EQ2 optimal class setup

[Ellay]

Finding data on teams is kind of difficult as everything is so dated.

As a caster group running Shadowknight / Warden / Illusionist/ Wizard / Troubadour / Necromancer
Apparently the Illy buffs the Wizard very well and the Troub buffs the Necro very well, on top of all the caster friendly buffs inbetween.
If you are good on heals Swapping the Warden to a Fury is suppose to have even further group buffs.

For a Melee team this is what I am considering.

Shadowknight / Mystic / Dirge / Coercer/ Beastlord / Beastlord.
This team seems extremely fun, I just don't want to blow anymore cash until I know it's the game for me (Beastlord class requires a $40 expansion to play)

What team makeup do you think would be superb?

[Chivalrous]

Just do all bards! You will tear up the inns and taverns and be a hit with the peasents and nobility alike.

[Ellay]

haha, very well played Chiv, touche :)

[moosejaw]

It has been three years since I played eq2. I downloaded the client last night and haven't checked all my accounts to see what my team comp was. I am going to play one account with a station pass to see if I want to do eq1 or eq2. Then I will subscribe my accounts again.

I logged in before work today and checked my 24 necro on freeplay and it was a mess. I could only use 1/3 of my bags and I had a bunch of tradeskill mats banked that I couldn't easily access. /bah

[moosejaw]

I wanted to add some gameplay info. I remember all my toons could melee mobs even the healers and when meleeing they had their own leash so you didn't have to micro manage them. Some of the casters had procs that worked off the weapon swings. This is going to take some getting used to again. lol

[crowdx]

Correct me if I am wrong but graphically Eve is still very poor compared to games like WoW, GW2 and Rift?

[Ellay]

Hey moosejaw I had the same "sticker shock" as well when coming back for free to play. I actually found the free to play method may be more beneficial on most characters than the paid version. With silver you've unlocked 4 of the 6 bag slots and are able to function in the game, the only thing missing is equipping fabled or legendary gear and while this gear seems like it is half of what drops it's not a big deal. You can buy stuff in the broker (auction house) that is not of quality and if/when you do hit max level to wear a piece it costs essentially 25 cents. Unless you jump on one of those station cash deals where you get 2x-3x bonus points when you purchase them, at that point it would get even cheaper.
So in essence if you equip a new piece of gear on every slot of your character when you hit max level. It'll cost you roughly $4. By then you won't be upgrading each piece a crazy amount or just hold off unless the piece is really good. Free to Play model should equate to costing $4 or less per month compared to $15, AND the crappy thing is if you stop the sub you can't wear the gear, if you stop the free to play model - it's still equippable. They've been smart about their microtransactions and it is annoying, but it's actually cheaper in my opinion not to sub.

Crowdx, if you meant EQ2 for graphics. They were updated years ago and are more refined/realistic looking than WoW, it is still an older game though. It's a different style and while I'm not going crazy over them at the current date. I enjoy I can run 6 on my pc and not break a sweat.

[Starbuck_Jones]

I played 6 paladins. Once you got enough AA to get the damage reduction talents it was faceroll easy, they literally became invincible by taking 0 damage when hit. I didn't do any pvp so I can't help there. When EQ2 first came out the Heroic Opportunity system was very important and cool. As far as I can tell now, they are not even used at all other than luck spam that triggers one. It's all about timing a spell that doesn't conflict with your auto attack to maximize dps. I wasn't able to get to the end game, the sticky combat and slow combat was just too different to get into compared to wow, and unlike wow, they have not reduced the xp required to catch up to the current end game. So unless your going to spend money on xp potions, it's a long ass grind.

However it's a fun game don't get me wrong. I've put in thousands of hours off and on since it's release. If you're going to play with one account, it's far cheaper to buy the gear tokens and bag upgrades than it is to sub. SOE is constantly doing double/triple SC weekend specials, followed by 50% off anything in the SC store. I think my primary account has like $120 in unspent SC cash on it from the last triple event.

The way to stack the SC is to use the game cards. Most cost $15 and come with a bonus 500sc. That's $20 worth of SC. Apply the card on a triple weekend and for $15 you get $60 worth of credit. Wait to spend it on a 50% off weekend and you can see where this is going. You can buy a LOT of upgrades and unlock tokens for single months worth of a gold sub.

[Ellay]

What level did you get the paladins up to? why were they so amazing stacked? EQ2 now seems like you need 1 of each class to maximize buffs.

[Starbuck_Jones]

I got them into the 60's and my main to 80's. Like I said, I did not get them to the end game so I'm sure there is some synergy I missed out on. But Paladins had so many passive heal, damage reduction, group heal and buffs that stacked well with each other. One paladin goes down the wisdom line and picks up a ton of group buffs, fear reduction, damage and spell buffs and a passive always on regenerating shield. Other AA talents gave you so much haste, multi strikes and aoe strikes, it was silly because there are not any real cast times on the paladin attacks.

Crusader's faith turned group damage into heals. They all had heals, rezes, plate, healing attacks for themselves and healing aoe attacks. The battle hardening was the best with it's flat damage reduction. The tooltip isn't right on it. When I picked it up, it reduced like 250 points of damage and it scaled up with level/gear. Nothing did that much damage in a single hit where I was playing.

A lot of buffs that were cool from other players are just meh now. You get a horse at level 10 so no need for any movement buffs. Food/drink give mega buffs now and the regen out of combat is huge. I'll repeat I did not get to any endgame content. I believe there are some things that you will want other classes for to over come. There wasn't any real crowd control with paladins. Curing some of the debuffs were not possible. In the end, Paladins were just simply over powered and easy to play.

[moosejaw]

Just posted today on their website. For free and silver players on EQ and EQ2


We are opening up ALL CLASSES.*
We are opening up ALL RACES. **
All bag slots are unlocked.
All players can now use the shared bank slots.
The quest journal restrictions are lifted entirely. Quest away!
Additionally, EverQuest is allowing all players to send delivery parcels! (This change is for a game-specific change in EQ, so it doesn't happen in EQII.)

Link (https://www.everquest.com/news/article?month=032013&id=524463&tab=0)


edit: I wonder if this is in response to Blizzard's actions. SOE is trying to scoop us up and collect that revenue??

[Ellay]

Wow, they go and do this after I spent $ unlocking races/classes last week! haha, good change though!

[Ellay]

IF movement speed isn't an issue, why do I have a damned Troub in my group. Rather have a dps or is the mana regen and other buffs really that worth it.

[moosejaw]

I don't remember EQ2 bard/troub buffs too well but the EQ bard gave melee haste,health/mana regen and did respectable melee dps.

[flux1]

We are opening up ALL CLASSES.*
We are opening up ALL RACES. **
All bag slots are unlocked.
All players can now use the shared bank slots.
The quest journal restrictions are lifted entirely. Quest away!
Additionally, EverQuest is allowing all players to send delivery parcels! (This change is for a game-specific change in EQ, so it doesn't happen in EQII.)


"Hate the latest patch in your former MMO? Come look at us!"

Looks like I'm downloading Everquest 2 this weekend.

[Ualaa]

In EQ I, the bard gets you ridiculously fast unmounted movement.
They get mana/health regeneration for the party.

They can haste the group.
They have buffs for nuke casters in general, and very strong buffs for dot classes.

They're a phenomenal puller, probably the best in the game.
But an SK is a great puller, who can also tank... if you want an actual tank in your party.

I don't know the EQ II equivalents.
I was thinking of:
1x Bard
1x Druid
1x Magician
3x Necromancer
Mage pet as tank, Bard as puller/buffs, Druid as heals/buffs/gates, Necros with pets/dots, Mage with pets/nuke/pet summoned gear.
From what I've researched, for group content even through level 100, a mage pet can tank.
Not having a real tank, is a hindrance in their equivalent of LFR or actual raids... but not the slightest issue for single group content.

[Korruptor]

Just posted today on their website. For free and silver players on EQ and EQ2


We are opening up ALL CLASSES.*
We are opening up ALL RACES. **
All bag slots are unlocked.
All players can now use the shared bank slots.
The quest journal restrictions are lifted entirely. Quest away!
Additionally, EverQuest is allowing all players to send delivery parcels! (This change is for a game-specific change in EQ, so it doesn't happen in EQII.)

Link (https://www.everquest.com/news/article?month=032013&id=524463&tab=0)


Oh wow, this was the thing holding me back from rerolling my Dark Elf crew in EQ1.
Awesome change!

DE Cleric, Chanter, Wizzy and 3 Mage's - pet powa!

[Starbuck_Jones]

Mount's in eq2 are different than in wow. You can remain mounted and still fight or cast spells. Many mounts offer combat bonuses as well. That's why movement isn't an issue in eq2. You're always mounted and moving super fast. I always turned off the mount graphic and just had my guys run around without them.

[Khatovar]

IF movement speed isn't an issue, why do I have a damned Troub in my group. Rather have a dps or is the mana regen and other buffs really that worth it.

Troub was always loved for their Jester's Cap buff


Class Troubador
Level 65
Category (Target) Buff (Raid or Group Friend)
Mastery ordination

Casting Time 1.0 seconds
Recast time 30.0 seconds
Cost 88 and 22 every 5.0 seconds power
Duration 30.0
Range 30.0 meters

For a short duration, target ally's recast timers on all abilities are reduced. Jester's Cap cannot be cast on an ally that recently had this spell cast on them for 2 minutes after it is applied.

But it may not be relevant enough to bother with for us.

[Ellay]

Could just make it part of the macro spam and have it cast on 4 different people in the party.

[Chivalrous]

Okay! I might try this... But I've never played it, have no idea about any of it... But I have an idea of like 4 Paladins and a Bard ala Brave Sir Robin and his merry men. Would it be best to just start boxing, or play 1 toon and figure the basics out first?

[Lyonheart]

Okay! I might try this... But I've never played it, have no idea about any of it... But I have an idea of like 4 Paladins and a Bard ala Brave Sir Robin and his merry men. Would it be best to just start boxing, or play 1 toon and figure the basics out first?

Just make sure you run through the tutorial .. i think its an option before you enter the world..maybe on by default. by the time you are done. you will know enough.. the rest you learn as you go.

[Starbuck_Jones]

Just be aware that eq2 came out before WOW did. It's had a lot of expansions and some of the content isn't itemized for current content if that makes sense. In other words if you do a starter quest in Antontica you might get a +1 sword. Do the equivalent quest in Sarnak or Hallus and you will get a +20 sword. At level 20 I think it is, you can start doing player made dungeons for xp and tokens and buy +100 fable quality (legendary wow) items where old dungeons/raids and quests might hand out a +10 item.

I remember logging in after several years with my level 60 toon and couldn't kill a thing in the new zones. All my +8 to +15 items that were top of the line then were useless. I started a new guy and by level 15 I had better stats, dps, everything. Except for resists. My old armor had ton's of resist where new stuff didn't seem to have any and the old weapons had 1.2 attack speed that was pretty awesome compared to everything new at 6.0 speed.

[Chivalrous]

Thanks!

[Lyonheart]

well i got frustrated with Rift,, ill give it another shot after i try some FTP games. i only had 3 days to try rift for free..times up hehe.. DLing EQ2 now. Got some reading up to do i guess 8)

[Chivalrous]

Does EQ2 have a transmog type of system? I gotta roll in style!

[Lyonheart]

Does EQ2 have a transmog type of system? I gotta roll in style!


They invented it! They call it " ornamental slots : you have your normal armor slots and another set of slots for appearance gear. Whatever you place in it.. you look like that..no need to go to some stupid NPC.

There is vendor trash gear that looks hella cool for example.. certain zones drop unique "grey quality gear" it has no stats.. just looks bad ass when equipped in an ornamental slot

A lot of players hunt old raid bosses for pieces that they desire. Like a lot of the raid level helms look cool. basically WoW got the transmog idea from EQ2 ( not sure if any other game had the feature before EQ2 )

[Chivalrous]

That sounds great! Hunting good looking gear is one of my favorite things to do.

[Lyonheart]

I think i will make a new team. so much has changed since i played EQ2.. need to relearn the game hehe.. but that will be fun.. ill just mentor my SK down to tank for my nublets ( hes only 78.. but good gear for his level still.)

[Khatovar]

They invented it! They call it " ornamental slots : you have your normal armor slots and another set of slots for appearance gear. Whatever you place in it.. you look like that..no need to go to some stupid NPC.

There is vendor trash gear that looks hella cool for example.. certain zones drop unique "grey quality gear" it has no stats.. just looks bad ass when equipped in an ornamental slot

A lot of players hunt old raid bosses for pieces that they desire. Like a lot of the raid level helms look cool. basically WoW got the transmog idea from EQ2 ( not sure if any other game had the feature before EQ2 )

Another plus about EQ2's version...you aren't restricted as heavily to armor types. For example, plate can use cloth in the appearance slots, so if you run a team using different armor types, you can still make them all look the same. My team all used the crafted Tranquil Cambric (http://eq2.eqtraders.com/images/articles/cloth/T6RCTranq.jpg) set for their appearance slots.

[Ellay]

We'll probably need to make some type of FAQ.
Mounts in this game work extremely easy, you get one and summon it and it's basically always up when it can be no need to recast it. You can also hide the graphic or have it hidden while in combat, so essentially you move very fast when you are able without thinking about it.

There are a lot of spells / abilities in this game. It turns into one giant macro usually for multiboxing and the fun part is dissecting it for the perfect cast orders. To maximize DPS you need to get auto attack swings in too but casting abilities interrupts it (also called clipping). This from what I can tell is less of an issue for casters.

The game has always been a resource hog, I drop the settings down to as low as possible on my /follow characters and turn off sound and have the main use high quality.

Guild Halls are awesome, join a guild and utilize it! It kind of makes the world a bit smaller but usually they'll have it set up where a Broker (Auction house vendor), guild bank vendor (also has your bank in it) and a npc to sell goods sit next to each other. The cast time to portal to your guild hall is 15 minutes. Wiping out the need to run around town to buy and sell and bank.

Guild Halls are also massively customizable as well as personal homes, but most importantly they usually have a wizard and druid portal so you can port to essentially anywhere in the game without needing those classes to get you there.

[Lyonheart]

We'll probably need to make some type of FAQ.
Mounts in this game work extremely easy, you get one and summon it and it's basically always up when it can be no need to recast it. You can also hide the graphic or have it hidden while in combat, so essentially you move very fast when you are able without thinking about it.

There are a lot of spells / abilities in this game. It turns into one giant macro usually for multiboxing and the fun part is dissecting it for the perfect cast orders. To maximize DPS you need to get auto attack swings in too but casting abilities interrupts it (also called clipping). This from what I can tell is less of an issue for casters.

The game has always been a resource hog, I drop the settings down to as low as possible on my /follow characters and turn off sound and have the main use high quality.

Guild Halls are awesome, join a guild and utilize it! It kind of makes the world a bit smaller but usually they'll have it set up where a Broker (Auction house vendor), guild bank vendor (also has your bank in it) and a npc to sell goods sit next to each other. The cast time to portal to your guild hall is 15 minutes. Wiping out the need to run around town to buy and sell and bank.

Guild Halls are also massively customizable as well as personal homes, but most importantly they usually have a wizard and druid portal so you can port to essentially anywhere in the game without needing those classes to get you there.

Khat has a lot of posts about macros and a lot of stuff from EQ2. Her and her Hubby were playing it for awhile back in the day.. She was very helpful in that area. I'm not sure what has changed since then. Like any macro changes and such. I logged a toon in and all my gear was in my bags. I did not know if my gear was any good. I remember a guildy made most of it for me, and i think it was good stuff.. just not sure if that holds true.. that was when the level cap was 80.. its 95 mow hehe.

Back to the OP. I am reading a lot of good stuff about Paladins that make what Starbuck was saying sound like the way to go.. im going to try it atleast. I think I will do 3 to start and see how it goes.. adding mercs when needed to fill the group. Only way i will commit to more than 3 accounts is if i end up needing them to do content i would like to do. With player made dungons, im hoping I can do dungons for gear and coin, at the end game last i played, some instances were a pain in the ass to box, due to the gimiks.

[moosejaw]

If you are on FTP and your old gear was fabled, does that mean you can't equip it until you unlock that feature? Just wondering if that was why your gear is in your bags.

Khat had a really good post about the macro system (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/18994-EQ2-Macro-Guide?highlight=macro) circa 2009. I last played in 2009 and my macros were still intact but I haven't tested them yet.

[Ellay]

Ya, it just has your gear locked when you log in and it won't be used. I simply went to the broker and purchased random level appropriate gear to see if I enjoyed playing when I just came back.

[Starbuck_Jones]

Your gear will be locked, but spells should grandfather in. Unlocks are cheap. 5 for $1.50. If you wait for double or triple SC weekends and then wait for 50% store weekends you can get the price of an unlock down to a nickel. Abusing the sales in my opinion is the way to go.

The appearance slots are a lot of fun to play with. I have some old pre-f2p feysteel armor that looks pretty cool that I've been using for a long time. It's polished silver with gold inlay. The macro system is a bit wonky so read up on it. Spells fire off in a weird order. Like the top one first, then they go from the bottom up based on whats off cool down.

875


I just checked my account age to see what bonuses I had. 2400 days. So many rewards. I really need to get some max level toons to get the xp bonuses for new guys as well. 6 years 6 months 24 days.

[Lyonheart]

Holy Carp! My main account is OLD.. time flys >> November 6, 2004! I did not even notice all the /claims i have..almost all of them from the one week vet and on lol

[moosejaw]

I think I started my first EQ account in 2001. Too bad we can't share rewards on all of our accounts like battle.net. :(

[Lyonheart]

I think I started my first EQ account in 2001. Too bad we can't share rewards on all of our accounts like battle.net. :(

Eye.. i still have a ton of unused claims in EQ1 .. i started day one of live

[moosejaw]

^^ Nerd!!!! :)

[Lyonheart]

^^ Nerd!!!! :)

I resemble that remark!

[shadowlord63]

I played EQ1 for years, but moved on after PoP came out. EQ1 at that point decided to go the way of a raiding game and i was more into group boxing instead of raiding. I did raid as main tank, main heal and top dps with 2 rangers, but got tired of all the crying in guild cause people thought it was unfair i got 4 times the loot and only being 1 person.
So i left EQ1 and beta'ed EQ2, loved it and 6 boxed it for years. Last time i played my team was all level 80. I had an all melee team because casters were too slow and my melee killed stuff before casters could do much damage. It literally made me cringe to see casters try to kill a world boss or Elite, when i could have killed it in half the time with my melee team.
Don't know what max level is now or what group setup is best. But last time i played top level was 80, you could build a team that completely complimented each other. In other words, you could build a team of all caster buffs or all melee buffs, all ranged or all melee, all AoE or all single target, or just mismatch for any type of scenario. Also if you grow tired of your current class, you could do a class quest to change over to other faction and change to your opposite class, pali to DK, as an example. Was lotsa fun, now i may redownload because i miss it after talking about it again, lol.

[MadMilitia]

My fondest multiboxer memory is GoD-era when I decided to help a friend out by multiboxing the Tunat encounter. I was listening to their plans for victory when I heard a barb die. My friend laughed. I looked and it was one of my boxed toons, a berserker that ran headlong into Tunat without me noticing. I must have pressed a key somewhere on my keyboard. Luckily nobody else was involved.

Oops! Good game. I have some very fond memories of EQ. Played right from classic all the way up to DoN.

[Ellay]

I am concerned melee teams are a bit less effective now to box since auto attack swings are very dependent if you want high dps and using your combat abilities delays or interrupts them, not sure which. But apparently you can stack your gear to have a 600% chance to multi attack i.e. 6 swings per autoattack it's like Enhance Windfury on steriods in my opinion. This is less of an issue for Ranged as they do not have to rely on this and you just spam spells.
If melee is in fact superior though I would love to give it a shot as a Double or triple beastlord team sounds awesome with all the pets and stuff going on.

[Lyonheart]

I am concerned melee teams are a bit less effective now to box since auto attack swings are very dependent if you want high dps and using your combat abilities delays or interrupts them, not sure which. But apparently you can stack your gear to have a 600% chance to multi attack i.e. 6 swings per autoattack it's like Enhance Windfury on steriods in my opinion. This is less of an issue for Ranged as they do not have to rely on this and you just spam spells.
If melee is in fact superior though I would love to give it a shot as a Double or triple beastlord team sounds awesome with all the pets and stuff going on.

I forgot all about the BLs, they are new to EQ2. I never knew about the auto attack issue. My last team before i went back to WoW was SK tank and all casters. Im very sure i was not playing optimal. But I think you can try to slow your spam rate down and have less of an issue with the auto attack thing, but just like any game, its next to impossible to play any class at 100% efficiency of what you can solo. Im always just looking to be able to get the job done+ a little more hehe.

[Ellay]

Ya, the beastlord thing really intrigues me. They are super overpowered from what I have read, mostly due to needing to buy an expansion that is $40 per account just to play it, it's an optional expansion that also unlocks mercenaries, but their pets provide group buffs in all forms, offensive / defensive / heals etc. So that combined with a mystic pet is 4 pets on the target. Pretty cool :)

[Lyonheart]

Ok i just did some reading on Beastlords.. i am going to start a few tonight. They are the only class that is new ( since the game came out? not sure ) But from what I am reading.. ONE is OP because they were designed with newer content in mind.. so they are Gods for anything 80 or lower. So 2? 3? plus mercs should make PvE a breeze. They sound OP in PvP too and are getting some nerfs for that i think ( maybe already did.. was reading lots of post )

But the thing i like about them the most, with pets, it sounds like you can have any buffs/debuffs. SO with 2 or 3 you should be able to be pretty optimal as far as debuffing.. curing etc..

[Fishbeak]

What server are you guys on? Trying it now...

[Lyonheart]

Im on Guk

[moosejaw]

Also on Guk here.

[Ellay]

Also on Guk here.
Seriously how do I always end up on a non boxing server! Going to mark down a month from now and probably cough up the money to server transfer and actually if you can do it with station cash would be even easier.

[Lyonheart]

Seriously how do I always end up on a non boxing server! Going to mark down a month from now and probably cough up the money to server transfer and actually if you can do it with station cash would be even easier.

You could in EQ1 ..im not on atm.. but i think all services can be had with SC.

[moosejaw]

Seriously how do I always end up on a non boxing server! Going to mark down a month from now and probably cough up the money to server transfer and actually if you can do it with station cash would be even easier.

There is a small sale on the transfer tokens in EQ2 right now. You can buy them with station cash.

[moosejaw]

I found a way to do click healing, sort of. ProfitUI has pre-configured buttons on the group window, next to each group member, for cures/heals. The cures light up and it is simply whack a mole. The heals are on numbered buttons above the cure buttons for each group member. The heal and cure spells can be modified by editing a ui text file. I have set up video feeds from my two healer classes to the tank window and I can heal someone who isn't the implied target rather easily.

The UI also lets you set the heal or cure to be qued with your other actions or execute a 'stop casting' command for an immediate cast.

The only misgiving so far is being unable to sort the group alphabetically so you have to include part of the health bar in your video feed so you are healing the correct toon. Cures will always light up so you don't need to see a health bar to cure the correct toon.

[Ualaa]

That's neat.
More flexibility, is definitely welcome )

[Catamer]

I have 6x pallys @ 71, they would be farther but I kept setting the AA high so I could quest some without leveling out of zone. They seem to level fast if you put the AA to 0%. I like the pallys but they hard at first (that was mainly because I was a pure newbie and more or less running around with no gear on... naked so to speak) I've learned that gear makes a huge difference for all classes. good gear makes the pallies rock. Mastercrated anything beats almost all quest rewards. I'm really starting to like a more balanced team as they get higher (58 or so ) Pally, illus, Mystic, Templar, warlock, troubadour. I have 3rd team I setup just to try something else Berserker, Beast Lord, Warden, Lock x 3. The warden is a healing machine and pretty much has to be since he's the only healer, not sure I can keep that team going, we will have to see. The worst pat of this game is leveling up your crafting, it's got to be the most boring system ever devised and it is SLOW, after about level 30 crafting just SUX, it makes my eyes roll up into my head.

[asgradth]

I've been 6-boxing EQ2 on and off since the early days. I just returned after being gone for over a year. I run three different teams:

MainTank Raid Group: Guardian / Templar / Defiler / Dirge / Coercer / Warlock - it doesn't do much DPS, but the Guardian can hold aggro seemingly forever, even when there is a DPS Group in the raid going all out. Last time I checked (late 2011), with full 2nd-Tier Shadow Armor and the rest of the gear Legendary/Fabled, it pulls around 12k DPS. I main tanked a number of raids back in the day with this group, mostly Boxer Raids (had to be 3 boxing or higher to join us).

OffTank Raid / Heroic Group: Shadowknight / Templar / Warden / Troubador / Illusionist / Wizard - This is my favorite team to clear dungeons with. It's hard to die with 2 healers and an illusionist. The DPS is upwards of 20k (late 2011), with same full 2nd Tier Shadow Armor and the rest of the gear Legendary/Fabled. There's lots of utility here with 4 'evacs', multiple hastes, two porters and bard speed.

DPS Heroic Group: Shadowknight / Warden / Troubador / Illusionist / Wizard / Conjuror - This is the same as my OT Raid group, but with the Templar pulled and a Conjuror inserted. The Conjy adds another 4-5k DPS (~25k DPS late 2011), with some nice utility (shards, summons) and having various pet options helps, as I can use the Earth pet as an offtank since I don't have as much healing.

I've pondered melee groups, but end game content is fairly hard to melee with all the knockbacks and aoe's. I prefer to stick the other 5 toons in a corner, pull the mob to the center of the room w/ my SK and nuke from a distance. YMMV.

I've pondered a new team, going a bit more melee, with something like:
Monk / Mystic / Inquisitor / Dirge / Assassin / Beastlord
The shields from the Mystic combined with reactives from the Inquisitor should keep the Monk (MT) alive through most any encounter. And with 3 DPS Classes (monk, assassin, beastlord), things should die fairly quick with all the extra melee buffs coming from the Mystic Inquis and Dirge. I dunno, again, lots of knockbacks in end game. Keeping everyone close in for combat, and alive, could prove interesting. I'd also consider swapping the Monk with a Bezerker for the extra AOE Hate they can generate to hold aggro.

Militant Revolution of Chainsaw Leprechauns (Oasis Server)

[Ellay]

Very nice info asgradth :) I essentially have your DPS Heroic group with a Necro instead of a Conjuror.. and not sure why as I like conj, but everyone said to pick up the necro instead on the forums because the troub buffs him better with upbeat tempo as opposed to the conjy getting it.

[Pyrostasis]

Just recently getting back into boxing myself and saw my old team was a bit odd. I ran Pally, 3 warlocks, Fury and Templar. This teams about 4 years old if I recall and the idea was mainly to keep aggro with the pally, and just absolutely destroy things with the locks. However, now that I think about it most likely this groups going to run into some really nasty issues later on in the game. However, it does make for some absolutely sick power leveling potential. Should I just scrap this group now (Mid 40's) and build a more balanced setup or finish it out and then just mentor the holes in my group later on?

[Ellay]

Being level 40 you aren't that far ahead, 1-20 is super easy questing in New Halas or similar.

The way buffs work in this game it's good to have one of each archetype, and not duplicate classes or the same type, IE a warlock and a wizard the buffs kind of overlap.

If you like that build there isn't a whole lot to change, drop 2 of the locks and add in other stuff. You definitely need an enchanter and/or bard in there though.

[Meeo]

I've started playing recently this week all new to the game.

I decided to go with SK, Templar, Warden, Illusionist, Wizard, Troubadour. Buffs seem decent, after reading some of Asgradths' posts it seemed like decent group makeup.

Im not sure this is the best makeup for me, as im still very new to the game. Does the Evil vs Good mean anything major to me? is there any reason i should of went one route or the other? all my toons are currently Evil Half-Elfs, i have not even left the starting area yet and my toons are already 10.

Im still trying to figure out all the abilities on the 6 toons, to build macros for them, this game with all the abilities can get overwhelming similar to how i felt when i first started EVE 6 years ago. To me this is a good feeling picking up a new game, even though its older then some of the others.

[Lyonheart]

evil and good have different main cities. But most the buffs/debuffs that stack seem to favor some alignment..or a neutral class ( netral classes/races can make freeport OR qeynos their main city ). Anyway. its convenient to have all your toons in the same city...but once you get a guild hall.. thats less important. You can group with any race/class though.

[Catamer]

my only beef with all pallys was running out of juice. Crusader Aura doesn't stack like everything else and I found I died on the long fights. I admit there are only a few places where that happens but it was frustrating none the less. It usually showed up when using 2-3 level old spells in my macros or fighting some new HARD boss a few levels above me.