Troubadours are great!!

[marill]

<DIV>Hello All,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Zzang lvl 46 Troubadour on Splitpaw Server here. I been reading a lot of bad comments about the troubadour class so I wanted to give my experience.  My troubadour is my main and my absolutely favorite class of all. I do not feel that the stats changes have so drastically changed my troubadour that she is useless. We do have some very nice buffs and although some may seem like nothing they do affect you and your group greatly improving the efficiency of teaming enormous. I have yet to find a team who isnt overjoyed to have a troubadour in their group. We are a very wanted class and most teams realise this. Being also a lvl 50 jeweler has made it easy for me to have always all my songs upgraded and that makes a huge difference.  Yes i do not do the damage any other scoutclass does but overall I increase the damage output of everyone making a huge difference to a team. I increase their defense making the tank take less damage and able to deal with more challenging encounters. I regenerate power  and even my small power regeneration makes a difference. I raise the damage output, I raise their parrying skill, I raise their HP (and 1000 more HP is no small thing), raise their strenght,their agility, their inteligence, their resistances, can drain some power of a mob. I have all the scout abilites as disarming chest, tracking, pathfinding, evacuation, sneaking.  Most of our songs are usefull in special circumstances you just need to know what to use when. The lvl 46 Graceful Avoidance at adept 3 gives an increase of 21 defense to myself. This is not only useful to solo but also in emergencies.</DIV> <DIV>My troubadour is team oriented I knew that when I started. I have never soloed a lot prepatch nor much after patch. I have tried to solo some lvl 46 solo giants and lv 48 solo bears in everfrost and did not find any problems at all.  I can stand in a train of green mobs and not get hit. Yes i can not solo a blue group arrow mob but I shouldnt be able to do that. It all depends of what kind of mobs you are against. Against melee mobs stacking your defense songs does wonders. Resistances are great against casters and our power drain songs do make a lot of difference when soloing or against tough bosses.</DIV> <DIV>Overall although we need some fixes the troubadour class still shines and sparkles and is not useless like a few have claimed.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Zzang,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Lvl 47 Troubadour / Lv 50 Jeweler</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>

[Despak]

Well said.Although only level 26 I still love my troub and barely notice any changes from the patches. Actually ended up as MT in Stormhold doing Feign Zombies (blue^^) and had no probs with 22 rng, 24 wiz, 24 conj & 24 Templer.Think lots of groups are getting the idea now too, as I start getting tells during the night asking if I am lfg regardless of if I have a lfg flag up.

[Emmaji]

<DIV>Do Bards still twist songs in EQ2? I currently play a Illusionist but am thinking of starting a new toon. I am leaning towards a scout or possibly a Monk but can't decide. I played a Ranger to 66 in EQ1 and am seriously considering starting another in EQ2 just wanted to get a little insight from some experienced players first. I know the classes aren't much like their EQ1 counterparts so I don't want to assume too much.</DIV>

[serenader]

No Bards in eq 1 are not anything alike to bards in eq 2 (besides the name), no twistingheh I miss kiting tho <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[DarthLem]

so can this class solo good? I am lloking for a good Qeynos scout class.

[Windain]

<DIV>yes, troubadors can solo well</DIV>

[texwood]

<DIV>Depends on what you like to solo.</DIV> <DIV>Orange mobs are almost impossible,</DIV> <DIV>yellows are hard but generally winable.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Greens ++ 4 levels below you are easy.</DIV> <DIV>Greens ++ 3 levels below you are hard but winable.</DIV> <DIV>Depends on mob type of course.</DIV> <DIV>Some green ++ mobs are just impossible.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My templar is better on solo mobs.</DIV> <DIV>My troub is better on green group mobs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Have fun</DIV>

[Koman]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> DarthLemur wrote:<BR>so can this class solo good? I am lloking for a good Qeynos scout class.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> There's no way I would recommend becoming a Troub based on our ability to solo.  Good group class though. 

[DarthLem]

what scout claas would you recomend then?

[Toogel]

<DIV>I understand Brigands/Swashbucklers are awesome at soloing.  Their ability to stun mobs and then quickly postion behind it to do a back attack makes them a fast killing machine.  They arent as desired for grouping as Bards and Predators from my understanding though.</DIV>

[Xran]

Brigands/Swashbucklers are desired in groups ... only if the group has any knowledge of them.Don't know about Swashies, but Brigand has actually one of the highest if not highest dps amongscouts. Yes yes, Assasins have always been touted as the best dps melee. But check out Brigand's dps ifyou managed to find them and get them in your group. (Meaning = Brigands are so rare in most serversthat is it hard to get them in group). I know in Blackburrow, last count is around 15 Brigands.

[Lifeblind]

In response to Darth's question (and to be the devil's advocate) not sure how troubadors are for soloing....i strongly reccommend that you go Dirge <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />FYI: Bards and their subclasses are neutral. You can be a Troub or Dirge in either city.

[eleven]

<div></div><p>looking over this I must agree with the troub being a great solo adventurer, however , I think it all depends on your armor and weapons. I have all legendary armor and some kick [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] Swords. I can take down a Blue +2 heroic any day. Many times in a group I have been asked to tank, NO joke! I hold my own next to any bruiser of the same level. My arrows pull from far away, which makes me very valuable in cramped situations. My songs make me powerful, and being a wood elf I get the precision in combat ability.(I believe at lvl 30 I received that). That makes a huge difference, when I'm using it I feel unbeatable against a lot of creatures out there and theres's some kick butt visual effects. If you want to show people your strenght in groups do this . Before you accept the invite to group, turn off all your buffs. take the invite , get around everyone and ask if they have your buffs. They will all say no. This will make them look at their stats as you buff. I have had so many "sweet this is bad [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]." or" wow now I can do this."comments. I almost always get a reinvite from the same people the next time I'm on. If we could only heal we would be completely universal. Well we do have a health regenerator buff.  </p>

[Kulaf]

<div></div>You sure your taking on ^^ Blue "Heroic" encounters solo?  Sorry if I sound a bit skeptical but......well I am. You are positive it says "Heroic" and yer not just taking on the harder solo encounters?

[eleven]

<div>positive , however I am using legendary armor on everything head to toe, each piece cost 1.5 pt each . (had to use station exchange quite a bit <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />)</div><div> </div><div>Even my pants attack(no joke). haha my chest plate adds + 36 health every 4 seconds.</div><div> </div><div>I have 2 sai's that are legondary and add an additional -150+ damage each with their magical abilities. 50+ with out magical boost.</div><div> </div><div>I normally strike with bow first (top of the line using deafening missle (master spell) all my spells are master or close to , thanks to my guild who has no clue what else to do with troub spells (lol) and some gold of course.</div><div> </div><div>My guy is pretty buffed up . I use my woodland elf precision in combat skill and he rocks.</div><div>of course I have my normal buffs on health/power reg + all defs on , but I do pretty [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] good soloing.</div><div>If my weapons hit on precentages for their abilities to work during combat it's pretty much a done deal , if they don't then yeah I rename myself meat. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></div><div> </div><div>I have been reading about the charm spell , I have not even used it once, but after reading that the charmed creature will attack what you attack , I may try it out I can only imagine a better out come than even this.</div><div> </div><div>yes single blue ^^ heroics , I have defeated on my own.</div><div> </div><div>so get your self some plat and buff up.   : ) or get into a good guild , not the crazy 500+ members.</div><div> </div><div>it's worth it.</div>

[eleven]

<div>One other thing that works great in my favor while in combat is using the sonet spells during combat.</div><div>Before casting a spell taht I know is going to take a long time to cast I hit with stun.</div><div>A lot of it is a chess match with quick thinking for a troub.  other classes like my lvl 40 beserker is all about clicking on different hotkeys. It's not as fun.</div><div> </div><div>My troub is only a lvl 33 but I like it.  </div>

[Kulaf]

<div></div>Well I'll give ya the benefit of the doubt I guess.  Personally green heroics can kick the crap out of me and my gear is not exactly shabby. I'm a few levels higher than you are atm and as fast as we replace equipment and spells I am not really willing to shell out plat for gear I will replace in 2 weeks so I can solo a bit better.  I'm saving my coin for 50 - 70 gear and spells.

[eleven]

<div>Well I can't help you there. </div><div>You need a good guild to help you with gear and spells.</div><div>My guild has many skilled people and for a low price few gold I get master spells.</div><div>Plus the higher level charaters give masters spells and such to others in the guild.</div><div>Thats the difference of having a good guild and a guild that just wants numbers to level.</div><div> </div><div>I myself like having the xtra gear , if you spend good money on gear every 10 levels it works out pretty good.</div><div>try to budget 10 plat per ten levels. Isn't  that what the gold is for?</div>

[Klanch]

<div></div><div><font color="#ffffff"></font></div><p><font size="3" color="#ffffff">So to sum it up, if you have a major guild to group with for major items, or you have lots of plat for heroic items then you can solo high level single mobs. Otherwise, expect to quest a lot for solo experience. Troubadour is a great group class but leaves a lot to be desired as a solo class. If you are a casual player looking for a solo class then monk, bruiser, necromancer, conjurer, illusionist and a few others are much better choices.</font></p>

[Kulaf]

<div></div><p>Well I play on Permafrost in one of the top raiding guilds on the server......<a href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/en/guild.vm?guildId=266202" target="_blank"><Iconoclast></a>.  There is not an abundance of lower level rares and spells as most of the guild is already level 60.  I'm just a slacker that cannot decide what class I actually want to be so this is the third class I will have taken to level 50+ as soon as I snag my next 6 levels. I clearly don't have access to the same plat that you do because there is no way I could earn 1 plat per level.......especially in the 30's unless I used my other toons to harvest for rares, but not everyone has access to that ability.</p><p>Realistically Troub's are a support/DPS class for groups.  We aren't the best of soloers.  So I spend money and making sure I have nice weapons so I can contribute to a group.....and decent player made armor so I am not too squishy if I happen to draw agro.  When I get to level 60 or so then I will start seriously looking for gear to raid with.....resist gear etc.  But I don't want to spend it all getting there.  :smileywink:</p>

[eleven]

<div><div>yep you hit it pretty much on the head.</div><div>In fact the only reason I spend mass plat is so I can solo.</div><div>Before I spent the plat I would get wiped out by freakin groups of heroic ash bears in nek forest while i was at level 27-28</div><div>Then I met a warden who showed me the path to soloing.</div><div>That was armor and good weapons. Of course it came with a price, but let me just say this .</div><div>I went from getting killed by 3 herioc ash bears at lvl 27-28 to being able to take all 3 of them all down and still be green on my health bar with out using any mez or charm spells.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>I actually like playing this charater more than my lvl 40 Berserker , but thats just me.</div></div>

[Bassist]

<div></div><div></div>I love playing a class that has a chance in almost any solo fight.  Last night I got hit from behind by a yellow herioc encounter of 4 double-downs and took them out.  Charmed the first (in yellow health at that point), who took a second off to the side, mezzed a third, and had time to take down the fourth before re-mezzing the third.  Got my health back up while my pet took out the second, then started in on the third with my pet and took him down.  Obviously, the pet was then killed out of hand.It was fun, I had a resist or two in the battle on the mezzes, but had the luck of the charm sticking the whole fight.  Sure, if something went wrong I was just dead or escaped.  I can't see another class recovering so quickly, or having so much fun living on the edge.  Sure, I can't take out singles at a distance like a ranger, or just rip through like a necro, but where's the fun in that?  My equipment is ok:  not bad, not great.  I wouldn't want to play any other class.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Bassist on <span class="date_text">02-08-2006</span><span class="time_text">04:51 PM</span></p><p>Message Edited by Bassist on <span class="date_text">02-08-2006</span><span class="time_text">04:52 PM</span></p>

[Larcain]

<div></div><div></div><div>Hmmm. I LOVE my troub!! I started playing him with the initial understanding that he was a great group toon and a fair solo toon. I was a pleasant surprise to find out that he solos more than adequately. I have only reached  26th, but at 25 I killed a named 20 ^^^ by myself (holly windstalker). Now, that doesn't matter to me too much, but after a year or so of playing an inquisitor, this is REALLY fun. Songs and shivs in fights ROCK!! This is not a comparison to other scout classes, because that's kind of a useless excersize. Look at what we can do: stealth, evac, run buff (come on folks we can out run most folks with horses!!). We can cast on the run--you don't think thats a big deal? try playing an inq...stand there and get hit trying to get off a spell...gah!! We can put solo mobs pretty darned easy and even have a CHANCE at heroics. Besides, in addition to our solo stuff, you want to group? Group run buffs, group power regen, group health regen....sure maybe other toons can do some of that stuff better, no one toon can do everything thing we can do. Are we perfect? nah...who CARES? Is a troub fun? HECK YEAH!!</div><div> </div><div>My guild is getting ticked that I play my troub so much because they want me to play my inquisitor ( much higher level).</div><div> </div><div>OH!! and we get to charm and mezz...we have OPTIONS folks. Most chars don't. For most it's fight or run. We lose a fight...we have different strats we can try.</div><p>Message Edited by Larcain on <span class="date_text">02-09-2006</span><span class="time_text">08:19 AM</span></p>

[Menjar]

<div>You killed the Windstalker? What did you use as far as gear, and what was your basic attack stragegy?</div><div> </div><div>(I'm 25, and I want to clear out the Windstalker tonight, but other people advised me I'd need a group in order to survive! I'd love it if I could do it solo)</div><div> </div><div>thanks for any advice.</div>

[britn]

I love my troub too, but honestly we still kinda suck as compared to before.  At least the stat buffs gave a very strong, and definitive bonus to the group.  It made possible a whole lot of things that couldn''t be done really with any other class.Now, I'd rather have another ranger/assassin/summoner in the group than any bard.   Sure we help group efficiency and damage output but it's still not as beneficial IMO as having a strong dps, or a secondary healer for hard  encounters.<div></div>