Best solo AA??

[IndeedSG1]

I just came back to EQ2 and all of this AA stuff is new to me. I have found a lot of usefull information on raid builds, but I having a newborn son, don't see myself doing that any time soon. I plan to solo myself to 70 with the occasional grouping to keep things interesting.Could someone give me a good build or point me toward a good guide?

[dnice74]

Do a Yahoo for The Summoner's Tower, there are a couple of threads on this.

 

Summoner Line:

 

I solo most of the time with some PvP mixed in. The optimal solo build is mostly driven off the Wis line in the Summoner tree:

 

4 Wis, required

8 Animist's Transference - essential. At level 56 this is like a 7-800 hp heal, maybe more.

4 Minion's Barrier - required, but nice for pet defense anyway

8 Minion's Uproar - Important, because upgrades pet stats by a large margin, affects all pets. Makes them far more effective killing machines

 

Stamina line is also good for Shockwave. The stun component keeps your pet alive that much longer, and has a relatively quick refresh.

 

4 Sta, required

4 Shockwave

1 Minion's Bodyguard (or whatever) - one point gets you a 20% chance to reduce an incoming hit by 92%. I think other points in this are useless. Why pay 8 points for 100%?

 

Conjuror Line:

 

5 points in Earth pet AA, for obvious reasons (10% damage is negated at max level, this saves you a ton in the long run)

5 points in Geotic Seal (more defense to all damage = always good)

 

Now here's the thing - if you don't have that many AA's and are fairly low level, I would recommend that you buy Unabate (final ability in the Evocation line) as soon as possible. Here's why:

 

• will make you far more effective at soloing - the reduced cast times are incredible.
• reduced resists - far more mana-efficient
• reduced resists to pet spells - this is also huge, will make pets even more effective, therefore saving you more mana

Now if you are already in your 50's with 42 AA, then getting 21 more from the Conj line is going to take you a while, and I'd do the Summoner line. But if you are in your 30's with 4 aa, then quest/discovery AA your [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] off and devote every single one you get to the Evoc line (with the possible exception of Animist's Transference, this is a sick sick ability).

These are the only essential ones. If you PvP, the Agility line from the Summoner side is necessary (32% avoidance to melee damage at max level), but there are many other tasty treats to choose from all over.

Hope this helps.

 

 

Edit: this will also give you some ideas: http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=29&message.id=17785

Message Edited by dnice74 on 12-14-2006 06:51 AM

[IndeedSG1]

Thank you. That gives me a good idea of what to go for. What tree should I go down first?

[dnice74]

Again, I'm assuming you are low level. Start with the Evoc line under the Conj tree, get those 21 AA's out of the way. The lower cast times, lower resists, and degree that the pet is going to tear thru mobs with less resists (edit - after you purchase Unabate) is going to help you level much faster, which will certainly help with the other AA's. However, if you started with Summoner line - Wisdom, and put the 12 in there for Animist's, no one would fault you.

Conj - Evoc

Wis - 4/8/4/8

That should keep you busy for a while. Have fun.

Message Edited by dnice74 on 12-14-2006 07:35 PM

[Geothe]

actually, if you plan on soloing up most of your levels, i'd suggest first starting with Enhance earth pet to level 5 in the EoF tree.  having your tank take 10% less damage will help a ton.   then jump into the Evocation line for the faster casting times and double-speed DOT tic (that is my favorite in the line!!).

if you are starting a brand new character in Kelethin..  you can nearly keep your AA level on par wit your Adv level if you do all the solo quest lines.  (i know i have a 30 fae monk that is like AA 28-ish i think and a 38 brig that is AA 30.. and who was lvl 26 before the expansion was released).  So if you spend your time doing the quest lines instead of XP grinding with a group, you'll come out a whole lot stronger i think because you can gain so many AA levels.

[Voidd]

Start with Wisdom line until you max the heal.

 

Then you can choose from the other suggestions, although I would recommend going all the way down the wisdom line.

 

 

64 Conj mostly solo conj with ~30ish AA myself.

 

 

May Quellious be with you

 

 

 

[Daghammerskold]

I solo a good amount, group a good amount, and raid a little. My goal with the AAs is to hit hard, minimize resists, and make my tank pet a monster. These are the points I have spent and the ones I have planned:Summoner TreeSTR 4-4-4-8the 8 points maximize my critsWIS 4-4-8-8max pet offensive and defensive skillsINT 5for the statsConjuror TreeEnhance Earth Pet (reduces damage taken) 5Enhance Pet Heal (timer reduction) 1 (5)Enhance Vehement (pet stoneskin) 6Enhance Stoneskin (adds stoneskin proc for pet) 6Enhance Geotic (mit and resist buff) 5Unabate Tree (timer reductions and final ability but not Frigid Winds reduction) 3 (23)

[Fayline Fyrecat]

I've gotten a lot of use out of Shockwave (maxed at 8 pts), the second ability in the Summoner Stamina tree.  I haven't respec'd my AA more than once, and only have 15(?) points in the summoner tree so I can't say what's mentioned above isn't better though :smileytongue:

 

I like shockwave because it gets a grouped encounter on the tank pet quickly, allows me to start AE'ing sooner, and can help peel off any mobs that do go after poor defenseless me.  At lvl 8 it's a three second stun; but if you cast it early before you start the fight it will refresh and give you six seconds of stunned mob which also comes in handy on more difficult opponents.

 

Downsides are, of course, it only works with the tank pet; it's an out-of-encounter AoE; and it has a rather long refresh timer.

[Thmy]

The healing aa first thing.

 

mid game you will use the earth pet ALOT

end game raiding the fire pet is prime

for groups fighting lots of single mobs the air pet.

 

and you will use your earth pet even at lever 70 to solo the aa exp and quests.

 

The point here is you will be doing a few aa respects as you go from 20 to 70.

 

 

 

[Loral]

If I had to solo (considering my favorite playstyle involves the Earth pet) I would go:

 

Sumonner:

WIS 4-8-8-8

STA 4-8

(remaining 9 points wherever you wish, continuing the STA line is the best option)

 

Conjuror:

Enhance: Earth

Geotic

Fireshield

Ember seed

Blazing Avatar

Rest dumped into the Evocation line to get Unabate

I haven't calculated, but if you can slip in a Restore Servant boost in there, it would be even better.

Message Edited by Loralor on 12-22-2006 11:32 AM

[dnice74]

Lot of good suggestions here, but baed on what you were looking for, I would still recommend you focus on the following first:

T1

• Unabate (get it out of the way, and it will help you with the others)
• Animist's Transference (required, end of story)
• Earth Pet AA (10% damage negation is not to be ignored, especially if you solo. Doing this first might not be bad, as it will also help with the rest)

T2

• finish WIS line. the other 4/8 here for Minion's Barrier and max Uproar is (imho) basically required, because it affects all pets, all the time.  
• Get shockwave. Essential for Earthpet soloing.

T3

• everything else.

I see a lot of suggestions for STR line, and things like Blazing Seed, INT line items, etc. If you primaily solo, I wouldn't waste time putting points in any of these lines until you take care of the above.

Once you get this stuff out of the way, the indivdual personalization of your toon is up to you. STR line has crits, AGI line has some great avoidance stuff, STA has Shockwave. Lots of goodness to choose from.

Message Edited by dnice74 on 12-22-2006 07:15 AM

[Loral]

---

dnice74 wrote:

I see a lot of suggestions for STR line, and things like Blazing Seed, INT line items, etc. If you primaily solo, I wouldn't waste time putting points in any of these lines until you take care of the above.

---

I usually suggest the Seed line and Shield line because they are power-free and cast-time-free damage. It helps the pet retain some aggro also, thus my love for them, even if, in the end, the return value is somewhat small. But, as I mentionned, it fits my prefered way of soloing, thus I may be biaised. :smileywink:

[dnice74]

Not saying they are bad AA choices at all, Lor. But they are not the best AA's to concentrate on at first; there are ones to get beforehand that will make you far more efficient.  

[IndeedSG1]

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dnice74 wrote:

• Earth Pet AA (10% damage negation is not to be ignored, especially if you solo. Doing this first might not be bad, as it will also help with the rest)

---

I did that first and so far it has been amazing. Thanks for the great post.

[Daghammerskold]

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dnice74 wrote:

8 Animist's Transference - essential. At level 56 this is like a 7-800 hp heal, maybe more.

 

---

Maybe I am missing something but I thought the heal from Animist's Transferance takes health away from the pet and gives it to someone else. How is that useful for soloing?

[Xalmat]

After rank 4 of Animist's Transference, the net amount of HP healed is greater than the amount of HP the pet loses. Which means it becomes slightly feasible to heal the pet. But more importantly, you can heal yourself with Animist's Transference at any level.

[Lughore]

It's useful because you can heal yourself also, not just groupmates. It's gotten me out of some tight situations and I think it's well worth the investment of points. Opinions may vary, but I love it.

[Kalizkh]

Well, i know I am not level 70 but i thought i would add my thoughts. Currently level 28, and have 13 AP's at the moment.Personally i also mostly solo, and using advice from both these boards and summoners tower, as well as looking at the abilities myself, I am going this route~:Currently have : Enhance:Earth Pet 5                           Stamina 4                           Shockwave 3Going for (in this order): Shockwave 4                                       Geotic Seal 3                                       All the way up the line to Unabate, getting minimum in each rank i need to get next rank (for now)                                       Back to Summoner tree and up the wisdom line for better pet.I know it seems an odd way of doing it, but i want to get the best bang for my buck in the shortest time and i believe this route does that for me as i level up Any comments are of course, welcome -Komier28 ConjurerSplitpawp.s i realise it seems weird switching trees like that but i thought shockwave would be extremely useful when soloing, and although i have only had it a few levels it has saved my butt a ton already, especially combined with enhance earth pet                           

[Daghammerskold]

I posted my AA build above so you can see what I have chosen and the order I am going about it but I didn't comment on it so I will do that a little here.ShockwaveI can see the appeal of this spell. On that level of the tree's branches it may be the best thing going. But I don't really care for the rest of the Stamina line. The next 2 things on it IIRC are: Earth pet absorbs some of your damage and Earth pet absorbs some of your hate (something like that). In practice, I don't steal agro and get hit while my Earth pet is still alive unless I do something stupid (which is often I grant you). So while they seem good abilities they fill a need I don't think I have. If I could pick and choose from among all the things on the Summoner Tree I would likely pick Shockwave but since it is designed so that you have to go down some branches to the exclusion of others I will not be taking Shockwave.Animist's TransferanceMy initial reading of the spell made it seemed like a neat trick to have in groups, a little heal to throw in in an emergency, but if it works as Xalmat says (as trustworthy a source as I know of on these boards) I will have to give it another look. If taking it beyond rank 4 makes it a second pet heal, that is great.Wisdom LineThe update notes from when EoF went live made me think that the 4th thing in the wisdom line was going to be required to keep DPS pets from getting resisted all the time. Now I am not sure. I haven't looked at it very closely but it doesn't seem like my pets are having a hard time hitting yellow mobs. Do I really need both Unabate and the offensive-skills-bonuses from the wisdom line for fighting end-game oranges? Since I still solo a lot I like the defensive-skills-bonus from the wisdom line so I kinda feel like I have to take this branch of the tree.Strength LineIf I didn't solo I might be able to max out the lines that increase pet DPS and let them do the work but my Earth pet does squat for damage so I have to provide the fire-power. It is good for my ego too in groups to see my name not too far below my pet's in the parses. The only thing in the Strength line that is any good is the spell-crit increase. You have to spend 12 points on crap just to get to where you can start putting your 8 points into crits and I can see how some people might feel those 20 points could be better spent. Since I put it that way I am starting to feel that way too lol. But, if you do max out that part of the tree you crit like 12% of the time IIRC. That means hitting 12% harder all the time, no matter what pet you are using. Does anyone know if there is any other way to spend 20 points in the Summoner Tree that gives a greater increase in total damage output over all situations? (not a rhetorical question)

[Thmy]

Animist's Transference

 

make a hot key macro

------------------------------------------------

/target_none

/target_self

usea Animist's Transference

-------------------------------------------------

 

Not sure how much this heal you at different levels

but the 1000 + hp I get has saved me many times

when fighting caster mobs and AOE mobs.

 

AND

For times at the end of a fight when you migh die because of the Dots.

(-- remember that 20 min poison dot from opening bottles   

 

I have this on the primary line so I just type  (ONE) to cast it.

 

Many levels ago the (one)  was the sprint hot key.

 

 

 

[Badko]

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Daghammerskold wrote:

---

dnice74 wrote:

8 Animist's Transference - essential. At level 56 this is like a 7-800 hp heal, maybe more.

 

---

Maybe I am missing something but I thought the heal from Animist's Transferance takes health away from the pet and gives it to someone else. How is that useful for soloing?

---

I'm with Dag.  If I'm soloing and I need health, that means I'm getting beat on which more than likely means my pet is dead.  What am I missing??

[dnice74]

Glad you liked the post, op.

To the rest of the doubters (  )- you need AT because it saves you. I never use this on my pet, but now that Xal has brought it up, it certainly can be used as a spot heal at level 5+ (edit: but not a very useful one even at level

Even if you don't play pvp (which is why it is so important to me), being able to heal yourself for 900+ (about what I get at lvl 67 with 400+ int) cannot be ignored. Roamers can make your life history very quickly, and having that at my fingertips has saved me countless times in pve.

also edited cause i couldn't get the smiley in parethesis properly =p

Message Edited by dnice74 on 01-02-2007 11:48 AM

Message Edited by dnice74 on 01-02-2007 11:48 AM

Message Edited by dnice74 on 01-02-2007 11:49 AM

[Draco the Grey]

As a soloist and quester, here is how I plan for my AA's to look at 100:

Summoner Achievments (Summoner's Tower Link)

Wisdom Tree:
Animist's Wisdom - 4
Animist's Transference - 8
Minion's Barrier - 8
Minion's Uproar - 8

Stamina Tree:
Perceptor's Stamina - 4
Shockwave - 8
Perceptor's Bodyguard - 4
Perceptor's Command - 5

Conjuror Achievments (Summoner's Tower Link)

Conjurations:
Enhance:Earth Pet - 5

Foundation:
Enhance: Restore Servant - 4
Enhance: Vehement Gem - 6
Cure Elemental - 3

Abjurations:
Enhance: Geotic Seal - 5
Enhance: Blazing Avatar - 6

Evocations:
Enhance: Snapping Mandibles - 5
Enhance: Fiery Annihilation - 5
Enhance: Calcify - 5
Enhance: Deluge - 5
Unabate - 1

Priorities are:
1: Enhance: Earth Pet
2: Animist's Transference
3: Unabate
4: The rest of the Wisdom Line
5: Fill in however you like - I'm personally doing the Stamina Line last.

[de lori]

I suppose it depends on what u plan to solo....but i'll put this out there as noone else has....the final AA in Wis line will let you solo even con heroics with ease with your mage pet.....its alot of points but a mage pet with bond on it will drop anything a tank pet can stand up to in about  a fifth the time.

my summoner tree is

wis 45488

int  4448

other than that id agree with alot of whats been said.

unabate,....focusing on slowcasts and fiery annihlation on ya way to getting it. ive found it pointless to go further than that in this line as im now waiting for spells to refresh.

geotic seal rank 5

enhance pet ( whichever pet u find best to solo with)....if im not using Mage to solo its usually more easy level mobs im fighting and I find the scout best for this. for me this means rank 5 for scout and mage. if u plan on using tank then rank 5 for tank

if you like spending far longer than u need to fighting stuff.....focus on your tank pet. its slow but probably safer on the easier content

if you understand how to fight with your other two pets,....focus on them.

 

[dnice74]

---

Shockwave
I can see the appeal of this spell. On that level of the tree's branches it may be the best thing going. But I don't really care for the rest of the Stamina line. The next 2 things on it IIRC are: Earth pet absorbs some of your damage and Earth pet absorbs some of your hate (something like that). In practice, I don't steal agro and get hit while my Earth pet is still alive unless I do something stupid (which is often I grant you). So while they seem good abilities they fill a need I don't think I have. If I could pick and choose from among all the things on the Summoner Tree I would likely pick Shockwave but since it is designed so that you have to go down some branches to the exclusion of others I will not be taking Shockwave.

Keep in mind what I said was tailored to what the op was looking for. Shockwave is a must-have if you solo a lot. End of story. Now that I think about it, I might even spec out of this line entirely once I hit 70 and get my last 29 AA's. Those air pet crits are starting to look irresistable for PvP and the instances I find myself doing more and more often over the 20% from Minion's bodyguard (the only reason I took this line in the first place). So is Animist's Bond. Dunno, I've gotta think about this, but anyway...back on point.

Animist's Transferance
My initial reading of the spell made it seemed like a neat trick to have in groups, a little heal to throw in in an emergency, but if it works as Xalmat says (as trustworthy a source as I know of on these boards) I will have to give it another look. If taking it beyond rank 4 makes it a second pet heal, that is great.

Again, I don't think that's what the powers that be had in mind, though it can certainly be done. It is far more useful as a spot heal for the tank in groups or for yourself in PvP. If you have to use this to heal your pet, you're most likely better off hitting the sprint button.

Wisdom Line
The update notes from when EoF went live made me think that the 4th thing in the wisdom line was going to be required to keep DPS pets from getting resisted all the time. Now I am not sure. I haven't looked at it very closely but it doesn't seem like my pets are having a hard time hitting yellow mobs. Do I really need both Unabate and the offensive-skills-bonuses from the wisdom line for fighting end-game oranges? Since I still solo a lot I like the defensive-skills-bonus from the wisdom line so I kinda feel like I have to take this branch of the tree.

I have full Minion's Uproar, 3 points in Geotic, M2 aggravate (unless I find a master, the lvl 67 ad3 isn't worth the $$), Unabate, Shockwave,  and rank 4 of Minion's barrier. I don't even bother using def stance anymore that often because stuff dies far too fast. I would like to see a parse of pets that have MU 8 and those that don't, but I'm keeping this one. I don't use the fire pet (maybe I will someday), so I want my Hunter to do every bit of damage he can. Seat of the pants feel tells me this makes a big difference. I hope I'm right.  

Strength Line
If I didn't solo I might be able to max out the lines that increase pet DPS and let them do the work but my Earth pet does squat for damage so I have to provide the fire-power. It is good for my ego too in groups to see my name not too far below my pet's in the parses. The only thing in the Strength line that is any good is the spell-crit increase. You have to spend 12 points on crap just to get to where you can start putting your 8 points into crits and I can see how some people might feel those 20 points could be better spent. Since I put it that way I am starting to feel that way too lol. But, if you do max out that part of the tree you crit like 12% of the time IIRC. That means hitting 12% harder all the time, no matter what pet you are using. Does anyone know if there is any other way to spend 20 points in the Summoner Tree that gives a greater increase in total damage output over all situations? (not a rhetorical question)

This is where I had the problem based on what the guy was lookng for, not your choice. This would be fine for raids, dagger and crits = more dps. But soloing is about pet survivability. MU 8 is something like 31 to all pet off skills and focus. Helps every time on every mob. Crits do not happen every time on every mob. So you're spending 20 points on crits when 24 in the Wis line gets you far far more bang for your buck.

---

Message Edited by dnice74 on 01-03-2007 06:08 AM

[dnice74]

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de lorian wrote:

I suppose it depends on what u plan to solo....but i'll put this out there as noone else has....the final AA in Wis line will let you solo even con heroics with ease with your mage pet.....its alot of points but a mage pet with bond on it will drop anything a tank pet can stand up to in about  a fifth the time.

That's true, and I might pick this up myself at some point. But there are better things he can put AA's into first. This is a trick ability to save your pet's [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] or solo ^^^'s. It's not going to be used every battle (correct me if I'm wrong please, I forget the recast timers.

my summoner tree is

wis 45488

int  4448

other than that id agree with alot of whats been said.

unabate,....focusing on slowcasts and fiery annihlation on ya way to getting it. ive found it pointless to go further than that in this line as im now waiting for spells to refresh.

geotic seal rank 5

enhance pet ( whichever pet u find best to solo with)....if im not using Mage to solo its usually more easy level mobs im fighting and I find the scout best for this. for me this means rank 5 for scout and mage. if u plan on using tank then rank 5 for tank

if you like spending far longer than u need to fighting stuff.....focus on your tank pet. its slow but probably safer on the easier content

A properly buffed, AA'd earth pet will tear up mobs with a much lower pucker factor than fire pet soloing, which is not as easy. Constantly backing the pet off and relying on root every battle makes for much more micro-management. If that's your thing, gravy. But it's more of an advanced technique, and I doubt that's what the guy was looking for.  

if you understand how to fight with your other two pets,....focus on them.

 

---

[de lori]

all good points Dnice74.

to be honest....I am specced for raiding, however. This does lead to a much better understanding of how to use the tools at your disposal to keep your pets alive....and in turn making your dps pets better soloing pets

at this point, as a new conjuror, sure go the tank route learn how he works....but dont forget u have two very effective pets that if used properly will get u through solo content alot quicker.

yes the timer isnt quick on bond but is usually up every other fight. it is more a tool for, as you say soloing heroic content where u prep and engage when ur ready. The point im tryin to make is....once you get a feel for how your scout and mage pets work......the tank pet is not your best choice for soloing NON heroic content.

For this kind of content I usually use the scout pet....his power pool is not as large as the mages so bond is not as effective and i rarely use it in this setting. but he can hold his own against any solo content mob/s and will hold aggro better through shear dps. I am not even specced for scout pet and he eats up solo content.

I really am trying to think of solo content that the tank would be better for but i cant.

if anything, where i see the tank pet being useful is when u are duoing with another mage or healer and again...only for heroic content.

regarding having to root and back off the mage........I assure u, any mob that is still alive after Bond gem calcify and intervention would have owned ur tank pet  and you'd be rooting and resetting aswell.

I guess the point im trying to get across.....and I saw a necroed post about conj's using their tank pets ingroups and basically not knowing how to play their class properly which reflects this.......there are many ways to play your conjuror some good some bad.....some easy some hard.......one of our advantages is the abilty to adapt to situations....but this requires good understanding of what tools you have available.

All I had seen offered to the OP so far was.....tank pet.....I say, there are other valid optiions....think outside the square

Message Edited by de lorian on 01-03-2007 02:24 PM

[Blambil]

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Daghammerskold wrote:
Animist's Transferance
My initial reading of the spell made it seemed like a neat trick to have in groups, a little heal to throw in in an emergency, but if it works as Xalmat says (as trustworthy a source as I know of on these boards) I will have to give it another look. If taking it beyond rank 4 makes it a second pet heal, that is great.

---

 

It's the only self-heal you get. I can't tell you how many times I've used it to either save my own hiney, root, and regroup, or to save a fellow groupmate. At 8 rank it does over 1000. (At L70)

 

[dnice74]

Nice post. No, there are definitely other tools for soloing. I just got AB last night, interested to give that a whirl myself, especially with M1 tank. Zetorvash is still a [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn] even at lvl 66 =p

When he is ready, then yes, maybe fire-pet jousting with be for him. But even now, on say, LP mobs (65-69) or bonemire mobs (66-70), my adept 3 hunter is eaten up too quickly, even with ad3 def stance, MB4, MU8, and Unabate. On trash mobs for aoe-harvesting status/cash loot - well, even then the earth pet is nice with shockwave and M2 agg stance. Fluffy gets the nod there tho. There is only one pet I want for PvP and groups, though.

I would definitely like to try a raiding spec myself, I know nothing gives you greater DPS than the fire pet. But imo, you have to sacrifice too much for soloing and PvP, not to mention the fire pet will get one-shotted in places like Labs by aoe's where air pet won't. If I get an M1 I'll def try him out, though.

 

[mellowknees72]

THANK YOU for all of these ideas - after reading this thread, I went and respec'd everything.  I had been working towards getting the Hydromancer, thinking she was a support pet, not a primary pet...ugh!  I'm SO glad I read through all of these posts before completing that.  I would have felt utterly [Removed for Content].  Thanks!