Mystical Musings - the Wish List

[Banditman]

<div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>This is a little less fuzzy, but a little more "brain storming" than the balance issues.  Pretty much anything goes here, but, I'm only going to have 10 things on here.We basically want 10 REALLY GOOD ideas for improving the Mystic class without breaking balance.  The more specific we can make these ideas, the better off we'll be.  Just saying that "Mystics need more solo DPS" isn't likely to draw much interest, whereas a very specific idea for an ability will be more likely to create a buzz.1.  Change our pets auto attacks from crushing to disease.  Right now, our AAs demand that our pet be in harms way quite often.  Because of the VERY weak nature of our pet, he is often riposted and killed.  It's asking a little much for a healer to position a pet in rear arc and still do his job.  By making his auto attack disease based, he can no longer be riposted and his surviveability will improve without stepping on the toes of Summoners by making our pet more powerful than he needs to be to do his job.2.  Upgrading our Group Cure spells past Adept 1 does little to no good.  The scaling on that line needs to be looked at, probably across all Priest classes.  It becomes most problematic as we wait out the last couple levels before an upgrade.3.  With the advent of Tier 7, it has become apparent that there is little desire to improve our Haze line of debuff with respect to the things that this line currently debuffs.  Please consider adding something more to this line, perhaps spell skill debuffs or a cast / recast time Slow.  We can understand if, for balance reasons, further improvement of the Slow and melee skill debuffs are problematic, but please give us a positive reason to upgrade to further tiers of this line.4.  In the current scheme of things, many of the AA's revolve around certain items or types of items being equipped.  In particular, many of the Shaman AA's require a spear.  Unfortunately, this requirement basically precludes a Shaman ever going along that line since the itemization of spears is so horribly weak.  Consider adding a spear to both the Prismatic and Godking lines if you insist on keeping these requirements intact.  While we agree that these requirements may be good for flavor, it's simply too much loss of functionality to swallow.  It's not going to add much flavor if no one uses it right?5.  While we do appreciate the added flavor to our direct healing lines, that flavor simply doesn't add any inherent value.  Instead of the current increase to maximum HP, consider taking that increase and converting it to a small Ward instead.  This certainly continues the flavor of the Mystic class and adds more real value to our heals.6.  Please, please, please consider giving our Attendant line some real RANGE on his healing.  The current range is around 5m and does absolutely no good at all in most situations.  We don't believe it would be unreasonable to give this line the same range as our normal heals.  If it's supposed to heal, please, let it heal.7.  Reserved.8.  Reserved.9.  Reserved.10.  Reserved.<p>Message Edited by Banditman on <span class="date_text">03-03-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:11 AM</span></p>

[Thatdumbg]

I would like to see at least one form of a PB attack, even if it doesn't do much in the way of damage. My main intent would be killing multiple greens/greys for quests, etc.I would like to see some form of cast/recast slow in the next tier, as I doubt we will be seeing a continuation of the attack speed/DPS debuffs we have now.I would like to see some form of haste or DPS buff.I would like to see a group SoW.I would like to see the max health component of our heals changed to a ward.I would like to see single-target specialites stack between subclasses (priest wide. Currently Fury and Warden group regens stack, AFAIK none of the rest do).I would like to see itemization in t7 to NOT favor STR on shaman gear as it seemed to in T6. We have enough of it.I totally agree with you that the line between defiler and mystic is very blurry, I'm not sure what to ask for because I don't even understand the vision behind the differences at the moment.<div></div>

[Eepop]

If they are serious about keeping the weapon requirements on AAs we need the following weapons added to the game:Screaming Tribal SpearPrismatic Tribal SpearGodking Tribal SpearThe itemization for spears is pathetic.  They expect us to divide up between AAs and differentiate, but then they make all the marquee weapons maces.<div></div>

[Prismata]

<div></div><div>A wish from a soloing mystic: I want a different stun. It doesn't have to decrease hate, or do anything else...it just needs to stun an "encounter" rather than AOE, and have a refresh about the same as ward lasts (when not absorbing damage).</div>

[tebion]

make our buffs raise the stat cap, that way our problem with easily capped stamina and other attributes that make our buffs less useful would be covered.add that to bolster, too (by the same amount it raises the stats for example) and the recent "slightly lowered" version doesnt look too bad for me again.its just a thought, i didnt think of possible unbalances with it, but it definitely give us the edge on the buffing side again imo <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div>

[Godflower]

<div>I agree with Eepop, and would go as far to say they should get rid of the item requirments that are linked to the lines.  If Sony is serious about giving us more freedom to make our characters individualized they will consider this.  I really don't like the staff so what good will the INT line be to me if I take it.</div>

[Homj]

our healing pet should have healing range equal to heals or wards.or we need somehow to control his movements.

[Banditman]

<div></div>Just cherry picking the gems atm.  Keep the ideas coming.  If I didn't pick up on your idea, I may be waiting to see if others pick it up as well.  I want the 10 best ideas, not just the first 10 ideas.The six items up there at the moment are really kick *&@ ideas.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Banditman on <span class="date_text">03-03-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:14 AM</span></p>

[Kana]

<div></div><p>This isn't as much of a Mystic wish, as it is an overall Priest wish:</p><p>I'd like to see a certain stat raise the value of our heals.  To my knowledge, no stat currently does this.  The only way we can raise the value our heals is through spell upgrades.  Casters can increase their damage through both spell upgrades and INT.  Melee can increase their damage through CA upgrades and STR.  It only seems appropriate to give us an opportunity to raise the value of our heals in a secondary manner.</p><p>Ministration would seem to be a logical choice, since it's supposed to affect heal and cure spells, but from what I've heard it only affects the fizzle rate.</p><p>Kanali</p>

[Banditman]

That particular desire has already been addressed.  The answer basically was that it would be too much of a balance issue if they allowed Wisdom to affect heal values.  It sound like so much hoo to me, but the answer was that basically no stat would ever affect heal values.Perhaps they'll change their mind in the future, but this discussion was fairly recent and firmly closed.<div></div>

[Karlen]

>>>The answer basically was that it would be too much of a balance issue if they allowed Wisdom to affect heal values. <<<It would certainly give an advantage to those classes that have wisdom buffs over those that don't....<div></div>

[Banditman]

Well, if I remember the thread correctly, it wasn't so much that (though that was certainly a consideration) but more that it would create an even larger set of variables for encounter balancing.<div></div>

[Kana]

<div></div><p>I would even settle for Ministration closing the random gap in our heals.  For example, if Direct Heal A heals for 1300-1500, adding 20 Ministration could make it 1350-1500.  Ministration from buffs or gear would then have some value.</p><p>Oh well, I guess that's why it's a wish.</p>

[Owlbe]

<div></div><p> I would want a bit more dps. I know others might disagree but this is not eq1 as they always say so there should be no solo prefered classes in a perfect game imo. Soloing with a mystic is not the best or easiest and probably one of the worst soloing classes in all the game for efficency/speed.  There's always the arguement of, "Well I want to heal and we're not a dps class" blah blah.  If furys and wardens can pull off some ok soloing then why can't we?  I'm not asking for warden/fury-esque dps (since we have superior debuffs and other tools etc) but there is a fine line between capable and painfull soloing and we straddle it imo.  I thought the dog was going to be that dps boost but as it is now the dog is just incapable of that in its current state. </p><p>-Boost the dog's performance (double down, single down, bring back the hp/dps aa pet buff) to increase its hit rate and damage and staying power in combat which would solve the dogs problems considering we're so tied to it with our aa's.  Its too [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] frail.</p><p>-A self only int buff to increase damage perhaps 2 or 3 conc slots or something like that so it would only be used soloing.</p><p>-Offensive stances similar to fighters where we can dish out more damage  (double hit, dps +, int boost, pet boost, whatever.. take your pick) at the cost of something else (ala clerics yaulp aa) if need be to keep it more solo preferable or the stance only takes effect if the person is not grouped. </p><p> </p><p>Just some ideas.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

[Nacire]

<div></div>Well our AA lines seem to be pushing mystics into becoming some sort of "melee" preist so lets work with that.  So little of our dps now is actually from our weapons that it's entirely laughable, add a dps or haste component to our bear form to boost the amount of damage we can do in melee since the ONLY form of damage increase we get via aa's is melee as well that seems to be SOE's idea of how we should be dealing most of our damage.

[Merrygr]

<div></div><div>I really tried to stay away from this thread as I consider the only improvement I need the one I will never get.</div><div> </div><div>I really need a huge boost, even more then the SOE term slight, to our ability to solo.</div><div> </div><div>My reason for this is simple.</div><div>There are basically three spheres of game play. Solo, group and raid. Personally I don't raid, so my needs and wants are different from those that do.</div><div> </div><div>I feel that all classes can raid. I'm sure there are balance issues where min/maxing plays in, but I'm not familiar with that aspect of the game,</div><div>I feel that all classes can group. Again some might be prefered over others for min/maxing purposes. Here we do have a slight advantage in that we are "required" to form a group. However, most groups will be happy with one healer, and if they want two, they would not want a second Mystic if they have one.</div><div>I feel that a few classes are more or less excluded from the solo game. Mystics would be one of them.</div><div> </div><div>So why is a small portion of the community penalized in a third of the possible ways to play the game?</div><div> </div><div>Yes, I can solo, but I prefer to watch paint dry.</div><div> </div><div>There is also a lot of interesting quest lines that are actually meant to be soloed or at least soloed up to a point. Nowadays I can't be bothered with these. Its just plain boring (and that from someone that loves to quest). At level 57 I still refuse to go back and finish the bloodlines quests I have left undone. One would think that killing lvl 35:ish ?? heroics would be a walk in the park. Well, yes it is completely risk free, but it still takes all day to do. No thanks!!!</div><div> </div><div>I think Splitpaw is another good example. As far as I can tell you have to do several solo intances to get the port stone and the spell. These instances require that you slay a lot of mobs. For me it simply takes longer than I can allocate on a single session. My alt did this in two short sessions.</div><div> </div><div>The standard reply to this is of course: "If you don't like to play a priest, play something else". Well, that is a true statement. So even though I love to play my Mystic in a group I now have an alt that will soon be higher level than my Mystic (lvl 57). This alt can do it all. He can solo. He is an asset to a group and he would be an asset to a raid (something he will never do).</div><div> </div><div>My Mystic would be my prefered toon, but since I don't raid he can only do 50% of the game. I need a class that can do all of it.</div><div> </div><div>Sorry to clutter this thread with a wish for something that will never happen. Even if SOE decides that we should have better solo ability it will be a boost of say 15%. I need a LOT more than that. I would say that I need to at least halve the time it takes me to kill a mob.</div>

[Homj]

One of our DoT's do additional damage to shadow mobs.But i found only one of them in all DoF zones and didnt found any in KoS zones.just my 2 cents. because its not really important (for me at least).

[Eepop]

If we are supposed to be the melee priests, then the first vital change needs to be made to how we are effected by strength.As I showed a couple months ago, gaining 199 str does next to nothing to a mystic's melee DPS.  Adding 199 str to a fighter or a scout significantly increases thier DPS.<div></div>

[Karlen]

>>>As I showed a couple months ago, gaining 199 str does next to nothing to a mystic's melee DPS.<<<Are you sure? At level 53, my buffed str is 240 and I do more than the rated damage of my weapon. I think my weapon is a pristine imbued ironwood spellbinders staff with a 69.1 rating that does something like 35-102 damage.  I usually do closer to 60-125 damage with it.When I was small and had much lower strength, I always remember noticing that I did less damage than my weapon rating.  Now that my strength is quite high, I seem to do more.<div></div>

[Banditman]

Yes, he's sure.If you are doing more than the rated damage on your weapon you have some sort of +DPS mod in place.  Weapons rated damage should show accurate in the examine window as you buff yourself up, though you must re-examine to see the changes.It should show something like Base Damage and Your Damage iirc.  I don't think much about it since I have no interest in how much damage I do or don't do.  My weapon is only there to give me better stats, if I start swinging the thing something is seriously wrong.I just don't consider solo'ing to be worth my time.  Even on my Conjuror, one of the better solo classes, it's just not worth the time.  Sure, I can burn down a single up solo mob in about 30 seconds, but it doesn't move my XP bar one bit.  And I can't really keep up that pace, since it requires me to use Blazing Presence, which has a 45 second recast.  Takes about 10 to 15 of these (yellow mind you) to net me 1 percent.  Working as hard and as fast as I can with one of the better solo classes in the game, I pull down about 4 to 6 percent per hour solo.  *If* I don't die from an add.  *If* no one takes any of my mobs.  Even then, it's a *boring* grind.  Mind numbing comes to mind.The only way to gain ground in this game is through groups or questing.  If the problem you want addressed is the viability of solo'ing as a legitimate leveling option, the Mystic forums are probably not the best place for that discussion.<div></div>

[Eepop]

My problem with soloing isnt for grinding, but instead that quests take forever to solo.When I started this game, I was very gung ho about doing quests.  Around level 35, I more or less gave up, and now I only ever really finish a quest if my group is doing it, or it doesnt require killing of more than 3 mobs.<div></div>

[Karlen]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Eepop wrote:My problem with soloing isnt for grinding, but instead that quests take forever to solo.When I started this game, I was very gung ho about doing quests.  Around level 35, I more or less gave up, and now I only ever really finish a quest if my group is doing it, or it doesnt require killing of more than 3 mobs.<div></div><hr></blockquote>I tend to do quests when they are yellow or orange.  If I haven't moved forward on them by the time they turn white, then I usually end up deleting them as I have moved on to a new zone and need the space in my quest book.  I do still have a number of half-completed old quests lying about.</span></div>

[Kana]

<div>IMO, AAs should have been THE way to address the "lack of solo dps" issue.  I would've much preferred each line to target a specific area.....e.g. one for DPS, one for Healing, one for buffs, one for debuffs, etc.  If you're desire to be a MT group raider, choose buffs/healing or buffs/debuffs.  If you're primarily a solo player, choose DPS/something else.  In other words, choose an AA path that suits your gameplay.  AAs *sort of* follow that idea, but our choices are severely lacking.</div><div> </div><div>Kanali</div>

[Silda]

<div></div><div></div>My thoughts - shoot em down at will or modify at will.1. Some form of root (remember VP?). I know they dont want us to have root, but even being as an AA, long recast, whatever...it would be nice to have some root as emergency CC (ala EQ1) for those "oh [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]" moments. Tweak the resistability or recast time so that it isnt unbalancing - dont even have to make a spell line for it ..could do as a single spell with no upgrades yet (like some of the 50s stuff from DOF). Heck give every priest class one spell like this..tailor the flavors accordingly (ie. Some sort of stun for Temp/Inq, for dr00ds have a brief snare component after it breaks, whatever. Im sure you all have better ideas than I do)2. Have one of our nukes do additional dmg to Shadow creatures, not just our disease dot. IF one of them already does, I have not seen it.3. Maybe another DD line that has same cast timers as our cold line so we cant chain them and bump our DPS beyond what they want. I seem to get a lot of full/partial resists with my Cold DD line - maybe a Disease DD? (see 2 above)4. Let us summon gnoll hide lariats for dogdog (kidding)I got my trusty companion DogDog back so im pretty happy - he sucks now (he sucked when you got him in eq1 but not quite as bad) but I think as the game evolves he may become more viable as a speedbump via buff stacking, pet buffs, whatever. I have all of the confidence in the world that my lil buddy will serve me well for years to come.Edited- switched 2 and 3 so they make more sense in present order.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Sildaan on <span class="date_text">03-06-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:42 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Sildaan on <span class="date_text">03-06-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:42 AM</span></p>

[Eepop]

Making creatures of shadow as prevelent as undead would be a good move too.<div></div>

[Banditman]

Dude - I totally feel your pain about quests, but I gotta tell you that's not just Mystics.  It's everybody.  That's a whole huge bucket of worms to be opening up.When KoS came out I deleted like 40 quests on both my Mystic and my Conjuror, knowing that I'd never finish them.<div></div>

[Saramina1]

<div></div><p>I would like to see some form of root. We got this with an aa but it only lasts for 8.3 seconds and requires a 2handed great spear or spear to be equipped. One of the things that made shamans great in eq1 was the ability to root/dot mobs.</p><p>I am not asking for anything major but a spell that can be cast that will allow us to root one mob and dot it while continuing to melee the current target down. This in my mind will help improve the dps of our class and the soloability of the class.</p><p> </p><p>As of right now mystics are the only priest class without some form of crowd control. </p><p>Furies get snare.</p><p>Wardens get root.</p><p>Inquisitors get a root/stifle.</p><p>Templars get pacify.</p><p>Defilers get fear.</p><p> </p><p>My wish would for mystics to have some sort of ability along these same lines that is not our deagro spell (5min recast stuns targets in a small area around the mystic.)</p><p> </p><p>Saramina</p><p>66 Mystic</p><p> </p>

[Merrygr]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Banditman wrote:Yes, he's sure.If you are doing more than the rated damage on your weapon you have some sort of +DPS mod in place.  Weapons rated damage should show accurate in the examine window as you buff yourself up, though you must re-examine to see the changes.It should show something like Base Damage and Your Damage iirc.  I don't think much about it since I have no interest in how much damage I do or don't do.  My weapon is only there to give me better stats, if I start swinging the thing something is seriously wrong.I just don't consider solo'ing to be worth my time.  Even on my Conjuror, one of the better solo classes, it's just not worth the time.  Sure, I can burn down a single up solo mob in about 30 seconds, but it doesn't move my XP bar one bit.  And I can't really keep up that pace, since it requires me to use Blazing Presence, which has a 45 second recast.  Takes about 10 to 15 of these (yellow mind you) to net me 1 percent.  Working as hard and as fast as I can with one of the better solo classes in the game, I pull down about 4 to 6 percent per hour solo.  *If* I don't die from an add.  *If* no one takes any of my mobs.  Even then, it's a *boring* grind.  Mind numbing comes to mind.The only way to gain ground in this game is through groups or questing.  If the problem you want addressed is the viability of solo'ing as a legitimate leveling option, the Mystic forums are probably not the best place for that discussion.<div></div><hr></blockquote><p>I think this illustrates a difference in mindset. This is perfectly fine as we are all different and have different goals. I get the impression that your interest lies more towards the end game and mine is more into doing quests as entertainment. Nothing wrong with either, but I think both shold be equally viable. As I see it the grouping and raiding is viable for a Mystic, but other classes qork well for soloing, raiding and grouping. Thats what I have a problem with.</p><p>I'm interested in the quests for the sole reason of questing. Thats why I mentioned old grey quests. I couldn't care less about grinding. Xp comes way too fast in this game as it is (my personal oppinion). I want to be able to solo quests (that are meant to be done solo) in a reasonable time. I also want to be able to go back and do old heroic quests, just for the satisfaction of having done them.</p><p>I think you are doing great work for the Mystic community Bandit, but it is possible that you might be blind to some of the aspects as they are either things you are not interested in or things you don't see as "correct" for a Mystic.</p><p>I could be wrong about this, but that is the impression I get. Please forgive me if I'm way of base.</p><p> </p>

[tebion]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Eepop wrote:Making creatures of shadow as prevelent as undead would be a good move too.<div></div><hr></blockquote>spot on, i am preaching this since our single dof-creature of shadow <span>:smileyindifferent:</span></span></div>

[Thatdumbg]

   Here's a couple ideas:More fun spells. I'd love to have a shrink or a grow type spell, these spells were always fun in EQ (and useful in certain situations, the same as illusions are now).Now that our AA's focus so closely on the pet, the summon companion spell would be nice. They could probably just grant it at that first AA point. I've already lost the thing a couple times (Palace comes to mind).<div></div>

[Banditman]

Merrygrin,Your problem is you believe that all classes should be able to solo with equal effectiveness.  Unfortunately, that is just not reality, nor should it be.If you want a game you can solo, and I say this in a truly constructive way, give World of Warcraft a try.  It's much more friendly to the solo player than EQ2 is.  It personally didn't hold much attraction for me, but if that playstyle is your preferred style, it may hold attraction for you.There are only a few classes that really solo well, and none of them solo NEARLY as safely as a Priest does.  No class solo's efficiently in this game when compared to grouping.  It simply isn't in the mechanics.If killing gray mobs is what you need to do, then you should be purchasing all the INT gear you can find, banging out as many AA's for your pet as humanly possible to increase his DPS and in general increasing everything damage related.  Nothing you can do will change the fact that you are a Priest trying to do damage, which runs as a polar opposite to the purpose of your Archtype.If you really want my honest opinion you should try a Fury.  They are the unquestioned kings of gray quests.And you're right, I'm more concerned with advancing the issues that affect the most players.  DPS against gray heroics is not something that the majority of Mystics have a problem with on a day in, day out basis.  As such, it's not something that's really on my radar to push.In general, Mystic DPS isn't something that's on my radar that much.  It's not like all the other Priests are doing outrageous damage (Furies aside).  All Priests have a decided lack of DPS, which makes me believe it's intentional and likely to be non-negotiable.I prefer to deal with bigger issues and more realistic goals.<div></div>

[Eepop]

<span><blockquote><hr>Saramina1 wrote:<div></div>As of right now mystics are the only priest class without some form of crowd control. <p>Furies get snare.Wardens get root.Inquisitors get a root/stifle.Templars get pacify.Defilers get fear.</p><hr></blockquote>I am certainly not against us getting some kind of crowd control, but here is what you should expect as an answer if we ever get one on the issue:      <font color="#ff0000">It is by design that Mystics do not have any complete crowd control abilities.  Mystics excell at partial crowd control, the benefit being that damage does not cause this to drop.  Consider the myriad of slows and dps reduction spells in a mystic's arsenal.  They can greatly reduce the ability of a mob to hurt you, like other crowd control does, but they have the distinct advantage that thier effectiveness is not reduced by the target recieving damage.  The snare on mystic's "of the grey" line of direct damage spells is also not to be forgotten.</font></span><div></div>

[Owlbe]

<div></div><div></div><p>I think you're a bit off the mark Bandit and whether you like it or not Merry has some very valid points that echo my own and MANY others.  There is more than a handfull of people who would like to see our damage increased and probably a larger percentage of people who don't visit these boards would LOVE to see a damage increase as those that do visit here are usually the more "hardcore" players (read raiders)</p><p>Bandit says, "Nothing you can do will change the fact that you are a Priest trying to do damage, which runs as a polar opposite to the purpose of your Archtype" and then tells Merry to go play a Fury which is..... a priest of all things.  Why relegate Mystics to be second class citizens in this area?  If we're talking wishes in a  perfect world then I think you have to validate that concern.  I play a fury and I can drop mobs 10x faster than you can as a mystic, how can you justify that?  If you're talking primary rolls as a healer a fury is as good a healer  if not  close to mystics with back in to the fray and hibernate etc.  Sure a mystic has some better defensive skills and debuffs and again we're not asking for fury-esque dps just better than what we have. </p><p>I do not accept the "play another class if you want xxxxxxx" arguement.  If you're pushing for class improvments I think this matter is definiately top 10 if not top 5.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Message Edited by Omegarhino on <span class="date_text">03-07-2006</span><span class="time_text">11:27 AM</span></p>

[Eepop]

<div></div><div></div><span><blockquote><hr>Banditman wrote:<div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div> The more specific we can make these ideas, the better off we'll be.  Just saying that "Mystics need more solo DPS" isn't likely to draw much interest, whereas a very specific idea for an ability will be more likely to create a buzz.<hr></blockquote>Quoted for effect.Despite any reputation I might have gotten as such, I am not a hardcore raider.  I am a member of a raiding alliance, but I only do that at most 2 nights a week.If you take the time to look back through my posts, (or Bandit's for that matter), you will in fact find MANY MANY posts about getting mystics, shamans, priests in general more solo DPS.  We pushed it in DoF beta, in KoS beta...but its gotten to the point that just saying it over again doesnt have any effect.If we really want more solo DPS, it is the responsibility of those that want it most to champion the cause.Banditman does a lot for the mystic community, but he can only do so much, and when it comes down to it, the causes that effect him the most are going to be the ones he gives the most time to.That said, here are some of my ideas for making us more DPS capable.     1)  Melee Focus:  Make strength actually matter,                         adding 200 strength should significantly increase the mystic's melee DPS.          To further that effect, any of the following may be appropriate:                    Make the "of the Grey" direct damage spells into a line of melee combat arts, the change from                         ranged to melee would justify an increase in the damage done.                    Make our nukes act as melee arts if we are in bearform, takes alot more coding, but has a very                          distinct flavor and would make us both have more solo DPS and be more unique as a class.     2) Magical Focus: Change the +str on the bearform buff into something that increases magical damage, be it just +int, or a proc on hostile spells cast.Thats what comes to mind for me at the moment, what do you think would help? As you are more effected by the problem than myself or Banditman is?Editted to reformat for readability.</span><div></div><p>Message Edited by Eepop on <span class="date_text">03-07-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:45 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Eepop on <span class="date_text">03-07-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:46 AM</span></p>

[Godflower]

<div></div><div></div><div>I still spend the majority of my time soloing and would love to see more DPS.  I have mostly abandoned questing since it is very aggravating and spend most of my time soloing, and sometimes in casual groups and helping guildies.   Everything in this game is tuned to the raid content tier, so any changes that affect raid content have to be compensated for somewhere.  LU13 made this very apparent. </div><div> </div><div>for the balance concious... damage spells that do not affect raid targets. </div><div> </div><div>How about some AOE dots too :smileyhappy: Self only procs.   Damage shields on wards.... blah blah blah...</div><div> </div><div>Is my face blue yet :smileywink:  Looks like I will be taking up the staff for T7...</div><div> </div><div>Edit=clarity</div><div> </div><div> </div><p>Message Edited by Godflower on <span class="date_text">03-07-2006</span><span class="time_text">01:27 PM</span></p>

[Merrygr]

<div></div><p>Well, the one point where I very much do agree with Banditman is that there will never be a meaningful change to our solo abilities. Solo abilities, not neccesarily better DPS (although it is probably the easiest solution).</p><p>In a lot of other things I think he pegged me wrong, but that is not relevant to the wishlist for Mystics.</p><p>As I'm according to some in the minority with wishing for better solo abilites (in a game where most classes are equaly good at most things) I will simply bow out of this discussion and play my alt that does great at quests/xp grinding/soloing/grouping until another game is released where they realise that priests are not only about mashing heals/buffs/debuffs on raid members/mobs. </p><p>/Merry</p><p> </p><p> </p>

[Banditman]

I told Merry to look at Furies because, of all the Priests, Furies have the best DPS by a LONG shot.To me, playing a Priest is about personality.  My personality is that I want to help others.  Priests are the ultimate at this.I chose Shaman in EQLive because Clerics seemed too . . . snooty for me, and I dang sure wasn't gonna be no tree hugger.In EQ2, I looked at the tree as it was presented, not at the end sub-class.I knew I wanted to be a Priest.I once again thought that Clerics were too snooty (sorry boys) and still had no desire to run around in the forest  with the trees.  Shaman.I wanted to be a more "defense" oriented player - a buffer, a protector.  I chose what I perceived to be the proper sub-class.  Mystic.I feel the DPS pain just like everyone else does, but frankly, until Mystics have their bigger issues addressed, it just isn't going to make it up my tree far enough to warrant my attention.We don't currently compare very favorably to Defilers insofar as buffing ability goes, nor do we compare very favorably in the debuffing department.  These are big, big issues.We have some further balance issues to sort out.Then we have a Wish list.Honestly, the Wish list is the least important of the three catagories.All that said, in the past, I've pushed for more solo DPS for Mystics.  It was a part of our very first list, back in March of LAST year.  6 months later we got . . . Slothful Spirit.  :/  It's enough to make you give up, I swear it is.<div></div>

[paisan]

<div></div><div>I know this has been argued to death but...</div><div>Most tanks have offensive and defensive stances to help them be more versatile solo/group tank/dps.</div><div> </div><div>Why on earth has this not been done with priests? Just edit Ursine line and make it 3 conc or something. Better yet add a toggleable spell to the game that has a flat melee DPS increase and Int boost that makes all heals/wards  -50% or something along those lines. It is not that hard.</div><div> </div><div>I really thought they would have used AA's as a way to spec us out and fix this problem. It sort of did but then again i havent gone down the AGI line all the way. I'll let you know.</div><div> </div><div>This might be last on the wish list... but it shouldn't make me the brunt of jokes when im soloing. (atleast DPS wise)</div>

[Mystiq]

I've always liked the idea of different "stances" and the like for different playstyles and situations.  Sacrifice defense for offense, and vice versa.  Good and Evil.  Seems like a pretty basic mechanic that is feasable for any class.  But then I think, Isn't a Guardian in offensive stance basically just a Berserker? And vice versa? The basic separation of offensive vs. defensive, or AE vs. single target dmg is the basis behind the class system to begin with. If you want to tank the best, go Guardian. If you want to beat the snot out of mobs, go Berserker. If you like being an AE nuker, play a Warlock.  If you like big, gratifying hits on a single target, play a Wizard. Of course these skills overlap to a certain degree, but it would seem to me that giving stances to all classes would basically negate the purpose of the existing separation. We've known for a good, long time that shamans are no paragons of DPS, and I think ultimately for the health of the game and for balance, that's the way it should remain. I'm still open to some more ideas on the subject though, I just don't want to sacrifice the integrity of distinct classes so I can turn into a Fury every so often.<div></div>

[paisan]

<div></div><p>[expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] you for making sense.</p><p>I hope the AGI line pans out.</p>

[icetower]

<div></div><p>I agree that increasing the melee value of strength should be looked at.</p><p>Strength is my second highest stat to wis,  because it was put on my self buff, group buff,single target melee buff, and on half my darn class gear.</p><p>Yet we know from Eepops testing that its benefit to us is so insignificant as to be worthless.</p><p>Furies do such good dps because their base spell damage is high, making each bonus to that base damage more significant.</p><p>I think our base melee skill could similarly be raised to get some actual benefit from strength. This would be low enough to not step on any toes, but high enough to give us a little differentiation/flavour from other priests.</p><p> </p>

[Saramina1]

<div><blockquote><hr>Eepop wrote:<span><blockquote><hr>Saramina1 wrote:<div></div>As of right now mystics are the only priest class without some form of crowd control. <p>Furies get snare.Wardens get root.Inquisitors get a root/stifle.Templars get pacify.Defilers get fear.</p><hr></blockquote>I am certainly not against us getting some kind of crowd control, but here is what you should expect as an answer if we ever get one on the issue:      <font color="#ff0000">It is by design that Mystics do not have any complete crowd control abilities.  Mystics excell at partial crowd control, the benefit being that damage does not cause this to drop.  Consider the myriad of slows and dps reduction spells in a mystic's arsenal.  They can greatly reduce the ability of a mob to hurt you, like other crowd control does, but they have the distinct advantage that thier effectiveness is not reduced by the target recieving damage.  The snare on mystic's "of the grey" line of direct damage spells is also not to be forgotten.</font></span><div></div><hr></blockquote>You said that the grey line has a snare. This is not a snare its a slow.</div><div> </div><div>Before the combat change this was a snare however since then they have changed it to a slow.</div><div> </div><div>I think you misunderstood what I meant by crowd control. Slowing and what not is debuffing not in anyway crowd control.  Crowd control is removing the mob from the situation completely until the time you are ready for the mob. This is done by stun, root, mez, fear. Slowing while it does reduce the damage output of the mob does not remove the mob from the situation at all.</div><div> </div><div>I would like to see mystics have the ability to remove a mob from the situation until the group or mystic ready for this mob.</div><div> </div><div>Saramina</div>

[Mystiq]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Saramina1 wrote:<div>You said that the grey line has a snare. This is not a snare its a slow.</div><div> </div><div>Before the combat change this was a snare however since then they have changed it to a slow.</div><div> </div><div>I think you misunderstood what I meant by crowd control. Slowing and what not is debuffing not in anyway crowd control.  Crowd control is removing the mob from the situation completely until the time you are ready for the mob. This is done by stun, root, mez, fear. Slowing while it does reduce the damage output of the mob does not remove the mob from the situation at all.</div><div> </div><div>I would like to see mystics have the ability to remove a mob from the situation until the group or mystic ready for this mob.</div><div> </div><div>Saramina</div><hr></blockquote>Enchanters are already one of the most uesless classes in the game for anything other than botting, but they're still the kings of CC. Who are we to ask for CC when we have plenty else to worry about as it is? Sure it'd be nice, but not necessary, and relatively not important.</span></div>

[Nacire]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Saramina1 wrote:<div><blockquote><hr>Eepop wrote:<span><blockquote><hr>Saramina1 wrote:<div></div>As of right now mystics are the only priest class without some form of crowd control. <p>Furies get snare.Wardens get root.Inquisitors get a root/stifle.Templars get pacify.Defilers get fear.</p><hr></blockquote>I am certainly not against us getting some kind of crowd control, but here is what you should expect as an answer if we ever get one on the issue:      <font color="#ff0000">It is by design that Mystics do not have any complete crowd control abilities.  Mystics excell at partial crowd control, the benefit being that damage does not cause this to drop.  Consider the myriad of slows and dps reduction spells in a mystic's arsenal.  They can greatly reduce the ability of a mob to hurt you, like other crowd control does, but they have the distinct advantage that thier effectiveness is not reduced by the target recieving damage.  The snare on mystic's "of the grey" line of direct damage spells is also not to be forgotten.</font></span><div></div><hr></blockquote>You said that the grey line has a snare. This is not a snare its a slow.</div><div> </div><div>Before the combat change this was a snare however since then they have changed it to a slow.</div><div> </div><div>I think you misunderstood what I meant by crowd control. Slowing and what not is debuffing not in anyway crowd control.  Crowd control is removing the mob from the situation completely until the time you are ready for the mob. This is done by stun, root, mez, fear. Slowing while it does reduce the damage output of the mob does not remove the mob from the situation at all.</div><div> </div><div>I would like to see mystics have the ability to remove a mob from the situation until the group or mystic ready for this mob.</div><div> </div><div>Saramina</div><hr></blockquote>The gray line DOES have a snare, a piddly insignifigant one but yes it's a SNARE.  Examine any snare ability in the game and you'll find it's description worded the same way the effect is on the gray line nukes.  Slows target by xx%.  Then examine your slows they say Decrease Attack Speed xx%.

[icetower]

<div></div><div></div><p>The fact that there is some confusion over snare vs slow on the nuke illustrates very well how tiny it is.</p><p>I have tried in the past to use this snare in a tactical way, thinking there might be some use for it.  No dice.</p><p>70-80% movement reduction would be a snare. Ours is simply another pseudo ability that does nothing to help.</p><p><font color="#ff0000">"The snare on mystic's "of the grey" line of direct damage spells is also not to be forgotten."  </font>How can something be forgotten when its so unnoticable that some people don't even know we have it in the first place?</p><p>My "wish" would be for a dev to have a critical look at the way some of these mystic spells have been implemented, and to ask themselves "what is the point of this feature?" "how does it add flavour or benefit to the class?"</p><p>Our snare that doesnt really snare.</p><p>Our dot that does extra damage against non existant shadow creatures.</p><p>Our overabundance of Strength buffs that provide single figure extra melee dps.</p><p>I also think some of the previous posters with legitimate concerns about soloing might benefit from this, since making our existing abilities work properly might mean they don't have to ask for "pie in the sky" extra soloing abilities.</p><p>Message Edited by icetower on <span class="date_text">03-08-2006</span><span class="time_text">01:02 AM</span></p>

[Godflower]

<div></div>This one is just for fun (# 11 on the wish list?), but I would love to give my spirit dog a permanent name.  :smileyvery-happy:

[Banditman]

/petname Fido ?<div></div>

[Godflower]

<div>Does that comand work?  It is totally unknown to me.  If it does than yay! :smileyvery-happy: </div>

[Owlbe]

<div>Yes, it really does work.</div><div> </div><div> </div>

[Silda]

/petname Dogmeat worked fine for me<div></div>

[Mystiq]

You can have...I think it's up to 3 summoned pets up at once, and u can /petname after each summon to name each one something different. My dog, beholder and hooluk are all running around named after Lil' John quotes <span>:smileyvery-happy:</span>. BTW if u just type /petname and hit enter, the next summoned pet will have the normal, randomly chosen pet names.<div></div>

[Shiss]

<div></div><p>Mine is really simple and fits exactly how everyone sees him.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Poof</strong></p><p><strong></strong> </p><p>Makes sense doesnt it?  He is last long enough for people to say, "  'ey what just went Poof?"</p><p>Just my pet *sigh*</p>

[Eepop]

<span><blockquote><hr>icetower wrote:<div></div><div></div><font color="#ff0000">"The snare on mystic's "of the grey" line of direct damage spells is also not to be forgotten."  </font>How can something be forgotten when its so unnoticable that some people don't even know we have it in the first place?<hr></blockquote>Sorry if I didnt make it clear.That read paragraph is not in any way how I feel. It is a plausible explanation that the devs would give based on thier previous statements on similar issues.</span><div></div>

[Mystiq]

I gotta add a wish for our wards to crit like heals do. I'm almost certain they don't, since wards are like this alien b@stard red headed step child that don't replenish health and isn't even logged properly for parsing. When KoS was released crits were put in game for everyone, at a very small % chance, by default. Every class also has the ability to augment their relative crits (melee, nuke, heal) with achievement abilities.ALL druid heals can crit. That's 3 direct, 2 special, and a long list of utility spells with regens, including any insta cast emergency spells that replenish health.ALL cleric heals can crit. Same as above and, especially with Templar, a myriad of utility healing procs including the Mark line, the Fate line, the Involuntary line, Glory of Combat etc. Inquisitors can crit heal with Convert. Clerics also have emergency spells that replenish health.I can only think of 6 spells Mystics have that can crit heal. They are, of course, only the spells that replenish health in the "traditional" way:  3 direct, Torpor hot ticks, our broken pet and our Savior line. That's it. Really only 4 spells that we get any kind of mileage out of. Defilers might even have fewer, since they don't have a similar spell to Torpor.Now, to be honest, I haven't done any testing to prove once and for all that wards do not crit and ward for more than their given amount. I do not have now nor do I intend to spend points on the heal crit AA, unless of course wards are proven to or changed to crit, so trying to prove either way invokes a painful and long process of getting beat on a lot. If any other shaman reading this has invested at least a couple points in the heal crit AA and is willing to put wards to the crit test, please be my guest, and please log your activities so it can be verified.<div></div>

[tebion]

<div></div><div><span><blockquote><hr>Mystique wrote:I gotta add a wish for our wards to crit like heals do. I'm almost certain they don't, since wards are like this alien b@stard red headed step child that don't replenish health and isn't even logged properly for parsing. When KoS was released crits were put in game for everyone, at a very small % chance, by default. Every class also has the ability to augment their relative crits (melee, nuke, heal) with achievement abilities.<div></div><hr></blockquote>[expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] good point, hell, i didnt even think of that, spot on mystique!!edit: yes, i meant that an answer to this will be extremly interesting, i will definitely have an eye on the wards from now on <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></span></div><p>Message Edited by tebion on <span class="date_text">03-09-2006</span><span class="time_text">01:54 PM</span></p>

[Banditman]

Keep in mind that, as Mystique said, we have no proof that our Wards are NOT crit'ing, and we WILL need that.<div></div>

[Eileithia]

<div></div><p>For the Criting ward thing.. there needs to be some visual feedback as well on this.. not just something that shows up in the parser.. Now I'm not totally sure that anyones special abilities crit (reactives / wards / regens) If in fact reactives and regens crit, than wards need to crit.. visual feedback could be increasing the size of the "ward cone" that shows when you cast.. or here's a concept.. when something hits a ward.. have a number pop out of the persons head and show how much damage was absorbed.. pick a colour.. and if the wards a crit.. make it so that the text gets big just like heals do.. this way we won't show as complete slackers on raids..</p><p>And for the Love of ()*&@#$ Please allow ward data to show in parsers.. Thankfully most people know they do not.. but there are still some ignorant raid leaders out there who don't realize that ward data does not show as a heal, and therefore all shamen will look like slackers in every single guild where parsing is measured..</p><p> </p>

[Mystiq]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Duntzzzz wrote:<div></div><p>For the Criting ward thing.. there needs to be some visual feedback as well on this.. not just something that shows up in the parser.. Now I'm not totally sure that anyones special abilities crit (reactives / wards / regens) <font color="#ff0000">They do. I know for a fact they do, which is why my previous post reflected this fact. It's odd though, because remember when the Godking priest mace heal proc was released? Only direct heals were making it proc, because the special abilities you mentioned aren't/weren't classified in the same category (code-wise or something) as direct heals. Special "heals" are categorized the same way buffs are and other beneficial spells. That's when the % chance was lowered on the proc, and all beneficial spells were now able to make it go off. Now with crit heals, any health replenishment spell at all has the chance to crit, but wards don't qualify. Weird mechanics everywhere I look. </font> If in fact reactives and regens crit, than wards need to crit.. visual feedback could be increasing the size of the "ward cone" that shows when you cast.. or here's a concept.. when something hits a ward.. have a number pop out of the persons head and show how much damage was absorbed.. pick a colour.. and if the wards a crit.. make it so that the text gets big just like heals do.. this way we won't show as complete slackers on raids..</p><p><font color="#ff0000">The visual feedback and mechanics that would allow wards to crit kinda sound tricky. I don't really desire to see anymore big numbers or particles flying around, as they're kind of distracting. What sounds simplest to me in my head is just give wards the ability to critically absorb more damage when it's cast, unlike hots or reactives which can crit with each tick or proc. You can't absorb more per hit than you are getting hit for, yet heals can heal you for more as long as you are hurt enough. All I really want is that wards be allowed the same % increase in power that heals are given when they critically heal. This goes for our insta wards, spiritual circle, and regenerating wards.</font></p><p>And for the Love of ()*&@#$ Please allow ward data to show in parsers.. Thankfully most people know they do not.. but there are still some ignorant raid leaders out there who don't realize that ward data does not show as a heal, and therefore all shamen will look like slackers in every single guild where parsing is measured..</p><p><font color="#ff0000">This has bothered me for a while as well. There are some good parsers out there that give feedback on healing, and yet again wards get the shaft when shamans can't even be weighed and measured against other priests in terms of "healing" frequency or strength.</font></p><p> </p><hr></blockquote></span></div>

[Eileithia]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Mystique wrote:<div><span><blockquote><p><font color="#ff0000"> unlike hots or reactives which can crit with each tick or proc. </font></span></p></blockquote></div><hr></blockquote><p>Well.. If I understand this correctly.. then Heals should work as DoTs work.. You Crit on the initial cast, and every following tick is a crit as well.. It's not a tick by tick check as far as I know?!?</p><p>Anyhow.. Agreed that if Reactives / HoT's are critting, then Wards should be critting as well. Maybe for visual feedback, they could change the colour of the ward to Gold, or White or something.. so we know that it's a crit..</p><p>Personally I'd love to see numbers for ward absorbtion.. so we know for sure .. but that's just me =D</p>

[Mystiq]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Duntzzzz wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr>Mystique wrote:<div><span><blockquote><p><font color="#ff0000"> unlike hots or reactives which can crit with each tick or proc. </font></p></blockquote></span></div><hr></blockquote><p>Well.. If I understand this correctly.. then Heals should work as DoTs work.. You Crit on the initial cast, and every following tick is a crit as well.. It's not a tick by tick check as far as I know?!?</p><p>Anyhow.. Agreed that if Reactives / HoT's are critting, then Wards should be critting as well. Maybe for visual feedback, they could change the colour of the ward to Gold, or White or something.. so we know that it's a crit..</p><p>Personally I'd love to see numbers for ward absorbtion.. so we know for sure .. but that's just me =D</p><hr></blockquote>It is true that if the first tick of the cast crits than the rest will, but I'm not entirely sure that if the first does not crit, the following ticks aren't checked. That'd be more like a partial crit, and I'm hoping that's not the case.If you or someone you know wants to test wards and critting you're welcome to it. You wanna have at least 2 points in the heal crit aa to bother taking the time to find out.</span></div>

[Kaharthemad]

<div></div><p>As far as wish list...I know this would be contrude as a fluff spell but it is very versatile esp when you are in cramp quarters and the stupid tank decided that having the height bar on his ogre or troll all the way up was cool when he made it.</p><p>Or when you decide to go from Ratonga mode to bear form.</p><p> </p><p>SHRINK</p><p>Was a nice utility spell in eq1 and frankly I dont think it would kill us as far as balance issue.</p>

[Frailsk]

<div></div><div></div>Hmmm a wish list you say? Well then lets get started ^_^1) Avatar - I'd like to see it go back to the EQ style.... Attack rating baby!! add like 200 attack to it would be awesome. It was never intended as a real stat buffer in EQ everyone wanted it for its attack rating. This would give the spell a effective reason to cast even if the person you have casted it on is at the stat cap.2) Haze line - Increase the duration of this spell each tier. Lasts longer so i don't have to recast the pos every 30 odd seconds, and honestly this shouldn't cause any balancing issues. As a plus side would make it easier for the devs to make the spells look like an "upgrade" than increasing it by wow 1% each tier.3) SPEARS - [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] sony? mystics are suspose to have spears in their ideal as a class and now as a requirement for 1/2 our AA's. Give us more viable spear options. Add one to the prismatic lists (1hander pls ^_^)4) Be nice if grieving soul lowered spell Damage as well by say 10% not enough to be class defining but enough to give it some more flavor.Other good thing about these changes is they'll effect every playing style solo,group,raid so we can al lbe happy ^_^.Well thats all I can think of.5) ooo almost forgot! Cloak of the Ancestors - GIVE US INVISIBILITY!!!!!<div></div><p>Message Edited by Frailskin on <span class="date_text">03-11-2006</span><span class="time_text">08:17 AM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Frailskin on <span class="date_text">03-11-2006</span><span class="time_text">08:22 AM</span></p>

[Owlbe]

<div></div><p>Well at least my wish of +dps for a mystic is coming true slowly on test....</p><p> </p><p>- dog has its attack rate increased</p><p>-cold dd is getting a 20% damage boost (and power increase)</p><p>-fever dot is getting a power cost decrease</p><p> </p><p>Should help out soloers alot.  Its a nice start but we have to press for more.  Templars are getting a huge boost in dps and shamans are generally considered more offensive than plate clerics I think more dps is in line for us or should be imo.</p>

[Shiss]

<div></div><div>Are you on the Test server?  What is the attack rate increase if you can give us that.</div><div> </div><div>and do our buffs stack on him now? or is he the Poof daddy that he still is unless you dump 25 AA's into STR line?</div><div> </div><div>20% more damage? thats what 100 more? Woo! *(sigh)*  so it does 560 min now instead of 460?  when mobs have 30k</div><div>HP it is hard to get excited about 20% more on something that is soooo weak to begin with and will cost more power as</div><div>well to cast for the additional damage.</div><div> </div><div>Well here is hoping that the update notes show this, as for right now I havent seen this on the test updates.</div><div> </div><div>Thanks for the info!</div>

[Owlbe]

<div></div><div></div><div>All priest auto attack damage has also been increased which will be nice.  Forgot to add that one.  All priests are getting a damage boost one way or another and templars in particular are getting a huge boost.</div><div> </div><div><a href="http://patch.everquest2.com:7010/patch/eq2/motd/en/updates_test.html" target="_blank">http://patch.everquest2.com:7010/patch/eq2/motd/en/updates_test.html</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><strong>Check mar. 9th updates and YES its on test.  </strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div> </div><p>Message Edited by Omegarhino on <span class="date_text">03-14-2006</span><span class="time_text">10:14 AM</span></p>

[Eepop]

Would be nice to see these. <div></div>