Title: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on June 28, 2011, 06:48:10 am This is a guide for how these characters are on EZ server. This is not a be all end all character guide. These are my opinions on these toons as I see them currently in the game. I am sure there are plenty of other opinions. If anyone sees anything that should be added to this guide please, by all means make a post. If it is added I will certainly give credits.
Bard A bard can solo however they are pretty soft for a plate class. They also lack a bit in dps until way later in the game when you start getting augs for your epics and an ultimate charm.Soloability: Groupability: As your bard progresses farther and farther in content and you group with others who are like geared the bard looses effectiveness. First thing you will notice is mana and hp regen on 3.0 epics essentially make your regen songs useless. Most 3.0 delay caps are met in PoD or earlier thus making your coveted over haste useless. This combined with most mobs not being able to be stunned and no mobs able to be charmed makes a bards role in a group less and less defining. The do however get a mana spell later on. If someone has the details on this mana spell please post it so i can add it to this.My thoughts: Bards do get a sizable damage shield if they sing amplify, war march and psalms of veeshan. It is around 1200 and while that might not matter much in 3.0 plus content it does make them extremely valuable in ring runs. I do not recommend this class as a first class or solo class unless you just really like playing a bard. Bards can make a valid contribution to a group but their group enhancing abilities are a bit diminished. On a side note, a key thing I feel they are missing is the ability to increase aug proc amounts of group members. This would make them very very handy. Beastlord Beastlords are very good at soloing. Bst epics are pets and they are very good pets at that. The bst pet can out tank a bst until you get into pod and start getting gear there. Bst are the only pet class that can also heal themselves and that gives them a solid advantage over other pet classes. Bst also get some very very good pet buffs. The bst pet out dps's the bst until the bst gets augs and ultimate charm.Soloability: Groupability: Beastlords are a very good addition to any group, provided the bst knows how to manage their pet with pet hold and such. Pet focus does not work so you will need to manually focus the pet on adds if the boss mob ramps. The dps that bst bring is both solid and cheap. My thoughts: If you like pet classes bst is the best bang for the buck. They are leather class and are melee based so they can tank better and later on in the game with augs and ultimate charm they can themselves offer even more dps along with their pets who are already very nice dps.Berserker Soloability: I do not know enough about Berzerkers to give much insight on them. I do know that their 3.0 gets a aoe proc that makes them pretty good aoe damage. If anyone wants to contribute a write up on them and wants included here just make a post and I will make sure to credit you.Groupability: My thoughts: Additional thoughts: Their 4.0 epic proc is roughly equivalent to 6x anger Vs. In other words, they do damage similar to a warrior before adding in their clicky and 3x FSV. They are absolutely the best AE class in the game and the best for ROA back-end. Cleric Though it is not impossible this is not a soloing class. The cleric gets no pet to really speak of, they get no damage spells to really speak of and don't make up for any of that in the melee dept. Soloability: Groupability: This is where the cleric truley shines. They are the only class that gets any group spell worth mentioning at all. Word of viv will be a clerics primary spell. On this server it is instant cast. The clerics 3.0 shield is 400% heal spell amplification, making them the only viable casting healing class. The only class that can rival a clerics heals is the paladin through his procs. A cleric is a very valuable member of nearly any group and by many arguably essential.My thoughts: I am one of those who believe a cleric is essential. I don't always bring my cleric along but I would not have made it to T5 content without my clerics, (yes i have more than one). The clerics 4.0 is a proc heal that is similar to the paladin proc and with word of viv being insta cast their burst healing is unrivaled in a pinch. My cleric with a 21 oracle can group heal for 176k. I recommend putting your cleric in the fighters guild so that you can make good use of their proc heals along with their spell heals.Additional thoughts: Their dps can be decent with 4.0 and augs. It is just more than half of an equivalent paladin's dps. Of course, paladin dps isn't that great these days. Clerics heal more than twice as much as paladins with their epic proc, 3.0 shield, and group heal. Druid Charm does not work on this server. That coupled with there being no really good dps spell make druids a bad choice for soloing.Soloability: Groupability: Druids heals can in no way compare to a paladin or a cleric. Druids do not bring much to a group at all and are considered by many to be a wasted slot in any group.My thoughts: Druids used to get a really nice regen on their epics that was wonderful for ring runs. It was replaced by an ae nuke that is not very popular. They did get some nice regen spells that drop off bosses from qvic and they last 6 minutes. They are affected by focus effects to extend that time. In my opinion this is a hugely useless class as they currently are and are in need of a serious revamp/revision. They can however still be used as an ring of ages support class.Additional thoughts: Druids do get a pet that drops off of T4 bosses in PoAir. The pet does not do a lot of damage so it is more like a speedbump to keep the mobs off of the druid while the druid works its dot and epic. The druid does have a melee proc that is equivalent to the paladin 2.5 which makes the cure component the most important part in later levels. Parses including dot, pet and melee damage put the druid at about 8 to 9kdps. I still say the druid needs a big boost in damage and their pet needs to be beefed up as well. Enchanter With charm not working and enchanters not getting any real dps spells soloing with an enchanter is a bad way to go.Soloability: Groupability: Enchanters don't really get much that they can contribute to groups. Most mobs, if not all are unmezable. Vamp thunder no longer effects procs thus leaving enchanters neutered. My thoughts: Park this one right next to the druids.Magician Mages are an excellent choice for soloing. There spell pets are stout enough to keep the mobs off you and do enough dps to make them dead. Their epic pets get better and better and a very nice source of dps without having to spend plat on augs.Soloability: Groupability: Mages are also a solid addition to any group. They are good cheap dps. Call of the hero has its recast timer reduced considerabley making you be able to call other members of the group prolly about once every 10 to 15 seconds. Get pearls off the newbie vender though as you are going to need them.My thoughts: If you are going to box mages are very valuable because of coth. That along with the dps from the pet make mages very good choice especially when first building your box army. I used a mage in my group very very frequently until I managed to get my melee to surpass her dps.Monk Monks are a very good solo class. They are very good at pumping out the dps and are quite good at tanking when soloing. Monks and other melee will start losing in dps compared to pet classes until you get into augs and charms. A fully aug'd and ultimate charmed monk does more single target toe to toe dps than any other class. Soloability: Groupability: Monks superior dps is always a welcome addition to a group. Their ability to tank in a pinch makes them a very versatile group member. Add the ability to feign death and the rez stone from fighters guild and you have one very solid group member. Don't forget about your phantom line too, that helps distinguish monks from other classes in pulling.My thoughts: Monks are a very solid form of dps. They are very versatile and in my opinion essential to a box army.Necromancer Necro epic pets have an innate life tap ability. This makes their pets survivers in situations when other pets tend to die. That along with their fd spell makes necros a very very good choice for soloing.Soloability: Groupability: Necros bring their pet dps to a group. With their pet not needing a lot of maintenance their dps is consistent in that they tend to last longer than other pets. They can still get one rounded if placed badly but really not as often from what I have seen.My thoughts: A necro is a very good choice for soloing if that is your thing. You are still able to offer solid dps to a group when you do but you are also able to keep yourself occupied when without one.Paladin Paladins are very good at soloing. Their epics proc a group heal and they proc pretty often. While their dps is not really high on the scale with others it is nothing to discount either. This is an easy solo classSoloability: Groupability: This is where paladins really shine. Their group heal procs are a super duper addition to any group. You will find most people that box 4 5 and 6+ toons have one or more paladins. My thoughts: Paladins are damn near necessary. Though they can be replaced with a cleric the dps they are able to offer over the cleric make them hugely valued. I would caution though against making an army of nothing but paladins. Although it would be a lot of heals they would be redundant heals. You would also suffer in the dps dept.Ranger I don't know a heck of a lot about rangers. They shoot arrows from behind the group, lol. I will however say that I have heard a lot say that rangers do a bit more dps with their swords once they are fully aug'd than they do with the bow.Soloability: Groupability: My thoughts: Additional thoughts: With UC, the ranger can step in and off tank fairly effectively. Rogue Rogues do not get a whole lot in the way of defensive skills and shine much better behind the mob. Although there is the front stab aa and all that jazz rogues do much better in group situations.Soloability: Groupability: Pre-augs rogues are the highest melee dps though it is conditional. A rogue with a 4.0 can backstab in the low 6 digits and can triple with that. Rogue is the only melee toon that can compete with a monks dps. Though I have not parsed it yet, I am pretty sure a rogue with a uc and fully aug'd should be about 10% more dps than a monk, putting them at roughly 80k dps. Will follow up with real numbers when available.My thoughts: A rogue is a very very good class to make. With their sneak/hide ability being useful in so many ways and their very strong dps you can't go wrong with this class in a box army.Shadow Knight This is probably the best melee class to solo with. Their life taps though are self only they are greater than what a paladin proc heals are. They are also slightly more dps than paladins.Soloability: Groupability: SK's are probaly second best when it comes to tanking until paladins get their stonewall from T3/4. They are still very good at tanking because of their lifetaps.My thoughts: This class benefits extremely well from an ultimate charm.Shaman Shamans get no pets to speak of and don't pump out a lot of dps. I do not recommend soloing with a shaman.Soloability: Groupability: Shamans can not compare to clerics or paladins for heals and slow does not work on this server. Throw in the buff bots stashed in all hub zones and there is not much of a role for shamans. Shamans do have 3 spells they can offer a group. The 3.0 and the 4.0 are both hp buffs (10k and 24k) and they have a proc buff that adds about 15 to 20% dps if I remember correctly.My thoughts: Every time I have ever seen or heard of shamans casting the proc buff spell in PoAir the zone crashes as soon as the first proc goes off. That is the only zone I have heard of this happening though.Warrior Warriors do a decent amount of dps on this server however they are not the best choice for soloing. They have no heal and that cripples them in solo situations most often.Soloability: Groupability: This is where the warrior is at. Put him on the front lines and they really shine. With their stonewall disc, plus getting a second stonewall on the 4.0 and on top of that getting single target and aoe proc augs warriors are unparalleled at tanking.My thoughts: This class is damn near a must have for any group. Though some classes can step in for a warrior they will not tank as well as an equally geared warrior. This becomes more and more apparent the farther you get in this server.Wizard I have seen wizards solo on this server. They are usually very angry people. Though it is possible to do, this class is not recommended for soloing.Soloability: Groupability: This class really shines on bosses where it has time to cast it's spells. During boss fights wizards can really pump out some dps.My thoughts: Wizards are probably one of the most under played useful characters on this server. They do require more maintenance with their manastone clickies and what not.Additional thoughts: After the T3 spell, there is really no "cast-time" to speak of. Also, it is the bard's 3.5+ epic click that feeds mana. I'd like to thank the following people for their information on various classes listed in Additional thoughts. I have I am sure picked up bits of information from other people as well but these are ones I pulled direct quotes from. I recommend anyone who is reading this to take the time to read the rest of the posts in this thread as there are a lot of good and useful bits of information and opinions. Chunkumss funkinmofo walk2k & Oilman for their info on Druids. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Bladethorn on June 28, 2011, 07:53:46 am Awesome summary Xiggie! Being pretty new to the server and locking in on a group, this post re-affirms my decisions. Appreciate the work!
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Brokyn on June 28, 2011, 09:18:19 am Rangers are a great boxed toon.
Solo wise, they get beat up too fast if they melee, but anything that can be snared can be easily bow kited. In a group they put out some pretty decent DPS, and the great thing about them is that pet focus works on them... Once you autofire on a target, they stay on that target unfailingly until it dies, or you change targets. They are probably the lowest maintenance dps out there. They also have the added bonus of being ranged, which reduces aggro slightly, but also keeps them out of range of many AOE casts, making them easy to heal. With UC, the ranger can step in and off tank fairly effectively. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: funkinmofo on June 28, 2011, 09:27:29 am Bard Agree, unless charm is revisted for them...they are not really a plate class worth gearing up. Pet classes Of all the pet classes I find the Beastlord the most fun to play on EZ. When the pet is fully buffed I love to watch the omfg dps it puts out. But not a fan of it in my box team...the whole hassle of making sure pet attacks from behind after t2 content. Would rather put the leather on a monk for hassle free dps. Necromancer, the dot damage is sub par. The direct taps are also on the low side. And again you have to make sure to set the pet to attack from behind or it gets chewed up pretty quick by rampages in higher tier content. Ranger I made a couple back when they had more bang for their buck. But now i would say being a chain class I would rather gear up a rogue for some serious dps. I admit I haven't parsed a fully augged ranger for melee purposes but unless their melee has been really tweaked...rogue is gonna hit faster. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on June 28, 2011, 10:00:56 am If ya'll don't mind I would like to mix in what both of you had to say in with the original post. I planned to put a contributed to by and then list names kind of as a foot note.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: funkinmofo on June 28, 2011, 11:16:39 am If ya'll don't mind I would like to mix in what both of you had to say in with the original post. I planned to put a contributed to by and then list names kind of as a foot note. May want to consider breaking down each class a little more. Sort of add to your comments like when you stated a certain class really shined with a UC. (hehe but really which class doesn't really benefit from having one of those :P ) More along the lines of a heads up on where you start to see a change in the class. Example: BST: Saw a big difference in dps capability when I got mine Epic 2.0 and got my Sorc charm to 11. The click pet buff off the 2.0 really made it chew through content. Remember this is playing through content, not powerlevelling it and overgearing it before playing content ;) Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on June 28, 2011, 12:33:49 pm Yeah I thought that as each topic got expanded on more and more I might break them apart and put the in the classes section, while still leaving this one here.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: chunkumss on June 28, 2011, 02:04:33 pm Hey Xiggie,
Great post. It also has a lot of potential to be expanded, but I don't know how exhaustive you want it to be, since it is a "general guide." If I understand, you just want people to know what they're getting themselves into when they roll their first toon, or consider which classes to box. I can help you fill it in if there is something you're looking for specifically. Here is a start: re: Zerkers Their 4.0 epic proc is roughly equivalent to 6x anger Vs. In other words, they do damage similar to a warrior before adding in their clicky and 3x FSV. They are absolutely the best AE class in the game and the best for ROA back-end. re: Wizzies After the T3 spell, there is really no "cast-time" to speak of. Also, it is the bard's 3.5+ epic click that feeds mana. re: Clerics Their dps can be decent with 4.0 and augs. It is just more than half of an equivalent paladin's dps. Of course, paladin dps isn't that great these days. Clerics heal more than twice as much as paladins with their epic proc, 3.0 shield, and group heal. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on June 28, 2011, 02:16:58 pm Good good, some more awesome information. I plan to do some more range slot kills and that gives me a few minutes of boredom while I kill the mobs so I will probably add new information in while I do that. Right now though I am sleepy and my brain is half working, (didn't sleep last night) so I will prolly go to sleep soon, lol. Thanks again for the info. And if anyone else has anything to add please feel free to make a post.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Rocco on June 28, 2011, 09:04:54 pm Nice write up Xiggie. Just wanted to say i use a shaman in my box group and i've never had a problem with the proc buff crashing PoAir. I run SoD client tho so that might make a difference.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: saiumi on June 29, 2011, 01:19:48 am Re: Rogue Sneak/Hide
Shroud of Stealth will work for your sneak/hide all the way up to T1. Below T1 you can walk up to just about anything in the "natural world" and dance naked in front of it taunting it while in sneak/hide with Shroud of Stealth. At T1 and higher EVERYTHING sees through stealth and Invis. You'd be better off just running up and throwing rocks at your targets than trying to get behind them... Though Sneak does work, so if you are already behind your target sneaking they won't immediately turn around and melt your face from your skull, you'll get the single chance for your 4.0's 600k+ Triple crit backstab(if you are lucky). Rogues also get a Purge Poison(60 minute Cooldown) but that is the only healing they can do for themselves other than Regen from Epics and T(#) armors. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on June 29, 2011, 01:05:42 pm S/H works in PoG (HoH) and T5 as well.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Temuli on June 29, 2011, 05:39:39 pm What a great post, well done Xiggie.
Question re boxing a rogue - don't you have to be mashing backstab every tick to make it worthwhile? Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: barrettd04 on June 29, 2011, 06:12:53 pm What a great post, well done Xiggie. Question re boxing a rogue - don't you have to be mashing backstab every tick to make it worthwhile? Yes, or... Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: barrettd04 on June 29, 2011, 06:22:18 pm "Vamp thunder no longer effects procs"
When the hell did this happen? As far as I knew, it didn't affect Warrior augs. If this is true, Hunter certainly didn't make a post about it. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: chunkumss on June 29, 2011, 06:35:32 pm From my understanding, VT does affect procs, but only magic-resist.
In other words, the pally epic proc is affected, but not Firestrike, Icestrike, etc. It was the decrease in pally proc damage and rise of augs that really neutered the effectiveness of VT. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: walk2k on June 29, 2011, 06:55:25 pm VT only affects spells that save vs magic.
this means: not fire (Firestrike, Ninjastrike) not cold (Icestrike) not poison/disease, whatever. NOT unresistable. -Anger is unresistble, so are a lot of epics ie druid/ranger click snare, SK I think.... Druids aren't as bad as you think... They got 2 instant heals, with Oracle they do ok, not as good as cleric obviously but ok. Regen spells are BETTER than the epic, and last 6 minutes, not 2, and would last longer with Guardian/UC. It's still great for ROA levels. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Temuli on July 01, 2011, 05:42:03 am Correction re druids:
"Druids used to get a really nice regen on their epics that was wonderful for ring runs. I think it was replaced by a dot that is mediocre at best. " I wish it was a dot. It's an AE nuke which is probably the worst possible thing I could want. The last thing you want to do on an overpull is have your boxed druid pull the extras. Druid epic needs a serious review. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on July 01, 2011, 08:12:27 am Thank you for the correction. Updating.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Oilman on July 01, 2011, 10:45:44 am I am a very well geared Druid Main on this server (yes I said I am a druid main) and I really enjoy playing a druid. I consider my self pretty use full in T5 in groups. I don't box more than three toons at a time.
Druids get a decent dot that crits for 14k with out SC. The AOE on my 4.5 is fun for kiting it does 50k per AOE, with a nice snare, instacast, with only 6 sec recast. The regen is now a Spells that does at least 36k per tick with with 22 oracle. The pet ads some decent DPS (not as much as say a BST pet). Druids are fun for LDON, qvic, tacvi, T1, and T2 runs, it may not be a fast as say some high geared SK's that I know (LL, Skeezy, or Whatz) but it can be done. I enjoy the challenge that druids bring. Druids are not that bad of a class, as long as you can get through the early parts. They hold their own. If any one needs me info on Druids hit me up I will be glad to help. If anyone need some running through LDON, QVIC, TACVI, or POD let me know I will be glad to help with this too. Here is my char check it out.http://www.ezserver.online/magelo/character.php?char=Oilman (http://www.ezserver.online/magelo/character.php?char=Oilman) Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on July 01, 2011, 11:46:14 am I am glad you enjoy your class, I would like to say that first and foremost. It is always good to enjoy your class because this is after all a game. However I would like to put out some numbers based off the numbers you are giving.
14k crits on the dot. Crit is 2x, but lets just say you crit everytime on that dot. Then the 50k with a 6 second recast. Dots land every tic, tics are 6 second also. Add the two together and you come up with 64k per tic. Low end melee toons are doing that per second. 64/6 is 10.7k dps. As far as the healing, 36k per tic would be very useful for ring runs but I personally don't think it is going to make any difference at all post T2 and even in T2 it is not going to make a huge difference due to its low lasting time. It might make some good difference if it lasted longer so a couple toons could go out and last with regen but having to come back to the party every 6 minutes makes me want to just carry a paladin with me and have more dps and a cure to boot. I would like to add I am not trying to piss on your parade. It is good that you enjoy your class. But in putting this guide out I don't want to give anyone any misconceptions. Druid is an incredibly weak class compared to other classes. They really really need some attention before they become useful. I would say they need a pet. And that caster guild pet is not going to cut it. They need something with some meat on its bones and teeth in its mouth. Giving them a pet comparable to nec/bst/mage pet would probably put them on par with those classes without making them more powerful. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Oilman on July 01, 2011, 12:18:41 pm Druids do get a pet other than caster guild. Its a T4 spell. They do pretty well.
I understand Druids are not the best class but they can shine in certain situations. I am working on my UC once I get that I am sure I could be more help full. Thanks for the guide it will be a great help for new players. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Xiggie | Stone on July 01, 2011, 12:43:46 pm T4 pet? Now that is intersting. What kind of dps does it get? How many hp? When you hail it can it buff you and does it get the 10k swords? Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated and added to the guide. I did not know they got any kind of pet, that really does change it. If the pet is stout enough and can pump out some dps that could very well mean they are well worth the effort.
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: Oilman on July 01, 2011, 02:55:02 pm It is a Giant Bear, Yes you can hail for buffs and Swords cond red to me at 70. Don't have anyway to measure DPS. Let me know when you get on I will show you. I will be on all night, and most of the weekend. Send me a tell we group up so you can Parse it
Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: chunkumss on July 01, 2011, 03:51:27 pm Not sure how old/outdated his comment is, but Clev mentioned the druid t4 pet here:
http://ezserver.online/forums/index.php?topic=1601.msg21429#msg21429 It doesn't seem like it stacks up well to the other pets, but then again, that should be expected. Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: walk2k on July 01, 2011, 08:10:33 pm Main problem of the pet is Druids don't get Affinity, so no healing or cures(not that you need cures post PoD I guess..).
The epic click is fine, 30k damage and a huge snare. Only reason I don't click it is I'm usually clicking the Ranger's which is the same thing (they stack, I just can only handle so much window switching and clicking etc...) YES it's big aggro but if you cast Dread Gaze on a Pal/SK first no problem. Other thing you forgot mention about the (new) Druid epic is it has the Paladin proc (dmg + heal + cure), it's like 2 levels below, so the Druid epic 4.0 has the paladin 2.5 - not that great obviously but it's /AFK damage and healing. (update) I just parsed my druid with bear pet, dot, and meleeing about 8-9kdps. That's obviously low but it's a dang druid so... Title: Re: Xiggie's general guide to classes on EZ Server Post by: funkinmofo on July 01, 2011, 10:50:17 pm If the Druid pet is anything like the shammy t4 pet, its capable of tanking t1 trash.
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