Does anyone LIKE thier illusionist?

[Decipio243]

Been reading the boards for a while, and playing a Illusionist, (I'm only level 20 at the moment), and its just full of negativity. does anyone actually enjoy playing thier illu? I know there are some issues with raiding, but just with xp groups, and solo, anyone like it?<div></div>

[Etillchou]

I like it.. for some weird reason

[Pins]

I love being an illusionist. After playing the class for 14 months now, I've grown to love the class, it's a great class. Albit, I'm just upset with our raid utility. Everything else about the class is great.

[Barobra]

<div></div>I like my class. We rock in groups. But lack in raids. Its your preference really.

[Decipio243]

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy it to level 20.. I have just seen so much negative posting on this board, was kinda depressing. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />I play with a normal group of RL friends, and wow.. I sem to contribute a great deal to groups, Most encounters they can win with me around mezing, but when im not there, its no chance, or much more difficult.On the other hand, when I'm in a pickup group and everyone is throwing AE's - Its kinda pointelss to try to mez, so I play like a wizard. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Thanks for the replies... nice hearing from some people happy with the class. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div>

[Pins]

Don't get us wrong. There are a LOT of people out there that love their enchanters. But then they go to raid, and they get completely [Removed for Content]. If you play your enchanter and ever raid, you will be upset with your enchanter, and go argh.That is why if you're a new enchanter, I advise you NEVER to raid. You will only get upset about your class if you do raid, like many of us already have :

[Tuleri]

<div>Agree 100%<blockquote><hr>Pinski wrote:Don't get us wrong. There are a LOT of people out there that love their enchanters. But then they go to raid, and they get completely [Removed for Content]. If you play your enchanter and ever raid, you will be upset with your enchanter, and go argh.That is why if you're a new enchanter, I advise you NEVER to raid. You will only get upset about your class if you do raid, like many of us already have :<hr></blockquote></div>

[Chrysostom]

bingo.<div></div>

[Impetus]

Everyone's covered most of it, except for one point.Almost nobody comes to the board and says, "Wow things went great today, blah blah blah." And that's for any class in the game, any of the message boards on here -- not just illusionists. (Or on most games for that matter.)Just like almost nobody goes up to the customer service desk at their local store saying "Wow I got really great service today."Why is that? I dunno, human nature I guess.Actually that's not completely true. There are always a few boards where people aren't complaining about their class. Those are the overpowered ones. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><p>Message Edited by Impetus on <span class="date_text">03-08-2006</span><span class="time_text">02:31 PM</span></p>

[ScamprinSlippy]

<div>i love my illusionist, and i wouldnt play any other class.</div><div> </div><div>but what i don't love is the sheer lack of understanding that SOE has displayed towards our class.  they made us, and they can't figure out what to do with us.</div>

[WAPCE]

I really like my Illusionist, but I started playing her 4 months ago and knew what I was getting into. Grouping is excellent, and even though raiding is sub-par, it's still a lot more fun and productive than the tag-along tank that I was playing. My only fear is that improving raid performance will include sweeping changes that aren't what people want.

[LunarHamst]

<div></div><div> </div><div>Wow, I didn't realize anyone didn't.  I just started recently, but my first "real" character is an Illusionist.  Only L24 but seems great so far.  I play on the Venekor (PvP) server so possibly my viewpoint is slightly different. </div><div> </div><div>~ V ~</div>

[bluejello]

I love the class, but some things confuse me. I also play a troubador. Obviously, I will end up comparing the two classes. It seems to me that in a raid situation that troubador does what an enchanter can do only they do it much better. On top of that they can bring other things to the table that Illusionist can't.They both buff power regen and the quality is somewhat close.Enchanter uses up a lot of their conc slots buffing haste/proc buff on single players. I know the buffs are better for 1 person than troub buffs, but the proc buffs are very close. So an illusionist could use up all conc slots buffing people with dynamism while the troubador accomplished the same thing with 1 conc slot. The troubador then gets to buff everyone with 4 more things. I suppose if you want to count 3 instead since enc power regen takes no slot then that's fair.It seems like troubador is a million times more useful when considering hate reduction group song, str/sta, defense, etc...and then consider AA skills. The skill at the end of the bard wis tree (and probably every single bard will get this) increases all dmg/heal crits by 7.5%...for 1 point. Meanwhile we have to spend 8 points to get around that for just heals.I don't get it at all. It's seems like troub is a better version of illusionist. Am I missing something?<div></div>

[Belizarius]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>bluejello wrote:I love the class, but some things confuse me. I also play a troubador. Obviously, I will end up comparing the two classes. It seems to me that in a raid situation that troubador does what an enchanter can do only they do it much better. On top of that they can bring other things to the table that Illusionist can't.They both buff power regen and the quality is somewhat close.Enchanter uses up a lot of their conc slots buffing haste/proc buff on single players. I know the buffs are better for 1 person than troub buffs, but the proc buffs are very close. So an illusionist could use up all conc slots buffing people with dynamism while the troubador accomplished the same thing with 1 conc slot. The troubador then gets to buff everyone with 4 more things. I suppose if you want to count 3 instead since enc power regen takes no slot then that's fair.It seems like troubador is a million times more useful when considering hate reduction group song, str/sta, defense, etc...and then consider AA skills. The skill at the end of the bard wis tree (and probably every single bard will get this) increases all dmg/heal crits by 7.5%...for 1 point. Meanwhile we have to spend 8 points to get around that for just heals.I don't get it at all. It's seems like troub is a better version of illusionist. Am I missing something?<div></div><hr></blockquote><p>Essentially, I agree with you.</p><p>If I was starting from scratch and wanted another utlity class, my choice would be Bard.    Bards get much better group buffs, and also much better debuffs for epics.   Chanters get better overall power regen/conservation, but we have to work at it, if we don't then yours is better.   The only practical edge we really have over you is mezzing <strong>multiple</strong> mobs, and that's simply not needed enough in EQ2 to be worth it.  The only thing holding me back is that I am basically a part time player (2 hours a night, 6 nights a week), it's taken all my available hours since release to get my Illusionist to level 59 and I don't want to spend the time levelling a new main.</p><p>If I was starting from scratch and wanted a Mage, I'd go Sorceror.  Simply because I don't enjoy managing pets all that much.  Sorcerors are a good fit for the EQ2 game style, chanters less so.</p><p>As to the OP.  Do I like my Illusionist?  It can be great in groups, but more so in partial groups of 3-4 players.  On raids we <em>feel</em> semi-useless (we are really only wanted for power regen), and in full groups, our core abilities are generally less important than they are in partial groups.  In full groups I'm often pure DPS, which is definitely not our forte.</p><p>Also, it can be very frustrating if you play a lot in pick-up groups.  It's not often that we need to mez, but pick-up groups make it that bit harder when you do.  You tend to have to rely on stuns and stifles.</p><p>If you are mostly playing in groups, with the same circle of friends, you might be quite happy.  Remember, that the forums are where people come mostly  to highlight what is wrong with the class, not what is right with it.</p>

[Rayvne2]

<div></div><div></div><p>I really enjoy the Illusionist class.</p><p>I haven't raided yet so my opinion might change as others have said but we are valuable in groups and are pretty good soloing.</p><p>I am fairly new to EQ2 and played a Illusionist to level 40 something on a PvE server before moving to a PvP server.  I tried a couple other classes on the PvP server launch but ultimately went back to Illusionist because it is the class I enjoy the most.  So actually I had a "blank slate" and could have rolled any class I wanted and still went back to Illusionist.</p><p> </p><p>Yesterday my group was killing Griffons and camping Bloodtalon.  I had died and revived because my corpse was directly under BT (who had spawned on top of me lol).  The group was worried that someone would come and engage the mob while I ran back so they attacked while I was still running back to the camp.  The group wiped in about 15 seconds with it chewing through the tank.  The scouts in the group said the encounter was too tough and that we should leave.  I said that I hadn't been there and that the encounter was doable if I was there during the fight.  We buffed up, got ready, and attacked.  This time I concentrated on landing my stuns and debuffs before any dps and we killed the mob without any problems (actually made the encounter seem trivial).  The group couldn't believe that a caster could make that much of a difference to making a named fight easier.  That is why I like to play a Illusionist, situations like that.</p><p> </p><p>Message Edited by Rayvne2 on <span class="date_text">03-08-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:16 PM</span></p>

[evil_drag]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Etillchou wrote:I like it.. for some weird reason<hr></blockquote>lol the same here :smileyvery-happy: i have a low lvl warlock lvl 56 and my illusionist lvl 70, i know most of peoples will lvl a warlock after 56 it's very kool great dps nice buffs but i like enchanter  a lot., i still hopeing they fix the dps and crow control. but it still good. :smileyhappy:

[Mac]

<div></div>I love my Illusionist. Solid in PvE (Non-raid.), amazing in group PvP. Personally, I can't ask for anything more. (While I don't know how this class develops at later levels, it's pretty [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] solid at lvl24.)<div></div>

[Manyak]

<div></div>I love the class. For every situation, we got something up our sleeves to take care of it. The one thing I dont like is in raids, when we dont really get to play enchanter, where all the things that i like about it are thrown down the drain.

[Peglegcrook]

I've been playing my illusionist for a long while now, and as i do agree with some of you, i disagree with others.  I LOVE my illusionist! i would never change my class. I do feel that we lack in certain areas of raiding, but i have become Extremely useful in raids i enter.  I wish we had a couple more power management options (i couldn't care less about DPS), but as far as now, with my mana cloak, savante and breeze line, coupled with HO management (continually getting power buff heroics) we rarely have anyone under 20% power.  I feel that is VERY useful in raids.  as far as DPS and what not, that isnt what i am meant to do, i can suplement the DPS, but im not intended to do mass amounts of damage.  The majority of grouped epic raids have heroic encounters in the group, meaning we are able to mez them while the raid beats up on the main mob....we also have 1 line of stuns that DO work on epic targets, so i use that continually.  All it takes is careful planning, and someone who truely understands Heroic Opportunities to coordinate who does what and when.  in my grp of raiding, thats me, i have macros set for every HO we want to do, and i DPS when possible, but my main attribute is to keep the grp full of power, which is why i also do the HOs.  granted, anyone can coordinate the HOs, but (and this is where i agree), being that our class doesnt give much the raid party other than what power management we offer, i feel it my task to pick this up. I LOVE MY CLASS<div></div>

[Zebsen]

<div></div><p>I'd like to think that if people are playing their class, they enjoy it.  I think that there is frustration that is associated with our roles on raids and to some extent some of the let-downs on KoS spells/AA (for me).</p><p>As stated many times, this class isn't for everyone.  It isn't about flashy nukes or uber pets.  There are uses for an illusionist, but the class largely goes unnoticed or perhaps underutilized by the average group/player that doesn't know how to fully take advantage of it.  Stuns and stiffles aren't glamorous.  I enjoy being in an unbalanced group (say one without a healer) and keep a tank alive during a tough fight.</p><p>People tend to post the negatives much more than the positives, especially as frustration continues to mount via Dev silence.  If you don't like the class though, you shouldn't be playing it.  It's a game.  It's supposed to be fun <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />.</p><p>Zebsen</p>

[BraccusD]

<div></div><p>I agree with Rayvne2 100%.  There's been several times when a group wiped then added me and it ended up being a much easier kill.  Course my illusionist is only level 26, so not sure higher up.  I also can solo the named in BB (except for the spider), which I know several other classes can't do.</p><p>I love my illusionist most tho cause I feel like I have to think during combat and have different tools to deploy to manage things. (mez, pet targetting, stun/debuff, stifle/power drain).  As a healer I just gotta think about who to target for heals and whether I can throw a damage spell in there now and then.  As a tank I just focus on aggro management and damage.  As a DPS, just about doing damage.  It just seems more a class where you are rewarded for staying on your toes.</p><p> </p>

[Almandr]

   Yes, I like my illusionist for the control he has.     I started him 9 months ago before any of the updates to the class, and while I wasnt high level then, I liked him more back then compared to now. For the LU13 it was a bonus to get the pet and such, but truthfully I rarly used him and chose to keep playing my illusionist controlling the encounter more and using my dots and damage spells to defeat the encounters.  After LU16 I HAD to change my stratigies because what I was doing before that wouldn't work for most encounters, and I really didn't like it as much.     Maybe I wasn't high enough to know the classes that well, but I didn't like having to use a pet to kill the encounter as much as I liked the control that we used to have.  I'm not really fond of pets though.  Truthfully its a lot easier to sit back and let the pet do the fighting than it was to control the fights before, but I can get boring sitting back sometimes.Currently I like my Illusionist, but I really don't love the class like I thought I would when I chose it.<div></div>

[ximo]

<div></div>Love mine!!!

[Tendas]

So far, so good. I am enjoying my illusionist. Took some getting used to especially with the changes but I was "young" enough where it wasn't all that hard.Not sure how I'll feel in later levels (just in the 20s now) but having lots of fun.<div></div>

[whytakemine]

<div></div>Of all my alt's, my illusionist is the most fun to play.  She's also the most boring to play.  It all depends on the group I'm in.  Raids, as has been said multiple times, make you feel totally useless.  Likewise, in a good (safe) xp group you are holding them up more than helping them.  They would be better off adding another dps or another healer.On the other hand, when you're trying to take down a tough named or really pushing the limits of what the group can do illusionists rock.  Let me tell you a story. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />When I was ~lvl 46, we were killing the terrantula's in sinking sands.  It was a good group and rather than play it safe and pull to the top of the dune, we were just mowing them down at the bottom, counting on taking them down and clearing an area fast enough that they wouldn't repop on us.  The occasional adds or re-pops I would mezz until we finished killing the one we were on.  We were really into a groove and doing well when we got an add.  No problem, mezzed it.  A second or two later another re-popped nearby and I got that one too.  Then the ranger backed up a little too far and we ended up with a 3rd add.  Ok, now I'm juggling mezz's to keep all 3 locked down while the rest of the group finished off the one we were on.  Boom - Siphon pops right on top of me.  I hit my subjugation buff and managed to mezz her too, but she had knocked my health down into the red.  I switched back and re-mezzed the other ones, we killed the first one we pulled, then opted to yell and retreat.  We then came back, killed Siphon, and resumed slaughtering spiders.  When you get into situations like that and manage to pull it off, it makes playing an illusionist all worthwhile.Of course, the other side of the coin is the reason why the top ten characters with the <a target="_blank" href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/player_swrankings.vm?serverId=">most deaths</a> are all illusionists...<div></div>

[Xanoth]

<div></div><p>as im about to go to bed and too tired to read all the responces, i oppologise but will give a simple answer:</p><p> </p><p>I love my illusionist, but would rather he was a bot so i could play something more reliably fun, and still have him there.</p>

[MyChatBot]

Love the class. But SoE has demonstrated confusion regarding what to do with us, and it is frustrating. I mean, mana flow is nerfed daily.<div></div>

[Dr_Cyr]

Mana flow is actually looking a lot better on test.<div></div>

[Rayvne2]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>ximo wrote:<div></div>Love mine!!!<hr></blockquote>Traitor!  Playing a evel Warlock on Darathar. :smileyvery-happy:

[Arja]

<div></div><p>Love it!</p><p>And I dont think our raid ability is that bad. Sure ALL of our utility spells are borked when it comes to raids and 60% of our spells dont work, but our DPS is still where it should be at T3 (I get around 300+ DPS consistently pre-KoS) and our Power Regen is most welcome as well as our group buffs. Our INT Buffs and power saving spells meant i was always in a mage DPS group in a raid.</p>

[Xanoth]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>MyChatBot wrote:Love the class. But SoE has demonstrated confusion regarding what to do with us, and it is frustrating. I mean, mana flow is nerfed daily.<div></div><hr></blockquote>yeh its a major detremental factor to the enjoyment of my illusionist... but we're not the only class that seems to have no direction

[Zephanor]

I very much enjoy playing my illusionist and it's even more so being a dark elven one (which is a fairly rare combo.)Raiding so far has been fine for me but I won't complain with a few more abilities, heheh.<div></div>

[Ardnahoy]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Decipio243 wrote:Been reading the boards for a while, and playing a Illusionist, (I'm only level 20 at the moment), and its just full of negativity. does anyone actually enjoy playing thier illu? I know there are some issues with raiding, but just with xp groups, and solo, anyone like it?<div></div><hr></blockquote><p>My illusionist is a god at soloing. All I ever do with him is farm named heroics and gobble up master chests. He's level 33 now and just soloed a blue ^^^ named mob that killed my level 40 Shadowknight when she tried to solo it (and my SK is a great soloer).</p><p>We rock in regular EXP groups, but you don't really ever need to group. EQ2 isn't designed such that mez is particularly important in a group setting, but it sure makes soloing A LOT easier.</p><p>This is not to say that we are the best soloers. I can only take on named ^^^ heroics if they don't have a zillion hitpoints since our DPS sucks compared to other mages. I also have to stick to killing mobs whose race falls under the categories that we get to pick Master II class spells from (skeleton/gnoll/orc/ghost/etc.) I die a lot to mobs before I find a way to beat them, but the reward of soloing master chests is worth the exp debt.</p><p>With a little creativity, illusionists are very powerful. You have to use your brain and a little strategy to get the most out of an illusionist. This freedom and variance is what makes the illusionist my favorite class to play.</p><p>If you want to mindlessly hack and slash, you'd be better off playing a berzerker.</p>

[Xanoth]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Ardnahoy wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr>Decipio243 wrote:Been reading the boards for a while, and playing a Illusionist, (I'm only level 20 at the moment), and its just full of negativity. does anyone actually enjoy playing thier illu? I know there are some issues with raiding, but just with xp groups, and solo, anyone like it?<div></div><hr></blockquote><p>My illusionist is a god at soloing. All I ever do with him is farm named heroics and gobble up master chests. He's level 33 now and just soloed a blue ^^^ named mob that killed my level 40 Shadowknight when she tried to solo it (and my SK is a great soloer).</p><p>We rock in regular EXP groups, but you don't really ever need to group. EQ2 isn't designed such that mez is particularly important in a group setting, but it sure makes soloing A LOT easier.</p><p>This is not to say that we are the best soloers. I can only take on named ^^^ heroics if they don't have a zillion hitpoints since our DPS sucks compared to other mages. I also have to stick to killing mobs whose race falls under the categories that we get to pick Master II class spells from (skeleton/gnoll/orc/ghost/etc.) I die a lot to mobs before I find a way to beat them, but the reward of soloing master chests is worth the exp debt.</p><p>With a little creativity, illusionists are very powerful. You have to use your brain and a little strategy to get the most out of an illusionist. This freedom and variance is what makes the illusionist my favorite class to play.</p><p>If you want to mindlessly hack and slash, you'd be better off playing a berzerker.</p><hr></blockquote><p>... i wish named dropped master in T7, masters now only drop randomly from regular mobs, never seen one from a none epic named. named do drop legendary, but its all easily farmed, and its not always going to drop. not compared to candy land like RoV and RE.</p><p>even raid geared with all adept3's and a few masters, soloing aint as easy as it used to be. i've practically shelved my illusionist, as i rarely have a tank or pseudo tank to adventure with. so unless there are spaces in guild groups, i dont play him. focus on experiencing the new content with my SK, enjoying the server descoveries on quests along the way.</p><p>i do miss the old days though... :'(</p>