STR AA line query

[Jal]

Im currently duoing my fury who's in his 30's with a tank class but im curious how any others who have gone down this route have specced their AA's.  Im not out for DPS or future raiding or solo ability im looking for survivability for the duo only.Currently ive got Animal form for the power regen and hate decrease which has saved us a few times when we got an unexpected add in a heroic zone but ive been thinking more now on damage.  Fury DPS comes mainly from spells but spells take time to cast and consume precious power so i was looking at the STR line as a sort of substitute dps for when we are in a tight spot.  With the double attack i can do a bit more damage without costing power and with the heal proc i can top up the heals without consuming power plus in theory both should work brilliantly when using animal form, this to me seems a workable solution but has anyone tried it?I know the int line and energy vortex lines are nice for spell dps and ill consider those eventually but for now its survival im focused on.  I dont want to betray to warden as i like having the options of decent spell dps but i want to be able to contribute some dps without worrying about power cost and be able to keep the tank alive.Thanks for any help.

[Rattfa]

energy line > int line >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> strenth lineby a very long way

[Oakleafe]

I haven't seen a good argument for speccing STR for a Fury.  Basically, our melee damage isn't good enough for extra strength or even double attacks to make much of a difference.  The only advice I can offer if you do try the STR route is make sure your weapon has a fairly long delay (4 seconds) as this maximises your melee damage output, at least that is what I understand to be true.Personally I would advise you to spend your points in the Energy line of the Fury Achievements.  Not for Energy Vortex (although I'm sure you'll get that eventually) but because your spell damage will act more quickly and you'll be able to cast more quickly.  I've gone for 3 in Stinging Insects and 5 each in Squall and Strike of Thunder (the names are in the explanations BTW).  This way I can use the DoT, HO, DoT & Nuke combination more often.You should be using the the two damage over time spells (DoTs) anyway.  Firstly because one decreases the mobs defense and that helps the tank.  Secondly because they have fairly low power usage.  Thirdly because it's just plain daft not to!The magic damage nuke should also be used if you want to go around calling yourself a Fury! <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />The one that uses up the power the most is the encounter heat damage bomb, so use that one sparingly.If you don't spec for STR I'd advise getting a weapon with a very low delay, as this helps with Animal Form (the quicker you hit the quicker you regenerate power - plus it's great seeing the damage flying off the mob!).When you choose your armour, jewelery etc. try and spec for WIS and INT.  Wisdom gives you a bigger power pool so decreases the negatives of using it up too quickly.  Intelligence makes the spells hurt more, and that is obviously a good thing. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />Last bit of advice - don't ignore subjugation as it will save your skin in higher levels - if your subj is low I'd suggest casting your snare in combat just to build this up for later usage.I know this isn't the answer you were looking for but some information is better than none. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

[Jal]

Thanks oakleafe yeah im using my dots as they are quick and not noticable on the power, im still tempted to try the STR line just to see how the results go as i can always respec and my main motivation is still power saving for the maiority of the fight.  Casting the big nukes faster and more often whilst killing it quicker in multi mob heroic fights might leave me with an unhappy tank going steadily to the red and me unable to heal them as i tend to find nuking and healing burns through my power very quickly.Still be interested to hear from anyone whos used it how much the heal proc goes off from the STR line as something like that keeping the tank topped up may then allow me to nuke more which would be a nice all round solution.

[Oakleafe]

I asked about the heal proc myself in another thread.  Only got one answer, which you can see <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=409798" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>

[Cmos]

<p>The STR line is more of a gimmic for the fury class if anything. It can be fun to use but is not all that effective(in my experience). I've tried the STR spec with some STR/STA gear, the end results were not impressive. Basically it gives you a different way to do the same dps as your spells would normally do without any AA put into those spells. I also noticed that some of the recast timers were a bit long and you were forced to either stand and auto attck or mix in a few spells. Just didn't seem worth all those points for me.</p><p>I didn't spend a whole lot of time in that setup, perhaps there were better casting orders or something I missed, but all in all it just wasn't effective for me.</p><p>Animal form mixed with the "Boon" might show some results, but at that point it's more effective to get infusion and do the extra dps while you heal vs. the extra heal while you dps.</p><p>Think of it this way... a fury can already do decent dps without any AA via their 3 nukes(master strike included) and 2 dots. So you can even further enhance the spell dps via the AA as opposed to giving yourself a different way to do the same dps...</p><p>Your survivablity can come from several places, but one of the better (for me at least) is the minor crowd control abilities we can get. For a fury to enhance survivability, I'd look into the root AA(eof tree), and mez & charm animal aa's from the STA line.</p><p>Hope it helps some <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Risca]

I tried str line once, when ur in a group 9 times out of 10 your in the back away from the mob. Mainly bc I'm too lazy to run up and hit the mob regardless of the incentive to get group heals.  If you cast that HoT single target heal everytime its up then MOST of the time your target will stay at 100% or all green the whole fight. PLUS your reducing your risk of mob AOE.  I didn't find the STR heals or anything else enough for me to care to keep it.  For my spec I have Agi line for HoT tics, and tortoise shell. Max spell crit and infusion, max heal crit......all spell timers and energy vortex as well as the left of taht tree to get animal form, hibernation fix and blah blah blah...increase pact of cheetah for [Removed for Content] and giggles.

[Kloud_Stryfe]

<p>I have just gone down the Str line with my spare 20 points from ROK & noticed only a small difference </p><p>Believe that i went 4 4 6 6 (down the line).  It only makes a tiny difference in normal situations.. It can be handy when using Animal form as the proc heals & increased melee output can give some half decent upgrade</p>

[Ontbyd]

As an EQ2 n00b, I cheerfully embraced the generic opinion that you can't really break your character by spending poins in the"wrong" AA line. When I got Tiger form, and saw the melee bonus line, I just sort of fancied killing things as a tiger. It's OK, but if I decide for any reason (lack of power, laziness etc) to kill a creature with just melee, it's not very effective.I guess this is  the exception that proves the rule and that it was a line really aimed at Wardens. I guess the other lines are more in the "depends how you want to play it" mould. Are there any other lines a fury should avoid?Cheers

[Foolsfolly]

The best thing about the str line, imo, is the group heal proc. Combined with the haste and melee skills from animal form it can put out some decent healing while you are regenerating your mana. The double-attack doesn't make much difference since druid autoattacks are so weak anyway, but the actual combat arts granted by the str line can nicely compliment your damage spells.

[Laiina]

I don't think I have ever seen a good reason for just about any type of caster, whether healer or nuker, to go down the STR line.