Druid vs. Shaman balance thread on EQlive

[Fenier]

[anaskesia]

[Fenier]

[Unmei]

[anaskesia]

[anaskesia]

[Gegen]

[anaskesia]

[Alaene]

[Yesak]

[Fenier]

[Jaraman]

Perhaps you're operating by rote rather than creatively re-evaluating your mana consumption. Just because you get an upgrade doesn't mean you have to or even should use it--

Are you sure you absolutely need to cast Malis? Malos is still a good debuff, and if you have a mage you might not even need to debuff. Try using the Idol instead to help the mage land 'sinia and to stretch your debuffing mana efficiency.

What exactly are you debuffing for anyway? Group panther does not require a debuff. If you use BoD to slow, are you certain then that you still need Malxxx...? The exorbitant mana cost of Malis is double cursed by not having effective focuses to mitigate that mana cost. Don't use it if you don't have to. Save it for raid one-shots, not group chain pulling.

I've also been switching PD in and out, and that is sufficient to cover Nectar, Ahnkaul's, and Sting, and even Blood of Yoppa in multiple pulling kiting situations (not too mention handy used with VP). Coupled with Affliction Efficiency 5, it might be more effective to use Nectar, BoY, Sisslak, and only one post-70 DOT, either the poison or the curse. There is a greater efficiency using pre-TSS DOTs both in mana savings and in damage/mana, until focusses come out. Getting slightly less dmg per tic because you're using non-TSS DOTs is justified thru mana savings and more than made up for via grp panther and Sting.

Of particular note: Nectar still does more per tic than the 75 poison DOT at rank 1.

I'm still using Yoppa's Mending or Ancient Wilslik's to good effect, because speed and efficiency due to still relevant focuses are more important than slower bigger bursts and overhealing using the lastest trendy (less-focused) heal. If ever there is a crisis where a small heal didn't quite cut it, then use Union to make up for it. And it goes without saying that Ancestral Aid and epic clicks used often go a long way in making pre-TSS heals more effective.

So basically, use newer spells sparingly... for me it's Ancestral Bargain, Halcyon all the time, Sting very often, grp Panther everytime there are lotsa targets, and occasionally the new poison or curse DOT. All other spells are from pre-TSS. The newer canni's should offset the mana costs of the few TSS spells, thereby increasing your sustainability. Granted, I haven't done any grinding yet in Ashengate or Valdeholm, so this advice may not apply there.

[Beafly]

[Maccuul]

[KB]

[siludorf]

[Veril]

[Fenier]

[Ughbash]

[Beafly]

[Beafly]

[Kamion]

Why argue about snare when so little of the information is here?

The classes that have always had snare:
-Dru/rang
-Nec/sk
-Wizard

Consider the benefits of each of those snare over the others (ie, what special the snare does), consider how those snares progressed through the expansions. There is no "best" snare, every snare classes' snare has something that is more powerful than the others.

Historically...
-Dru/rang: Long duration, best resist check, lowest % snared
-Wiz: Lowest aggro, 2.5 min duration (medium), medium % snared, hits 4 targets
-nec/sk: Shortest duration, medium resist check, highest % snared, has DoT componet

The only exception to this is Bonds of Tunare - 1.8 minute duration, high aggro, 4 target snare.

Concerning the progression of snare, wizards have never got an upgrade since Atol's. Druid/rang's snare upgrade sacrifices our signiture duration, raises cast time, and only truly upgrades resist check. Necro/SK snare upgrades is an upgrade in cast time, resist check, and damage - no aspects were lost.

Edit-fixed a flip flop.

[Yesak]

[Fenier]

[Unmei]

[Fenier]

[Sumdaen]

[anaskesia]

[Gordaon]

[Kamion]

[XeroOmega]

The reason we have the group cure Blood of Nadox is because at first, they tried to hand us pure blood, a weaker version of Disinfecting Aura, a spell shaman have had since luclin.

[Grendalkhan]

[Maccuul]

[Fenier]

[Fenier]

[Giac]

[Fenier]

[Gordaon]

[siludorf]

[Fenier]