The New Master (II) Abilities...

[Pathin Merrithay]

<DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Interesting news for those who haven't seen it yet...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>They're replacing the unique training abilities and replacing them at each of the 10 levels with a choice of 4 'upgrades' allowing you to turn a previous ability into a Master II. The listed options for Paladins have been edited to include more then just the 50th level abilities...</DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#ffcc00></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV> <P>10 Toughness<BR>10 Kick<BR>10 Shout<BR>10 Call to Arms</P> <P>20 Knight's Stance<BR>20 Inflame<BR>20 Charge<BR>20 Vigor of Trust</P></DIV> <DIV> <P>30 Glorious Weapon<BR>30 Blessing of the Penitent<BR>30 Faithful Zeal<BR>30 Unyielding Conviction</P> <P>40 Atonement<BR>40 Smite Prayer<BR>40 Righteous Cause<BR>40 Call to Glory</P> <P>50 Benediction<BR>50 Unyielding Wrath<BR>50 Crusade<BR>50 Amends</P> <P>60 Blessing of the Celestial<BR>60 Prayer of Consecration<BR>60 Faithful Benediction<BR>60 Clarion Cry</P></DIV> <P>Thoughts or suggestions for when the change comes around? A Master Amends would be incredible for maintaining agro, though for those of us that don't typically have a problem with it, I'd be leaning towards the Benediction choice.</P> <P>NB: Edited to include all training options.</P><p>Message Edited by Pathin Merrithay on <span class=date_text>08-26-2005</span> <span class=time_text>03:34 AM</span>

[Garlicyesterday]

<DIV>Im definatly going towards benediction at the moment , will have to check it and test a bit more when this goes lives , sounds fun though =)</DIV>

[WAPCE]

Benediction here, though I'd probably take it even if I didn't have an Unyielding Wrath- Master I. I'm pretty annoyed that they're talking away any flavor differences that you might have had between two characters of the same class, now we just get a Master II where someone else might have a Master I. I also think if nothing's different about these spells besides their quality level, they should open the Master II choices to all spells in a tier that are upgradeable.

[Gornd]

This is a little disappointing.  Guess I will be going with Amends Master II since its the only non-master one of the four I don't have <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Gorndax Leader of Legacy Unrest <div></div>

[djhbeek]

<span><blockquote><hr>Gorndax wrote:This is a little disappointing.  Guess I will be going with Amends Master II since its the only non-master one of the four I don't have <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Gorndax Leader of Legacy Unrest <div></div><hr></blockquote>Agreed, i am in the same boat, but possibly worse: I have *THREE* masters total, they are *ALL* training choices.  <span>:smileysad:</span></span><div></div>

[Belgor]

<DIV>Checked through them quickly earlier today...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Master II amends gave 42% hate transfer, from 20% at apprentice I</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Master II Crusade gave 62 wisdom for the group, from 51 at adept3</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Master II Benediction gave 746 (or something close to that) mitigation vs all physical and 1498 (or something close to that) vs heat/divine.  And I believe it was 12.6 Defense/Parry.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I did not check Unyelding Wrath.</DIV>

[Vathranen]

<DIV>I was just thinking the other day about how horribly lacking this game is for character customization. Now I just have to chuckle to myself that the tiny spot of flavor we had is being taken away.</DIV>

[Coho1]

<P>Here's the rest:</P> <P><A href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=comtest&message.id=4423" target=_blank>http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=comtest&message.id=4423</A></P>

[Darki]

Benediction Master 2 is a very nice upgrade from Adept 3.  I didn't have time to check the others, the zones on the beta server were crashing every few seconds all day yesterday... <img src="http://zerovortex.net/paladin/screens/benediction_beta.jpg"> <div></div>

[Pathin Merrithay]

Yeah... that Benediction upgrade officially qualifies as sexy. If he were buying me a drink in a bar, I'd go home with him. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Rhianni]

<DIV>hmmm so the one thing that we could have unique is gone and we now have master upgrades as rewards?</DIV> <DIV>Dissapointing but some of the current free spells every 10 levels were just ridiculously out of balance with other spells.</DIV>

[paladinwa]

<P>At first it seemed like an okay idea to give us Masters, but I think we lose out on flavor and uniqueness, and i am not all that pleased with the choices they give us in return at 30 and 40. Since all the lvl 50's are posting, I limit my comments to arts below that.  See red below </P> <P> </P> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Pathin Merrithay wrote:<BR> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Interesting news for those who haven't seen it yet...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>They're replacing the unique training abilities and replacing them at each of the 10 levels with a choice of 4 'upgrades' allowing you to turn a previous ability into a Master II. The listed options for Paladins have been edited to include more then just the 50th level abilities...</DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#ffcc00></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV> <P>10 Toughness <FONT color=#ff0000>- now a defensive stance</FONT><BR>10 Kick <FONT color=#ff0000>- crushing attack</FONT><BR>10 Shout <FONT color=#ff0000>- group taunt</FONT><BR>10 Call to Arms <FONT color=#ff0000>- group offensive buff</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>Overall nice choices here at lvl 10</FONT></P> <P>20 Knight's Stance <FONT color=#ff0000>- defensive stance</FONT><BR>20 Inflame <FONT color=#ff0000>- taunt</FONT><BR>20 Charge <FONT color=#ff0000>- crush and stun</FONT><BR>20 Vigor of Trust <FONT color=#ff0000>- now only a WIS buff</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>3 good choices at lvl 20. Vigor seems a waste</FONT></P> <P>30 Glorious Weapon <FONT color=#ff0000>- Wpn proc</FONT><BR>30 Blessing of the Penitent <FONT color=#ff0000>- minor health buff (plus pen-ess creation, which probably doesnt change upon upgrade)</FONT><BR>30 Faithful Zeal <FONT color=#ff0000>- Ward</FONT><BR>30 Unyielding Conviction <FONT color=#ff0000>- AoE</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>pretty poor choices here IMHO</FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P>40 Atonement <FONT color=#ff0000>- hate transfer</FONT><BR>40 Smite Prayer <FONT color=#ff0000>- group taunt</FONT><BR>40 Righteous Cause <FONT color=#ff0000>- wpn proc </FONT><BR>40 Call to Glory <FONT color=#ff0000>- yet another wpn proc, this time for group</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ff0000>horrible choices if you like to solo a lot. and smite prayer seems the only real choice here for people who group a lot.</FONT></P> <P>50 Benediction<BR>50 Unyielding Wrath<BR>50 Crusade<BR>50 Amends</P> <P>60 Blessing of the Celestial<BR>60 Prayer of Consecration<BR>60 Faithful Benediction<BR>60 Clarion Cry</P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>

[GidionSWE]

<P>Crusade or amends for me.. Reason being theyre the only ones we'll still be using at lvl 60, the other 2 are getting replaced. Now, which of em im gonna pick i dont know leaning towards crusade though i think, got master zealous preaching and clarion call and couragous dash so aggro shouldnt be a very big problem (atleast till CC and CD gets replaced, shrug, but atleast ZP will last till the next expansion comes) </P> <P>for lvl 60 ill probably go with focused benediction (i guess its the upgrade to benediction) and if benediction wasnt being replaced id go with it now too (but it is, so crusade or amends for me). </P>

[Dwergux]

<DIV>Screenshots of all tier 1 - 5 Master II spells / arts:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tier 1:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_04_Toughness.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_05_Kick.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_08_Shout.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_09_Call_to_Arms.jpg"></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tier 2:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_16_Knight_Stance.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_17_Inflame.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_19_Charge.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_19_Vigor_of_Trust.jpg"></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tier 3:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_24_Blessing_of_the_Pentinent.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_24_Glorious_Weapon.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_26_Faithful_Zeal.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_28_Unyielding_Conviction.jpg"></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tier 4:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_35_Atonement.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_36_Smite_Prayer.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_37_Call_to_Glory.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_38_Righteous_Cause.jpg"></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tier 5:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_44_Benediction.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_46_Unyielding_Wrath.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_47_Crusade.jpg"> <IMG src="http://www.xs4all.nl/~petkul/eq2/Master2/Paladin_49_Amends.jpg"></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Note:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>These screenshots were all taken on Aug 28 on characters with varying stats, so the damage of some arts may vary.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Dwergux on <span class=date_text>08-28-2005</span> <span class=time_text>03:35 PM</span>

[Traygar]

<DIV>Does anyone have a screenshot or can post the stats of the Adept 3 versions of Benediction, Crusade, Amends, and Unyielding Wrath.  It would help in choosing which lvl 50 upgrade to pick from.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also has anyone on Beta or Test been able to obtain the skills of Prayer of Consecration, Clarion Cry or Faithful Benediction (If possible at Adept 1 or 3 and Master 2 if u have hit lvl 60).  Havent seen those posted anywhere (Have seen blessing of the celestial).  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks for all the help and information.</DIV>

[WAPCE]

<blockquote><hr>Traygar wrote:<DIV>Does anyone have a screenshot or can post the stats of the Adept 3 versions of Benediction, Crusade, Amends, and Unyielding Wrath. It would help in choosing which lvl 50 upgrade to pick from.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also has anyone on Beta or Test been able to obtain the skills of Prayer of Consecration, Clarion Cry or Faithful Benediction (If possible at Adept 1 or 3 and Master 2 if u have hit lvl 60). Havent seen those posted anywhere (Have seen blessing of the celestial). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks for all the help and information.</DIV><hr></blockquote> I was going to ask the same thing myself. From the posts I've seen so far, Crusade's Adept I is 45 WIS and Adept III is 52 WIS.

[WAPCE]

<I>- New Training selections are available beginning at level 14 and will be offered every 10 levels thereafter.</I><BR><BR> So does this change mean we won't get to choose our tier 5 Master II's until 54, and we won't get the tier 6 ones at all until the next expansion?

[Darki]

I think we might be getting them every 10 levels on the 10's and the 4's (starting at 14). My level 51 Paladin got buffed up to level 57 today so I could test the Vault of Dust.  The little green box popped up and I was confused when I opened it and was looking at training options.  I remember seeing Refusal of Faith and Zealous Preaching, but I sadly don't recall the other two options.  I grabbed Zealous Preaching since I was about to test some group content.  I did double check my Benediction, and it was still Master 2. I didn't think about creating a new toon and buffing him to 50 to check my theory, but I'll do it when I get home from work. <div></div>

[WAPCE]

Ack, I guess it wasn't so smart to have that Zealous Preaching- adept III made last week, that Master II must be sweet. Oh well, they'll be cheaper in the future.

[Gailed]

<DIV>Well as a 36 Paladin that's the main tank for my small guild I guess I'm going to take Smite Prayer at 40.  I wonder why they have the defensive stances for the first two tiers but not Shining Beacon...</DIV>

[djhbeek]

the choice will be at 44, i think they moved it ... as for which spells you choose, it's basically the first 4 spells you get in that tier, which rotates around cause tiers are 10 levels and the spells recycle every 14 levels. *some of this might be a little off as this is all second-hand info. <div></div>

[Darki]

You are right, here are the new training options for Paladins. level 14 Blessed Weapon Demonstration of Faith Cry of Conviction Provoke level 24 Redemption Blessed Aid Blinding Light Glorious Weapon Level 34 Prayer of Devotion Shining Beacon Noble Tone Implacable Wrath Level 44 Display of Devotion Ancient Wrath Sworn Strike Benediction Level 54 Pious Aid Zealous Preaching Righteous Crusade Refusal of Faith <div></div>

[djhbeek]

that seems screwed up still ... my understanding was that they moved them back 4 so that you get choices among that new tier, not the old one (or at least that was the thinking for lvs 10 and 20 where the spells change drastically).  that way you'd get a choice between 4 crusader spells at 14 rather than choosing between 4 fighter spells as soon as you dinged crusader.  so look at the T6 choices: Level 54 Pious Aid (T5) Zealous Preaching (T5) Righteous Crusade (T6) Refusal of Faith (T6) this seem odd to anyone else? <div></div>

[Darki]

Well, level 50 is kind of an odd level at the moment, but if you think about it, it is technically T6. 1 - 9 is T1 10 -19 is T2 20 - 29 is T3 30 - 39 is T4 40 - 50 is T5? I wonder if they'll update the recipes for level 50 spells to use the new T6 components? <div></div>

[djhbeek]

yup, you're right ... i was thinking "if i have the spell, it must be T5" not thinking about the tier oddity. <div></div>

[MeridianR]

<div></div>Level 44Display of DevotionAncient WrathSworn StrikeBenedictionLevel 54Pious AidZealous PreachingRighteous CrusadeRefusal of Faith<hr>Hmmm, interesting.  I would think Benediction Master II @ L44 and then either Pious Aid or Refusal of Faith at L54 (I already have Master 1 of Zealous).Thanks for the info...<div></div>

[djhbeek]

anyone have any input on what i should do?  have masters of Benediction at 44 and Pious Aid at 54. <div></div>

[MeridianR]

<span><blockquote><hr>djhbeek wrote:anyone have any input on what i should do?  have masters of Benediction at 44 and Pious Aid at 54. <div></div><hr></blockquote>Actually post revamp I would think Display of Devotion, might be a pretty darn good spell to go with also <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> @ L54, Zealous might be benefical if you don't have Master 1 now, or Refusal of Faith for the DPS.</span><div></div>

[djhbeek]

<span><blockquote><hr>MeridianR wrote:<span><blockquote><hr>djhbeek wrote:anyone have any input on what i should do?  have masters of Benediction at 44 and Pious Aid at 54. <div></div><hr></blockquote>Actually post revamp I would think Display of Devotion, might be a pretty darn good spell to go with also <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> @ L54, Zealous might be benefical if you don't have Master 1 now, or Refusal of Faith for the DPS.</span><div></div><hr></blockquote>that brings up some interesting points, as DoD may still not be that useful in raids, but since i'll probably be grouping for the next 2-3 months ... and once that's done, DoD may be gray ... hmmm</span><div></div>

[GidionSWE]

I wish they go back to like it was with choices at 10, 20, 30 etc cause then the last two! choices u made could still be used...like this only the last one will, cause the other one will have been replaced already

[WAPCE]

<blockquote><hr>GidionSWE wrote:I wish they go back to like it was with choices at 10, 20, 30 etc cause then the last two! choices u made could still be used...like this only the last one will, cause the other one will have been replaced already <hr></blockquote> I agree, it seems like all the choices I would want to upgrade to Master II are located in the second half of the tiers for 40+. It also doesn't make much sense to choose "mastery" training choices only 4 levels into a tier from the arts you just learned.

[Yrield]

<span><blockquote><hr>djhbeek wrote:anyone have any input on what i should do?  have masters of Benediction at 44 and Pious Aid at 54. <hr></blockquote></span>Level 44 Display of Devotion ===> Demonstration of Devotion lvl54 Ancient Wrath ===> Unflinching Conviction lvl56 Sworn Strike ===> Zealous Strike lvl56 Benediction ===> Faithful Benediction lvl58 Level 54 Pious Aid Zealous Preaching Righteous Crusade Refusal of Faith For a /respect when you are lvl50, I say benediction. At 54 its all between Pious Aid and Zealous Preaching. Righteous Crusade is nice but it's a proc (8%) and take 1 concentration so you won't use it all the time, Refusal of Faith is nice too but with a recast of 60s the damage output from Adept3 to Master2 is not a big deal.  IMO an AE taunt every 20s or a heal every 7s are way more valuable than a big nuke every 1min <div></div>

[Belgor]

<DIV>I agree with the last post... I would personaly go Benediction, since its the best one at 44 and the only one I dont have master in.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Then I would go Pious Aid, since i have master in zealous. If I didnt, that one would have been a tougher choice, but I probably still would have ended up at Pious Aid, since a heal is so darn nice <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I wish the level 54 ward was there as a choice though, wards are super nice now.</DIV>

[Arkn]

<DIV>Anyone have stats on the t6 training spells?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I currently have master 1s of Pious Aid and Zealous Preaching so was thinking of Refusal of Faith but if the increase for Master2 over Master1 is good enough it might be worth forgoing what is now a fairly useless nuke for a better heal.</DIV>

[KenCoop]

wow i'm really stumped now on what to take for the lvl 44 choice.  the 54 is a no brainer for pious aid, but i have bendiction, sworn strike and display of devotion master1s already and really hate to take and ae over something useful like a defensive stance or ward (keeping my fingers crossed our wards are actually useful).  I guess it doesn't matter too much cause they'll all be replaced by 60, but just grinding to 60 i'm wondering what would be the most useful <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> <DIV> </DIV>

[Paintball33]

at 54 im definately taking the RoF, i have a RoG master 1 now and i'll never go without it (even though its gettin a major nerf, it's still a ton of dmg, and it helps with aggro to have a giant hit for 1k+dmg). Besides, a Pious Aid adept III would nearly do the same and depending on if they change the tiers it MIGHT still only require a ruby.....(knowing SOE, its possible they could forget to change this to a T6 spell). i guess i just value my dmg more than some of you others, i've personally never had a problem with aggro anyways.

[Agent40]

I personally prefer the Unyeilding Wrath choice over Benediction. The 73 int makes an amazing difference in the dmg output of our nukes. Since I mostly OT the majority of the time, the offensive stance is for me. I was able to solo mobs much faster as well. Nameds were easier tanked. I didnt see as much benefit to the phys mit with the defensive stance in comparison to the dps increase with the offensive stance.

[Yrield]

<span><blockquote><hr>Agent4054 wrote:I personally prefer the Unyeilding Wrath choice over Benediction. The 73 int makes an amazing difference in the dmg output of our nukes. Since I mostly OT the majority of the time, the offensive stance is for me. I was able to solo mobs much faster as well. Nameds were easier tanked. I didnt see as much benefit to the phys mit with the defensive stance in comparison to the dps increase with the offensive stance.<hr> You can't take Unyeilding Wrath over Benediction, Training skill are available at lvl14-24-34-44-54 and we get Unyeilding Wrath at lvl46. </blockquote></span><div></div>

[TooSwi]

<div></div>I must say I am not a fan of this at ALL.  I think it is absurd for Sony to have skill choices be of Master II quality.  They have eliminated the only spells that could possibly seperate Paladins, and have replaced them with Master II existing spells.  This only serves to punish the hardcore players that have dedicated countless hours to getting every spell they have to Master I quality, only to turn around and give out freebie Master II spells.  Completely rediculous.  Though I must say, some of those are very nice.  I will most likely be picking up the group wisdom buff, as the other spells seem pointless in a raid situation.  The wisdom buffs will be a boon for your MT group with its spell mitigation. <div></div><p>Message Edited by TooSwiss on <span class=date_text>09-03-2005</span> <span class=time_text>06:54 AM</span>

[Agent40]

They must have changed that then.... because i am sitting here right now with my beta client open looking at my spells... Unyeilding Wrath (Master II). I remember picking it from the training list.

[WAPCE]

<I>- Stances have been removed from fighter and scout Training selections.</I> Yeah... Any info one what choice at 44 replaces Benediction?<p>Message Edited by WAPCE on <span class=date_text>09-06-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:11 AM</span>

[Darki]

Prayer of Conviction. <div></div>

[lover]

Ack dear lord - I am about to go and get the last 15% xp to 50 right now.  After that my pally will retire for a week so I forget how to play her and I can work out [Removed for Content] I am going to train in etc etc.  Its all making my poor little head hurt!!  Thanks for all the info guys its much appreciated =)