Best Trio When Three Boxing

[TomRidd]

Looking for some advice on a 3 character group. It's been a while since I've played and I'm debating leveling some chars to get ready for Kunark release. I like to box while I level since I find it fun and it just makes things smoother. I'm having a hard time deciding on specific group set ups. I'm pretty torn between all tanks (minus Pally, for some reason I've never liked them.) I'm also having trouble deciding on healer. I like clerics / shaman since they have reactive / wards and can cast them before an encounter. Druid just seem like they require too much attention when healing. If someone can convince me otherwise, please do. I'm leaning towards a standard tank / dps / healer combo. For DPS I lean towards wizard / warlock for the ease of play. I'm willing to listen to suggestions though. Some of my specific questions / concerns are: Is guardian DPS too low to be considered? Will monk / bruiser be able to tank the same content as plate? Any ideas for best set up when factoring in DPS, survivability, ease of play, and utility? I enjoy killing named mobs so that is very important to me; for gear, AA's and just fun. Any one have experience / opinions? I've tried a few combos... Zerk / Warlock / Inquis Monk / Wiz / Mystic Not sure how they'd play out in high end game. Also, since it's been a while since I've played, I'm debating rerolling anyway.

[Xaviou]

i'm duoing a zerk/inq atm, considering adding another box. i like my duo, i just need dps. some power for my zerk would be nice, that's why i'm thinking nec or coercer. nec is more dps, with some mana xfer. coercer is very meh dps with ok power regen afaik.

[Beldin_]

Hm.. i would maybe try SK,Brigant and Defiler/Inqui/Fury as healer. I played a long time in a group of 4 with SK,Briga,Fury and Defiler, and that group was really fun .. good DPS .. no wipes .. the fury nomally however was only backup healer and more DPS .. so with a group of 4 you have to decide for the better healer for harder content -> Defiler .. or more DPS for easier content -> Fury.

[Antryg Mistrose]

Fury/Shadowknight/Illusionist I've no intention of justifying it or telling you why - you work it out.

[NiteWolfe]

 Personaly i go for swashy/brigand, dirge and healer of choice.. Inq probly be a good choice.  All though a templars 25% to procs maybe a better pick.

[Killerbee3000]

Monk+Fury+ Wizard, Solid tanking, Good healing, Good Dps, Porting aorund, evac, group invis, group fd..... only thing you would miss that way is tracking and disarm.

[aardda]

<p>I would go with </p><p>Guardian (yes dps will be low but the others will make up for it. they excel at aggro control which you'll need)</p><p>Wizard or Warlock (for dps, warlock has some great area/encounter dps)</p><p>Fury (capable healer, nice buffs and adds a good about of dps also)</p><p>I 2-box a guardian/fury and find it more than adequate for taking on heroic mobs, a little more dps would be nice with a 3rd toon but i'm not sure how i'd cope trying to play 3 at once.</p>

[Felixxa]

<p>I am currently 3-boxing a SK, Necro, and a Warden.</p><p>SK- aa specced for tanking, using 1h + shield on tough stuff. Reaver for extra self healing, can evac and FD.</p><p>Necro- Uses mage or scout pet. Easy to box, most hotkeys are tied to 2 spells so easy to reach over and cast. Pet provides most of the DPS here. Can FD.</p><p>Warden- Awesome run buff, excellent healing, buffs + damage shield, ports, Evacs,  rez (+ group feathers incase one of the other 2 needs to FD and rez). </p><p>These guys are currently in the low 60's and compliment each other well. I do regret not having a group invis spell. I rarely use both evacs, mainly use them for travelling across zones. I would trade the wardens evac for a group invis, so perhaps a fury might work a bit better.</p>

[Arcalyn]

<p>my setup.......1 computer 4 windowed EQ2 accounts.</p><p>Shadowknight</p><p>Warlock</p><p>Necro</p><p>Defiler</p><p>( All NOX based damages and debuffs )</p><p>( High Single target DPS )</p><p>( High PBAoE group DPS )</p><p>Just wish my system could handle 2 more windows........</p><p>Assassin</p><p>Dirge</p><p>both of those stay within the NOX theme and really increase single and group encounter DPS</p>

[Xaviou]

<cite>Arcalyn wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>my setup.......1 computer 4 windowed EQ2 accounts.</p><p>Shadowknight</p><p>Warlock</p><p>Necro</p><p>Defiler</p><p>( All NOX based damages and debuffs )</p><p>( High Single target DPS )</p><p>( High PBAoE group DPS )</p><p>Just wish my system could handle 2 more windows........</p><p>Assassin</p><p>Dirge</p><p>both of those stay within the NOX theme and really increase single and group encounter DPS</p></blockquote><p>good god what kind of system specs are you running with?</p><p>*insert random SK gibe here* </p>

[Tomanak]

<cite>TomRiddle wrote:</cite><blockquote><p> Some of my specific questions / concerns are: Is guardian DPS too low to be considered? <b>Unless you have a good DPSer as one of the 3, yes. I 2 box a Guardian/Inquisitor and they kill SLOOOOWWWW...</b> Will monk / bruiser be able to tank the same content as plate? <b>IMO no, and my current main is a bruiser. The Spike damage can be much harder to offset when boxing. Plate damage is a lot smoother and IMO easier to control. I have had good luck with a Bruiser/Warden combo though. Also like Bruiser (Monk)/Mystic(Defiler) the wards help a lot. </b> Any ideas for best set up when factoring in DPS, survivability, ease of play, and utility? I enjoy killing named mobs so that is very important to me; for gear, AA's and just fun. Any one have experience / opinions? <b>With the right Healer behind them you may also want to consider Swashies or Brigands. Both are high DPS and decent at tanking when played right. Their autoattack damage with poisons are sweet. They also have good avoidence, decent Mit and some utility. </b></p><p><b>Personally I have had decent luck with Brigand/Inquisitor/Wizard. 2 good DPSers and a healer/debuffer par excellence..plus when going down the Battle Priest line of AAs a pretty good DPSer in their own right. </b></p><p><b>If you prefer AE ability, go Swashy/Fury/Warlock </b> </p></blockquote>

[Sunrayn]

<p>My 3 box (when the wife isnt here to play her character)</p><p>3 computers, one keyboard and mouse runs my two comps and wife's is right next to me.</p><p>I run a guardian/templar and when I add the third it is usually the wife's warlock.</p><p>Guardian--Because you wont be concentrating on him much, except to pull, get/keep aggro.  I spend more time on the other two characters.  With guardian's Inflaming Defense and hate reducer on the warlock, aggro is a snooze job.</p><p>Templar--It seems to be easier to watch the reactives than it is to watch wards.  If I recall correctly unless it has been fixed, wards dont mix with the guardian Inflaming Defense.  Reactives can bring your tank back into the green much easier than the shaman straight heals if you lose track of the wards.</p><p>Warlock--She doesnt have a wizzy on her account</p><p>Melee dps isnt a good choice if you are gonna box.  Positioning is just something you dont want to have to deal with in addition to running three characters.  Caster nukes are just as effective from the front as they are from the rear.</p><p>You arent going for pretty looks and do-it-all classes, you will be shooting for ease of handling and gets-the-job-done.</p>

[TomRidd]

As much as it would be nice to have, I don't think a scout class would be worth the effort. Casters put out some nice DPS without having to worry about positioning or melee range. Wizard / Warlock would add great DPS and some nice utility such as ports. I wish I had experience boxing druid had high end. Clerics / Shaman just seem like they are much easier to box from a healing standpoint. Druids add nice utility though. *sigh* Guardian, Zerker, SK, Monk, Bruiser.....so many decisions. Part of the problem of a trio is having enough DPS to kill the mob before power runs out. That is one concern I have with taking guardian. Even if they may be easier to heal.

[Lornick]

<cite>TomRiddle wrote:</cite><blockquote> Zerk / Warlock / Inquis </blockquote> That's probably the best setup I've seen listed so far.  Though swapping out a fury for the inq might be worth considering.  Group invis/ports/sow are all really nice.  Any of the people suggesting playing two melee characters just haven't spent much time boxing characters I take it.  Positioning and contributing decent dps is just a nightmare with 2 boxed characters.  Also you want to be able to click as few buttons with support characters to get maximum effect.  Fury takes more clicking then inquisitor I'm sure, but the utility is really nice and agitate is candy for berserkers (though I know inq has decent melee buffs too).  I'd probably go with zerk/inq/warlock.  Though it would also be worth considering switching out the zerker for a sk.  Sk's have great disease debuffs that work beautifully with warlocks and they are pretty good at holding AE aggro.   Since you'd be controlling both the tank and dps it shouldn't be hard to master aggro control.  Just a thought.

[khanthemighty]

<p>Best trio, 3 boxing or otherwise, is Zerker/Conj./Mystic...</p><p> Zerker has the best AE aggro control for a tank. </p><p>Conjy with scout pet is like having four player group.</p><p>Mystic is the best shammy buffer, and their buffs stack really well with the Conjys.</p><p> High AE DPS, High Resists, Uber Trio!  Nearly Unbeatable!</p>

[Wingrider01]

3 boxing warden/SK/wizard warden/bruiser/necro warden/fury/guardian warden/palidian/sk warden/monk/conj Yes I like wardens<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[BortonX]

<p>I go with a Pally as my Tank.  For crowd control, I think they are better at keeping aggro on adds than a guardian.  They have 2 PBAoE attacks on different timers, an encounter aggro generator, and when you get consecrate, you get a 3rd DOT that is a PBAoE as well.  Add Amends on you DPS toon (Wiz for me), and you should never loose aggro, no matter how bad you pull, overnuke with your DPS, or overheal (Fury, extra DPS and heals).  I've botched one pull so bad in LFay with my group that I ended up with 7 triple up heroics, non-linked mobs, and was still able to kill 5 before I had Wiz evac us.    Not the fastest group, but definately the most forgiving when things go to hell.</p><p> Bulvai, 57 Pally</p>

[Emperors]

<p>I love my Guardian/Illusionist/Warden combo. </p><p>Guardian takes a beating and holds aggro like there's no tomorrow.</p><p>Illusionist with the pet out is nice dps, has regen, haste for the guard, 25% double attack for the guard, and if the crap hits the fan can also lockdown quite a bit while the guard and warden take care of them one at a time.</p><p>Warden has great heals and buffs, 45% SoW, ports, and can do decent dps when specced properly.</p><p>I've tried replacing the guard with a monk, but found the monk had trouble with aggro at times.  Currently my Warden is lvl 70 which I mentor to my 54 Guardian and my Illusionist is 52.</p>

[azekah]

if you want an easy healer...go with mystic or defiler... I've never used macros for spells, but I think you could make a macro for gp and single ward... then you would only need 1 button for the healer : ) unless it got tight then you could throw in some heals...

[TomRidd]

SK / Warlock / Inquis SK / Warlock / Defiler Zerker / Warlock / Inquis Zerker / Warlock / Defiler Monk / Wizard / Mystic Bruiser / Necro / Defiler Bruiser / Wizard / Defiler Those are pretty much what I'm trying to decide between I think. Any opinions which trio would have the most millage through end game? I'd also consider guardian if anyone can convince me why. Would also like to here opinions from people that three box w/ druid as primary healer. You find it easy to keep everyone alive and pay significant attention to your primary DPS / Tank toons?

[bensilvi]

<cite>TomRiddle wrote:</cite><blockquote>SK / Warlock / Inquis SK / Warlock / Defiler Zerker / Warlock / Inquis Zerker / Warlock / Defiler Monk / Wizard / Mystic Bruiser / Necro / Defiler Bruiser / Wizard / Defiler Those are pretty much what I'm trying to decide between I think. Any opinions which trio would have the most millage through end game? I'd also consider guardian if anyone can convince me why. Would also like to here opinions from people that three box w/ druid as primary healer. You find it easy to keep everyone alive and pay significant attention to your primary DPS / Tank toons? </blockquote> Right now I am 3boxin Warlock/ Guardian/ Fury and I am mowing thru things. The best thing i like about the guardian is i never loose aggro so both the lock and fury can nuke without fear.

[Squigglle]

id say, any preist, a summoner and a pally

[Iseabeil]

My best group so far has without doubt been monk, swashie and warden. The monk isnt the best tank, but the versatility is great and she can stand up on most stuff. The swashie with hate transfer makes agro issues go bye bye, I can pull a group, group taunt once, then focus 100% on dps on swashie and not once pull agro as long as the monk keeps autoattacking. Add in the debuffs, especially the offensive debuffs and life becomes easier fast. The offensive skill buff from the warden also means the monk can go in full defensive stance without attack penalties, and having tried different sorts of healers, warden is <i>the</i> lowest maintenance healer I found. Wards and reactives need to be up and stay up to be effective, you can ignore regens totally untill you start taking damage and go back to green really fast. Spike damage can be a pain, but once high enough, tsunami takes care of inital spike damage on hard encounters and the swashie will have it well debuffed by them time tsunami wears off. When it comes to utility, that adds up to FD, group FD, group invis, 2 evacs, ports, 45% SoW and tracking. As for positioning.. its not really that hard, your tank char will just have to do what a tank should always do, ie turn the mob. I usually body pull, back up and and then run forward so the tanks back is closest to possible other mobs and thus who theyd agro if the wander, and the mob(s) in the encounter are facing away from the scout. With some practise it becomes second nature, and other scouts will generally be very happy if you happen to tank for others.

[TomRidd]

Hhmm.....nice post Iseabeil. Now you have me considering Bruiser, brigand, and warden (mainly so I can level in Neriak and I prefer Ratongas.) I could always betray later to your suggested combination. From my experience, it's not very fun trying to do instances when mobs are white / yellow con. It just takes too long to kill and it's a bit risky. I am usually more successful as soon as mobs turn blue. With that in mind, I'm sure any of these combos would work just fine. Also, a brawler should be able to stand up just fine. Does the level range of mobs you commonly fight change at higher levels? Will I find myself trying to kill white / yellow con named more and more? Pre-thirty it's easier just to wait a level. The drops are still nice and a trio can mow down blue con heroics. But, not sure if I'm going to be facing more and more white / yellow cons as I approach max level. At this point I may want a stronger trio rather than a more utility oriented trio?

[Lewstelamon]

What about a ranger?  They may not be best for dps, but are they suitable?  I'm thinking about starting a 3box.. not to exclusively do so, but for when I can't find a group, it would help a lot... I was thinking to do warden/berserker/ranger.

[Skua]

the holy trinity in eq2: Berserker : Tank dps aoe Fury : Heal fast , dps , group invis , ports, int buff , str agi + dmg proc? wizard : best single target burst dps , evacc , another different ports, melee proc , trasnfer mana this is MY OPINION

[Bromir]

<p>Basically </p><p>Tank, healer, power/dps enhancer</p><p>in details abitmor ecomplicated because there is quite a few good combos. My twobox  is Zerk - Warden and I'm very happy with that. If i had a third account i would add a troub for the DPS and defense / powerregen buffs. </p><p>But the field is open to alot of other good combos . depending on the playstyle you like when you will take your chars solo or in raids once in a while . Also the choise between wards and or hots. When boxing i prefer the Hots or the wards over the direct heals because direct heals you have to kinda be on all the time. Using my warden i throw two Hots at a time and then dont have to think about healing fora little while . I find that more relaxing <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> also the warden buffs are realy nice. </p><p>But again it's all about playstyle you have many goodviable options especially to 3 box .. </p><p>Yours</p><p>Brorim</p>

[TomRidd]

I think I've narrowed it down to: Bruiser / Brigand / Defiler Bruiser / Brigand / Warden Trying to decide between healers really. It's challenging to play two melee at the same time, but I'm actually finding it quite fun. I really like having the aspects of a scout available. I do miss being able to AoE everything, though. But, these combos should be able to do some interesting content. Any opinions of Defiler vs Warden? Both seem to add their own pros and cons (obviously.) With a brigand, how necessary will defiler debuffs be? The vast majority of the time, I barely touch my healer. Seems maybe passive buffs / utility would be more useful for majority of time. From having boxed a defiler before, I know how handy precasting wards can be. I'm wondering how healing would look on a warden. Am I stuck healing from the very start of fight or do there regens function in a way that would allow me to cast and forget for a while, even on difficult content? I'm thinking the combat skill buff of warden would be pretty handy for bruiser tanking. Also, 45% SoW and Ports for extreme mobility. Defilers are more rare and that has it's own perks. The wards are supposedly great with brawlers as well. So, Defiler vs Warden? And how do these trios look in general for general leveling, dungeon crawling, and beating up lots of named mobs?

[Squigglle]

fury/illusionist/palidan

[Iseabeil]

<p>I wouldnt recomend ranger for boxing, purely because of the need for range. Autofollow will allow you to have a melee dps just in right range if turning the mobs for backstabbing etc, but as ye cant set range on autofollow you would have to position the ranger seperatly from the tank.</p><p>As for warden vs defiler.. defilers are imo more powerfull healers then wardens, because of their debuffs lowering the amount of damage, however, that does require player input to do, and as shamans are about preventing damage and weaker on fixing damage that is done, you will need to keep wards up actively, or you will have some work get tank back to max HP again. When wardens get spores, it will take care of some of the healing, but mainly its a matter of healing when damage has been done. How easie the healing is depends somewhat on how you have it set up too. I have my warden on laptop with a usb numpad attached that Ive keyed all heals and cures to, so if my tank gets hurt, all Ive got to do is move my hand a bit and tap 3 for regen to be cast, never taking my eyes of the main character's screen. Ive tried to box with both mystic and templar as healer, and whilst it surely is doable, Ive found it to be more work and distracted me from tanking and dps'ing more then when I use my warden. </p><p>Different set ups will work better for some then others tho, as we all do things differently, and in the end I think only way to find your own best set up is trial and error wich will have its own drawbacks as some classes gets spells that end up making a huge differnce quite late in their career. Hurricane for example makes a good difference to my monk/swashie/warden combo when it comes to encounter aggro, but doesnt come untill level 52.</p>

[Oldlore]

I used to three-box a berserker, warden, and necromancer, all 70.  It's not a bad combination and mobs drop fairly quickly.  The warden's easy to heal with and the melee buff keeps me from missing much in defensive stance.  THe necro does good dps and a good chunk of it is fire-n-forget in the pet.  The only things I wish I had are invisibility or FD to move through some zones faster.  I've thought about other combinations but I don't play enough to warrant lvling another bunch of alts.