Swash compaired to Illusionists

[Alycen]

<p><span ><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">I have done a bit of research on the classes and it has come down to either the Illusionist or the Swash. I have played both up to 20 and honestly am still a bit torn. I would like to narrow it down to one or the other for now though to really focus and learn the class so my question are these-</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">1) How is the soloing if I wanted to try to complete all the quests? (I know, lofty goal) By this I mean speed vs. success of killing. (dps vs. dirty nap)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">2) Can both classes take on the occasional named for quest lines or AA... is one better for farming named if I ever got that bug to make a little coin on a slow day?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">3) Are both as needed in groups in higher levels and do they both bring a bit to the table?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">4) Finally, are both needed for raids when I eventually make it to this point... this is not as important as soloing for me but I would like to know I can serve a purpose when I get there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">I want to invest myself into learning all the finer points of the class once I decide on which one is best for me so please don't feel I would be just one of the skill-less "wanting it easy crowd". I am also post crossing this in both forums so the responses I get are balanced for both classes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; color: #0000ff;">Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me make this decision and enjoy this great game!</span></p></span></p>

[Birn]

<p><cite>Animosity wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #ffffff;"><span><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">I have done a bit of research on the classes and it has come down to either the Illusionist or the Swash. I have played both up to 20 and honestly am still a bit torn. I would like to narrow it down to one or the other for now though to really focus and learn the class so my question are these-</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">1) How is the soloing if I wanted to try to complete all the quests? (I know, lofty goal) By this I mean speed vs. success of killing. (dps vs. dirty nap)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">2) Can both classes take on the occasional named for quest lines or AA... is one better for farming named if I ever got that bug to make a little coin on a slow day?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">3) Are both as needed in groups in higher levels and do they both bring a bit to the table?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">4) Finally, are both needed for raids when I eventually make it to this point... this is not as important as soloing for me but I would like to know I can serve a purpose when I get there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">I want to invest myself into learning all the finer points of the class once I decide on which one is best for me so please don't feel I would be just one of the skill-less "wanting it easy crowd". I am also post crossing this in both forums so the responses I get are balanced for both classes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia,palatino;">Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me make this decision and enjoy this great game!</span></p></span></span></p></blockquote><p>Uhm, really hard to compare these 2 since they are completly diffrent but.</p><p>1. With mental breach type poisons you can keep going forever and illusionists have power regen.. so, no breaks here.</p><p>2. Illusionists should have an upper hand soloing nameds but you need to be rather good and make use of many skills.</p><p>3. Both have their roles in groups. Illusionists bring nice buffs and crowd control (which are sometimes needed in T<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />. Swashys bring DPS hate transfer and style to the group <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>4. Definatly.</p>

[OutcastBlade]

<p>If you want to easily get into raids, roll an illy. Illys have Illusory Arm which meleers bite each other's throats out for, and they are pretty much a necessity for mage groups. That combined with one of the best power regens, and a raid leader would be dumb to not roll with at least two.</p><p>A raid only needs one swashy so if all the good raid guilds already have a swashy you're going become a benchwarmer. But there can never be enough chanters especially with the apparent shortage of em.</p>

[Faenril]

1. Chain killing solo trash mobs, the swash should be a little faster, he can usually burn mobs before getting hit. Swash has track too, which is convenient for some quests. Illy should be better at dealing with the situation then things go south though (for instance if you made a few adds) thanks to CCs. So I would say swash for dps and illy for survivability. Both are friendly classes when it comes to solo questing. 2. Illy all the way when it comes to farming named/heroic content. A good illy with decent gear can take down even con or yellow nameds. Swashies can't unless they wear raid like gear, and then it still depends on the named... 3. Both bring to a group. Swash brings dps, hate feed and debuffs. Illy brings support (buffs, power regen), dps, and crowd control. IMO illy brings more to the table overall, but both definitely get group spots if decently played. I play on pvp server, so there are plenty of swashies while support classes are often missing, so I may be biased <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> 4. Both are needed for raids. "Standard" ROK raid has one swash (eventually 2 if short on melee dps), and 3 illusionnists. As an illy you will get almost guaranted raid spot. Finally as I play both classes here is my personnal experience: - swash: is sexy, really a cool class to play/roleplay, positionnal attack style is fun if you like it, very heavy dps. Quite easy to play IMO. You can tank or offtank too if your gear fares well compared to the content. - illy: more complex and versatile IMO. You can do many things and bring a lot, but it's hard to master all your potential tasks. Has a harder learning curve, but very rewarding gameplay overall. It's not just a "sit there and nuke" caster class, you have to be constantly on your toe, to maintain your dps while being ready to throw a mezz in case of emergency. Illy can be frustrating if you do a lot of pick up groups as many players do not know how to play with an enchanter. People have to trust the mezzer and rely on him to control the encounters or deal with adds. This works well if you group daily with the same ppl, but it does not work so well in the average pug. Typically some hero will pick the adds, break mezz, and wipe the group <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Fortunately (?), or sadly, crowd control is not required for most of the content, so planning only the hard pulls with your group is usually sufficient <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Terron]

<p>I also play both classes.</p><p>Solo the swashy is faster and safer (better defense, evac, run speed buff).  The illu can kill more powerful mobs, and handle more mobs, but can die quickly to a single mistake.</p><p>Both can get group and raid spots fairly easily.</p><p>Illu can be very frustrating in groups. It is very annoying to be in a group that wipes to groups mobs you could have handled solo. I was once duoing a zone with a berserker. We got some adds and were fighting 2 groups and a singleton, and struggling. The zerker died. I mezzed one group, sent my pet to keep the singleton busy, stunned the other group, sent a dumbfire pet agains one of them, and single mezzed the others. The zerker revived and ran straight back down in time to see my illu finsih them off.</p><p>Of course, my swashie could have saved the zerker by evaccing.</p><p>They are very different styles, which is why I like playing both.</p>

[Full_Metal_Mage]

<p>I cheat. I two-box my Illusionist with a Troubador. Troubie buffs plus the run speed and an available evac.</p><p>If you don't have that option, you could use your carniverous plant to produce evac roots.</p>

[Alycen]

<p>Thanks for all the great input,  I am going to continue on with my Illusionist happily knowing what is ahead for me. I am really enjoying the class so far and am amazed at what I am able to solo if I am careful!</p>