Question - Shaman and bard in same group

[eqranger24]

I am looking to move my team around and try a full group for the first time. Would adding a shaman and a bard be to much or would they even stack well for dps? I want to have healing but having a cleric shaman and bard seem like I am limiting myself. My idea of a group is SK CLR Bard Shaman Rng Wizard/Ber. Could the shaman be set for more dps and back up healing and be effective or are the dots going take to long to be effective? Considering swapping the shaman for bst but I would have to build bst from scratch because i have never used one.

 

[ChatWithThisName]

Sure. Set the shaman to only heal when health is low, like 60 perhaps, and otherwise have them DPS

 

[surfdog21]

bahhhhhh....if you are thinking beast just go mage!

I personally prefer wizard over zerker. Way better utility and when shit hits the fan I like the boomstick!

Never played a shaman. Raided end game for many many years and felt bad for shamans being the fluffers er buffers they are. Shamans are like moms.

 

[scotsbiker]

shaman and bard both add great adps to zerkers or other melee.

personally I would drop the ranger and add another zerker. so your group would be SK, Clr, Shm, Brd , Zerk.Zerk. you should be able to take on almost all content with that group and little need to worry about shit hitting the fan so no need for a wiz.

 

[eqtrader74]

You can make any group work, so play what you like.

If you're running a Bard, they add a lot more to melee toons via their overhaste and weapon delay reduction (Quicktime.) So if you're picking extra toons, I'd favor melee in that setup.

Shammy is an outstanding backup healer. Again, like bard, they add the most to melee toons with their buffs, melee procs and epic/AA. Even focusing on a DPS ini, I had a hard time getting a good direct DPS output for trash mobs. Most stuff dies too fast for the good shammy dots and their nukes are a little weak or have longer recasts. The shammy did great dps on named though. I eventually moved them to another group as the main healer though.

Bst can fill in as backup healer plus brings nice watered down sham buffs. They also have a fast refresh weapon delay reduction in their Dicho/dissident line.

 

[eqranger24]

Thanks for the advice. I may just try out the team and see how they dps. Considering I am just a group game person it sounds like I will be needing 2 healers to survive current content when I am ready.

 

[Anthilia]

If you aren't 100% sold on your dps characters yet I would suggest a mage for one of your dps. Tank - Clr - Sham - Bard - Zerker - Mage makes a very nice well rounded group.

It will be slightly less dmg than 2 zerkers but I personally think the added utility of the mage makes up for it. Their pet gains all of the melee ADPS from the Sham/Bard. Shaman's Pact of the Wolf AA adds a haste aura (75%) to the group which works on pets, and more importantly SWARM pets... likewise bard overhaste aura also hits pets (and I believe swarm pets). Mage adds a damage shield for an extra 6-900ish dmg every time your tank is hit. This is all in addition to Pet Weapons and CoTH.

If all you need is the most dps possible then I agree adding another zerker is hands down your best bet. If however you're ok with slower kill times I personally find the utility of a mage to be very beneficial.

 

[Sic]

Thanks for the advice. I may just try out the team and see how they dps. Considering I am just a group game person it sounds like I will be needing 2 healers to survive current content when I am ready.

I'm purely group game and single cleric healing is definitely do-able, but shammies offer a lot of flexibility being able to provide good adps and heals if/when needed.

Because of MQ2Berzerker I use zerkers anytime I can - so if i was in your shoes I would do SK, CLR, Bard, Shm, Zerk, Zerk (I personally use a beastieboi instead of a shm/mage, for some of the reasons mentioned from Anthillia about adding a mage)

One of my favorite things about Mq2/VV is how easy it is to change your group around as your goals/needs change.

Best piece of advice is start with what group makes you happy, then go from there - the fact you are already thinking of Real Tank, Real Healer, CC means you're off to a great start and will find joy in all sorts of group makeups!

 

[Tone]

In some of the TBL zones, having a Sham + CLR is super beneficial.
2x Radiant Cure // Shamans don't really ooms and have great group healing

Honestly if your SHD has the gear I'd take it to a SHD/SHM/BRD/ 3X Zerker setup.

 

[Tovin]

Agree with Tone. If your tank is beefy you won’t need a cleric healer, shaman will be sufficient and you can go into extreme DPS mode. I’m talking decked out in the best of the best group gear available, including augs / other additives...

My tank has all the bells + whistles and my shaman is more than sufficient healing in TBL. For most content I don’t even need a healer for the tank when actively playing ... lifetaps and leeching is sufficient.