As someone who played Assassin main, you're wrong. Assassins are easy mode. I can top DPS as Assassin, or Ranger. Quit trying to hide behind easy mode mechanics, and calling it skill. If you don't find it easy to parse as an Assassin learn how to min/max your toon.
Oh update to kluxor I have mainly only played one class for years now and that has been brig. As an officer in a raid guild sometimes you are asked to change mains for the betterment of the guild. BTW I raid one whole day a week,I work thirds sorry, yet I'm still respected on my server. I'm sorry for being honest kluxor! I just want everyone to enjoy eq 2 more.
Love the last sentence! This has always been my view as well. When I picture my swash, i picture swashbuckling; fencing, and over the years, always thought the neatest aa's and abilities involved these kinds of capabilities.
TL/DR: Move away from treating scouts and their gear in a generic manner. I'd suggest the appropriate way to tune scouts would be to agree that that there are 3 tiers Sin/Ger Swash/Brig Dirge/Troub Each tier you move down, WDB should become more important to your individual DPS as you bring other aspects that improve group/raid DPS as a whole. As you move up, Pot and Ability Mod would become more important. If you're in the middle tier, everything is equally important. I don't think you can simply argue Pot/WDB and apply it equally across all three tiers and solve any balancing problems here. Part of the problem I've observed has been the complete generic gear options for scouts that basically gives similar stats on a weapon for all scouts and the armor sets don't drive your class towards progressively better DPS based on what your class is better at (CA / Debuff / Raid/Group Buff for example) Instead, we all get the same generic stats and the only difference is a few unique things our class does. Everything else is too simplified, too generic, is too constant and its crippling any balancing attempts you try to do because it affects every class the same. With that said: Toss WDB down the drain for Sin/Ger and replace with Pot/Ability Mod (AM) for high dmg CA Swash/Bring balance Pot/AM/WDB Bards toss Pot/AM and focus on WDB The above outlined concept, combined with gear aimed specifically (or restricted) to each scout tier to follow that idea will allow effective balancing / tuning of classes. As it stands, all this balance just takes away from one class and gives to another. That's not balancing, that's socialism, or as well call it here in America, Democracy.
I'm getting 3 sets of armor/gear for my swashbuckler: 1) ab mod-based gear for AoE-heavy fights; 2) WDB-based gear for single target (and less than 4 mob) fights; 3) HP-based gear for when a raid scout is needed for tanking. Example 1: In Castle, I zone in wearing AoE gear for trash clearing. I don't even bother with using poisons, because trash mobs. I then switch to HP spec gear for the fountain mob. Then put on single target gear for the mob that you need to joust. I then switch to AoE spec gear and poisons for the spider boss mob. We're finally to a point where our AoE DPS is not relying on RO/VC to kill the 4 little spiders. I could be wearing WDB gear for this fight, because there are 4 little adds that need to be burned down, but my AoE spec is stronger than my WDB spec (red/purple gear vs green gear). Example 2: In Brokenskull, I'm in AoE gear for trash and the twin pirate lagfest fight. Then, switch to single target gear for the mob on the "plank". Then switch back to AoE gear for trash and the last mob on the boat. This fight could also be done in single target gear, because it's one of those fights that has a bunch of adds, then it switches to being single-target, then goes back to being a bunch of adds. Example 3: In Pools, I'm pretty much in single target spec the entire time, but my DPS is not as strong as it could be if my WDB gear was red/purple instead of 4/4 green. Example 4: In temple, I'm wearing AoE gear for trash clearing, then I switch to tank spec for the 4 grimlings fight, then switch to AoE gear for the trio with little snake adds, then to single target fight for the fight were mages spam dispel and the rest of us stand back and range the fight. Example 5: In Ossuary, I should be in WDB gear for the first named, and then switch to AoE gear for trash. Then switch to single target for organ and fountain mobs. Now, add in all the white adornments, purple adornments, green adornments, and war runes that I have to sink into these 3 sets of gear. I'm now leveling up 3 sets of mitigation-based green adorns to put on my neck and 2 finger slot tanking pieces of jewelry. I'm using more DKP and plat to gear up my toon compared to anyone else in my guild to try to get my swashbuckler in better shape for various encounters. Yes, there are some tanks in my guild that are also having to get a DPS set of gear and a HP set of gear, but they're only doing 2 sets, not 3. My guild has 3 shaman, 4-5 bards, 1 predator, and 2 rogues. Chain-wearing classes are my guild's highest number (10-11) of characters that we have to gear up. (9 cloth, 3-4 leather, 6-7 plate), so it's not like chain gear is dropping from the sky and making it easy to get 3 sets of situational gear. When it's a single target fight and I'm in my red/purple ab mod gear, my DPS isn't as great as it could be if I was wearing red/purple ab mod gear. I only have a set of green WDB gear, because now I'm at a point where I'll be needing to tank the last fight in Ossuary and the last mob in RC raid zones. I've gotten by with a few pieces of green HP gear and my HP spec for the fountain mob in Castle and the 4 grimling fight in Temple, because my guild's healers are pretty good. Once I get my full set of red HP gear, I'll then be working on getting a full set of red/purple WDB gear. Having to constantly swap specs out between encounters is a PITA. Because poison-using scouts "lose" their poison charges when they switch specs, is also a costly PITA.
Speaking to the generic templates of gear these days. I can completely understand why they are doing it. Consider for a moment, that moving forward, with there being less employees at DBG, it means they will be having a harder time creating so many different unique lines of gear for so many classes. When an item can realistically be used by 4-6 classes instead of 1-2 classes it is far less development time. None the less, it still makes the game less dynamic. The "template style changes" in itemization started with ToV, they create basic armor that have tiered stats on them. It gives them a way to have an item "evolve" through tiers without having to create individual items for each tier. Less work for the itemization dept. It has just become more prevalent with AoM. The real problem for me is there is now just the "hamster wheel" for gear progression. Do the same 5-6 instances over and over again until i get all my upgrades. The days of RoK/Faydwer size expansions are gone, along with it the massive amount of new items.
This is definitely the "Real" problem......... My hope is that they would release another Expac such as RoK/Fayder and reinvigorate the game and player base P.S. Please don't screw bards over with all these scout changes...... I feel like we are getting shafted in all this. Pyde Pyper Permafrost Troub
The whole T1/T2/T3 discussion represents where this game went totally wrong. People should be encouraged to play classes representing a play style. Rangers should be optimal for ranged. Sins should be optimal for single targets. Swashies should be optimal for AoE. Brigs should be (could be?) a mix of all three. Dirges and Troubs are the classes with the cool tricks to support dps and mages. All should have different debuffs that are representative for the class & matter in groups and raids. It's really THAT SIMPLE.
This is ideal and super simple. Until the whiners jump in and ask why their class "y" can't do what class "x" can. The developers can ignore it and wind up being hated by everyone that plays class "y" or they can capitulate and the gap closes.
