Oh the pain! [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

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BoShea

12-03-2006, 09:27 PM

Hello all. I'm relatively new to eq2 and the coercer class has caught my attention. I love the idea of the class. However, my one baby coercer I've gotten up to level 14 or so dies...a lot. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, or if this is typical for the lower levels. I've upgraded charm to app4 (can't afford higher yet), and have my other spells upgraded as high as I can. I generally just charm a mob out of the group of mobs I'm supposed to be killing for a quest. Rarely do my charmed mobs last longer than 2 fights before breaking. And, as luck would have it, they like to break during a fight. Now, charming pets and the risk of them breaking is part of why I love this class. But, do I need to just accept the fact that it will happen all the time and get used to it? Or does it get better? If so, when does it get better? People talk about getting a tank pet, or mage pet, but I don't think I'd have the time to find a good pet and then run to wherever my quests are. The pet would break half way there.Basically I'm just looking for some tips and maybe a "hang in there it will get better" and then some info on when and why it will get better <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />I love the class, just struggling with these low levels. Thanks in advance!<div></div>

Mr. Dawki

12-03-2006, 10:30 PM

dies...a lot <HR> mez and death go hand in hand this is a very surgical class to play one mistace or misplaced mez could get you killed (well if your taking on a group) youl get the hang of it

FLLonewu

12-03-2006, 11:51 PM

Hang in there, it will get better. When? When you upgrade your charm spell to adapt3 or better. Sorry to say it but the charm is the one spell that a solo coercer MUST have as high as they can. Also start dumping as many AA points as you can into the Coercer resistance line, particularly the 1st one if you charm alot. When you identify which mob you want to charm, make sure its a single mob and try to avoid ^^^, as when those break its going to revert to a ^^^ and has you for lunch. Charm pulling one out of a group the others in the group make a bee-line for you until the new pet aggros them, so if your charm is resisted, you have all the mobs on you. The charm also has a chance to break everytime your pet takes damage, so use ur stuns to keep it from getting hit as much (this gets better as you get more stuns at later levels). Don't be afraid to back your pet off. Hit the group mez or group stun, back the pet off and single target mez and root the mobs, let the pet regen some health. Another similar strat is with a mage pet, root the target mob, and send in the pet to attack (where it will cast a nuke before heading in) and after the pet nukes back it off. Wait a few seconds for the nuke to refresh and send the pet in again (which it will nuke again before heading in) then call it off before it goes anywhere (keep the mob rooted). This takes some practice, but when you get good at it with the right pet and adding in mezzes and stuns, even ^^^ named will die to you and your pet (may take a while though). Avoid charming mobs with high innate mental resists, as those will break charm much easier once they are charmed (you can tell these are the ones that resist most of your spells ALOT). If you want to be extra careful when charming a mob, mez it, root it, debuff its mental resists, then charm it, then manually cancel the mez and root. Hope some of these helped and good luck. Stick with it, have patience and at higher levels the Coercer is a very fun class to play, its a whole lot more than mindless button mashing.<div></div>

schmee

12-04-2006, 12:30 AM

<div></div>one other way to look at it is that you are training yourself. a lot of what a coercer does in the later levels (true of any class) is develop an instantaneous intuition for what to do in each case. when you get to level 25 you'll get your aoe mez and "breaking" groups such as you are doing now will get considerably easier. but you will be very well trained by then in how to use your single target mez, and so on.one tip that you can't yet employ, is to charm a pet after debuffing it with your magic resistance debuff. you won't get that until lvl 20 tho iirc. mez > debuff > charm > backoff pet will eventually become a natural process for you. in groups you might also put one of your illusions on the pet to indicate to the group when the charm breaks, or even have macros set up like i do that tell the group i have a pet, or that i want the group to kill the pet.one thing i do while travelling with a pet, is target the pet. by always having it targetted then the moment charm breaks i just stop moving, hit mez (which is key 1 on my hotbar) and rarely if ever get hit in the process. the other thing i do is always make sure retargetting my pet during a fight is real easy and make sure i'm ready to do so.what you're also hopefully learning right now is that with mez, even having your pet break in the middle of a fight does not stop the coercer - it just means our fight is going to take a little more time in most cases. this kind of training pays huge dividends later when you're in a tier 7 pick up group that's fighting tough stuff and everyone realizes that your mez & crowd control just saved the group from total party wipe out and sends you that great message we all like to hear, "wow, great mezzing!".<div></div>Message Edited by schmee on 12-03-2006 11:31 AM

BoShea

12-04-2006, 01:39 AM

Thanks guys, that's exactly the info I was looking for! <div></div>

Chog

12-04-2006, 06:09 AM

<DIV>More tips for charming within an encounter.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <OL> <LI>Target the mob you want to charm.</LI> <LI>While casting charm target another mob in the encounter.</LI> <LI>Either single target or encounter mez the next targetted mob (will be qued).</LI></OL> With this basic set-up if charm is resisted you already have Mez casting and will take 1 or more of the mobs in the encounter out of the fight (resists are a different story). As a solo Coercer, expect to die a lot until you get used to being able to react to different situations (Resists / Wanderers / Charm break / etc). After you have gotten comfortable with the above then expect to die not as much, but still more then you would like because of the crucial spell getting resisted at the worst time. :smileyvery-happy:

Goose32

12-05-2006, 12:48 AM

I would recommend keeping the target rooted while in fight. Then WHEN (not if, as you know) the charm breaks only one mob is heading your way. Also, if fighting in an outdoor zone, don’t forget you can run from a fight. There will be times when you’ll anticipate things going bad in a hurry. Run it off, let the mobs reset, and give it another go. A great escape from a roaming ^^^ is Mezz, yell for help, and the sprint button! (you will get a feel for how far you have to go before the encounter resets) Sometimes I will send my pet on a suicide mission. I send it after a mob near a shiny, grab the “?”, and run. Pet dies, mob resets, and you are far away <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Doello

12-05-2006, 06:04 PM

<DIV> <DIV> If I could offer you only one tip for the future, Masters would be it. The long-term benefits of Masters have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your charm. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your charm until you roll an alt. But trust me, on the next alt you'll play, you'll look back at screenshots of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really were. You are not as nerfed as you imagine. Don't worry about progession. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing Jum Jum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the Named that blindsides you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you. /sing Don't be reckless in other people's groups. Don't put up with people who are reckless in yours. /floss Don't waste your time on class envy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the farmers. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old newbie tunic. Throw away your old bank clutter. /stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your AA's. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their points. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. Get plenty of resistances. Be kind to your officers. You'll miss them when they're gone. Maybe you'll solo, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have alts, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll reroll at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th god kill. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's. Enjoy your fun spells. Use them every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. Mesmerize is the greatest instrument you'll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your inn room. Read the quest descriptions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read spoilers. They will only make you feel stupid. Get to know the cheaters. You never know when one will be gone with the loot. Be nice to your guildies. They're your best link to great adventures and the people most likely to stick with you after a wipe. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps between guildes and playstyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Live in Freeport once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Qeynos once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths: Charm will break. Crafters will philander. You, too, will get nerfed. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, charm would stick, crafters were noble and guildmembers respected their officers. Respect your officers. Don't expect anyone else to twink you. Maybe you need a new sword. Maybe you have crappy gear. But you wont get anything with just a shout. Don't mess too much with your experience or by the time you're 40 you could've been 85. Be careful whose items you buy, but be patient with those who craft. Auctioning is a form of nostalgia. It is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the masters <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Doelloos "Sunscreen" Verdwaald</DIV></DIV>

BoShea

12-05-2006, 07:02 PM

Doelloos - that was awesome! I could totally hear Baz Lurhman's voice and the background music as I read that. Thanks for putting a smile on my face first thing in the morning <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div>