oberon / shadowy attendant

[jose chu]

<DIV>Can someone share their experiences with Oberon? What you think of it in general, what group situations you use it in, when you don't, etc...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It seems like a very powerful ward, but it seems like I'm constantly having to cancel it to attend to other matters (someone other than the main tank is taking heavy damage or a group cure is needed). Am I just not using the spell in the correct situation, or is it really that limited?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'd also like to hear everyone's opinion on Shadowy Attendant. I love it because in solo situations where I'm taking damage, I can cast it and let the badger attend to healing me while I concentrate on other things. However, in a group situation it seems as though all its healing is focused on me, the caster, rather than the party as a whole. Is this everyone else's experience?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also, my server has a Master I Shadowy Attendant for sale, and the description looks exactly like the Adept I Shadowy Attendant. With no evidence to the contrary, I'm assuming that the Master I spell is no different than any of the other Shadowy Attendants. Or is a more powerful badger with better heals summoned? Any insight here is appreciated.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Banditman]

Oberon is mainly a tool to use in raids.  It is earned at L50, which is the previous level cap, the point where you would have been channeled into the raid game for lack of things to do. You can use Oberon while solo'ing.  It's a good way to let a named mob burn up a lot of power without using much of your own. You can use Oberon in PvP, same general idea.  Let the opponent beat on Oberon and burn power while you just stand there. You can use Oberon in a single group when you have two Priests, leaving the other Priest to deal with incidental problems while you give the MT a Ward that most single group content can't break. Shadowy Attendant is part of my standard healing lineup.  He's my first reaction to group wide damage.  The most potent single group heal you get, however you have to be patient while it works.  You don't get ANY message in chat when it heals others.  However, if you will zoom out and watch, you'll see those lovely green numbers floating up simultaneously over everyone in range.  Note the range is very short, you'll need to be close to your group for it to work.

[trin ka]

The way I work it is fun. Not saying this is the best way..or the way you should do it..so put your flamethrowers away. I cast single ward on tank, cast group ward, cast badger, then oberon on MT. I then check the T.V....bake a cake...let the dog out...rinse and repeat.

[jose chu]

<DIV>thanks for the input guys, it was very helpful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Does anyone care to speculate on the Master I Shadowy Attendant? Based on banditman's input, it seems like it could be hugely valuable, but at 4p, what a risk... it seems like these things ought to be documented somewhere. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Is it not documented by SOE because no one likes writing documentation, or because not knowing is considered "part of the game"?</DIV>

[vicario]

<DIV>If it was me I would cast Shadowy Attendant first then oberon since oberon does not mitigate dots.  So if your pet is up it will cast it's HoT and help lessen the damage from the dots and the ward from oberon helps keep the target safe from melee attacks.  At lvl 59 you get a pet upgrade.  I compared adept 1 and adept 3 and when the HoT was cast I saw a 10 point heal difference.  Been so long that I could not tell you if the adept 1 or adept 3 vs master I would be worth the 4 plat :smileysad:</DIV>

[Banditman]

<span><blockquote><hr>trin kahl wrote:The way I work it is fun. Not saying this is the best way..or the way you should do it..so put your flamethrowers away. I cast single ward on tank, cast group ward, cast badger, then oberon on MT. I then check the T.V....bake a cake...let the dog out...rinse and repeat. <div></div><hr></blockquote> Complete waste of mana since stacked Wards take damage simultaneously.  One Ward or no Ward.</span><div></div>

[vicario]

<DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Banditman:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Complete waste of mana since stacked Wards take damage simultaneously.  One Ward or no Ward.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bandit! /hugs! :smileyhappy:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've seen this somewhere but can't remember where I saw it.  Do you have a link to the mention of this?</DIV>

[Thatdumbg]

If you don't believe him, then go try it yourself. It will take you all of 3 seconds to notice.<div></div>

[Banditman]

Aye - in fact, lets say you cast Sacred Aegis and Ancestral Aegis while running Runic Talisman . . . . If you have then get hit for 70 points of damage you will see: Your ward absorbed 70 points of damage. Your ward absorbed 70 points of damage. Your ward absorbed 70 points of damage. If you meticulously follow the casts and damage taken, you'll quickly realize that all three Wards are taking the same damage at the same time.  Its a little easier to follow if you turn off Runic Talisman before you start.

[trin ka]

Group and Single wards do not stack? If I'm in a group, why cant I cast my single ward, then my group ward then the badger? If its just me and a Guardian xp'ing I should not cast the group ward then the single ward? So when I cast all 3 wards on the mt...group, single, ob..,,if they do not stack why does the icon for the group shield dissappear first,(group gets hit from aoe's) then the single ward icon dissappears...and ob stays on while he is taking damage? (Nothing yet has knocked off oberon adept 3) Timers arent running out so I figured it was eating up the group and single ward first then trying to get through oberon? Guess not though. Is there some place that tells me exactually what my wards do?( how much they take mit of mt for example) How bout Torpor? Does this ward stack with the others? Anyone have the adept 3 of Torpor? Was wondering if its a huge increase to the ward or HOT or both? <P>Message Edited by trin kahl on <SPAN class=date_text>11-08-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>06:37 AM</SPAN></P> <P>Message Edited by trin kahl on <SPAN class=date_text>11-08-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>06:54 AM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by trin kahl on <span class=date_text>11-08-2005</span> <span class=time_text>06:55 AM</span>

[paisan]

As it is now no wards in the game have a cumulative effect, whether they be two of one mystics or one mystic one defiler. It is considered a bug or atleast something that needs lookin into. While i agree that 100% stackability of wards might be a little overpowering, SOMETHING has to be changed here...

[trin ka]

<DIV>I'm just unclear how its a waste of mana to cast my single ward, then the group ward before a battle? Maybe the Oberon cast is what Bandit is talking about? But if I'm wasting mana casting the group ward(non mt's) then the Master 2 single ward on mt before a fight..its news to me.</DIV>

[wushupork]

<DIV>Basically, unless you're in a situation where there's going to be damage distributed to multiple party members as well as MT, stacking the wards is pointless as the damage is taken off both simultaneously as previously stated. </DIV> <DIV>If however, you have problems where other members are taking damage then the group ward would get eaten up on the multiple members. In this case, the single target ward on the MT only shares with the group ward whatever damage MT has taken while the group was still active, so you'd see the group go down first followed by single which would still be weakened at this point. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If you don't have these issues, just a single pre-ward on MT would be the mana-efficient way to go, followed by badger/Oberon when/if desired.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That help at all? <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[Banditman]

Here is a very meticulous breakdown on what happens when you cast multiple Wards on a target.  If you can't understand this, I can't help you. Let's say I cast a 1500 point Ward (Ward 1) and a 2200 point Ward (Ward 2) before a pull.  I'm ignoring Runic Talisman because it is a waste of time IN THIS DISCUSSION.  Great spell, but only clouds the waters for this particular discussion. Wards cast, now pull. Swing 1: mob does 250 HP of damage. Ward 1 absorbs 250 HP of damage, leaving 1250 HP of Ward remaining. Ward 2 absorbs 250 HP of damage, leaving 1950 HP of Ward remaining. Swing 2: mob does 200 HP of damage. Ward 1 absorbs 200 HP of damage, leaving 1050 HP of Ward remaining. Ward 2 absorbs 200 HP of damage, leaving 1750 HP of Ward remaining. Swing 3: mob does 525 HP of damage. Ward 1 absorbs 525 HP of damage, leaving 525 HP of Ward remaining. Ward 2 absorbs 525 HP of damage, leaving 1225 HP of Ward remaining. Swing 4: mob does 250 HP of damage. Ward 1 absorbs 250 HP of damage, leaving 275 HP of Ward remaining. Ward 2 absorbs 250 HP of damage, leaving 975 HP of Ward remaining. Swing 5: mob does 475 HP of damage. Ward 1 absorbs 275 HP of damage, and expires.  No more remaining HP on this Ward, it's gone. Ward 2 absorbs 475 HP of damage, leaving 500 HP of Ward remaining. So, here you are.  You still have the icon for Ward 2 on the MT, and in fact he is still protected by the remaining 500 HP in Ward 2.  Good for the tank and the group, he's still Warded and taking no damage. However, what good did it do to cast Ward 1?  Ward 1 absorbed all that damage, but if you go thru the same process with ONLY Ward 2 in place, you wind up with the same outcome after the same progression of damage.  In effect, Ward 1 was wasted time and power because it did nothing that Ward 2 wouldn't have done alone. This applies to ANY STACKED WARD!  I don't care if you find a way to rotate EIGHT Wards on a tank, it won't matter.  You still waste mana if you have more than one Ward active on a tank at any given time.  The tank won't be protected any better with eight Wards than he will be with one Ward, but your power pool WILL be adversely affected.

[Eepop]

Pretty sure I know the answer...but does anyone know if we stack with a paladin's ward? <div></div>

[trin ka]

<DIV>So, I have a new way of playing the game. Since my group ward has more protection the the master 2 single ward...then I will just cast group ward before a fight and save my master 2 single ward, Oberon, and Torpor for later on in the fight. So I guess its group ward and badger from now on.</DIV><p>Message Edited by trin kahl on <span class=date_text>11-08-2005</span> <span class=time_text>08:49 AM</span>

[thedu]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> trin kahl wrote:<BR> <DIV>So, I have a new way of playing the game. Since my group ward has more protection the the master 2 single ward...then I will just cast group ward before a fight and save my master 2 single ward, Oberon, and Torpor for later on in the fight. So I guess its group ward and badger from now on.</DIV> <P>Message Edited by trin kahl on <SPAN class=date_text>11-08-2005</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>08:49 AM</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>You might want to be careful in what situations you do that, because wards/hots/reactives generate an appropriate amount of hate back to the caster. If more mobs are hitting more people they come back to you. Although I've been somewhat vindicated on Test with the change to the prophetic line regarding the way hate/aggro is not working correctly.