Yet another trio - lvl 50+ thread

OK, it is time for me, to get serious.

I have 7 characters between 49 and 53 and it is time to decide what and how to play. I will have a charming trio, for when I'm willing to play with higher blood pressure and faster hearth beat. And 'normal' trio for lazier, chill playing. These are my 7 characters:

BST, PAL, ENC, MAG, DRU, CLR, NEC.

This is what I'm considering to play, should I change anything?

Charming trio:
PAL, ENC, DRU

Normal trio:
BST, MAG, CLR

solo trio
NEC

While I know, best combo is ENC+CLR I'm thinking to rather have DRU so other, 'normal' trio gets some kind of CC with CLR. And DRU snare can be helpful for enchanter. What would you change?

Also, I'm wondering should I swap in 'normal' trio MAG with NEC to get snare.
It is so nice when mobs are not running away last 15%

P.s.
Very very bad and clumsy player here. (and new to EQ world)
I have a record deaths on this server, I just can't prove it

Of course, if at some point I run into undead zone, I can then temporally combine PAL, NEC, CLR for undead party

 

Sub question

Which epics I should start working on first?
I'm assuming in 'normal' trio I should first start working on BST epic, right?
What about 'charming' trio?

 

no CH means your charming trio is basically just an exp trio, not a boss fighting trio. So if you put in cleric at times when a real CH is needed then I think you'll be alright with what you have.

i'd probably swap the mag for nec and keep mag as a coh bot somewhere you like to camp that sucks getting to. (but nec is less chill than a mage box)... maybe turn necro into a ghetto coh bot

BL epic will be easiest, but cleric probably the most useful, then enchanter to just clicky haste charm pets... no point in mage, pally, druid (ez tho and good stats), nec unless you're bored.

 

All your characters are high enough level to group from here out (min level 43 can group with a 65), so why limit yourself? Just form the groups as you need to do the content you want or catchup in levels. Might be easier to get one trio up to 60 then bring along the others.

bst/dru/mag is what I run and works pretty well for normal exp groups - good dps, snare, druid CH.
pal/clr/nec might be a good "heavier" fighting group - pal will tank better and you still get the necro utility/snare. dps will be lower.
You can swap around as needed.

BST epic is definitely the easiest. Druid isn't bad either. Mage is probably too much work/help needed for the benefit, and IIRC necro is one of the hardest to do.

 

Ahh, good to know! Not planning to fight bosses any time soon, levels will be close so I can switch as needed.

Perfect, all the info I needed, thank you!

 

You are making good point. As new to EQ world, and very very bad & clumsy player, I'm not sure which trio to form for what content. Everything is starting to get hard at these levels, so I'm looking for best combo

That is the trio, that got me to 53. But mostly easy camps, spectres, rockhoppers, hole at entrance. But now, I'm starting to having hard time splitting 2 mobs when druid's root is failing. Just died yesterday at ENTRANCE of Velketor Labyrint. Even 2 spiders can be a problem for me lol I should probably go somewhere outdoor But here are some mats I can use

Thanks, skipping mage and necro ones for sure! I have now my priorities

 

If you’re that close to the zone line, try snaring one spider and then zoning. The snared one will loiter and the other will go home.

 

Good idea, thanks!

As very clumsy player, I didn't notice Druid was under attack until he was down to some 15-20% HP (was busy with BST, I got jumped by spiders) and I just ran out of time to run safely to zone line. Actually when I realized Druid is dying, I mistakenly choose wrong trio member (Magician) to start running he-he Boy I'm bad player, especially when in panic ;-)

I have solid plan of attack now. Going to HHK (for the very first time) to kill nobles. Semi AFK is my kind of camp Then at lvl 55 I will get 2-3 cheapest ornate armor pieces for BST. Then I will go back to Velketor Lab and I will have my very well deserved revenge ;-) Those spiders will be sorry for what they did to me!

 

You should ask Tigree to pull for you in Velks.

 

I'm not familiar with this player. But anyway, I would hate get other players killed because of me

 

The downside to bst/dru/mag (or whatever dps) is weak CC. You basically have 3 options:

* root CC
* tank CC
* offtank CC

With root CC, you have the bst pull (probably with slow so one is already slowed on inc), druid (or dps if they have it) root things, then once rooted, you move the bst away so the rooted mob can't hit anyone. The bst should then quickly slow the 2nd mob (whether it's the rooted one or the one on you). This way, the druid shouldn't have agro (root is very low agro) b/c of the slow, and in case it breaks, they go for the bst. If so, root again, move again, etc. I generally avoid snaring in this case as it will keep druid agro low. You're pre-58 so you're already fighting an agro battle when you go to heal (the CH spell at 58 is nearly 0 agro, so much safer).
Obviously this is a bit spotty. Root durations are questionable (it might break in 2 seconds), getting agro via slow can sometimes be slow (interrupt... interrupt... interrupt), and because you're jumping around between 3 characters, it's easy for your dps to stand there, the bst to be out of range, and you're 2 minutes into a fight and the mob is at 80% health.
There are some minor modifications you can do here depending on zone positioning - like pull with root so the mob remains at spawn and time your bst slow on the other mob with it. This obviously doesn't work if you're pulling very far, if there are roamers that might agro, etc.

The simplest approach is tank CC. Just have the BST tank 2 mobs. Get slow on both asap and just heal through it. Watch the heal agro (pre-58 CH). Obviously this approach assumes you can handle the content. It won't work very well if you're trying content that you're on the edge of fighting (maybe your case in Velks).

Offtank CC. Agro can be tricky here, but you're effectively sending a pet to keep the mob busy. Pull mob A with slow, then quickly switch targets and send the BST pet on the other mob (when it's near enough to camp). The BST pet is a pretty good tank for most levels and this will usually work. You might need to burn down the primary mob a little faster than normal. If you've chosen mage as your 3rd, the earth pet can do this too. Be aware your dps on the primary mob is lower (pet is busy), so it will take longer. Your pet heals and natural pet regen can get him back up pretty quick for the next fight.



If I've got a 3 mob pull, I'll usually do a combination here. Root one away from camp, and either tank the remaining 2 or have a pet offtank one. These can be risky depending on level. For example, trying to break into Sebilis in my early 50's I had no problems with all the 2 spawns in the first hallway, but the 3 spawn with the scarab would sometimes go down (if root worked well) and sometimes kill me (if root did not go so well). I eventually gave up on Sebilis that early and came back a few levels later.

 

Actually as a follow-up, this might be a good case for you to swap around chars. If you're struggling in Velks, it's probably b/c the Druid heals can't keep up (~53-57 is rough). So switch to the cleric, let the BST get a couple levels with him, then you can go back to the Druid and the BST should just be naturally taking less damage.

 

I will just throw out some thoughts. My main trio is bst/dru/necro. Pre planes of power the necro comes in handy with FD pulling corpse summons, necro rez and snaring. However once you get into 60+ the mage dps is really good and a lot for the necro perks dissipate with POP graveyards. Also concerning crowd control in POP the druid gets pacify and single pulls are very easy to get and not many mobs run so snare is not needed almost ever. Finally if you get multiple mob 60+ you can chain no aggro cheal on the druid to the beastlord and tank multiple mobs.

As far as epics goes cleric is something that has utility forever. Beastlord epic has a decent lifespan with minimal effort think 20 hours of total for the whole thing. Druid click dot is alright and takes medium effort.

The enchanter epic is pretty time consuming and has bottlenecks so I don't know if I would pursue that one.

 

I found the ENC epic pretty fun back in the day. It was all trio-able long before AAs or level 65, so I imagine it's very doable now. No long camps either, just some tricks to figure out on some of the tougher fights.

 

Thank you very much for detailed and very very useful information.
After your post, I decided to stay with original trio (BST, MAG, CLR), with occasional DRU<->CLR swap, as needed, per your suggestion, until Druid gets better heal. Besides, I've also learned, that PAL, ENC, CLR should generally stay together, so this seals it ;-)

I was using/trying root CC, but when root failed I usually just focused everything on one mob, including nukes from casters, to get rid of it as soon as possible. I will now start working on more sophisticated moves, as you described. Thanks again!

 

This is very good tho know, thank you! I may swap between NEC/MAG before 60 if suitable, but will stay with MAG after that.

This is good to know!
Yes, I decided to work for now only on BST and CLR epics. Each for one trio, to keep the busy
These two are now on my to-do list, some other, maybe some later time if I will become too bored ;-)
I have now my priorities, great, it is nice feeling when you have a plan!

 

Well, there is a slight difference between you and me. I've read through your crawling dungeons thread.
What you call fun and exciting, is for me a sure suicide and a definite no-no!

What you can do solo, with one character and several levels lower, I can't even dream with trio and several levels higher lol

But there is a solution of course. In alliance channel: "I need a help, a group of 5 lvl 65 players" ;-)))

 

I was gonna put a giant post detailing how i pull and tank with my beastlord, but id rather you just shoot me a dm me if you want. I could talk beastlord strategy all day.

 

If you're going to write it all anyway, rather a post or a DM, that sounds like a great page of information. If only you guys had somewhere you could post content for the community, some kind of repository for text. Dang!

 

I'm surprised that you don't fire up Nature's Recovery for the larger pulls. It isn't a ton, but it does provide an extra 30 HP per tick.

 

why you worried about turning auto-attack on while tanking 3 mobs. riposte only going to happen on the single mob your attacking. maybe i'm missing something?

 

I dont use natures recovery for the buff and spell gem slot. It is nice that it stacks with other regen.

Video was for example, i dont need attack off and a sheild equipped to engage 2 pov geonids.

Im not giving quantified dissertations to defend what i do, that works. Exactly why i asked op to dm me if they wanted my advice in the first place.

 

I hope we weren't coming off as critical of your tactics. I really appreciate seeing other people in action, so I can learn different strategies. I personally like the extra regen, but I can see why you might forgo it.

I was also a fan of your equipping the shield. My bard has his shield equipped as a shield nearly 100% of the time these days. I assume that is rare for most bards, but I find it works really well for me. The extra 2 dps I would contribute with a secondary weapon doesn't seem worth it when my main job is playing a mez song while distracting the mob from a charmed frog and a mage pet.

 

If you're looking to try something different with that cast of characters, give aggro kiting a try on non-summoning mobs (nightmare or disease for tier 1 PoP, Maiden's Eye in Luclin, etc). Can use either your druid or necro as the kiter, but my preference is the necro.

For necro fill other 2 slots with druid/beast/mage as you prefer. They will all play the same role of send in pet and dot/nuke as applicable. On the necro you pull with snare and follow up with a high aggro DoT (e-bolt at your level). At this point you can send all pets in and start casting on the others. Necro can add more damage DoTs as mana allows, and then utilize Poison Bolt (30 mana, 1.75s cast) to maintain aggro as needed.

A druid as the kiter follows the same plan, except they ensnare and use Flame Lick to maintain aggro while using whatever DoTs/nukes you have mana for. Second slots can be necro/beast/mage as you prefer. When using the necro it would help to avoid the high aggro DoTs like e-bolt and stick to the lower aggro fire dots.

Aggro kiting works with charm pets too, you just have to go heavier on the aggro spells to keep the mob from turning to the charm pet.

 

Yes yes, pretty please! I forgot how to do DM and only have minute so I will respond here. I was going to second Lenas to post for others also. There are lots of new BST players that never played BST before. I know since I handed out to several of them Polished Ulak for H2H skilling up just recently.

I see you posted a video. Super, I appreciate it so much! Going to watch it as soon as possible, thanks again!

 

Thank you very much, I will definitely give it a try, it seems like something I should be able to pull it off.
Since I've never been in ME, which mobs in that are are perfect for aggro kitting?

Oh and in case if you remember, the same question for Disease. Disease is easier then Nightmare, correct? So I will go there first. (when ready) Haven't been into either of the two, just Justice prison area.

 

I would like to thank you again for making that video. I also watched your previous one, where you go after that huge zelniak. Man, that is a long fight! I would probably zone out 1-2 minutes into the fight, seeing mobs XP bar is still full Nah, taking back, I would never attack something so big and nasty looking lol

I will have to watch your video several more times. Things are happening way too fast for this noob he-he. I understand you are slowing all three first, one at a time. But once battle starts, (I have hearing problems) I'm not able to hear what are you saying, because of all of the battle sounds. Plus English is not my first language.

I see you are using Tainted Breath. I've read somewhere that this is important aggro spell for BST, like Druid's Flame Lick. But I didn't know it is still being used at level 65. Good, now I know

Also, I didn't know, you can click on group window to select another character. I was using F2 F3 until now. (took me a while to learn about this F keys lol)

I also like the way you have set up UI windows. So clicks are close together. How come I didn't think of that, lol! I don't use much mouse for casting but will try your system.

I will watch few more times and try to figure out all the spells you are using, so when I get to your level, I will know what to do.

I may have few questions later on. Btw, one is BST, then one is Druid. Which one is third character? Another BST, the same trio as with that gorilla zelniak? Probably since you are using 3 pets.

 

Just to give you the perspective of a non-raiding, mediocre geared BST trio:
My group was BST/CLR/NEC throughout previous expansions and loved it. A NEC is a nice partner for the BST with snare, utility like mind wrack, some mezing ability, and FD pulling for Cazic Thule. I think a MAG would really start to outpace the NEC as a third in PoP with easy access to very nice pet gear, however. The only thing I didn't like about the combo was also one of its strength - a two pet class group is great for a fresh trio but also makes you reliant on pets, which can be a detriment occasionally.

I switched over to BST/CLR/WAR for PoP content and happy with that decision. If you have gear/tanking AAs, the BST does ok against the much harder hitting planar mobs but otherwise would really struggle. I don't feel like I was comfortable tanking with the BST until finishing out CA3/LR5. Even then, he would really struggle tanking multiples or named mobs which are a breeze on the warrior. If you are planning on joining a guild and raiding, you'll likely be fine with a BST tank although it may rule out some encounters. Otherwise, you may consider using a more tanky character in the trio (ie your PAL).

 

Thank you for all the interesting info. Someone else in another thread mentioned WAR/CLR/BRD as easy, low activity trio, that can start "hammering" right away. My bst/mag/dru takes quite some time to set up, with all the pet's gear, weapons, buffs, then I'm OOM and I need to wait before I'm ready for first strike. And sometimes I only have half an hour free time for play and I generally didn't even log in at that time. So I gave it a try and I'm liking it so far. You really can start right away and it is worth logging in even if for only 30-40 minutes.

Since I'm very bad, clumsy player, and new to EQ world, I like to play lower levels better, since some areas I already know a little bit, comparing to unknown 50+ areas that are becoming nasty and harder to play

Because of this, I'm enjoying playing many characters and I'm not rushing into higher content, that it is over my head anyway. Once I have all characters over 50, I will experiment between them and mix them up. Will definitely try your BST/CLR/WAR at that time.

But back to WAR/CLR/... I love it so far, warrior on autoatack, cleric as needed, easy play. Even for me.
I wonder which are other WAR/CLR/xxx popular and easy combinations.