Why all this effort to make us a dps class?

[KB]

[Unmei]

[Toruk]

[Unmei]

[GheffGutterbrains]

[Dasha]

[KB]

[Bernz]

[Veril]

[GheffGutterbrains]

[Ungkor]

[KB]

[GheffGutterbrains]

[Samanna]

[spiritsofding]

[Kozul]

[Swobu_AB]

[Poguk]

[Poguk]

[windfinder]

Yes back in the day we had ebolt and plague and they did not. but thsi is what it looked like

Shaman
Ebolt 146/tick
Plague 56/tick

Necro
Bond of death 80/tick
Casscading dark 72/tick
ignigte blood 56/tick
aystole 69/tick
scourge 29/tick
VoS 59/tick

So WE had the highest damageing dot (by a wide margian) but they could stack for more. now say we touch and we could stack our same lines they could not so in this compaireson we could take out there VoS and Scourge but we see the could still out stack us. We also had the most total damage.

Now with Kunark they got:

Ebolt 146/tick
Plague 56/tick
Vexing Mor 122/tick
Devoring dark 123/tick
Pyrocruor 111/tick
Cessation of Cor 100/tick

we jumped to

BoN 214/tick
Pox 111/tick

So yes WE still had the biggest dot and and most total damgeing dot (disease), but they could still stack for more.

Then varnet went to Sony running things:

it was only when lucin hit that we lost the fast acting race and they got a bigger fire dot and we got none

Funeral Pyre of Kelador 240/tick
replaces pyrocruor

there was a small uproar by the shaman community but not much happon, then most just huddled back and cluched pox saying "we still have the most damge dot".

Since then we have seen the curse come out that have them beating use by a big margien and there mana started going down.

thats another thing that we lost necro dots used to be even bigger mana hogs then ours where (there lich was slightly more effective so there spells cost slightly more mana and there by we won in effiencey). after sony:

They convert 85 to 65 (0.765 effecent)
We convert 148 to 54 (0.554 effecent) [pained is slightly less effecent]

We get Clarity 20/tick but unless you are spot on no med (save horse) and only when we activly makeing mana
They get med all the time if medding and they get the mana back every tick nomatter what they do.

The real problem is that we just started lossing the races in just about every field (healed like a druid , single dotted slightly better then a necro and did the same damage for less mana since it touch 2 necro spells to equal our fast posions, nukes where better then chanters and clerics but below druids and rest of the ints, stacked dots slightly worse but again for slightly less mana then necros, melee damage about 1/3 to 1/2 warrior 2handed and 1/5 to 1/4 a duel wielding one given roughly same weps 1handed). since then the melee has just about stagnated, druids got difrent heals then us that where better, Nukes we dropped to the bottem of ALL "pure and wis" casters, Necros out single dot for more a tick and more total, necros out stack by a big bit and for less mana.

So We the Shaman that feel our duty is not in the rear with the gear but standing right beside our fellow comrades and takeing the enemy apart from where we can taste there blood from the slashs and smell the burning flesh from the blazes goign off on them, Think enough is enough and its time for use to go back to where we belong and leave the skirt wearing puff balls where they can cower behind us as the Kilt whereing men go to battle with a smile on our faces and joy in our minds.

[KB]

[Jaraman]

[KB]

[Samanna]

[Jaraman]

[Caanus Grey]

[Jarcey Heyokah]

[Jaraman]

[Ungkor]

[windfinder]

[GrimbearEQ]

[Retron]

[Veril]

[m970456]

[wsbsteven]

[Jeones]

[Kaloog]

[veeshanMurtak]

The sad truth is, as long as EQ stays the way it is (or was when I left - I assume not much has changed), as long as you have entire zones or even expansions of what is essentially the same MOB with different procs taped on, as long as there is no variance of encounters within in the same experience group - as long as that is true there is no value at all to being a jack of all trades.

Consider this:
If you know in advance you will need a certain amount of healing, a certain amount of tanking and a certain amount of crowd control and if there are only small deviations from these figures then you can always build a group according to the following formula:

X * best healer
Y * best tank
Z * best crowd control
6 - (X+Y+Z) * best DPS class

And this group will always be the best group you could build. Note how it only includes four classes, ever. Now, there a few oversimplifications. Firstly, you can not add, say, half a cleric. Also synergy effects - such as ranger ATK buffs - are not accounted for. But the basic problem is shown nicely I think. Basically, any class that is not the best at one of the basic roles will only ever get groups because that group only needs half or a third or whatever of a "real class". If they could add a third of a cleric and two thirds of a warrior instead of a paladin they cheerfully would.

So, as long as EQ expansions are still full of cookie-cutter MOBs you can never solve this issue. Giving shaman, druids or whatever class 90% of the capabilities of two or more specialist classes is still not enough to land them a spot in an optimized group while on the other hand even a 30/100 healing/DPS split (compared to a cleric, say, 100/90) may make them overpowered in easier content. And the same goes for every single class that is not the best at some central role. So either there needs to a distinct and separate and critical role for every class to be best at - which is at least very unlikely - or the content needs to ensure that a shaman needs to chainheal on MOB1, chainDoT on MOB2 and offtank MOB3.

Half nuking and half healing on every MOB does not work. Ever. But full nuking on half the MOBs and full healing on the other half can.


Hmm, that reminds me. I wrote a couple of threads on what could be done back on the old Crucible. I am going to have to dig them up before they disappear.

[Gloriana]

[veeshanMurtak]

Hah, found them!




I think there was another one, but these will do. Interesting, reading those threads again. Sooo .... anyone who had the patience to read them - anything changed in EQ lately? Or does all of what I wrote still apply?