Mystics role..

[Catfe]

<DIV>Hi, so i started playing the game yesterday, I'm not a complete newbie, i have had experience with EQ1 and several other MMOs but i asked a question in the level1-9 channel about mystics and they said its not a bad class just that alot of bad players play the class.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i would like to know, What exactly am i supposed to do in a group situation, i have heard that your just not supposed to heal, but use the wards, and your debuffs, and heal some, seems like a challenging class to play, which i guess is what i am looking for, i don't like to just sit back and heal..</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>but tbh, i really don't understand all these AA points, and the apprentice and adept stuff, it really confuses me tbh, from what i get from it, the high i get in these the better the spells are, but how am i supposed to get better spells when i can't afford them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>i hope most of this makes sense, and if not i hope some people can decipher it and answer my questions <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>thanks alot <DIV> </DIV></DIV>

[thedu]

Although this <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=spells&message.id=9434" target=_blank>INFORMATION</a> is a bit old it's still very good read for those wanting to play a priest in EQ2. I would suggest reading to get idea of the different healing classes and how they work.The AP (AA) system is very different from EQ1. There were only 50 to begin with but with EoF expansion they have added a new tree.  What they are supposed to do is ENHANCE something you would like for your character.  Most discussion now is along the lines of what helps the most in group situation versus solo.  This is <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=achievements&message.id=2617" target=_blank>another thread</a> that hasn't been updated for EoF but can give you some information on Achievements in general.The basic goal of the priest classes is to heal and/or prevent damage.  The thread I mentioned above will give more info which does what and how.  But for shaman's generally wards ABSORB damage that is either not absorbed by armor or avoided altogether.  We do have direct heals but cost a lot of power eventually.  The other way mystics prevent damage is by either debuffing and buffing of which we have both.The general rule of thumb is to try and never Pre-ward in a fight. The reason for this, again explained in the above thread, is that heals (direct, regens, reactives, and wards) generate aggro.  So if the person pulling doesn't pull with something that generates hate, i.e. DPS and/or taunts, and you wards on the person then you will most likely get pumelled.If you are looking for a healer that can solo really well go with either fury or warden - mystic and defiler are slow at it.With the EoF expansion you now have to level up skills such as disruption, subjugation, etc. via your spells otherwise mobs will resists them.Spell versions(lowest to highest): Apprentice 1, App 2, App 3, App 4, Adept 1, Adept 3, Master 1 and Master 2   (there are no adept 2, 4, and no Master 3)The lower your spell the more resists you will get.  App 1 - 4 and Adept 3 are crafted spells.  Adept 1 and Master 1 spells are chest drops. Master II is a selection you get every 10 (don't remember) levels.Depending on your play style I wouldn't worry about affording spells right away.  Play around with class till level 30 to find out if you really like it; Then I would suggest two things (again depending on what you want)1) you can level rather quickly by grouping but you might bypass a lot of content. However this can get you the money and spells that you want.2) Group as often as possible but take your time leveling. There are many, many, many quests that will give money and items that you can equip, and/or sell.Another suggestion I would with the AP system is read up on all the different abilities/spells that give and decide either before hand; or much later on what you want to spend those points. Because changing them is cheap at first but becomes increasingly costly after the 4th time.<div></div>

[Rayche]

<P>The spell upgrades aren't required to be able to play the game, they just make you more effective.</P> <P>Affording them should come easier as you adventure and get cash drops that you can sell. Learn the broker system and you can make some seriously good money selling dropped armor, weapons and other adept spells.</P> <P>Keep an eye out for Adept Mystic spells that drop and let your group know when you need one. That's a free upgrade there, and it's a really nice version of the spells. (You can also rarely get Master 1 versions of your spells from Exquisite chests, and this is the best you can get.)</P> <P>There's an exception to that rule as well. Every so often (I think at level 10, 22 and 34, 46 etc) you will have the choice of 1 spell out of 4 to receive as a Master 2 version. This basically gives you the chance to decide what you want to be the best at. Healing? Nuking? Debuffing? Buffing?</P> <P>I played EQ1 as well, and it took a brief while to get used to the spell/ability ranking system, but once you do it's pretty easy.</P> <P>Here's a completely made up example of how it works:</P> <P>Imagine a healing spell, we'll call it "Lesser Healing" for this example.</P> <P><STRONG>Lesser Healing Apprentice I</STRONG> would heal for 20-30 points. (This magically appears in your spellbook when you level.)</P> <P><BR><STRONG>Lesser Healing Apprentice II</STRONG> would heal for 25-35 points. (You can buy this from the Mystic trainer in your home city)</P> <P><BR><STRONG>Lesser Healing Apprentice III</STRONG> would heal for 28-38 points. (This is the result of a failed tradeskill combine and should have been thrown away heh.)</P> <P><BR><STRONG>Lesser Healing Apprentice IV</STRONG> would heal for 35-45 points. (This is a pristine tradeskilled spell creation and it's the best that a player can craft (Sage class) with common components...this spell is considered "average" for your level.)</P> <P><STRONG>Lesser Healing Adept I</STRONG> would heal for 40-50 points. (This is dropped from regular mobs in chests. This is considered above average, and gives you a slight bit of an edge against game mobs.)</P> <P><BR><STRONG>Lesser Healing Adept III</STRONG>  would heal for 50-60 points. (This is crafted by the sage class players out of rare harvested materials and puts you in the "I want him in my group always" list.)</P> <P><STRONG>Lesser Healing Master I</STRONG> would heal for 65-75 points. (This drops sometimes from high powered named mobs and is considered a "Fabled" drop. If you have this, healing is a cake walk for you and your group can take on slightly tougher mobs just because of your healing abilities.)</P> <P><BR><STRONG>Lesser Healing Master II</STRONG> would heal for 75-85 points. (Not every spell has the option to be a Master II, and again, it's just another way to make your character stand out as a dominant healer or buffer or debuffer etc.)</P> <P>Just read the descriptions on your AA tree and read some of the discussions in this board about them. My advice is to go all the way down the Strength tree if you like the dog pet, then go for the Agility tree for critical melee and heals, but there's no real wrong way to do it. Again AA's just add flavor to the game and aren't required to play.</P> <P><SPAN class=time_text></SPAN> </P><p>Message Edited by Gojirax on <span class=date_text>12-14-2006</span> <span class=time_text>04:02 PM</span>

[Catfe]

Thank you all for your replies, they are really appreciated, and i think i've got it down,again thanks alot <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />      <div></div>

[Eepop]

To clarify you get the master 2 spells at the x4 levels.  14, 24, 34, 44, 54, and 64.  This is not a guess, its fact. <div></div>

[Rayche]

<DIV>There you have it, Thanks Eepop <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[lstead]

The apprenctice and adept stuff got explained, but you had some questions about what you actually do.Mystics are healers, but we're healers who heal with wards that stop the damage from happening, rather than waiting for it to happen. The usual is wait for someone to pull. Once s/he has aggro toss a ward on him or her. Make sure to pull up the list of maintained spells (control M or alt m or something like that?) so you can watch when the ward drops, either from time or damage, so you can recast it just as it goes down.In the meantime, while the ward is going down, you have have some time to cast your debuffs, which are damage reducers and slows. Also a couple of them reduce resistances. Or toss heals for the damage they took while the ward was down.One frustration about playing mystics is that you still find a few chuckleheads who don't understand what a ward is. You're warding like crazy, but they don't see the damage bar going down so they assume they're not taking damage and decide to go find something even more dangerous and gets the party wiped. (Which they then blame on you.) <div></div>

[LizzyIzzy2]

<P>Some observations:</P> <P>1. I found that, especially at the lower levels, I had to explain what a mystic is. In many cases the people I grouped with did not even know that I was a healer. </P> <P>2. As others have said, we are SLOW soloers. This can be good or bad. For me, this was my first toon in EQ2 and the slower leveling allowed me to learn my class and do lots of quests that would have otherwise been skipped over. On my alts I may choose to skip some of these quests (I hate Gut Ripper in Zek for example) but I have at least tried many of them.</P> <P>3. Just like for other priest classes, I never lacked for a group if I wanted one (I always just said priest or healer LFG) but could always find plenty of stuff to do solo as well. </P> <P>4. When soloing I start with a ward before I pull with a debuff (or 2!). I put a disease or cold dot on in between (slow) melee. I can't take the mobs down quickly (don't take on huge mobs) but because of chain armor and wards, I can stand there and fight a long time.</P> <P>5. In groups I generally only preward if the tank is pulling with melee or taunts. On body pulls I wait until the tank has hit and taunted once. Once the ward is up I watch for dots so I can cure promptly (means I don't have to heal as much...saves power). then I cast damage spells until the ward needs to be cast again. On short fight the debuffs are not as useful imo,  but in longer battles they are really helpful.</P> <P>6. Other group members who had higher toon alts offered advice that helped me play better. At least listen to the advice and try it out for yourself to see how it works. Many times I got good tips.</P>

[Eepop]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>lstead wrote:One frustration about playing mystics is that you still find a few chuckleheads who don't understand what a ward is. You're warding like crazy, but they don't see the damage bar going down so they assume they're not taking damage and decide to go find something even more dangerous and gets the party wiped. (Which they then blame on you.) <div></div><hr></blockquote>A good way to prevent this, is that when you are in the content that you can keep the tank stabilized at an amount, shoot for 75-80% instead of 100%.  In the end, its about keeping the tank above 1 hp when the battle ends.  Just because you can keep him topped off doesnt mean you should.  If you spend too much effort keeping the tank maxed, you may find the group having to wait on you for your power to regenerate. Don't get too obsessive about being "crazy healing man", and instead work on keeping two goals fulfilled: 1) The group is alive at the end of the battle 2) Have fun It is definitely a good point though, learning how to keep the groups expectations reasonable is a very important lesson for any healer to learn.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Eepop on <span class=date_text>12-21-2006</span> <span class=time_text>12:28 PM</span>

[Heathenistic]

<DIV>In most of our raids we have 2 mystics. one to ensure wards, cures and heals are there and the other one to constantly debuff and ward.</DIV>