what are the plans for the enchanter classes?

Carthrax wrote:

A group buff is a hell of a lot less annoying to cast than having to find 8 random people in a raid. Also it's not just when a illy dies it's when someone you buffs die.
Honestly I defy anyone to play a illy for a extended period of time and come back and tell me that the amount of buffing a illy does is acceptable.

Like others have said, group buffs were never as bad as single target buffs for deaths since you only need to recast them when you yourself died. I've reached the point where I never recast single target buffs now if someone else dies until we stop for a bit. If you die, you lose your buffs.
On top of that, people cannot keep still. So if you are out of range, you dont get buffed either.
Its the only way I can find to keep relatively sane in a raid.

Casting buffs is annoying, but really, the fact that our buffs are out shined by gear, our mezzes and stuns are out right unwanted, and our power management useless on most power drain fights are bigger problems.
The class is a utility class that's lacking in the utility department. That's a major issue in my mind. I got one buff now that people want. Synergism. I've had TC turned down. People tell me how annoying time warp is and to just stop using it because it's too annoying. IA is a self only buff now as no one else wants it.
I signed up as a support class, let my support do something.

Simple solution to the "I have to target 8 people(which is bs anyways), is to just make a simple macro.. Put the target of the spell in the "target" part of the macro and voila.. Hit the button, you don't have to retarget or anything, just keep going.

Carthrax wrote:

You really are a idiot and don't have a clue do you. Try using your ubah macro in a raid and see how that works out for you.
And BTW you can have 5 synergism, IA, AI and TC, thats 8 single target buffs.

Carthrax wrote:

Seriously, did you mean to make yourself look that dumb?

Carthrax wrote:

What a great idea! I also do this on my healer. I just make 24 target macros for each spell, one for each person in raid (including myself) and voila. Hit that button, I never have to target or retarget or anything, I can just keep going!

Anduri wrote:

Sure did! If your too stupid to be able to put in a target for a spell, who's the dumb one? On my buff bar on my coercer I keep two link buttons, CH, Enraging demeanor, Velocity, and Siren's star.. Oh wow, 1 2 3 4 5 buttons! Each one has a specific target so I don't have to manually target someone after dieing. Manaflow also has a specific target as well..
You can call me stupid, dumb, whatever.. Really doesn't bother me, since what I do works..

Carthrax wrote:

Two link buttons? Does this mean you're casting your pow/resist buff and int/agi buff instead of giving 2 more people 5 crit bonus?

Aule@Guk wrote:

I give 2 people link, yup.. With the change to resists I'll probably bring down the resist buff. And honestly, could care less about give 2 more people 5 crit bonus... I already give 8 people it as it is..

TwistedFaith wrote:

I have posted this elsewhere but this is awfully uber for buffing: http://www.eq2interface.com/downloa...uedBuffing.html
I found it a little tempermental to set up but once there its flawless. Worth every moment dinking with it. Buffing over and over and over again really makes me want to punch babies, and this has taken the frustration right out of it. Give it a try!

Chock wrote:

ok...makes sense that it's a cool interface and practical, it's written by Aditu. The same lady who wrote and runs ACT (Advanced Combat Tracker, just in case there was a question ). I'm sure that if you have any suggestions to improve it that she'd look into it. If that link doesn't work to send her a message, the one on her ACT page works.

Well, I think we can conclude there are no plans.
I have noticed more and more support for illy's from other classes which is really helpful since I for one was worried it just looked like a load of moaning. I think as these people have levelled up their illy alts reality has dawned on them.
Most players now are either casuals or people forced to play their Illusionist to keep their guilds raidforce going properly (and who play other classes outside of raids). That pool of players is dwindling though as the numbers who get jaded and drop the game or switch classes continue.
Recruiting an illusionist now is getting impossible.

Anduri wrote:

On the "other" eq2 forum site, the recruitment threads are looking for an illy or (in desperation) any enchanter en masse now. The class is hemorrhaging people so the demand is going up. There are not enough enchanters to go around.

honestly, there is no need to recruit an illusionist atm. If some of the guys wear manaproc gear it would solve the prob.
Most of the other classes have better utility than we do. Pallies for example and their 15crit bonus 15potency raidwide shorttime buff every 2 mins. Bards with their vic concerto which adds easily 20k dps on a fight. summoner and toxicity. and so on. well.....we have synergism. No reason to complain, thats our utility.

andreas2901 wrote:

And Peace of Mind, which is a pretty big buff, and timewarp, and rapidity(since haste isn't that easy to come by)....

I dunno about rapidity being important - a lot of dps groups run with troubadors (for doubled bard groups) and/or inquisitors, so you can pretty much make up for it there. I think Timewarp is highly overrated - if you actually analyze how much it amounts to in a raid context even under best case scenarios it's not really all that much, and is more typically comparable to something like Act of War from an Inquisitor, much less Fanatical Devotion. I think the very best examples for optimal conditions for it would be doubling an incinerate for a bard for VC, for example, but a once or twice a night serious dps boost is more of a gimmick than a major selling point for a class.
Personally I think rapidity for illusionists should probably give 10 potency to even them out with coercers a tad.

Yea Peace of Mind is a nice shorttime buff but really nothing compared to bards VC. Besides that some of our buffs are obsolete, others are not wanted/needed.Our class experienced a huge nerf because we are utility. But where is our utility ?

I played a enchanter in EQ1 for years, its seems like the same problem here as it was there. I have NOT played an enchanter of either class past level 30 in EQ2, I don't have enchanter raid experiance in EQ2 and i don't claim to know all about enchanters in EQ2 either. However its funny that all the same problems still exist in EQ2 as they did in EQ1. A raid enchanter shouldn't care at all about their dps, it should be all about controlling the encounter to help the raid win. Enchanters know this isn't ever going to happen and have given up hoping it will so they look else where for their fun while raiding, i know this much its not buffing other players constantly.
Dev's can not seem to work out how to use the enchanter effectively for CC during a raid with out making either
a) The raid require x number enchanters to win, which for some reason is ok for healers but not for enchanters /boggle
b)off tanking a better and safer option.
c) the raid script breaking due to CC
d) CC over powered.
There are always very few raids per expansion where CC is possible let alone wanted. Becasue of this we (enchanters) have 2 other options, buffing the raid to increase the dps classes damage or to increase our DPS but these also cause problems.
1) Enchanters can't equal the Assassin's (rogues from eq1) or Sorc's (wizard's from eq1) because thats makes them usless but to lower the enchanters dps means they become superceded by the sorc's and Assassin's.
2) Buffing people takes no real skill and is not very fun for most people not only that but it can be done with macro's and is easy to do by someone 2 boxing.

I don't personaly think the OP would even care at all about their dps parse IF they were able to do meaningful CC in 85%+ of raid encounters. None of either the EQ1 or EQ2 dev's have ever really figured out how to achive this on a consistent and regular basis and i personaly think this is becasue to make a balanced raid with viable CC takes time and imagination from the Dev's creating the raid and they just don't seem able to do so. I for one would never consider an enchanter for a raid character again after my experiences in EQ1.
Caveat:
Something's i've posted here may not be exactly on the money due to lack of experiance as an EQ2 raid enchanter but i'm sure most raid enchanters would at least agree with me generally.

andreas2901 wrote:

ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!? Peace of Mind FLAT OUT PWNS VC... Like literally no comparison zone wide.. It's up almost 33% of the time... Sure VC will give you that uber parse for that one fight where your bard incinerates on the RO and gives you a nice 100+k VC, but then it's down for another 8 odd minutes or whatever it is..
On Ark, I can PoM the first trash fish, the 3rd, and it's back up right in time for Xilaxis HM...