Help my trio plan

[DrKvothe]

I'm back from a pretty lengthy absence, this time with a couple of RL friends I plan on leveling an alt with. One wants to be an enchanter, the other hasn't decided, and I'll pick something suitable to round out the trio. My friends have never played EQ before, so they're not going to be overwhelmed by the remarkable nostalgia that draws me to p1999. I'm worried they'll be unimpressed by the graphics and rather harsh penalties for sloppy gameplay. They won't make it to 50+ if I can't get them hooked on the game, so I haven't bothered to scare them off from any class other than wizard.

What I'd really like to do is primarily level in dungeons as a trio. Ideally we'd get to experience a bit of a dungeon crawl, then camp a room for valuable item drops. I know options for this are limited early on, but SolA comes to mind. I don't really have enough play time to wait for camps to open up, but I know a lot of places are just sort of empty most of the time. So here's my question:

What dungeons and item camps within those dungeons would you hit through the early and mid game with a well-rounded trio (enchanter + priest of some kind + either another cast or tank)? Particularly those that are rarely camped.

[Shaniril]

I always liked hitting Dalnir's Crypt. There's not a TON of loot, but if you're lucky you can snag a baton or something. It's also one of the more interesting dungeon designs for the mid-level range imo.

[stakha]

Do chanter chanter cleric. The second chanter could easily be replaced by a different pet class.

[Grombar]

SK, cleric, enchanter. SK keeps aggro well and can peal a charmed mob off the chanter to get it re-charmed and snare in dungeons is huge to keep mobs from running (root works too i guess but less reliable w/ breaks)

[Woe1988]

I really doubt that an SK can pull agro off an enchanter after a charm break. Only with a successful taunt could you really hope to do that, and with low levels it is very unlikely that it will work.

If you want a god mode comp I would suggest Enchanter Enchanter Cleric, or a more defensive Enchanter Shaman Cleric. With this trio you will easy stomp on everything in your path and breaking camps will be a joke.

[Wenuven]

SK

If you have an enchanter and are doing a lot of charming/mezzing, SK will be a bad choice because of dots.

If you want a tank to help with sticky situations, go with a paladin for superior damage-free snap aggro.

For the "strongest" trio possible, I'd go with Enc/Cler/Dru. Go to zones where the druid has animals to charm also and you will dominate. The druid will also prevent your friends from getting frustrated with the slowness of travel.

Technically Enc/Enc/Cler or Enc/Mag/Cler would be stronger for late-game farming, but would be a little slower to get off the ground.

[Woe1988]

Wenuven Pinewolf - 60 Wood Elf Druid

You sound bias, Sir. Haha

[Ravager]

Can't say it's good for gear, but the loot and exp in Runnyeye is great from 20-30 on the second floor. Easy to pull down to 3rd floor where everything is green and doesn't add too. Lots of mobs to pull too with low hp.

You have the right idea for Sol A, great loot, but a little harder than Runnyeye with the see invis.

Can't beat the exp in Unrest basement, which from what I've seen is surprisingly rarely camped. Just be sure to push the Hags.

As far as dungeons with camps go, the guks are a lot of fun to crawl.

[Wrench]

I really doubt that an SK can pull agro off an enchanter after a charm break. Only with a successful taunt could you really hope to do that, and with low levels it is very unlikely that it will work.

actually not sure thats how it works here, although i think it did in classic

seems like charm break used to mean massive aggro, here you can pretty much pull off a chanter with a lvl 4 stun

as for the team, i think monk/sham/chanter is the golden combo, and i think is less work than double chanter (plus a malo in there for charms)

pally instead of monk might be fun too, but then you get hit on xp a little

but youd get the pull off chanter charm break that you wouldnt with monk, plus some other useful cleric spells

[Woe1988]

I doubt disease cloud is going to pull it off an Enchanter. Someone try it.

[Wenuven]

You sound bias, Sir. Haha


Not biased, just educated. :)

I admitted that Enc/Enc/Cler would be stronger in end-game.

But for leveling, Druid adds a TON of utility that is extremely useful in a trio charming group. SoW, snare, root, DS, ports/evacs.

If you go dual Enc you are optimizing your group for a very specific and narrow purpose of farming high-end drops.

[webrunner5]

An Enchanter is a DAMN hard class to play period, let alone for someone new. Maybe a Mage. I have never been too fond of 2 Enchanters in a group. Other than DPS with charmed pet it is a waste of a slot. A good Enchanter can do it all. A new one can't do crap. Who is going to pull?, who is going to tank? With no gear a inexperienced Chanter will die in a heartbeat. Get a Monk. End of story.

[DrKvothe]

I warned my buddies that enchanter would be hard. If neither of them wanted to play chanter, I probably would have.

I like the idea of cleric - ench - SK or druid - ench - pally. Generally I'd prefer SK as a tank with a snare, but pally stuns seem like they'd be helpful vs casters, SK dots create problems with enchanter CC, and druids bring a lot of utility to the table for a group with limited play time.

I dont think my friend will have a hard time learning to charm, eventually. I mean, everybody learns somehow, right? I doubt I'd learn much faster just because I've played an epic shaman. But if her charming causes problems, what are we left with? Well, for priest - tank - chanter, we're left with the core of a good group. We can pick up 1 or more melees to compensate for the loss of pet damage. The enchanter can still cc, haste, and clarity, which is plenty of help.

I really like the idea of chanter + mage/necro + cleric/druid. Some thoughts: if the enchanter doesn't charm, we're down to basically just the damage of a solo mage/necro, with a crap-ton of support. We'd want more dps, which means another pet user, or a melee dps + tank class. If the enchanter does charm, would a mage earth pet be a suitable substitute to a snarer, or would it just constantly get resisted?

I don't like the idea of druid - cleric - enchanter. As part of a larger group, I would wish the druid was something else. If the enchanter can't charm effectively, where's our dps?

As far as priest classes go, I think shaman is the worst choice (but again, im letting them choose what they play). Don't get me wrong, with my epic my 57 feels super powerful, and I know with Torpor I'd be 100x as strong, but I can't help but feel the druid or cleric bring more as a main healer. The enchanter can do the hasting. Druid brings occasional charm, ports, evacs, and still has SoW and regen (albeit at later levels). Cleric gets CH and rez (eventually) and nice hp buffs. I'd much rather do cleric-ench-shm than cleric-ench-druid, but still would be worried that in situations where the enchanter can't safely charm, we'd be really short on dps.

Here's a thought: Bard... Would bard - ench - priest work well?

[solias]

My favorite duo is Shaman/Monk, I see no reason you couldn't add an Enchanter to that and do just fine. Monk can tank shaman-slowed mobs all day with good damage as well as FD split-pull to make breaking tougher camps easier and you wont have to rely 100% on the enchanters skill. Charming will definitely make a boost in your clearing output but won't be necessary to succeed, only problem I see is that Shaman will have a harder time keeping the enchanter up when things go bad than a cleric (and monk will have a harder time peeling without agro proc weapons), but nothing that isnt solved with some applications of stun, root or memory blur etc. No doubt having a cleric + war/pal/shd would be better in terms of being a group starter though, but less effective as a 3-man group I think when you probably wont be pulling fast enough to need a clerics healing output.

[Woe1988]

An Enchanter is a DAMN hard class to play period, let alone for someone new. Maybe a Mage. I have never been too fond of 2 Enchanters in a group. Other than DPS with charmed pet it is a waste of a slot. A good Enchanter can do it all. A new one can't do crap. Who is going to pull?, who is going to tank? With no gear a inexperienced Chanter will die in a heartbeat. Get a Monk. End of story.

A. The new player will have access to a veteran player for tips.

B. Not all new players were necessarily dropped as babies.

C. Why waste time on a mage in a TRIO that is likely going to be charming for dps. Mage pet will always be attacked over the charm. Inefficient.

D. They want to level as a trio. Why carry two other dopes around when the 3 of you are carrying the group. (Low levels excluded)

E. You will never out DPS a charmed pet unless you are dumping your mana bar or popping discs. A charmed pet can level Tokyo faster than that dumb lizard ever could.

F. Monks are good, better in Velious, but the true efficiency of Ench/Clr comes from the massive HP of charmed mobs. 400m to heal something like 8k is much better than 400m going to heal 3k. (Don't quote me on mob HP, but its sure as hell higher than a Monk)

G. The story never ends.

[webrunner5]

I will agree with your points. But I play mostly casters and casters NEED to Med. Ergo, sit on their butts. They don't have time to pull, tank etc. etc. You NEED a Melee in a group. It could be a Mage Fire pet. They have one hell of a lot more DPS than a Pally I can tell you that.

And to answer the OP's question, yes now in the latest patches, a Earth pet does hold agro pretty well now, but so does the Fire pet which is better DPS wise. But do not use Earth Pet if you have a true Melee in the group, use Air pet. Let the Tank move the mob not have Earth root it where you might not want it to be. :)

[Duncon]

I like Enchanter, Pally, Druid. Not the most raw power but you have everything you need, CC, tankage, heals, snares, travel.

[DrKvothe]

I thought up enchanter/pally/druid yesterday evening and really like it. When I'm not around, my friends can duo as enchanter/druid. They'll have quick and cheap travel and powerful duo leveling. When I am around, we can trio or pick up more dps for dungeons. As a paladin, I'll be able to pull, tank, and use stun/blind to help keep the enchanter alive on charm breaks. From 46 on, I'll be able to help a little to reduce downtime with free clicky heals. I'd love to play a puller to better learn the layout of dungeons! Also, I'm primarily concerned with our trio's power in the early to mid levels, since a)if we're too weak my friends might get bored and quit and b)once they hit 50s I can always switch over to my shaman. Early and mid levels should feel entirely OP with paladin using sword of skyfire then baton of faith and some 5/55 rings, all of which I've already got laying around. The simple velious 'epic' for tunare half elf pally also greatly appeals to me.

I'm guessing that in late game camps a druid-ench-shaman (my shm) would absolutely own, especially if I ever get torpor.

[rsloans84]

I have a 17 clr im currently working up msg Temporarily if u need me to heal a dungeon

[Nefarum]

Shaman/Monk/Enchanter is a great combination. Three of the most powerful classes in the game. You'd have pulling, tanking, healing, crowd control, dps all covered pretty well. That trio could handle most camps all the way up to 60.

As far as zones go, I'd just try out as many zones as you can, including dungeons. Experience the game rather than sit in the easy outdoor zones and slow grind.

[DrKvothe]

I'll be sure to add Temporarily (what will the last name be?) whenever I get a chance to play. Unfortunately, I don't get to play a lot so you'll probably continue to out-level us.

We're tentatively set on enchanter - druid - pally, with me playing the pally.

Any ideas which dungeons (and at what level ranges) we should hit along the way? Dalnir is a great example. I suppose many of them will be virtually empty once Velious comes out and people go back to playing their lvl 60 mains =D

[brecon]

I don't think Paladin adds much to a druid - enchanter combo. If what you want is a tank-type class that can grab aggro to keep the enchanter safe, then you would be much better off with a Bard. Bard can get aggro, can snare kite so that the druid and enchanter can just beat on it with charmed pets, can add CC or Charm dps, can do dot dps, etc.

At lower levels, the Paladin doesn't add snap aggro too well, since he is root tanking. Stun doesn't come until level 30.

[eqravenprince]

Any ideas which dungeons (and at what level ranges) we should hit along the way? Dalnir is a great example. I suppose many of them will be virtually empty once Velious comes out and people go back to playing their lvl 60 mains =D

I like dungeons that aren't overly camped or usually have plenty of mobs to camp. I put level ranges, but I believe some of these dungeons have level gaps where it just doesn't work well for some levels.

Blackburrow - level 5-10
Befallen - level 5-20
Najena - level 15-30
Upper Guk - level 15-40
Runnyeye - level 10-35
Permafrost - level 15-45
Cazic Thule - level 25-35
SolA - level 25-45
Splitpaw - level 25-45
Kedge Keep - level 40-50

[eqravenprince]

We're tentatively set on enchanter - druid - pally, with me playing the pally.


Sounds like a decent trio. Play what is fun, you have all the basics met. You have healing, haste, clarity, cc, travel ability, tanking, snare and you can add anyone to your group for more DPS.

[DrKvothe]

I thought blind (lvl 9 flash of light) would be particularly effective when working with an enchanter pet? AFAIK, I can use blind to snap aggro when I'm in melee range, but I can pass pet aggro simply by stepping out of melee range. When charm breaks, I can blind it, move into melee range, and the enchanter can back away, passing aggro to me. Is that not how blind functions? I thought it would only attack the highest threat char in melee range, and if nothing was in range it'd run around like a chicken with its head cut off? As a puller, I get lull and root. As a source of dps, I get a 0.5 ratio weapon until lvl 20 (got a jade mace laying around somewhere), then a 0.75 ratio weapon (BoF) after that. Maybe it's not monk dps, but that still seems pretty solid to me for the early/mid game.

Thank you very much eqravenprince for that dungeon list. I haven't even stepped into half of those dungeons, and since I've never played a puller I mostly just sat at camp sites in the rest.

[rsloans84]

I'll be sure to add Temporarily (what will the last name be?) whenever I get a chance to play. Unfortunately, I don't get to play a lot so you'll probably continue to out-level us.


I have many Temporarily Notresurrecting probably I haven't decided. May keep it to no last name for a bit. I also have an enchanter named Temporarilyout ( the lastname for that will be ) ideletedclarity or clarity :p

:)) Feel free to Temp all though always looking for a friend to go to random dungeons with.

[Duncon]

I thought blind (lvl 9 flash of light) would be particularly effective when working with an enchanter pet?

Yea, Flash of Light is a great agro spell. Will sometimes give you a heart attack when a mob gets out of melee range, but all in all great for agro, almost broken.

[Waedawen]

Enchanter / Priest / Int caster

If It's Ench Dru, Don't get a wizard

If it's Ench Sham/Cler, 3rd person plays wizard. You can hunt anywhere, hunt named, check spawns, and never die.

Do not. Do not. Do not include a melee class if you want to get the full ass-tearing ability of this group unless it's a monk

Personally, my dream trios are A) Enchanter Druid Necromancer for triple charm and B) Enchanter Shaman Wizard for ultimate CC dominance

At any rate, the group dynamic is this -- The enchanter carries with Charm, the Priest plays safety net for the enchanter, and the 3rd person can pull and play secondary safety net. The whole dynamic revolves around killing mobs with mobs, never taking player damage, and honing your skills to make that concept as efficient as possible. With three loyal comrades, enough skill, and the right composition you can make yourselves extremely wealthy and powerful.

[Raev]

Well, the TLDR here is that if you have a good enchanter . . . nothing else really matters for leveling up.

I mean Enc/Rng/Rng would work fine really.

[Waedawen]

Well, the TLDR here is that if you have a good enchanter . . . nothing else really matters for leveling up.

I mean Enc/Rng/Rng would work fine really.

This is not wrong.