Don Woods
2007-08-03 13:05:12 UTC
(Available on the web as http://www.icynic.com/~don/EQ/grouping101.htm)
Grouping 101: How to make friends and get lotsa lewt
Some people would say that grouping is the heart of EverQuest. Even
though it is possible for many players to play solo for much of their
EQ experience, nobody would deny that grouping is a large part of the
game. What is grouping about? What are you expected to do as part
of a group?
The first thing your group must decide is if you're a sit-at-home group,
or a roaming group. Sit-at-home's tend to do better, and become the norm
after level 15-20 or so, unless you're doing a dungeon adventure (LDON).
Basically, the group finds a spot, and everyone with the exception of one
player (the "puller", who is not necessarily the "tank" but can be) stays
there, while the puller goes and finds things, gets their attention, and
brings them back to be slaughtered.
Roles
There are a great many "roles" in a group, and some classes fit strongly
in one particular niche (e.g., wizard = non-tanking damage dealer), while
some can fill in on a variety of roles, though usually not as well as a
specialist (druids can be damage dealers, healers/buffers, or primitive
crowd control). Know your role(s). If your class doesn't make your role
obvious, see what the group needs that you can fulfill. If in doubt, ask
the group for advice.
Puller
You go find things for the group to kill, and draw them back to the group.
A puller has to have the mental ability to navigate. There are paladins you
have to lead everywhere, but they can tank like no one's business. A puller,
on the other hand, can't afford to get lost on his way back to the group.
Lost often means dead and could mean a nasty Corpse Recovery.
The point of pulling is that it lets you fight the mobs in a place of your
choosing, e.g. to reduce the chance of other mobs getting involved, or to
stay close to a zone line in case the group decides to run away. Classwise,
it helps if the puller has ways to control the number of creatures being
pulled, or can pull at a distance. Characters that can mezz/pacify mobs to
reduce the chances of pulling too many include bards, paladins, clerics, and
enchanters. Rangers and druids can also pacify in outdoor zones, and monks
at middle levels and higher can also pacify one mob at a time. Sometimes a
puller will work with the crowd controller, where the CC person pacifies one
mob, then the puller engages another. Other pullers can split up an
overpull by feigning death; those classes include monks, shadowknights, and
necromancers (though since necros have low hit points, they aren't often
called upon to pull).
Another useful skill for pulling is tracking, which lets you see what
creatures (and players, also) are near the tracker, and what direction they
are in. Tracking classes include rangers at level 1, and at higher levels
druids and bards. The most skilled trackers are rangers, who can sort the
tracking list by distance, rather than seeing the results sorted by spawn
order in the zone.
Tank
You've got time to bleed. It's your job. The "main tank" (often called MT)
is the person designated to soak up most of the damage the mob deals out.
The MT is expected to "hold aggro", that is, keep the mob mad enough that it
mostly doesn't attack anyone else (like the healers or other casters). A
tank can also be puller, but in a fast group having a separate puller speeds
things up even more. If the MT is not the puller, the MT needs to be able
to do lots of damage quickly or have other skills (such as Taunt) to draw
the mob's attention off the puller once the puller brings it to the group.
The classic tanks are warrior, shadowknight, and paladin. Other classes can
make do in a pinch, and at lower levels the bard, ranger, monk, beastlord,
and rogue can make do better than most others.
Main Assist
Usually abbreviated "MA", your job is to pick the target that everyone is
supposed to gang up on. Everyone else then targets you (using the F# key
to target you as a group member) and uses /assist to shift their attention
to your target. This is a lot better than having people trying to click
on a seething mass of mobs trying to pick out the same one.
The MA should know the abilities of the mobs where the group is hunting,
in order to evaluate which ones pose the greatest threat and should thus
(usually) be killed first. At higher levels you should know which mobs are
immune to mesmerize or charm or whatever your group is using for crowd
control (see below). Often the MA is also either the MT (so he can target
something, beat on it a bit to make sure he's got aggro, then everyone else
joins in) or the puller (so everyone can target the mob as he's bringing it
in). It's even possible for the same character to fill all three roles
(puller, MA, MT).
Secondary Tank and Secondary Assist
In larger groups (especially raids), these are backups for the Main Tank
and Main Assist in case they go down or miss something. At higher levels,
if the mob is able to "rampage", the ST should arrange to be the second
player (after the MT) on the rampage list (see below.)
Non-tank damage dealer
Also called "DPS" (for damage per second), this role can be filled by most
characters in one form or another. You DOT the mob, nuke it, beat it with
a stick, sic your pet on it, poke it in the back with pointy things, make it
a pin cushion. Once you get into the teens, and especially the 20s, most
classes can no longer stand up to the pounding of a dark blue con mob, but
some can dish out enormous damage.
Snarer
Druids, rangers, bards, necromancers, shadowknights, and mid-level wizards
(Area Effect spell at level 27) can "snare" their targets. Lacking those
classes, you can get it rooted by others, but snare is better. At around
20% health many mobs will turn to run. This can be bad, especially if they
run past other mobs who decide to investigate the commotion. With snare,
your victim turns to run but is then too slow to actually move, meaning
everyone gets to pound the target for free. (Root also keeps it from
moving, but rooted mobs can still attack, while snared runners do not.)
Crowd control
The enchanter's specialty, crowd control (CC) is the art of delaying extra
mobs from causing trouble while the party concentrates on killing a single
target. If you have a good crowd controller you can let the puller bring
back extra mobs, and you can deal with "adds" (mobs that are passing by and
decide to join the combat). CC can be done by charming, mezzing, rooting,
snare/fearing, engaging the mobs with pets or yourself (if you're a tank,
hence this is called "off-tanking"), getting them mad at you and running
around while they try to catch you (called "kiting"), whatever, but the idea
is that the fight will go better if your group can concentrate its firepower
on one target at a time. Bards are also considered to be a good crowd
control class.
Healer
People bleed. Healers make them better. Most healers also "buff". Clerics
are the best healers, but several other classes can do in a pinch, including
druids, shamans, and necromancers. Healers need to learn how quickly the
tanks take damage from the particular mobs you're fighting, so they know when
a fast heal is needed vs. having the time for a more mana-efficient larger
spell. Healers may also be called upon for curing poison and other DOTs.
One important point for healers to keep in mind is that, in general, they
should not heal the puller during a pull, especially if the puller is using
Feign Death to shake off excess mobs. Once the puller has aggro, any heal
cast on the puller will generate aggro against the healer, and this can lead
to all the mobs suddenly deciding to charge into camp.
Buffer
Buffers contribute more indirectly to the cause. Enchanters may personally
do less than 1% of the group's damage, but their Haste spells on the tanks,
and mana regen spells on the nukers, mean their effective contribution
probably approaches half the damage the group is doing. The cleric's AC/HP
buffs make the tank last longer, and make the enchanter a better crowd
controller too, as they can take a few hits now. Most casters have at least
a few buffs. Shamans can load a person down with buffs, and are in high
demand because of it.
Debuffer
What buffers do to players, debuffers anti-do to mobs. Enchanters, along
with that nice 70% or so haste, have a 70% or so slow, which means the mob
swings one-third as often. Shamans, bards, and beastlords can also slow
mobs down. Debuffers may also dispel buffs that the mobs have on themselves.
Snare is technically a debuff but is important enough to get its own section
above.
Supply sergeant
The mage has a special skill most other classes don't have in any quantity:
the ability to summon lots of odds and ends the group can find useful.
Bandages, arrows, throwing knives, levitation rings, food, water, vision
items, weapons/armor to give to pets, caster focus wear... at high levels a
mage can outfit an entire group for that nasty corpse recovery (though more
often everyone just lets the rogue drag the bodies out). A few other
classes can summon food and drink, and a few miscellaneous items.
Looter
Some groups don't care about coins or "vendor trash" (loot that's only good
to sell to NPCs for cash), but most people are happy to get a share of the
treasure. Some groups use "free for all" looting, where anyone who cares to
can loot mobs, but this can be a problem for some. (The puller is already
heading out for more prey and doesn't want to stop to loot, or the monk is
concerned about ruining his AC by picking up too much weight, or the wizard
or cleric wants to stay seated to meditate.) So some groups designate a
"main looter" (ML), who collects all the cash and items, handles /random
rolls for handing out any special items that drop, and at the end of the
session sells off the vendor trash (preferably with high charisma to get
the best prices) and splits the cash. (See also the main FAQ for a
discussion about the evils of /autosplit.)
Any class can be main looter, but it helps if you're not also the puller,
and you don't mind the weight. Having weight-reducing bags helps. Other
plusses are the ability to "gate" (if not hunting near a merchant for
selling off) and enough charisma items to get CHA up to at least 104,
which is enough to get the best prices if your faction with the merchant is
indifferent or better.
If you're the ML, be sure you've done "/lootnodrop always", which says you
always have to confirm looting No Trade items. (The command is /lootnodrop
even though the term No Drop was changed.) Otherwise you may unwittingly
loot an item and be unable to give it to whoever is selected to win it. This
is especially true in an LDON "collect" mission, where the items you're sent
to collect are No Trade and thus the looter might be tempted to disable the
confirmation windows. Looting augmentation items by mistake is not good.
There are other roles, but that gets the major ones.
Classes
Here are the roles that each class generally plays in groups, and also some
remarks about how the classes do solo.
Bard
Primary roles: buffs, puller, melee damage. Secondary roles: vary based on
the situation and group, but often includes crowd control. The bard is one
of the best solo classes in the game, especially at higher levels. They can,
to some degree, do anything that any other class can do, save for porting and
rezzing, but as they're generalists, they don't necessarily excel at any one
task. In groups, bards primarily buff the entire group, using their lines of
health regeneration, mana regeneration, damage shield, and Haste songs. A
bard can move faster than any other class in the game and his songs, with
rare exceptions, don't use any mana, so he'll often be called upon to pull
(the first Lull song, at level 8, will work all the way to level 60). With
Dual Wield skill and plate armor, the bard is a reasonable tank at lower
levels and can provide passable melee damage throughout his career. At level
15 the bard gains the ability to mesmerize his foes as well (and at level
27, charm) and thus can provide crowd control.
The skilled bard will quickly learn how to "twist"; that is, to chain-cast
songs so that more than one is active at once by stopping them quickly after
casting and starting the next one. Most groups expect a bard to be able to
twist three songs, but a great bard can twist four or, if lag permits, five.
(Claims of twisting more songs than that usually include activated items
that play songs, which most bards will say don't count.) Much of the
challenge of playing a bard comes in learning to twist and, more important,
learning which songs to twist when. The addition of the /melody command
eases this effort, automating the twisting of up to four songs. While
manually twisting allows for more control, and a great bard will certainly
do so in tense situations, a good melody setup can do wonders to relieve the
intense strain on tendons which has sidelined many a bard.
Beastlord
Traditional duty: melee damage output. Other roles: a variety of things,
depending on situation and group lineup. An excellent soloer, a beastlord
is a good DPS class, and has enough hit points to be a good "off-tank" for
crowd control. The beastlord can't wear enough armor to be a reliable
primary tank (especially at higher levels), but can step in in a pinch.
He gets some heals, a fair assortment of shaman-type buffs, and with some
skill can use his pet for crowd control (because the pet does taunt). Later
in life the beastlord gets slow and haste spells, and a highly-prized line
of group mana/HP regeneration buffs popularly referred to as "kitty crack."
A beast even gets some DoTs and weak nukes. LDoN adventuring has been a
boon for beastlords: a single class that can melee, DoT, slow, haste, help
heal in a bad spot, off-tank, and even help a bit with crowd control, is
very useful for LDoN.
Raid groups tend not to value beastlords as much, since a large raid will
always have specialists who are better at the various functions. Many
beastlords solo their way through much of the first 50 levels, which they
can do faster than almost any other class. To develop the full range of
skills, mix up how you spend that solo time: do plenty of brute-force
soloing (where you and the pet are both meleeing the mob directly) and also
spend time playing pet-cleric (safer, slower soloing where the pet does most
the work and you stay back healing the pet and DoTing/nuking the mob).
Berserker
Traditional duty: melee damage. Other roles: snarer, caster interrupt,
ghetto slows, backup tank. A decent solo class, berserkers have moderately
good DPS, and get enough HP, AC, and avoidance to be a good off-tank. They
can serve as primary tank against mobs that are stunnable. As they approach
level 70 their DPS improves, rivalling that of rogues.
Berserkers have no mana bar to worry about, but instead fuel their abilities
by using up "basic axe components", which are cheaply available from their
vendors. The resulting axes can stun, snare, or "jolt" a mob. (Like the
level 51 ranger spell of that name, jolt reduces the degree to which a mob
hates you.) All share a single 12-second timer, and are short duration, but
the absence of a mana bar means they can be used nearly indefinitely as long
as supplies hold out (which could mean over 100 hours of continuous use), and
all take effect instantly.
Berserkers solo fairly well as long as they can single pull; the key ability
is the stun, which should be used constantly on non-casters in order to slow
their damage (on casters it may be held in reserve to stop their spells);
adds won't be stunned and thus will do full damage. In groups, stun use can
easily overwhelm an unskilled tank's ability to hold aggro; again this is
the 'zerker's key contribution, so the 'zerker and tank should find a way to
work with this. The use of stun as an aggro producer allows the berserker
to hold aggro fairly well if in the position of main tank. Berserkers should
maximize their defensive skills either by soloing or serving as MT, as they
will be thrust into the "punching bag" position with some frequency
throughout their career.
Berserkers consider themselves an "unfinished" class; the newest class in
the game, it seems to most that they are lacking features which would make
them desirable in the higher levels. Up into the high 50s this isn't an
issue for a non raider; the berserker's position as a "medium tank" capable
of both high DPS (for a primary tank) and good damage soaking (for a light
tank) makes them flexible and enjoyable to play, and the fact that they have
a short list of special abilities instead of a spellbook full of options
should make them easy to learn and to play, even for a novice EQ player. If
anything, the Berserkers biggest problem is that most players don't know what
they can do.
Cleric
Traditional duty: healer/buffer. Other roles: nuker, especially against
undead, and assisting on pulls using lull/soothe/pacify. For all that they
wear plate, they really cannot tank. As a low level cleric you will spend
most of your time with your rear end on the ground, medding back that oh so
precious mana. Pay attention to everyone's hitpoints. When they get low,
heal them. Learn how much of the "bar" your heals do on each player; it
will be different based on gear and class. Only "top off" people's health
during a lull when you have full mana. And almost never heal the puller
while he's pulling, or you'll aggro the mobs and screw up the pull.
Before the fighting starts, cast HP/AC buffs on the main tank (at low levels
there may not be a well-defined tank), and anyone else that regularly gets
hit. If you have the mana available for it, cast it on yourself first, then
on the other characters that are going to get it. Then when yours starts
fading you know the others are about to lose their buff.
Clerics are also prized for their ability to "rez" (resurrect) people,
restoring some experience loss after a death. Even at lower levels when
resurrecting doesn't restore much if any experience, the rez still brings
people back to their corpse without having to run back from their bind
spot.
Druid
Primary roles: healer, buffer, snarer. Secondary roles: damage-dealer,
crowd control (mostly via root, possibly charm or fear), tracker. Druids
are an odd case as they are not really the best choice for any role, but
they are able to fill a wide variety of roles. So unless a group insists
on finding the "perfect" class for what it needs, it can often do well to
add a druid. Druids have quite good healing spells, a variety of buffs
(including the ever-popular SOW as low as level 10), snare, melee DPS at
low levels and decent spell damage at higher levels, root, and tracking.
Since they are so versatile, druids make excellent soloers, but they can
always find ways to contribute to a group as well. They are also one of
two classes that can teleport other players to a variety of locations,
which can make it a lot easier for everyone to get home when the group
is finished, and can also provide a fast exit if a combat is going badly.
Druids have an impressive array of DOT spells (damage over time), which are
great for soloing but can be an inefficient use of mana in a group. If your
group is killing things very quickly, say in 30 seconds or less per mob,
you'll do better casting a direct damage spell rather than getting less
than half the effect from a DOT.
Enchanter
Primary jobs: crowd control and buffs; also slows and DPS. Enchanters have
several lines of spells to control enemies: they can mesmerize, stun, charm,
and lull. Dangerous areas with lots of enemy traffic, groups that don't
have a skilled puller, and groups fighting tough mobs will benefit from, if
not require, the enchanter. Enchanters can control groups of enemies while
the rest of the party focuses on one at a time (this is, where applicable,
the most efficient way to plow through enemies). They can slow and lessen
the attacks of those enemies, skills that move from convenient to essential
as one levels up. Their buffs include the best haste for melee attacks and
excellent regeneration spells for mana. Enchanter charm, which works on all
types of mobs (except some special rare cases or at the highest levels), is
a powerful tool when the player is trained in its use. The best enchanter
pays very close attention to his party's surroundings and incoming enemies.
Magician
Primary role: damage (via spells and pets). Secondary role: supply sergeant.
(No other class is nearly as good for supplies, but most players don't know
just how much equipment a good mage can summon, or already have focus items
and the like, so mages tend not to be called upon for it.) In a good group,
you send in the pet, keep a damage shield on the tank (mages cast the biggest
DS at most levels), nuke enough to keep yourself at half mana until the
overpull comes, and watch the xp flow in. Where mages shine is with an
imperfect group. The pet is a good off-tank because they will stop attacking
instantly if the mob is mezzed. The right pet can root if you don't have a
snarer; stun if you are in a spot with lots of casters; or do lots of damage
if all else is going well. Of course, those are all different pets, but
choosing the right one for the right situation is the mark of a skilled mage.
Mages can summon "mod rods", which let casters convert HP into mana. Before
you start fighting, prep the group with mod rods, pet weapons and armor,
bandages, throwing items for the puller, levitation or water-breathing items,
or anything else they want. Mages also get a spell to teleport a group
member to them from anywhere else in the zone, key to getting late arrivals
into the group in a hostile world, or retrieving groupmates who have feigned
death at an awkward spot. (Such maneuvers got simpler in mid-2005, as
new people can be invited into the group at a distance. Previously, the
group leader had to wait at the zone line to invite new arrivals into the
group so they could then be summoned.)
One problem is that the mage is only about the third best DPS class at the
high level. Their additional utility is not as great as, for example, a
beastlord. Pets can also be problematic to control; and if there is a pet
and a PC in melee range, the PC will always be beat on.
Monk
Primary roles: puller, melee damage. Secondary role: off-tank. Monks make
excellent pullers because of their ability to Feign Death, which they can use
to get excess mobs to turn around and go back. They also have a line of
combat disciplines that let them briefly lull single mobs so they won't aggro
when a nearby mob is pulled. At low- to mid-levels, monks can be pressed
into service as main tanks; they have few tools for retaining aggro other
than just doing melee damage, but they dish out that damage in quite credible
quantities. They can also heal themselves for 25% of their HP once per six
minutes. At the highest levels the so-called "monk nerf" makes itself felt,
wherein monk armor class becomes less effective and a monk tank is too likely
to die if a mob gets just a few hits in a row before the healers can react.
Because monks can feign death (though this is harder to do against a group
of spellcasting mobs, because a spell begun before the feign will break the
feign when the spell lands), they can sometimes afford to continue fighting
past the point where other classes would have to flee. If a group gets
into trouble, the monk may be able to gain aggro enough to give the others
time to escape, and then feign death to watch and report when the coast is
clear.
Necromancer
A necromancer is a powerhouse of flexibility, offering a bit of everything
but buffing. An INT caster with minor healing capabilities, significant
DPS, a powerful pet, mezzing for CC, FD for pulling, and even a version of
resurrection, a necromancer can find a role in almost any group. The necro
pet is a significant melee force capable of real DPS and off tanking, or
even main tanking in a group without melee PCs. If possible, outfit the
pet with mage summoned armor/weapons. Positioning it to attack from the
rear will increase its damage output by about 15%.
Necros have "lich" spells that damage themselves while adding massively to
their mana regen; combined with spells which transfer hit points from their
prey to themselves, it means they usually have more mana available than they
know what to do with. In a group which can provide them with HP regen on
top of that, a necromancer can really turn on the heat. Necros also have
very good DOTs, which work well in groups taking on mobs that take some time
to kill, but not in a fast killing group, and some Direct Damage spells that
aren't very mana efficient, but don't need to be in the face of their
massive mana regen rates.
Necromancers have a snare line that, sadly, includes a DOT, so it can be
less flexible than other snares that won't break mez. Still, for stopping
runners or on prey you know you aren't going to mez, it's much better than
no snare at all, and the damage does add up. The necros also themselves
have a mez; it's relatively short compared to other mezzes, but is still
useful for keeping one or possibly two extra mobs under control.
Necromancer healing reduces their own HP while healing their target, so this
is generally used only in emergencies. But by using other spells that heal
themselves at the expense of mobs, a well-buffed necro can function as main
healer for a duo or small group doing relatively easy work. This is one of
the rare cases where a necro may be better off with an enchanter mana regen
buff instead of using their own Lich line; they'll have less mana flow, but
will get the full benefit of their HP flow to pass on to the tanks.
Soloing a necromancer is simpler; pull single mobs, feign death if necessary
to do that, sic the pet on it, DOT it up, and wait for it to die. With hard
targets, snare and fear so your pet doesn't take damage. Lich and Leech to
keep your mana flow up, and just watch the exp flow in. Only trouble is,
this is so powerful that many necromancers eschew grouping entirely, so they
don't learn how to group well, and few people have experience grouping with
necros at low levels so they aren't eager to invite them at higher levels.
Paladin
Paladins can be a puller (the lull line helps them there, and stun pulling
gives them a head start back), and are designed to be a tank. With heavy
armor and lots of hitpoints, plus their own buffs and the ability to heal
themselves some, they make good tanks. Learn to love the "taunt" button.
Depending on what you are fighting and how things are going, you may be spot
healing yourself, stunning, or just using your mana for pulling. Lay on
hands is your "fix me now!" key, and is also good when the wizard gets aggro
and is folding like wet cardboard. You can be a pocket healer if necessary,
but there are several better alternatives out there. Still it's better than
Mr. Monk can do for others.
In most groups your job will be to go get things for people to kill, attack
targets, try to maintain aggro so you bleed the most, and spend your mana
reasonably. (If you're not using any mana you're not using your class to
its fullest.) Note: Do not just step in and try to take over aggro if you
join an existing group with an existing tank. Figure out which of you will
be bleeding the most; the other should generally not taunt, though stunning
and other effects that generate aggro are useful.
Paladins eventually gain the ability to resurrect dead characters, though
they are never able to restore as much lost experience as a cleric (or even
a necromancer) of the same level.
Ranger
Primary roles: melee and ranged damage, pulling. The ranger also has some
decent utility spells, such as SoW and snare. While able to pass for a tank
up until the 50's, the ranger's main duty is pouring out damage, from either
swords or his bow (once he has trained it appropriately). Once in the 50's,
he learns Jolt and will do well to learn to use it; it lessens the chance
that the engaged enemy will beat him into pulp. The ranger's great damage
will call attention to him, but his defensive abilities lag far behind his
offense.
The ranger can also snare his enemies and SoW his group, making it easy to
catch prey or flee difficult enemies, and the ranger can use outdoor-only
pacification to split up groups of enemies, allowing the group to kill more
efficiently. Starting at level 51, the ranger receives double damage on
stationary enemies (but not rooted, i.e., mobs that someone else is engaging
in melee), and then at 59 he can begin training Archery Mastery and Endless
Quiver, two skills that define the high level ranger. After completing that
training, the ranger can deliver consistent and impressive damage without
any toll.
The ranger also has the Tracking ability, which makes many quests, and
hunting in general, a lot easier.
Rogue
Traditional duty: melee damage. Other roles: scout, puller, body recovery,
last ditch backup tank. A poor solo class, rogues have moderately good DPS
from the front but extremely good DPS from the back. They don't get enough
AC, HP, or avoidance to really serve well as main tanks, and even when (due
to good gear and buffs) they CAN serve in that capacity, it sacrifices much
of their DPS. Rogues are highly valued on raids, as they have some of the
highest sustainable DPS in the game, and plenty of aggro avoidance to go
with it, plus raids find a lot of value in their "other roles".
Rogues have no mana bar, basically functioning off of timers and player
skill (positioning, aggro management, etc.). They have the ability to Hide
and to Sneak, as can various other classes and races; however, only rogues
can do both at the same time, so they can move while hidden, invisible to
both live and undead mobs in a way no other class can be. At low levels,
this combination forces them to move very slowly, but with SOW or AAs at
higher levels, they can end up moving fast enough to make very good use of
this ability. At high levels with the Shroud of Stealth (SoS) AA, this
ability becomes astonishing, allowing them to literally walk past almost
any mob in the game.
The key function of rogues is their "backstab" ability; available on a timer,
this is an extra attack that does damage as a multiple of the damage stat of
their weapon, making their choice of weapon very important. The rogue must
be behind the mob when hitting Backstab to do this damage, otherwise the extra
attack does only normal damage. (There's an AA that lets rogues do minimal
"backstabs" from any angle.) Backstab also produces lots of aggro, so timing
is critical; the rogue must be able to dump aggro to someone else in order to
backstab at all, and then must be able to lose aggro afterwards (or not get it
in the first place despite the backstab). A soloing rogue can get only a
single backstab per mob by sneaking behind it to start the combat.
This brings us to Evade. Not technically a separate skill, it's another
"rogue only" use of the existing Hide skill; in combat, a successful Evade
will significantly reduce aggro. To do this, you turn off attack, then
hide, and hope for the best. This ability is on a timer of roughly the
same length as the Backstab one, and can be used one of two ways. If you
are functioning as "main tank", you evade to get the mob to turn toward
someone else just long enough for you to backstab; if someone else is MT,
you backstab then immediately Evade if you got the mob's attention. (A
good tank will regain aggro quickly since you aren't doing any more damage
till you start attacking again. Even better, don't evade at all; a really
good MT can hold aggro despite your backstabbing!) Evade is worthless if
soloing, though, since you need someone else for the mob to turn toward.
At high levels rogues get the Escape AA, which removes aggro completely.
Combined with SoS, this is a rogue must-have, comparable to the "feign
death" ability of other classes in terms of losing aggro (though on a much
longer timer) but able to drag corpses while hidden.
One other thing needs to be said about rogues. They have the ability to
"pickpocket" mobs, taking a portion of the cash loot the mob was carrying.
This makes some groups wary of taking rogues, fearing they'll take more
than their share of the loot. At high levels, this doesn't matter much,
since the actual cash mobs carry tends to cap out and become unimportant.
But at any level, the simplest solution is to make the rogue be "master
looter", responsible for looting all the bodies and then sharing out the
loot with everyone.
Shadowknight
Primary roles: tank, melee damage output. Secondary role: puller. The
shadowknight is very similar to the paladin; both wear heavy armor and have
lots of hit points. However, the shadowknight's spells are designed to
produce a lot of damage and to keep his foes hitting him and no one else.
Shadowknights receive lines of hate-generating debuffs and a line of spells
that directly generate hate, as well as many of the necromancer life-draining
spells and a line of fast-casting direct damage spells. Combined with the
ability to Taunt and to hit very hard with either one- or two-handed weapons,
this lets the shadowknight keep the mob focused on him while dishing out a
lot of damage. The shadowknight can also feign death, which can be very
useful when a party wipe is unavoidable. Having someone survive to drag
the corpses to a safe area or to call out that the coast is clear can often
make recovery easier.
In groups, the shadowknight will sometimes pull, but this is often left to
classes more specialized for the purpose. Mostly, the shadowknight will be
using their magics to maintain aggro and will be leading the attacks as the
main tank. In a group with other tanks, the shadowknight often ends up as
the main tank because they can hold aggro very well, but this is best
discussed with the other melee classes first.
Shaman
Primary roles: healing and buffing, not necessarily in that order. While
their heals lag behind a cleric's, shamans make up for it to some extent by
buffing up the group so that damage is done more quickly, and slowing the
target so it doesn't do as much damage, reducing the need for heals. They
also have Regen buffs, which provide continual low level healing. At low
levels, while a shaman can buff up every stat, the buffing process is so
time and mana consuming as to be a waste of time for all but the hardest
targets. Later, shaman buffs encompass several stats at once, and last
longer, so that they become more utilitarian on a day to day basis.
In addition to the straightforward roles of buffer/healer/slower, shamans can
do light duty as crowd control and off tank, holding a mob's attention while
the group kills something else. At 32, shamans get their pet line, and the
pet, when buffed up, rapidly becomes a useful member of the team, capable of
substantial damage and even tanking on its own; supporting and directing
this pet then becomes a significant part of a shaman's contribution. At 44,
shamans get the first in a torpor line of heals; this line is a very large
HOT which simultaneously roots and slows its target. Used on the shaman
himself, this is part of what allows him to fill that "off tank" role; he
doesn't need to run and isn't contributing a lot of melee damage anyway. On
other party members this is best used between mobs, although if the MT is
capable of holding aggro while slowed, and the majority of DPS is coming
from other party members, it can be used as principle heal as well. At high
levels, this line is replaced by a version without the ill effects. On long
lived mobs, shamans can also contribute significant damage output via their
DOT lines, but in a fast paced group this won't be worth worrying about.
Finally, shamans have the Cannibalize line, which allows them to trade their
HP for mana. Combined with regen buffs and their Torpor line, this means
they can have some of the best mana flow in the game, particularly outdoors
when they can do this while on horseback.
An important question for the shaman is which stat buffs are important to
which party members. Stamina buffs add to the HP total, and work for almost
anyone. Melee will generally appreciate a Strength buff, which adds to
their damage output. Dexterity works well on bards (missed notes) and
anyone using "proccing" weapons. Agility is of questionable use, but some
"main tanks" swear by it as further reducing the damage they take.
Soloing a shaman involves much the same tools as grouping one: buffing,
healing, slowing, using the pet. The principle difference is that all kills
tend to be slow enough that DOTting is worthwhile, in fact in some cases it
is more worthwhile to root the target and stack DOTs on, ignoring melee
output entirely. Another useful trick, though, is for the shaman to "tank"
for his pet. Sitting on horseback with melee off, keeping torpor type heal
running on himself continuously, the shaman can take a terrific pounding
from a mob, while his pet, positioned behind the mob, does all the damage,
perhaps aided by the shaman's DOTs. The most significant lacks for a shaman
in this position are "real" crowd control (root doesn't stop casters) and
single pulling tools, and the absence of a snare to stop runners; one
possible cure for that is the symbol an Innoruuk shaman can get which
provides a clicky snare.
Warrior
Primary role: getting beat up... that's it. I.e., tank. The warrior is
inherently best at taking blows. While he has few means to hold the
attention of an enemy while his group attacks it, those who cause the
warrior to be ignored by the enemy will regret it. Tanking is based on two
things: absorbing an enemy's damage and being the only one to receive that
damage. Paladins and shadowknights are better, overall, at holding an
enemy's attention, but the warrior has the best overall makeup for absorbing
damage. The warrior may also be the puller if nobody else in the group is
better suited, and is often the Main Assist since he needs to solo the mob
a little while to build up aggro before the other players join the fray.
The warrior, while simple in premise, requires paying attention, both in
the short term (picking targets, gaining aggro, switching weapons, perhaps
pulling), and over time, as his equipment will need to be upgraded and
replaced. For this, planning is essential: certain zones are more
profitable than others, and some quests are tedious but worth doing (plus,
being patient is also crucial for building up one's character, though this
is true for all things). The warrior's most important statistic is always
his Hit Points -- and don't let anyone say different -- but worrying over
a number is silly. The rich warrior can solo up to the 50's, but most
become reliant on groups much earlier, sometimes as early as 20. Besides,
the best warriors, regardless of equipment, wouldn't be the best without
solid players to group with. Building a reputation as a conscientious
warrior is the ticket to getting and keeping good groups.
Wizard
Primary role: burst damage. Secondary roles: minor utility, transport,
snare. The wizard's job is to end fights quickly, and he is the best at it.
He is the best by only a modest margin until the mid 40's, and the other
burst-damage classes (nukers) do a good job of catching up over the next 20
levels, but at 65+ the wizard is king. The road is very, very long. In a
group, the wizard applies mana early by snaring and stunning the enemies,
and later in the battle dispenses damage in large doses. The wizard wants
to avoid an enemy's attention, and thus saves his high-damage spells for
after the tank has done enough damage to retain aggro. Ideally, the wizard
wants his nuke to leave the mob only a blow or two from dying; if the nuke
kills the mob, some of the damage (and hence some of the mana) was wasted.
The efficient wizard pays attention to the behaviors of his different spells
in relation to his targets: some mobs resist fire, some resist cold, some
resist magic in general.
The wizard, solo, is able to take on groups of mobs rather efficiently,
though this skill takes patience to master. The wizard is also one of only
two classes that can teleport other players to a variety of locations. (Ah,
but walking is all the rage and clicking on books is too fashionable to
ignore. Though a wizard with a fast "evac" (transporting the group away
from a combat gone sour) can save hours of fashionable walking, sneaking,
hiding, running, etc.)
[End of part 1 of 2]
Grouping 101: How to make friends and get lotsa lewt
Some people would say that grouping is the heart of EverQuest. Even
though it is possible for many players to play solo for much of their
EQ experience, nobody would deny that grouping is a large part of the
game. What is grouping about? What are you expected to do as part
of a group?
The first thing your group must decide is if you're a sit-at-home group,
or a roaming group. Sit-at-home's tend to do better, and become the norm
after level 15-20 or so, unless you're doing a dungeon adventure (LDON).
Basically, the group finds a spot, and everyone with the exception of one
player (the "puller", who is not necessarily the "tank" but can be) stays
there, while the puller goes and finds things, gets their attention, and
brings them back to be slaughtered.
Roles
There are a great many "roles" in a group, and some classes fit strongly
in one particular niche (e.g., wizard = non-tanking damage dealer), while
some can fill in on a variety of roles, though usually not as well as a
specialist (druids can be damage dealers, healers/buffers, or primitive
crowd control). Know your role(s). If your class doesn't make your role
obvious, see what the group needs that you can fulfill. If in doubt, ask
the group for advice.
Puller
You go find things for the group to kill, and draw them back to the group.
A puller has to have the mental ability to navigate. There are paladins you
have to lead everywhere, but they can tank like no one's business. A puller,
on the other hand, can't afford to get lost on his way back to the group.
Lost often means dead and could mean a nasty Corpse Recovery.
The point of pulling is that it lets you fight the mobs in a place of your
choosing, e.g. to reduce the chance of other mobs getting involved, or to
stay close to a zone line in case the group decides to run away. Classwise,
it helps if the puller has ways to control the number of creatures being
pulled, or can pull at a distance. Characters that can mezz/pacify mobs to
reduce the chances of pulling too many include bards, paladins, clerics, and
enchanters. Rangers and druids can also pacify in outdoor zones, and monks
at middle levels and higher can also pacify one mob at a time. Sometimes a
puller will work with the crowd controller, where the CC person pacifies one
mob, then the puller engages another. Other pullers can split up an
overpull by feigning death; those classes include monks, shadowknights, and
necromancers (though since necros have low hit points, they aren't often
called upon to pull).
Another useful skill for pulling is tracking, which lets you see what
creatures (and players, also) are near the tracker, and what direction they
are in. Tracking classes include rangers at level 1, and at higher levels
druids and bards. The most skilled trackers are rangers, who can sort the
tracking list by distance, rather than seeing the results sorted by spawn
order in the zone.
Tank
You've got time to bleed. It's your job. The "main tank" (often called MT)
is the person designated to soak up most of the damage the mob deals out.
The MT is expected to "hold aggro", that is, keep the mob mad enough that it
mostly doesn't attack anyone else (like the healers or other casters). A
tank can also be puller, but in a fast group having a separate puller speeds
things up even more. If the MT is not the puller, the MT needs to be able
to do lots of damage quickly or have other skills (such as Taunt) to draw
the mob's attention off the puller once the puller brings it to the group.
The classic tanks are warrior, shadowknight, and paladin. Other classes can
make do in a pinch, and at lower levels the bard, ranger, monk, beastlord,
and rogue can make do better than most others.
Main Assist
Usually abbreviated "MA", your job is to pick the target that everyone is
supposed to gang up on. Everyone else then targets you (using the F# key
to target you as a group member) and uses /assist to shift their attention
to your target. This is a lot better than having people trying to click
on a seething mass of mobs trying to pick out the same one.
The MA should know the abilities of the mobs where the group is hunting,
in order to evaluate which ones pose the greatest threat and should thus
(usually) be killed first. At higher levels you should know which mobs are
immune to mesmerize or charm or whatever your group is using for crowd
control (see below). Often the MA is also either the MT (so he can target
something, beat on it a bit to make sure he's got aggro, then everyone else
joins in) or the puller (so everyone can target the mob as he's bringing it
in). It's even possible for the same character to fill all three roles
(puller, MA, MT).
Secondary Tank and Secondary Assist
In larger groups (especially raids), these are backups for the Main Tank
and Main Assist in case they go down or miss something. At higher levels,
if the mob is able to "rampage", the ST should arrange to be the second
player (after the MT) on the rampage list (see below.)
Non-tank damage dealer
Also called "DPS" (for damage per second), this role can be filled by most
characters in one form or another. You DOT the mob, nuke it, beat it with
a stick, sic your pet on it, poke it in the back with pointy things, make it
a pin cushion. Once you get into the teens, and especially the 20s, most
classes can no longer stand up to the pounding of a dark blue con mob, but
some can dish out enormous damage.
Snarer
Druids, rangers, bards, necromancers, shadowknights, and mid-level wizards
(Area Effect spell at level 27) can "snare" their targets. Lacking those
classes, you can get it rooted by others, but snare is better. At around
20% health many mobs will turn to run. This can be bad, especially if they
run past other mobs who decide to investigate the commotion. With snare,
your victim turns to run but is then too slow to actually move, meaning
everyone gets to pound the target for free. (Root also keeps it from
moving, but rooted mobs can still attack, while snared runners do not.)
Crowd control
The enchanter's specialty, crowd control (CC) is the art of delaying extra
mobs from causing trouble while the party concentrates on killing a single
target. If you have a good crowd controller you can let the puller bring
back extra mobs, and you can deal with "adds" (mobs that are passing by and
decide to join the combat). CC can be done by charming, mezzing, rooting,
snare/fearing, engaging the mobs with pets or yourself (if you're a tank,
hence this is called "off-tanking"), getting them mad at you and running
around while they try to catch you (called "kiting"), whatever, but the idea
is that the fight will go better if your group can concentrate its firepower
on one target at a time. Bards are also considered to be a good crowd
control class.
Healer
People bleed. Healers make them better. Most healers also "buff". Clerics
are the best healers, but several other classes can do in a pinch, including
druids, shamans, and necromancers. Healers need to learn how quickly the
tanks take damage from the particular mobs you're fighting, so they know when
a fast heal is needed vs. having the time for a more mana-efficient larger
spell. Healers may also be called upon for curing poison and other DOTs.
One important point for healers to keep in mind is that, in general, they
should not heal the puller during a pull, especially if the puller is using
Feign Death to shake off excess mobs. Once the puller has aggro, any heal
cast on the puller will generate aggro against the healer, and this can lead
to all the mobs suddenly deciding to charge into camp.
Buffer
Buffers contribute more indirectly to the cause. Enchanters may personally
do less than 1% of the group's damage, but their Haste spells on the tanks,
and mana regen spells on the nukers, mean their effective contribution
probably approaches half the damage the group is doing. The cleric's AC/HP
buffs make the tank last longer, and make the enchanter a better crowd
controller too, as they can take a few hits now. Most casters have at least
a few buffs. Shamans can load a person down with buffs, and are in high
demand because of it.
Debuffer
What buffers do to players, debuffers anti-do to mobs. Enchanters, along
with that nice 70% or so haste, have a 70% or so slow, which means the mob
swings one-third as often. Shamans, bards, and beastlords can also slow
mobs down. Debuffers may also dispel buffs that the mobs have on themselves.
Snare is technically a debuff but is important enough to get its own section
above.
Supply sergeant
The mage has a special skill most other classes don't have in any quantity:
the ability to summon lots of odds and ends the group can find useful.
Bandages, arrows, throwing knives, levitation rings, food, water, vision
items, weapons/armor to give to pets, caster focus wear... at high levels a
mage can outfit an entire group for that nasty corpse recovery (though more
often everyone just lets the rogue drag the bodies out). A few other
classes can summon food and drink, and a few miscellaneous items.
Looter
Some groups don't care about coins or "vendor trash" (loot that's only good
to sell to NPCs for cash), but most people are happy to get a share of the
treasure. Some groups use "free for all" looting, where anyone who cares to
can loot mobs, but this can be a problem for some. (The puller is already
heading out for more prey and doesn't want to stop to loot, or the monk is
concerned about ruining his AC by picking up too much weight, or the wizard
or cleric wants to stay seated to meditate.) So some groups designate a
"main looter" (ML), who collects all the cash and items, handles /random
rolls for handing out any special items that drop, and at the end of the
session sells off the vendor trash (preferably with high charisma to get
the best prices) and splits the cash. (See also the main FAQ for a
discussion about the evils of /autosplit.)
Any class can be main looter, but it helps if you're not also the puller,
and you don't mind the weight. Having weight-reducing bags helps. Other
plusses are the ability to "gate" (if not hunting near a merchant for
selling off) and enough charisma items to get CHA up to at least 104,
which is enough to get the best prices if your faction with the merchant is
indifferent or better.
If you're the ML, be sure you've done "/lootnodrop always", which says you
always have to confirm looting No Trade items. (The command is /lootnodrop
even though the term No Drop was changed.) Otherwise you may unwittingly
loot an item and be unable to give it to whoever is selected to win it. This
is especially true in an LDON "collect" mission, where the items you're sent
to collect are No Trade and thus the looter might be tempted to disable the
confirmation windows. Looting augmentation items by mistake is not good.
There are other roles, but that gets the major ones.
Classes
Here are the roles that each class generally plays in groups, and also some
remarks about how the classes do solo.
Bard
Primary roles: buffs, puller, melee damage. Secondary roles: vary based on
the situation and group, but often includes crowd control. The bard is one
of the best solo classes in the game, especially at higher levels. They can,
to some degree, do anything that any other class can do, save for porting and
rezzing, but as they're generalists, they don't necessarily excel at any one
task. In groups, bards primarily buff the entire group, using their lines of
health regeneration, mana regeneration, damage shield, and Haste songs. A
bard can move faster than any other class in the game and his songs, with
rare exceptions, don't use any mana, so he'll often be called upon to pull
(the first Lull song, at level 8, will work all the way to level 60). With
Dual Wield skill and plate armor, the bard is a reasonable tank at lower
levels and can provide passable melee damage throughout his career. At level
15 the bard gains the ability to mesmerize his foes as well (and at level
27, charm) and thus can provide crowd control.
The skilled bard will quickly learn how to "twist"; that is, to chain-cast
songs so that more than one is active at once by stopping them quickly after
casting and starting the next one. Most groups expect a bard to be able to
twist three songs, but a great bard can twist four or, if lag permits, five.
(Claims of twisting more songs than that usually include activated items
that play songs, which most bards will say don't count.) Much of the
challenge of playing a bard comes in learning to twist and, more important,
learning which songs to twist when. The addition of the /melody command
eases this effort, automating the twisting of up to four songs. While
manually twisting allows for more control, and a great bard will certainly
do so in tense situations, a good melody setup can do wonders to relieve the
intense strain on tendons which has sidelined many a bard.
Beastlord
Traditional duty: melee damage output. Other roles: a variety of things,
depending on situation and group lineup. An excellent soloer, a beastlord
is a good DPS class, and has enough hit points to be a good "off-tank" for
crowd control. The beastlord can't wear enough armor to be a reliable
primary tank (especially at higher levels), but can step in in a pinch.
He gets some heals, a fair assortment of shaman-type buffs, and with some
skill can use his pet for crowd control (because the pet does taunt). Later
in life the beastlord gets slow and haste spells, and a highly-prized line
of group mana/HP regeneration buffs popularly referred to as "kitty crack."
A beast even gets some DoTs and weak nukes. LDoN adventuring has been a
boon for beastlords: a single class that can melee, DoT, slow, haste, help
heal in a bad spot, off-tank, and even help a bit with crowd control, is
very useful for LDoN.
Raid groups tend not to value beastlords as much, since a large raid will
always have specialists who are better at the various functions. Many
beastlords solo their way through much of the first 50 levels, which they
can do faster than almost any other class. To develop the full range of
skills, mix up how you spend that solo time: do plenty of brute-force
soloing (where you and the pet are both meleeing the mob directly) and also
spend time playing pet-cleric (safer, slower soloing where the pet does most
the work and you stay back healing the pet and DoTing/nuking the mob).
Berserker
Traditional duty: melee damage. Other roles: snarer, caster interrupt,
ghetto slows, backup tank. A decent solo class, berserkers have moderately
good DPS, and get enough HP, AC, and avoidance to be a good off-tank. They
can serve as primary tank against mobs that are stunnable. As they approach
level 70 their DPS improves, rivalling that of rogues.
Berserkers have no mana bar to worry about, but instead fuel their abilities
by using up "basic axe components", which are cheaply available from their
vendors. The resulting axes can stun, snare, or "jolt" a mob. (Like the
level 51 ranger spell of that name, jolt reduces the degree to which a mob
hates you.) All share a single 12-second timer, and are short duration, but
the absence of a mana bar means they can be used nearly indefinitely as long
as supplies hold out (which could mean over 100 hours of continuous use), and
all take effect instantly.
Berserkers solo fairly well as long as they can single pull; the key ability
is the stun, which should be used constantly on non-casters in order to slow
their damage (on casters it may be held in reserve to stop their spells);
adds won't be stunned and thus will do full damage. In groups, stun use can
easily overwhelm an unskilled tank's ability to hold aggro; again this is
the 'zerker's key contribution, so the 'zerker and tank should find a way to
work with this. The use of stun as an aggro producer allows the berserker
to hold aggro fairly well if in the position of main tank. Berserkers should
maximize their defensive skills either by soloing or serving as MT, as they
will be thrust into the "punching bag" position with some frequency
throughout their career.
Berserkers consider themselves an "unfinished" class; the newest class in
the game, it seems to most that they are lacking features which would make
them desirable in the higher levels. Up into the high 50s this isn't an
issue for a non raider; the berserker's position as a "medium tank" capable
of both high DPS (for a primary tank) and good damage soaking (for a light
tank) makes them flexible and enjoyable to play, and the fact that they have
a short list of special abilities instead of a spellbook full of options
should make them easy to learn and to play, even for a novice EQ player. If
anything, the Berserkers biggest problem is that most players don't know what
they can do.
Cleric
Traditional duty: healer/buffer. Other roles: nuker, especially against
undead, and assisting on pulls using lull/soothe/pacify. For all that they
wear plate, they really cannot tank. As a low level cleric you will spend
most of your time with your rear end on the ground, medding back that oh so
precious mana. Pay attention to everyone's hitpoints. When they get low,
heal them. Learn how much of the "bar" your heals do on each player; it
will be different based on gear and class. Only "top off" people's health
during a lull when you have full mana. And almost never heal the puller
while he's pulling, or you'll aggro the mobs and screw up the pull.
Before the fighting starts, cast HP/AC buffs on the main tank (at low levels
there may not be a well-defined tank), and anyone else that regularly gets
hit. If you have the mana available for it, cast it on yourself first, then
on the other characters that are going to get it. Then when yours starts
fading you know the others are about to lose their buff.
Clerics are also prized for their ability to "rez" (resurrect) people,
restoring some experience loss after a death. Even at lower levels when
resurrecting doesn't restore much if any experience, the rez still brings
people back to their corpse without having to run back from their bind
spot.
Druid
Primary roles: healer, buffer, snarer. Secondary roles: damage-dealer,
crowd control (mostly via root, possibly charm or fear), tracker. Druids
are an odd case as they are not really the best choice for any role, but
they are able to fill a wide variety of roles. So unless a group insists
on finding the "perfect" class for what it needs, it can often do well to
add a druid. Druids have quite good healing spells, a variety of buffs
(including the ever-popular SOW as low as level 10), snare, melee DPS at
low levels and decent spell damage at higher levels, root, and tracking.
Since they are so versatile, druids make excellent soloers, but they can
always find ways to contribute to a group as well. They are also one of
two classes that can teleport other players to a variety of locations,
which can make it a lot easier for everyone to get home when the group
is finished, and can also provide a fast exit if a combat is going badly.
Druids have an impressive array of DOT spells (damage over time), which are
great for soloing but can be an inefficient use of mana in a group. If your
group is killing things very quickly, say in 30 seconds or less per mob,
you'll do better casting a direct damage spell rather than getting less
than half the effect from a DOT.
Enchanter
Primary jobs: crowd control and buffs; also slows and DPS. Enchanters have
several lines of spells to control enemies: they can mesmerize, stun, charm,
and lull. Dangerous areas with lots of enemy traffic, groups that don't
have a skilled puller, and groups fighting tough mobs will benefit from, if
not require, the enchanter. Enchanters can control groups of enemies while
the rest of the party focuses on one at a time (this is, where applicable,
the most efficient way to plow through enemies). They can slow and lessen
the attacks of those enemies, skills that move from convenient to essential
as one levels up. Their buffs include the best haste for melee attacks and
excellent regeneration spells for mana. Enchanter charm, which works on all
types of mobs (except some special rare cases or at the highest levels), is
a powerful tool when the player is trained in its use. The best enchanter
pays very close attention to his party's surroundings and incoming enemies.
Magician
Primary role: damage (via spells and pets). Secondary role: supply sergeant.
(No other class is nearly as good for supplies, but most players don't know
just how much equipment a good mage can summon, or already have focus items
and the like, so mages tend not to be called upon for it.) In a good group,
you send in the pet, keep a damage shield on the tank (mages cast the biggest
DS at most levels), nuke enough to keep yourself at half mana until the
overpull comes, and watch the xp flow in. Where mages shine is with an
imperfect group. The pet is a good off-tank because they will stop attacking
instantly if the mob is mezzed. The right pet can root if you don't have a
snarer; stun if you are in a spot with lots of casters; or do lots of damage
if all else is going well. Of course, those are all different pets, but
choosing the right one for the right situation is the mark of a skilled mage.
Mages can summon "mod rods", which let casters convert HP into mana. Before
you start fighting, prep the group with mod rods, pet weapons and armor,
bandages, throwing items for the puller, levitation or water-breathing items,
or anything else they want. Mages also get a spell to teleport a group
member to them from anywhere else in the zone, key to getting late arrivals
into the group in a hostile world, or retrieving groupmates who have feigned
death at an awkward spot. (Such maneuvers got simpler in mid-2005, as
new people can be invited into the group at a distance. Previously, the
group leader had to wait at the zone line to invite new arrivals into the
group so they could then be summoned.)
One problem is that the mage is only about the third best DPS class at the
high level. Their additional utility is not as great as, for example, a
beastlord. Pets can also be problematic to control; and if there is a pet
and a PC in melee range, the PC will always be beat on.
Monk
Primary roles: puller, melee damage. Secondary role: off-tank. Monks make
excellent pullers because of their ability to Feign Death, which they can use
to get excess mobs to turn around and go back. They also have a line of
combat disciplines that let them briefly lull single mobs so they won't aggro
when a nearby mob is pulled. At low- to mid-levels, monks can be pressed
into service as main tanks; they have few tools for retaining aggro other
than just doing melee damage, but they dish out that damage in quite credible
quantities. They can also heal themselves for 25% of their HP once per six
minutes. At the highest levels the so-called "monk nerf" makes itself felt,
wherein monk armor class becomes less effective and a monk tank is too likely
to die if a mob gets just a few hits in a row before the healers can react.
Because monks can feign death (though this is harder to do against a group
of spellcasting mobs, because a spell begun before the feign will break the
feign when the spell lands), they can sometimes afford to continue fighting
past the point where other classes would have to flee. If a group gets
into trouble, the monk may be able to gain aggro enough to give the others
time to escape, and then feign death to watch and report when the coast is
clear.
Necromancer
A necromancer is a powerhouse of flexibility, offering a bit of everything
but buffing. An INT caster with minor healing capabilities, significant
DPS, a powerful pet, mezzing for CC, FD for pulling, and even a version of
resurrection, a necromancer can find a role in almost any group. The necro
pet is a significant melee force capable of real DPS and off tanking, or
even main tanking in a group without melee PCs. If possible, outfit the
pet with mage summoned armor/weapons. Positioning it to attack from the
rear will increase its damage output by about 15%.
Necros have "lich" spells that damage themselves while adding massively to
their mana regen; combined with spells which transfer hit points from their
prey to themselves, it means they usually have more mana available than they
know what to do with. In a group which can provide them with HP regen on
top of that, a necromancer can really turn on the heat. Necros also have
very good DOTs, which work well in groups taking on mobs that take some time
to kill, but not in a fast killing group, and some Direct Damage spells that
aren't very mana efficient, but don't need to be in the face of their
massive mana regen rates.
Necromancers have a snare line that, sadly, includes a DOT, so it can be
less flexible than other snares that won't break mez. Still, for stopping
runners or on prey you know you aren't going to mez, it's much better than
no snare at all, and the damage does add up. The necros also themselves
have a mez; it's relatively short compared to other mezzes, but is still
useful for keeping one or possibly two extra mobs under control.
Necromancer healing reduces their own HP while healing their target, so this
is generally used only in emergencies. But by using other spells that heal
themselves at the expense of mobs, a well-buffed necro can function as main
healer for a duo or small group doing relatively easy work. This is one of
the rare cases where a necro may be better off with an enchanter mana regen
buff instead of using their own Lich line; they'll have less mana flow, but
will get the full benefit of their HP flow to pass on to the tanks.
Soloing a necromancer is simpler; pull single mobs, feign death if necessary
to do that, sic the pet on it, DOT it up, and wait for it to die. With hard
targets, snare and fear so your pet doesn't take damage. Lich and Leech to
keep your mana flow up, and just watch the exp flow in. Only trouble is,
this is so powerful that many necromancers eschew grouping entirely, so they
don't learn how to group well, and few people have experience grouping with
necros at low levels so they aren't eager to invite them at higher levels.
Paladin
Paladins can be a puller (the lull line helps them there, and stun pulling
gives them a head start back), and are designed to be a tank. With heavy
armor and lots of hitpoints, plus their own buffs and the ability to heal
themselves some, they make good tanks. Learn to love the "taunt" button.
Depending on what you are fighting and how things are going, you may be spot
healing yourself, stunning, or just using your mana for pulling. Lay on
hands is your "fix me now!" key, and is also good when the wizard gets aggro
and is folding like wet cardboard. You can be a pocket healer if necessary,
but there are several better alternatives out there. Still it's better than
Mr. Monk can do for others.
In most groups your job will be to go get things for people to kill, attack
targets, try to maintain aggro so you bleed the most, and spend your mana
reasonably. (If you're not using any mana you're not using your class to
its fullest.) Note: Do not just step in and try to take over aggro if you
join an existing group with an existing tank. Figure out which of you will
be bleeding the most; the other should generally not taunt, though stunning
and other effects that generate aggro are useful.
Paladins eventually gain the ability to resurrect dead characters, though
they are never able to restore as much lost experience as a cleric (or even
a necromancer) of the same level.
Ranger
Primary roles: melee and ranged damage, pulling. The ranger also has some
decent utility spells, such as SoW and snare. While able to pass for a tank
up until the 50's, the ranger's main duty is pouring out damage, from either
swords or his bow (once he has trained it appropriately). Once in the 50's,
he learns Jolt and will do well to learn to use it; it lessens the chance
that the engaged enemy will beat him into pulp. The ranger's great damage
will call attention to him, but his defensive abilities lag far behind his
offense.
The ranger can also snare his enemies and SoW his group, making it easy to
catch prey or flee difficult enemies, and the ranger can use outdoor-only
pacification to split up groups of enemies, allowing the group to kill more
efficiently. Starting at level 51, the ranger receives double damage on
stationary enemies (but not rooted, i.e., mobs that someone else is engaging
in melee), and then at 59 he can begin training Archery Mastery and Endless
Quiver, two skills that define the high level ranger. After completing that
training, the ranger can deliver consistent and impressive damage without
any toll.
The ranger also has the Tracking ability, which makes many quests, and
hunting in general, a lot easier.
Rogue
Traditional duty: melee damage. Other roles: scout, puller, body recovery,
last ditch backup tank. A poor solo class, rogues have moderately good DPS
from the front but extremely good DPS from the back. They don't get enough
AC, HP, or avoidance to really serve well as main tanks, and even when (due
to good gear and buffs) they CAN serve in that capacity, it sacrifices much
of their DPS. Rogues are highly valued on raids, as they have some of the
highest sustainable DPS in the game, and plenty of aggro avoidance to go
with it, plus raids find a lot of value in their "other roles".
Rogues have no mana bar, basically functioning off of timers and player
skill (positioning, aggro management, etc.). They have the ability to Hide
and to Sneak, as can various other classes and races; however, only rogues
can do both at the same time, so they can move while hidden, invisible to
both live and undead mobs in a way no other class can be. At low levels,
this combination forces them to move very slowly, but with SOW or AAs at
higher levels, they can end up moving fast enough to make very good use of
this ability. At high levels with the Shroud of Stealth (SoS) AA, this
ability becomes astonishing, allowing them to literally walk past almost
any mob in the game.
The key function of rogues is their "backstab" ability; available on a timer,
this is an extra attack that does damage as a multiple of the damage stat of
their weapon, making their choice of weapon very important. The rogue must
be behind the mob when hitting Backstab to do this damage, otherwise the extra
attack does only normal damage. (There's an AA that lets rogues do minimal
"backstabs" from any angle.) Backstab also produces lots of aggro, so timing
is critical; the rogue must be able to dump aggro to someone else in order to
backstab at all, and then must be able to lose aggro afterwards (or not get it
in the first place despite the backstab). A soloing rogue can get only a
single backstab per mob by sneaking behind it to start the combat.
This brings us to Evade. Not technically a separate skill, it's another
"rogue only" use of the existing Hide skill; in combat, a successful Evade
will significantly reduce aggro. To do this, you turn off attack, then
hide, and hope for the best. This ability is on a timer of roughly the
same length as the Backstab one, and can be used one of two ways. If you
are functioning as "main tank", you evade to get the mob to turn toward
someone else just long enough for you to backstab; if someone else is MT,
you backstab then immediately Evade if you got the mob's attention. (A
good tank will regain aggro quickly since you aren't doing any more damage
till you start attacking again. Even better, don't evade at all; a really
good MT can hold aggro despite your backstabbing!) Evade is worthless if
soloing, though, since you need someone else for the mob to turn toward.
At high levels rogues get the Escape AA, which removes aggro completely.
Combined with SoS, this is a rogue must-have, comparable to the "feign
death" ability of other classes in terms of losing aggro (though on a much
longer timer) but able to drag corpses while hidden.
One other thing needs to be said about rogues. They have the ability to
"pickpocket" mobs, taking a portion of the cash loot the mob was carrying.
This makes some groups wary of taking rogues, fearing they'll take more
than their share of the loot. At high levels, this doesn't matter much,
since the actual cash mobs carry tends to cap out and become unimportant.
But at any level, the simplest solution is to make the rogue be "master
looter", responsible for looting all the bodies and then sharing out the
loot with everyone.
Shadowknight
Primary roles: tank, melee damage output. Secondary role: puller. The
shadowknight is very similar to the paladin; both wear heavy armor and have
lots of hit points. However, the shadowknight's spells are designed to
produce a lot of damage and to keep his foes hitting him and no one else.
Shadowknights receive lines of hate-generating debuffs and a line of spells
that directly generate hate, as well as many of the necromancer life-draining
spells and a line of fast-casting direct damage spells. Combined with the
ability to Taunt and to hit very hard with either one- or two-handed weapons,
this lets the shadowknight keep the mob focused on him while dishing out a
lot of damage. The shadowknight can also feign death, which can be very
useful when a party wipe is unavoidable. Having someone survive to drag
the corpses to a safe area or to call out that the coast is clear can often
make recovery easier.
In groups, the shadowknight will sometimes pull, but this is often left to
classes more specialized for the purpose. Mostly, the shadowknight will be
using their magics to maintain aggro and will be leading the attacks as the
main tank. In a group with other tanks, the shadowknight often ends up as
the main tank because they can hold aggro very well, but this is best
discussed with the other melee classes first.
Shaman
Primary roles: healing and buffing, not necessarily in that order. While
their heals lag behind a cleric's, shamans make up for it to some extent by
buffing up the group so that damage is done more quickly, and slowing the
target so it doesn't do as much damage, reducing the need for heals. They
also have Regen buffs, which provide continual low level healing. At low
levels, while a shaman can buff up every stat, the buffing process is so
time and mana consuming as to be a waste of time for all but the hardest
targets. Later, shaman buffs encompass several stats at once, and last
longer, so that they become more utilitarian on a day to day basis.
In addition to the straightforward roles of buffer/healer/slower, shamans can
do light duty as crowd control and off tank, holding a mob's attention while
the group kills something else. At 32, shamans get their pet line, and the
pet, when buffed up, rapidly becomes a useful member of the team, capable of
substantial damage and even tanking on its own; supporting and directing
this pet then becomes a significant part of a shaman's contribution. At 44,
shamans get the first in a torpor line of heals; this line is a very large
HOT which simultaneously roots and slows its target. Used on the shaman
himself, this is part of what allows him to fill that "off tank" role; he
doesn't need to run and isn't contributing a lot of melee damage anyway. On
other party members this is best used between mobs, although if the MT is
capable of holding aggro while slowed, and the majority of DPS is coming
from other party members, it can be used as principle heal as well. At high
levels, this line is replaced by a version without the ill effects. On long
lived mobs, shamans can also contribute significant damage output via their
DOT lines, but in a fast paced group this won't be worth worrying about.
Finally, shamans have the Cannibalize line, which allows them to trade their
HP for mana. Combined with regen buffs and their Torpor line, this means
they can have some of the best mana flow in the game, particularly outdoors
when they can do this while on horseback.
An important question for the shaman is which stat buffs are important to
which party members. Stamina buffs add to the HP total, and work for almost
anyone. Melee will generally appreciate a Strength buff, which adds to
their damage output. Dexterity works well on bards (missed notes) and
anyone using "proccing" weapons. Agility is of questionable use, but some
"main tanks" swear by it as further reducing the damage they take.
Soloing a shaman involves much the same tools as grouping one: buffing,
healing, slowing, using the pet. The principle difference is that all kills
tend to be slow enough that DOTting is worthwhile, in fact in some cases it
is more worthwhile to root the target and stack DOTs on, ignoring melee
output entirely. Another useful trick, though, is for the shaman to "tank"
for his pet. Sitting on horseback with melee off, keeping torpor type heal
running on himself continuously, the shaman can take a terrific pounding
from a mob, while his pet, positioned behind the mob, does all the damage,
perhaps aided by the shaman's DOTs. The most significant lacks for a shaman
in this position are "real" crowd control (root doesn't stop casters) and
single pulling tools, and the absence of a snare to stop runners; one
possible cure for that is the symbol an Innoruuk shaman can get which
provides a clicky snare.
Warrior
Primary role: getting beat up... that's it. I.e., tank. The warrior is
inherently best at taking blows. While he has few means to hold the
attention of an enemy while his group attacks it, those who cause the
warrior to be ignored by the enemy will regret it. Tanking is based on two
things: absorbing an enemy's damage and being the only one to receive that
damage. Paladins and shadowknights are better, overall, at holding an
enemy's attention, but the warrior has the best overall makeup for absorbing
damage. The warrior may also be the puller if nobody else in the group is
better suited, and is often the Main Assist since he needs to solo the mob
a little while to build up aggro before the other players join the fray.
The warrior, while simple in premise, requires paying attention, both in
the short term (picking targets, gaining aggro, switching weapons, perhaps
pulling), and over time, as his equipment will need to be upgraded and
replaced. For this, planning is essential: certain zones are more
profitable than others, and some quests are tedious but worth doing (plus,
being patient is also crucial for building up one's character, though this
is true for all things). The warrior's most important statistic is always
his Hit Points -- and don't let anyone say different -- but worrying over
a number is silly. The rich warrior can solo up to the 50's, but most
become reliant on groups much earlier, sometimes as early as 20. Besides,
the best warriors, regardless of equipment, wouldn't be the best without
solid players to group with. Building a reputation as a conscientious
warrior is the ticket to getting and keeping good groups.
Wizard
Primary role: burst damage. Secondary roles: minor utility, transport,
snare. The wizard's job is to end fights quickly, and he is the best at it.
He is the best by only a modest margin until the mid 40's, and the other
burst-damage classes (nukers) do a good job of catching up over the next 20
levels, but at 65+ the wizard is king. The road is very, very long. In a
group, the wizard applies mana early by snaring and stunning the enemies,
and later in the battle dispenses damage in large doses. The wizard wants
to avoid an enemy's attention, and thus saves his high-damage spells for
after the tank has done enough damage to retain aggro. Ideally, the wizard
wants his nuke to leave the mob only a blow or two from dying; if the nuke
kills the mob, some of the damage (and hence some of the mana) was wasted.
The efficient wizard pays attention to the behaviors of his different spells
in relation to his targets: some mobs resist fire, some resist cold, some
resist magic in general.
The wizard, solo, is able to take on groups of mobs rather efficiently,
though this skill takes patience to master. The wizard is also one of only
two classes that can teleport other players to a variety of locations. (Ah,
but walking is all the rage and clicking on books is too fashionable to
ignore. Though a wizard with a fast "evac" (transporting the group away
from a combat gone sour) can save hours of fashionable walking, sneaking,
hiding, running, etc.)
[End of part 1 of 2]