is a lot for me right now On top of a sub, plus needing to buy the expansions. Granted I could save 500 station cash every month for it, but that wouldn't be for a while. But it sure does sound like a super fun class. Just wish it was a little cheaper

Or is there any priest class that gets a pet like Channeler and can solo pretty/really well, but also make a good synergy with a Shadowknight when grouping?

So far pet classes I see is beast lord (its not a priest but it is a pet class), channeler and necromancer/conjurer. Channeler I really want to do, but its just a bit too expensive this month at least (maybe next month). And I don't really want to do a necro or conjurer.

And someone said mystics and defilers get pets? but he said he didn't think you can control them like normal pets. And I tried playing both a mystic and defiler and got no pets, so maybe thats a really high level thing. But I'd rather have a pet I can control.

I know furys solo really well supposedly, I tried playing one though and didn't really like it too much. I missed having a combat pet too much lol.

I know I've been leveling up a Mystic though and its been a ton of fun. But don't see any pet yet, but I like it a lot more than Fury and I'm enjoying it more than even my conjurer. It be vastly better to me with a pet though. But the guy giving me advice in game said Mystics are lower on soloing list, and there would be better classes to group with my SK teammate. I dunno though, its been fun at least even if it will suck at soloing and grouping lol

You have me a little confused because in one post you say you having fun playing fury, then the very next post says you hate it.. so which is it? because fury and SK go together rather well..

also to clarify here, channelers are not a "pet" class.. they are a healing class that utilizes a construct to absorb incoming damage. The pet's personal damage is abysmal and it cannot be targeted. it is literally just part of the healing mechanic.

you said you are lvling a defiler but have not seen a pet... are you not lvl 10 yet? odds are you have not really taken much of a look at AAs, let alone changed it from the standard solo spec it gives you, so the second you hit lvl 10 a pet spell appears on your hotbar. it does more than the channeler "pet" in terms of damage and some buffs, but is still not very sturdy.

Mystics solo quite well... maybe not the fastest killers around, but they get the job done with very little worry to themselves. though honestly the same can be said of any class in the game to an extent (some classes obviously kill faster but at more risk to themselves).

Play what you like, if you take the time to learn your abilities, no matter the class, you will do fine solo, and be wanted in groups.

yeah, sorry about that. Thats what I get for staying up 4 days just playing EQ2 with no sleep Start making confusing posts

I was kinda enjoying Fury, but once I got to level 15, it still never clicked right. It was fun, but I missed having a pet WAY too much. I could have a mercenary, but that isn't the same thing for me as a cool spirit animal that shamans get or the channeler pet or one of the summoner pets. Plus, I'd just have the mercenary nothing else. As a mystic, I can have a spirit animal AND a mecenary.

I also tried a conjurer (necro was fun, but I prefer "good" or neutral classes. I love the houses in halas way too much to be evil. Plus I don't like the look of evil cities at all or doing the evil quests). But then it was just DPS with that basic heal as a pet I think I got, but I like being able to heal or "ward" people from damage. Got to around level 21 though and it was fun, and I'll have a conjurer as an alt...but I want more to do than DPS. Conjurer felt a little too easy and basic for me tbh, I think that was my main issue.

Inquisitor was too slow lol. So I stopped playing pretty quick. It felt a lot slower than Mystic, got to around level 13 and gave up.

Shadowknight was fun (liked it more than conjurer just a bit), but I don't want to tank...AT ALL... in groups. But it probably be a solo alt like a conjurer. The other class I have a lot of fun with is Paladin (always love paladins) and Berseker, but their both tanks too, and I don't tank...just healing prefered if I had a choice And yeah SK is EVIL, but its probably the only evil class I could get into lol.

Mystic however I'm having a ton of fun. I get a spirit animal (that is kinda useful I guess, doesn't hold agro at all. I hit enemy once and it loses agro right away. Seems to do nice damage though, and I like there is an entire AA tree for the pet. And, I'll just get a mercenary to tank, so not a big deal lol). But once I got to level 10 (way past that now) and got melee AA abilities, it went from "this is pretty fun" to "wow this is a lot of fun". Really love mystic Really clicks perfectly.

I know classes aren't a good judge even at 10. But, some classes I can tell pretty much once I get to 10 if its a good class for me or not. Like mystic, I know I'm already having a ton of fun with, got to 10 and it went from pretty fun to tons of fun. And inquisitor I knew wasn't a good fit at all. Though some classes just don't get pets I listed, but I still liked them enough. Just fury I did not ...at all...if it had a pet I'd probably like it more, but I'd still like Mystic more.

Haven't tried too many of the other classes. Defiler I stopped, don't want to be evil. Illusionist looks like it could be fun, its pretty unique really. The other class I want to try is the Wizard or Warlock. The wizard looks like a TON of fun, and warlock could be fun too.

The other class that looks really interesting is the Beastlord. I'd probably like that class really well if I want to spend 25 dollars to get it But I'm probably not spending that much money tbh cause I want to get mercenaries and expansions, but I'd probably like that class the best. beastlord is actually 100% my type of class, but not for 25 dollars lol.

I personally think by your last post a Beastlord seems to be exactly what you're looking for. Pet focused with the flexibility to do dps and heals. Channelers are more utility based class and you need micro-manage more with your pet's health and Dissonance. They're awesome healers and they *can* dps but from everything I hear, but you need to go either one or another to be anything decent. (Don't quote on me on that, just what I keep hearing.)

You really need to play a class to at least 50 to get a good sense of it. 70 would be better. Plus get really into the AAs.

There are many spells and AA abilities that you don't get until much later that really define how a class is played.

I believe you can still 'test drive' Heroic Characters. You get a level 90 Heroic Character that you can play for a bit. I suggest you try the classes you're interested in at level 90 and see how they play. You can get the Heroic Character at the character creation screen. Just select 'Try Before You Buy.'

Agreed. You can't really judge a class until you start to get some of the more core abilities.

Specifically speaking to the Fury, at Level 15 you haven't experienced anything yet. You don't even have all your buffs, let alone all your damage spells. You haven't seen Thunderbolt, Forest Spirit, Peerless Predator, Primal Fury, Starnova, Fae Fires and Porcupine. And those are just base class spells. Your AA's allow you to charm, ie you can have a pet.

I gotta tell ya, a Shadowknight and a Fury as a group are pretty (*@# terrifying at higher levels.

Channelers are super cool, but not a pet class. There is a pet, but no, not a pet class. I solo in my straight dps spec and I destroy TOT adv solos now and even when TOT came out, I had few issues (more script stuff than anything). I could tell you ll about it if you're interested, but realistically I focus on more group and raid. Someone posted up saying you can only do one or the other, and that's pretty true. I have yet to master the "hybrid" spec successfully at max level. 1-99 Channeler plays significantly different than 100 in current content and the hybrid thing will seem smooth and like you'll get it all the way through, but at a certain point it really shifts out (a lot to do with the prestige AA line too).

I have played a ton of classes. I used to be one of those people that plays a class to try it, then sees something else so deletes it to try that. Now I have enough open slots to have one of each. =)

I have level 100 Warden, Mystic, SK, Assassin, Ranger, Channeler, and Troubador. (I think that's it. I have 140% vet bonus so I think that's it LOL).

I like healing. Warden was my first ever toon and I played her nearly exclusively for years. It wasn't until RoK/ToV that i got others up high enough to play end game.

That being said ... Channeler was horrible to solo. I only ever took her through Agnostics and if none were available, I just straight up didn't play her. I didn't even really "get" what a channeler did until about level 80 before it started clicking and I started understanding what the class does and how it all works together. As someone mentioned up above you either heal or you dps, and that's pretty much true. I have a hybrid build but I never use it. When I solo, I'm in dps spec and I can do some nice dmg and survive all the Adv. Solo zones in ToT. When I group, I'm in heal (unless I'm secondary healer then I switch to dps so I can do something more) spec and I can pretty much solo heal the ToT Heroic zones.

All that to say ... Channeler is not for the faint of heart. It is NOT easy mode heals. It is a lot of paying attention and watching all the different bars and timers and health of not only the group but your pet too. Honestly, if I didn't have kids to take my attention away, I'd play the hell (uh heck, sorry) out of my Channeler.

I am currently bringing up a Fury. She is fun. Reminds me a bit of my Warden (who is shelved, poor dear), but is different enough that it's fun to play too. She's only just hit 80 so I'm just now getting a feel for everything she does. But, I've also seen some fury's do some awesome things, so there's that.

I'm also bringing up a Beastlord. They are wicked fun to play once you figure out the feral vs. spiritual stance. A dps that can heal on the fly?! Yes please! That's right up my alley too. Worth $25? I think so, but then again I bought AoD which came with it so there's that too. I've seen Beastlord's in this new expansion pull down 25mil DPS without trying (and 50mil when they do). Now I'm itching to bring up my Beastlord..... Plus, you can tame a pink bovich! What's not to love?!

The point is ... try it, see how you like it. Do some agnostics. Read up on it, watch or chat up other characters to find out things if you have questions. But 10 and done is no way to judge a character. =)

I have all the (traditional) healers at max level (or close), and have multiples of a few classes because that's the role I like best - a few on TLE regular and PVP, a few on the old PvP servers, etc.

I just rolled a Channeler the other day, PL'd to 30 so I had more than 2 spells and could get an idea of gameplay ...and I don't know if I'm going to turn back. I'm having a blast. DPS so far at 45 is more than adequate to get the job done and leveling is a lot less challenging because there are quite a few AoEs. Heals are a bit different than most heal classes but seem to be good.

What Claudia says earlier is true of any healer that has a heal role who can also DPS fairly well (thinking Wardens, Mystics, Inquis..etc.). If you hybrid spec them for a little of both, you will do neither well. No one brings a class intended to be a healer to a group or raid for their DPS. That said, it's always nice to heal well and be able to do SOME damage. Channeller seems to have a lot of really useful utility, as well as being able to heal. That's the part I'm looking forward to learning.

It's definitely different from the Vanilla classes. Every other healer sort of has flavor - less now than at launch - but they all have basic similarities. They just heal a bit differently. Channeler is different.

The Jury is still out on the class, but so far, I am liking it.

For me it seemed the change at 100 from 99 was a bit more drastic for channeler than other classes. Before i leveled my channeler I capped my mystic. Mystic is fun... and honestly all i have to compare anything with is advanced solos (my guild is too small for groups and i don't like being around people i don't know (i'm not an internet tough guy)). doing advanced solos with my wife, i will say the experience between channeler and mystic is quite different. Granted, my mystic is fully equipped with war runes and some purple adorns, and has sacrificial staff. the only reason my channeler doesn't yet is because i am still on the fence as to whether or not it is worth the cost to equip her (i don't have much in terms of plat). they are both quite fun, but channeler definitely requires a lot more focus, where my mystic can pop a couple wards and pull a room to herself and be fine. With the mystic, I have no trouble keeping health where it needs to be. with channeler, i suppose i just have a lot more to learn. I realise if i took the time to get her war runes and some purples it would greatly improve her abilitiy to heal as well as do damage. for me though, she is not one i would ever take into a pug were i to actually attempt that.

I am not any kind of expert in the class, and I am VERY certain I am not squeezing everything out of the class that can be done be gear and adorns; but I like the class, in fact I really only like two classes in the game right now (not saying I don't play others, but these two fit my play-style) and they are the Channeler and the Beastlord.. I like the Channeler because they can be DPS and Heal, probably not good at doing both at the same time.

I did not start to get a good feeling for the class until I hit the 50 - 60 marks, because it seemed to not have a lot to give at the lower levels, but after I hit the mid levels it started to work out for me. They are a Ranged class first, and they are a healer, melee weapons are mostly fluff.

PET CLASS

As far as being a pet class, you can control your pet, as in having it attack this or that, and pull them back if needed, so in that respect they are a pet class. The pet is more of a mechanic for the class though, in that the pet is there to "absorb" damage from the person it is protecting, Channeler have an ability they use to cast the protection on whomever is targeted. When the protected target takes damage, the pet (construct) takes a potion or all of the damage that would have gone to that person, in this way the pet is damaged by performing this act. The only way a Construct CAN take damage is by absorbing the damage from a protected person, THEY CANNOT TAKE ANY DAMAGE FROM A MOB THEY ARE SENT TO ATTACK, sorry for the caps, wanted to make that clear. Pets are ONLY able to be healed by the channeler, via the Channeler conduit abilities/spells they receive as they level. Here are a couple examples of those abilities.. http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Construct_Regeneration and this one http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Triggered_Restoration in that way they are healed by the Channeler.

Pets also have their own abilities, these are gained by capturing essene from different animal types, and these can be used to both change the way the construct looks, but more importantly how the construct is used. Each essence type has some bonus or effect that can change the way the construct absorbs, damages, or is buffed. They use the same essence gathering as the Beastlord, look here for examples of the types of animals. ( http://eq2wire.com/beastlord-warders/ )

DPS Class

The Channeler is a DPS class, they use BOWS to do their damage, they can do AoE and Single target DPS. They are not the top end DPS clas, but they are pretty good at it. Their attacks have a casting time, but are on a very fast (or no) recast, at my level I can perform the attacks at around 2 seconds or less to perform my AoE DPS attack. They do not require a target for the AoE attack, and I just run around shooting AoE. The reason I run around is that they get a buff when moving, http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Mobile_Assault , they also get another AA/Prestige Seeking Cascade, which also adds to damage. They have a good bit of damage abilities; use Wiki to read through them.

HEALER CLASS

Channelers are a Healing class; they have have some normal healing spells, but most of their healing comes from the conduit and AA/Prestige heals the class gets. They are two powerful heals that are conduit based, both are group heals.. http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Channeled_Transference this heal is a costly heal for a group heal, they have another group heal.. http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Truespirit_Defiance you get at higher level, the second one has a very good healing ability. They also have a good amount of other heals, Healing Arrow, Vector Of Life, and there is a AA/Prestige heal, almost all are AoE/Group heals.

SECOND POWER POOL (Dissonance)

All the conduits use a separate power pool called dissonance, it is used by all the conduit abilities. There are abilities that use dissonance on a dissonance over time, those are what you need to watch when you start using big dissonance conduits, like the AoE heals above. Dissonance goes down over time, and there is an ability to remove dissonance.. its on a timer.

PLAYING

You need to assign your pet to someone (protecting them, or yourself, but a tank is your best bet)
You use Barrage to fire your arrows (make sure you have ALOT of arrows) without target, its more of a cone attack (frontal targets)
You NEED to watch your pets health, so that you can use the conduits to heal them, and make sure they stay up to absorb damage.. pets cannot die, but they can go to 0(ish) health, and they will need to be healed before they can absorb and attack again.
You should keep an eye on your dissonance level so you are not looking to use a conduit just to find you are too high in dissonance.

Basically, a Ranged DPS class, that can Heal well enough to keep most people alive in the group or solo

Channelers are awesome healers who can, under the right conditions, do really respectable aoe dps. They normally suck on single target dps unless there is something they can single target cure repeatedly to keep lowering their dissonance so they can spam single target damage conduit nuke and dot.

Their heals are second only to shamans and are the only non-shaman heal class that isnt basically broken right now. Those people who struggle to solo heal hard content with them are doing it wrong. Soloing on them with a merc tank works well, truly soloing them without a merc kind of sucks. I recommend lord or lady and a merc agro neck like the one they vendor in tranquil sea sells for like 6 ferrin.

With all that, some dev strike weapons, and a good rotation you can melt crowds and slowly whittle down bosses pretty easily.