Raiding: Illusionists vs. Wizards (and other DPS)

[Quantum_Trobon]

<p>So I posted something about this on the Illusionists forums but I thought that maybe here where there may be both wizards and illusionists will see it would work better. I am wonerding why you would have a Illusionist on a raid over another DPS class (Wizard, Walrock, Ranger etc)? A lot of the stuff I see on the Illusionist forums say that mezs don't work on most raids and they seem to look for complex ways to do almost as uch DPS as wizards (keeping mana below 30% with AGI/INT build). Is there a reason to do this or is it just people who like to play Illusionists looking for a way to be effective in a raid?</p><p> Basically, I am wondering this because I noticed my guild had no illusionists in it and I asked if they would want me to roll one. They said that CC on a raid would be nice, but now I learn that Illusionists don't CC on raids very much. Is there another reason to play an illusionists from a pure raid standpoint?</p>

[Cincyspider]

<p>Well, you obviously don't know much about illusionists....and I'm surprised that your entire guild is likewise....</p><p> CC is used on some raids...not many, but some.    But beyond that...a properly spec'd ILL will kick a$$ dps-wise.   And if that's not enough....let's talk illusionary arm combined with speeding up say, a ranger....duh!   Or let's talk about mana regen.   Combining the effects of all the specialties of an illustionist, I would bet that the "total" dps attributed to the ILL and their effects on others is up there with the best of them.</p>

[Quantum_Trobon]

No I don't know much about Illusionists whic is why I came to the forums to learn. Also I said that the people on the forums said CC wasn't used much in raids not my guild. I would appriciate it if you would give some tips on how to be effective instead of telling me that I am not a good player.

[Faheuc]

<p>Time Compression for the wizzies <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY<img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />" width="15" height="15" /></p><p>most of what illusionists do on my raids is buff, and dps as well (our old ill always parsed pretty high)</p>

[Tanan]

Momentary Sentiment is the best caster buff in the game. Find an illusionist and have them show you what it does.

[Bawang]

Yeah, I have a 70 illusionist and we do mezz adds on some raids.  It makes the difference between success and failure.  As others mentioned, Illusory Arm and Time Compression are extremely popular buffs which many can't live without once they see how powerful they are.  With Synergysm, I'm able to put out considerable DPS which, while as high as a Wizard's, it's still respectable.

[Terrius]

lets see.. Illusionists bring, CC(some raids need it), Mana regen, Insane caster buffs, Haste + dbl attk, Awesome DPS. now do you see why?

[Iseabeil]

<p>Id say the only downside with illusionists on raids atm is the lag. If you are mainly raiding, agi/int is the only way to go as thats where the dps is, however, as lag becomes worse and worse as it has of late, the end agi ability gives less and less as its gets harder to maintain it. That said, illus can buff both melee and casters very well (TC and synergism for mages, IA and haste for melee) and they have a concentration free power regen. Im tempted to say that bards give more, but their personal dps isnt very high and I dont know of any occassion you would have a reason to use more then 4 bards in a raid. Illusionists and coercers however 'stack' better, and especially illus can contribute their own massive dps on top of their utility, a good illu with good gear will give pretty much all dps classes a decent challenge.</p><p>CC in raids... some use mez on a few encounters, some dont, however a welltimed stun/stifle/daze when crap hits the fan 'can' save a wipe, even one extra second for tank and healers to react can help a lot. Its not a main job tho, especially with immunities.</p><p>All classes make demands on players to be fully utilized, and for illus as of now, a big part of that demand is 100% action, there are no slow casting spells, no long reuses to wait on, if you want to contribute fully you have to literally cast non-stop. If you were to count Spells Per Minute, chanters will be at top. If this dont sound like fun, illusionists as they currently work wouldnt be a recomended class to raid imo. They can be played only for their buffs of course, but thats pretty much wasting a raid spot as they are able to do much more.</p><p>Oh, and illu masters usually cost a LOT less then wizzy masters <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></p>

[Ardnahoy]

<p>When you dream of a perfect DPS group for a raid, you absolutely need a bard and an enchanter. Not only do we both give back insane power regeneration, but our buffs help the other classes achieve maximum DPS.</p><p>Besides our very highly sought after buffs which help other classes put out top DPS, illusionists also put out very high DPS of our own. On some encounters, we will top parse over all the rogues and sorcerors, and on most encounters, we will regularly parse in the top 5.</p><p>CC abilities are rarely used in raids, but there are many encounters where they are critical. Our CC abilities, are just a small sample of the utility we bring to raids.</p><p>In short, we are a high DPS class, with very good DPS buffs for others, that also happens to be a very diverse and useful utility class.</p><p>We are one of the most fun and challenging classes to play, and as such are very rare in the upper levels. Most people would rather play a more straight-forward class than to take the time to learn how to play an enchanter. Guilds that don't raid with enchanters are usually guilds that have no choice because they can't find enchanters to join them.</p>

[The_Real_Ohno]

Ive seen Illusionists parse 2500k DPS on raids sometimes higher.  They can forsure DPS when needed. <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

[Cincyspider]

Sorry...wasn't meant to mean you were not a "good" player....was just stating a fact...that you didn't know alot about illusionists.