A whole bunch of unrelated questions [Archive]

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Legion11

06-21-2007, 02:03 PM

Hey guys,Ok, here's the deal: I played a Mystic from launch up to early KoS days. Then my RL friend (who played a berserker I duo'd with) quit the game. I checked out some other, more solo-friendly, classes and the Mystic ended up gathering dust.I got into a nice casual raiding guild that is just a bit shy on healing at times. So I've started playing my Mystic again lately in an effort to level him up to 70 so he can be a viable option when we are short on healers.That being said, I have a host of questions to ask. I have (and am continuing) to scour these boards and research as much of this as possible, so as not to bother you folks. However, much of what I've found is contradictory, or just not satisfying me - so I'm gonna bombard you all with questions and hope a few of them get answered here and there. 1. My Mystic is 63 now, and will be getting an M2 selection next level. I was leaning towards Lethargy, but I just so happened to get an M1 copy of it in Nest last night! This leaves me with Wrath of the Ancients, Learned Healing, or Ancient Avatar to select from. It seems like all the posts I've read, people select Learned Healing.... why? I figure Healing is our least useful trait, after Warding, and De-buffing. Is the upgrade from M1 to M2 so much more significant on this spell than the others that it's a no-brainer? My philosophy has always been to give the highest upgrades to spells cast on an opponent rather than friends - party members don't resist spells, mobs do.2. Is the earring from the Mystical Orbs collection a must-have? I know the mage version is for adding DPS to my conj. Is the heal version of that earring proc for us when we cast Wards? Or only on Heals, making it less desirable IMO.3. AA's.... where to start? It's been discussed to death, but I still don't have a solid answer. It seems like most threads end up going towards a battle-priest build, which is exactly what I do NOT want. I won't be soloing at all with this toon, or grouping (other than to get to 70). His entire purpose is to help on raids, and I want him to be the best *healer/buffer/debuffer* possible, so please no AGI line for me.I went down the STR line because I wanted to improve the dog's survivability, and I love the buffs he brings to the group. After that I'm at a complete loss.... I like the sound of Ancestry, and read many threads discussing who it should be casted on - any final verdicts on a hierarchy? It is not a raidwide choice, only group right? I guess that would make all the difference in the world as to who is the recipient.I've read one poster raving about the rez line for the final ability, but most seem to think it's a waste of points (as well as conceding failure).I've read the immunities line is buggy as hell and next to useless, which disappoints me, as the end ability sounded great. But if it doesn't give charm immunity vs. epic content.... what's the point?4. Gear - any "must have" pieces that every shamen is expected to go after? I have the Signet of Light from Darkness on my conj and absolutely love it. I plan to run the EoF instances quite a bit to get the Ykesha gear and that ring as my base setup. Just looking for some other gems that I would be remiss not to go after. Keep in mind I won't be investing a huge amount of time/coin into this alt, just looking for the quick and dirty fix to get him up to speed.Thanks to anyone who chips in with input - even if it's just to flame me <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Nregnen

06-21-2007, 05:20 PM

1. learned healing 2. yes and yes 3. atm i am str/int....int for the 12% debuff to all stats (virulance) after aa changes, it's 50/50 between int/wis in addition to str ancestory, is a hp buff, put it on the tank, if you're raiding and not mt, i use it for balancing out hp's in my group, ie..bring up the lowest hp peeps first so the group overall has a higher survivability, those little stats won't increase dps that much if on scout, pet, etc...use it for the hp buff. gear; the legs from the labs, doomseer legs, nice power regen mystic/defiler hat from the vaults, is basically a 2nd manastone with a faster recast. Mark of the Awakened, easy to do, raids still happen for peoples alts for the last step. ivy shrouded orb of tunare, easy 9 quest series; or the beatstick that has a proc debuff oob drops a symmetry buckler that's nice and the cloak from the tunare diety questline, is easy to do, then switch to queilliuos for the power regen miracle/blessing hope that helps

GeneralZod

06-21-2007, 07:50 PM

Nreg, think you're thinkin of Ancient Avatar or Foretelling, he's referring to Ancestry, the end ability of our buffing mystic tree. I'm not crystal clear on who benefits most from it but i heard it's good for stoneskin so i put it on templar or dirge in my group.

Finora

06-21-2007, 08:28 PM

I didn't take Learned healing myself (don't recall my reasoning for such but I am too lazy to go respec it). In any case, learned healing is a fine choice. Mystics are healers after all, and it will be helpful if you have the best heals you can in a raiding situation, even if it isn't your favored heal.For the mystical orb collection (if it is the one I'm thinking of) I took the agilty one with the melee proc. It helped out a lot pre-melee mystic and I'm sure it'd be pretty nice now. Of course that works out better for soloing/grouping rather than raiding. I can't even recall what the healing one was, I do recall I wasn't impressed with it. There are far better earrings out there stat wise for certain.Agility line is still an excellent choice for a healer mystic, as that is the line that gives you crit heals as well as the melee crits etc. You can go down the line 4-4-4-8 and skip the last one entirely and spend those points elsewhere. Post changes in LU36 other lines might be better, but I'll not hold my breath until I see the final changes.Rez line is all but useless. I personally think it's totally useless though some differ in opinion on it. When I group it's pointless, and I can't seem much use for it in raids either honestly.The final thing in immunities is really the only one that is worth it at all (IMO), but of course you'd have to waste all those points in the others to get it. Equipment, if you are going to be raiding with this char get all the mana restoration items you can. Vessel of Fyr'un, Doomseer Leggings, if you don't already have a manastone get that. That hat someone else mentioned, I can't remember the name of it as I've not managed to get one for myself yet either =). If you wanted to tinker with any character, tinker with the mystic =) so you can get the tinkered manastone.

Nregnen

06-22-2007, 02:12 AM

<cite>GeneralZod wrote:</cite><blockquote>Nreg, think you're thinkin of Ancient Avatar or Foretelling, he's referring to Ancestry, the end ability of our buffing mystic tree. I'm not crystal clear on who benefits most from it but i heard it's good for stoneskin so i put it on templar or dirge in my group. </blockquote>oh yay, heh, ya you're right, wasn't quite thinking straight there, was still waking up at the time. ya, the buffers of the group is who you should put it on.

Bobbette

06-22-2007, 10:16 AM

1. I took Learned Healing. My reasoning was that a) I was a healer first and foremost, and b) our direct heals aren't all that big so if I do need to direct heal then I want it as big as possible. 2. I like my mystical orb earring, it's pretty helpful imo. 3. KoS -- Strength line for the haste buff, ward proc, and AOE immunity (dogdog's and the group proc). Then it seems that Wis or Int lines are the preferred "healer focused" lines. I'm currently agility spec'ed because I'm still gathering my mystic's AAs (it really does help with the hunting/leveling thing). Since I use my mystic as a filler healer (like you plan to), I haven't spec'ed her 100% raid healer because right now she groups/solos more than she raids. EoF -- Buff line absolutely, that line rocks. After that, it's a huge debate what else to put points into. I went CAs because nothing else seemed worth the points and like I said above, I was/am still leveling her (AA points now). If the healers in your guild are the primary rezzers on a raid then you might find the rez line useful. Others like the immunities ability at the bottom of the cure line ... but I hear that the cure AAs themselves aren't so great, so I haven't tried them. Ancestry -- I love that ability. Who I put it on varies depending upon the group. It makes everything proc more, so I look at who is with me and choose that way. Sometimes the tank in my group (SK for lifetap shield, Zerker for more bezerk thus more aggro), sometimes another healer (as someone else said), sometimes a scout class (more poison/buff procs and/or more detaunt procs), and sometimes myself for more dogdog ward, mystical earring, etc procs. 4. Gear -- Anything that regens power like the hat from Vaults that is a castable mana regen (it's like a manastone on steroids), manastone, vessel of fyr'un, doomseer leggings, and of course flowing thought items. I like the Signet of Light from Darkness. I also have the Ring of the 4 Winds (tower questline from the fallen dynasty adventure pack, you need to kill Chel'drak to finish the questline and get the ring though) -- I'm not sure that's a must have for shamans but the faster reuse is nice in some situations. Mystical Orb earring is nice because it procs heals. Blackscale Maul is a very good hammer to have for dps'ing. I know you said you're healing focused but you'll need to be leveling your mystic to 70 & 100 AAs and that maul can help you complete quests to get there. Buckler of Blight is a good shield (I haven't found better for my mystic yet, tho there might be better no-trades out there). There's 2-3 good wisdom belts in Unrest ... Thick Leather Apron, Tinkerer's Belt or something like that, and Belt of Gore (something like that) from the last named. Hope all that helps.

Rayche

06-22-2007, 07:59 PM

1: M2 Ancient Avatar. - I know you think it's silly but here's why. +12 to all Avatar stats. The buff from that (Until all stats are maxed) is of more benefit than learned healing (I use wards and torpor WAY WAY more than that slow casting lackluster heal... I had Learned Healing at M2 at one point, not worth it.) and you will find the Master 1 of all your debuffs super cheap.. and the M2 is not a noticable upgrade to the M1.

Ordate

06-23-2007, 01:07 AM

<cite>Legion11 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey guys,Ok, here's the deal: I played a Mystic from launch up to early KoS days. Then my RL friend (who played a berserker I duo'd with) quit the game. I checked out some other, more solo-friendly, classes and the Mystic ended up gathering dust.I got into a nice casual raiding guild that is just a bit shy on healing at times. So I've started playing my Mystic again lately in an effort to level him up to 70 so he can be a viable option when we are short on healers.That being said, I have a host of questions to ask. I have (and am continuing) to scour these boards and research as much of this as possible, so as not to bother you folks. However, much of what I've found is contradictory, or just not satisfying me - so I'm gonna bombard you all with questions and hope a few of them get answered here and there. 1. My Mystic is 63 now, and will be getting an M2 selection next level. I was leaning towards Lethargy, but I just so happened to get an M1 copy of it in Nest last night! This leaves me with Wrath of the Ancients, Learned Healing, or Ancient Avatar to select from. It seems like all the posts I've read, people select Learned Healing.... why? I figure Healing is our least useful trait, after Warding, and De-buffing. Is the upgrade from M1 to M2 so much more significant on this spell than the others that it's a no-brainer? My philosophy has always been to give the highest upgrades to spells cast on an opponent rather than friends - party members don't resist spells, mobs do.Since you are looking fo low amount investment, I would say go with whatever one would cost you the most to get it to master 1. Having all the choices at m1+ is better then one missing.2. Is the earring from the Mystical Orbs collection a must-have? I know the mage version is for adding DPS to my conj. Is the heal version of that earring proc for us when we cast Wards? Or only on Heals, making it less desirable IMO.extra healing power for the group. Procs off wards (fires off group wards often) so it does do both.3. AA's.... where to start? It's been discussed to death, but I still don't have a solid answer. It seems like most threads end up going towards a battle-priest build, which is exactly what I do NOT want. I won't be soloing at all with this toon, or grouping (other than to get to 70). His entire purpose is to help on raids, and I want him to be the best *healer/buffer/debuffer* possible, so please no AGI line for me.I went down the STR line because I wanted to improve the dog's survivability, and I love the buffs he brings to the group. After that I'm at a complete loss.... Str you get the group wards - which as pointed out elsewhere varies on effectiveness based on which group you are in in a raid, haste good, and occasional ae prevent is nice. Since so many lines are changing, Im not going to point out the plusses and minuses of every skill that there is atm. +crit heal is nice and virulance is good. I find that infective bites can be to dangerous as timing ae's is very important.I like the sound of Ancestry, and read many threads discussing who it should be casted on - any final verdicts on a hierarchy? It is not a raidwide choice, only group right? I guess that would make all the difference in the world as to who is the recipient.Depends what group you are in and what you need to do. Situationaly awesome buff.I've read one poster raving about the rez line for the final ability, but most seem to think it's a waste of points (as well as conceding failure).See most recent thread started by me for discussion of one persons likes and my long list of dislike for that line.I've read the immunities line is buggy as hell and next to useless, which disappoints me, as the end ability sounded great. But if it doesn't give charm immunity vs. epic content.... what's the point?So much potential they could have done with the cure line, but they blew it all.4. Gear - any "must have" pieces that every shamen is expected to go after? I have the Signet of Light from Darkness on my conj and absolutely love it. I plan to run the EoF instances quite a bit to get the Ykesha gear and that ring as my base setup. Just looking for some other gems that I would be remiss not to go after. Keep in mind I won't be investing a huge amount of time/coin into this alt, just looking for the quick and dirty fix to get him up to speed.The signet is really more of solo gear. Same with the proc on damage bp from oob. Mostly I would look for mana items. Doomseer legs, hat from vaults, if you can do the claymore line quick, then the book of forbidden knowledge is a nice thing to have as well as the end reward. Ring of the four winds. Etc.Thanks to anyone who chips in with input - even if it's just to flame me <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></blockquote>

Sandain666

06-23-2007, 05:56 PM

1. My Mystic is 63 now, and will be getting an M2 selection next level. I was leaning towards Lethargy, but I just so happened to get an M1 copy of it in Nest last night! This leaves me with Wrath of the Ancients, Learned Healing, or Ancient Avatar to select from..I picked Learned Healing. Mostly because it is near impossible to find on my server at a reasonable price. All the other spells choices I was able to get Master 1 in raids. In my opinion the difference between M1 and M2 is not that big of a deal. Upgrades of Ancient Avatar becomes less useful the better equipped your raid guild becomes. You start to hit the point of diminishing returns.2. Is the earring from the Mystical Orbs collection a must-have?>This is an good earing considering how easy it is to get. It will serve you well in solo or groups but don't overestimate the power of its heal if you will be raiding. 3. AA's.... With some many changes coming to AA's any input I give you will surely be outdated quite soon <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> .If Ancestry stays as it is it is a very worthwhile AA to go for. It is quite versatile in all situations. Solo,group or raid. You will have to analyze your group to decide who is the best candidate for it4. Gear - any "must have" pieces that every shamen is expected to go after? ...Since you said you ae not looking to spend a lot of time and money I will stick to things that are soloable or groupable and require a bit of luck. Absolute MUST haves that are not too difficult, Manastone , Tribal Spiritis hat from Vaults. Helpful but not must haves : Cruel Innovator ring from Unrest FT. 7 , +wis + INT Cloak from Unrest, FT 10 Belt from Unrest, Earring from COV with +10 to heal.Thanks to anyone who chips in with input - even if it's just to flame me No flames here. Mystics are a helpful lot

Legion11

06-23-2007, 08:11 PM

Wow... this is an absolute wealth of information. There's still a bunch of stuff for me to research, but at least now I feel like I have a gameplan for the next 7 levels. I envisioned responses like, "Search the boards newbie, we're not going to do your homework for you!" Or "Hey, if the mystic is just an alt, why the hell should we bother helping you?"Glad to see that was not the case. Thank you very much to all who responded - now it's time for me to put some of this info to use!

Nregnen

06-24-2007, 03:39 AM

Rayche@Antonia Bayle wrote: <blockquote>1: M2 Ancient Avatar. - I know you think it's silly but here's why. +12 to all Avatar stats. The buff from that (Until all stats are maxed) is of more benefit than learned healing (I use wards and torpor WAY WAY more than that slow casting lackluster heal... I had Learned Healing at M2 at one point, not worth it.) and you will find the Master 1 of all your debuffs super cheap.. and the M2 is not a noticable upgrade to the M1. </blockquote>Hmmm, i like that, i think i'll try that instead. I started thinking about it, and i realized you're right, i use my wards alot, but my heals, not so much.

Kaharthemad

06-25-2007, 04:47 PM

well 1. Learned Healing.2 yes3. str line for haste and the other is quite the tos up. On the Mytic side, buff line, and till something better comes along I like the DPS line however I have sampled some of the status ward line and some are worth having. 4. Ancestry...hmm well thats a double edged fudgesicle. it depends on the group.Gear. Till you get some of the better raid gear I do like the sham class specfic gear from OOB,COV,MIST, Unrest. Good stats, esp when you add some adornments to it, and looks good. my weapon well depends on the situation. I have a adamantite hammer from Labs(i believe, been awhile) or I also have my pike of pain. Just cause it looks intimidating and if you run down the combat line you can pump out some serious damage if soloing.Rez line alot like the old college days where you got too wasted to remember your name. You wake up with some girl uglier than neighbors Chinese Crested Dog and think why in the world did I do that/? Same feeling.