With the new Combat Changes, a "Channeling" skill is needed

[LadyEternity]

<DIV>After playing for the first time with this patch my Necromancer with my husbands Fury, it has occured to me that a new "Channeling" skill needs to be implimented to reduce the amount of interupts a caster gets during combat. I about came unglued when I saw my husbands Fury (level 2<img src="/smilies/b2eb59423fbf5fa39342041237025880.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> almost die to two solo green skeletons in the dried river bed in TS last night. He was verablly saying "I can't cast." "I can't heal!". My conjuror has had issues too. Blacksabath my Necro has not, simply because she didn't get aggro'd, and she is "dot" driven with her damage.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But for healer classes and all mage classes when it comes to soloing, I think it's really really really important to make a channeling skill and have it in place along with these changes before they go live. Otherwise it's going to make life really uper hard for alot of casting classes...and they already have it hard enough as it is. I feel that "Mage" classes should have the highest potential for channeling skill and healers that cannot wear plate. Medium armor wearing would be the 'middle ground' for caster skill potential, and plate wearing classes would have the lowest cap.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I repeat, sense I think this is a VERY important thing that needs to be placed in, <FONT color=#6699ff>we need a channeling skill to help casters avoid interrupts in casting during combat BEFORE this all goes live</FONT>. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Lady Eternity</DIV>

[Proudfoot]

It's the removal of the Parry skill that's causing extra pain on Priest. Why add in/change alot of the content to solo, when as a Priest, you can't take on 2 solo greens simply because you can't get  spell off? At least when we had parry, we had an extra chance to miss every 10th swing from the mob. Also, I'm not getting the 'interrupted' message most of the time when the spell doesn't do anything. No FIZZLE or INTERRUPTED at all. The spell simply never finishes casting when the mob hits me. Didn't resist because the spell icon never greyed out, therefor it was an interruption not documented. <div></div>

[Sacha]

<DIV>I hear the casters saying it's impossible to solo now, but my experience is not the same. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was in EL last night (started at level 30+30%). I was doing the little quests for Kelbri Mossborn, where you have to fight 8-12 creatures for 1/2% xp and 17 silver.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I got 70% of a level, dinged 31, and didn't die once. This was fighting level 32-34 bears with usually high interrupts, turtles and beetles with their crushing stuns, and wasps. I did test this from 6pm GMT until 1230am GMT, so it was a fairly lengthy trial.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I did not experience the same feeling of panic that I couldn't get a spell off that all of you are reporting, and<EM> </EM>I didn't get hit any harder or more because of the parry. Maybe because I am a Mystic I didnt notice the mitigation/avoidance differences, because I always have a ward up and the wards have never taken mitigation into account anyway, so no difference there for me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>However.....my Paladin (level 24) was in Stormhold and I logged her in for a bit to check things out as my guildmates were upset over tank changes. I agree that she had some difficulties. She was half way through her AQ3, and the mobs that she was killing with ease pre-patch were really giving her a run for her money. She almost died twice, and she just doesn't die. She's my favourite soloer for that very reason. Have to admit I even broke a sweat a couple of times there, but then, isn't challenge a good thing?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Sacha</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>btw I am not decrying the very real problems people are obviously having, I know druids have always had a particularly hard time with interrupts (yes I have one of those too), I imagine its tougher now.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV><p>Message Edited by Sacha on <span class=date_text>04-17-2005</span> <span class=time_text>02:49 PM</span>

[Miral]

<DIV>even before this combat change, soloing with my warlock as been pretty much if root fails, and the short cast time stun isnt usable atm, run. I haven't even tried this character since the change, since without parry the interupts will probably increase threefold...  And poison/disease/fire/cold resists have gone up recently as well.... my root and stun are both cold based =(</DIV>