Question - Returning (again) and Requesting Group Advice (1 Viewer)

[Clueless_Wizard]

I've been away for another extended break and want to slowly get back into EQ with KA. I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinions on group composition. I'm looking to build a six person group with one subscribed and five Heroic FTP. I can subscribe more if that is unrealistic (please let me know). I will be playing group content and am looking to maximize my utility and versatility more than my ability to melt faces...although that is always desired. I have a gold account 105 SK that I plan to use as my tank. The rest of the characters need to work well with KA. Here's my thoughts:

SK - My main for a long time
Cleric - Have a Heroic
Wizard - Have a Heroic
Berserker - Never played, but my searches see LOTS of people recommending them for DPS
Enchanter - Never played, but need crowd control
Bard - Never played, look fun

Also could be interested in: Mage, Shaman

Please let me know what you think!

Clueless_Wizard

 

[eqtrader74]

One sub + 5 FTP is fine. When they get to 100, if it works, buy each toon a krono/sub for one month. Turn on Auto-grant and then grind AA for the month.

I'd do bard or enchanter, but not both since they're overlapping on CC slot. I've run both in a PL group, but that was to have unlimited mana. It wasn't a great setup DPS wise. Enchanter's boost caster groups well, are decent DPS on their own and are easy-mode as your CC when running KA. Bards boost melee groups better, kinda-meh DPS on their own and do well on CC with KA, just not quite as strong as enchanter. Since you're wanting to run a wizard for sure, enchanter is a little better. Shaman makes a great backup healer and some nice buffs for tank/zerk. Weaker on DPS than the mage, but if you want a backup heal/rez, they are nice.

Sticking close to your original plan (good overall utility): SK-Clr-Ench-Wiz-Zerk-(Mage)

Some other options. Caster synergy base group would be: SK-Clr-Ench-Wiz-(Wiz2)-(Mage/Wiz3)

I've run utility groups and DPS focused groups. I used to love utility, but I found 95% of the time you want DPS. It's nice to have ports, CoTH or extra buffs, but EQ is such a grindy game, I found I was mainly sitting in a camp for hours and that's where DPS focused group shines.

Zerkers are great DPS, slightly above Wizards usually. They work well with Beastlords (dicho reduc of weapon delay=more haste) and Bards (max v3 haste + melee boost songs), plus those two classes provide the best endurance regen. Shaman also adds to Zerker, but generally would rate below a BST if the SHM isn't also the main healer. If you want to re-roll the wizards heroic, these are some popular melee/zerk centered groups.

Well rounded: SK-Clr-Brd-Zerk1-Zerk2-Bst
Zerker Alliance group: SK-(Clr/Shm)-Brd-Zerk(x3)

 

[Hanlons Razor]

My main is usually a melee DPS, so I tend to run melee DPS groups. I really love SK/Sham/Bard/Zerk/Rng/Bst. I sometimes log in an out of group wizard for TLs. The SK/Bard/Rng can run into almost any camp and drop agro for a campfire.

IMO if you want the best utility overall, a more caster-heavy group is where it's at. Enchanter is better ADPS for casters, but I can't play this game without a bard in my pocket anymore. SK alone just gets so much from Bard, SK+bard is the ultimate DS PLing duo, selo's, and KA plays a bard so well I've never felt lacking in CC. If I weren't tied to melee aDPS and I wanted max utility I'd do something like this: SK, Cleric, Bard, Wizard, Wizard (or maybe mage), Beastlord.

 

[Clueless_Wizard]

eqtrader74 & Hanlons Razor,

Thanks for your time and considerable feedback! I need to read up on Beastlords, alliance, and dicho. I am a little worried about wanting more DPS eventually, but equally worried about adding characters that require much more manual control (in my inexperienced mind ranger + bard is fun with lots of nuances, but is much more for me to learn and manage) . I like it in theory, but don't want it to be manic to play. I am not opposed to creating new characters as time goes on to tweak the group dynamic, just trying to start again on a good footing. I'm thinking the mage in place of the bard for now...pending reading up on Beastlord...

Thanks again!

Clueless_Wizard

 

[Hanlons Razor]

KA can play all these classes pretty well, nothing manic about it. When I'm not letting my group go fully automated, I usually play the SK.

 

[eqtrader74]

Without KA, I played almost no melee toons. Just a pain to keep them on target unless your tank has his back to a perfect corner. My no-MQ2, six-box by hand group was Mage(pettank)-Necro(backup pettank)-Shaman-Druid-Cleric-Ench. Group lets the four pets hold the mob away from group while you alt-tab to heal/nuke. It was a "utility" group over DPS. I played it for years, but in hindsight, this was a really ugly group set up.

With KA, you can play any class. That is really one of the main reasons I love MQ2/KA. So many classes I never would have tried without it. My zerkers wait in camp until the tank is on a mob and drops it to 99% health, then they pounce (literally using their jump attack), pivot to the mobs back and turn into mini-blenders until the camp is clear. Then they run back to their "camphere" spot, sit down to regen endurance and wait. I don't have to tab to them unless I want to manually activate more burn options.

So I highly recommend picking classes that interest you. It's nice to build an ideal DPS group and that's ultimately what a lot of KA players work towards, but there is a ton of enjoyment in just learning new classes and playing around with their KA ini to optimize it for your special group setup.

Bards in particular are like playing a whole different game. While they may not fit your first setup, I highly recommend trying one at some point. Cast while moving, activate AA while singing, songs choice limited by max song time, buffs for melee/casters/tanks/healers, plus run speed. Once you've pulled at bard song run speed, the game seems very slow without it.

 

[bizmark]

I play War, Bst, Ber, Enc, Rog, j5 cleric merc. Zero downtime. I have a Clr but on a shared account so maybe I will level an 85 heroic one I have.

 

[dannuic]

I just re-rolled a group to level on test with. I plan on doing progression with it, so with that in mind I went:

PLD/CLR/BRD/SHM/MNK/ROG

PLD because any tank will do really, and I have never played one before.
CLR because I want to do progression and there will be some heal-heavy mechanics.
BRD because my DPS is mostly melee and I need CC
SHM because SHM are literally the best ever. Also, they will provide ADPS for the melee, backup heals, and decent DPS in their own right
MNK because it's a melee DPS will good utility (even if BRD replicates some of it)
ROG because it's a melee DPS with good utility

I didn't want to do BER because they are hyper-focused on DPS, I wanted DPS that could also do other things. I was thinking about how to fit a BST or a RNG into this mix, but I really didn't want to give up other slots. If you aren't so fond of SHM like I am, you could definitely replace the SHM slot with BST or RNG and it would probably do quite well (RNG has some awesome melee ADPS).

There is no outright snare in the group, which is probably fine. I made the cleric a DE so I could get the necklace, and bard has a snare if I absolutely need it. The shaman is a debuff king, so he's going to be helping with CC by slowing everything. And if I need single pulls, I've got tons and tons of tools in the group for that.

 

[Sum1]

I just re-rolled a group to level on test with. I plan on doing progression with it, so with that in mind I went:

PLD/CLR/BRD/SHM/MNK/ROG

PLD because any tank will do really, and I have never played one before.
CLR because I want to do progression and there will be some heal-heavy mechanics.
BRD because my DPS is mostly melee and I need CC
SHM because SHM are literally the best ever. Also, they will provide ADPS for the melee, backup heals, and decent DPS in their own right
MNK because it's a melee DPS will good utility (even if BRD replicates some of it)
ROG because it's a melee DPS with good utility

I didn't want to do BER because they are hyper-focused on DPS, I wanted DPS that could also do other things. I was thinking about how to fit a BST or a RNG into this mix, but I really didn't want to give up other slots. If you aren't so fond of SHM like I am, you could definitely replace the SHM slot with BST or RNG and it would probably do quite well (RNG has some awesome melee ADPS).

There is no outright snare in the group, which is probably fine. I made the cleric a DE so I could get the necklace, and bard has a snare if I absolutely need it. The shaman is a debuff king, so he's going to be helping with CC by slowing everything. And if I need single pulls, I've got tons and tons of tools in the group for that.

No need to snare when you can stun.

 

[dannuic]

Good point. and I can stun the fuck out of things