duo'ing

[Armpit]

<DIV>whats the best class to go with a mystic..im interested in which classes just dont work which ones are good enough to get by and which are the best.</DIV>

[KidMidnight]

I'm not expert enough to tell you what the "best" class to duo with a Mystic is, but I can at least give you an example of something that works well for me. My guildmate buddy is a Paladin, and we duo together occasionally (our usual group is 2 paladins, a berzerker, an illusionist, and a mystic).  We're not the fastest killers by any stretch, but working together is very safe, seeing as we both have wards and heals.   I debuff and DoT, he taunts and melees, and eventually things drop dead.  I like it. From a more general perspective, grouping with a tank is probably the easiest combo.  By this I mean either a figher class, or a summoner with their tank pet out in defensive stance (tank pets seem to taunt now, and can take a beating). Hope this helps a bit.  <div></div>

[Armpit]

it does help a bit thanks..im looking for a duo combo that is semi safe and can do a decent amount of damage...any scouts decent with a mystic? if i had to be a fighter id probably choose monk how would that work?

[Banditman]

Poorly. Monks no longer do much damage and have a tough time holding aggro against multiple opponents.

[Jeah]

<P>Shadowknights.</P> <P>They tank well, never have a problem with aggro, and our wards now work like a dream in tandem with SKs' new lifetap spells & procs (Devour Vitae/Death Cloud).  HT and Rescue are also great in a pinch.</P> <P>Mystic + Shadowknight = least downtime (if any) of all classes.</P>

[lazlo1]

Me and my son play a brawler and mystic combo low 20's. Is it the best combo ? I dont know. We can take blue heroics in a reasonable amout of time.  We mow down white no arrow groups. So far we are having a blast. As far as agro. Single ^^^ mobs we never have an issue, even pre warding. With groups sometimes one will switch to me, but mystics seem to take hits ok.  We switch to it and kill it next. Almost all the deaths we have had are from adds, and blue heroic caster mobs getting in a luck shot. We do have pretty good gear for our lvl which helps some. <div></div>

[Armpit]

<DIV>well i really cant do the shadowknight because i dont want to start in freeport while my friend starts in qeynos..what about paladin like someone mentioned earlier? and how are they at higher levels..i have a 50 bruiser and 50 inquisitor and i remember paladins have always blown at high level but i didnt just come back to the game after a month away so maybe they were improved?</DIV>

[Stormbil]

<DIV>You're probably better off to duo with a tank.  I personally always love to duo/group with a berserker.   Maybe I've just met good players that happen to play zerkers, but things always seem to go better when I'm grouped with one.  I don't know if this is optimal or not, but it works.  I have been pretty successful duoing with a swashbukler too.  We couldn't do many heroic encounters, but we could mow through the solo mobs so fast that xp came in great.  So you can duo with a scout if you're willing to fight things that aren't quite as strong. </DIV>

[paisan]

I would say we are best to duo with a dps class, we keep em alive they kill. Grouping with a tank class is safe but if your after xp it is slooooooow.

[Armpit]

its slow even with a sk?

[paisan]

If you are after xp yes it will be. As a mystic you can keep just about anything alive now. I say go with a ranger or even a wiz/warlock heh. I have not grouped with that many SK's in a small setting so i do not know however but their dps wont compare to scout/mage.

[Blublood]

I agree dps class for xp. I group with 2 guild rangers around my lvl (50) alot . They drop blue to even con mobs before they even get to us quite often. And groups np with our wards. And even without taunt if we get aggro they die even faster cuz they have awesome back dps. Never seen a tank hit for 4k+ on a non HO.

[Nacire]

Post revamp I'd like to chime in about rangers as a good choice for a duo partner.  If the ranger knows his stuff and uses all the tools we are given single mobs he'll never lose agro on, and grp's even usually won't peel unless fighting high yellows and much healling needs to be done.  On my 46 ranger I was the tank for a grp for over 3 hours one night since the revamp.  Kept agro BETTER than the 44 guard that had to leave shortly after I arrived, healers used less power keeping me up cause the mobs were simply not there long enough to hurt me all that much, and this was tanking white and yellow triple arrow heroics. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  A ranger needs to hit the mob FIRST to have a chance at keeping agro on it, but as long as we can get off the trick shot and the first shot after it we're golden.

[shirka]

<div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Banditman wrote:Poorly. Monks no longer do much damage and have a tough time holding aggro against multiple opponents. <hr></blockquote>From my point of view: <swearword here, removed it myself>! My hubbie plays a mystic and I am a monk. I have non-whatsoever-porblems with holding agro after Mystic wards have been fixed. (meaning: no more hate-building-skyscrapers) We down Kromtorr giants in no-time at all and have no fear to go exploring in Pillars of Flame or Clefts of Rujark. Always give your monk a rezz item and you can just pick up and go on after the occasional wipe. (haven't had much of those but hey, wipes happen) DPS of monks is awesome after revamp. Even groups are no problem. Just a grouptaunt and a wild swing through all enemies and hate on monk is perfect. Sometimes we group with a templar and then the sky is the limit. ......... hmm. ok. just my 2cp.......got carried away a bit here <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span><div></div>

[Banditman]

You did not read very carefully. Kromtorr are SINGLE mobs.  Not groups of mobs.  Anyone, including a Scout, can hold aggro on a single mob. You only think you have good DPS.  Let me assure you, compared to a TRUE DPS class, you don't have it.

[shirka]

you did not read very carefully. even with a group I have no trouble holding agro with mystic behind me. kromtorr is single mob ^ ^ ^ , but he goes down in resonable time. when pulling a group I pull with ranged, throw grouptaunt when they are within range, hit them with a group strike when I'm surrounded. Non of them even thinks about the mystic at that point. I can down them one at the time, at my leisure, without danger of agro to mystic. btw...what's do you mean by true dps class? warlock? guardian? berserker? bruiser? I don't want another discussion here about how good or bad monks are. There is enough of that on the monk forum. period. But don't tell me I do not have dps or can not hold agro. Because that is simple not true. <div></div>

[Eepop]

<span><blockquote><hr>Armpit wrote:<div></div> <div>well i really cant do the shadowknight because i dont want to start in freeport while my friend starts in qeynos..what about paladin like someone mentioned earlier? and how are they at higher levels..i have a 50 bruiser and 50 inquisitor and i remember paladins have always blown at high level but i didnt just come back to the game after a month away so maybe they were improved?</div><hr></blockquote>Well you don't have to start in Freeport to be a shadowknight, you just have to betray to there.  You can start in Qeynos with your friend, you betray at level 16-17ish and then once you are 20 you will be hunting in the same zones anyway despite being from different cities. But I understand you not wanting to be a Freeportian if you have already played up to 50 there twice.</span><div></div>

[Banditman]

Did you read the DPS tree? No? Assassin, Ranger, Warlock, Wizard, Swashbuckler, Brigand, Conjuror, Necromancer. Those are your TRUE DPS Classes now.  Monks don't come anywhere near them.  Yes, Brawlers have autoattack damage on par with the melee DPS Classes, but their CA damage isn't even close. My experience has been that Monks cannot hold aggro against a group of mobs.  Your mileage may vary.

[shirka]

I apologize to all readers of this thread, to have let myself being taken into this dicussion with Banditman. He has experienced it, therefor it is proven. Monks can't hold agro and have no dps. I rest my case here. Banditman I bow to your superior knowledge. <div></div>

[Nacire]

<P>Ok I'll inject my 2cp worth here on the monk bit myself.  Your both right on the agro bit.   YOU Shirka can hold agro fine, as can my monk (though only 36 he does great in his range), but our kind makes up less than 1% of the monks out there.  FAR FAR less than 1%.  Even post revamp few even realize their taunts have any usage other than completing HO's and they're all still at app1.  Hell most 50 and up monks I've talked to on my server never put the higher lvl taunts on their bars cause they wanted the cheaper HO completion of the low one (which is still at app1).  Of the few that realize how to use a taunt, maybe 1% of those know that we have a proc buff for even more hate with every swing.</P> <P>Banditman is TOTALLY right that we aren't dps these days though.  We are the top of the fighers in this area yes, and our BURST dps can outstrip most real dps classes if all our longer recast stuff is up, but we can't sustain that output beyond a few seconds.  We are not no dps, just not anywhere near the top of the tree.  Though it should be noted that in a duo situation a monk will spank any scout silly dps wise simply by virtue of them not seeing the mob's [Removed for Content] enough while none of our damage is positional or situational.</P>

[thedu]

Per today's update: - Adventure experience rewards have been increased for groups of 3 to 6 players. Solo/duo experience is unaffected. <div></div>

[Mecrushu]

<P>My wife plays a 51 wiz and I have a 50 mystic.  I LOVE the combo post patch.  My wards keeps her from getting interupted.  I dont think it is worth the effort to duo grp encounters.  The lack of mitigation means the wards are knocked off pretty fast with grp mobs.  I really havnt tried the root/dot/nuke method on grp encounters.  Bottom line we mow through solo encounters so fast I just seen a need to experiment with grp mobs.</P> <P>Also multi-mob solo encounters are great with her AOEs.  Basically Im the xp sponge (safety blanket) and she does all the hard work.</P>

[Tylee]

I have to go with the DPS vote.   My hubby plays a warlock on his main character, and together we can walk thru pretty much any mob, solo or group.  The only time we had trouble was the first few days after LU13, and once we both figured things out, we are back to our old pattern.  he blows it up, i keep him alive.  Rarely, if ever does the agro drop off him to come at me.  If we want to feel brave and go to places we know we dont belong and kill things we cant duo, we add in a guardian friend and it rounds out the team nicely. 

[Soloras]

I duo and group with a Mystic almost exclusively with my Warlock; and I can't tell you how many times she's saved my hiney.  :smileywink:  We can take out a lot of stuff, but of course there are limits that you will find out VERY quickly.  I love the mystic class enough to say I couldn't choose a better duo partner.  (Heck I even had a shammy alt, but he turned out to be evil. =P )    <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oh yeah;  I also have a monk who's not quite level 30 yet.  I duo him with a illusionist and can honestly say he is more fun and versatile than my warlock.  Just my 2 cp.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[JonMichael Gardn]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Banditman wrote:<BR>Poorly.<BR><BR>Monks no longer do much damage and have a tough time holding aggro against multiple opponents.<BR><BR><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Wow,</P> <P>Musta been a bad monk you were hanging out with. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>I'm a 49 Monk who has duo'ed with a 47 Mystic friend since creation.  We're an awesome team against heroics, solos or multiples and even better since the CU since our taunts work much better than before.  We also received some great stances that help a lot with tanking.</P> <DIV>It comes down to playstyle.  Using high DPS as a tank will require a heck of a lot more healing whereas with our duo, there's not as much healing required with the monk's avoidance and allows the mystic to do more DoT's, debuffs and get a bit more involved in the fight rather than standing back and just healing.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Gotta love the Mystics! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Delante LaSalle- 49 Monk, Innothule</DIV> <DIV>JonMichael Gardner- 50 Warden, Innothule</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Eepop]

Well the dps/tank decision hinges on one question... Do you want to almost exclusively duo? Or do you want to duo and use the duo as a good springboard for forming a group? If you know you will almost only duo, DPS would make faster xp. If you want to duo when you can't find more people, but would prefer to pick up others, go with a tank.  A healer + a tank means that just about anyone can join and make a very good group. <div></div>

[Loral]

<P>Or go middle ground: Conjuror/Necromancer duoed with Mystic.</P> <P>Use the tank pet when no other tanks are around, or when you want to just duo.</P> <P>Use damage pets when you have another tank grouped.</P> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On a side note, I very often tank with full groups of DPS/healers with my Earth pet in defensive mode. I very rarely have problems, exept controlling adds. It usually makes very very fast pulling groups.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Me(Conj51) and wife (Mystic50)  duo very often, and usually have no problem.</DIV>

[Slinkie]

One more combination to throw out there.  My friend and I duo with her 39 fury and my 41 mystic all of the time.  No, we cannot fight some groups that a tank/healer or dps/healer might be able to fight, but we can really pump out the damage since we have the same HO's.  The fury has nice dps for a priest class and the mystic adds nice defensive features to the duo.  So far, we have been very successful and have had a lot of fun along the way.  We also have a guardian/templar duo but the mystic/fury blow them out of the water. Rudhi 41 mystic <div></div>

['Li]

<P>I'm a Mystic in the Monk/Mystic duo debate and I have to say, I think we do really well together. Having said that however, I have to admit that I've duo'd almost exclusively with this particular Monk and so I have very limited experience of duo'ing with another class.   We play well together because we've become so familiar with each other's playstyle.  This begs to ask the question, is there really a duo that is better than any other, or is learning your partner's class and adapting to each other, what ultimately makes one duo better than another?</P> <P>Piah</P> <P> </P>

[Jora']

<P>I duo regularly with a monk, we kill groups of 3 white/yellow con heroic mobs with ease (fights take a while so not the most efficient duo for exp, but its very safe).   With regard to aggro, the monk I duo with never loses aggro, even against groups of heroic mobs in PoF, but that is because we both know how to compliment each others play styles.   <BR><BR>About Banditmans comment:</P> <P>Monks no longer do much damage and have a tough time holding aggro against multiple opponents.</P> <P>ROFL, that was the most absurd (and lacking any thought whatsoever) comment I have seen for a while in any eq2 post. Dare to post that in the Monk forums and see what reaction you get? thanks for the laugh <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> especially since my experience was completely the opposite aggro wise.<BR><BR></P>

[Nacire]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Jora' wrote:<BR> <P>I duo regularly with a monk, we kill groups of 3 white/yellow con heroic mobs with ease (fights take a while so not the most efficient duo for exp, but its very safe).   With regard to aggro, the monk I duo with never loses aggro, even against groups of heroic mobs in PoF, but that is because we both know how to compliment each others play styles.   <BR><BR>About Banditmans comment:</P> <P>Monks no longer do much damage and have a tough time holding aggro against multiple opponents.</P> <P>ROFL, that was the most absurd (and lacking any thought whatsoever) comment I have seen for a while in any eq2 post. Dare to post that in the Monk forums and see what reaction you get? thanks for the laugh <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> especially since my experience was completely the opposite aggro wise.<BR><BR></P> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>While I don't think he's exactly right, no need to be insulting in pointing it out.  I also don't think he's wrong either.  Monks do ok damage, but no longer are they near the top in dps.  The true dps classes do considerably more now than a monk can in any situation.  As for agro, monks have all the tools to keep agro well even on grps.  VERY VERY few monks have the skill however.   Most monks still think of themselves as dps only, and of those few that do realize they are true tanks now most refuse the role and only want to be dps, something they can no longer do very well compared to real dps classes.</P> <P> </P>

[Godflower]

<DIV>I've had the most fun duoing with scout types (esp Dirge, Assassins and Rangers).  They have good DPS, HO & utility so fights go quickly.  Scouts can also take a bit of a beating.  The only issue is aggro management when things shift in the fight, but that makes it a bit more dynamic.  I am finding my DPS kinda low so I just stand around and dot, cure and heal.  </DIV>

[Eepop]

Any class with a good player behind it can do great things.  A monk up on his game can hold aggro with few problems.  But the skill level required to fill that particular function with a monk is higher than it is to do the same thing with a warrior or crusader.  A guardian up on his game can do some decent damage.  But the skill required to fill that particular function with a guardian is higher than it is to do the same thing with a brawler. The player that made the original post is interested in the pros and cons of the possible partners with a mystic.  Saying that monks have a harder time keeping aggro isn't saying to not consider a monk.  Its merely stating that the player will need to keep a particular eye out in the area of aggro management in order to excel. <div></div>

[mayhem111]

<DIV>I duo with my monk friend with my 52 swash and for the most part he can hold aggro.  At least on solo stuff.  When we take on a ^^ heroic mob around halfway threw the fight he always loses aggro.  It gets earlier if taunts get resisted, poison procs alot, or weapons proc.  I have to slow down attacks to keep the mob on him.   With a mystic he would never lose aggro with a dps class with him he will lose it if the dps doesn't watch the damage he does.  Usually the last half of most heroic mobs i let them beat on me cause I can take just about as much beating as him.  If we spread the damage between us the downtime is less.</DIV>

[Eepop]

<span><blockquote><hr>mayhem111 wrote:<div> With a mystic he would never lose aggro with a dps class with him he will lose it if the dps doesn't watch the damage he does. </div><hr></blockquote>Healers can generate alot  of aggro, DPS is not the only means to acquiring hate.</span><div></div>

[Tuetatesu]

I duo with a Swashbuckler 80% of my gaming time.  No problems, great combo in my eyes.

[lazlo1]

<div></div>In case your are still deciding... My mystic/bruiser duo is mid 30s now. They fly thru the lvls. The only thing holdin us back is vital, i hate fightin without it. we only play a few nights a week and manage to get vital to zero every time we play. I dont know how much faster you would want exp ? Anyway . Bruiser dps is very respectable combined with mystic dots things do down fast. Our bruiser holds agro on single ^^^ with ease. My son only taunts once to start the fight even pre warded. They have a buf that generates hate every time they hit. Groups are harder, but even then its rare that a mobs turn on the mystic. Brusers also have a fear spell that lasts 8 secs so you get about 10-15 secs without one of the mobs. We usually drop the first mob in that time. So on a group of 3 we never have more that 2 on us. FD is a sweet tool. In the rare event we have to bail the bruiser will FD I will run with the mob beatin on me. Then the brusiser will stand up most the time the mob goes back to the bruiser he waits a sec then FDs again.  We call it FD yoyo hehe. very sweet. FYI my son is 10 and he started doin that on his own to save my butt.  Like others have said. A mystic + brawler duo make a great core for a group, add anyone its good. I have a brigand buddy that we add sometimes thats a rockin trio. Lastly. We have an advantage because we sit in the same room. I highly recommond if you are gona duo with a RL friend to set up a voice link. It helps time HOs and makes stuff so much easier. <div></div><p>Message Edited by lazlo1 on <span class=date_text>10-13-2005</span> <span class=time_text>09:30 PM</span>

[Dyr]

<P> </P> <P>Ranger Ranger Ranger !</P> <DIV>I dual box a ranger mystic combo, currently 54 on both and can say the combo is awesome. The buffs alone turn a scout into a tank without decreasing the offensive output at all.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I typically can fight with ease solo group mobs 4 levels above me and also regular heroics and most importantly named heroic ^ with 2 vv friends thats spwan all over DoF (esp PoF) from solo mob groups. Tougher heroics is a mixed bag. some even con ^^^ we take with ease others pound us down. Nice thing is eventually almsot any quest mob (not raid mob) can be taken by this combo. Those speical 5-15-30 minute timer abilities can be used in those situations, along with potiuosn and anyother tricks one can some up with.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Gear and special traits for the ranger should concentrate on defense and mitigation is very important, so built as the opposite of a raiding ranger (paper thin, no stam, leather armor with high stats) my ranger buffed runs at 300 agi, 250 strength and 220 stamina with over 4k hit points and depending on stance can equal an SK or Monk in defense. On toip of that my bow does so much damage from a distance my reduced tanking ability is not too much of a problem.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My poor mystic does get beat on alot, esp level 20-50 before the ranger gets good AoE pulling abilities so stamina and mitigation will be essential for the mystic, wisdom wisdom and wisdom are still key BUT dont sacrifice armor for a few stats .. load it on heavy !</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Is it the best .. probabaly not if you crunch the numbers. Is it effective, very !</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Is it FUN ? Incredibly !</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>