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Question - Yet another group composition discussion (1 Viewer)

Joined
Aug 19, 2020
RedCents
406¢
So I came back to EQ after a long break (15ish years) during the Covid era and then found this site, traweled through posts learning how to get MQ working, how to load custom Inis etc and slowly leveled up a 6 box group of SK/Shaman/Bard/Monk/Berserker/Beastlord

I don't know if im just an alt-aholic or what, but for some reason Im just not happy with the group setup I have. I've leveled a few other classes up and im toying with the idea of

SK/Shaman/Bard with Berserker, Beastlord, Rogue

Or

SK/Shaman/Bard with Mage, Mage, Mage

or

SK/Shaman/Bard with Beastlord, Mage, Mage

Anyone have any advice for current content? I've heard that Zerkers have been knocked down a fair amount recently, so would be interested to hear peoples thoughts, I quite like the idea of trying one of the CWTN plugins (mage) as well!
 
rogues are in a real solid spot, especially with the humanoids available in ToL, for example - but the trade-off is places that are like bugs or goos in NoS aren't humanoid

rog, rog, bst or ber, rog, bst are both fine.

Berzerkers are still absolutely fine - they're just not "broken op"

do mag/mag/bst over mag/mag/mag imo

could even go mag/bst/nec and be a happy maul - the nec will give mana and rez utility, as well as bring great dps for longer fights/nameds
 
Welcome back, when you came back!

SHD,SHM,BRD,BST,BER,ROG is amazing through ToL, I have no knowledge of NoS, but that was such a solid group that decimated everything in my path.

If you decide to go a MAG route, as Sic mentioned, you cannot go wrong with BST,MAG,NEC with the utility, dmg, etc. Also a great group.
 
Thanks guys!

I do love the Beastlord, so i'm almost certain that will remain a permanent fixture in my group, so it just boils down to Mage/Mage or Zerker/Rogue then I think.

I'm looking to progress through Cov, ToL and then NOS.

The one advantage of using the caster group is that they don't look automated as much as melee characters tend too, while I never play AFK it's always a concern at the back of my mind!
 
Thanks guys!

I do love the Beastlord, so i'm almost certain that will remain a permanent fixture in my group, so it just boils down to Mage/Mage or Zerker/Rogue then I think.

I'm looking to progress through Cov, ToL and then NOS.

The one advantage of using the caster group is that they don't look automated as much as melee characters tend too, while I never play AFK it's always a concern at the back of my mind!
I’d got pets (Nec, Mag, Bst) it’s a lot more stealth and plausible while playing jn the open
 
I will contribute to this discussion by simply saying;

Give the necro some love.



I've played a necro manually and enjoyed it although was not sure how to box it, include in a group until gave the CWTN / Sic plugin a run through it's pre-release beta. This was educational, to be made aware of necro features I was otherwise ignorant of. That strongly gave me a bias of NEC > MAG for groups. The key selling points of a necro in a group, beyond - "they can do dps" - are as follows:-


  • Mana Drain
Gone are those awful days of twitch. Now the necro has a mana drain line of spells. Send in your pet(s), land the dots and then throw in a mana drain whilst wait for blood to recycle. It will give your group some mana per tick, whilst you get on with doing more necro things, like blood or dots or pets etc.​

  • Synergy ( Defilers, .. for blood )
The '.. for blood' line of poison DD has been around for many levels, perhaps overlooked as a DD instead of a DoT. It has a recourse that can enhance your damage output. But from level 105, it's the trigger of the necro focus AA for group synergy. Defiler's Synergy. Which gives your group, a percentage increase ( 15%, 20%, 30% or 40%; at respective levels of 105, 110, 115 & 120 ) to the critical damage of both, DD and DoTs. Outside of the necro, are there many other toons in the group throwing DD or DoTs at the mob, that would benefit by having their crits getting boosted?​

  • Pets ( yes, he did say plural )
We know the three pet classes [ BST, MAG & NEC ], have their own pet to buff and order into battle. There are also some AAs, that with a lengthy reuse timer bring some pets to battle. But then the necro has this 'call skeleton ..' line of spells available to it. Three short life pets, that can zerg the mob, with a new wave to send in a little later. No significant downtime. Feature in the rotation between DoTs, Blood, Mana Drain.​

  • Rez the dead / ( ..Ally )
It's familiar that when the priests are down, it's either run back or if the group has one, have the necro perform the rez services. It could be thought as painful as it requires the essence emeralds. To get those, necro would either trade these from other necro, or source their own by killing players in sacrifice. That was until I learned of a side perk of the '.. ally' spells. The main gain is the life tap it gives your pet, but there is also a small chance the pet will farm an essence emerald for you, for free, no mats required, from killing mobs. You can build up your own stockpile of EE, or trade them on to other players.​




If the tank is either SHD or PAL, then they will benefit from the mana drain and synergy.

The healer, will benefit from mana drain, and if they are also applying damage casts then synergy will help too.

The dps, if they are casting spells, mana drain and synergy will help those.



A group line up with BRD, ROG and BER, perhaps NEC isn't so useful as other options.
But if the majority of other toons have mana bars, if the CC is from ENC over BRD, it becomes quite interesting option.






Regards and Best Wishes
 
I do love the Beastlord, so i'm almost certain that will remain a permanent fixture in my group, so it just boils down to Mage/Mage or Zerker/Rogue then I think.

As much as I give praise to necro, i also see and respect your appreciation of BST.


A learning of 2022 is about synergy, and the focus tab AA each class gets from 105, 110, 115 and 120;



For BST that is Primalist's Synergy.

Starting with the Maul combat ability at level 105, they empower the damage of melee attacks in the group.

Just by using 'maul' etc in the rotation, you get a chance to throw up the primalist's synergy over the group.


It's my understanding that each toon that is whacking a mob, under the influence of Primalist's Synergy, the 20 melee hits / 12 seconds lapses they give out extra damage.
The damage applied as 6k, 7.2k, 14.4k and 21.6k, from the level 105, 110, 115 & 120 synergy.




Therefore the tank and beast would benefit.
I infer pets would benefit .

melee toons, over caster toons, would have the former gain where the latter wouldn't.


It becomes a question, how much weight or value do you place in the class synergy, when decide the group make up?





Regards and Best Wishes
 
Welcome Back! Always fun to return and bring on the excitement!

Over the past two months, I've been working on sk/shm/bard/bst/rog/zerk. I really like the quick burst and low downtime. This group was specifically made to level up my alts who sit at 85. But, as I'm leveling them I see some weaknesses in comparison too my normal group.

Normal group pal/shm/ench/mage x2/ranger (swapping to necro or bst).

Anyhow, my main group just offers so much utility. First off I know bards offer so much utility! But, some factors of utility that I just love with my setup.

Coth, perfect invis (bard isn't perfect), pet toys, two abilities to rez, massive group heals, pets never really need to be healed (due to mages), if my tank goes down, any pet can instantly swap to taunt, and sustained dps. I feel like the melee falls off after a bit (just me). Also, enchanter mez too me is king, I cannot express how much I under estimated the enchanter.

Now, im not saying the melee group doesn't bring the thunder! It does, and that melee burst is just amazing!

Having an SK already eliminates the extra rez, but popping the necro in gives you that, plus dots I mean moooorrreeeee dots!

My absolutely best advice is this, test it, and see what fits your play style the best! You got the holy trinity already.

Regardless, you'll always have people here to help guide ya, and definitely offer feedback.

Welcome back again and Merry Christmas!
 
Question - Yet another group composition discussion

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