Troubadour in my hydra?

[ScottAdams]

<DIV> <P>I just rolled a troubador to support my hydra. I like their agro decreasing song and their health regen song. Most of my damage will come from my conjurer and fury.</P> <P>My new hydra is guardian, fury, troubador, conjurer.  (old was a swashbuckler and templar) The whole change started because I wanted the druid ports.</P> <P>The three reasons I am replacing my swashbuckler with the bard are</P> <P>1) I can't react quick enough to have the swashy do all the damage he can potentially, i find myself managing the healer and conjurer more.</P> <P>2) I like having more utility to bring to a group when I play with guildmates.</P> <P>3) Power regen for the fury who can run out easily I hear.</P> <P>I realize I loose group invis (which is VERY useful for me)  but when I hit 30 I plan to start using invis totems (i have a woodworker) and then at 45 the Fury's group invis kicks in.</P> <P>With this information does my troubador make sense for this group? Any thoughts on if this is a better pick then the dirge?</P></DIV> <P>Message Edited by ScottAdams on <SPAN class=date_text>11-06-2006</SPAN> <SPAN class=time_text>02:29 PM</SPAN></P><p>Message Edited by ScottAdams on <span class=date_text>11-09-2006</span> <span class=time_text>09:33 AM</span>

[ForgottenFoundling]

<P>That actually sounds like a decent setup.  You can't really go wrong with either bard for botting though.  A dirge might suit you better though as they are rather defensive oriented (percussion of stone = proccing stoneskin).  You'd still have the power regen and you could probably get use out of the dirge's rez in case  your fury dies.  Also, the hate buff the dirges have will more than offset the hate decrease of the troub.</P> <P> </P>

[Sokthul]

I think the main question is wether you want a mez or a rez song. Since you're playing in a hydra and might be somewhat preoccupied with other chars to refresh mezzes (duration is only 28 sec on lullaby and 32, I think, on reverie), I think dirge might work slightly better for you.If you got enough fingers for mezzings while doing the other stuff, by all means, take troub.edit for troub advertisement*Thinking more this, with that group setup, I think you'd squeeze out more dps by having troub, at 65+ anyway. Jester's cap on fury and conjurer would kick in a whole bunch of extra dps when needed.However... faster refreshes = more button mushing madness for you <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /><p>Message Edited by Sokthul on <span class=date_text>11-07-2006</span> <span class=time_text>09:58 AM</span>

[ScottAdams]

<DIV>I used the following link to compare the two...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><A href="http://www.eq2ref.com/abilities/diff.php" target=_blank>http://www.eq2ref.com/abilities/diff.php</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am not as concerned with the extra rez (44) as I think I will get more mileage out of the troubador's health regen at that level instead </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I do like that the troubador primarily buffs the caster's output as I will be getting most of my DPS that way. Between the conjurer, the conjurer's pet, the fury I will have 3 casters doing heavy DPS.  Plus the debuffs for mental damage are also a plus.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I assume you mean Charm as the Mez song. My swashy has mez and I have used it to good effect in the past but not very often. Will be interesting to see if this proves useful or not.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So far I am leaning towards the troubador.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now I am not familar with Jester's cap. I assume its an AA. What does it do?</DIV>

[Sokthul]

<blockquote><hr>ScottAdams wrote:<DIV>I used the following link to compare the two...</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV><A href="http://www.eq2ref.com/abilities/diff.php" target=_blank>http://www.eq2ref.com/abilities/diff.php</A></DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>I am not as concerned with the extra rez (44) as I think I will get more mileage out of the troubador's health regen at that level instead </DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>I do like that the troubador primarily buffs the caster's output as I will be getting most of my DPS that way. Between the conjurer, the conjurer's pet, the fury I will have 3 casters doing heavy DPS.  Plus the debuffs for mental damage are also a plus.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>I assume you mean Charm as the Mez song. My swashy has mez and I have used it to good effect in the past but not very often. Will be interesting to see if this proves useful or not.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>So far I am leaning towards the troubador.</DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Now I am not familar with Jester's cap. I assume its an AA. What does it do?</DIV><hr></blockquote>Jesters cap is a level 65 troub clicky buff. It reduces (at master I level) spell and CA timers by 40% for 30 seconds, can't be cast on same target for two minutes. (off the top of my head)And no, I don't mean charm. Charm is just a few second toy that is of no real use. Very situational.I ment the real mezzes we get (aka: lullaby at 50 and reverie at 70). Lullaby lasts 28 sec and reverie lasts 32 sec. Both have a recast timer of 14'ish seconds (forgot what exactly)You can effectively mez almost any heroic (I'd say any, but some say you can't mez some very high level ones), so it's almost the troub class defining skill atm, aside the power regen. Imo.<p>Message Edited by Sokthul on <span class=date_text>11-07-2006</span> <span class=time_text>05:12 PM</span>

[Cuz]

The health regen really won't help you much...

[Tri]

And given game mechanics jester dosn t give a 40% bonus, it's more around the 25% sorry forgot the exact % <div></div>

[ScottAdams]

<P>Ah ok why isnt the health regen useful? There have been times in a fight that a few extra HPS would have made all the difference to me.</P> <P>The CC ability of the troubador's unlimited mez sounds very good. That is the type thing I can use my troubador for as he will be main seat. In the past the swashies limited mez proved useful to me so this sounds great. Holding down a boss mob while I finish off the minions will make life much easier. </P> <P>I love doing yellow and orange heroics currently with my hydra and enjoy all the button mashing i have to do to make it happen. My swashy though usually ends the fight with the most power which tells me I am not using him properly. Having a buffing bard with the ability to CC will be perfect. I just wish he had group invis. Then I would have more of a choice for my healer slot. Ah well the fury will be fun I think.</P>

[Cuz]

The regen per tick is too low to have much of an impact, if any. Basically if you die, the Health regen more then likely wouldn't have prevented it. Also be warned that you won't get the mez till 50. So for a better part of the game, your swash is better at crowd control then the Troub.

[ScottAdams]

<DIV>Thanks!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> I can always swap the swashbuckler back in if the troubador isnt working out. I am creating the troubador on the same account. But right now I plan to raise up my new characters in EoF. Gives me a good excuse to see all the neat new low level content there.</DIV>

[Cuz]

<P>Haha good plan <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P>

[Bluetygur]

<P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>I cast another vote for Troub in a hydra.  </FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The Mez can be used to pull in "multiple mob" situations.  For example, if there are 2 mobs in a group, pull by mezzing one.  Now you can basically ignore the troub and go back to your normal fighting style.  You have n-1 mobs to fight (at least for the first 30 sec, and you can re-mez if you want to; the timers are such that one mob can be locked down indefinately).</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>This will make the fights way easier, with very little extra work.</FONT></P>

[ScottAdams]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bluetygur wrote:<BR> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>I cast another vote for Troub in a hydra.  </FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The Mez can be used to pull in "multiple mob" situations.  For example, if there are 2 mobs in a group, pull by mezzing one.  Now you can basically ignore the troub and go back to your normal fighting style.  You have n-1 mobs to fight (at least for the first 30 sec, and you can re-mez if you want to; the timers are such that one mob can be locked down indefinately).</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>This will make the fights way easier, with very little extra work.</FONT></P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>Sweet idea! </P> <P>Btw does the timer on the mez start after it is broken or after it is cast? If the former then there is 15 second window where the mob would be awake.</P> <P><IMG src="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/callaghan4766/Troub_Images/50_M1_Lullaby.jpg"></P>

[Cuz]

<DIV>After it's cast <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[ScottAdams]

<DIV>Excellent! This will be far more useful than a dirge's rez. Since i control the hydra I can be very careful not to break mez!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What is a Direct AOE that the spell description refers to?</DIV>

[Cuz]

<DIV>You're fighting a linked encounter with 3 mobs. You mezz mob A, and switch over to mob B and cast an AoE. The AoE will hit mob B and C, but not A. It'll will stay mezzed, but undamaged. Now say you mezz mob A, and cast the AoE on mob A also, the AoE will hit all 3 mobs, and wake mob A from the mezz.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hope that makes some sense :p</DIV>

[ScottAdams]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Jenoy wrote:<BR> <DIV>You're fighting a linked encounter with 3 mobs. You mezz mob A, and switch over to mob B and cast an AoE. The AoE will hit mob B and C, but not A. It'll will stay mezzed, but undamaged. Now say you mezz mob A, and cast the AoE on mob A also, the AoE will hit all 3 mobs, and wake mob A from the mezz.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hope that makes some sense :p</DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Excellent thanks! So as long as they are not targeted they will not recieve damage from the AoE! Sweet!

[Cuz]

Yay I explained guud! :p

[Bluetygur]

<P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>While we are on the subject, more fun use of the mez-pulling technique ...</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The troub has several very nice de-buffs, that hit ALL enemies in an encounter.  Assuming you dont have the aria song up (which can cause damage when a spell hits) then casting the debuffs does NOT break the mez.  Therefore, you can mez one mob to pull the group, immediately followed by several de-buffs which effect ALL the enemies, and the original mezed guy stays mezzed.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>This also works well even when there is only one enemy.  Mez it, debuff it 3-4 times, them pull away, and Voila a greatly weakened enemy from the start.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>One final point about mez.  If a battle is going badly (tank goes down, etc) then stop all melees, make sure no dots on the mob, and mez it.  The rest of the group will now have time to rez, heal up, regain mana, run back to the battle etc (since you can keep the single mob mezzed for 5-10 min easy).  My troub has saved the day against, for eg, the named final mob in the nest, from a wipe.  The key is that even when you mez for like 10 min, the Mob does NOT regain health, or reset minions etc <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2></FONT> </P>

[Cuz]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bluetygur wrote:<BR> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>While we are on the subject, more fun use of the mez-pulling technique ...</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The troub has several very nice de-buffs, that hit ALL enemies in an encounter.  Assuming you dont have the aria song up (which can cause damage when a spell hits) then casting the debuffs does NOT break the mez.  Therefore, you can mez one mob to pull the group, immediately followed by several de-buffs which effect ALL the enemies, and the original mezed guy stays mezzed.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>This also works well even when there is only one enemy.  Mez it, debuff it 3-4 times, them pull away, and Voila a greatly weakened enemy from the start.</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>One final point about mez.  If a battle is going badly (tank goes down, etc) then stop all melees, make sure no dots on the mob, and mez it.  The rest of the group will now have time to rez, <FONT color=#ff0000>heal up</FONT>, regain mana, run back to the battle etc (since you can keep the single mob mezzed for 5-10 min easy).  My troub has saved the day against, for eg, the named final mob in the nest, from a wipe.  The key is that even when you mez for like 10 min, the Mob does NOT regain health, or reset minions etc <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2></FONT> </P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>That's the only time I use the health regen buff.

[ForgottenFoundling]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bluetygur wrote:<BR> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>While we are on the subject, more fun use of the mez-pulling technique ...</FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>The troub has several very nice de-buffs, that hit ALL enemies in an encounter.  Assuming you dont have the aria song up (which can cause damage when a spell hits) then casting the debuffs does NOT break the mez.  Therefore, you can mez one mob to pull the group, immediately followed by several de-buffs which effect ALL the enemies, and the original mezed guy stays mezzed.</FONT></P> <HR> <P> A note on the "hitting ALL enemies in an encounter".  Only a targeted debuff on a mezzed mob will stick.  If you mez mob A and then change to mob B in the encounter and cast an encounter-wide debuff you will not affect the mezzed mob.  This goes for our AE damaging spells as well.  Only out of encounter AE or targetted damage will break our mez.</P></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>

[Tri]

And change the the name of the thread please <span>:smileywink:</span> it's <font color="#ff3333" size="4">TROUBADOUR</font> <div></div>

[ScottAdams]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Triag wrote:<BR>And change the the name of the thread please <SPAN>:smileywink:</SPAN><BR><BR>it's <FONT color=#ff3333 size=4>TROUBADOUR</FONT><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Ah sorry! I have been spelling it wrong for a long time. Did not realize it to just now. Thanks!</P> <P>edit: I looked it up and you are right! Shame on SOE on spelling it wrong too!<BR></P><p>Message Edited by ScottAdams on <span class=date_text>11-09-2006</span> <span class=time_text>09:34 AM</span>

[ScottAdams]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Bluetygur wrote:<BR> <P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>...  Mez it, debuff it 3-4 times, them pull away, and Voila a greatly weakened enemy from the start...</FONT></P><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>Debuffs stack?<BR>

[Tri]

Nay Btw bard debuffs are toggled, you can not cast them on two encounters ( that is an original touch, but for me it implies less power use ) And therefor you can not cast them several times on the same mob guess he meant cast all your debuffs. <div></div>

[ScottAdams]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Triag wrote:<BR>Nay<BR><BR>Btw bard debuffs are toggled, you can not cast them on two encounters<BR>( that is an original touch, but for me it implies less power use )<BR><BR>And therefor you can not cast them several times on the same mob<BR><BR>guess he meant cast all your debuffs.<BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Ok that makes better sense now, thanks!

[Dukda]

Too bad the mez only kicks in at lvl 50!<div></div>