hey guys! I've got a question regarding boxing line ups.. I know there isn't any chance to go wrong with this as it ends up with character preference and with play style. I am currently boxing a cleric/chanter and found there is a bit of a fluke at low levels due to no speed no sow etc.. I was wondering if it would be a better idea to add a box early on rather than later and basically for my utility im assuming a Druid or bard would be most effective? Keep in mind I am just starting so no room for twinking. Also if there are any tips certain guides with a bit of information regarding making macros work? If that's an option. Thanks !
Either bard or druid would compliment your setup pretty well I think. Druid is nice for snares when you're charming though, so I'd lean toward that. Otherwise if you decide to just 2-box, you can get j-boots when you're level 35-40ish.
Most popular on AK was always Dru/Ench/X. You can fill X with a bunch of stuff depending on playstyle. Cleric, Mage, Wizard, and Necro were all fairly viable. I personally like mage as the added character in that line up, but I think a good argument could be made for any of those additions. For your setup, I'd probably say Druid, as well. I'm inherently biased against any box line up that includes a bard, just because I think half-assing a bard is such a disservice to what you can accomplish with that character. I posited a long time ago on the old Tem boards that 3 bards could accomplish a ton of crazy stuff if they trio'ed together (I still stand by this and think a 3 bard group could potentially rule the world). I always assumed it would be 3 individual players, but I got respect for Metallica for boxing three bards at once. I'm personally going Paladin/Shaman right now, and will most likely add Necro to that at some point. I like the idea of having the ability to hold agro relatively easily, coupled with the dots/pets provided by the other two.
I play SK, Chanter, Druid. Its rough at the lower levels in terms of healing, but love it. Sow, snares, slows, stuns/mezzes, heals, ports, hp, regen, mana buffs, harmony to split pulls, etc.
I decided to add a dru :> for the versatility and for the sake of plvling like a monster when these guys hit 60 XD
I would have went with wizard for the dps or maybe a mage and took the j boots route. but druid or ranger would also slot in nicely.
I know this is harsh, but the demand on server is main rogue, enchanter (that charms), wizard, necromancer
ill probably dump the druid and level a rogue once i can twink, im aiming on maining the enchanter since healing with the cleric is doable with two box or even 3.
Regarding Macros... There are very few I actually used on AK and use here, but the top mentions: Assist - Basically every character I boxed had an /assist hotkey. It's simple and straight forward but when you're boxing Druid/Enchanter/Cleric... You're functioning as the puller, charm wrangler and healer. Fumbling around Targetting the proper mob to mez or attack isn't ideal. It is important to get your proper target quickly. I can't tell you how many times I set my Druid to autorun towards the camp, tabbed to enchanter, assisted the Druid and /pet attack it. This is far superior to trying to F8 to proper mob or click on it as my Druid flies past my enchanter's screen. Slow - This mainly came into play post-50 when slowing is actually worth the mana on your enchanter. The hotkey was relatively simple. /stand, /Cast Tash, /pause 30-40, /Cast Slow, Sit down (if pre-Horse). CH - Similar to above, /stand, /cast CH, /pause 110, /sit down. Basically those two macros are to make sure that after a long spell or a succession of spells the character is still meditating. Outside of that, I found Macros at this point in EQ's life (PoP and before) to be not that useful. One other tip is mention is to try to line up your hotkeys to have similar roles across all characters so you mind is sort of attuned to thinking for example, hotkey #1 is my primary action that I'm doing on each character (CH on Druid/cleric, and pet attack on enchanter). If you have any hotkeys overlapping use the same hotkey (all of my characters with exception of tanks, use #2 as Assist. Likewise all toons I play have #7 as Spell Books/Sit Down). Other things like an "Oh Crap" button #8 (Cleric DA, Enchanter PBAE Mez/Stun, Druid Evac/Exodus/Spirit of the Wood depending on situation). Etc. Another thing that I found useful during Al'Kabor, was due to a bug that would cause the ALT key to get stuck often when alt tabbing between boxes, I made sure that my slot 1 spell was CH on cleric, so that even if I tabbed to him and hit 1, I would start casting CH regardless of whether I'm actually activating hotkey 1 (1) or casting spell slot 1 (ALT+1). I still do this on TAK. I'm sure there are better ways to cycle between clients and there are newer / updated clients that resolve a lot of these issues but I'm too lazy to investigate / change my ways.
Thanks darchon im definitely going to work on my macros, I must say that your post is very helpful and informative. I'll have to get myself used to the combo now since I lack a melee! Much appreciated thanks all!
