Hi, Never played either of the EQ's before. I figured I'd make a thread to sort out some of the stuff I'm not sure about before I get stuck in! 1: Which classes provide the most important buffs for a Fury? I'm thinking about boxing a second or third character as a buffbot. I played DAoC for years and got used to having a toon or two on follow. So far Troubador seems like it has a lot to offer, but I haven't been able to find a comprehensive list anywhere and it's hard to tell what stacks and what doesn't. (1.5 - Is there a list somewhere showing which buffs stack?) 3: Can a fully DPS spec'd/geared Priest do competetive DPS? I realize this is a vague question, but I'm not looking for exact numbers, just whether Priests are capable of DPS comparable to the other archetypes or if they're always at the bottom simply because they're Priests. 4: I notice a lot of the Priest archetype AA's convert their damaging spells into melee abilities. Do you HAVE to convert to melee to DPS with these classes or can you do equivolent DPS as ranged? I'm aware Fury is (sort of) the ranged version of Warden, but I'm still curious if you must play as melee to DPS with those classes. 5: I notice there's auto-face for casters, is there any kind of auto-close/interact with target option for melee to stay on top of targets? I really want to play a Warden but I'm lazy and hate having to chase stuff all over the place to stay in range Can't think of anything else. Cheers!
I'll leave most of your questions for someone else but I will say that with my warden, I start off with spells from a distance and let the mob run up to me then melee them. I don't like chasing them either.
I wanted to point out something about your question #4. Priests that have AAs for speccing combat arts are designed to use those CAs for best advantage. This is especially true of Wardens and Inquisitors; they have abilities/procs that happen when using melee abilities. Some are for damage, some for healing, even some that cause the rest of the group to do the same proc damage. As far as I'm concerned, an Inquisitor who isn't meleeing is merely a weak Templar; Inquisitors get no advantage when spellcasting. The same is true of a Warden; Warden nukes are tiny compared to Fury nukes. Playing a class to best advantage always gets better results in my experience.
Arielle Nightshade wrote: Thanks for your response! Cleared things up a lot for me. Do the encounters in this game have enrage timers or anything that forces you to have a minimum raid-wide DPS? Otherwise, wouldn't bringing a DPS warden just mean the encounter would take a few seconds longer? Something else your response made me think of. Are there a disproportionate amount of cleave mechanics in this game? In many of the games I've played ranged DPS can often sit back and do their thing while the melee is constantly having to avoid damage. The stacking buff thing is unusual. Every other game I can think of only allows you to have one buff of each type. Leeroyx@Antonia Bayle wrote: When I first read the tree, I assumed it was more of a sandbox MMO style where you could choose either the melee or the ranged build. After reading responses and going through the trees in more detail, I see what you mean. Seems like most of the lower tier abilities are geared towards melee.
Finora@Everfrost wrote: That's really helpful. I assumed when you spec into that AA that it replaced the spells. *However, does this mean that the new skill is a "combat art" and no longer a spell, so isn't effected by abilities like the Troubador's Song of Magic? (Group) Song of Magic: Increases Focus by 70, and Disruption, Subjugation, Ordination, Ministration and Aggression of group members by 35. This buff can be of situational benefit but is normally unnecessary and not used (as it consumes a conc slot).
Arielle Nightshade wrote: I see what you mean, it's the same way in a lot of games. I was wondering more if it's possible to achieve relatively similar DPS as the other archetypes, assuming you built for it and found a guild that would bring you as DPS. Maybe, rather than "competetive", a better way to put it would have been "Can a Priest do enough DPS to fill a DPS slot in a raid". However, I suppose it makes sense that Priests can't. Otherwise, you'd just a whole group of Wardens and a tank or two Still torn between Warden and Fury. Maybe suppose something like SK/Fury/Troub would get me through most of the leveling content?
I'm leaning towards ranged now. After many years of playing tanks and melee classes, I'm tired of dodging cleaves. I think I'll stick with something that can lean back and eat a chipwich while playing with my feet. Cheers again for the help! *Another question - when you say buffs stack, does this include the class specific proc auras? SK has one, Inquisitors have one, Furies have one, etc. Do they all stack and proc independently?
AntitheistPOV wrote: If you had a group with SK, Inquisitor and Fury, they'd stack with each other's. If you had multiples of any class, they often don't (not sure which procs you are talking about). If you have 2 of any class in a single group you have to coordinate who is going to do what of spells and buffs that don't stack.
Hi again! I have another question, figured I'd just reply here again instead of making a new thread. I generally prefer running instances and grinding, not a huge fan of questing. I've heard there is a quest chain to get the class epic weapon, etc. but aside from those types of end-game type deals (that I can go back and do later), is questing "necessary" - IE. will I be missing out on anything detrimental to my character if I grind mobs instead? It's funny, I don't mind going and doing gear quests and that sort of stuff when I'm level capped, but I don't like all the running around in circles "collecting-52-rabbit-paw-type-quests".
AntitheistPOV wrote: You can level to 90, or even 92, without doing a single quest. If you level-lock periodically (set the AA slider bar all the way to 100 - meaning 100% of xp goes to AA), you can earn a significant amount of AA points along the way. Some quests offer some decent gear, but if you make enough from mob drops (or are lucky enough to have mobs drop gear that you can actually use), you may be able to gear yourself out enough to continue grinding without incurring an overlarge repair bill each time you go out. If you enjoy grinding, it can be a valid path to max level. (One that I wouldn't personally choose to do solely [IOW, I grind some, but I also quest, run instances, and even craft], but still a valid path.)
Short of being Powerleveled, questing is the fastest way to level. There is a series of quests called "Heritage" quests that get lots of status for you and your guild - and items that are better than average. If you never did a quest, you'd be just fine though. When you get to endgame you are going to have to do at least the quest for the Fabled version of your Mythical weapon - because you need that to do the Epic Repercussions questline which gives you the buff that weapon has. You really have to have that to be competitive. At this writing, you have to do the Skyshrine access quests if you don't want to be a pain in the rear for a raid.
