Why is a good swashbuckler so hard to find?

[Original Cinadien]

We have been looking for a good swashbuckler for months. I thought the swashy class was fun to play!!?? Please explain why there are so few of you around and why. I see a bunch of swashy alt's running around but, no full time raiding swashy's that meet our strict attendance policies of Sun-Thurs 8-12est. I can see this being viewed as a semi-recruiting thread but, mor ethan that I want to know why not many people play swashy's as a main. <div></div>

[m0ya]

<P>There's sooooooooooo many swash running around!!</P> <P>They're prolly all guilded tho....</P> <P>A swash isn't hard to find, a swash that know how to really play his class is hard. lol</P> <P>Gl tho! <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P>

[Original Cinadien]

Aye, thats the problem, we have plenty of swashy's that send tells for recruiting but, none that are hard-core end game raiders who can meet our raid schedule or have the knowledge required to open a bubble gum wrapper, let alone formulate strategies to beat the toughest crap sony can throw at us. <div></div>

[AegisCrown]

yeah prolly also doesnt help that most guilds wont let the swashbuckler leave =) were too loved<div></div>

[Neumann]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> AegisCrown wrote:<BR>yeah prolly also doesnt help that most guilds wont let the swashbuckler leave =) were too loved<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>lol...Im in a raid/hard core pvp guild, i have THE raid setup (i got swipe which most swashies wont get on pvp cause 8 points are so valuable).  One other swashie also has swipe, he goes most raids, i raid monthly tbh lol....they wont ever kick me even tho the leader is other swash and whenever he dies i corpse hump him (he has no sense of humor).  I also go afk 50% of raids, but when im not afk....its worth me being there, lol.</P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P>example: I was in lyccenum, and parsed 4th on zonewide dps at about 1100 (qeynos only remember) and i was afk for literally 1/2 the raid (like an hr). That + my setup is why they would never think of dropping me...also doesnt hurt im 3rd on guild status and wud be first if i logged on in the last week and kept pvping, lol.</P> <P> </P> <P>yah tho........swashies FTW</P>

[Luk]

<div><blockquote><hr>Original Cinadien wrote: Why is a good swashbuckler so hard to find? <div></div><hr></blockquote>Cause I'm already taken <span>:smileytongue:</span></div>

[Syrano]

I love that the definition of "good" requires thurs-sun raid attendance.  THat's probably your problem. Good swashies can get their pick of guilds, and often their pick of loot orders for raiding guilds, so there's no need for one to be so hardcore to enjoy the game and get good loot.<div></div>

[Dakkon_10]

<DIV>Because there is no such thing as a good swashbuckler. They all suck. :smileysad:</DIV>

[Cocytus]

Pretty much the only swashbucklers that don't suck either post here, or are in the serverwide swash channel, from what I have seen.

[Mion da Peon]

<P>We need good soil, lots of sunlight, water twice a day, and someone to sing to us.</P> <P>That's right singing... are you singing ? </P> <P>I can't hear you !</P>

[Galn]

<DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Syrano wrote:<BR>I love that the definition of "good" requires thurs-sun raid attendance.  THat's probably your problem. Good swashies can get their pick of guilds, and often their pick of loot orders for raiding guilds, so there's no need for one to be so hardcore to enjoy the game and get good loot.<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>That keeps me from joining a raid guild right there.. mandatory raid times, especially those that overlap weekends. Not everyone lives in this game and can be at 5-6 raids a week, a lot of us have jobs/kids/family/etc that make this game take a back seat to real life. </DIV>

[Kharadr]

LOL Leithe, I suck, I post here to ask questions in order to become less sucky <span>:smileywink:</span>We have 3 active swashies in our guild, 2 of which are very good <span>:smileytongue:</span> We are not a hardcore raid guild though, we are an "active guild". I think most people who roll swash alts just want to see how "l33t" they are and never spend the time to actually get to learn the class. People think swashes are easy cause "they're just melee". They tend to forget about all the positioning, let alone all the buff-art combos which work best.In general there are not that many people who really want to learn the game in a very technical way.<div></div>

[tass]

It isnt hard to learn how to to out dps near everyone in ur grp. With my swash I can always swipe agro from the tank, the mage and the healer all at once lol. Thats usually why I hold back a second or 2. You just have to look at each spell and know how to work them all together. Which ones nock the enemy back long enough for u to get behind and whatnot. Another thing is alot of swashies dont fully use there utility. Ive found slowing down a mob helps the tank survive longer by a great deal more. I know because I used grp tanks as guinny pigs to test it lol.The same goes for the swashies speed increase buffs and whatnot. If u dont use them correctly ur gonna lose dps and the raids gonna lose life. Played correctly a swash can near almost parse at the very top of all raids. Played wrong and ur gonna be somewhere in 8th place or maby not on the list at all.And odds are most of all the swashies who know the class are already in raiding guilds lol.I personally think the swash is the funnest and easiest to play. Brigs seem to complicated, almost as iff all the spells were mashed together to try and create dps. Swash spells are alot easier to simplify and coordinate.<div></div>

[cyclonus11]

I like it to the point where I take my sweet time. I spend a lot of time doing my own thing, and as a consequence, it takes forever for me to level. My Swashy is only 58 and I've been playing her since launch! <span>And having a great time! :smileyvery-happy:So, in other words, it will be a little while before I can even think about joining a hardcore endgame guild such as 5R. <span>:smileywink:</span></span><div></div>

[Blackgold]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Syrano wrote:<BR>I love that the definition of "good" requires thurs-sun raid attendance.  THat's probably your problem. <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Same thing I thought when I read the post." Good" and "a slave to a raid schedule" are two different things.

[SmCaudata]

I raid, but since EQ2 is a game I would never join a guild with requirements. I don't need a job. My guild took down all of the KoS content and we were all casual raiders.  Skilled players don't have to play 24/7.<div></div>

[SageGaspar]

Problem might be that most high levels that want to be raid slaves roll niche classes that will "guarantee" them a spot in some raiding guild -- shaman, bard, chanter. Swashbuckler is pretty common but I've seen things like level 65 swashes that took Inspired Daring off their hotbar as soon as they got it because it didn't seem useful, claim they can't do any tanking, and so forth. Of course I see my share of level 70 chanters that think their role in a group is mezzbot, so there's that.Another problem might be we're having too much fun grouping and casually raiding to join your uber guild hehe. I'm most at home with a group where I can offtank, main tank, completely control the flow of aggro, mezz every once in a while, etc. I like my versatile AAs and my stylish gear and I don't want to change either to become 5% more uber so I can be tall enough to ride your raid <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><div></div>

[adamflanagan]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Kharadrim wrote:<SPAN><BR><BR></SPAN>We have 3 active swashies in our guild, 2 of which are very good <SPAN>:smileytongue:</SPAN> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>thanks ally! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Zygwen]

Swashies are fun to play and that might be the problem. Most swashies play for fun and their idea of fun does not include hardcore raiding 5 nights a week. Another way to look at it is that Swashies are not a power gamer's class. Thus while there are now a lot more swashbucklers than there used to be, there is still very few hardcore swashbucklers. <div></div>

[Orienne]

<DIV>There are a handful of high level hard core raiding swashy's on my server, but overall there really aren't all that many compared to most other classes. One reason this may be is because the swashy gets really exciting in the early 50's, and most people base their enjoyment level off of the early levels to see if they will be interested in leveling their chosen class all the way to 70. I must say though, being a hard core raiding swashy that I have a blast. Swashbuckler is the third class I have played in this game, and it is by far the most exciting in every single way. As to why most of the high level swashy's on your server prefer casual play, I have no idea. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I remember you from EQ1 btw, I was in iB and we used to get into it with you guys =p. Those were some fun times. Good luck finding a raiding swashy!</DIV>

[Original Cinadien]

Ahh Insidious Blood, theres a name I havnt heard in a while, good times! <div></div>

[Franco2254]

<DIV>Oh my IB and 5 rings brings back alot memorys. If you think you all gave each other trouble. I was in Veil of Shadows and everyone hated us to include ourselfs.:smileyvery-happy:</DIV> <DIV>But back to the subject raiding Swashy are very hard to find. I was the only one in my guild for over a year untill the last 30 days when we found 2 more.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Brownwolf Shadowblade</DIV> <DIV>70 Swashbuckler</DIV> <DIV>Dracos Argent,Butcherblock</DIV>

[Orienne]

<DIV>I remember VoS. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now all we need is Endorean and LoS to post here and we can have ourselves a full fledged Luclin reunion =p</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have been seeing a lot more swashys on my server lately than I ever did before, and I think that one of the reasons is because of the AR nerf. Maybe you will find a lvl 70 raiding swashy soon that fits your raid schedule. =)</DIV>

[GoddessKailynn]

I agree, I believe most swashy play a swashy cause its a FUN class.  And for many, that doesn't include mandatory raiding.<div></div>

[Cocytus]

<DIV>Don't have to raid to be good.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My policy though...no excuses, play like a champ.</DIV>

[Keyh]

<div><blockquote><hr>Cocytus wrote:<div>Don't have to raid to be good.</div> <div> </div> <div>My policy though...no excuses, play like a champ.</div><hr></blockquote>I agree with this, as well as Leithe's previous post about most of the good ones being in here and/or the Swashbuckler channel.I personally don't raid, not yet anyway. I can still out DPS most classes in pick-up groups I'm in, and I'm pretty knowledgable about the group/solo content. I also tanked upper Mistmoore Catacombs a couple of nights ago (not really hard, but still). I feel that I'm a good grouping Swashy, and a "decent" Swashy all around. As for why you can't find anyone, I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want to be FORCED to play certain days of the week, esspecially 5 in a row. I wouldn't join the guild personally.</div>

[mikemastermikeymike]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Keyh wrote:<BR> <DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Cocytus wrote:<BR> <DIV>Don't have to raid to be good.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My policy though...no excuses, play like a champ.</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I agree with this, as well as Leithe's previous post about most of the good ones being in here and/or the Swashbuckler channel.<BR><BR>I personally don't raid, not yet anyway. I can still out DPS most classes in pick-up groups I'm in, and I'm pretty knowledgable about the group/solo content. I also tanked upper Mistmoore Catacombs a couple of nights ago (not really hard, but still). I feel that I'm a good grouping Swashy, and a "decent" Swashy all around. <BR><BR>As for why you can't find anyone, I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want to be FORCED to play certain days of the week, esspecially 5 in a row. I wouldn't join the guild personally.<BR></DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>If you want to raid, you play its that simple.</P> <P>Im the best geared Swash on Nagafen, and in the top raiding guild there we raid five days a week....... put 2 and 2 together.</P>

[Keyh]

<div><blockquote><hr>mikemastermikeymike wrote:<div></div> <blockquote> <hr> Keyh wrote: <div> <blockquote> <hr> Cocytus wrote: <div>Don't have to raid to be good.</div> <div> </div> <div>My policy though...no excuses, play like a champ.</div> <hr> </blockquote>I agree with this, as well as Leithe's previous post about most of the good ones being in here and/or the Swashbuckler channel.I personally don't raid, not yet anyway. I can still out DPS most classes in pick-up groups I'm in, and I'm pretty knowledgable about the group/solo content. I also tanked upper Mistmoore Catacombs a couple of nights ago (not really hard, but still). I feel that I'm a good grouping Swashy, and a "decent" Swashy all around. As for why you can't find anyone, I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want to be FORCED to play certain days of the week, esspecially 5 in a row. I wouldn't join the guild personally.</div> <hr> </blockquote> <p>If you want to raid, you play its that simple.</p> <p>Im the best geared Swash on Nagafen, and in the top raiding guild there we raid five days a week....... put 2 and 2 together.</p><hr></blockquote>That's all well and good for you. But for most of us, this is a game, not a contest.</div>

[Delow]

<div></div><div><blockquote><hr>mikemastermikeymike wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr>Keyh wrote:<div><blockquote><hr>Cocytus wrote:<div>Don't have to raid to be good.</div><div> </div><div>My policy though...no excuses, play like a champ.</div><hr></blockquote>I agree with this, as well as Leithe's previous post about most of the good ones being in here and/or the Swashbuckler channel.I personally don't raid, not yet anyway. I can still out DPS most classes in pick-up groups I'm in, and I'm pretty knowledgable about the group/solo content. I also tanked upper Mistmoore Catacombs a couple of nights ago (not really hard, but still). I feel that I'm a good grouping Swashy, and a "decent" Swashy all around.As for why you can't find anyone, I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want to be FORCED to play certain days of the week, esspecially 5 in a row. I wouldn't join the guild personally.</div><hr></blockquote><p>If you want to raid, you play its that simple.</p><p>Im the best geared Swash on Nagafen, and in the top raiding guild there we raid five days a week....... put 2 and 2 together.</p><hr></blockquote>While that is a true statement, if you want to raid you play, its not what that person was talking about. They were referring to being forced to play certain days of the week in order to be in a guild and to raid. This is not a requirement of all guilds, some guilds enjoy casual raiding or just raiding a few times a week for example. I am in a guild that raids 2-3 times a week and is split into 2 parts, raiders and members. Everyone is able to raid but it is only required that raiders maintain a certain % of attendance for raids to maintain their raider status. Each of us enjoy the game differently, some like to devote large amounts of their free time to raiding 5 days a week, while others just like to login and enjoy doing casual things with friends and raiding on the side. A lot of people who play swashbucklers are just looking to have fun and based on the response here in this thread they are not looking for a mandatory raiding guild.BTW, being the best geared swashbuckler doesn't equate for anything if you don't know how to play your class. I don't know where this conversation turned into caring about the association of gear with what type of raiding you do (casual, mandatory 5 days a week, etc) and how much time you play.</div>

[Kharadr]

The obvious problem is: what constitutes a good swashbuckler? Or what's a good player for that matter? I've known people who were fantastic players but just not nice people. I am a member of a guild which focuses more on nice people of the right class than on uber geared [Removed for Content] of the right class. Of course, people in sucky gear can be [Removed for Content] and people in fabulous gear can be very nice people (/wave Paeto and Quoris).In the end, what constitutes a "good swashbuckler" will differ per guild. I know I am a pretty decent player but I lack M1 arts and I certainly lack the "twitch skill" which the good players hardly even acknowledge because it comes so natural to them. I watch my fellow guild swashies jump around in combat, always on the right spot. Heck, I get out-DPS-ed by our Paladin sometimes because she is just an amazing player and I'm not. Does that make me a "bad swashbuckler"? /shrug bad to a raid guild maybe. I am very loyal though, I want to help out, I don't care about loot or xp or "being efficient". Those are things which can be valued by a guild as well.<div></div>

[Hir]

<div></div>Good gear doesn't automatically make for a good swashbuckler.A good player makes for a good swashbuckler and if they have good gear/spells, all the better.I'm agreeing with the others that being a raid slave doesn't automatically makes you good either. I enjoy raiding now and then but I don't need a second job. I do consider myself a good swashbuckler though.I can DPS and I've been Main Assist on raids. The only problem I have is that I sometimes yoink the MT's target as well, but I hold up well and the healers can keep up, so.Swashies are nice MA both in raids and groups, it's an extra pair of eyes and an additional taunt to keep your casters safe if they accidentally pull agro.Plus I don't take advantage of the fact I'm irreplacable in my guild (both as a swash and a provisioner who supplies the guild bank) by for example going AFK during raids or antagonizing fellow guild members. Someone who does that is not a good player to group with, nevermind a good swash.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Hiryu on <span class=date_text>12-20-2006</span> <span class=time_text>05:13 AM</span>

[liveja]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Licit wrote: Cause I'm already taken <SPAN>:smileytongue:</SPAN><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Bet that.<BR>

[Mion da Peon]

Not meaning to grief but... I can't believe you people are still responding to this silly thread.

[Keyh]

Sadly, it's the only semi-decent topic on the boards right now. We've over due for another "Pictures of your Swashbuckler being awesome" thread me thinks.