Yet another AA thread

[paisan]

<div>Was seeing if we can get a constructive AA tactics thread going.</div><div>I'LL start.</div><div> </div><div>The way i see it Mystics are at their weakest when doing two things, direct healing and DPS. Yes DPS isn't our job... but being able to actually finish a quest by myself would be nice.</div><div>AA's as i see them have a great potential to increase area's we are weak in and a slight potential to increase areas we are strong in. It seems logical to me to get the most bang for my buck by focusing on the weak areas.</div><div> </div><div>With that said... yes i raid. Yes i buff the MT a good deal of times raiding. Yes i group. Yes i solo.</div><div>With the pet being as weak HP wise as it is I do not believe i will be focusing on him much.</div><div> </div><div>Check this build out.</div><div>AGI - 4 4 8 8 8</div><div>WIS- 8 8 1</div><div> </div><div>Whats this build does is crank out as much DPS possible from MYSELF. It also increases my direct healing a ton by a direct % and crits. By not putting any substantial points into the pet you are free to pet pull. I left one point in ritual agression for fun and so it isn't completely useless to have the dog melee... i might still put it in Phalanx anyway.</div><div> </div><div>What are your thoughts/builds/reasoning for doing what your doing?</div>

[Owlbe]

<div></div><div>I totally agree with you 100%.  People think AA's "suck"  because they don't help characters do what they are supposed to do for the most part.  AA's shore up a characters weaknesses to some degree and give them some utility/flavor. </div><div> </div><div>My build is some what similar to yours.....</div><div> </div><div>PET-1</div><div>AGI- 4/8/8/5/8</div><div>WIS- 4/4/8</div><div> </div><div>Phalanx, Ancestral Authority, Tribal Rage, and Ritual of Aggression are maxed for maximum damage output with a 2h spear and dog.  When healing is needed over dps I can switch to a 1h'er and symbol and take use of Ritual if I have to in group situations + the crit healing of Ancestral Spirits is there to hopefully help as needed as well. </div><div> </div><div>Unfortuneately they are pushing us down the "melee healer path" as I'd rather have spell crits esp with dots or give us the choice of going either path at least.  Oh well.</div><p>Message Edited by Omegarhino on <span class="date_text">02-23-2006</span><span class="time_text">03:21 PM</span></p>

[bouhh]

good post paisan. hopefully this is constructive. <span>:smileyhappy:</span>sounds like we have similar playing styles from your posts. a little soloing, questing, exploring, a lot of raiding,only wear chain, and hold mitigation, spell tier, and power pool/in combat regen as the highest priorities.this is the way i'm going unless the aa's change:wis - 5, 8, 4, 8, 8str - 4, 4, 8reasons? raiding is my priority. i think/hope that a combo of ritual alacrity/bolster on the mt for raid pulls isgonna be sweet. plus i think aura of haste is our 2nd best aa so i wanted to max it out.i do enjoy pet pulling (would've been nice to have on some of those peacock quests!) and just havingthe lil bugger trailing me around is cool too. his name is bear. <span>:smileyhappy:</span><img src="http://www.eqsig.com/sig/2560.png"><div></div>

[thedu]

Btw apparantenly there will NPC's in Qeynos and Freeport that will allow you to redistribute your AA points if your not happy but at a monetary cost. However, it will become progressively more expensive if you keep redoing it.<div></div>

[MRRX]

<div></div><p>34 Mystic here.</p><p>I spent some time on my EQ2players page which describes all our Achievements.      I can't get past the idea that I'll be required to use a certain weapon to take full advantage of many of them.       Partly because I don't know what weapon I'll be using in the future - it might not be a spear & symbol I'm holding for long.</p><p>I generally solo.    Do lots of quests.     Doing more grouping lately and I enjoy it and hope it continues.     Don't expect to ever raid.</p><p>My thought is this -</p><p>1 pt for pet</p><p>8 for each attribute for a +64 to all attributes = 40 pts</p><p>8 points in Int2 for the DOT help; I think this doesn't require a particular weapon.     1 point in Int3.</p><p>Of course, can't do any of it until and unless I buy KoS but that's part of the reason I'm thinking about this.    Is it really worth it?    At the rate I'm going I won't touch the KoS content for six months.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://eqjournal.blogspot.com">http://eqjournal.blogspot.com</a></p>

[Owlbe]

<div>The dot requires a staff btw.</div><div> </div><div> </div>

[Mystiq]

The only line I'm sure that I will acquire the final skill in is the strength line.  Spiritual Foresight is quite frankly necessary for anyone that plans to raid or even kill mobs that aren't grey with any frequency. Our pet has pathetic hit points and cannot stand up to attack for any length of time, let alone take AE damage.  And now that the % chance to proc the AE prevention has been increased from a depressing 5% to a respectable 20% chance, it makes this skill more desireable than it used to be.Aura of Haste and Aura of Warding are also useful skills in this brance. While the haste even at max rank doesn't rival enchanter haste or anything similar, I believe it lasts untill cancelled like Aura of Warding does, which is always nice. Last I checked Aura of Warding, at max rank, gave a 16% chance to proc the ward (in most of our skills involving a % chance, the % goes up with ranks not any other numbers involved).  I'm considering putting at least 5 points in this and Aura of Haste.I don't see much else that I feel benefits myself or my group tremendously. Improved heal crit is nice but everything up to it, for me at least, is nigh worthless, and since wards don't crit like regens do for druids, it has a somewhat limited benefit for shamans. Ritual is an option if I procure a decent symbol, and if the return on the heal boost is worthwhile.<div></div>

[GidionSWE]

<div></div><p>i was thinkin of going:</p><p>str 4 4 8 8 8</p><p>wis 4 8 5</p><p>thats if as i was told that the proccing ward is when the pet attacks and hit stuff himself and not when he gets hit like the flavor text could be interpreted as.</p><p>That is a very good build imo cause first and foremost ure pet will live AEs..and got a decent chance of makin ure group do too..</p><p>it will have a decent chance of proccing a ward</p><p>a decent group attack speed buff (which will help him hit more often so that the ae immunity and ward procs more)</p><p>also get ritual which imo fits shamans nicely...we dont heal often but when we do its nice that we do it with a bang.</p><p>and ritualistic agression is a decent bonus for when u gotta solo i guess <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[paisan]

<div></div><div><p></p><hr>i was thinkin of going:<p>str 4 4 8 8 8</p><p>wis 4 8 5</p><hr></div><div>This was the other build i was toying with EXACTLY. My dilema is to choose between the agi-wis build and the str-wis build.</div><div> </div><div>The problem i have with the STR-WIS build is that the pet dies. ALOT. Riposites = cooked. Agro = cooked. Strong gust of wind = cooked. I'm not sure i want to have to worry about the pet meleeing in front of the mob and dying. Pet dies and you might as well have 0 AA's. Hard to bet the farm on a triple down.</div><div> </div><div>The only thing that i would really miss by not having the STR in my build would be the ward proc's and on some raids the forsight. Haste is decent too tho.</div><div> </div><div>I guess i see a good chance to upgrade our DPS especially soloing (which we need BAD) as well as direct heal bonus and am having a hard time seeing past that. The amount the ward will do is slim at best. The AOE prevention if you get a lucky proc has the potential to help a lot but i would rather just have everyone out of range.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><p>Message Edited by paisan on <span class="date_text">02-24-2006</span><span class="time_text">03:27 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by paisan on <span class="date_text">02-24-2006</span><span class="time_text">03:27 PM</span></p>

[Halabast]

<div>What are people's thoughts on the STA line.  The first skill allows us to interupt casting with a shield bash, the second skill allows the pet to alter the targets casting times and the third skill lowers cast time, recast time, and power cost of the direct healing spells.  Seeing that we have the longest cast time on direct heals of any other healer I would think this would be a big help.</div>

[Owlbe]

<div></div><div>Herbal Expertise doesn't alter the times of direct heal, just your cure spells only.  So its worth is quite limited imo.  I can't see anyone putting more than 4 points in it and only to jump to the next skill they might want.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>

[Halabast]

<div>Thats what I get for trying to read while fighting <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></div><div> </div><div>Thanks for point that out.</div>

[Mystiq]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Halabast wrote:<div>What are people's thoughts on the STA line.  The first skill allows us to interupt casting with a shield bash, the second skill allows the pet to alter the targets casting times and the third skill lowers cast time, recast time, and power cost of the direct healing spells.  Seeing that we have the longest cast time on direct heals of any other healer I would think this would be a big help.</div><hr></blockquote>The shield bash ability seems decent. So much has changed since beta, but reading over the skills again, this one seems better than before. The stun lasts longer giving the pet a better chance of debuffing the mob. As a debuff minded player I'd be inclined to check it out to see if it's worth using. The next skill I'm not sure about, the returns seem pretty small per rank with an already small debuff to begin with. Herbal Expertise, the cure spell recast/refresh reduction is a joke. I can probably name 10 different spells I'd like to cast sooner and for less power, and it isn't my one second cast, instant recast single target cures. Whoever thought this one up was hard-up for filler. Before it was a buff u activate that wards your target against whatever cure type you use on them while it's up. That seemed better to me. The 33% spell haste buff is at the end of this line right? Yeah, the one we cannot use on ourselves....woop-de-doo. If you wanna play around with this line, that's fine, but don't plan on maxing it out.</span></div>

[drayhe]

51 mystic here...I'm planning on getting AAs geared toward grouping and raiding.  Let me know what you think.STR 4-4-8-5-8AGI 4-4-4-8Max group haste and heal crit, plus a good number of points in Aura of Warding.  Maybe my plans will change as I level...WTB critiques<div></div>

[Cyrikk]

<div></div>Not sure if this has been covered in any other AA thread and im too lazy to look through all 10,000 of them so i'll ask, Is there a benefit to putting all your AA's into one path and if so what? Also after spending say 4 AA's to open up the next tier can you spend AA's on the next tier and still go back to the first one and put more AA's in?

[thedu]

<span><blockquote><hr>Cyrikk wrote:<div></div>Not sure if this has been covered in any other AA thread and im too lazy to look through all 10,000 of them so i'll ask, Is there a benefit to putting all your AA's into one path and if so what?<font color="#ff0033">Well you get the additional spells, stats, and attributes listed. Like for instance the first WIS line. It's +4 to wis each point you put into it and after putting 4 points in, you get an additional 16 wis. So you have to determine a particular path is going to be the best benefit for you or not. Personally I will go with WIS at least as the defining path.</font> Also after spending say 4 AA's to open up the next tier can you spend AA's on the next tier and still go back to the first one and put more AA's in?<font color="#ff0033">Yes. But make sure it's definitely what you want to do.  The cap for each tier is 8.</font><hr></blockquote></span><div></div>

[Cyrikk]

<div></div>NIce that clears up alot - thanks for the reply :smileyhappy: .

[Mystiq]

Every skill in the achievement tree can be maxed to rank 8 (8 points) except the last one in each branch which costs 8 points to buy and cannot be upgraded. You have to spend 4 points in one skill to unlock the one below. You can go back and spend more points in whatever isn't maxed at any time provided you haven't spent 50 points already.<div></div>

[Bolr]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Mystique wrote: Spiritual Foresight is quite frankly necessary for anyone that plans to raid or even kill mobs that aren't grey with any frequency. Our pet has pathetic hit points and cannot stand up to attack for any length of time, let alone take AE damage. <hr></blockquote>Those two sentences seem to be in conflict with each other.While I can see how Spiritual Foresight's effect could be very useful, in order for the effect to 'proc' (as I understand the description):1) The pet has to actually hit a mob.2) The pet has to be alive.In a raid situation, either of those seem improbable, and it seems like having both happen might be a very rare event.</span></div>

[Eepop]

Dogdog becomes immune always with foresight, the proc allows him to share the immunity with group members.<div></div>

[Bolr]

<div></div>Ah, that makes it a bit more likely to be useful.edit: I'm not logged in right now, but doesn't the proc only give immunity to the caster (mystic)?<div></div><p>Message Edited by Bolrus on <span class="date_text">02-28-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:05 AM</span></p>

[Eepop]

<span><blockquote><hr>Bolrus wrote:<div></div>I'm not logged in right now, but doesn't the proc only give immunity to the caster (mystic)?<div></div><hr></blockquote>I dont have the ability yet, so I can't tell you one way or the other.Unfortunately, the decriptions at the top and the bottom of the AA in the skills screen disagree.  One says the caster, one says the group members.</span><div></div>

[Karlen]

I'm planning on working down the intelligence line.    The final ability "Scourge": Is that likely to be a useful spell?  I'm not clear on what that is for in a non-raid situation.  Are there many mobs that cast beneficial spells that need dispelling?If there are any points left after maxxing out the int line, I'd probably put them into boosting my wisdom.<div></div>

[Baccalarium]

<div></div><div></div><div>bah changed my mind so many times its not worth trying to write it down yet.</div><p>Message Edited by Baccalarium on <span class="date_text">03-05-2006</span><span class="time_text">12:11 AM</span></p>

[Fi]

Did anyone test / find out / happen to know what qualifies as a "staff" for the Rabies AA? Especially in terms of 1h weapons? I would assume a "wand" might be considered a "staff", maybe even a "scepter", a "mace" sounds far more unlikely. Could anyone please pass on their experience?<div></div>

[Thatdumbg]

   I believe our most valuable ability in raiding is the end of the wisdom line; reducing someone's timers in your group is highly useful both in and out of the MT group.As far as the rest of it, for now, I am going with Coagulate (max STA line). That extra third of a second the bleed pool buff gives to you is easily the difference between success and wipe when things go wrong. Of course, I don't think it would be all that useful outside of the MT group.<div></div>

[Eepop]

Im almost always in the melee DPS group in the raid, I group regularly, and would solo more if it werent so darn slow to kill things.I am planning on:   STR      All the way down, plus 4 extra points in the ward proc (assuming the description that makes it sound like an offensive proc is correct)   WIS       Max Ritual, Max Deaggro, Max pet damage proc, no ritual of alacrityBest balance for me I think, assuming all the procs work how I think they do. While Ritual of Alacrity is pretty cool, I think in a non-MT group situation it would prove to be more of a liability than anything.  Aggro is a very delicate balance, and if the person you cast it on has to start holding back, the point is kind of lost.<div></div>

[SonnyA]

<blockquote><hr>Eepop wrote:Dogdog becomes immune always with foresight, the proc allows him to share the immunity with group members.<div></div><hr></blockquote>Are you sure about this? I would think that it's just another 20 second buff that we need to activate.

[Karlen]

I'm working down the intelligence line. So far:1 point on the pet4 points to get 24 points of intelligence1 point to get rabiesRabies does damage every 4 seconds for 16 seconds to enemies near the pet.  I discovered that this is not limited to your encounter.  It's a bad thing to be using on the tangleflies and serpents in TT as you will quickly form a large crowd of enemies. Does anyone know how high the damage goes on this spell if I spend 8 points on it?  I think its something like 95-165 now at App 1.<div></div>