Question - LF 6box Advice/Opinions

[stick112]

Hey all, I am another one of those Kunark > PoP players just recently coming back to EQ and this time around I decided to try my hand at boxing... I love it. It really has been a blast being able to not worry about finding a group, and so much fun strategizing a 6man group. From CWTN to KA it really has been fun being able to see and do whichever zones I want to get that nostalgia flowing.

With that, I just recently hit 35 across my team (Firiona Vie) and I am looking for some opinions. My current comp is SK/CLR/ENC/BRD/MAG/DRU and its been working just fine, but I feel kind of like the DRU isn't really adding much value to the mix. Does this change later? Right now it just seems like more buffs fro the druid are overridden by CLR/ENC and even the damage shield from the MAG. I originally thought I'd like the utility of ports, but I haven't really even needed to do that (granted its still early in the journey).

Just looking for the community's thoughts and opinions on my comp and the above? I feel like its early enough I could swap for something else before leveling much further... I was thinking a necro or wiz? but I have been back to playing for a total of about 2 1/2 weeks so Im still learning how classes are tuned on live, and just combing through the forums here daily. Loving the group discussions here so just figured I'd see what you guys thought.

Much thanks!

 

[Leo]

If I were looking to make that switch, I'd suggest swapping the druid for a necro. Necro synergy is awesome for caster dps and necro and mage really do help boost each others dps pretty well. Plus necro is a power house dps class and having a necro FD and rez my cleric to recover from a bad wipe or even having necro to battle rez cleric has saved me some time in a pinch.

 

[stick112]

If I were looking to make that switch, I'd suggest swapping the druid for a necro. Necro synergy is awesome for caster dps and necro and mage really do help boost each others dps pretty well. Plus necro is a power house dps class and having a necro FD and rez my cleric to recover from a bad wipe or even having necro to battle rez cleric has saved me some time in a pinch.

It really does seem like necro's are regarded well these days. I like the idea of a FD to reset quickly if a pull goes wrong(enchanter has prevented this many times already) or even a battle Rez! The one thing I saw someone post about was they got disheartened watching the mage burn down mobs not really letting the efficiency of necro dots shine since mobs died quickly... Im guessing that's really only an issue in these early levels as I am mowing through things?

 

[Leo]

at 120, I can say that my mage does tend to out dps my necro on regular mobs. But my necro is still doing good dps and all he does is boost the mage. At the end of the day stuff dies plenty fast and I can fight consistently for long periods of time without having to stop to med. Necro does really shine on nameds and/or raid stuff which has a bit more HP.

 

[stick112]

Thanks for your input!

 

[fohpo]

If you're going with the caster comp, I'd run SK/brd/enc/dru/mag/mag, you could arguable drop the enc (or bard if you're looking for bigger burns, but bard QoL like Selo's is just too good imo) for another mag. The druid isn't just about buffs, it's about caster aDPS and the fact that they can add damage to the group during downtime, ports and evac are nice QoL, and a druid can heal all group content easily. Nec are stupidly strong ATM but in a decent group (or 6 box in your case with MQ), stuff really dies before they can contribute their full potential, this changes on some named mobs.

 

[naamloseeen]

Unless you are really set on both them, I'd suggest dropping either the bard or the enchanter. You don't really need to two CC classes and neither puts out enough DPS to warrant a spot in the team otherwise.

Lots of folks say enchanter for caster focused groups and bard for melee focused groups. Personally, I always go back to bard because I'm addicted to Selo's.

As far as the druid goes...yes, it's a waste of a spot at 35. They really don't good until later in the game. If it was me, I'd drop the druid for something else and power level a druid up later.

 

[Psy]

Unless you are really set on both them, I'd suggest dropping either the bard or the enchanter. You don't really need to two CC classes and neither puts out enough DPS to warrant a spot in the team otherwise.

Lots of folks say enchanter for caster focused groups and bard for melee focused groups. Personally, I always go back to bard because I'm addicted to Selo's.

As far as the druid goes...yes, it's a waste of a spot at 35. They really don't good until later in the game. If it was me, I'd drop the druid for something else and power level a druid up later.

Hey all, I am another one of those Kunark > PoP players just recently coming back to EQ and this time around I decided to try my hand at boxing... I love it. It really has been a blast being able to not worry about finding a group, and so much fun strategizing a 6man group. From CWTN to KA it really has been fun being able to see and do whichever zones I want to get that nostalgia flowing.

With that, I just recently hit 35 across my team (Firiona Vie) and I am looking for some opinions. My current comp is SK/CLR/ENC/BRD/MAG/DRU and its been working just fine, but I feel kind of like the DRU isn't really adding much value to the mix. Does this change later? Right now it just seems like more buffs fro the druid are overridden by CLR/ENC and even the damage shield from the MAG. I originally thought I'd like the utility of ports, but I haven't really even needed to do that (granted its still early in the journey).

Just looking for the community's thoughts and opinions on my comp and the above? I feel like its early enough I could swap for something else before leveling much further... I was thinking a necro or wiz? but I have been back to playing for a total of about 2 1/2 weeks so Im still learning how classes are tuned on live, and just combing through the forums here daily. Loving the group discussions here so just figured I'd see what you guys thought.

Much thanks!

You could also drop the bard for a bst. Dru will be better later on as my 120 does well in group content and dots do well on named and missions. DRU also adds ports for the group. I know some say the ports are not a necessity anymore, but they sure do speed things up when you can use them to bounce between different zones when you get a rhythm of xp'ng.

 

[Shadow]

I am so confused with this thread, I am hoping for some enlightenment from others. I'll go down the list.

Holy Trinity: Tank - Check. Healer - Check + Offheals. Crowd Control - Check and Check? Umm, why? As Nam said, one or the other. I prefer ENC for Caster groups, BRD for Melee groups.

I would keep SHD,CLR,ENC,MAG, and drop BRD/DRU for BST/NEC. Very well-balanced group. It is also my current group and just broke triple digits with literally 1 group wipe total along the way pushing content by only killing yellow/reds most of the way.

Yes, Selos is nice, but once you start doing auto grants, etc, and using hotkeys like:

/noparse /dgga /if (${Me.Class.ShortName.Equal[ENC]}) /alt activate 1202
/noparse /dgga /if (${Me.Class.ShortName.Equal[NEC]}) /alt activate 1212
/noparse /dgga /if (${Me.Class.ShortName.Equal[MAG]}) /alt activate 1210

I never have issues as my BST keeps running speed up and ENC lockdown is unparalleled.

 

[stick112]

Thanks everyone! So truth be told, I didn't realize how much of an overlap with BRD/ENC there was. I knew BRD could do CC but always felt like ENC just did it better - I can see how it makes sense to have the bard if there is a more melee focused group, but the double mana regen has been nice for the MAG who basically just nukes everything to the ground and he also just adds whatever melee damage he is doing while augmenting the SK - again seems like there is a better bang for buck with other classes from what I am hearing here.

That being said, it really sounds like what I am taking away from this thread is I will have a lack of DPS further down the road with the current setup, and the overlap of BRD/ENC will really show itself at higher levels. I never really played a BST, so that's an interesting thought thrown in here and they do have the shaman line of buffs so that's a perk too, as well as pet.

I really have appreciated the suggestions by everyone - this is only my first group so I'm not stressed over it or anything but it is nice to learn more about the synergies from the perspective of building a 6box. I always just thought BRD was cool back in the day, but I'm thinking Ill just give it a go when I try the 6box melee group next

 

[fohpo]

Thanks everyone! So truth be told, I didn't realize how much of an overlap with BRD/ENC there was. I knew BRD could do CC but always felt like ENC just did it better - I can see how it makes sense to have the bard if there is a more melee focused group, but the double mana regen has been nice for the MAG who basically just nukes everything to the ground and he also just adds whatever melee damage he is doing while augmenting the SK - again seems like there is a better bang for buck with other classes from what I am hearing here.

That being said, it really sounds like what I am taking away from this thread is I will have a lack of DPS further down the road with the current setup, and the overlap of BRD/ENC will really show itself at higher levels. I never really played a BST, so that's an interesting thought thrown in here and they do have the shaman line of buffs so that's a perk too, as well as pet.

I really have appreciated the suggestions by everyone - this is only my first group so I'm not stressed over it or anything but it is nice to learn more about the synergies from the perspective of building a 6box. I always just thought BRD was cool back in the day, but I'm thinking Ill just give it a go when I try the 6box melee group next

Bard + enchanter isn’t bad, it just requires tweaking, knowledge of SPA stacking, and a little micromanagement. The group DPS will rollercoaster a bit as you level, hitting different aDPS or personal increase AAs through aurogrant and plateauing again until 110. At that point you’ll see a drop until you can get both aDPS and personal DPS on the supports as well as defensives on tank before getting DPS oriented stuff.

 

[stick112]

Bard + enchanter isn’t bad, it just requires tweaking, knowledge of SPA stacking, and a little micromanagement. The group DPS will rollercoaster a bit as you level, hitting different aDPS or personal increase AAs through aurogrant and plateauing again until 110. At that point you’ll see a drop until you can get both aDPS and personal DPS on the supports as well as defensives on tank before getting DPS oriented stuff.

Good to know- yeah that’s the side of EQ I’m just really starting to get into now (factoring SPA stacking, aDPS vs personal dps, customizing INIs to maximize). I find it cathartic lol

Parsing wasn’t really big back when I played so it’s interesting seeing what the data says nowadays about different classes and synergies.

Looking forward to seeing the transformation with AAs - I’m driving the SK (gold) currently and just read that tanks just do better as that vs F2P. Anyway, it’s all been a fun project

 

[fohpo]

Good to know- yeah that’s the side of EQ I’m just really starting to get into now (factoring SPA stacking, aDPS vs personal dps, customizing INIs to maximize). I find it cathartic lol

Parsing wasn’t really big back when I played so it’s interesting seeing what the data says nowadays about different classes and synergies.

Looking forward to seeing the transformation with AAs - I’m driving the SK (gold) currently and just read that tanks just do better as that vs F2P. Anyway, it’s all been a fun project

Honestly, understanding modifiers, SPA stacking, and timing out when/how to use CDs once you’ve gotten relevant AA/clickies is probably the biggest DPS increase in the game. I’ve seen group geared characters (RoI, MS, Valhallah alts in other guilds/pugs) smash raid gear just because they actually understood the game. I don’t know of any up-to-date public guides, but looking up Sirene on the EQ forums and Gotcharms on the Primal test guild forums, then extrapolating to modern abilities is a start.

Edit: logs generally aren’t very public from what I remember, but the Valhallah guild forums had RoI, MS, and SR members sharing and competing against Valhallah parses when I was raiding there. Even joining as a casual or checking out the Freelance forums might also generate some info.

 

[fanga]

Hey all, I am another one of those Kunark > PoP players just recently coming back to EQ and this time around I decided to try my hand at boxing... I love it. It really has been a blast being able to not worry about finding a group, and so much fun strategizing a 6man group. From CWTN to KA it really has been fun being able to see and do whichever zones I want to get that nostalgia flowing.

With that, I just recently hit 35 across my team (Firiona Vie) and I am looking for some opinions. My current comp is SK/CLR/ENC/BRD/MAG/DRU and its been working just fine, but I feel kind of like the DRU isn't really adding much value to the mix. Does this change later? Right now it just seems like more buffs fro the druid are overridden by CLR/ENC and even the damage shield from the MAG. I originally thought I'd like the utility of ports, but I haven't really even needed to do that (granted its still early in the journey).

Just looking for the community's thoughts and opinions on my comp and the above? I feel like its early enough I could swap for something else before leveling much further... I was thinking a necro or wiz? but I have been back to playing for a total of about 2 1/2 weeks so Im still learning how classes are tuned on live, and just combing through the forums here daily. Loving the group discussions here so just figured I'd see what you guys thought.

Much thanks!

That’s definitely a weird comp. CLR/DRU means you’re running two healers, BRD/ENC means you’re running two crowd controllers. So a third of your group is filling a role that’s already filled. Honestly you’d probably get better results filling those slots with DPS mercs.

I’d recommend dropping the Druid for a Necro or Mage for all the reasons you gave. Druids just aren’t in a good place since they’re the worst healer/buffer since they DPS and the worst DPS since they buff/heal.

If you replace the Druid with a Necro, I’d also recommend dropping the Bard for a Wizard. Like a druid, your comp is trying to do everything and thus doesn’t excel at anything. There is nothing your bard can do that your enchanter can’t do better, except melee haste which only benefits your SK, adding a second Mage with a melee pet will make your Bard’s haste more useful. Running an enchanter means your casters are going to be awesome, running a bard means your melee will be awesome, running both means you’ve got a comp where half the members aren’t putting up damage that can kill mobs.

 

[naamloseeen]

There is nothing your bard can do that your enchanter can’t do better, except melee haste

I agree with everything in your post, but it is worth noting that at higher levels bards add a significant amount of DPS/healing for casters/priests and the 25% overhaste is a much smaller part of the bards total value. The whole "enchanter for casters and bards for melee" argument is a little overblown. Both are effective for either type of group, so pick what you like.

 

[fohpo]

I agree with everything in your post, but it is worth noting that at higher levels bards add a significant amount of DPS/healing for casters/priests and the 25% overhaste is a much smaller part of the bards total value. The whole "enchanter for casters and bards for melee" argument is a little overblown. Both are effective for either type of group, so pick what you like.

Bards are going to bring the sustained damage (smaller damage increase but significantly more often) and the run speed helps to kill downtime. The big enc aDPS is a much longer CD and in a raid setting, you’d have both in the group ideally. Bard impact on casters is definitely undervalued by a lot of people, and if you’re looking to level efficiently, bards are probably a stronger choice in the long run.

 

[Szazor]

SK/CLR/ENC/BRD/MAG/DRU

This does look like a fun group - and sometimes that is more important than can i kill evry mission in 5 seconds.
I wish DRU was awesome..but it has too many mana issues at higher end game - so you are probably better off switching now before the deficiency really becomes noticeable. DRU is fine in the earlier game proably until 80-90 really - and is still one of my favorite classes. One day - just like Wizards - they will be un-nerfed and they will be gr8 again.

MAG is super strong atm. So easy to say drop the Druid and insert another Mage.

I would even go so far as to drop the Brd, and add a Third Mage.

Anything will work - Go with whatever suits your playstyle and whatever you have fun playing.

 

[fohpo]

This does look like a fun group - and sometimes that is more important than can i kill evry mission in 5 seconds.
I wish DRU was awesome..but it has too many mana issues at higher end game - so you are probably better off switching now before the deficiency really becomes noticeable. DRU is fine in the earlier game proably until 80-90 really - and is still one of my favorite classes. One day - just like Wizards - they will be un-nerfed and they will be gr8 again.

MAG is super strong atm. So easy to say drop the Druid and insert another Mage.

I would even go so far as to drop the Brd, and add a Third Mage.

Anything will work - Go with whatever suits your playstyle and whatever you have fun playing.

Using the druid to primarily heal is okay, I'd agree that it taking up a DPS spot isn't ideal. Sic has mentioned in the past and I’ve seen people ask about it numerous times, shaman/druid typically require more levels/AA before their kits really fill out. Down the road, you can trade that cleric for a druid as the main healer and see some net gains damage wise. Having the cleric as a backup/buff bot is always a ton of QoL. I’ve used mine in the past early in the expansion or when doing some of the mission achievements, AoW in ToV comes to mind.

 

[whytdrumer]

While I like Bards, I tend to put mine in my melee group. For my caster group I currently run SK/CLR/ENC/MAG/MAG and I’m leveling up a NEC to fill the last spot. The great thing about SK is they have life taps so you don’t need two healers in the group because the SK kind of takes care of himself.

 

[Qnome]

With that, I just recently hit 35 across my team (Firiona Vie) and I am looking for some opinions. My current comp is SK/CLR/ENC/BRD/MAG/DRU and its been working just fine, but I feel kind of like the DRU isn't really adding much value to the mix. Does this change later? Right now it just seems like more buffs fro the druid are overridden by CLR/ENC and even the damage shield from the MAG. I originally thought I'd like the utility of ports, but I haven't really even needed to do that (granted its still early in the journey).

DRU-->WIZ
BRD-->BST or NEC