Enchanter Research: The OOC kind

[Adso]

Hey guys, I could use a little help getting up to speed playing an enchanter. Played EQ back when it first came out through Kunark and Vellious, but melees only so I'm just looking for a little boost.

I've already googled every version of enchanter guide strategy tactics etc. and keep coming up with super basic not very helpful overviews of the class. I have a general handle on what they do and how they do it, but I want to make sure I get everything figured out asap, play as efficently as possible and keep everyone safe. This game has been out since the Battle of Hastings, why is this stuff hard to find?

What I'm looking for:

Grouping Tactics
UI Setup Tips
Hotbutton Suggestions
Key Quests
Equipment
Soloing Suggestions (not a big deal, but nice if available)
Etc.

Any and all assistance and or humor welcome. Would appreciate any general knowledge resources too, though if you have posted it in the first 10 pages of this forum I probably found it already.

Thanks in advance!

- Adso

[snifs]

Rod of Insidious Glamour
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=702

Incandescent Mask
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=700

Find a crude stein...cheap easy to get, prolly free if you ask around

Just some simple quests that i remember

[guineapig]

Just some things I use off the top of my head since I'm about to leave work:

Tash hotkey (useful if you have other casters in group)
Make it so you:
/cast x,
/pause 8 (or whatever)
"%t is tashed" or whatever

mez hotekey
Make it sort of like this:

/cast c
"mezzing %t"
No sense in putting a pause of any kind in there as you are not guaranteed to have the mez land every time. It's just to keep the group from touching that mob.

Animations in classic suck! They break mez among other things. You can solo with it till like 30 or so but after that you're better off with charm or groups.

Make a druid friend and do stein of mogguk..... often. There were many being sold in the first few months of the server but they are getting less common now.


I'lll think of more stuff later.

[Omnimorph]

mez hotekey
Make it sort of like this:

/cast c
"mezzing %t"
No sense in putting a pause of any kind in there as you are not guaranteed to have the mez land every time. It's just to keep the group from touching that mob.


:eek: your mezzing hotkey stops people in your groups beating on it? it must be alot better than mine. :p

Another good tactic for targetting is to have an assist hotkey for the main tank, and then make sure you bind the cycle NPC key bound to something easy (i use the delete key). Tank targets a mob, other mobs are there, you assist him and then cycle from that mob. Proceed to mez etc. Groups are pretty easy for enchanters, dps, buff etc after mezzing.

Animations like mentioned are okay up till about 30, only if you're soloing. They're more hassle than they're worth in a group.

Once you can get your cha over 200 then charm becomes a viable option, Soloing techniques that work are hasting your pet, slowing whatever it's fighting so that your pet lasts about 3 mobs, then breaking charm and killing your weakened pet.

Can get some decent gear that you'll use till 50 for pretty damn cheap. +7Cha bracelets for about 15-20p each, +5cha earrings for like 50p, plat star ruby veil (+9cha 350p?), +25cha crude stein 25p, electrum star ruby ring +7cha about 100p each.

Rest of the gear you can fill in as you go.

[calaxa]

I think AE Mez is a valuable tool to use but needs to be practiced so that you don't accidentally mez yourself. In Kunark era, I often used it to keep a chain pull going, holding 6-8 mezzed mobs as the group plowed their way thru.

Your color stuns are also valuable tools to get aggro off yourself and stun caster mobs from casting. As I got more familiar with the chanter's abilities, I often would pull for groups with tash, stunning the mob, and letting MT take aggro off of me (this needs a fast aggro generating MT though).

I think the most important thing in playing a group enchanter is seeing everything that is happening around you. Seeing what the MA is targetting and cycling to the other mobs for crowd control. I toggle between using cycle next npc or I reposition myself and hit target nearest mob. It depends on the situation and is something you just need to learn for yourself.

I also advise that you try to stagger your buffs so you are not out of mana at any given point. Most chanters are lazy and try to buff everyone at same time, therefore keeping the same buff timer, but I think it's much more efficient to have them spread out and just let people ask for rebuffs. You never know when you might need that mana for a bad pull.

As for specialization, I did go for conjuration as this is the primary skill for mezzing. Somewhere around velious I switched this to alteration as I became more of a buffbot than crowd control and being an enchanter became a lot less fun.

[Omnimorph]

As for specialization, I did go for conjuration as this is the primary skill for mezzing. Somewhere around velious I switched this to alteration as I became more of a buffbot than crowd control and being an enchanter became a lot less fun.

Interesting, I went with alteration due to the general versatility of it. Majority of our spells fall under it, but i remember in classic having to research thoroughly which was the most advantageous to do :p Conj is a good shout in that mez is one of our most used spells, but alteration suits my style of play alot better.

I'm determined to convince someone to specialise divination though... ILLUSIONS!!!!

[Tallenn]

:eek: your mezzing hotkey stops people in your groups beating on it? it must be alot better than mine. :p


Heh, you're not kidding. Please stop hitting my mezzed mobs!

I'm used to getting beat on- that's part of being a chanter (cloth tank, np), but I imagine the clerics get tired of having to heal me all the time. :p

[Adso]

Thanks a lot guys, great suggestions. Really like the hotbuttons and /assist + cycle ideas. Keying those in and starting to use them tonight for sure.

Any ideas about enchanter specific leveling ideas and quests? Still pretty low right now (8), but before long will be joining up with some mates for a regular group.

How do you guys gauge when mez is wearing off? And isn't there diminishing returns for followup mezzes?

Anyone have screenshots of a particularly effective UI setup?

Great stuff guys, thanks.

- Adso

[Tallenn]

At 8, you can still solo effectively, but grouping will be more fun (plus you have to go all the way to Highpass to get your pet). If in FP area, orc camps in EC, if in GFay, go to Crushbone.

For quests, once you hit 12, you can do Stein of Moggok (DE illusion to do the final turn-in to Clurg), unless you are a DE, in which case you can do it at 8. It's a LOT of running, but it's the best off-hand you will get for many, many levels, and it still sells quite well.

I haven't really done much to time mezzes- hopefully group is killing fast enough to get to them before it does in most cases. Otherwise, I usually find out mez is of when I start getting hit, lol.

There are no diminishing returns. I think other games started adding stuff like that because they felt EQ enchanters were too powerful at CC, making it tough to build challenging content via multiple mobs.

[Adso]

Thanks Tallen, good stuff.

Anyone else?

- Adso

[Adso]

I think AE Mez is a valuable tool to use but needs to be practiced so that you don't accidentally mez yourself.

As for specialization, I did go for conjuration as this is the primary skill for mezzing. Somewhere around velious I switched this to alteration as I became more of a buffbot than crowd control and being an enchanter became a lot less fun.

Thanks again for the info on this thread, have referenced it quite a bit now. Couple more questions.

Just used AE mez in combat for the first time the other night... yep, mezzed myself. How do you use it and avoid that?

If you are in a group setting are you using your debuffs (besides tash) very much/ever? I am only 23 at the moment and have mainly been in Oasis and Unrest; the majority of what I have been doing is tash, stuns, slows, quickness, and pretty rarely the odd mez. Without clarity I hover around 20-30m casting 1-3 spells per mob. That sounds about right? Any other suggestions for eeking a little bit more utility and advantage to my groups out of this toon?

Also, maybe a dumb question, but how do you specialize? At the trainer selecting what you want and hitting TRAIN, just trains it one skill point (3plat worth!)... is there a /specialize alteration command or something?

[Tetrian]

Specialisation comes on the first skill you raise over 50 if i remmeber right.

As for mesmerisation, learn the area it covers, and keep clear of it. At higher levels and with higher MR, you ressist it fairly often.

[Tetrian]

As for spells on mobs, only do whats nessesary. If healing is good on mana, you can save on slow, if no magic based casters and/or if the mobs arent too ressistant, no need for tash etc.

Basicly pace yourself when it comes to efford. Maybe not so much now, but when you start doing dungeons etc, you want to have that manapool as topped as possible in case a train shows up.

[gnomishfirework]

Here is some advice from an old enchanter.

Group messages for Tash/Slow & Mez are pointless. If your group isn't assisting, they are just gonna break it anyway. There are only certain situations hwere it necessary, and its rarely a group setting. Any argument for this is void from the fact I never announced and I was consistantly called an awesome encahnter (because I was)>

if your mez is being broken consistantly, stop doing it and start nuking. Thats your groups way to tell you they think you are a wizard.

The pbae stun line is a godsend, as someone mentioned. You can use it to keep mobs locked till you can mez.

You get the coolest looking epic in game BUT it also is your best friend. Treat Snakey well.

Learn to time your Mez. Don't wait for it to wear off. This is the difference between a good enchanter and a clarity vendor.

[Omnimorph]

Here is some advice from an old enchanter.

Group messages for Tash/Slow & Mez are pointless. If your group isn't assisting, they are just gonna break it anyway. There are only certain situations hwere it necessary, and its rarely a group setting. Any argument for this is void from the fact I never announced and I was consistantly called an awesome encahnter (because I was)>

if your mez is being broken consistantly, stop doing it and start nuking. Thats your groups way to tell you they think you are a wizard.

The pbae stun line is a godsend, as someone mentioned. You can use it to keep mobs locked till you can mez.

You get the coolest looking epic in game BUT it also is your best friend. Treat Snakey well.

Learn to time your Mez. Don't wait for it to wear off. This is the difference between a good enchanter and a clarity vendor.

Not announcing mez is on par with advising a puller to not have an inc message. People should be paying attention so they should see the mob show up right?

If i were a tank and i didn't see an announcement of mez, I'd probably try and get aggro on it because for some reason the chanter didn't mez it.

There is no benefit to not announcing mez, and announcing it is a very good (and useful) habit to get into.

[Tetrian]

I kinda agree, and on the other hand i disagree. Me announcing mezzed on 10 different mobs in a large pull is doing nothing but adding confusion.

Sometimes its nice to know of course, but frankly, its not needed, chantering 99% of the time doesnt need the intervention of group members, and as such they can expect the mobs to be mezzed without dramas.

In the few situations where the chanter is in trouble, a root from a druid or someone else in group can be done, but they should have eyes on the situation and are able to see whats going on.

Unless people are used to the messages from you, they probably wont suspect anything out of the ordinary when no messages comes.

As for pulls, they are meant more as a heads up, and i personally also like it when a tank announces what he will be on, but thats more to avoid mezzing the target he is on from the get go.

[Alleusion]

Your color stuns are also valuable tools to get aggro off yourself and stun caster mobs from casting. As I got more familiar with the chanter's abilities, I often would pull for groups with tash, stunning the mob, and letting MT take aggro off of me (this needs a fast aggro generating MT though).


Color stuns are a good way to get aggro off you for like 1 second. Other than that, they're the biggest aggro grabber next to a gnome pulling down his pants and having "punt me" tattooed on his ass.

[km2783]

I cringe whenever I start casting a mezz. announced or not, some asshat (often some icy hot rogue who thinks he's Captain Offtank) is quite often going to break it. This is usually the same person who cries for a haste several times after you tell him you're OOM.

I often root a freshly mezzed mob. If some douche breaks it, unless you're just unlucky and the root breaks immediately, too, you can usually get off a mem blur or they grab the hate.

I'd kill for an AoE root spell :D AoE mezz is often a death sentence when you're grouped with DPS-happy Mages, Wizards, and Druids. Drop an AoE mezz, then you see fire raining from the sky =/

LOADING. PLEASE WAIT...

I used to have a macro setup for my mezz spells, but I've found that most people don't really NEED to see what you're mezzing if it's explained to them beforehand to /assist the MT and leave everything else alone. Now, if your TANK keeps switching targets it's rather useful to announce the mezzes (or send him a tell to stop), so I have a seperate button for Mezz, Root, and occasionally Stun (stuns usally don't require an announcement imo).

I've done 3 Moggok runs on my inkie enchanter since lvl 8. Anytime I'm running to Highpass, I always kill bixies to see if I can get some honeycombs. If I'm in the Karanas, I try to make a trip to qeynos and Erudin for those parts of it (I keep an Innoruuk's Kiss of Death on me). This way I don't do it all in one sitting and still get one done every so often. It works for me, ymmv.

If the group lacks direction, don't be afraid to take over. Help people understand what you can do, what your job is, how well you can do it (usually by showing them) and how easily it is for them to mess it up. MOST people will fall into line or be willing to at least try and not break mezzes, etc. Politely send tells if you can to prolific breakers, try not to call people out in groupsay.

Your DD nuke spell has a stun component, and it will make things HATE YOUR F'ING GUTS. Use with caution in a group. DoT is a Dot and debuff, it causes HUGE agro. I generally spend most of my mana on crowd control and buffs, and sometimes slows and stuns (even the melee debuffs tend to piss things off majorly). Rarely will I ever cast a damage spell unless I am grouped with a tank capable of producing copious amounts of agro. Even then it's a luxury.

[Omnimorph]

If you're getting beat on and the tank isn't likely to take aggro anytime soon, root it and step back. Rather it beats on someone else than the chanter. Stuns are stupid amount of aggro. I only use PBAE stuns in AE groups, WtyH is a better stun for group situations i think.

I personally mez something and press my %T is mezzed key because it's second nature, is it necessary? probably not, but it doesn't hurt any and keeps the group informed. Sort of like a "hey guys, it's mezzed, everything under control etc." also it means if someone breaks mez they can't say "you never said it was mezzed"

Do clerics need to have messages announcing their heal? i mean, if you're the tank you'd be expecting a heal anyway, a good cleric will heal people when they need it. This serves a purpose in that another healer if you have one won't heal them. I think this is akin to a chanter announcing mez so no one else in the group has to worry about controlling the add (bard, offtank etc.)

[km2783]

WTYH is a big favorite of mine. 12s of glorious stun to keep the healers from healing and the nukers from nuking your tank into a pile of scrap metal :D