So after hoping around eq2flames, the swash forum here, the brig forum here, and general scout discussion there is a lot of info and opinions on the two rogues. That said, I play on a PVP server and have a 68 Swashbuckler who was a 65 brigand a few days ago that i hadnt played in months. I would like to put out some good numbers for the parse on raids and in groups. I often role in small groups with 3-4 of my friends and sometimes we dont have a tank and since i usually role scout where they are mages and healers i end up tanking. I like the idea of the brig a lot more as far as the role they "fill" but I dont like that to really do DPS i need to be behind the target (granted im fine being a class that backstabs the swashie seems to be able to still unload and be infront of the mob). The brig seems a lot tougher when it comes do defense and the swash has aoe down. basically would i would like to ask the eq2 forum scout population and any passer by who gives a D*** taking PVP, a raid here and there, and small groups where you may end up having to tank but primarily you wanna put out some dps, and you like having a dash of utility to add some fun flavor to the class. would you go with swash or brig??? Also I know the expansion is coming out and rogues are gonna get a bit of a change, whats the word on that ATM? seems to be lots of rumors and i know everything isnt official and its all subject to change but would the up coming changes change the possible outcome of which class would fill what im looking for more?
Its great reading your post, I myself am in the same boat as far as playing wiht a few RL friends most of the time and i end up having to tank a lot. In my research I would say go with Brig since they are a lot more defensive and i love the safehouse ability in PVP and burst dps is supreme in pvp. but if you have issues holding aggro when you are with your friends you may want to go with swash since its easier to dps as a swash and they have way more frontal and AOE attacks. as you said its subject to change with SOF expansion so who knows... I heard a rumor since brigs are getting hit with the nerf bat when it comes to their debuffs there going to get another self buff or single target buff that helps with taking damage which would be self castable. Im not sure though who knows as far as TSO content goes though the brig falls short with the aoe dps and youll have to be on your toes with stuns and turn attacks to get BS off. all and all if you dont have a healer thats good and/or everyone else knows how to not pull aggro go with Brig since you can take more of a beating... if you have a good healer and/or you h ave issues holding hate go with swash. personally i think brig is better in pvp and is due some love so if you cant decide id roll brig. but if your already a swash stick with swash until expansion and see what happens save yoruself the headache of betraying again and again. I would like to hear what the scout community does think as far as this goes though
I kind of came to the same conclusion as far as the brig swash debate. although as amazing as temp buffs are I hate having them since i either forget to cast them or save them up for a big fight and then dont take full advantage of them... so i was leaning towards brigand but at the same time the majority of my attacks being position based attacks is a real drawback if i end up tanking for my small group of friends. hers a question though, one of my friends (the one i primarily duo with) is a ranger. if i was in offensive mode/spec and he was shooting the mob, do you think he would keep aggro? if so he could kite it around while i follow it stabbing it repeatedly, mob would drop pretty fast, although we would need a bit of space for that tactic and he would need to keep hate off of me. would still like to hear T8 swash and brig thoughts?
Hmm... Well since all PvP sides got all classes now, a Brigand / Ranger duo is possible. But your last question was more PvE based, which I can give some input on. Early in TSO, the Greenmist HQ final instance could only be entered by players on that specific stage of the quest. (Later on, only a single group member had to be on that quest stage and the rest could be random players.) This instance was a special version of East FP that was filled with ^ FP guard mobs (to kill) and iksars to convert. At the very end, you have to defeat a ^^^ named ogre mob. (This mob can't be stunned, rooted, or mezzed. But he can be knocked down and snared. His only special ability is a high DA rate and hitting like a freight train in melee. Thankfully he lacks ranged attacks.) I duo'ed this instance as a brigand with a ranger friend from my raid guild. We both had a couple pieces of T2 armor (and high end RoK legendary), Mythicals, and various T1-T2 RoK raid gear pieces. At the time, we were both about 3/4 mastered out. The strategy was that I would run in on the stationairy named and knock him down with my ranged CA. Then as he was standing, I'd use my melee knock down CA to run behind him and hit him with the x3 big mitigation debuffers. Afterwards the ranger would snare the mob and unload full burst in the hopes of taking aggro (while I used my -1 threat deaggros). Overall this strategy worked on our 2nd attempt once we both had a feel for how this would flow. After I gained some serious aggro solo, my deaggros and his dps rate did managed to spin the aggro over to him. However kiting the mob around did require a lot of room (which caused issues since the trash had a respawn rate) and the ranger had to completely unload to nab control of the aggro which I had solidly placed on the mob. So would a Ranger / Brigand duo work in PvE? Yes, it potentially could. But it would require the two of you being able to anticipate what each other are doing, having kiting room to work with (which can be a problem), be similarly geared to each other, and willing to take turns stealing and losing aggro in order to buy time for CA's to refresh.
