Question - Merc dps

[mcarpe]

I'm thinking of splitting my group into two groups and replacing some spots with merc DPS. I'm simply just trying to leverage my tank/healer/cc classes and try to cover more ground at one given time. I don't use mercs hardly at all and was wondering with the new merc gear and if I max out merc AA's, what's the better merc type to use and are they decent dps? I was thinking caster mercs but before I start dicking around with them wanted to see what folks think or what their experience has been with them. I typically just have 1 group with tank/clr/cc and fill in real dps toons. I just don't have the CPU's to pull up 12 toons.

My group makeups would be:

war
ench
clr
<mercs>

sk
ench
clr
<mercs>

 

[Sum1]

Merc AA's are a pain in the dick. They come, but very slowly. There are strategies for maxing them out floating around on here (Raz talked about one a while back, but no idea if it still works or is viable).

As far as merc dps, it will largely depend on how competent your tanks are and how well they maintain agro. Having them on burn all the time will up their dps, but they will also pull agro.

 

[minniemmee24]

seems all good with u splitting the grp up but id say skip the mercs and do a couple ftw zerkers with eok t1 gear, will obliterate any mercs dps with ease, or a few wizards

 

[hoosierbilly]

When I was using mercs I preferred the melee dps for two reasons:
1. at higer levels the melee dps cast a group melee buff, been too long ago don't remember exactly what it did, I think it improved chance to hit.
2. the caster mercs seemed to run out of mana very quickly, ending its usefulness, whereas, the melee dps could continue attacking even if they ran out of endurance. I never actually parsed the damage but it always felt like the melee dps was overall better then caster dps.

But mostly I like the sexy lil' brownies better then the bixies...

Last thought... the melee dps mercs will usually manage their agro so they don't pull away from your war/SK like a tank merc will. They also wait until the mob is engage by your war/sk before attacking (something like 95% of mob health).

 

[BrianGragg]

If you set a rog merc to burn they have a tendency to attack at 100. At least for me. That's manageable in KA though.


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[banzai]

I have a similar setup as you do.

war, enc, cleric, wiz, and when I don't have guildees in the group, my mercs are wiz/wiz hands down.

I have no idea where people get this idea that wiz mercs go OOM. Have never seen my wiz mercs go oom unless it was apprentice. If you set your wiz merc to balanced, he's not going oom ever.

My war is pretty beefy and I have set my wiz merc on burn. The problem there is unless you configure your holys to include triggering the merc on or off, they are going to die. Especially if you are fighting mobs that summon. Burns on merc make them attack at 100% or damn close to it, so if you don't grab aggro right away they are getting face punched immediately.

You are rocking an enchanter and enchanters compliment wizard nicely, so all those AAs that you have that improve spell damage are a no brainer with wiz mercs. Chromatic haze, illusions, dicho, mindsunder, etc.

You did not state what your latest expansion was, however IF you are doing fine in EoK, you will gain 2% per kill on mercenary AAs, which makes them accumulate pretty quickly. <--this will increase with the two week anniversary experience bonus.

Enc + wiz = marriage made in heaven

Get two wiz mercs, put them on balanced, and live a happy EQ life.

- - - Updated - - -

One other thing I wanted to add is that you can always use a different style merc to benefit you short term but use the AA for the merc you plan to use in the long run.

For example, if you do have EoK and it's a little tough for you or you do just OK there, You can use a cleric merc as back up to keep your tank up all while getting banked AA and then spending then on the melee/caster AAs.

Then as you get you beef up your actual characters through AA and gear you can swap out to the dps mercs.

 

[Warl0ck45]

What I ended up doing was develop some code to help manage merc aggro.

When out of combat, put the stance on balanced.
When in combat, change the stance to burn mode once the mob is below a certain point.
If merc aggro goes over a certain point, change stance back to balanced

I also have a line to change the stance on the cleric if fighting a named/higher level mob/have a lot on XTarget.

		/if (${Me.CombatState.NotEqual[COMBAT]} && ${Mercenary.Class.Name.NotEqual[Warrior]} && ${Mercenary.Stance.NotEqual[Balanced]}) /stance Balanced
		/if (${Mercenary.Stance.NotEqual[Balanced]} && (${Mercenary.Class.Name.Equal[Rogue]} || ${Mercenary.Class.Name.Equal[Wizard]}) && (${Spawn[${MATarget}].PctHPs}>80 || ${Group.Member[${Me.Mercenary.CleanName}].PctAggro}>85)) /stance Balanced
		/if ((${Target.Level}>=${Me.Level}+2 || ${Target.Named} || ${Me.XTarget}>1) && ${MATarget}!=999999 && ${Spawn[${MATarget}].Type.NotEqual[PC]} && ${Mercenary.Stance.NotEqual[Reactive]} && ${Mercenary.Class.Name.Equal[Cleric]}) /stance reactive
		/if (${Mercenary.Stance.NotEqual[Burn]} && (${Mercenary.Class.Name.Equal[Rogue]} || ${Mercenary.Class.Name.Equal[Wizard]}) && ${Spawn[${MATarget}].PctHPs}<95 && ${Group.Member[${Me.Mercenary.CleanName}].PctAggro}<85 && ${MATarget}!=999999 && ${Spawn[${MATarget}].Type.NotEqual[PC]}) /stance Burn

Some of the code is specific to RaidDruid, but it ought to be a starting point for anyone wanting to try something similar in their macros.

 

[surfdog21]

OP, since you have a cleric / chanter and tank just bust out 3 caster mercs and youll enjoy the dps addition. Put those two groups to work together with /Kissassist (your main assist, usually your puller tank) and you will be killing mobs so fast you wont know what to do with all that Phat loot! There's not that much to buy for the caster merc, aa wise, just get the offensive aa's first, dont worry about the silent casting line for them with your two tanks. Just keep them set on regular and not on burn and you'll do fine. Make sure to have merc assist on in KA, set around 98 to assist...or not. Mine rarely get aggro.

 

[banzai]

Wiz mercs ftw

 

[Huttont1]

my war never loses agro to wiz merc on burn and the merc never runs oom

 

[mishra728]

Wiz merc dps is 2x the amount of melee merc with no shaman/bard/etc. I usually parse them at around 25-30k on burn with no toons that enhance their dmg. Also I run out of stamina with my war before my merc runs oom.